Title: Tribe 3: Wonderwall

Chunk 4: Sections 16 thru 20

Fandom: The Tribe

Author: PinkTribeChick

Summary: I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me . . . Life goes on for the Mall Rats after the Chosen take over the city.

Extended Summary: Essentially, this is an Alternate Universe story for Series 3 and beyond of the Tribe. I won't say anything more than that, because I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who have never read this before

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Too many to name! But Bray-Amber, Lex-Zandra, Ryan-Salene, and Jack-Ellie, for starters. There will also be some Tribe-character with original character pairings.

Author's Notes: Again many thanks as always go to Brett The Mole, as he was the one who talked me into sharing this story with others when I first started writing it, and he was the one who kept bugging me to complete it. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without you, Brett! And major thanks to Ariannya, Whit, and all the others who at various times read and proofed sections for me and gave me their invaluable feedback.

For the record, Troy (the Guardian) is a character from the first Tribe novel, "Power and Chaos," by Paula Boock. He was Martin's best friend in the book, and I thought it would be fitting for him to turn out to be the Guardian, so I used the name and character. He does NOT belong to me.

Thanks to Tribefanatic, my very first reviewer! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I was starting to be afraid that no one was ever going to say anything, and I was just going to stop posting the story! So thank you for the kind words!

Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!

Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Troy Wisneski belongs to the author Paula Boock, from her Tribe novel "Power and Chaos." Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.


Tribe 3: Wonderwall

Sections 16 thru 20


The Mall Rats and the Rebels all sat in the café that evening, enjoying a large victory feast. The Guardian was locked in the cage and given bread and water. Amber and Bray sat side-by-side at the table, holding hands and talking. Everyone agreed it was good to see them together again. Lex sat on the floor on a blanket, playing with his daughter, while Zandra ate. Tai-San couldn't look at him without tears filling her eyes. But she knew it was better this way. Zandra and the baby needed him more than she did.

"Everyone!" Ryan said, standing up. "I have an announcement to make." He looked over at his wife, smiling.

"What is it?" Amber asked.

"Well, Salene and I have some good news. Dal listened to the baby's heartbeat this afternoon, and it turns out . . . we're not just having one baby, but two. Twins!" Ryan said. Everyone let out a cheer and clapped.

"That's great, man!" Lex said, shaking his best friend's hand.

"Wonderful!" Bray said, hugging Salene. "I'm so happy for you both."

"Thanks, everybody," Salene said, smiling.

"To Salene and Ryan! May their kids be happy and healthy!" Amber said, holding her glass up.

"And to Ellie! Thank god the antidote worked!" Alice added.

"Here-here!" Bray said. Everyone clinked their glasses together. Then Bray stood up. "Okay . . . my turn. First of all, I wanted to tell you all how great you did today. You really made me feel that Danni's death wasn't for nothing. Secondly, I want to welcome back Zandra and Amber. We're glad that they are alive, and thankful to Danni for sacrificing herself so they could be here. Also, a big welcome to Lexandra, Lex and Zandra's daughter. And thirdly, since we're celebrating so many things, I'm gonna add just one more." He turned to Amber and got down on one knee, pulling a small box out of his pocket. She smiled, putting her hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"I've had this ring since before Eagle Mountain, and I never really got the chance to give it to you. I thought I'd lost you once, only to find out that you were still alive. And the thought of ever losing you again just kills me inside, so, here I am, making sure that never happens again. Amber, you are the love of my life, my soul mate, and my world. I knew I loved you from the first time I saw you, standing there in the sewer with that bat in your hands, your hair in those dreadful knots." Everyone laughed, as Amber's smile got bigger and the tears spilled over onto her cheeks.

"So, for better or worse, I'm asking you, Amber, will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal a small tiger's-eye ring. "Tai-San helped me pick this out, and the tiger's eye stone represents courage, which is something you have a lot of. And in accepting my proposal, it shows you have even more courage, to put up with me forever. So, what do you say?" She leaned forward and kissed him gently, tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she pulled away, looking him in the eyes. "Is that a yes?"

