My most ambitious story yet everyone! This is definitely a multi-chapter with a slow build so bear with me as I lay down the foundation for what is to come. I hope to make Richonne and Negan fans very happy, especially those craving interactions between the three. This is based on the canon story but I've put enough of my own spin on it to make it also very AU! Enjoy!

In the year 2 A.V. (Anno Vertente or The Year of the Turn), there was blood spilled between two communities. Communities of soldiers, survivors. No one remembers how the battles began. Some say that they were retribution for theft and others say they were murder. But in the end, these two powerful groups, filled with hate for each other, plotted and planned for War. These were dark days. Days when food supplies and hope were low and tempers ran high.

The Saviors and The Alexandrians.

Prepared to die while fighting to live. This was always the way of it after The Turn.

Rick peered through the truck's windshield at the road before him, eyes scanning the landscape looking for roadblocks. For signs of traps, attacks. Those bastards could be lying in wait behind any bush or tree or even in the middle of the goddamned road. They could never let their guard down.

Not anymore.

"We're heading in the opposite direction of those pricks. Should be good for now." Abe's low drawl from the driver's seat drew Rick's gaze away from the view and to his friend and companion for this vital run. They were in search for food as their supplies were running dangerously low. Their attempts at farming the land in Alexandria proved futile and yielded just a few small tomatoes.

Rick rubbed his hand over his face, exhaustion seeping into his very bones, the burden of caring for and protecting his community weighing on him.

"We won't be good until they're all dead. Every last one of them."

"Roger that. Folks at home are training. Gearing up. They know what we have to do. What's ahead of us. We just have to find food so we can build up our strength and we'll accomplish our mission."

Rick sighed at Abe's words, "It's not a mission Abraham. You know that. You saw their numbers when we were ambushed that night. This isn't going to be just one battle and we're done. We have to prepare for attack after attack after attack. We get some of theirs and try like hell to not let them get some ours. It's going to get worse before it gets better."

"Yeah they got the numbers but we've got the smarts. Those biker assholes had two brains amongst them and we splattered one of two said brains all over the woods of Northern Virginia that night."

Connor. The lieutenant. Rick closed his eyes as dark memories washed over him. Sasha's sniper rifle had taken out the second in command but not before they suffered a devastating loss of their own. A loss that was so senseless. A loss that could have and should have been avoided but for a series of events that brought two groups of fighters together.

Daryl. The man Rick called brother. The man who had been by his side since the beginning. The man who had always had his back.

Taken out by an arrow to the eye with his own crossbow, stolen a few days prior by one of them.

The Saviors. A group of thugs led by a thieving murderous psychopath determined to take everything Rick's community had. A group of killers they needed to rid this planet of.

And they would. Rick had thoughts about how they would do it. They just needed food first. They needed to get stronger. Fuel the machines that would work together and in concert to take out a group more than twice their size.

Hate had a way of making people stupid. Rick's father had always taught him that and for most of his life, he abided by that belief and worked hard not to let his emotions get the best of him. Rule him. But the world going to hell and forcing him to share it with the dead had a way of turning a lifetime of beliefs upside down and sideways.

Hate coursed through his veins now, nourished him, kept him warm at night. Hate chased away the grief and kept it at bay until the day when it would be quiet and safe to mourn.

Hate didn't make him stupid. It honed his intellect and reasoning and ability to strategize to a razor edge. It focused him. Eliminated all distractions.

Kill the Saviors. Every last one of them. Kill their leader. The man behind their violent ways. The man behind the attack that night.

Negan.

"Here we are. The Mecca of canned goods. Let's hope this one was missed."

Abe's words stirred Rick out of his thoughts as the truck came to a stop in front of a wholesale food club. The store was located in a very rural section of Virginia and the hope was that it was missed or at least not emptied of its wares completely.

Stepping out into the heat of summer sun, Rick shaded his eyes with his hand as he squinted toward the windows of the store, looking for signs of the living or the dead. Following Abe up to the doors, he drew his machete out of its sheath, prepared to fight for what was within the building before him.

Everything had a to be a fight nowadays. Even for something as basic as putting food on the table.

Pressing his face against the darkened windows, Abraham let out a sigh of disgust, "Can't see shit in there. Here we go." Bam! Bam! Bam! Three loud knocks with his meaty fist against the door and then more waiting.

Nothing.

