Aftermath

Lex, Bray, Ryan & Ebony slid into the shadows of the sewer pipe as a patrol passed by.
"That was close" Ebony said
"Shut up & lets go" Lex grunted, lokking down the pipe
They shuffled forwards, kjeeping to the shadows, until they reaches the entrance from the sewers into the Mall
"From here on, we stick to the plan-Ryan, you sneak p to the roof & let of the signal flare. Lex, you get the others free, youve got that lock picker havent you?"
"Yeah"
"Ebony, you get to the main doors & unlock 'em for the others to get in"
"What about you?"
"Im going after the Guardian"
"No your not-you help me get the others, and we'll both get him-dont forget, Ive got a score to settle with him too"
"Ok Lex"
Ryan, who was checking the coast was clear, urged them to hurry. They wished each other luck & split up to do their missions.
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Ryan swiftly made his way up the stairs to the roof. Suddenly, as he turned a corner, he bumped into Luke, hwo he had seen was getting close to Salene.
"Ryan"
"Take that vermin" kicking him in the balls & elbowing him in the neck, knocking him unconcious. He dragged Lukes limp body into a store room, locked the door, & ran on up the stairs.
When he reached the roof, he hit the deck & belly-crawled his way to the edge of the building. Reaching for his backpack, he pulled out a flare gun.
Pointing it skywards,he muttered to himself
"This one is for the Mallrats", pulling the trigger.
Through the red smoke of the flare, he could see rebels moving from their positions. On foot, on rollerblades, motorbikes, buggies, even a van or two. He turned to see a guard standing over him. In a split second, he grabbed his cloak, & vaulted them over his hed with his feet. He heard a dull thud of his body hit the floor below. then he remebred the others, & pulling the baseball bat from his bag, he set off down the stair again to join the party
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Meanwhile, Ebony had makde her was carefully to the main doors, avoiding guards at every turn. At one point, a guard had spotted her, but Ebony drew her nunchuks & dispached of her quickly. At the doors, she kicked the hefty locks on the doors, which flew open to the sound of the rebel advance & billowing red smoke from above
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Lex & Bray had also reached the door of the room. While bray kept watch, Lex picked the door lock. Suddenly, the pick snapped in the lock. As Bray looked back for a split second he saw Lex walk off, pick up a fire extinguiser & smash down the door. As the door swung open, The other Mall rats rushed out, kissing Lex & Bray, but with a vicious anger inside them. Alice quickly wrenched s heating pipe of the wall, & began to sing it around her. the others quicly armed themselves with wooden posts, extinguishers, poles, chairs, anything
The ragtag army destroyed any chosen patrols it met with venom. Bray glanced over to Lex, and the two of them ran of to find the Guardian. They found him, cradling Brady & surrounded by guards, about to leave through a broken window.
"Get back! Or you will feel the wrath of Zoot"
"You can stick Zoots head where the sun doesn't shine" Lex retorted sarcastically
"Guards!"
Lex threw Bray a metal pole after grabbing one himself, & they waded in to the fray. Guard after guard fell, until it was only Bray Lex & the Guardian left...
"Bray, beware, I have in my hands your only remaining blood relative..."
"You think I dont kow that!"
Many angry words were spoken after that, which to Lex, not the avid academic of the Tribe, seemed just a blur. Suddenly, the Guardian dropped to his knees. Bray rushed to catch Brady, cradling his young neice in his arms. Ryan stepped out from behind the guardian, clutching his trusty bat with a big grin on his face.
Lex rushed the guardian, securing his wrists with rope. The three marched their captive to the balcony, Ryan destroying all Chosen that stood in their path with ease.
Below them, the remaining Chosen were fighting in vain to dave themselves. The bodies of the chosen lay everywhere, and the waters of the phoenix fountain, the symbol of their freedom, ran bloody red.