"Yeah," she said, laughing, hugging him. Everyone clapped as he slipped the ring on her finger. They kissed, and she sat back, laughing and wiping the tears from her eyes. Bray sat back down beside her, and they finished supper.


Tai-San buried her face in her pillow, crying. She was happy for Bray and Amber, but she still couldn't shake her own internal misery. She had lost the only guy she had ever really loved. Sure, she had always been independent, free-spirited. But when Lex came along, that all went to pot. How was she ever going to make it without him?

"Tai-San? Are you alright?" Amber asked, coming into the room. Tai-San sat up quickly, wiping her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Tai-San replied, as Amber sat down beside her on the bed.

"Liar," Amber said, smiling. "What's wrong?"

"I'm supposed to be the wise, serene one. Nothing ever gets to me. Ever. Except for him . . . ," Tai-San trailed off.

"Him? Him who?" Amber said.

"Nevermind. It's nothing." Tai-San got up and started fixing herself some herbal tea, hoping it would soothe her nerves.

"Tai, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong," Amber said, a concerned expression on her face. "What is it?"

"Him! Lex!" Tai-San exclaimed.

"What did Lex ever do to you?" Amber said.

"We were married for starters. Until she came back, her and his baby," Tai-San said bitterly. Amber's mouth dropped open in shock.

"M-married? You and Lex? You've got to be kidding me!" Amber said.

"I wish I was. It would make things so much easier," Tai-San said. She poured a cup of tea for herself and one for Amber. She walked back over to Amber and sat down, handing her the tea. "You know Lex. Did you honestly think he was going to stay faithful to a girl he thought was dead? And for how long?"

"You have a point there. Lex has never been one for commitment, even when Zandra was alive," Amber said. "But he has no choice but to stay with her, Tai-San. He was married to her first, and they have a baby."

"I know. But it doesn't mean that I don't love him any less! And he just brushed me aside, like she was never gone, and we were never married," Tai-San said angrily. "And I know, I told him it was okay . . . but he should have known it wasn't!"

"You can't expect Lex to be a mind reader. You have to tell him how you feel, not just expect him to figure it out on his own. Guys aren't very smart, you know that," Amber said. "And does Zandra even know about this?"

"No. And it's better that she doesn't. I don't want her hating me even more than she already does. That's the last thing she needs right now, with a newborn to care for," Tai-San said.

"Well, try talking to Lex. Tell him how you feel. I'm not saying that it will change anything, but at least you'll have been honest, and he'll know where you stand," Amber said.

"Maybe . . . ," Tai-San said softly. She looked up at Amber. "Listen, don't tell anyone what I've said, especially Zandra. I don't want to upset her. Please." Amber sighed.

"That's going to be hard, Tai. I mean, she's my best friend, and so are you. And besides, would it be so bad if she found out? Zandra's changed a lot in the past several months, and she might be more understanding than you think," Amber replied.

"Please, Amber?" Tai-San begged.

"Alright. But if she finds out somehow, I never knew about this, got it?" Amber said. Tai-San nodded. Amber yawned. "It's been a long day. I think I'm gonna turn in. Night, Tai-San." She gave her a hug.

"Night, Am," Tai-San responded. Amber left the room, and Tai-San started to cry again, crying herself to sleep.


The next morning started as though nothing had ever changed, as if Amber and Zandra were never gone, and the Chosen had never existed. Salene was up at sunrise as usual, fixing breakfast, with Amber's help, since Salene always had morning sickness. Zandra helped as well, feeding Lexandra and Brady before everyone else woke up. After she ate, she set to work fixing up a nursery for the two babies, and the unborn twins. During this time, Ebony crept downstairs to bring Jaffa some food, something other than bread and water, at Amber's permission. He stood up as he saw her coming.

