Disclaimer: Although I wish I did, I don't own The Tribe.

A/N: Same as before. Please review and enjoy. Here's a longer chapter.

~*Luke's POV*~

As soon as I walked into the school, I felt better. My students seem to absorb the information I taught them. At least for today, I stayed away from telling them that I was Lieutenant Luke, second in command to the Guardian.

It wasn't until I reached Bitsy's class that I began to feel nervous. How the opposite sex could make a man forget the type of man he was was absolutely amazing. It wasn't as if I was attracted to her physically. It open dislike of me and my past made me forget that I was a good guy.

The class began o fill in, each taking a seat quickly. They all seemed very eager for the lesson to start. I waited until the bell to ring to begin my lesson.

"Today, we are going to begin learning about the Chosen, but firs we need to learn about someone else. His name was Martin."

"Who is that?" the class seemed to all ask at once. It wasn't surprising that anyone had heard of him.

"He was a troubled young man. He felt that he was the unluckiest guy. His parents were dying from the virus and the woman he loved was in love with his brother. When his parents died, Martin snapped and was filled with hate. He knew that all the adults were going to die and he was going to become the new leader of the world- he was going to become Zoot. Is there any questions?"

My class seemed to be filled with statues. Everyone was barely breathing. Only Bitsy seemed unaffected. It was no surprise. Jack and Bray were probably still close, so Bitsy's probably heard everything before.

"Zoot felt that through the chaos of society breaking down, power would emerge. From this, he got his creed 'Power and Chaos.' His tribe, the Locos, terrorized the city and everyone soon gained fear of them.

"Now, remember the girl I told you he loved? Well, for a short time they dated. It resulted in Trudy, the girl, getting pregnant. This child would soon become very important." Again I paused as I looked around the room.

I began to go back to the original topic, when Arthur asked, "You said was. What happened to him?"

"Oh. when Trudy found out she was pregnant, she turned to Zoot's brother, Bray for help. They went to the mall for protection and Trudy gave birth. One night, Bray smuggled Zoot into the mall in order for him to see his daughter Brady. A couple of the Mallrats, the tribe that lived in the mall, found out. There is a fight, and while struggling with Lex, Zoot falls to his death."

"It's what he deserves." A few members of the class said. The others just nodded her heads.

"In some ways you are right. The whole city was happy when they discovered he was gone, but what most forgot was that he was once a normal teenager named Martin. Now a day, the only thing you have to worry about is how to do your hair, and who you hope to go out with. Back then, we had to worry about going home and discovering our family was dead. We had to worry about where we were going to live and how we ere going to get food. That can change a person, and that's what happened to Martin. He just went the wrong way." At that moment the bell rang. "We will continue tomorrow. Class dismissed."

My students left discussing what they would do if they were in that situation. I felt that it was a start. They might begin to see that although Zoot did bad things, he was once a good person, a person who got confused and lashed out. I watched as the last student left my classroom. I began to turn back to gather my things, when Ellie round the corner into my classroom.

"Hi," was all she said.

"Hi. How are you? Come, sit down," I said as I pointed to a chair.

She eyed the chair warily. Instead she said, "No. I'm here to see Salene. I was just passing your room when I heard you talking. It's been so long since I heard about who Zoot was. The students seemed to enjoy listening to you."

Everything we were saying was just small talk. Neither of us could bring ourselves to say what was coursing through our bodies. "They wanted to hear about the Chosen. I thought it would be the best place to start out."

"I se you still defend to wrong people."

"Ellie." I said as I began to shake my head. I knew what was coming and I wasn't sure if I could handle it.

"Luke. He was a psycho. We all went through what he did and we turned out fine. He decided that he wanted people to suffer for the rest of their lives. All he wanted was power."

"Wow," said a voice. "I feel like I'm back at the mall and you two are at each others throat again." Salene spoke what was going their all our minds. Like in the past, it seemed that Ellie and I could not be in the same room with out us fighting.

Ellie turned and walked out of the room. After giving me a sympathetic look, Salene went after her. I went back to collecting my things and I headed home.

I couldn't help but think about why I loved Ellie. If we couldn't be civil, then why try to win her back. It was because when we were civil, I had a best friend, one in which I could share everything with. It was also because she was a part of me. With one look, I could tell what she was thinking and vice versa. It was because when I looked into her eyes, I found my second half.

~*Ellie's POV*~

"I can not believe that I let him get to me," I complained to Alice. After helping Salene with some shopping, I went to the farm to talk to Alice. She always was able to make me see reason. Also, there was no one better who knew me.

"Ellie, you never could keep a civil tongue with him. You're."

