Disclaimer: I do not own The Tribe or any of the characters other than Ra.

A/N: Well this is the second to last chapter. There will be a epilogue to follow after this chapter. I apologize in advance if you find this a little wordy. I love me some words! grins

Chapter 8

"Well, you all know that before I came here my family lived in Egypt, we-I-am the last of the ancient nobilities of the country. When the Muslims of the country heard that several groups were trying to raise the pharaohs back into power. So the Muslims tried to assassinate the most likely candidate to take the throne, my baby brother Ares. They succeeded." Ra's voice saddened when she remembered her baby brother that she lost. "However, it was all in vain. Those for the restoring the line of the pharaohs weren't planning on putting Ares on the throne. They planned on putting me on the throne. According to a prophesy made by one of the last pharaohs, a child of his line would reign as queen next to a god. The child named in the prophesy turned out to be me."

Shocked gasps rang out in the room. Lex and the others were looking at her in shock, not fully understanding what she was saying. "What do you mean Ra?" Lex finally asked.

"When I was born, one of the royal wizards scanned me and he realized that the child of the prophesy had finally come. So after Ares was assassinated, we were smuggled out of the country so that the line would continue. When we came here, we took in a troubled boy who needed a stable home," Ra said, smiling at Lex. "We took care of him until he was sent away by the courts when the virus came. I didn't see him again until I arrived here. But…by the time that I found my way here I had already found the god I was to rule beside…"

The others looked at he oddly until a strangled gasp came from Trudy, her eyes flitting between Ra and the jacket she still clutched. "Not…Zoot?" she asked.

Ra met Trudy's gaze unblinkingly. She shook her head. "No, not Zoot," the others sighed in relief, "Martin." Ra saw recognition flicker in the eyes of those that knew Zoot's real name.

"But how?" Ebony asked, staring at the girl. Ra stared steadily at the girl and Ebony felt a shiver of recognition pass through her. She had seen that face before, staring out at her from beneath a cloak. "It was you!" she hissed, looking at the girl. The rest of the tribe stared at Ebony in shock. "It was you standing beside Zoot when he refused to allow me back into the Locos. You're the new Queen of the Locos."

Ra met Ebony's accusing glare calmly, not feeling bad about what was her right. Martin had taken her in and he took care of her. He loved her.

"Is this true?" Trudy asked.

"Yes," Ra said simply.

Trudy recoiled as if Ra had slapped her. She turned to Amber, the unofficial leader of the tribe. "I want her gone. Today," Trudy said in her coldest voice.

"NO!" Lex cried, jumping up and facing the purple haired girl. "If Ra is kicked out, then I go to," he said.

"It's not like that will be much of a loss," Trudy spat, glaring at Lex.

"Trudy, stop. Let's just hear Ra out," Jay said, placing a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. "Go ahead Ra."

"Thanks Jay," Ra said, smiling at the blonde ex-Techno. "Right after the virus, I was set adrift by not knowing exactly where Lex or anyone that I knew had gone. I was a loner for a while until the Chosen showed up in the city. I was taken and set up in one of the escort sections." Trudy gasped.

"What's an escort section?" Lex asked.

"It was basically a brothel for the members of the Chosen," Trudy said softly. She looked at Ra with pity in her eyes.

"I was an elite," Ra said, "one of those meant only for those the Guardian was trying to recruit. I was only given to one person."

"Who?" Amber asked.

Ra looked closely at Amber. "You don't want to know," Ra said. She watched as Amber slowly understood what Ra was telling her.

"Bray," Amber said. Ra nodded.

"One day he told me to sneak out and he'd meet me in a hidden part of the city. He told me that when he got there we'd leave the city. So I wouldn't be forced to have to give my body to anyone the Guardian favored at the moment. However, he never showed up. It started to rain that night and I was huddling for warmth near an abandoned bookstore when I heard a can clatter against something, as if someone had kicked it. When I looked up I saw someone standing before me. He had blonde hair and he was tall. His make-up was blood red and it was starting to smear in the rain. Martin took me in that night and he has been very good to me."

"Why are you here?" Trudy asked, "Tell me the truth. Did he send you here?"