"You're not getting out," she said. "I'm just bringing you some decent food. Amber made some eggs and toast for you, and here's a glass of milk." She slid them through the tiny crevice provided in the cage for that sort of thing. Then she sat down on a stool, watching him as he ate. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He was one of her best friends . . . before the virus and Zoot's death, anyway. But he was a different person now, and what he'd become, she didn't like.

"How have you been?" he asked, breaking the silence. He looked at her with concern, a look she hadn't seen on his face in quite some time.

"Fine, no thanks to you or Martin," she said bitterly. "You two treated me like a worthless whore, and these people accepted me like a long-lost sister. They fed me and clothed me, no questions asked. You take a guess as to which group I like better."

"For what it's worth, Ebony . . . I'm sorry. Martin and I never meant for all this to happen," he said.

"Well, guess what, Troy? It did! There's a little girl upstairs sleeping who will never get to know her father and how wonderful he really was. And indirectly, that's our fault. Do you know how hard that is to deal with? To look at her face, and see him every time? Have you ever thought about that?" Ebony exclaimed. "And on top of it all, the Mall Rats thought I was the one feeding you information!"

"You weren't though, and I'm going to clear that up, I promise. You deserve to be happy, Ebony," he said. "I will tell them the truth, I swear."

"Why do you care?" she asked angrily.

"Martin wasn't the only one who cared for you. He just didn't care for you in the way I did," Jaffa said. "I love you, and you know that."

"You don't know the meaning of the word," she retorted. "If you did, none of this would have ever happened. And you want to hear something, Troy? I'm a better person because of the Mall Rats. They make me feel like I'm actually worth something, that I can actually become something. That's what real love is about."

"Why do you insist on calling me Troy? It's not my name anymore," he said.

"Because, it's who you are. No matter how hard you try to run from it, no matter how much you try to change it, you are Troy Wisneski. You always will be," Ebony said. "And maybe, before the virus, I would have responded the same to your supposed affections, and there could have been something between us, but things are different now. I'm different. And you need to grow up and get a clue." With that, she stood up and walked away. He slid down the bars of the cage, until he was sitting on the floor. He buried his head in his hands.


Tai-San walked into Lex's room with a mission. He stood on front of the mirror, pulling his hair back into a ponytail. She walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around.

"Tai-San! Hi! Sleep well last night?" Lex said. He walked over to his bed and sat down, pulling his boots on.

"No, but I'm sure you did," she said, giving him a dirty look.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked, standing up. He gave her a concerned look.

"Don't call me babe. I'm not your babe anymore, remember?" Tai-San retorted. "My problem is you. You didn't even give it a second thought as to how I'd feel about you leaving me for Zandra. Real considerate, Lex."

"Whoa! Where is this coming from, Tai? I thought you were okay with this," Lex said, startled at her hostility toward him.

"Any normal guy would have had enough brains to figure out that I wouldn't be okay with it! What girl would be okay with something like this, Lex?" she exclaimed.

"Okay, point taken," Lex said, looking down. "So what exactly are you trying to say?"

"News flash, Lex! I'm not going down without a fight, so Zandra better be prepared!" With that, Tai-San turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

"What the hell just happened here?" Lex said to himself in confusion. Tai-San was definitely not acting like herself. He shrugged and headed to the Café to get some breakfast.


When everyone had gathered in the Café, Bray started a meeting. He wanted to discuss what they should do about Jaffa, as well as his and Amber's impending marriage.

"Okay, guys! Everyone settle down!" Bray shouted over the noise. It got quiet, as everyone ate. "Alright, we have some things we need to discuss. For starters, what about Jaffa? Are we going to keep him here or set him loose on the streets?"

"I think we should set him loose," Jack said. "Having him here just gives me the creeps."

"I agree," Alice said.

"I don't," Trudy said. "If we set him free, we risk the chance of him finding The Chosen and trying to take over again. We're better off keeping him here, so we can keep an eye on everything he does."

"Good point, Trude. I agree," Lex said. "As long as he's on the streets, he's a security risk not only to us, but the rest of the Tribes as well. And I don't think it's a chance anyone's willing to take."

