There's a whole universe out there.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is a seriously AU story. It's set in the future and is a crossover between the Tribe and Dark Angel with elements of Roswell.

I'd like to thank Ian, Annastasia, KatnotKath, Zandera and tr1belova01 for all their reviews and feedback from where I'm posting this on the official tribe website. You guys are the best!

DISCLAIMER: I forgot to do a disclaimer in part one. My bad. Anything you recognise from one of the three shows is not mine and belongs to the creators of the respective programmes. All I can take credit for is the original characters and places.

DEDICATION: I want to dedicate this to Kaveena who has supported me in everything over the past year. Chances are you'll never even see this mate but I want you to know that you're my best friend and I'm grateful for all your help.

KIMIKO KAMA: I think you're the only person reading this lol. Yeah, that bit might have been a little excessive length wise. This part's almost as bad though lol. What can I say I was inspired. Hope you like it. J

When we get to the street outside the main entrance to the Mall the others fall silent again. Ships can now be seen landing in the countryside at one edge of the city. Children are dancing around and waving to the ships as they fly overhead. The streets are echoing to the sounds of cheering and cries of delight.
"What should we do now?" Zandra asks, looking slightly scared now that the initial rush of excitement has subsided.
"I'm going to go and see who these people actually are." I answer calmly. The others all look relieved that someone else is taking charge.
"I'll come too. Better safe than sorry. You guys stay here until we get back." Lex adds sternly then winks at Zandra who blushes.
I glare at him then start walking. I roll my eyes mentally at Max and he sends me back a grin.
"I'm not your favourite person at the moment, am I?" Lex remarks with a grin after we've out of hearing range of the others.
"Not really. You had no right to treat Trudy and Brady like that." I snap but refuse to actually look at him.
"I'm trying to protect the whole tribe. If anyone finds out that Brady is Zoot's kid they'll be after her, to take her or to kill her. I don't want the rest of us to get caught in the cross-fire." Lex answers seriously.
He's sincere enough and I have to respect him for trying to look after the others.
"Leave them alone. They're no threat to you and no one else knows about Trudy and Zoot. Besides, if the adults are back to look after us we won't need to worry about the whole tribe thing for much longer." I say flatly.
"Yeah, if they're back to look after us." Lex mutters and we exchange glances.
Getting through the city is easy; everyone is so excited that they're not bothering to enforce tribal boundaries. It's as we approach the ships that we hit a problem. There are crowds everywhere; it's impossible to see if anyone's even coming out of the ships. Lex nudges me and points off to one side.
There's a half-demolished house there. Maybe they were tearing it down before the Virus hit or maybe rival tribes were fighting there. The two of us scramble up the piles of rubble to the shell of an upper-floor bedroom, lie down on our stomachs and stare through the hole where a window used to be at the ships.
After a few minutes a ramp comes down from the nearest ship and a figure walks down it. A man. There's even greater excitement from the crowds as they realise that he's an adult. He's not much taller than I am but with his shaved head and black leather clothes he does look quite impressive. More people follow him down the ramp and I can see them coming out of the other ships. They are all dressed in black leather and all have at least one weapon on them. Whoever these people are they haven't come to help us.