"Let's go. There's a can of creamed corn with my goddamned name on it." With that declaration, Abe cut the chain off of the main entrance with the bolt cutters he'd brought and led the way inside.

Despite the sun shining outside, the interior was dim due to the filth and dust on the windows muting the natural light. Rick flicked his flashlight on, swinging it in a wide arc around him. More shadows loomed in front of them and the only sounds were their boots treading across the dirty linoleum.

"Can't see dick in this hole. We need more light."

"Well this is all we've got. We'll have to make do," Rick bit out, all of his instincts on edge at the feeling they were walking into their tomb.

As they slowly made their way through the darkened store, they could finally make out the floor to ceiling shelves.

Shelves that were empty. Long empty going by the inches of dust that accumulated since.

"Fuck! God fucking DAMMIT!" Abe kicked at an empty shelf repeatedly, letting his frustration get the best of him and Rick let him go at it, not blaming him one bit. If he had the energy, he'd be kicking shelves as well.

Suddenly, moans sounded nearby and Rick swung around just in time to hack at a walker who had approached from the direction of the back office. Drawing his weapon out of the skull, Rick looked up to see at least a dozen more walkers pour out of the office, awakened from their slumber by the racket he and Abraham had made.

Backing up to the door, he heard more moans coming out from behind the shelves in front of them and they were quickly surrounded. Hearing Abe mutter more curses behind him as they quickly moved in formation, Rick wished for one day, one damned day when everything wasn't a battle.

As Abe slashed and hacked with his ax, Rick took care of the ones in front of him with his machete, the two of them moving in tandem towards the door.

"There are too damn many of them. Mother NUTS! Where the fuck they all come from?" More hacking and slashing from Abe as Rick took out three more coming at him from the right.

"They must have been dormant. Took them longer to react to our knocking. Let's remember that if we make it out of here, " Rick muttered as he swung his machete through two rotted heads in one motion. Dipping into his deeper stores of energy due to not wanting to die in a moldy and very empty store, Rick carved a path toward another exit in front of him.

"Up ahead. Stay with me Abraham. I see daylight..."

"Right behind you, Chief. These lumps of shit ain't taking me out today!" Slash! Thud! "Get back you motherfuckers!"

With a last heave, Rick and Abe made it through the side exit into the welcome fresh air, slamming the door behind them, both doubling over as they caught their breaths. Rick looked over at his friend from his bent position and couldn't stop the grin from curving his mouth. Abe grinned back, walker blood caking his face. There wasn't much to smile about these days but fighting through a dozen walkers in close quarters to live to see another sunrise would do just fine.

The man observing them from a short distance smiled as he took in the battle hardened warriors who had successfully escaped the walker infested store. And they drove a truck. While he wasn't a man of faith anymore, the word providence entered his mind and wouldn't leave.

Today was going to be a good day.

Later that night.

"Rick! Rick wake up."

Rick was jolted out of his slumber by the urgent whisper invading his small bedroom. Eyes open, he sat up and peered through the dim pre-dawn light at the unarmed stranger standing inside his door. Flying out of bed, he drew his gun on the man and cocked the hammer back, his mind fully awake and prepared to kill.

In a matter of seconds, he took in the man to be of average height and build with long clean hair and trimmed beard and with his hands raised in the air, a small smile on his face.

"We need to talk."

What the hell?

Later that morning, Rick was once again on the road, this time behind the wheel with Abraham riding shotgun and Maggie and Glenn in the backseat with Jesus between them, his hands cuffed and resting loosely on his lap.

Jesus.

Rick peered at their new acquaintance through the rear view mirror, scowling at the light blue eyes lit with amusement. No anxiety, no fear. Completely at ease.

Was this guy for real? Rick had given him a chance to explain himself in the kitchen with Abraham, Glenn and Maggie in attendance and was stunned to hear that Jesus had stowed away on their truck and spent the night inspecting every building in their community, including the occupied ones. He knew how many residents there were down to the last child and also knew about their rapidly depleting pantry shelves and their armory.

It was his knowledge of the weapons stockpile that set Rick back on his heels. Jesus had broken into their armory but had left the guns in their place and didn't use them on the people sleeping their beds.

Not only was Jesus some kind of stealth ninja who moved like a whisper in the night, he still apparently had his morality intact. A rare individual indeed.

