(Re-uploaded 1/21/2020 do to format issues. I'm so sorry!)

Shout out to Woman of War for reviewing! Also if you haven't check out Run-Run, Rebel by Woman of War and Human by RavenRogueclaw99. They are both great stories!

She was taken back for a moment. No one had called her, Princess in such a long time. Something about the way he said it angered her, although she knew it should not. The Locust's opinion of her after going to live with the humans atop the surface of Sera is something that never bothered her, no reason to start letting it now.

"What? Is this a joke to you?" She said with indignation coating her words.

The mutated monster regarded her for a moment as if he were going to answer. A commotion was then heard throughout the hive accompanied by the loud shrieking of some Juvies. He let out a growl and spoke in a gravelly voice to himself. "This just couldn't be easy." He then secured the cell once more before walking away.

The man lying on the floor looked a little roughed up, which was understandable since he was in the captivity of the Swarm. Which begged the questions of when and why did the Swarm apparently take prisoners? She could not recall a time when Myrrah or the Locusts ever did. Perhaps this was a new Swarm quirk? She quickly dismissed the idea. She was there for reason, that much she could justify. Myrrah was her mother and she was the former Locust princess. Maybe they wished to experiment on her? Could the Swarm even do that though? The Locust gathered their intellect originally from Myrrah through the Hivemind. The Swarm were obviously connected through the Hivemind, as well. Could the Swarm be gathering information from the humans that they have podded and turned? If so the quick adaptation of the Swarm would make a lot of sense.

After a moment the man's groaning stopped and he squinted his eyes open.

"Ugh, where am I? Where did those stupid grubs take me." He said taking note of his surroundings.

After a moment he locked eyes with the other occupant of his new prison cell, realizing that he was not alone.

'She's familiar,' He thought. The tattoo going down her left arm, the braid draped across her right shoulder. Despite their apparent situation she carried herself with an air of confidence about her. After several moments he was able to place her face. Having seen her through the Hivemind and as she was being consumed by the Hive itself.

"Reyna?" He said with disbelief and confusion.

Now Reyna was confused. She had never met this man. He was a Gear, if his beaten armor was any proof, but she had never... Suddenly memories struck. She had connected with him through the Hivemind. She saw him get taken by a one of those strange new creatures called Snatchers, and subsequently freed. "Marcus Fenix? You're JD's father, if I'm correct."

"Hmph. Yeah, that's me."

Wait, this man was with Kait last time she saw her! Desperation overtook her. She almost grabbed Marcus. Her body was trembling with fear for Kait's safety, while a small part of her heart was grateful to know about her daughter. Without letting a moment pass she pleaded with him.

"Kait! Where is she? Is she okay? Is..."

Marcus held up his hands to quiet her. "She's alive Reyna. Calm down."

Comforting women was a skill he never perfected. A bit awkwardly he placed his hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner. It seemed to work because she let out a long breath then gestured to the floor where the were several blankets and pillows serving as what he assumed was her bed.

He sat beside her and his brows furrowed as he spoke, the hard lines in his face showing as reminders of the hell he'd seen. "I know you've probably got a lot of questions. I do too. I mean what the heck were you thinking?" He took a moment to quell the anger rising in himself.

He gave a sigh and ran his hand across his face. "Last time I saw Kait she was alive. I'd say she was fine, but even though she's trying to hide it, she's not. I mean she saw you... What they did to you. Everyone thought you died. That's enough to mess with anybody."

He saw the tears silently trail down Reyna's face. She uttered a barely audible, "Kait."

"Listen, a lot has happened since we last saw you at Tollen Dam. Kait decided to come with me, JD, and Del, to New Ephyra. I knew something had been bothering her. She wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating. She kept having these headaches. Everyone chalked it up to your death. I knew she wasn't okay, but there wasn't much I could do. The issues with the Swarm kept getting worse so Jinn started recruiting the villages. Eventually, Kait, along with Del, was sent to the Riftworm village to try and get Oscar Diaz to side with the COG."

Hearing this made the corner of her mouth twitch upwards as a snort of air left her in disbelief. "Jinn must be desperate if she's resorted to asking Oscar for help."

He felt a knot form in his gut. Knowing that he was going to have to be the one to inform her about what happened only increased his pity for the woman before him. He felt a strange hint of admiration for her. Though she carried such weight on her shoulders she did not show it. She simply accepted it and kept moving. When Anya passed it broke him, she had endured a similar loss. Perhaps they had more similarities than he first thought.

Once again he sighed. The world wasn't cutting him any slack it seemed. Noticing that he stopped in his account of recent events, she looked at him apprehensively.

"If anybody had a chance at convincing Oscar it was Kait." He said.

Her voice was filled with warmth as she spoke. "He loves her so much. He spoils her. She would get away with anything and everything with him. And don't get me started on the trouble those two can cause together."

"Well apparently, he can even tell Kait no sometimes. Del told me that it wasn't for a lack of trying though. Kait can put up a fight when she wants." He added light heartedly.

