I don't own Total Drama and The Walking Dead.
Sorry if you find any grammar mistakes. I'm still learning English because it's not my first language.
TheBlueNova: I'm glad you liked it! :) I hope that these two new seasons will be better than All Stars and Pahkitew Island too.
bastian amador: I'm glad you're liking it so far! Don't worry, I will keep updating this story, and more characters from Total Drama is going to appear as it will progress. :)
Dr Changer: I'm glad you liked it! Mal might appear at some point of this story :)
Brendan: He was carrying a 9mm milimeter handgun (which he is still using) :)
Rick, Hershel, Alejandro, Izzy, Daryl and Heather drove their vehicles into the area of an abandoned mill. Daryl got himself off his motorcycle and glanced behind him to see Rick stepping out of the Hyundai, making sure to tell Hershel to stay behind inside of it, for now and Alejandro, Izzy and Heather getting themselves out of the car from the gas station.
Alejandro and Izzy looked at her, both of them sending her quick nods of their heads to which she nodded back. She stayed behind to watch over the vehicles along with Hershel as Rick, Daryl, Alejandro and Izzy set to scout the area. The redneck held his crossbow in front of him as he walked in front of the group of four along with Izzy who cocked her shotgun, readying herself to use it at any moment.
They scouted the area for a few moments and reached an abandoned warehouse, instantly spotting a dead walker on the ground. Izzy got herself on her knees and placed her hand on the walker, finding out that it was recently killed. She looked up at her fellow group members and nodded her head at them. She got herself back on her feet and joined Alejandro and Daryl who started to circle around the warehouse while Rick slowly entered it.
He heard some footsteps inside shorty after entering it. He readied his Python for any possible scenario that flew through his mind as he took one careful step after another. He spotted a table standing in the middle of the warehouse with two chairs standing at the both sides of it. He slowly approached it, hearing how the footsteps were gettng louder with each passing second.
It was when the Governor emerged the shadows. Rick set his gaze on him as the leader of Woodbury approached him. He raised his unarmed hands in the air, declaring, "We have a lot to talk about."
"You attacked us." Rick responded, "Makes things pretty clear."
"I was trying to make things clear." Philip stated, "I could have killed you all. I didn't."
Rick aimed his Python at the Governor, "And here we are."
"I'm gonna remove my weapon. Show that I mean to negotiate in good faith. I'd like you to do the same." The Governor said, calmly, despise the fact that Rick kept his Python aimed right at his head. He lowered his hand a bit, "May I?"
Rick didn't respond to his words as the Governor took it as a yes. He reached down to his holster and took it off. He made sure to give Rick a good look at it before turning away from the sheriff deputy and placing it aside.
"See?" He said, turning to look at Rick again, "No trouble. Now you."
Rick remained silent as he holstered his Python, but unlike the Governor didn't took his holster off. Philip shrugged his shoulders to that as he took his seat on the other side of the table.
Daryl, Izzy and Alejandro who watched how the leader of their group encountered the Governor inside of the abandoned warehouse walked away from the building, intending to inform Hershel and Heather that the Governor was already here.
"He's already in there." Daryl explained, approaching Hershel and Heather who made sure to get their vehicles closer to the meeting place, "Sat down with Rick."
"I don't see any cars." Hershel declared.
"It don't feel right." Daryl stated.
Alejandro nodded in agreement, "You're telling me."
"This can be trap for all we know." Izzy stated, eyeing her surroundings.
It was when they heard a car driving from the other side of the road. They turned in the direction of it and saw a white truck driving towards them. Everyone except for Hershel aimed their weapons at the truck as Martinez came out of the driver's seat, followed by Milton and Andrea who sat in the passengers seat. Jose was the next one that got out of the vehicle. Next to him was standing an African-American man in his mid 20's, who was wearing a black headscarf over his clean shaved head who Alejandro and Heather recalled back when the Governor attacked their home and killed Axel.
"Where's Courtney?" Daryl asked Andrea, noticing that the CIT didn't come to the meeting.
"At first the Governor didn't want either of us to go on this meeting." Andrea began, "We managed to convice him on one condition. That condition was that at least one of us stayed in Woodbury."
"Speaking of the Governor." Heather spoke up as she stood next to Alejandro who had his gaze set on Jose, "Why is he already in there?"
Andrea looked at her in suprise, "He is?"
Heather nodded in confirmation, "He is."
Andrea sighed before heading into the warehouse, "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Philip answered, looking up at Rick who didn't took his seat, yet, "Your friend isn't much for small talk."
"You want to talk, talk." Rick told him.
"I and Courtney wanted you to talk." Andrea declared, "Too many people have died for no reason. Let's end this. Save the bullets for the real threat. We can solve this. That's why I asked you to come here."
"I heard about the raids, the heads, Glenn, Noah, Gwen, Maggie..." Rick began.
Philip cut him off, "Merle did that."