"Greetings everyone. My name is Tao." The first man announces, bringing forth more cheers. "These are my followers, My Protectors. We have come here because this planet contains an important mineral that our own planet lacks. We're here to mine this mineral but we shall need extra assistance." This is all said in a calm and reasonable voice that makes Lex and I exchange glances.
Some of the older kids in the crowds are starting to look uneasy but the rest are still cheering and clapping. Tao makes a sharp gesture with his left hand and his followers march forward. They start to grab kids and haul them back onto the ships. Those in the front of the crowds start to scream and push through the other kids to try and escape but they don't have much luck, as the back ranks don't realise what's happening and are still trying to cram forward and see the adults.
The scene disintegrates into total chaos as the crowds start fighting amongst themselves for survival and the adults drag struggling teenagers away.
"The others will be stood outside the Mall waiting for us. We have to get back and warn them." Lex hisses in my ear.
I nod then, with a last glance at the scene in front of me; I follow him back down the piles of rubble to the street below. Together we go racing back through the city streets. I could easily have outdistanced Lex but I match my pace to his. Behind us the cheers and laughter turn to screams as people realise what's happening.
The others are huddled where we left them looking scared by the screaming.
"Back inside! Get back inside!" Lex roars as we run up the street towards them.
Then we reach them and I shove Zandra and Maria along in front of me.
"Jack, drop both grids! Michael, Bray, Ryan, go and find something to shore up the doors leading from the sewers! Move, move!" Lex yells once everyone is safely inside.
The boys stare at him for a second then run to do his bidding.
There are two metal grids that come down to block the main entrance with a gap of about five meters between them. We usually only drop the inner one at night but now Jack pulls the levers for both of them.
"One of you please tell us what's going on!" Isabel demands.
"All of those who sleep downstairs grab your things and move upstairs." I order, ignoring my sister.
Dal and Jack start to do as they're told then Jack turns back to me.
"What about the computer equipment in my workshop?" He asks, referring to the Electronics Workshop opposite the fountain.
"Leave it, these people aren't interested in computers. The rest of you go and block every window in the rooms we go into. Put curtains over them, move furniture in front of them, whatever, just make sure that no-one can see inside." I command the rest of the tribe.
For the next half an hour we're all busy, shoring up things, boarding up the windows and moving all our supplies from the supply are to empty shops upstairs.
"Now will you tell us what happened?" Salene asks Lex and I as everyone gathers in the Food Court.
"The people on the ships are slavers. They want us to mine the planet for some mineral. They grabbed a load of kids from the crowds that went to see what was going on." Lex informs them all seriously.
There's silence for a moment then the little ones start to weep bitterly, heartbroken that no one's come to take care of us. Zandra, Liz and Trudy look near tears themselves.
"We'll need someone to be on guard by the doors from the sewers and someone by the grids at night in case they try to get in here. We'll hear them if they try it during the day. At least one grid has to be down at all times." I speak up when things are slightly calmer.
"Salene, get some lunch ready." Isabel orders absently. Salene glares at her but goes into the kitchen.
The meal is subdued as we all keep looking over the railings and starting at any noise. During the afternoon Trudy and I sit in my bedroom, as it is the only one that is not directly off the walkway. We don't talk much just read some of the books and fiddle with the make-up products and ornaments. I think we both just like knowing that someone else is there. Towards evening Amber joins us.
"Do you think we should leave the city and try to start again in the countryside?" She asks.
"It depends how big an area they're mining. If they're doing the whole planet we might as well stay and take our chances here." I shrug.
"What if we get taken as slaves? Brady will never survive." Trudy worries, shifting her hold on her daughter. I put my arm around them both.
I want to tell her that if we do get taken then Max, Michael, Isabel and I will use our powers to get everyone out again but we've decided to keep our powers a secret so I have to keep silent.
"We'll be all right if we stay on our guard. We just have to work together." Amber doesn't look like she quite believes her own words.
"I wish Martin was here." Trudy sighs. I give her arm a squeeze then look back to Amber
"Let's get to dinner. See how the others are doing." She suggests after a moment.
Dinner is subdued to start with then Bray begins to tell the little ones funny stories to cheer them up and before long everyone has joined in. I don't miss the grateful look Amber sends Bray or the smile he gives her in return. Maria starts singing a song and Liz and Max waltz up and down the walkway. We all cheer them on while Michael and Ryan slip downstairs for guard duty. We all go off to bed a little happier then we had been before dinner. I don't lie awake worrying for long. I use one of the techniques I was taught at Manticore to clear my mind and help me drift off to sleep.
In the morning I'm woken up not by Brady crying but by the sounds of drums from outside. The whole tribe comes staggering out of their rooms, still in their nightclothes, to gather downstairs by the fountain. I pull on my robe and go down to join them.
"Where's it coming from?" Patsy whimpers. Salene gives her a hug.
"I think it's a recording that's being played through loudspeakers. They want to get our attention." Max says quietly.
"They're showing off. Letting us see how much power they have." Kyle adds scornfully.
"Scare tactics more like." Michael grunts.
The drums stop suddenly and we all exchanges glances. What's going to happen now?

"Citizens of the city attend to my words!" A huge voice booms out. "We want your co-operation in our work not your enmity. Let the leaders of all your groups gather at noon in the field to the left of the city to speak with me."

"It's some kind of trap." Michael says at once. I roll my eyes at his gift for pointing out the obvious.

"I'm not so sure. The field he means is huge and there'll be a lot of kids there. If he leaves people behind to guard the kids he grabbed yesterday then I don't think he'll have enough manpower with him to overpower all the leaders." Bray becomes the voice of reason.

"Even if it is a trap I think we need to go, if only to try and see how dangerous these people really are." Amber speaks up.

"Who's going to go? We don't have any leaders or even a name." Ryan points out.

"Who does everyone want to be in charge?" Isabel asks.

There's a babble of voices as everyone calls out their preferred choices but the favourites appear to be Amber, Bray, Lex and I. Amber calls for a vote so that everyone can have a proper say. Bray and Amber are accepted easily. We were taught at Manticore to suppress our emotions but I can't help a quick rush of pride when the others all vote to have me as one of their leaders as well. There's a little hesitation over Lex but in the end everyone votes for him too.