His face suddenly grew solemn as he recounted the next events. "JD and I were scouting nearby with some others. We received a distress signal from their location. By the time we got there all hell had broke loose. I'd never seen so many Swarm in a single attack. Not just for some random village assault. The fighting was bad. A lot of people died. When we were landing, a Snatcher grabbed Kait. I ran after it, and after a bit we were able to kill it. Kait was coated in slime, but she was okay."

He could see her visibly relax a little after hearing Kait was not harmed. He purposely skipped the part about her shoulder injury, not wanting to add worry were none was needed, considering it was non lethal.

"The first thing Kait did when she got up was start yelling about Oscar. It didn't seem too strange for her to be worried about him. But the next thing we know she takes off running somewhere. We didn't know where she was going but we chased after her."

He decided now was as good of a time as any to break it to her. He looked her in the eyes as he tried to tell her the next words with as much compassion his gruff voice could muster.

"Reyna. Oscar's dead."

She closed her eyes, bowed her head down, and began to quietly cry. For several moments the only sound heard was the quiet patter of her tears against the material of her pants.

"When we caught up with her, she was kneeling in front of Oscar's body crying."

Marcus reached out, a bit more confidently this time, and stabled her shoulders with his hands.

"He died a hero. Took his last breath fighting for the village. And he didn't go easy on them."

She wiped her tears. Remembering that mourning the dead rarely accomplished anything in her experience. Once she had somewhat composed herself he figured it was safe to continue talking about Kait.

"Nobody else noticed anything, but I did."

That caught Reyna's attention. Suddenly feeling wary of Marcus.

"Kait knew where Oscar was. She knew something had happened. I don't know everything, but I know who you are, who your mother was."

They sat there quietly locked in a stare down for quite some time. Surprisingly, Reyna was the first to break.

"What? What do you want from me? You want me to tell you it's not true? Well I wish more than anything that it wasn't."

"No. I want the exact opposite. The bits and jumbled pieces aren't enough for me. I want to hear you say it."

She gave a humorless laugh. "Fine. Myrrah, the Locust Queen, was in fact my mother. Happy now?"

"No. Not even close."

He closed his eyes and continued seemly off topic. "I'm not really a people person, but for some reason I've come to care for Kait. Maybe it's because I always wanted a daughter or maybe it's because I see a bit of myself in her. Hell if I know. I do know that I care about that kid a lot. And I don't want anything to happen to her."

Reyna was touched by his words. Most men weren't worth anything in her opinion, save Gabe and Oscar, but anyone who cared about her daughter this much was a good man in her book. Perhaps this Gear wasn't all that bad.

Fear of the known and unknown hung thickly in the air. Words spoken and those unspoken affecting both of them.

"After Oscar's death Kait kinda lost it. She just couldn't hold it in anymore. She said that she'd been having dreams about the Swarm. Said something was wrong with her. I had bits and pieces I saw from the Hivemind and she had showed me that necklace you gave her."

He stood and paced about the room. Frustration rolling off him in waves. His body language became more and more animated; His fists clinching.

"She was desperate. I didn't have any answers. So I did the only thing I could think of. I told her about New Hope."

Reyna jumped up from her position. Any positive views of this man just flew out of the window.

"You did what?!" She exclaimed. Both of their voices continuing to rise. Neither were backing down.

"What was I supposed to do? She wanted answers and that was the only place she might get them!"

"Do you not realize the danger you put her in? Or are you that stupid?" She was livid.

His gaze turned accusatory. "Because hiding all of this from her wasn't dangerous? You're the one who put her in danger! Did you think you would just die and let Kait handle the mess you left behind?"

Her tone quieted. She was seething. "How dare you! I was trying to save her! To keep her away from all this."

Marcus sighed. The brunt of the argument had been dealt. The accusations said by both parties cut like sharp daggers.

"Well you didn't." He held up his hand for her to allow him to finish, seeing that she was ready to continue fighting.

"The headaches, the dreams. Sometimes she just snaps. Almost shot another Gear for no reason. You'll be talking with her and then all the sudden nobody's home. Her eyes get vacant and when it passes she's disoriented." He closed his eyes as he remembered Kait's recent behavior. His voice lost sounding almost defeated when he spoke again.

"She's losing herself."

It appeared Reyna's worst fears were coming true despite her attempts to give Kait a normal life. Reyna knew she'd never escape this, but she swore from the moment she found out she was pregnant that she would save Kait from living in this hell. Now all she could do was drown in self hatred while worrying about her daughter.

Marcus' heart felt funny while his stomach turned sick, watching Reyna start to break down. He decided right then that keeping secrets wouldn't help either of them.

"She told me one night she heard a woman's voice. A woman's voice saying, "We have a right to live."

AN: Bonus points if you can spot quotes throughout the fic.

So somehow during writing this chapter I began loving the idea of shipping Reyna and Marcus? Oof that came out of nowhere. Sorry no Kait yet, but she will come on scene soon.

Heads up! It will take longer for me to post the next chapter, as it is not written yet. I do have a plan for it and actually have a pretty good plan as to where I'm taking this fic. So get ready and be patient! Thank you for reading! Please review!

Question - Is it Fort Umsom or Diaz Village? Or are they two different places and I'm just dumb?