"No. You know what I'm talking about." Rick pointed out.
"You know all about me and I know all about you." Philip gave him a small smile, doing his best to not make it look fake, "I don't care about any of that. We're here to move forward."
Everyone were silent outside as the two opposite groups were eyeing each other. Hershel titled his head towards the warehouse, "Maybe I should go inside."
"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." Milton pointed out.
"Who are you?" Heather asked him.
"Milton Mamet." Milton introduced himself to the opposite group.
"Great." Daryl rolled his eyes, "Great. He brought his butler."
"I'm his advisor." Milton corrected him as Martinez chuckled at Daryl's comment.
"What kind of advice?" Izzy wanted to know.
"I don't feel like my amigo here need to explain himself to the henchmen." Jose spoke up, coming over to Milton's side.
"You better watch your mouth, amigo." Daryl told, causing the older Burromuerto to grin at his words.
Martinez glared at Daryl, "Look, if you and I are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favor, shut your mouth."
Daryl's returned Martinez's glare and came closer to him as Hershel said to calm things down at least for a bit, "We don't need this. If all goes south in there, we'll be at each other's throats soon enough."
"The old man is right." Terry nodded in agreement, "We don't need this, at least right now."
Chef sighed as he watched how the members of the group were checking their new weapons which they got from Morgan, wishing he had gone with Rick to this meeting with the Governor, but the sheriff deputy insisted on him and Chris staying in their home to fortify their position, just in case if the Governor attacked again.
"Oscar." He called out for the former prisoner, picking up to boxes of ammo. The former prisoner walked over to him, "You and DJ stash these at the loading dock. All right?"
Oscar nodded his head in understanding, taking the boxes from the co-host of Total Drama as Ezekiel asked Chef, "Eh, should I put more on the catwalk?"
"Yes." Chef nodded in response, turning to look at Trent and Harold, "You two help him. Anyone who gets pinned down, we need to make sure that they have plenty of ammo."
"What we should be doing." Merle declared, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look at him, "Is loading some of this firepower in a truck and paying a visit to the Governor. We know where he is right now."
"Are you suggesting that we just go in and kill him?" Glenn wanted to be sure what Merle was suggesting.
Merle nodded in confirmation, "Yeah, I am."
"We told Rick and Daryl that we'd stay put." Michonne pointed out.
"I've changed my mind, sweetheart." Merle explained, "Being on the sideline with my brother out there ain't sitting right with me. The three of them are right in the middle of it."
Gwen shook her head, "We're not doing that."
"Weren't you one of the people that were on board with ambushing the Governor when blondie and the CIT visited us?" Merle asked her.
"I was." Gwen nodded in confirmation, "But it was before there was a risk of our people getting hurt in the process."
"They could get taken hostage or killed." Glenn added, "A thousand things could go wrong."
"And, they will." Merle stated.
"My dad can take care of himself." Carl spoke up.
Merle looked down at him, "Sorry, son, but your dad's head could be on a pike real soon."
Carl just walked out as Maggie shook her head, "Don't say that to him."
"It's not the right move. At least for now." Chef told Merle, crossing his arms, "Can't take the risk of putting them in the crossfire. That's my decision. It's final."
Andrea shifted her gaze between Rick and the Governor who continued to eye each other as she spoke up, "I've known you both at different times, but only after the world went to shit. And you both stepped up for the good of others at great personal risk. There's no reason..."
"Get to it." Philip cut her off, snapping his fingers.
Rick threw a map on the table, "Woodbury takes west of the river. The prison takes east. No one crosses, no one trades."
"He's right." Andrea agreed with Rick's words as the Governor reached out for the map and picked it up. He unfolded it and made sure to eye it before answering.
He looked up at them, "I'm sorry, what is this?"
"It's a solution." Andrea answered.
The Governor laughed at her words, throwing the map on the table, "Absolutely not."
Rick looked at Andrea, "What the hell am I doing here? You told me he was willing to talk."
"I am." The Governor nodded, "But the truth is, Rick, she's in no position to make such an offer anyway. I'm here for one thing only, your surrender."
Rick leaned in closer to him, "Oh, you want surrender? Come get it. You think we hit Woodbury heavy last time?"
"Just take it easy, all right?" Andrea attempted to calm both of them down, "We're here to settle this."
The Governor turned his gaze towards her, "You're right. Would you step outside?"
"What?" Andrea wanted to be if she didn't misheard it.
"Rick and I, we got a lot to talk about." Philip explained.
Andrea shook her head, "I'm not leaving."
"I came to talk to him." Rick told her, his gaze on the Governor. Andrea looked between them a few times before sighing and walking out of the warehouse, leaving both of them alone, causing everyone outside to look at her. The sheriff deputy watched her leave before taking his seat in front of the Governor, "So you're the Governor."
"That's their term, not mine." The Governor explained.
