The rebels gathered at the side of the temple. They had each chosen a weapon and they were ready to take on the Chosen guards and claim the temple. Lex looked around the corner and then back to the group.

"Ok we'll split up," Lex said. "We should attack from two sides. Lily and Jay you're with me. The rest go round the other side and then we attack."

"Ok," Amber said. "Let's do it." Amber, Bray and Ebony turned and headed to the back of the temple. A few moments later an almighty roar went up as the rebels charged into action. The two guards were quickly overpowered and knocked out by Lex and Jay and the rebels stormed into the temple. The Chosen guards who were praying jumped up and grabbed their weapons. The rebels charged the five guards that were praying. Lily found herself in front of a female guard, who quickly raised her weapon. Lily easily blocked her attempted hit and smashed the guard in the stomach. The guard dropped her weapon, doubling over. Lily brought her own weapon down on the Chosen girl's back and head. The guard slumped to the ground and Lily hit her once more to make sure that she was completely knocked out. Lily looked over and saw Lex, her mother, Amber and Bray each take out their own guard, bringing down harsh blows and knocking them out. Ebony hit the final blow to a guards head as Jay dragged in the bodies of the guards who were outside of the temple. They rebels surveyed the scene and a whoop rose between them. Ebony opened her bag and took out the rope they had brought.

"We should take their uniforms before we tie them up," Ebony said to the others, looking at the bodies. "They might come in useful."

"Agreed," Amber said. They all got to work, stripping the guards of their uniforms and tying them up. Once they had finished the job they stood back and surveyed their work.

"That was easy," Lex said, looking around the old church. Pictures of Zoot hung on the walls and candles were everywhere. "Now let's have some fun." Lex grabbed one of the pictures and pulled it down. He placed it over the fallen guards and grabbed a paint can. He went to work, putting a cross over Zoot's face and getting a few of the guards. He began to spray everywhere, on the floors and the walls, as the others began to smash up an alter and the seats, pull down more pictures and paint in the same fashion as Lex. Ebony grabbed a spray can and wrote over a clean, white wall 'Zoot is no more!" She finished and looked at her handiwork, smiling.

"We better get out of here guy," she said to the others. "It won't be long until more Chosen come. I think we've made our point." The others grabbed their stuff, and the Chosen uniforms. They left the building silently, closing the door, and leaving behind a message for the Guardian.

--

The rebels walked along the streets, trying to stick to back alleys. Jay peered around a corner and gave a nod of all-clear. The rebels walked out from the dark, damp alley. They continued along the street. They hadn't spoken since they left the temple. Ebony's hands were in her pockets and she was looking down at her shoes. It was her who broke the silence.

"I think we need to split up," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Amber asked, as the group continued to walk.

"Well we need food. We can't live on dust."

"That's true," Lex said, flexing his muscles. "I've got to keep my strength up." Both Ebony and Amber rolled their eyes and Lily laughed.

"Alright we'll split up," Jay said. "I'll take Ebony and Lex and we'll go and find supplies. The rest of you go back to base. We'll meet you there." Everyone nodded and moved off, the silence had found its way back to the group.

--

Brady walked into Cloe and Ved's room and found Cloe lying on her bed. Cloe was alone and Brady slowly walked over to the bed and sat down. Cloe sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

"How's things?" Brady asked, fiddling with the hem of her top.

"Apart from being a slave?" Cloe asked. Brady looked down at her feet. "Everything's fine. It's good that Ryan is back. I've missed him."

"My mum has told me a lot of stories about him since he's been back," Brady told her.

"So why are you here?" Brady continued to play with the hem of her top. She slowly looked up at Cloe.

"There's something you need to know," Brady told Cloe. "I'm not sure when but the Guardian is planning a sacrifice to Zoot...my dad."

"So what else is new?" Cloe asked.

"A human sacrifice." Cloe's eyes widened. "I don't know who or when but I know he's planning it."

"You have to stop him."

"I'm going to try and put him off," Brady told her. "I'm going to tell him my dad spoke to me and...well I'm not sure yet. I'll think of something. But you need to warn the Mall Rats."

"I will. How long do you think you can hold him off for?" Cloe asked.

"I'm not sure," Brady told Cloe, shaking her head. "But you need to warn everyone not to step out of line. He's not going to hold off forever and he'll choose someone who wrongs him. You can't step out of line and you can't give him an excuse."

"Don't worry we'll be on our best behaviour." Brady and Cloe looked up as Ved walked into the room. Brady stood up quickly, looking down at the ground.

"I...I'd better go," Brady said, moving to avoid Ved. She quickly made her way out of the room. Ved watched her go then sat down beside Cloe on the bed.

"What did the Divine Child want?" Ved said, rolling his eye. Cloe sighed.

