A/N:

SORRy ugh really I am. Work has been kicking my ass lately. Here's another LONg as fuck chapter to keep you busy. Curious about updates? Follow me on Twitter! I'll keep you updated on progress there!

The ships flew in unison as they made their way through the brisk skies that lay above the beautiful landscape known to Guardians as the Cosmodrome. Snow speckled the ground in places, and one could just make out the thawing of the lands as spring seemed to take course over them. Feron was shocked at the beauty that surrounded him, and was eager to get out and explore the lands beneath their soaring ships.

"Prep for transmat." Xanthe would call, engaging autopilot as they neared the drop zone, "Grab what you need now, your Ghost can send for the other non vital equipment later."

Feron remained silent, his hand securing around his pack as he too engaged the ships autopilot, nodding to Pax when he was ready. Instantly his feet met with the ground, and he smiled widely as he straightened, hearing the audible transmat of his two companions as they dropped in on either side of him. This place was so stunning, and he felt that if it were possible, he would have lived here in his previous life, in hopes to have captured its life before the darkness took over.

"Ok, lets keep this short and sweet. With the bounty we've taken, we're basically going to run a few patrol missions in each area. Patrol missions can be found by the glowing green beacons, each having a different meaning, which your Ghost will provide a small marker on your HUD to designate which is which." Xanthe would start immediately upon arrival, shattering Feron's thoughts on the area, and bringing him crashing back to his new reality. She would then unholster a fancy pistol from her belt, its color of black and white shining with the afternoon sun, illuminating the 'spade' shape at its hilt and in front of its cylinder. The cylinder would be popped and cycled then snapped back into the main frame before she continued. "Oniks, you get first choice for this area."

Feron would turn his attention to the other sister, who shrugged her shoulders. "Well fortunately, there's an area clean up here." She would start, her ghost turning in the direction of one of the three flashing beacons to signal which it was. "Lets pick up that one, show the newbie how to hunt like a true Hunter." She would smirk, though it would be lost behind her helm as her head turned to Feron. Her own weapon was pulled from her back, black in color and compact, but unmistakably an auto rifle. The word 'OMOLON' was etched in what appeared to be the magazine, which, strangely was attached to the back of the weapon, rather then in front of the trigger well like most. Just above the trigger well was a circular light that shimmered in the sun, and along certain parts a dark teal color decorated its surface. All in all, a beautiful weapon for which he had no name for.

"You just have to insist on calling me newbie, or newborn? I understand I lack the experience you all have, but really? Come on, cut a guy some slack." He'd chuckle, shaking his head as he trailed behind the now moving group, unholstering his own weapon, and checking over the cylinder to insure he was full on rounds. Thankfully the beacon was not far, and Xanthe took the honors of picking it up, simply letting her ghost pick up on the frequency and relaying the message to the rest of the group.

"A dark shadow grows in this area Guardians, the light needs you ready to fight." The voice was somewhat familiar, he'd heard it within the tower. Ikora perhaps? Didn't matter, and he didn't have too much time to dwell on it as the group began to move.

"So, you find out what your abilities are yet?" Oniks would ask as they moved on foot around a bend in a well traveled path.

"Abilities? Like what the Speaker spoke of?" He would ask, though never turned his head away from where they were headed, not wishing to be caught off guard in a hostile environment.

"Uhh sure! Us Hunters have so far found three subclass abilities we can possess. We each have to start out somewhere, and typically stay with the first power that chooses us, though all three can be mastered. Just keep in mind only one can be wielded at a time." Her weapon was held at low ready, but her steps were calm and confident, which seemed to rub off on Feron just a tad. "Lets see, there's Gunslinger, Bladedancer, and Nightstalker. Each ability contains a different elemental type, each having its own perks as well as disadvantages."

"So, if all hunters have these abilities, which do you two possess?" Feron felt his own confidence push forward with his every step as the words left his mouth. In all honesty he was curious about these abilities, what they could potentially mean for him, maybe if he found one he liked he could work towards finding that one before being surprised by some random element.