"But still, you're beholden to your people." Rick pointed out.
"Well, of course." Philip nodded.
"You have responsibility to them." Rick continued.
Philip nodded again, "Mm-hmm."
"Wasn't Merle your lieutenant?" Rick asked him.
"He was helpful, yeah." The Govenor confirmed it.
"But you knew he was erratic?" Rick wanted to know to which Philip nodded in confirmation, "You blame him for scooping up Glenn, Noah Maggie and Gwen in the first place?"
"Exactly." Philip answered, "I was trying to sort it out when you attacked."
"So it was his fault?" Rick asked him another question.
"He's a wild card, but he's effective. He gets the dirty jobs done." Philip replied.
"I thought you'd take responsibility." Rick stated.
The Governor let out a short chuckle, "I thought you were a cop, not a lawyer."
"Either way, I don't pretend to be a governor." Rick shook his head, "You're the town drunk who knocked over my fence and ripped up my yard, nothing more."
"Didn't you ever misjudge someone?" Philip wanted to know, "Andrea told me about your baby. That it might be your partner's. But you're caring for her and I admire that. Restitution for your own lack of insight. For failing to see the devil beside you."
"Oh, I see him all right." Rick stated, staring right into the eyes of the Governor.
Philip laughed at his response before slapping his hands on the table a few times. He stood up from his seat and turned away from Rick, "I brought whiskey. There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves."
Daryl let out an exhale as he paced back and forth between the groups as Milton stepped forward from his side, coming closer to Daryl, Hershel, Izzy, Alejandro and Heather, "There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves."
Martinez looked up at Milton and reminded him, "Boss said to sit tight and shut up."
Izzy turned her attention towards him, "Don't you mean the Governor?"
"It's a good thing they're sitting down, especially after what happened." Milton stated, "They're gonna work it out. Nobody wants another battle."
Terry nodded in agreement, "Amen to that, Milton."
"I wouldn't exactly call it a battle." Daryl stated.
"I would call it a battle and I did." Milton told him, showing them off a small notebook, "I recorded it."
Heather looked at him with weirded out expression, "For what?"
"Somebody's got to keep a record of what we've gone through." Milton began his explanation, "It'll be a part of our history. I've got dozens of interviews..."
Izzy pointed forward and cut him off, "Walkers."
Everyone turned in the direction she was pointing at and saw a few walkers heading towards them. Izzy reacted to that pretty quickly and pulled out her hunting knife as Daryl readied his crossbow. They moved towards the undead, followed by Andrea while Martinez reached into the truck and took his baseball bat out of it before following them.
Daryl aimed his crossbow at the first walker, but lowered it when Martinez approached him, "After you."
"No way." Martinez shook his head, "You first."
Izzy walked past them, not wanting to waste time. She grabbed the undead by it's collar before placing her knife right through it's head, hitting it's brain as Andrea pushed one walker against the wall and stabbed it right in the eye.
"Pussy." Martinez told Daryl, before moving towards the nearest walker, twirling his baseball bat around as he did so. He slammed it right on the head of the walker and it's head bursted into pieces, blood flying everywhere. He turned to Daryl and smirked at him.
Daryl rolled his eyes at him and walked past him, before releasing an arrow at another walker, hitting the undead right in the eye, killing it immediately. He turned his gaze towards Martinez as Andrea sighed at what these two were doing and walked away. Daryl loaded another arrow into his crossbow and fired it, getting rid of another undead and giving Izzy an easier path to the last walker.
She didn't had a chance to get to it and someone else stepped in her way. Martinez twirled his baseball bat, readying himself to take out the last walker, but someone else did that from him. Izzy threw her hunting knife right at the walker, hitting it in the middle of it's head, killing it for good. Martinez turned around to look at her, giving her an impressed look as Izzy walked past him, pulling her knife out of the walker's head.
Daryl knelt down in front of one of the bodies and pulled out a pack of cigarette's from it's pocket. He lifted it up in the air, showing it off to Izzy and Martinez, "Look what he's got."
He placed one cigarrete in his mouth and held the pack out to Martinez who declined his offer, "Nah, I prefer menthols."
"Douchebag." Daryl said in response.
"Give me one of these." Izzy told him.
"Since when do you smoke?" Daryl asked her.
"I don't." Izzy shook her head.
Martinez smirked as Daryl handed the now lit up cigarette to Izzy. She took it from him and placed it between her teeth. The younger Dixon pulled out his lighter and lit his cigarette up, before holding it out Izzy who took her cigarette out of her mouth and placed the end of it in front of the lighter, litting it up.
"You army or something?" Daryl asked Martinez, pulling his lighter away from Izzy who placed her now lit up cigarette back between her teeth.
Martinez shook his head, "Nah, just hate these things."
"This is something we can agree on." Izzy took a puff from her cigarrete and blew a cloud of grey smoke, "They tore my boyfriend aparta months ago and I couldn't do anything to stop it."