"There's only an hour or so until noon, you guys had better start getting ready." Kyle warns.

"Be careful what you wear. You want them to take you seriously." Zandra speaks up. It's strangely insightful for her but she has a point.

We all scatter after that and I head to my room to get dressed. I choose black leather trousers; black leather boots with laces up the front and a skin-tight red and black vest top. Amber is wearing black biker boots and her black leather hipsters and matching vest top. Bray is wearing black jeans, a loose fitting grey top and a long brown leather coat. Lex is the most colourful of us with red jeans, a yellow and blue top and a dark purple jacket.

We all grab an early lunch then the other three and I prepare to leave.

"Wait, what are we going to call our tribe if anyone ask?" Amber questions suddenly.

"I've been thinking about that actually. We're all living like rats in an abandoned Mall so let's be the Mall Rats." Lex says before anyone else can answer.

He's just trying to be funny but the name does have a bit of a ring to it.

"Mall Rats. The Mall Rats. We're the Mall Rats." I try it out in a singsong then laugh.

The little ones begin jumping up and down, clapping their hands and trying out the new name. Salene grabs my hands and we twirl around chanting: "Mall Rats. The Mall Rats. We're the Mall Rats!" and laughing at the same time.

The others laugh too and cheer us on. Once we've all calmed down we form a loose circle by holding hands. Bray is on one side of me and Ryan is on the other.

"Welcome to the Mall Rats." Amber announces. She catches my eye as she says it and smiles at me. I wink at her.

"It's showtime." Lex drawls as we break the circle.

Jack raises the grids and the four of us start walking around the corner and down the passageway towards the main entrance. As soon as we're past them the grids come crashing back down again. The others press up against them and call advice and warnings after us. Something Trudy says catches my attention: "Watch out for Ebony, Bray!"

"Who's Ebony and why do you need to watch out for her?" I ask him at once.

"She was the leader of the Locos with my brother, taken sole charge now. She was in the same class as Martin and Trudy and…um, she has a crush on me" Bray explains. Lex sniggers and gives Bray a thumbs up.

"Did anything ever come of it?" Amber asks, trying to make it sound casual. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

"Nothing really. We were too different to have ever worked out." Bray hastens to reassure her. Amber doesn't look too convinced.

Once Bray and Lex have walked slightly ahead I throw my arms around Amber's neck and make loud kissing noises in her ear. She pushes me away and we both giggle then calm down as the boys turn back to look at us then walk on with our arms around each other.

We all move closer together as we reach the field. Bray has come across most of the larger tribes as he searches the city for supplies so he points them out to us. The boys with the silver clothes and make-up are from the Demon Dogs. The ones all in red are the Raiders. The ones in conflicting colours are the Clowns. I recognise Ebony as the slim Black girl I saw in the sports speeder on the night the others and I returned to the city. The ones all in black are the Vampires. The ones in all white are the Ghosts. There are also the leaders of about twenty smaller tribes that Bray doesn't know much about.

The Protectors haven't put in an appearance yet and everybody is just standing around waiting for them. They're all nervous but don't want any of the other leaders to pick up on it.

I sense both Amber and Bray go tense and quickly follow their gazes to see Ebony approaching us accompanied by some of her tribe.

"Well, well, well, you're the last person I expected to see here." She says sweetly to Bray.

"Everyone has a say in this Ebony." He answers her coolly.

"If you want to join your tribe with mine I am looking for a new co-leader." Ebony carries on, running one hand up his chest.

I step to Bray's side and slap her hand away then link arms with Bray.

""I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. He's taken." I tell her smoothly.

Ebony stares between the two of us for a moment then sneers at me, turns and walks away.

"Thank you. You probably just saved my life." Bray grins at me, pretending to mop his brow.

The tension that's been gripping the four of us eases slightly as we all laugh only to return in full force as the Protectors silently enter the field. Tao walks forward alone to stand in the centre of the field, facing the assembled tribal leaders. His Protectors all make sure that their weapons are visible.

"As you all know my followers and I are here to mine this planet for a mineral it contains. We are content to look after this city and its occupants as long as our work is allowed to progress undisturbed. Your authority and your possessions will not be affected." He tells us all calmly.

"What exactly is this work?" The girl in charge of the Vampires asks.

"We need the mineral to power certain pieces of our equipment and we want to send it back to our home planet." Tao answers her at once.

"How do you mean that you're going to look after the city?" Someone from the Ghosts is next to speak.

"We will supervise everything that goes on here to ensure that everyone is treated fairly. We wish for the city to be peaceful and for its people to exist in harmony with one another. We do not wish to cause anyone here any unhappiness." Tao replies in a gentle voice.

"How can you say that when only yesterday you kidnapped children who had come to see your ships and took them prisoner?" Amber demands.