Jesus had explained to Rick and his group that he was seeking out other communities for his own to do trade with. He came from a farming community with plenty of food to offer and he was very impressed with Alexandria and wanted to broker a deal between them.

The dormant Southern Baptist in Rick had him raising his eyes briefly to the heavens to thank whoever might still be up there listening.

Could this man named Jesus be the answer they were looking for?

The group wasted little time to prepare for the 25 mile trip north to Hilltop. While Abraham was the obvious choice from a battle perspective, Glenn and Maggie came along to not only vet the farming capabilities of the community but to also allow the newly pregnant Maggie to visit the physician who lived there.

As a precautionary measure, Rick cuffed Jesus for the trip but trusted his gut which said it was unnecessary.

Just as Rick turned right per Jesus' directions, he hit the brakes at the sight before him. Holy shit.

"Where the fuck did the road go?!" Abraham pumped his semiautomatic rifle and swung his head to glare at their navigator who had raised his hands in calming gesture.

"It's okay. We're here. Pull your car over by those trees and we'll cover it up to keep it out of sight."

Rick peered out of the windshield at the 100 yards or so of destroyed road, with nothing but rubble and deep ruts left to travel over. Not even a tank could navigate it.

He stared at Jesus through the mirror once again, "If this is some kind of trap, you're a dead man. We didn't sign up for a hike. What the hell is this?"

Jesus nodded with understanding, "I totally get you being suspicious. Everything will make sense in a few seconds. Just pull over and let me show you."

Rick sighed and pulled the car over into the cover of the trees as directed and he and Abraham quickly exited the car, weapons drawn, looking for any signs of ambush. With no sounds but their own breathing and nothing in his sights, he gestured for Glenn and Maggie to exit with Jesus in tow.

"There is a brown tarp just over there. You can use it to help hide your car and then follow me to that building over there," Jesus gestured to a small wooden structure set slightly further in the woods.

After hiding the car, Rick and the group walked slowly toward the building. As they neared it, the sounds coming from within raised Rick's eyebrows and he threw another look at Jesus. Holstering his weapon, He threw the latch to the building and pulled open the double wooden doors.

Horses. Six saddled horses waiting for them.

"That's our transport to Hilltop. We've destroyed all of the roads leading there in order to prevent attacks to our walls by vehicles. That was a lesson learned in the beginning. So we either walk or ride. I'd highly recommend riding as the terrain is rather steep from here on out.

"I am not sitting my ass on one of those things. I avoided them my whole life growing up in Texas and I'm not about to start bad habits at my age." This from Abraham who looked at the horses with something akin to fear. For some reason, that made Rick smile.

Glenn and Maggie had already made up their minds and were leading the horses out, eager to get to their destination. Rick turned to Jesus with another look of warning. "No more surprises, hear me? I want you talking as we're riding. You have a lot of filling in to do."

"Agreed."

After several attempts at helping Abraham get up into the saddle, he was finally sitting stiffly on the biggest horse, his feet rammed into the stirrups and his gun slung over his shoulder. If a man could look petrified and furious at the same time, Abe was doing it.

Storing their gear on the sixth horse, their group finally picked their way over the rutted road, the horses navigating the path with ease, having been through this many times before. As they traveled down the road and then up a steady and steep incline, Jesus provided some additional details.

"We're located on a plateau, a very large plateau that is one of the higher elevations in this part of Virginia. It's ideal really. We can see for miles and miles on clear days and have full view of anyone approaching. Our town was built around a working historical farm so the ground is fertile and suitable for many different kinds of crops. We even have a small apple orchard that is doing very well. About a year or so ago, we started to scour the area for more livestock, cattle, dairy cows, goats, chickens and now have more than enough to feed our own people."

As Jesus went on to describe his community, Rick surveyed his surroundings with an eye for potential danger. With no people in sight, he took a moment to admire the lush green hillside and the peace that seemed to resonate through the area.

Maybe, just maybe, this place was what Jesus described and they might...

"Stop here. Please hand me that horn that's hanging on that branch." Jesus' request interrupted Rick's thoughts and he stopped his horse in time to witness Glenn grab what looked to be a horn used in days of old...it was actually made out of an animal horn. What the hell was this place?

"I have to sound a signal that it's me approaching so the archers stand down."

"Archers? Who the hell are you people?" Abraham barked from his nervous perch upon the placid horse.