"They did the same to my wife, and kids." Martinez explained to which Izzy gave him a sympathetic look.
"The feeling that your loved ones are dead and you're still here sucks." She told him. At least she still had her group, especially Noah, Ezekiel, Cody and Eva who were the ones she was closest to in it.
"Yeah." Martinez nodded in agreement, "This is a joke, right? They ain't gonna work anything out. Sure, they'll do their little dance and tomorrow, next day... they'll give the word."
Daryl nodded, "I know."
"Both of us do." Izzy added as Martinez gestured towards the pocker where Daryl hid the cigarette. The younger Dixon instantly understood what he meant by it and reached into his pocket.
Everyone remained next to the vehicles was silent as Jose and Alejandro continued to exchange glares with each other. Terry and Heather just awkwardly stood next to the people from their sides, with the latter trying occasionally trading a word with the younger Burromuerto a few times.
Jose turned his gaze away from his brother and looked at Terry, "Leave us."
"Is that what I think it is?" Terry wanted to be sure.
"Yes." Jose nodded, "I want to have a little conversation with my hermano."
Terry nodded in understanding, "I'll be with Milton if you'll there'll be any problem."
Jose nodded his head in return as Terry turned away from him and walked away. Alejandro turned to look at Heather and gave her a quick look. Heather understood what he meant by that without him having to say any words. He wanted to talk with his brother in private and she could understand why. She turned away from them and walked in the same direction as Terry went.
"Hello, Al." Jose greeted his younger brother, once Terry and Heather were gone, receiving a glare from his brother, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes." Alejandro crossed his arms, "It was."
"Why the long face, Al? You're not going to hug your long lost hermano?" Jose asked him, a grin forming on his lips, "You're not happy to see me that I'm alive and well after all these months?"
Alejandro let out a dry snort, "Are you serious? You're excepting me to be happy to see you? Especially after all of the stuff you did with that psycho? How you and Merle beat up four of our people? Gwen and Noah weren't afraid to describe every detail of what happened when you were interrogating them."
"What are you excepting me to do? That I'm going to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness?" Jose asked him, "I was simply following my orders that were given to me after Merle brought them to Woodbury. He is the one to blame for everything that happened. I can't actually believe that I trusted this diablo and considered him a friend."
"Right." Alejandro rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that Merle was the reason why you attacked the prison?
"You're bringing up this incident?" Jose asked him, "It was nothing compared to what you and your people did."
"You killed one of us." Alejandro told him.
"How many of us have you killed?" Jose retorted, "Killing only one of you is nothing compared to all of the people that lost their lives when your group attacked us.
"We were doing this to break our people out of there." Alejandro pointed out.
Jose shook his head and chuckled, "It appears that you got close to them, Al. Do they know what you were planning to do them during the new season? How you were going to get rid of them one by one until you'll won? I remember the last conversation we had with each other through the phone before you all got yourself into the bus, only a few hours before everything started to go down."
"No." Alejandro shook his head, "But does it matter? It never happened because the world changed on the day when we were supposed to get to this plane."
Jose shrugged, "I guess not."
"Where's Carlos?" Alejandro asked him as it was the question which he was wanting to ask Jose since they came here. He wanted to know if the brother he'd actually like to see again was alive or dead o worse, "Was he with you when it all started?"
Jose slowly nodded in confirmation, "...He was."
Alejandro sighed, the answer for this question appearing in his mind, "Is he alive, or is he...?"
"The latter." Jose answered, sadly.
"How did he die?" Alejandro wanted to know.
Jose opened his mouth to respond but was cut off when they heard some snarling behind him and Alejandro. They turned in the direction of it and saw a few walkers coming out of the woods. Alejandro sighed, as he reached down to his pants and pulled out his tomahawk as Jose did the same, but unlike his younger brother, pulled out a simple knife.
They made their way to the walkers, not wanting to wait for the undead to approach them, intending to take care of them as fast as it will be possible. Alejandro wanted to get to the topic of what happened to Carlos. He placed his tomahawk in the head of the nearest undead, making it fall on it's kness while Jose kicked another one in the kness. The walker was brought to it's knees and was quickly finished off by Jose.
Alejandro kicked the now dead undead off his tomahawk and the now lifeless body collapsed on the ground. He moved over to get rid of another walker as Jose did the same after taking care of second walker. It was just a matter of seconds before most of the undead laid on the ground, dead. Alejandro turned his gaze towards the last remaining walker to see it approaching Jose who was pulling out his knife from
Jose instantly knew what to do when he heard a walker approaching him from behind. He reached his hand to his right boot and pulled out a small knife which he was keeping in there just in case if he'll find himself weaponless against an undead or a human.
"Did you seriously had a knife in your boot?" Alejandro asked him, causing his brother to turn to look at him.