"It looks like we've got trouble," Cloe told Ved, looking up and him and sighing again. "The Guardian is going psycho again."

--

Ebony, Lex and Jay returned to the rebel camp with a couple of bags of food and water. They sat them down on the table in front of Amber, Lily and Bray.

"Nice haul," Bray said, looking through the bags.

"Yeah we got lucky," Ebony told him. Ebony sat down at the table and put her feet up.

"Let's put this away," Amber said, picking up a bag. Lex, Bray and Lily grabbed a bag of their own and left the room. Jay sat down and put his head in his hands. Ebony moved along, until she was in the seat beside Jay. She took his hands in hers and he slowly raised his head.

"What's wrong, other than the obvious of course," Ebony asked, looking into Jay's eyes. Jay pulled his hands away from Ebony's and sat back in his chair. He raised his shoulders, trying to shrug the question away, but Ebony was not letting up easily.

"If you don't tell me, who can you tell?" Jay looked at her then looked away. Since he and the others had managed to get away he had, had a chance to think and he was unsure he could let Ebony in on his thoughts. He looked up at her and he saw his rock.

"I've had so much time to think," he began.

"Which isn't always a good thing," Ebony added. Jay nodded then continued to talk.

"You're right. I was city leader and I let the Chosen take over."

"It wasn't your fault," Ebony told him. "There were so many of them and the Guardian is a very devious man."
"I know," Jay said, staring out of a window. His view was of another building, similar to the one they were in, but he couldn't take his eyes off of it. "But I had so many safeguards. The army for one thing. They were supposed to keep the peace and keep the city safe. They were useless. It was a complete waste of time."

"You did your best," Ebony told him reassuringly, placing a hand on her leg.

"But I didn't," Jay said, raising his voice. "I should have planned. I thought that because there had been peace for so many years we would always have peace. I was a fool."

"We all thought we'd have peace," Ebony told him. "You are no fool."

"But I am. I knew about the Chosen and yet I did nothing. I knew that there were Chosen in the Techno camps but it didn't enter my mind."

"It didn't enter into any of our minds," Ebony said, losing her cool slightly.

"But you were not the city leader, Amber was not the city leader," Jay said quickly. "I was the city leader. I had a duty to the people of this city and I let them down." Ebony shook her head.

"You can't go on like this," Ebony told Jay. "If you keep talking like this and blaming yourself, you'll destroy yourself and we need you...I need you." Jay looked up at Ebony, into her bright, shiny eyes. He still felt responsible but deep inside he knew that he was not to blame.

"Maybe you're right," Jay said, pulling Ebony into his lap. "I can't let myself get like this." Ebony looped her arms around Jay's neck.

"Well if you ever start feeling like this again you just come to me," Ebony told him, kissing him lightly. "I'll try and make you feel better." Jay smiled. He kissed Ebony slowly then looked into her eyes. He still felt responsible but he knew that he had a job to do and, if it came to it, he would be punished once that job was finished.

--

Two Chosen guards stood in front of the Guardian, explaining what had happened at the temple. Trudy sat on a sofa to the side of the guards, reading a magazine and not batting an eyelid. They were standing in his lavish suite and the Guardian was growing angrier and angrier with every word that was spoken. One of the guards was still covered in the paint that Lex had sprayed on him and the sight was making the Guardian livid.

"Why didn't you stop the rebels?" The Guardian screamed at a guard.

"We tried," one of the guards told the Guardian.

"Tried? Tried?" The Guardian screamed louder. "You are supposed to be elite members of the Chosen. You are supposed to work for Zoot and preserve his temple. You have let me down but more than that, you have let Zoot down."

"But Guardian..."

"Execute them," the Guardian screamed at his own guards, who was standing outside of the door. "Maybe when you meet the almighty Zoot he will be lenient but I doubt it. By not stopping the rebels you have defiled Zoot's temple. May Zoot have mercy on your souls. Get them out of my sight!" The guards, who were outside of the door, were already inside. They grabbed the two guards who were to be executed and began dragging them out of the room. Another guard, who was outside, closed the door and the Guardian sat down opposite Trudy.

"That has ruined my good mood," the Guardian said.

"You did the right thing," Trudy said, not looking up.

"Of course I did. Believers are no immune to the wrath of me or the wrath of Zoot." Trudy nodded, still not looking up. "They will all learn."

--

Ved rushed into the café, almost colliding with a Chosen guard. He stopped in time but the guard pushed him hard, making him slam against the wall. Ved shook his head, waited for the guard to pass, then sat down next to Cloe. The other Mall Rats were busy eating breakfast and didn't notice the run-in with the guard.

"Have you guys heard?" Ved asked.

"Heard what?" Cloe asked.

"About the rebels..."

"What about them?" Tai-San asked, giving Rhoda some bread. Ved shook his head. They seemed as interested in the rebels as he was in the Chosen.