Ra studied Trudy intently before answering. "Yes. He sent me here so he could know his daughter, because he knew that you wouldn't let him near her despite the fact that he had nothing to do with the Guardian and his Chosen. Trudy, he is no longer Zoot. He hasn't been Zoot since he woke up on the boat with no memory of how he got there. He told me that he had been sent back because he hadn't deserved to die with such a young daughter. And apparently he had another reason for coming back, he needed to help a very young girl survive, and give her his love. I've stood at his side since he found me as his queen. He loves me and I love him."

"That was you with him when I went there yesterday, wasn't it?" Pride asked.

"Yes it was," Ra said.

Trudy just looked at her and she drug Amber and the others across the room so they could talk in private. "You trust her?" she asked, looking at Lex.

"I trust Ra above everyone else I trust, and just to let you know. I trust about three people; Ra, Ryan, and myself. So that should give you your answer. And I was serious, you kick her out, I'm leaving."

"Stop! We're not kicking anyone out," Amber said, stepping into the conversation. "If Ra were to betray us she would have done it already. Personally I think she's telling he truth. I haven't known her to ever lie to us. Trudy," Amber said, looking at her friend. "If she is, that means you've been depriving a father the right of seeing his daughter."

"Yeah Trude," Jay said, putting his arm around his wife, "you should consider letting Martin see Brady. She's been asking about her daddy lately. She's already asked me if I was 'Daddy'. I told her no, that her daddy was out there and he loved her very much."

"Jay, you're talking as if you know Zoot," Trudy said.

"Martin," Jay said. "He goes by Martin now, not Zoot. And…yes I do know him."

"WHAT?" Trudy yelled.

"I followed Ra one night when she left and I met Martin. He is nothing like the Zoot you all described to me when I came here. From what I heard from your own stories Trudy, this is truly Martin. I believe that he only wants to see his daughter, and that he truly loves Ra."

"I do," came a voice from behind all those in the room. They all turned around to see Martin standing in the doorway, looking at them.

"Martin," Ra breathed, reaching a hand out to the newcomer. Martin rushed over to her and he took her hand.

"How are you dear?" he asked, kissing the back of her hand.

"Better now that you're here, and now that everything is out in the open," Ra said. Martin leaned foreword and he kissed her softly.

Martin stiffened when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned slowly to see Lex standing behind him. "Do you love my sister?" he asked, acting like the typical older brother.

"More than my own life," Martin replied.

"More than you love Brady?" Lex persisted. Martin looked at Lex carefully, trying to figure out where Lex was going with this.

"I can't answer that because I do not love Ra and Brady the same. The love I have for Brady is the love of a father to a daughter. The love I have for Ra is defiantly not the love between a father and a daughter. Ra and Brady are my life," Martin answered simply.

In the corner of the room Brady was being held by her uncle Jay and she looked up at the blonde and she smiled at him. She reached up and she tapped him on the arm. Jay looked down at her. "Da?" she asked, pointing at Martin. Jay smiled at the little girl and he nodded. When Brady wriggled in his arms, Jay let her down and he watched along with the others as the little girl walked up to the former scourge of the city.

"Brady!" Trudy cried softly, trying to stop her daughter from approaching her father, but Jay stopped her. "Jay!"

"Shh, look," Jay said, looking at the little girl. Brady tugged on Martin's shirt, holding her arms up in a silent plea to be picked up. Martin quickly obliged the girl and he held his little girl for the first time since she was a baby.

"Da?" she asked, her little voice hopeful.

Martin nodded, smiling widely. "Yes Brady, I'm your daddy."

"DA!" Brady squealed, throwing her arms around Martin's neck, hugging him. Martin hugged his daughter tightly

"Please Trudy," he whispered, his joy evident in his voice, "please don't take her away from me again."

Trudy watched the man she previously thought to have no feelings hug his daughter with obvious love. Even though she still had issues with him, she couldn't imagine taking the little girl's father away from her again. "I won't," Trudy promised.

From Lex's bed, Ra watched the events take place with a sort of pride. She was glad that Trudy and Martin were finally able to work out their problems.

2nd A/N: Just one more chapter to go! Please review!