"I always keep a knife hidden there, Al." Jose explained, as he wiped the blood off the knife before placing it back in it's place, "You'd be suprised how handy it can be in various situations. Especially when you're facing a few muertos at the same time."
"Now back to the topic." Alejandro declared, "How did Carlos die?"
"You still want to know?" Jose wanted to be sure.
Alejandro nodded, "Yes."
Jose let out a saddened sigh, "When it all started, I and Carlos found ourselves in a settlement made by the army. A settlement that unlike the many others wasn't bombed. We were safe there for two months. People who lived there, including us actually had a life as if the dead wasn't walking outside of the walls, but it all fell apart when when we took in a group of survivors. They hid from us that one of the was bitten."
"They must have thought that you weren't going to let them in with a bitten person." Alejandro stated as this reminded him of the situation his group had back in Atlanta when Jim tried to hide the fact that he was bitten when the undead invaded their camp from everyone until Jacqui found out about it.
"You can say that." Jose nodded, "I and Carlos were awoken in the middle of night by the sound of screaming and saw everyone panicking. We went out of our house to see what was going on and were stopped by one of the soldiers that remained in the camp, Regi Peterson was his name. He informed us about everything. That the person from the group we took in changed into a muerto, and infected a few others, and those that were infected by him, infected a few more, which started a massive panic in our settlement when it was discovered and the fact that the sound wasn't helping either."
Alejandro decided to remain silent as the information of the undead attacking the settlement where Jose and Carlos used to live in reminded him of the time when the walkers invaded Hershel's farm and caused deaths of a few members from his group.
Jose continued, "We tried calm the situation down, to save our home, but it was all for nothing. We had to flee. Regi and the other soldier, Dan told me and Carlos to get to the vehicles that they'll join us soon with as many survivors as they will find. When we were making our way to them, Carlos was grabbed by the muerto. When I saw that, I immediately rushed to help him and killed the muerto that grabbed him. We went to the vehicles right after and waited for Regi, Dan, anyone to show up for several minutes, but no one showed up. We had to leave otherwise we would end up dead and after we got ourselves away from our settlement, Carlos revealed something to me..."
"He was bitten by the walker that grabbed him?" Alejandro assumed, a sigh escaping his lungs.
"Yes." Jose nodded in agreement, "He was bitten in the shoulder and I failed to notice it until he showed it to me. He wanted to end his life. We saw what the infection does to people that were bitten and he didn't want to go through it. It was his final wish. I stopped the car we took from our settlement on the side of the road and said goodbyes, before I... fullfiled his final wish."
Alejandro let out a saddened sigh after hearing how did his brother, the one that actually didn't made him hate for most of his life die.
"I burried him on the side of the road and left. I was alone for a long time after that, and I became a total wreck as the time passed." Jose sighed as the images of his time alone on the road flew through his mind, "I met Philip when I was a shadow of a human that was just waiting to die. He took me to the people he was with, Milton being one of them, and not long after that, we formed our own community which you may as Woodbury. After all this time, I had a place to go again."
"That psycho saved your life?" Alejandro wanted to be sure if he didn't misheard it.
"He could have steal everything I had and leave me to die, but he didn't. I would probably be dead if it wasn't for him. That is my loyalty is with the Governor." Jose said, coming closer to his brother, "There might a chance to avoid more fights between our groups, but if it will come to this, then I won't hesitate to be in the front lines of Woodbury, and when that happens, I hope we won't met each other on the battlefield, but if it will happen, then what happens, happens."
Alejandro clenched his fists, "I'll make sure to remember that."
Heather and Terry walked together in an awkward silence for a few moments until they made it to their destination. Hershel and Milton sat next to each other in front of the fence which was several meters away from their cars.
"May I ask how you lost your leg?" The glasses wearing man asked the farmer.
Hershel's answer was quick, "I was bit."
"One of those things took him by suprise when we were hiding from them." Heather added, approaching them with Terry.
"Interesting." Milton said, looking actually interested in the subject.
"How long after it happened?" Terry added, interest forming on his facial features.
"Immediately." Hershel answered.
"You didn't bleed out?" Milton asked him another question.
"Our people took care of me." Hershel explained.
Terry looked at her, "Doctors?"
"No. We learned by trial and error." Hershel answered, "One of us was after basic medical training, but she still had a lot to learn and still does."
"May I see it? Your stump." Milton cleared his throat, "I'd like to, see where the amputation was."
Hershel shook his head, "I'm not showing you my leg."
"It's important data." Milton insisted.
"We just met you." Heather pointed out.
"I can understand why you're cautious about us, but we need to know this to protect our people." Terry tried to convice Hershel, "I don't want to see more people."
"That's funny." Heather rolled her eyes, "Coming from a guy that was with this psycho when he attacked us."
Terry sighed, "To be honest, I don't want this war between our groups as much as you do."
Heather crossed her arms, "Then why would you be with them when they attacked us in the first place?"