"The rebels have attacked a temple." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to Ved.

"The rebels have attacked?" Salene asked. Ved nodded. The Mall Rats all looked at each other, speechless. Finally the moment they had been waiting for had finally come.

--

The Mall Rats were still sitting in disbelief at the attack their friends had committed. They knew that it was coming but they had no idea that the rebels would act so quickly or that it would be a direct attack on a temple. As they sat in silence Brady walked in and sat down at a table. Two guards were by her side and she shook her hand at them in an attempt to dismiss them. The guards looked at each other and then back at Brady. One of the guards shook his head.
"The Guardian has told us not to leave your side," the female guard told Brady. "After the...trouble today the Guardian has told us to protect you at all costs." Brady sighed. She mustered up all of her courage and narrowed her eyes.

"I am in the mall, you idiot. What can happen to me in here? Now I am the Divine Child, the child of Zoot. Do you dare go against me? My father has given me the power to punish those who do not follow my orders. Now leave me or you will find yourself meeting my father and answering to him yourself." The guards looked at each other and stood still. "GO!" Brady almost screamed at them. The guards turned and headed down the stairs, mumbling to each other. Brady turned back to the others, who were sitting staring at her.

"Go Brady," Cloe said after a few minutes. Brady shook her head and mustered a smile.

"I hate speaking to people like that," she said softly.

"Well they deserve it," Ved told her. "Don't worry about it, Bradster." Brady rolled her eyes.

"I did it for a reason anyway," Brady told the others. "I need to tell you about the Guardian."

"Cloe already told us," Salene said. "We know about the sacrifice. We're all on our best behaviour."

"It's not that," Brady said slowly. "Did you hear about the rebels? What they did today?"

"One of the other workers told me today," Ved told Brady.

"Then he told us," Ryan added. "Finally we're fighting back."

"But all we know is that the rebels attacked," Ved said. "We don't know exactly what happened."

"They got past the two guards on the front of the temple. There were only five guards inside and the rebels easily overpowered them. They stripped the guards then trashed the temple, completely trashed it."

"Good for them," Ryan said with a smile.

"No it's not," Brady said quickly. "The Guardian is furious. He ordered all of the guards that were at the temple to be executed. They have already been killed. That's seven lives. He's on the warpath. He's ordered triple the amount of guards to be on the lookout for the others. They are in trouble, serious trouble."

"But the Guardian won't find them," Ryan said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. They may be well hidden but the Guardian has so many people. It won't take long for him to search the city. He'll take the city apart brick by brick if he has to."

"He won't find them," Cloe said after a while. "I don't care how big an army he has. He neve captured them last time and he won't this time. We will defeat the Chosen."

"I hope you right," Brady said. "I hate to think what would happen if your wrong." Brady stood up and walked to the steps. Within seconds the two guards that had left her were at her side. Brady looked at them and sighed. "Be careful all of you. No heroics." Brady walked down the stairs with her guards following closely behind her. The Mall Rats watched her leave then turned to each other.

"Do you think she's right?" Ryan asked. "Do you think the rebels will be found this time?" The other sat silently.

"No," Salene said, standing up and sounding defiant. "We all know what our friends are capable of. We have to believe in them, now more than ever and if you don't believe in them you may as well go and join the Chosen right now."

"Calm down Sal," Ryan said, reaching out and touching her arm. Salene felt lightning spark across her skin which trailed up and through her body, moving rapidly until she could almost see a blue light radiating from her skin. Ryan took his hand away as just as quickly as the feeling began it stopped. "We know eventually the rebels will win Sal but it's a lot more dangerous than last time. We just need to try and help them any way we can." Salene sat down in her chair slowly.

"We need to defeat the Chosen," Ved said. "I wasn't born to be a slave."

--

Ebony and Lex walked into the office block, one day after their attack on the Chosen temple. They had been out in the city to see if word had spread about the attack and find out the feeling of the city. All of the rebels were gathered together, discussing the raid on the food store. When Ebony and Lex walked in they all stopped talking and turned to face them.

"How did it go?" Lily asked as Ebony sat down beside her.

"The news has spread," Ebony told the group. "They know that the temple was attacked but they're still not sure about us."

"What was the mood?" Amber asked.

"Optimistic," Lex said. "Well mildly optimistic."

"What do you mean mildly optimistic?" Jay asked.

"Well they know we've hit the Chosen but they don't think it's enough," Lex told them. "They don't think that we're going to hit them hard enough to bring them down. No one wants to fight. They just want to lie down and play dead. Cowards."

"Lex they are not cowards," Amber said almost angrily. "These people have lost loved ones and a lot of them remember the first time the Chosen attacked. They remember the horror of the Locos and the Technos. They thought that they'd never have to go through that again."
"Then why don't they fight?" Lex asked. "Our family is being held captive. My wife and my daughter are stuck in the mall with that mad man. If they want change they need to fight."

