Hay everyone... This is my first Tribe fanfic so be gentle... LOL...
Umm, I took a few small liberties with the plot structure... Trudy
spent the first several months of her pregnancy with Zoot and the Locos
before Bray rescued her. Also, just for your info, Spike wasn't
murdered... I guess this takes place around the beginning of season two.

Thanks~ Kei

Rated: PG to mild PG-13
Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Zoot's Legacy ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Sora's guarded eyes darted around the mall as the line moved
slowly forward. She prayed, desperately, that Ebony's guards wouldn't
recognize her. Most of them were new faces but she herself recognized
a few from her time spent with the Locos. She'd changed a lot since
then, she wasn't bound in chains for one, but she didn't want a fight,
not now. She heaved a sigh of relief as she clutched the antidote to
her breast and sipped it. She didn't make eye contact with the people
passing it out, a tribe called the Mall Rats. Sora didn't want to be
noticed, she wanted to slip in and out and be out of the city by
nightfall.

Fate apparently decided to make her life interesting again
though. Even as she moved quickly towards the exit two things
happened at once, she recognized Dal and Ebony recognized her. Sora's
cup dropped loudly to the ground, the precious antidote spilling
everywhere as Dal turned, surprised by the noise, and met her familiar
blue eyes. His own dark gaze widened.

"Sora?" She could see her name, a whisper, pass by his lips,
before tears obscured her vision. Sora ran, oblivious to the
attention she was attracting, and met Dal half way in an embrace that
crushed the breath out of both of them.

"Dal?" she asked as they hugged, "Is it really you?"

"What a coincidence," came an even voice that Sora knew way,
way too well, "I was just about to ask you the same thing Sora."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sora whirled, arms up, ready to guard herself, to meet Ebony's
furious, simmering gaze. The Queen of the Locos stared at her and
Sora was reminded, painfully, of old times. Ebony spat.

"You should be dead." Sora sneered.

"What a coincidence," Sora mimicked mockingly, "I thought the
same of you." Dal, Dal her almost brother, one of her dearest
friends, grabbed one arm as he dared to interrupt the exchange between
the two powerful women. Ebony's guards started to ring around them
and Sora knew, as she risked a glance to a few startled faces, that
more than she would have liked remembered who she was.

"Sora, what's going on?" He whispered his question urgently.
She shook Dal off, her narrowed gaze on Ebony.

"Dal," Sora said quietly, firmly, "Leave. This is old
business, between Ebony and me. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Sora... I don't understand..."

"Dal, leave. Things are going to get very ugly very fast and
I can't fight if I know you're here." Ebony took one step closer.

"You can't fight at all," Ebony said coldly as she cracked her
knuckles slowly. There was a large crowd around them now, with Locos
at the front. Sora raised her chin high as she looked contemptuously
down on Ebony.

"I can fight well enough that no one but Zoot could best me.
I can fight better than you." Several Locos blanched, most in fear of
their mistresses retaliation to such a statement, a few from the very
real knowledge that Sora wasn't boasting. She had taken more than
several Locos egos down a notch, and a black eye, the day she had been
made a Locos slave. Ebony dropped her arms to her sides, gaze
calculating.

"Care to try again Sora? Care to be a slave again?" Sora
snorted.

"I'd die first." Ebony's sneer grew.

"That, my dear Sora, is what I'm counting on." Sora could
sense, more than see, Ebony getting ready to fight, and she braced
herself, hoping Dal would make it out before he got hurt, when a
voice, a commanding voice rang throughout the mall.

"Hold!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sora didn't look up to see who had spoken until Ebony did.
When she did she saw a man accompanied by a woman on the stairs that
led to the upper level of the mall. The man was handsome, handsome in
a way that was vaguely familiar to her, with feathers in his hair and
the air of leadership about him. The woman at his side was pale, with
dark, almost black hair. She seemed confident as she stood by the
man's side but Sora, Sora was expert at reading people. There was
unresolved tension in her and the utter confidence masked unsurity.

She felt the full force of the man's amber eyes briefly on her
before they gravitated towards Ebony. "What's the meaning of this
Ebony?" The grave eyes flickered to Dal. "Dal?" Ebony's form spoke
of defiance and Sora rolled her eyes, typical.

"Stay out of this Bray. This isn't your business." The woman
at the man, Bray's, side glared.

"In this city everything is Bray's business Ebony, remember?
We're working for peace! Peace doesn't include attacking the people
who come to us for the antidote." Bray lay a restraining hand on the
woman's arm.

"Danni," he murmured in a soft tone of reproach. He turned
back to Ebony but he addressed Dal.

"Dal... Do you have any idea what's going on?" Dal stepped
forward and grabbed Sora's hand. He cast a worried glance to Ebony
but then seemed to grow tall before he spoke.

"No Bray, not a clue. I don't know how Ebony is involved but
I would like you to introduce you to someone. This is Sora, she is
like a sister to me, and was Amber's best friend."

The mall got deathly silent as Bray flinched at Amber's name.
Sora's gut wrenched as well. She ignored the people who were pushing
through the crowd to stand by Bray and Danni or who made their way to
the circle she and Ebony made. Sora turned to Dal, her face white.

"Dal..." He swallowed and refused to face her. "Was?"

"I... she... Sora I'm so sorry. Amber's dead."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The tears came then, tears years in the making, but Dal was
there for her, he held her as the world spun away from her for a
moment. It was only for a moment though. In this world she couldn't
give totally into grief, into weakness for long, it'd kill her if she
wasn't careful. "Come on," Dal said quietly as he held her hand and
began to guide her towards the stairs. Sora resisted a moment and
looked at Ebony. The other woman was silent but her triumph, her glee
over Sora's pain was evident. Sora's mouth hardened, tightened, and
she dropped Dal's hand to stride to Ebony's side and leave a dark hand
print on the Queen of the Locos's face with a resounding slap that
echoed through out the mall.

"This isn't over," Sora hissed. Ebony rubbed her cheek and
the fury there only barely rivaled Sora's.

"I'd be disappointed if it was," Ebony spat. "I look forward
to crushing you." Sora didn't dignify the threat with a response.
She went back to Dal's side and allowed him to lead her blindly up the
stairs, past staring people who she couldn't see clearly through her
blinding tears.