"I was following orders, even though I wasn't a fan of them. I volunteered to be the guard of Woodbury because I wanted to protect the people of the community I live in." Terry explained, "When Jose told me that I'm ready, I thought that we'll be going to your settlement to have some negotations how to stop more people from dying, but I was wrong. After the Governor fired the first shot, it was already too late to back away from it."
"...I can tell you this, but on one condition." Hershel broke the silence that formed between them, knowing what will lighten up the mood, "Buy me a drink first."
He laughed at his own words, and Milton and Terry laughed soon after as Heather let out a a few short chuckles.
The Governor poured himself and Rick a drink of whiskey he brought with himself and sat back down on his seat, "...I care about my people and I don't take their deaths lightly, and I know you don't either. In a way, this fight, it's a failure of leadership."
"Then, leave us alone." Rick pointed out.
"Well, now, that would be an even bigger failure." Philip stated as he lifted up his glass of whiskey and took a sip of it before continuing, "You've moved into our backyard. You shot up Main Street. If I let that threat persist, I look weak and, well, the whole thing crumbles."
"Well, that's your problem." Rick stated, "Your choice."
"Now, isn't that why we're here?" The Governor asked him, his tone becoming colder than before, "Choice. If we choose to destroy everything we've fought for over the past year... we're gonna kill everyone we know. At your prison. Back in Woodbury. People we love, Rick. I was at work one day taking sh1t from a boss half my age and an IQ even lower. And the phone rang. My wife had been in an accident. "Sorry, Mr. Blake, we did everything we could." I sat there holding that phone, knowing that I would never see her again. Gone. It was just an accident. No one's fault. She left a voicemail asking me to call her, but I hadn't had a chance yet. I sat there clutching that phone thinking, "What did she want?" Just to check in? Ask me to pick something up for dinner? What did she want?"
Rick remained silent, to which the Governor smirked as the sheriff deputy grabbed his whiskey filled glass and took a sip of it.
Glenn walked back into the cellblock after he was done with fortying a position on the catwalk and was instantly greeted by the view of Merle preparing himself to head out of the prison to attack the Governor as Chris, Maggie, Michonne, Eva, Trent and Gwen watched.
"You're not going." He said to the older Dixon, "Chef, Chris and I made made it pretty clear."
Chris nodded, "Said the same thing to him a few seconds ago."
"I don't need permission." Merle retorted.
"I can't let you." Glenn told him.
"You can't stop me." Merle told him in response.
"If you're gonna live here with us, it's gonna be on our terms." Gwen explained, "If Michonne can do it, why can't you?"
"Cause it's my brother out there, that's why." Merle pointed out, "What's the matter with y'all?"
He slouched the bag over his shoulder and started to head towards the exit from the cellblock but Glenn stopped him, "Nut up already, boy. This guy cops a feel of your woman and you pussy out like this? Get out of my way."
"He made himself pretty clear." Trent spoke up, "You're not going anywhere."
Merle turned to look at the musican, "Or what are you going to do? Hit me with your guitar?"
Glenn used the opportunity that Merle was turned away from him and launched himself at him, throwing him and himself down the stairs. They landed on the floor as Merle got himself on top of Glenn and started choking him. Eva stepped forward to help Glenn, but Michonne was faster than her. The dark skinned woman wrapped her arm around Merle's neck and lifted him up.
It was when everyone's attention was shifted when a rang through the cellblock. They turned to the source of it and saw Bridgette aiming a smoking pistol at the ceiling.
"Can you guys stop, now?" The surfer asked them, "The last thing our group needs right now is fighting among ourselves."
She holstered her pistol and headed out of the cellblock and Merle freed himself from Merle's grasp. She walked into the yard and saw DJ and Duncan standing together in front of the fence, taking a small break after a long day of work.
"Hey, guys." She called out to them, approaching the duo, "Have you seen Geoff anywhere?"
"He should be on the watch on the tower right now." DJ explained, pointing at the tower a few meters next to them to which Duncan nodded in agreement.
Bridgette looked up at the watch tower and saw a familiar figure standing there. She gave DJ and Duncan a quick grateful nod, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it, Bridge." DJ said as Bridgette walked past them and headed into the watch tower and made her way to the top where Geoff was standing, or rather sitting on a chair, "Hey Geoff."
The party animal looked at her, "Hey, Bridge."
"Would you mind if I, stayed here for a while?" She asked him.
"Do you really need to ask?" He smiled at her. Bridgette nodded and took her seat next to him, "...You're still wearing it."
"What?" Bridgette asked him, confused by his words.
"The locket I bought you." Geoff explained, smilling, "You're still wearing it after all this time. Can't believe I haven't noticed it earlier."
"Of course I am." Bridgette nodded her head as she grabbed her locket and opened it, revealing the pictures of her and Geoff inside, "You have no idea how many times I would look at it and think how were you doing out there, if you were still out there."