"Xanthe's a Bladedancer, but trust me when I say she can't dance." Oniks would snort, which prompted a death glare from the eldest sister. "I'm a Gunslinger, and damn good at it." She sashayed her hips in a small dance before picking up where she left off in their wedge formation. "If you haven't guessed yet, the different elements are Arc, Solar, and Void. Arc is electricity, solar is fire, and void is.. well void, its almost like some dark magic that we've come to master. Some even believe it to be the power of a black hole. I call bullshit to be honest, but its still classified as unknown, other then Void."

"You're so full of yourself, bitch." Xanthe would grumble halfheartedly, turning her helm only enough to send the words to her sister before she continued on along the torn and beaten road that once paved the way for vehicles way back in the day. "Anyways, if you'll ignore her self centered attitude for a moment. I'd like to express the importance of subclassess." She would wave a free hand in her sibling's direction before pulling the formation to a halt. "Nightstalker is something I have a little experience with, so I will start off with that, then work into the others." She shrugged, leaning up against a near by trailer, shielding her from the sun as it began to lower from the center of the sky. "Nightstalker's are team players, a support class. It is said they can pull a bow from the void and fire a round into a group of enemies to chain them together. Then the Nightstalker, and their fire team can take out the group with ease while the void pulls them to its core."

"Then, there is those like me, who choose the power of our blades." Her words were smug as she twirled a knife between her fingers with ease. "Bladedancer, like a Gunslinger, is not a team player. We allow the current of Arc to fill our being, making us quick as lightning, and light on our feet. We can dart to and from each enemy with ease, digging our arc coated blades into their bodies." Her words held a serious tone before she would crackle a laugh through her coms, "Not trying to sound like some psycho, I promise. You'll see, I'll show you how to dance with the blades sometime, Feron. It's an art in itself." She would nod before turning to Oniks, almost tempted to allow her sister to give the spiel on Gunslinger, but figured that perhaps it was not the best, and so before Oniks decided to cut in, she would continue quickly.

"Lastly is those who choose firepower over support or class. The Gunslinger, a mighty gun wielding power that is truly amazing with its capabilities, but again, they are not a team player." She would never let her gaze land on her sister, who's body language was smug as she shifted weight to a single hip and folded her arms in a way that she could inspect her gloved hand. "Those who choose it have the ability to call upon the mighty 'golden gun'. A flaming hand cannon that delivers a fiery punch to any who stand in its wielder's way."

"That sounds pretty amazing, a bow? How is that not the shit? And a fuckin' gun that shoots fire? Not to mention the ability to move as quick as lightning!" Feron cut in quickly, eager to hear more, to learn more of these powers. "How are they activated? Can I control when I need them most? What other perks are there? How will I know what my powers are? Like, when do they normally show up?" He realized he was likely acting a bit childish, but who couldn't? He was overly excited about this whole Guardian thing, having originally thought it to be a military like organization, shoot and kill, not literally obliterate your enemies.

"Woah slow down there, kid." Xanthe would mutter, flinching as if all of Feron's questions were giving her a migraine. "Our abilities are often exposed in high adrenaline situations. It's our bodies way of protecting themselves, the light within feels the darkness out, and your body conforms with its needs. You can also bring to light a few other things, such as a grenade, or a powerful strike with your fist or a knife. These are more so based on how much energy you have available to you to produce them. You can't just throw a million grenades a second is what I mean." She would chuckle, heaving a sigh as she lifted her hand up to pull a metallic orb from her belt. "Most grenades start out like this, and your light transforms within it to give it the power it needs." She seemed to focus for a moment until the grenade began to glow a faint blue. "The grenade is active, you have to throw it now, no way to disarm it. As soon as it leaves your hand, it's primed and timed until it detonates." Her body would turn, and with a thrust of her arm, the grenade was launched forward. No sooner had it bounced from the ground did it explode, sending an electrical wave of shrapnel about fifteen meters in diameter.

"Now, lets see if we can figure out what yours is." Oniks butted in, pulling a rounded orb from her own belt and forcefully placing it within Feron's hand. "Just focus, pull energy from the light within you. You have to imagine it as if it were the blood coursing your body, allow it to flow through your arm and into the grenade base. Go one, try it!"

