This part of the fic had been written as a stand alone story for a challenge about the various 'Missing' Mallrats. I'd had it in mind to write for this fic, so rather than adapt it, I'm adding it to this story as Patsy and Luke's explanation for how they came to be on the Island at the Monastery.
Patsy hadn't begged for her life, she doubted the Guardian would have put up with it, probably would have killed her himself if she'd shown that sort of weakness. She was afraid, and she knew he saw it, but fear and begging were two different things. She'd made mistakes, they'd made her grow up, realise the consequences of her actions, and she may spend the rest of her life making up for it, that was if The Chosen spared her life.
She later found it was Luke who fought for her cause, persuaded the Guardian to spare her life and instead make an example of her for the other Chosen to learn from. She had been a faithful follower, and her downfall, her weakness for her former tribe, those had caused her to be misled. Or so the argument Luke had presented to the Guardian had been. She knew she'd been blind, but not in the way they considered, she'd been a blind fool following Trudy's weakness, falling into the trap, into that false sense of security The Chosen created, turning her back on the Mallrats. Of course, she didn't voice these opinions to the Guardian when he gave her the lecture, and meted out her punishment, she kept silent and simply believed, keeping the truth alive inside.
He'd ordered her to be removed, not only from the Mall, away from her family, but from the city. She was taken to the docks that very day, her fate sealed, as she was loaded onto a boat which would travel to a remote Island away from the mainland. The Island, she learned was extensive, and The Chosen used it in part to trade slaves with slavers of the Island. It was also a hub for their continuing to spread their diseased vision, an old monastery was used by them to train, to learn, to meditate. It was to the monastery she was taken, kept as a prisoner, put through the brain washing rituals of before as they hoped to turn her back to their cause.
She kept the light alive inside herself though, she'd learned from her mistakes, and though dutifully followed their rules, lived alongside them, she didn't consider herself part of their cause and campaign. She threw herself into rudimentary tasks, the cleaning the cooking, simply to survive. Slaves were brought, some to join the cult, make up the numbers, others to work in the monastery, until the day The Guardian would return and they could move on from this place to spread the word elsewhere. The Chosen followers became so wrapped up in the distorted vision of the future and themselves, that she easily kept herself to herself, making a few friends with slaves who didn't believe in the vision. She held out hope for something, though she didn't know what it was, but there was a feeling, that somehow she would survive this life she'd been forced into.
Time passed quickly, she'd lost all senses of it as she lived her life in the monastery, never seeing beyond it's walls since her arrival there. Then a change came, the followers had become nervous, jittery, more enthusiastic about their cause, more humble in their meditations. Patsy didn't know what it was about, only knew change was about to happen, and it did. After months of not seeing anyone from her former life on the mainland, in the city with her family, they arrived. The Guardian, more crazed than ever and Luke in tow. The Guardian created chaos, he thrived on it, and the Chosen prepared for a new wave, where they would spread Zoot's word over the Island and then travel to other lands, converting the world.
Luke had also changed, for the better, and he'd sought her out soon after they'd arrived, pulling her into a warm embrace as if they had always been friends, family almost. He was relieved she was still alive, and told her he no longer followed the Guardian, but had been unable to stay in the city. He had followed the Guardian to the Island only to escape the mainland, and now he planned to make a life for himself, void of the Chosen and The Guardian and the poisoned future they wanted to wreak upon the world. As the Guardian and his followers planned to leave for other lands, Patsy, Luke and the many supporters who wished to see the Chosen fail planned themselves, for revolt, for freedom, for a life free of The Guardian and the havoc he brought in his wake.
It had been easy, the Guardian so far gone in his own little world, that he'd barely blinked an eye on the day they stood against him. He left, with his followers in relative peace, cursing those who remained to live a life of suffering, pitying them for their lack of vision and belief, telling them that one day they would regret not following the way of Zoot.
It had all seemed a bit of an anti climax, to realise they were free of the Guardian and the Chosen, but there were other dangers. The Island was filled with violent slaves tribes, although a few peaceful tribes lived within close distance also. It would be unsafe to move on, and the monastery offered shelter and a safe haven for them all. Some of the slaves decided to remain, other left to find the tribes they had been stolen from, a few returned without success but knowing they had a home within the monastery walls.
The years passed by, and the monastery became a safe haven for runaway slaves, word spread it was the place to go if people were in need of somewhere safe to stay. They were left alone by the slavers, they set up trade with surrounding peaceful tribes, some of who ran farms and provided them with food in turn for help on the farms. Patsy remained, happily taking in those in need, as if in helping them brought on atonements for her past transgressions. Luke also stayed, this being the life he'd once envisioned for the Chosen, spreading hope to a people without any, giving them care and help.
As the years went by they became close, the bond of the Mallrats an integral part of their relationship, bound by them with invisible threads. In each other they were able to find redemption, that they had both been betrayed by those they once believed in, although they couldn't completely forgive themselves for their weakness, they had learned and moved on from them.
Luke sometimes asked her if she wished to return to the city, to find the Mallrats and her family. Patsy would think about it, before giving a small shake of her head, and giving him a soft smile, telling him she was happy where she was, happy with her new life, new home, new love. He would pull her into a warm embrace and hold her, hold her and tell her he loved her and she would let the words pour over her like a soft warm rain.
Sometimes she considered going home, to find the others. They received word from the mainland, that a new force had attacked the city not long after the Chosen had left it. She wondered for her former Tribe, what had happened to them, if they were safe. But there was a feeling deep inside her, the part of her that would always be a Mallrat, no matter how long she had been absent from them that told her they were ok. That through everything that came against them, they would continue the fight for a better future, no matter what forces came against them, or casualties they met along the way.
Because the dream would never, could never die.