(1/21/2020 Re-uploaded do to format issues. Sorry!)

A/N: It's AU. This occurs during Gears 5 after Mount Kadar with some changes. Reyna never died and there is no procedure to have the Hivemind link severed. I'm trying hard to keep most of the facts straight aside from the purposeful canon divergence. I have learned a great deal by researching for this fic! It's made me love Gears even more. Sorry about the lengthy A/N. On to the story!

Reyna sat on the hard stone floor with closed eyes, tears long dried upon her face. She could hear the movements of the Swarm within the Hive - the name of their new habitat. They held her in a prison like cell, using the natural stone and rock formations to trap her. It was large enough to walk around in, yet not big enough live in. Roughly the size of a small bedroom, if not a tad more confined. The stone walls and floor were chilly to the touch. The whole place was rather cool; The air stale from lack of movement, both of which were expected since they were deep underground. They had provided her with some blankets much to her pleasant surprise, although they did not help too much. The stone walls had several cracks and crevices in them so she could inadvertently see outside her cell. She could spy various Swarm members walking past occasionally. The wall to her left was made not out of stone, but from a yellowish crystal. It looked to her that it was the same crystal that formed shells around the Locusts. The very same dusty, yellow crystal that could now be seen decorating the faces of several types of the Swarm, such as the Scions and Swarmaks.

When she was first placed in this cell she noticed a few small pieces of the material lying on the floor near the wall itself. Upon examining them, because she had little to do in order to stifle her boredom, she noted that while one side could be looked through, appearing like tinted glass, the other side was opaque. That made her question if all of the strange crystal was like that. Visible through the crystalline wall of her cell was another room similar to the one she was in, except a little smaller. Perhaps if she was in that room she could not see through the crystal wall to her current room?

Sitting on the floor with a blanket pulled around her shoulders a chill overcame her causing her to tug the material tighter. Seeing a Drone walk by, through a hole in the far back wall she called out to him. "Hey! Are you gonna let me freeze to death?"

The Drone paused in his steps. His eyes met her own. A normal person would have been overtaken in fear, and rightly so. These creatures have taken countless human lives. Although, to Reyna's displeasure, she was anything but normal. The former Locust princess simply continued to return the creature's glare. He made an uninterested sound of acknowledgement and continued his walk. Reyna gave an irritated grunt as he walked away from her cell.

She could not believe it, all of these years she had spent believing they were gone. Supposedly wiped out by the Countermeasure Attack, yet here she sat imprisoned by the very creatures from her childhood.

The stuff nightmares were made of some would say. But in her opinion a true nightmare was losing someone you were close to. It was a nightmare from one would never awaken. She had been living that nightmare ever since her husband, Gabriel Diaz, died. He was there for her when she had no one. She was angry and bitter at the world for quite some time after that. However, upon her husband's death she became the village leader which meant she had to move on for the sake of everyone. The pain never ceased. However, it was tolerable because she had Kait. The one good thing in her God forsaken world. The thought of her Kaitie brought a wave of fresh sadness over her. The last time she saw her she, herself, was trapped by the Swarm, half dead.

They told her she would die if she was freed, but after all that she didn't. Oh God! She told Kait she would die. That it was the only way to save her. She watched as her daughter broke, putting on a brave face for her. All to save her. Yet, it was all for nothing. Now Kait was living another nightmare, alone. She prayed everyday to whoever would listen that Kait would stay as far away from the Swarm as possible.

She wallowed in her grief so long it was suffocating. Taking a deep breath she cleared her thoughts. Kait was strong and beside that she had Oscar, and he looked after her like she were his own. She was eternally grateful that not only did he babysit occasionally when she was small, but he was there in a way she could not be when Gabe died. She just thought those two trouble makers were close before then. After that they were inseparable.

To be honest, she has no clue why she's still alive. Why the swarm would go through the trouble of keeping her imprisoned. They did not say what they wanted. After Kait freed her from the vine-like Hive growths she recalled one of them saying it would not work. She wasn't sure what that was though. After that there was just blackness, which she assumed was death. Then much to her surprise she awoke here deep within a Hive. She was unsure if it was close to her original location or different completely. She bet on the latter. All she has been told since then is that they would not allow her to die yet. They provided her with food, a wash basin, and several other bare necessities.

There was a Scion, who was obviously in charge of some sort, that came to her shortly after she was brought her. He reminded her of the one who attacked her in Umsom. The Speaker, he called himself. Although, he was dead. She saw through the Hivemind, Kait made made sure of that. This new Scion also spoke Tyran quite well, enunciating much better than what she was use to. During her early childhood when she lived with the Locust, they preferred to communicate through the Hivemind as opposed to common, Tyran speech. Although, it wasn't unheard of, just not preferred. The Locust's pronunciation was not the best. Perhaps their deformities contributed to it?

She opened her eyes as she heard large, boisterous footsteps approaching. 'Hm. A Scion? Maybe a Drone? Odd.'

Her sense of time was off, yet she was somewhat able to tell due to occasional flashes from the Hivemind. During her childhood with her mother, Myrrah, she felt the connection often, though she was still maturing so she was unable to fully obtain the level that her mother had. Through it her mother could speak to her - typically scolding her, because she was quite a mischievous child. Often using the small power she possessed to bring the young, inexperienced Drones into her escapades. After she left the world of Locusts behind she noticed she that no longer could see the flashes or hear the thoughts of the others. Actually, she could not feel anything at all. It was strange to have to adapt to feeling nothing.

Being connected to the Hivemind she could always feel a constant buzz in her own mind. Having it cut off completely was akin to going deaf. It took some adjusting to. After being captured at Fort Umson and the Horde trying to fuse with her, she could once again feel it, however, instead of a constant buzzing, it is merely a tingle. It was now like a fuzzy radio versus a two way call. She is unable reach though it to interact with the Horde, but now she does receive some flashes from them. This allows her to not become totally disconnected, yet an opportunity to possibly get into Hivemind was gone for her.

It was not time for them to bring her food and it was never by a higher swarm member. As the steps grew closer the more she could tell something was off. Years of fighting for her life in the wilds of Sera sharpened her survival skills. His weight wasn't distributed evenly. One of his feet hit harder than the other and it was accompanied by a slight shuffling noise. Her view was obstructed by the rock formations that served as her cage. She could hear a clinging metal sound - his weapon, a gnasher maybe?

He came around the corner and swung open the metal reinforced door. Reyna stepped back to avoid getting hit. Although, she did not try to escape. After several attempts resulting in getting bruised up, she realized, unarmed, she was no match for the many Swarm members in the underground Hive. Before she could realize what was happening a loud thud sounded, followed by groaning. Her eyes widened, the Scion had dropped a man in her cell.

It was the same Scion she had seen earlier and spoken to. He regarded the man for a moment before turning his eyes to Reyna and spoke smugly.

"So you won't freeze, princess."

AN: So this chapter ended up being Reyna centric, but don't worry I have chapter two finished. I only have to clean it up a bit. It will also be a little longer than this one.

Thank you for reading! After Gears 4 and 5 I can't believe the Gears fandom is this small. Any review is greatly appreciated!