"I bought to you so you wouldn't miss me while you'd be competing for the prize in the season." Geoff told her, "Never thought it would go the way it went."
"Neither did I Geoff. Neither did I." Bridgette said as she closed the locket and let out a small sigh. There was one question that was on her mind for a few days now, "Can I ask you something?"
Geof nodded, "Of course you can."
Bridgette inhaled and exhaled before asking, "Do you regret coming here?"
"What?" Geoff asked, suprised that she would even ask him something like that, "Why are you asking me this?"
"It just." She sighed, "You just joined our group, and not even a day later, you know that there is a posibility that you might have to fight in a war with another you still join if you knew what would happen?"
"Of course I would." Geoff quickly nodded his head, "If it means being with you and the people I like again, then, yes. I definitely do it, without second thoughts."
"...I'm sorry for asking this question." Bridgette shook her head after a moment of silence between them, "It just, the last few days were really stressful."
"Don't worry, Bridge. You don't need to apologize for that. I understand." Geoff gave her an assuring smile, "Is there anything I can do make you feel better?"
Bridgette smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder, "This is enough for me."
Geoff returned her smile before leaning his head against hers. They felt like they could stay like this forever.
Hershel, Heather, Milton and Terry made their way back to the vehicles and saw Andrea sitting on the bench, staring down at the ground, alone and conflicted. The farmer knew that someone had to talk with her.
"Excuse me." He told Heather, Milton and Terry and slowly made his way to the blond haired woman, "How's it going in there?"
Andrea looked up at him and sighed, They kicked me out. I don't know what I'm doing here. Maybe I should have just stayed in Woodbury with Courtney."
"You're trying to help." Hershel pointed out.
The lawyer glanced down and was silent for a few seconds as she debated with herself if she should ask Hershel this questionmbefore asking Hershel. She looked up at him again, "What happened with Maggie?"
Hershel's response was, "He's a sick man."
Andrea shook her head, her voice was so shaky, "What am I going to do now? What is Courtney going to do now? I should have told her to stay in the prison when there was a chance."
"We're family. You belong with us, both of you." Hershel told her, "But if you join us, it's settled."
The Governor placed his now empty glass on the table and stood up from his seat, beginning to pace back and forth across the room, "You know, the truth is I didn't want any of this. They chose me because there was nobody else around. And they still think that I'm the man that can keep them safe. They still think, I know what I'm doing."
He let out a short chuckle and came over to the place where he left his holster back when this meeting started. He picked it up and wrapped it around his belt, "I know you got guns. Mmm. That was quite a stash you brought back the other day. Now, my people, they're not combat-tested like yours are, but I've got more of them. So this fight, it will go down to the last man. So let's end it. Today. Let's not do this. We can walk away. You have something that I want. One thing that makes this all all right."
Rick shook his head, "I'm not giving up the prison."
"No." Philip chuckled as he sat back down on his seat, "I don't want your prison. That doesn't sound safe at all. I mean, you lost your wife, another man, another girl.
"We're not moving on." Rick shook his head, once again.
"What good would that do me? Best you stay where I can keep my one good eye on you." The Governor explained as he removed his eye patch, giving the sheriff deputy a good look at this his eye, "I want Michonne. Turn her over and this all goes away. Is she worth it? One woman... worth all those lives at your prison? Is she?"
"Yeah, I don't get it." Rick responded after a moment, "You've obviously got big plans. Like you're the guy who's gonna lick this thing. Bring us back from the brink. So why waste your time on a two-bit vendetta? Why risk it all? You could have a statue of yourself in the town square, Governor. Killing Michonne is sort of beneath you, don't you think?"
"You could save your son. Save your daughter. Everyone you know." The Governor poined out, "It's your choice."
"If I give you Michonne, how do I know you'll keep your word that you'll stop?" Rick wanted to know.
The Governor leaned in closer to Rick, "You can have everything you want. I told you, I don't care about you. You think about it. Two days. I'll be here at noon."
He stood up from his seat and walked out of the warehouse, heading towards his white truck as Rick rose up from his seat and walked out of the building shorty after. The two leaders of opposite groups shared one last look before they and their people got themselves into their vehicles and drove off towards their homes.
The Governor, Andrea, Martinez, Jose, Milton and Terry had just arrived back in Woodbury. They all got themselves out of their vehicles and started walking through the streets of their community as Courtney who was waiting for them in front of the one of the Humvee's started heading towards them, intending to Andrea about the meeting.
"Jose." Philip began, "You and Martinez, position gunmen all around that feed store. The minute you see Michonne, you open fire. Kill the others, but you keep her alive."
"Got it." Jose said as Martinez nodded his head.
"What about the deal?" Milton asked the Governor as Jose and Martinez split up from them and started heading their own way. Terry knew he was supposed to follow them, but decided to remain close to the Governor and Milton for a few more seconds.