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Part 2:

The trio marched their captive down the staircase. To the Guardian, still reeling from the blow to his head, this seemed like a dream sequence-His invincible Chosen warriors defeated in combat by a hoard of non-believers.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Ebony, Pride & Amber approach them.
"You got your man then is see" Ebony grins
Amber reaches over to Bray & kisses him
"My hero"
Pride carefully takes Brady from Bray & hugs the sleeping child in his powerful frame.
Ryan whispers something to Lex, and the two rush back upstairs, to Lukes cell. Ryan kicks the door down to find Luke in a violent state. Ryan punches him out again & swings his limp form over his shoulder. Then Lex & Ryan return to the balcony, where the other mallrats have crowded. But no-one sees Trudy, the supreme mother slip out of the window that the Guardian was using, into the dusk.
At the base of the staircase, the rebels slowly group to here Bray & Ebony talk.
Bray steps forward with Amber on one arm & his sleeping niece cradled in the other.
"Today, we have one a great victory. Today we ahve rid the city of the brutal, corrupting presence of the 'Chosen'. This victory will go on in the memories of you, your children, & their children, and they will look back & see how much this victory means.
It is said in the bible that when the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride again, the powers of good & righteousness & do battle with the powers of darkness & evil. And it is said that this will either be a beginning or an end to life.
We have fought our own battle of good against evil, light against darkness. And, we won. so let us not allow this chance for a new beginning slip from our grip. This is a chance for us to start again, to right the wrongs, to change it all. I am proud to call myself free, and that is what we are-FREE!
This child, Zoots gift to the Chosen. She must now represent our future, not our past. She has not been corrupted by the chosen as so many were, so she must lead us into the future.
and when you are lain to rest for all eternity, the memories of this great day will live on with you forever. And when you body is gone, your soul will live on in he hearts of everyone, and they will lokk back & smile on us, and our parents look down on us today, and they are proud, & so should you be. Proud to be free, proud to be yourselves!"
This was recieved to rapturous applause by the gathered crowd. As silence settled again, Ebony stepped to the fore.
" Before the Chosen came here, when all was free, i said something that I will always believe. In front of a crown almost as great as this, I said something that I meant every word of. I said 'I tell you, I did some bad things to The Mall Rats, but they forgave me, and took me in, and I am SO proud...to call myself a mall rat!! So, are you still gonna smash us and trash the mall? Or are you going to show your gratitude, and get on in building a new life for us all?!'
Looking back on that day, I mean it again. I am SO proud to call myself a mallrat, and i am just a prouyd to call myself something else........FREE!!!!!"
As Ebony stepped from the stage, Bray hugged her, and to Ebony, that meant the world.
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Part 3:

Ater Bray & Ebony had finished speaking, all of the victorious rebels joined the mallrats in a mass burning of all remains of the Chosen. All of the fallen were given full funerals, even the Chosen.
"We've got to start our lives with compassion" Bray had said
The Guardian had been locked in a room in the heart of the mall, & 5 burly rebels were assigned to guard it at all times. After heated debate between Ryan & Amber, Luke was allowed to live, even to join the rebels at the funerals. He spoke elloquently of his fallen comrades, giving an obituary to each. The heads of the rebels (Pride, Amber, Bray, and a few others) had agreed to allow Luke to be free, but he was to stay in the shelter of the Mallrats, where he was to be councelled & reconciled into peaceful life among the mallrats or the Gaians.
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As the victors new beginning continued, Trudy found herself alone & scared in a world full of anger towards her & everything that she represented as the Supreme Mother of the Chosen. Eventually, she found an old barn that she could rest in for the night. CLimbing into a recess in the roof of the barn, she found a few bales of hay leftover from the time before the virus. She carefully crawled into her makeshift bed, and quickly dozed oof to sleep. Little did she know, that she was being watched from the floor of the barn below.....
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Back in the mall, the funerals for the falen had ended, and the rebels had sat down in to eat on the bounty of food that the chosen had left behind. Amber stood on a chair, as loudly cleared her throat.
"As the saying goes, to the victor come the spoils!-Dig in"
Everyone hungrily began to tuck in to their meal.
After the meal, a few musical rebels struck up tunes using whistles & drums, and dancing began. Gradually, the tempo of the music slowed down, & the slow dances got going. Amber clung on to Bray, and looking into each others eyes, they began to kiss. As their kiss broke, Bray motioned for Amber to turn around. Behind her, Ebony & Pride were locked in a kiss, & so were Lex & Tai-San & Ryan & Salene. Amber smiled at Bray, & whispered in his ear.
"I hope that this really is a new beginning for us all.."
"It will be, ill see to that.."
Everyone danced on until dawn, when everyone began to drift off to sleep, with oinly a few guards left to guard the others & the Guardian.....
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Part 4:

As dawn broke, Trudy began to stir. Below her, her watcher sneeked behind a pile of wood as she descended from her sleeping place. As she turned to face the moring sunrise, a cold hand grabbed her mouth from behind, dragging her deep into the dim shadows of the barn.
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Ty, Jay & Stella walked across the rolling hills. Ty stopped at the peak of a hill, and looked down over the old farmland below. In the distance, he could see the hazy outline of the city. Ty was 17, with dark brown hair, blue eyes & about 6.2' tall.
Jay, his younger brother was 15, with blonde/red hair, blue eyes & he was a bit shorter that his brother. Stella was the baby of the family, being only 12 years old She had flame red hair, and she carried her favourite teddy with her. It was the only thing she had left of her parents. As they descended into the flat fields of the farmlands, Ty heard a scream coming from a barn over the field. Instinctively, he drew his walking pole to an offensive stance, and began to run to the sounds of the scream. Jay reached into his pocket for his Knuckle dusters-before the virus he used to street fight as part of a gang.
Ty shouted back to his brother
"Come on, but make sure Stel is safe"
Flinging his young sibling over his shoulder, Jay sprinted to catch up to his brother
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In the shadows of the barn, the stranger flung Trudy on the ground and began to tear at her clothes. Trudy didn't stop screaming
"HELP!HELP!HELP SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
Suddenly, her attacked heard a noise in the doorway of the barn, it was Ty, flanked by Jay. He hurled himself at Jay, but Ty quickly dealt him a blow to the gut with the steel tip of his pole. As his body hit the dirt in a cloud of dust. Jay rained blows upon him with his fists, until Ty had to physically wrench him away. as the dust settled, Ty turned the limp body over with his boot. The bruised and battered face of her attacker stared blankly back at them. Ty leant down & checked his pulse.
"Gone..."
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Part 5:

Back at the mall, Ryan sat slumped in the doorway of the mall, guarding the mall from would-be intruders. All around him, the victorious rebels began to stir after their night of partying. Ryan stirred from his deep slumber. Rubbing his eyes as the bright sunlight shone into his face, he awoke to find a group of 4 strangers in the doorway. Quickly alert, Ryan jumped up, bat at the arm.
"Its ok-we mean you no harm" Ty reassured Ryan
"We need your help-we found this girl being raped in a barn on the outskirts of the city. Shes in a pretty bad way & she needs medical help fast" Ty continued. stepping aside to let Ryan see Jay holding a girl in his arms.
"Tru...Trudy" Ryan stuttered, then without another word, he sprinted of to find Dal.
Bursting into Dalsroom, awaking Dal with a start, Ryan stuttered out
"Dal, down stairs...Trudy...hurt..raped...needs help"
"****" Dal exclaimed, leaping out of bed, grabbing his medical bag & racing down stairs behind Ryan
Ryan ran to wake up Bray, Lex,Amber, Pride & the other mallrats, and soon a crowd gathered around the patient, whilst Dal examined her
"Shes gone into shock..She needs rest"
"Why should we help her, after what shes done to us" Lex muttered
"As Ive said before, We've gotta start our new chance with compasion" Bray retorted
"Why should we, she tried to kill us, she killed Danni, Spike, & she betrayed us...a traitor is the lowest of the low" Ebony argued
"Shut the hell up!-Ryan, can you get her to bed-use mine"
"But..." Lex began
"And thats the bottom line"Amber butted in
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In the midst of the confusion, Ty, Jay & stella had been left standing in the doorway. Eventually, Bray, Amber, Lex & Tai-San approached Trudys saviours.
"Hi, im Bray & this is Amber, Lex & Tai-San, nice to meet you"
"Feelin's mutual mate-Im Ty, This is my younger brother Jay & my lil sis' Stella"
"Come up to the cafe and have a drink"
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Part 6:

Up in the cafe, Ty, Lay, Stella, Amber, Lex & Tai San sat sipping coffee as Bray went off to see how Trudy was getting on.
"so where have you come from then?" Lex asked
"Up on the other side of the big forest, where the Gaians live"
"How do you know about the Gaians?"Amber said hurrriedly, worrying about her friends
"My Big sister used to be one of them, but she vanished" Ty explained
"What was her name?" AMber enquired
"Fox Fire, but her real name was Jo"
"I remember her, she vanished just before Bray, Lex & Ebony found us-I used to be Eagle, leader of the Gaians, before I found
my past again" smiling at Lex & Tai-San
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Ellie ran out of Jacks room, hurling abuse at Jack behind her
"Shut up jack, your just a coward, nothing more, nothing less!"
"Ellie, what is your problem"
Just as their domestic was getting more heated, Dal ran over
"Can you shut it you two, Trudy is trying to get some sleep here!"
"Sorry"
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Back in the cafe, Bray had returned to talk with their guests.
"So, would you like to stay here wiuthus, and become mallrats?" Bray asked Ty
"I dunno, id love to, becuase Stella needs a few girl friends to talk about girly things. Me n Jay try our best, but soemt higns we just cant answer...
"Ty, can I go for a wander" Stella tugged on her older brothers jacket
"Ask Bray & the others first"
"Yeah, of course you can, wait a moment"
Amber walked over the the balcony
"PATSY!, CLOE!, KC!"
The three kids ran up the stairs
"Yeah Amber?" Patsy asked
"COuld you three show Stella here around the mall for me?"
"Sure Amber"
The four other them ran off

In Dals room, Trudy was runing a high fever
"Will she make it?" Ryan asked Dal
"Yeah, she should, that is if she can overcome this fever"
In the cell, the Guardian sat with his head in his hands, coweringwith tears runnig down his cheeks. What had happened to the powerful, confident leader that he had been then? He heard the door open, he looked up
"You ok Troy?" Ebony asked him
"Y....Y...yeah im fine" wiping the tears from his eyes
"We are gonna put you on trial, to decide your fate"
"Ok.... i trust in you that it will be a fair trial"
"I promise it will be" Ebony siad, as she walked out & the door slammed
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Luke had gone out for a walk with Pride & Ryan, all three eager to escape frrom the madness within the mall. They had walked out to the suburbs of the city, into the area where Ryan & Lex had lived before the virus. They stopped outside Ryan's old house.
"Wanna go in mate?" Luke asked Ryan
"Yeah, s'pose so"
They walked through the door to find it almost exactly as it had been in Ryans memories. They walked up the stairs to Ryans bedroom. Looking out of the window brought tears to Ryans eyes.
"I cant believe its all gone....my past"
"Physically it may be gone, but in your heart it will always be there.
And now you have a future-a future thats the same as mine, and Pride, and Sal, and all of the mallrats, and the Gaians"
"Thanks mate" Ryan said as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

Part 7:

Back at the mall, Ebony & Bray were talking.
"So what do you think the verdict will be?"
"The only possible is guilty-but his punishment im not sure of"
"Execution, imprisonment, reconilliation, freedom....any others"
"He could get a beating..... and theres others I don't want to think of"
"yeah"
"You really dont want him to die do you"
"No, not really-we go back such a long way. I know hes done so much to us, but.....but....he was one of the Locos, he was my servant....and my friend" Ebony began to sob
"there there, he'll be ok"
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Luke, Ryan & Pride were sitting n Ryans front room.
"its just as I remember it.....just the same, but empty"
"yeah, I know what you mean"
"wait a minute, I just remembered something, come on"
Ryan walked out into the back garden, and started to rummage round in the garage.
"Go it" Ryan happily exclaimed
He pulled out a BMX. The paint work was still perfect.
"Theres 2 more mountain bikes in there-get em"
Soon after, Ryan, PRide & Luke were riding off at full speed back to the mall.
Ryan had locked up the house & tied the key onto his chain around his neck.
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Back at the mall, Trudy had woken up from her fever & was sitting in the Cafe.
"So how are you feeling now?" Salene asked
"Yeah im fine, a bit wobbley, but ok. Hows my baya.Is Brady OK"
"Shes fine, one of the Gaians is looking after her"
Just then, Ryan, Luke & Pride rode in on the bikes. While Luke & Pride slowed to a halt. Ryan rode straight up the steps & grinded down the other bannister on his stunt pegs, coming to a sudden halt with a front wheelie
"Whoah-how did u learn to do that?" Pride asked in awe
"The same way as I did" Lex spoke up from the balcony
"Yeah, me & Lex used to do stunt riding all the time. We were both district champs"
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Part 8:

Hush fell over the gathered court room/main plaza as Amber stepped forward on the balcony above them
"Order, order"
"SHUT UP!" Bray shouted, smiling up to Amber
"Thanks Bray"Amber thanked
"We are gathered here this evening to decide the fate of Troy, or Jaffa, or The Guardian, whatever you know him as."
As the trial began, the youngest members stayed upstairs in Patsy & Chloes room playing about. KC was chasing Chloe round the room threatening to kiss her, while PAtsy chatted happily to Stella.
"Lex would you please read out the charges brought against the defendant"
Lex stood up, standing powerfully before the gathered crowd. Clearing his throat, he spoke loudly
"Against the defendant, the charges are as follows:
[list]
The murder of Danni, and the countless others who fell before the wrath of the Chosen. And as its leader, your are taken responsible for its actions
The invasion of the city with the intent to occupy it & claim it as Chosen territory
The imprisonment of The Mallrats, and all other city dwelling tribes
The kidnap of Trudy & the her child Brady
The attempted rape of my wife Tai-San
Those are all the current charges against the defendant.
After The prosecution, led by Bray ripped Troy apart with his questions, Ebony led his defence. After both had finished with the witness, The Jury, consisting of Ryan, Luke, Pride, Salene, Ellie, Alice & Dal retired to a back room to discuss their verdict.
After a wait of about 1/2 an hour, the jury returned to announce its verdict
Ryan stood up
"We find the defendant, Jaffa, ..........
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Part 9:

"We find the defendant, Jaffa, GUILTY on all charges put before the jury at this time."
As the verdict was passed, Jaffa dropped his head into his hands. Ebony' eyes shot straight to him, and a tear creapt from her eye, smearing her makeup.
"I will need time to decide on a punishment for Jaffa, so this court is recessed for 1 hour for dinner" Amber decided
Jaffa was led back to his cell, where he was given a hot meal, as the rest of the Mallrats & the Gaians ate upstairs, guessing as to his fate.
"I think he'll be executed" Lex said to Bray, as he, Bray, Ebony & Ryan sat around a table eating
"No, I think he will be banished or something" Bray argued, with a little more compasion that Lex
"I dunno any more..." Ryan mumbled
"I hope he's ok" Ebony thought to herself
After dinner, the court returned to deliver its punishment
"Ater a lot of thought & careful consideration of the facts & consequences, I have decided to free you into the rahabilitation of the Mallrats.

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