Feron stared at the orb, moving it around in his hand before grasping it a bit more tightly, following Oniks's lead and trying to imagine the energy traveling through his arm and into the grenade. He would frown for a moment before shaking his head when nothing happened. "It's hard to focus when I'm being stared at, you know." He would mutter, watching as the sisters exchanged a look before turning away from him. It felt better without the pressure of them staring expectantly, and he attempted it again, his breathing slowing as he did his best to conjure the element from within him and push it toward the grenade. Still, nothing happened, and after a grumble he handed it back to Oniks. "Maybe later, lets just get this bounty finished up, shouldn't stand in one place for too long anyway. The Fallen will be all over us the second they catch wind."

Xanthe nodded with a shrug, "Feron is right. Maybe we can try it again a bit later, here isn't the place to be caught in an ambush anyways." She would turn her helm as if scanning the area, her visor stopping as if she spotted something. "Well shit." she would huff under her breath, turning her head back to the group. "My grenade must have alerted a patrol. They're investigating. I hope you know how to use that bang bang newborn, we're going to have company." She ducked back behind a piece of rubble, pulling her hand cannon close to her chest just as a roar pierced the air. "Lock and load, shoot to kill." She huffed quickly, eyes darting to the others as they too dove for cover.

Feron could feel his heart literally jump to his throat as he shoved his back up against one of the metal containers, his weapon drawn out in front of him. Of course she had to mention an ambush, and just so happened that her grenade drew the attention of the enemy. "I'm more then capable, Xanthe." He would call back, cycling the weapon from safe to fire as he peered around his cover. He could hear the chatter of the group as they caught scent of him and his companions. "Pax, How many?"

"Two Vandals, two Shanks and a Higher Dreg. The Dreg is sticking back, letting his body guards investigate. The Vandals are approaching quickly, the Shanks are sticking back to cover the Dreg." Pax chirped suddenly, causing the Xanthe to send the newborn a look. Perhaps he wasn't too bad at this, as she nearly asked her Ghost the same.

"Stay low and ready. If we take them by surprise-" Xanthe started before she was interrupted by a barrage of bullets whizzing by. "God damn it Oniks!" She hissed as her sister jumped up to return fire, her auto rifle pouring rounds from the muzzle at an alarming and very inaccurate rate.

"Shut up and shoot back!" Oniks snapped back, quickly dropping her empty mag and slamming another into the rifle, the charging handle slamming loudly as she racked the first round.

Feron's chest ached as the adrenaline flooded his blood with the sounds of gunfire, and while the sisters bickered, he stepped around, dropping to cover just beside Oniks. With only a second of hesitation, he peered around the corner, firing several rounds. His shots were more accurate then the auto rifle, though he still took several tries before his target fell. Upon confirming the enemy was no longer firing back, he slipped back into cover, flipping the cylinder open and quickly filling it with a fresh mag. "Can you two quit bitching and start shooting? I'd like to get back to the tower with no extra holes." He huffed out, flinching as the shanks took notice of the gunshots, and rushed to assist in the firefight, their small turrets pumping rounds into the cover he'd chosen, causing chips of cement to rain down over head.

"Stuff it, kid." Xanthe growled, popping up to fire a well placed shot, taking the head off the last vandal, but not before the bullet expanded, delivering a sickening 'boom' and causing the Vandal to combust from the bullets napalm core. Her attention was then directed to the shanks, but before her finger could squeeze off a round they both shattered, falling to the ground with small explosions as Onik's rounds cut right through their electronics.

"Boom, bitch." Oniks smirked, peering over the cover to insure the threat was eliminated before standing, brushing the still warm brass from her lap. The safety of the weapon was clicked back on as she re-slung it, her hand colliding with Feron's back. "Nice shootin kid." She chuckled, eyes moving to Xanthe, who was disgruntled over the whole situation still.

Feron flinched at the rough gesture, glaring at her behind his visor as he too slowly stood, eyes trailing to where the Shanks had come from. There stood a rock, just large enough for something to be hiding behind it. Just as he suspected, his eyes picked up on an out of place shadow that inched around its edge. "Uh.." He began before a shot rang out, causing both Oniks and him to flinch back into hiding. Hazel gaze would turn to Xanthe, who pulled the bolt back on a long rifle. Many different fabrics covered the weapon, some of that looked much like an old ghillie suit which draped over the scope to prevent a scope flare. His head peered around the cover, seeing the crumpled heap that was a Dreg bleeding where it dropped.