"Well, they'll bring Rick, Merle's brother, the black guy, the mohawk guy, the ginger girl, maybe Glenn, Alejandro, Merle himself. We can take care of the whole crew." Philip answered, "It's the best way to avoid a slaughter."
"That is a slaughter." Milton pointed out, not believing his ears.
"Not at our end." The Governor shook his head, "We're gonna have to eliminate Rick sooner or later. No way we can all live side by side."
"Terry!" Jose called out to the dark skinned man who turned his gaze towards him as the Governor walked away from Milton, "You're coming or what?"
"Yes." Terry gave him an uncertain nod of his head before following him and Martinez, "I'm right behind you."
"Thanks for setting that up." The Governor called out to Andrea who walked on the other side of the street with Courtney, "You really put yourself out there."
Andrea nodded her head, "Glad I could help."
"Rick and I set terms." Philip explained, "He's gonna consider them and then we'll meet again in two days."
"What sort of terms?" Andrea wanted to know to which the Governor smiled at her and Courtney, "Hope it works out."
She and Courtney proceeded to walk along the street for several more seconds, before her friend whispered to her after making sure that no one was gong to hear them, "How did it went?"
The look Andrea gave her was the only answer the CIT needed.
Rick, Hershel, Izzy, Alejandro, Daryl and Heather made it back to prison and their arrival just as excepted rised a lot of questions from their groups. Rick promised to explain everything once everyone will be gathered in the cellblock.
Once each member of his group was in the cellblock and had an eye on him, he declared, "So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while."
"Just the two of you?" Merle asked him
Rick nodded in confirmation, "Yeah."
The older Dixon crossed his arms, "Should have gone when we had the chance, bro."
"He wants the prison." Rick declared to his group, "He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war."
He stepped forward and walked out of the cellblock while his group processed the information he just told them. The Dixon brothers exchanged a look with each other, DJ let out a deep breath, the thought of going on a war creeping him out a bit, as Duncan gave him a comforting pat on his shoulder, but inside, he was worried, worried because Courtney was still in Woodbury. Bridgette seemed a bit scared because of it which Geoff didn't fail notice, causing him to bring her into a comforting hug.
Ezekiel crossed his arms as Cody bit his lips, both of them letting out a few shaky breaths as Eva pulled out her handgun turned her gaze towards Izzy, before cocking it. Izzy responded with a nod of her head, as she was ready to fight with the Governor just like Eva, before turning her attention towards Noah. His face stoic, as always.
Chef looked at Hershel and exchanged a nod with the farmer, knowing that they should do next. He then turned his gaze towards Chris and just like with Hershel, exchanged a nod with him.
Rick made his way to the catwalk right after walking out of the cellbock, and just stared ahead of him, thinking about everything that happened today as Hershel, Chef and Chris joined him there a few minutes later.
"You know something, Rick?" Chef began as he stopped next to Rick, "I never thought that I'll be going to war again."
"I never thought that I'll be going to war ever in life." Chris let out a short breath.
"What are your thoughts about it?" Rick asked the two hosts of Total Drama.
"We spend too much time making this place habitable for us to live." Chef said, "We should stay here and fight for our home."
"I'm with Chef on this one." Chris nodded in agreement.
"How's everyone else taking it?" Rick wanted to know.
"They're taking it just as excepted." Hershel answered, "Merle, Gwen, Eva, Duncan, Izzy, and Michonne are convinced we should hit first. Carol, DJ, Ezekiel, Cody, Bridgette and I think we should take our chances on the road. We're in this together. So if we stay and fight, so be it."
Rick nodded his head in understanding before declaring, "He gave me a choice. A way out."
Chris looked suprised by this revelation, "He did?"
"What does he want?" Hershel asked him.
"Michonne." Rick answered.
"He'll kill her." Chef stated the obvious.
"And then kill us anyway." Rick pointed out in return. "What if he doesn't? What if this is the answer?"
"Why didn't you tell them?" Hershel wanted to know.
"They need to be scared." Rick explained.
"They are." Hershel confirmed it.
"Good." Rick nodded, "Cause that's the only way they'll accept it. She saved my life. And Carl's. Glenn, Noah, Gwen, Maggie- if she hadn't come here, we never would have known they were taken. She's earned her place."
"Yeah." Chris nodded his head to which Hershel gave a silent nod of agreement, "Yeah, she has."
"She has proven herself to be trustworthy back when we visited your home town." Chef added.
Rick set his gaze on Hershel when he asked, "Are you willing to sacrifice your daughters' lives for her?"
Hershel exchanged a confused look with Chef and Chris before asking, "Why are you telling me?"
"Because..." Rick paused for a second before answering, "I'm hoping you three can talk me out of it."
Oh, boy. Only three chapters left in season three...
Hope it wasn't that bad. See you in another chapter.