"It was not me. He sat there and told those kids that Zoot was some good guy. That he was just a little confused. It was as if he was standing up for Zoot's actions, just like when he stood up for the Guardian."

"Ellie, he's just teaching them what happened. Zoot was filled with anger and he was confused. Yes, he did bad things, but Martin was good." Alice's attitude had changed over the years. Looking back, she realized her hot-headed attitude did harm. Time had let her see people differently. After putting a few more spices into the stew, Alice turned to Ellie. "That all happened so long ago. It's time to let it go."

"The next thing we'll know is that he'll be defending the Guardian. Alice, you of all people shouldn't want that. Think of Ned." I had made the biggest mistake. A long time ago, we made a promise that we would not mention his name. It brought to much pain to Alice.

"Ellie! All that is in the past! The world is not like that anymore. We don't have to worry about the Guardian or some crazy guy coming and forcing people to believe in something. We are adults now; we are able to fight better." The further she got in the speech, the calmer she got. "You're problem is not what he's teaching, or what he says. Your problem is that you are still upset that he left you."

"That is not true!" I shouted as I tried to convince her. The problem was that I was also trying to convince myself. When Alice gave me the as-if look, I couldn't stand being there anymore. Grabbing my purse, I took off for my car.

I didn't know where I was headed. I just wanted to go for a drive. When I finally pulled over, I got out of the car. Looking up, I saw the familiar doors that led to my old home. My heart had brought me to the mall.

Glancing at my watch, I noticed that I had an hour before the mall closed. I decided that I might as well go in. I hadn't been to the mall since the day the Mallrats went their own way. It had been about fourteen years since I woke up to Lex screaming about something and Salene and Tai- San cooking breakfast. Sometimes I missed the closeness we once had. You never had to worry about not having someone to talk to. Everyone was there for you, well, maybe not Lex or Ebony, but you had to love them in a special way.

When I reached the main square, I couldn't help but stare at all the teenagers who had made this their hangout spot. They all were happy and seemed to be having a great time. A couple of them looked at me and wonder why I was invading their spot, but I just ignored them. I was on a trip through memory lane. I saw the mall as it once was. The walls were covered in spray paint, the shops held bedrooms and in the café the rest of the tribe was gathering for a meeting.

As I reached the café, I heard a voice call out to me. "Ellie, is that you?" Turning around I saw Cloe. She and Ved had taken over in running the mall. They were the only Mallrats that still lived here.

"Hi, Cloe," I said as we hugged. "How are you? And the family?"

"Fine, everyone's fine. Ved is starting on closing the shops, but everyone knows when it's time to leave, it's time to leave. I think they sense he could do them harm if they don't. Are you hungry?" At that time, by belly decided to betray me by growling. "I guess you are. Come and eat with us."

Once the mall closed, Ved join Cloe, me, and their two children for dinner. Dinner was eaten very fast and when Ved took the kids to bed, I turned to Cloe. "Do you ever think about the past?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before the Technos. Lately, all I can think about is what it was like when the Chosen were in charge. I mean, I haven't step in this mall in about fourteen years, but as soon as I did, I was transported to the past. How do you not think about Patsy and Dal and."

"Luke?" Cloe asked. I was about to deny it when she continued. "I do think about them, and everyone else. Those might have been the worst years of my life, but they were also the best.

"I was in the pet store the other day. It was once Trudy's room. It was like you said, as soon as stepped into it; I was transported to the past. Patsy and I were having one of our many arguments over Trudy and Brady. The owner of the pet shop had to call my name ten times before I heard her.

"But they are part of the past. We need to move on and we need to forgive." Cloe had come to realize that in the past she had selfish tendencies. Luckily, she had grown out of that. "Why don't you take a walk before you leave? The past can remind you of a lot of things."

I did as she said. I first walked to the room where Alice and I stayed. That room was filled with so many emotions. Love, hate, happy, sad. These were only a few. I then walked to where I first printed "The Amulet." That room was also filled with too many emotions. I decided that I wasn't going to visit anymore rooms.

That was before I came to the corner where it first happened. This was where we shared our first kiss. There he was, standing all by himself. I could see myself walking down the hallway. I run to him, we talk, and then we're kissing.

The dream fades. /Why am I putting myself through this?/

/Because I love him. Always have and always will./

/But I've grown up. I should no longer be controlled by emotions./

I couldn't to convince myself of this. Ever since he came back into my life, all I've been able to do is doubt myself. It makes me so confused, and I hate being confused. The last time I had been so confused was Jack had returned after the Chosen were defeated. Even then Luke was the problem.

Not wanting to face my past, I rushed out of the mall and back home.