Jesus calmly responded, unfazed by the large man's temper. "We're people who have learned harsh lessons over time and are very cautious. And we're very prepared for this world. Please let me show you." That last statement was directed at Rick.

His curiosity now fully engaged, Rick gave a terse nod and Glenn handed Jesus the horn. Raising it to his lips with his cuffed hands, Jesus blew a series of short and long tones through the instrument. After the last one echoed through the countryside, Jesus handed it back to Glenn and directed him to hang it back up and then led the way through the last copse of trees.

A few moments later, they left the forest and viewed a fortress of twenty foot high wooden walls surrounded by trenches.

Hilltop.

Impressed despite his misgivings, Rick acknowledged the hard work and genius that went into digging trenches around the community to trap approaching walkers. It was simple yet completely effective as walkers can't climb.

As a matter of fact, building a community on a plateau would make walkers an only occasional threat due to the incline being so steep. Once the existing walkers were destroyed, the chances of a herd or even a small group of walkers making it to Hilltop were slim at best. And if they did climb the hill, they'd never make it to the walls.

Rick looked up to see twenty faces peering down at him and his group. He knew those twenty residents would have had arrows pointed at them ready to fly if it weren't for Jesus' signal. These weren't scared suburbanites who had been sheltered from the outside world for almost two years. Looking into their eyes, he saw soldiers who had earned their stripes. And they had been trained well. They were organized.

Turning to Jesus, Rick found the man studying him closely, watching him take this all in. Clearing his throat, Rick gestured toward the wall and the trenches. "Who did all this? Who's your leader?"

Jesus smiled and nodded. "Give me just a few minutes and all of your questions will be answered. I promise."

The wooden bridge was lowered from the gate using a pulley system and Rick had visions of being transported back in time. He wouldn't be surprised if a knight in shining armor and a jester or two greeted them at this point.

After the bridge lowered, the large double doors of the gates swung open and Jesus led them into the town.

Rick barely heard the soft exclamations from Abraham, Glenn and Maggie as he took in everything before him.

A wind turbine. A large brick mansion. The clanging of a blacksmith at work. Stables, a mill under construction, target practice in a large open area...

It was incredible. This was a thriving community. Healthy people with jobs. Laughter. Activity.

They had figured it out. Holy shit. This place had it all figured out.

Wanting to meet the leader more than ever, Rick turned to Jesus who had just hopped off of his horse, holding his cuffed hands up to Rick, more amusement making his eyes twinkle.

"This will go much better if I make introductions uncuffed."

Rick dismounted and observed the others doing the same, Abraham, practically falling off of his horse with a muttered curse. Unlocking the cuffs, Rick gestured for Jesus to precede him to the large brick mansion.

Jesus directed them to wait on the portico and Rick took the time to observe the view from that vantage point. It was true. He could see for miles and miles. Walking to the other side of the mansion, the unimpeded view continued and the soldier in Rick appreciated the safety being on top of a hill afforded the residents.

Hearing the door open behind him, Rick swung around, ready to meet Hilltop's leader. Someone who may very well be more than his equal. Someone who...

Rick's breath caught. His head tilted and eyes narrowed as his brain fought to catch up to the sight before him.

A woman unlike any he'd ever seen stood before him. Tall, slender figure encased in tight black pants and a sleeveless purple top with a brown leather vest over it. Short boots. Fingerless gloves.

And a sword swung over her back with the ease and familiarity of an old friend.

Her smooth dark skin shone in the sunlight and he took a moment to admire it. Admire her. He'd lost all objectivity and knew he needed to snap out of it. Knew he had to be a leader again. But in those few short moments, he let himself be a man. A lonely man who had had enough of hell and was tired. A man who wanted to just take a few moments to admire beauty.

Raising his eyes from the sword slung over her back, he met her eyes. Big brown eyes staring right back at him with an intensity he didn't know what to make of. Eyes that he knew in his heart and in his mind had seen death and had cried tears. But in this moment only allowed him to see what she wanted him to see.

Confidence with just a touch of amusement. It was the amusement that jolted him out of his schoolboy musings. Shaking his head slightly, Rick stood straight as the woman approached him with a sure stride, stopping when she was just a foot away from Rick.

Taking another moment to look him in the eye, the woman smiled and raised her hand in greeting.

"Welcome to Hilltop, Rick Grimes. I'm Michonne."