"That was merely an unfortunate mistake. The children involved have not been harmed." Tao is starting to look slightly irritated.

"But you're not going to release any of them, are you?" The leader of the Vampires guesses shrewdly.

"No, I'm afraid that I cannot do that. They are needed to help build our new mines. This need not happen again however, if the city co-operates with me then everyone will be safe and well looked after." The threat in his voice is unmistakable.

"So that's our choice, co-operate or be taken as slaves? Well, you'll have to take my tribe down to these mines of yours here and now because we will never go along with a bully like you! This city does not belong to anyone but the people who live here and you have no right to try and threaten us or give us orders!" Amber tells him in a ringing voice. I grin in admiration as I watch her.

"She's right. You need us, we don't need you. We should be the ones giving out orders and making demands." Someone from the Raiders calls out.

"We won't help you or your 'Protectors'. Give us back the kids you took!" The leader of the Clowns yells.

"Give them back! Give them back! Give them back!" The whole field is suddenly full of voices as everyone joins in the chant.

The Protectors have their weapons ready but can't actually fire them for fear of hitting Tao. There's a whizzing noise and a large stone hits a Protector on the arm. The air becomes thick with stones and the Protectors fall back for a moment until Tao is out of the danger zone and then they fire their weapons. Most of the leaders have obviously been waiting for this though as they cut and run.

Amber grabs my hand and pulls me along as the four of us follow their example. I glance back as we reach the city. No kids have been hurt or captured and Tao is glaring after us.

We stop to catch our breath once we're a safe distance inside the city streets.

"You were amazing!" Bray tells Amber, grabbing her in his arms and swinging her around. Lex looks at them and rolls his eyes at me.

"They know what we look like. They'll be after us now." I warn quietly.

"We'd better be ready for them then." Lex says seriously.

The four of us look at one another in silence for a while then we start back to the Mall. None of us speak on the way though Amber and I link arms.

Lex rattles the outer grid when we get back and Jack lets us in then lowers the grids again while the others come downstairs to meet us.

Amber fills them in on what happened and they all look concerned.

"If they attack this place we can hold them off." Michael speaks up. Isabel and Max both nod slightly but the others don't look convinced.

The little ones scream suddenly and we all turn to see Protectors on the other side of the grids. At the same time banging can be heard as more of them try to get in through the doors leading from the sewers.

"The doors are shored up. How long will they hold?" Amber asks worriedly.

"Depends how many Protectors there are." Lex says curtly before he heads off towards the doors. The other boys follow him.

"Isabel, go up the back stairs to the roof and keep a watch out. Warn us if any Protector reinforcements show up." Amber orders.

Isabel nods and jogs off towards the back stairs. Amber and Salene start herding everyone else up the stairs to the food court. I look back when I reach the top of the stairs to see that the Protectors have left the grids. Probably gone around to join the others trying to break in from the sewers.

"Do you think the boys will be able to hold them off?" Zandra asks.

"I think so. The Protectors will only be able to get through the doors a few at a time." Maria answers quietly.

There's a crash as the doors finally give way and we all jump. I take a quick glance around to establish where everyone is. Trudy is sat at one of the back tables with Brady on her lap. Liz and Maria are stood against the wall not far from Trudy, clutching each other's hands. Salene is sat at the table nearest the kitchen entrance with the little ones beside her and Amber and Zandra are both looking over the railings towards the sewers.

"I hope Lex is alright." Zandra frets as shouts and sounds of fighting drift up to us.

"He's a survivor. He'll be fine." Amber assures her.

I resist the urge to pace as I listen to the noises from the sewers. I'm a soldier, a fighter. I should be down there in the thick of things not skulking around up here. Even as I think this I know that I can't leave the food court because I have to protect the others.

A gasp from Zandra draws my attention sharply back to the ground floor. Three Protectors have managed to get past Lex and the others. They see us and come running up the stairs.

I punch the first one to reach the top and then swing him around into the railings. The metal bar at the top catches him in the stomach and he falls to his knees, completely winded. Amber steps to my side and shoves the second Protector as he lifts his leg to step up onto the upper level. He loses his balance and tumbles down to the landing halfway up the stairs where he lies groaning. The third one dodges easily past Amber. I throw a punch at him but he deflects it, grabs my arm and pushes me into some chairs. He's good. I keep my feet and start towards him again.

"Martin?" Trudy asks in a shocked near whisper.

I stop and swivel around to stare at her in disbelief. She's staring at the third Protector in disbelief, all colour drained from her face. I stare at him as well. He's my age, a bit taller than I am with long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He isn't wearing tribe markings and, like the other Protectors, he's wearing all black leather.

"Hello Trudy. How have you and the baby been?" He asks indifferently.