A/N: Been getting a few mixed reviews and PMs so far. Though all feedback is good in my book as long as it isn't extreme trolling and excessive flaming. Regardless, it's good to see a good fanbase forming for this remake. It makes me glad I picked it up again.

As previously stated, this chapter will mark the end of Season 2 of TWD. And I fully intend on ending it in standard Walking Dead fashion.

X

After all of the revelations that had been revealed to the group, morale was at a low point. On top of the stress and exhaustion brought on by the night before, everyone needed to rest. But with everyone on edge it was hard to even consider winding down.

They at least managed to find a good shelter for the time being. An old stone foundation in the woods that at one time had been part of a house, the survivors spread out and got to work.

Starting a fire for light and warmth, they gathered what supplies they were able to grab from their quick exit and began to set up for the night. Lori and Carol looked after their children and made sure they were okay. Hershel sat beside the fire, staring into the flames with Maggie on his left and Beth on his right, his daughters hugging him close as they came to terms with the loss of their home. Glenn came over and sat next to Maggie who curled into his side for comfort.

Venom sat hunched on the edge of the foundation like a terrifying gargoyle from another world, keeping vigil over the humans. T-Dog stood with him, showing no fear or hesitation as he stood beside the Klyntar with rifle in hand.

Alex kept his eyes and ears open through his partner as well, all the while listening as everyone talked amongst themselves. Many talking a bit negatively about Rick after he informed them what he had learned from the doctor at the CDC almost two months prior.

"I can't blame Rick for keeping something like that a secret. But at the same time everyone had a right to know they were carrying the infection. If one of them had turned while everyone else was sleeping…" the host trailed off.

"His reasons were his alone. Although he should have informed the group, he was doing what was necessary to not let the others fall into despair." the symbiote replied. Looking over his shoulder to observe the broken and exhausted survivors. "Although given recent events, it doesn't really matter."

A rustling in a nearby bush had everyone tense and on their feet. Venom snapped an arm in that direction, a blask spike shooting from his forearm and disappearing into the foliage where something squeaked before going silent. The Klyntar jumped down from his perch and walked over, coming back a moment later with a dead possum with the spike sticking out of its head.

Daryl caught the animal when Venom tossed it his way before the symbiote disappeared back inside its host. Alex walked over and sat next to the fire beside Beth, who quickly laid her head on his shoulder and curled into his side.

A moment later, Sophia scooted over and curled up into the young man's other side. Venom reached out from within Alex, black biomass coiling around both young blondes and offering another layer of warmth to the appreciation of both Carol and Hershel.

"We can't stay out here," said Maggie. "We're too exposed."

"The last thing we need is for everyone running off and getting lost in the dark." said Rick as he came into the campsite. "We don't have the gas and no one's traveling on foot."

"We can't just sit here and wait for another herd to blow through," said Carol. "We should just go while we still have a chance."

"V and I will pick up a herd coming this way before they get too close." said Alex. "We'll keep everyone safe."

Rick nodded to the host, "We're not going anywhere." he said with finality on the subject.

"We need to do something." Maggie almost pleaded.

"I am doing something!" the former sheriff snapped. "I'm keeping this group together, alive! I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!"

Everyone became more tense as Rick began pacing, running his hands through his hair. "You all saw what he was like. He was unhinged. He killed Randall without thinking twice before trying to kill Alex and me. Then he came back as that thing that killed Dale. He would have kept coming, he left me no choice!"

He looked around as everyone looked at him with anxious, fearful expressions. "Maybe you're all better off without me." he lamented, motioning to the open doorway and the dark forest beyond. "Go ahead. No one's making you stay. I say there's a place for us, but maybe...maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe I'm just fooling myself. Why don't you go out there and find out for yourself, send me a postcard."

Rick motioned to the forest again, "There's the door. You can do better? See how far you get." No one moved, no one spoke. An uneasy truth dawning on all of them at the same time. "No takers?" the former sheriff continued, "Fine. But let's get one thing straight. If you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."

Having said his piece, Rick turned and stepped out of the camp. Alex watched him go with narrowed eyes. "Looks like the sheriff found his balls," said Venom.

"Yeah, but whether or not that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen."