"We know how..." Jay began but was cut off.

"No you don't," Lex shouted angrily. "This is the second time my wife has been caught with that looney and now he has my daughter. The way I see it, it's your fault Amber. If you had done the right thing in the first place I'd be with Tai-San and Rhoda and the Guardian would be resting with the might Zoot. When this is all over with the Guardian will meet Zoot and I don't care how insane he is." Lex stood up and his chair fell backwards will a clatter. He walked away from the others without looking at them. He pulled open a door, letting it back on the wall, before it sank back to its resting place. The group looked at each other.

"We'd better do something quickly before he goes it alone and gets hurt," Jay said.

"And knowing Lex we'll all be brought down." The rebels looked at the door and back to each other. They knew that they had to act again soon or the city would loose respect for them but they also knew that they weren't ready and they needed help from somewhere.

--

Lex was sitting on the roof of the office block the rebels were staying in. It had become his unofficial sanctuary where he could be alone and think. His mind was wandering to the explosion on Eagle Mountain. The darkness, the black, acrid air. The heat that ran through the building and the coldness he felt when Zandra let go of his hand. Sometime, when he was alone, Lex could still fell the coldness sweep over him when Zandra's hand had been torn from his grasp. He remembered trying to find her but instead he found the exit. He remembered the pain that he felt when he had realised that Zandra and his son were gone. When he saw her body he couldn't believe that it was her. Her face and clothes were blackened and she had burn marks over her arms and face. As everyone else wandered aimlessly he took her into his arms and held her for the final time. All he could think was that this was not Zandra, it may look like her but it wasn't her. The pain he felt then was so harsh, something he had never felt before, and he felt as though he would never crawl out of the hole he had found himself in. He remembered the ball of nothingness that had found it's way into his heart.

Lex's mind went back to his first night in the mall. He lay in his bed, their bed, his and Zandra's bed, with his eyes closed, and he felt the heat. The heat began, sweeping over him and engulfing him. Within seconds the heat had been replaced and he felt the chill. The cold feeling ran through him, causing him to shiver. He continued to shiver and the chill continued to run through him as he lay on their bed. When he opened his eyes found himself grasping the air, trying to find Zandra, trying to grab her, trying to bring her back.

At that point in time Lex didn't think anything could hurt him again. He placed a barrier over himself, protecting himself from anything and anyone. Then Tai-San came along and brought him out of the hole. He had always liked her but the love he felt when he touched her surpassed anything that he had ever felt. He felt alive for the first time since Eagle Mountain. Being separated from Tai-San and Rhoda was like having a million knives shoved into his heart, twisting and tearing, cutting up everything.

Lex sighed and looked out over the city. He knew that his wife was out there, trying to survive the best he could and he knew that she would look after their daughter but his urge to see them was too much. Lex stood up and dropped the small stones he was holding. He slowly walked down from the roof and into his room. He couldn't stand it for a moment longer. He grabbed his bag and opened it. A few moments later he had stuffed the familiar blue robe into the opening and was zipping up the bag. He grabbed his coat and headed out. He was going to see his wife and daughter, no matter what it took.

--

Tai-San sat in the café alone. Salene had volunteered to look after Rhoda and she had jumped at the chance to have some alone time. She loved her daughter but sometimes she needed to be alone and think. As Tai-San sipped her tea a familiar figure walked towards her. It was the Guardian, with two of his guards. Tai-San looked down. She had tried to avoid the Guardian, whenever necessary, and she had been successful up until now. The Guardian walked towards her table and stood in front of her. She continued to look down as the Guardian dismissed his guards.

"Tai-San we have been here for months now and yet I have not seen you," the Guardian said, watching her. "Why is that?"

"I have been busy doing my chores and looking after my daughter," Tai-San said, looking straight ahead of her.

"Ah yes. You know, Tai-San, I had many things planned for you during this second takeover but that was dashed when you betrayed me." Tai-San looked into his eyes and saw fire.

"Guardian I did it for your own welfare," Tai-San told him sincerely. "I knew that the city wanted you dead and I felt the need to protect you."

"Tai-San I know now that you were the imposter," he said as if he had not heard her. "Trudy was the true Supreme Mother. I now realise that Zoot wanted us to fail during the first invasion to show us that power is fleeting but chaos is not. Tai-San you were a very important tool in Zoot's plan and this is why you are to live. Zoot has shown me this and he forgive you for betraying me. Just remember, though, that while Zoot is forgiving he does punish his enemies. You may wish to heed this notice from the almighty." Tai-San watched the Guardian leave. She had thought that he may have been angry and wanted some sort of revenge.

"That was a close one," she said, taking a sip of her tea.