"You're welcome." She huffed, tucking the sniper rifle away and returning to her main weapon of choice. "You two are seriously stupid. Did your ghost not mention that there were five enemies? Had I not paid attention, one of you would likely be on your way back to the med-bay right about now." She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she stood from her spot, brushing herself off. "I'd say that about cuts it for Ikora's request. Lets move on, should find a place to settle down for the night, set up camp and get some rest." Her words were mumbled as she brushed past the two other hunters who stood there dumbly as they watched her go.

"Don't let her get to you, she can be a Gorgon sometimes." Oniks offered as she stepped forward as well, turning her gaze to Feron before jerking her head to the side. "Lets go, she's right. Night will be upon us soon. We should get your Sparrow linked in so that your Ghost can bring it in anytime. I'm sure Xanthe will get tired of walking eventually."

Feron frowned for a moment, never having heard the term 'Gorgon' before. He waited until Oniks was a decent distance away before turning to Pax. "What does she mean, Gorgon? I'm assuming it's an insult, but I just want to be sure."

"A Gorgon is from old Greek lore, referring to Medusa and her two sisters. It is said they have snakes for hair, and had the power to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. However in this case, I'm sure she's referring to her in the context of being fierce and repulsive, frightening even." Pax responded, his eye shifting for a moment before chuckling slightly. "More believable in the latter sense."

"Oh, well she's got that right, at least the frightening part." He chuckled lightly, jogging now to catch up to the group as they dipped down a hill and through an old washed out drainage ditch. Upon reaching the group, his pace slowed to match the others as they hiked up the side of a hill and scouted the lands. hazel gaze landed upon the many broken skeletons of what appeared to be air crafts. Perhaps an old airfield?

"This way, Feron. We need to get your sparrow linked so we can move on." Xanthe cut into his thoughts for the millionth time that day, waving him over to a sheltered building with a console within it. "Have your Ghost link up with this console, then you should be able to summon your sparrow."

"I don't even know if my sparrow is ready yet, Holliday never made any mention of it being finished?" Feron muttered as he took a few steps forward.

"Holliday had the Sparrow sent aboard before we left this morning, my apologies, I forgot to mention." Pax hummed as his processors whirred, his single eye glancing to Feron before to the console in the room.

Feron drug his feet as he made his way over, turning his attention to Pax as the Ghost zipped over to the console without further thought. "There, our sparrow is linked."

"Fantastic, lets get a move on then, I know of a place in the Forgotten Shore where we can set up camp." Xanthe chirped, content to not have to walk any further.

Both Xanthe and Oniks shifted their stances as their bikes formed beneath them, feet leaving the ground and settling into the foot holds while they waited for Feron, who stood there for a second before nodding to Pax. "Going to need the sparrow now, please." He'd half chuckle, never getting enough of this 'Ghost does everything for you' thing.

It was Pax's turn to let loose an electric snicker as the sparrow nearly threw Feron off balance as it settled between his legs, causing the hunter to fall back into the seat with a startled grunt. "Prick." He'd mutter, turning his attention to see how the other two seated themselves on the sparrows and mirroring them. At least with the Sparrow, the language was his own, and he was quick to figure out the controls, darting right between the two sisters with a hysterical laugh.

"This was a fucking terrible idea." Xanthe muttered, leaning forward and hitting the throttle to shoot forward and catch up to Feron, who was headed the complete opposite direction. "Hey! Sharp right!" She'd yell over the engines as her sparrow inched up to the left side of his sparrow, swinging her arm to point him in the direction of the canyon they needed to pass through. "Better yet, try and keep up, just follow me." Her head leaned slightly, activating the com to her sister. "Oniks, pick up the rear, make sure he doesn't run off course." Without another word, her sparrow screamed ahead, purple flames rolling in waves from the engines as the void super powered the motor, shooting her further ahead so that she could execute her turn with ease into the canyons.