"Look, guys. Keeping him here means we have to de-program him," Ebony said. "It may not have been that hard to do with me, because I was already mostly de-programmed when I got here, but he isn't. And I don't think most of you have any idea what he's really like or capable of. Besides, he may not even want to stay here, and if he tries to escape, that's a security risk as well."

"I tend to side with Ebony. I've known Jaffa a long time, and so have Trudy and Ebony. My brother really screwed him up. It could take a lot of work to get him back to normal," Bray said. "Do we really want to take that large of a task on?"

"Well, if we did, it would be up to you, Ebony, and Trudy to do it, since you seem to know him the best," Amber said. "Who would be left in charge of running things?"

"You, obviously," Lex said. "You're the best leader we've had so far. Besides, I'm only security, and our other leader, Danni, is gone."

"I don't know if I want to take that on again. I have a wedding to plan, plus taking over for Sal once she has the babies," Amber said hesitantly.

"Well, I can help you, and so can Patsy and Cloe. It won't totally be on your shoulders, Am," Zandra said. "Anyway, Lex is right. You are the best leader."

"Well, I say we should at least have a trial for Jaffa. Hear what he has to say," Dal said.

"Alright. All those in favor of having a trial for Tr-I mean, Jaffa, then making a decision about him staying here, raise your hand," Bray said. Everyone's hands went up. "Alright, that's settled. We'll have the trial after supper this evening. Okay, now, all those in favor of Amber becoming one of the leaders again, raise your hand." Everyone's hand went up again. "Alright, Amber, do you accept the position?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "But I expect everyone to cooperate this time around. It relieves some of my stress, okay?" They all nodded.

"Now, about the wedding," Bray said, looking at Amber. "How soon do we want to have it?"

"As soon as I can get a dress and put all the details together. I was hoping Tai-San would perform the ceremony," Amber responded, giving Tai-San a questioning look.

"Sure, I'd love to do it," Tai-San agreed. "Is there going to be a celebration party afterward?"

"I don't know. We'll have to think about it," Bray said. "Okay, next topic?" He looked around the table at everyone.

"Well, Zan and I wanted to mention possibly having a christening for Lexi," Lex spoke up. "Like maybe in the next week or so?"

"Sure. Sounds fine to me," Amber said, looking to Bray. He nodded in agreement.

"We were thinking about having a party after and hiring a musician or something to play. Sal and Ryan were telling us about this great singer that they heard everyone in the countryside raving about," Zandra said.

"Yeah. His name is Max Bono. From what I've heard, he's staying here in the city right now. So, it shouldn't be too hard to convince him to perform," Ryan added. "We can even send out a messenger to him this afternoon, eh?"

"Alright. Well, I'll leave that up to you, then," Bray said. "Does anyone else have anything they want to discuss?"

"Yeah, I do," Jack said, standing up. "Dal and I measured the water in the tank this morning. It's getting low again, and we need to go out to the reservoir to get more water. He and I are going, but we need some of you to go with us to help. Any volunteers?"

"We'll go," Cloe responded, pointing to herself, Patsy, and K.C.

"I'd go, but someone needs to stay here with Ellie. She's still very weak," Alice said.

"It's okay, Alice," Jack said. "Alright, then . . . um . . . Dal, Cloe, Patsy, K.C., and I will go to the reservoir this afternoon."

"Okay, and, Ryan, you're going to go see this Bono guy, right?" Bray said.

"Yeah, that's right," Ryan responded.

"Alright. Well, I guess that's it. Everyone just be back by suppertime. We all need to be here for the trial," Bray instructed. Then the group separated, going to do their chores for the day.


Okies – that's it for now! The next several sections usher in the return of someone who we all know and love – his name is Max Bono, but who is he really? And you'll meet the first original character! Stay tuned to find out who these two people are! And please, please, please review! I love hearing what you guys have to say! Thanks again for reading!