X

The following morning was a busy one. After the group managed to get at least a little sleep despite the conditions they were forced to endure overnight, they all got up and had a small breakfast with what little they had on them before Rick started making plans for their next move.

He, Glenn, Maggie and Daryl would take the car with the most gas still in it to go find any supplies they could use from the surrounding area while everyone else hunkered down and waited for their return.

Alex listened in on the plan and waited before speaking up, "V and I will head back to the farm." Everyone shot him a startled look. "We left a lot of provisions back there when we fled. And right now we're going to need everything we can get."

"You sure that's a good idea?" asked Rick.

"We've been through worse. We'll go in, grab what we need and come back. Maybe kill a few rotters along the way." said the host.

"Someone should go with you, just in case." said Hershel.

Alex shook his head, "We're already stretched thin as it is. V and I are faster on our own."

Rick thought it over before nodding, "If you two are sure. How will you find us again?"

"We got our ways. No worries, sheriff." the younger man replied before making his way in the direction of the cars. Gathering a pistol, some ammo and his remaining machete in case he needed them.

"Our mate is coming." Venom alerted him. Alex turned around just as Beth approached.

"Do you have to go?" she asked, sounding vulnerable at the thought of him leaving for any amount of time.

"Things are pretty bad right now. We're going to need the supplies we left behind." Alex answered honestly. Seeing the unease pass over her, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. The southern-belle nuzzled her head under his chin as she held him back, taking in his warmth.

"I'll be back, angel." he said into her hair.

"You better." Beth leaned back before leaning up and pressing her lips to Alex's. The couple losing themselves in one another for a few moments before separating again.

Alex smiled before he disappeared and Venom stood in his place. The Klyntar towering over Beth's tiny frame, but the young blonde showed no fear as she smiled up at him.

Venom crouched down low, hands resting on the ground until he was level with her. Opening his mouth, his long tongue slithered out with the tip gently caressing her cheek.

The organ slipped back into the symbiote's terrifying maw before he grinned back. "Stay safe." the Klyntar rumbled.

Beth smiled a little wider, somehow knowing it was both Venom and Alex saying the words at the same time. The symbiote took a step back before taking off in a dead sprint up the road, his footfalls shaking the earth before he launched himself into the air. Sending out a couple tentacles that allowed him to swing among the trees.

Blue eyes watched them go, the earlier anxiety and fear washing away with the knowledge that the duo would be fine and would be back.

"They are a strange pair." Beth turned and found her father coming up beside her, his own gaze in the direction of where Venom disappeared. "But they do care about you and protect you without question. I guess that's all a father could ask for."

His youngest daughter smiled before hugging him. Hershel kissed the top of her head before they went back toward the camp site.

The old vet never would have imagined one of his girls falling for a boy like that. Let alone one that had an extraterrestrial lifeform living under his skin. But he knew that if there was anyone left on Earth that could keep his baby girl safe, it was Alex Cross and his unusual friend.

X

Carol moved about the camp, doing her best to stay busy and put the recent unpleasantness as far from her mind as possible.

It had been bad enough that they had lost the farm, and nearly their lives, but to be stranded out in the open like this with barely enough supplies to get them by…it was disheartening, to say the very least.

And Rick's ultimatum the night before didn't help things any. Coupled with what he told them about the infection, their group was barely hanging on by a thread as it was. It was only a matter of time before it broke completely.

But they had no other choice. So for now they could only do the best they can with what they have.

After picking up a few odds and ends, Carol looked over to the other side of the camp and found Sophia sitting with Carl. The two kids huddled close together for warmth against the cool morning air and talking in low tones with one another.

The single mother smiled, every time she saw her daughter was a gift. Having nearly lost hope of ever seeing her again weeks ago when she went missing. Having the worst possible scenarios playing through her head about her little girl's fate while at the same time praying that she would be found safe and alive.

And surprisingly, her prayers had been answered.

A complete stranger, an outsider, came from seemingly nowhere and brought Sophia home. Bringing with him supplies they desperately needed and two helping hands, asking for nothing in return.

Alex was a special young man. One who had endured the worst of the world and still put others before himself. And even though Carol was still weary and afraid of Venom, she couldn't really find anything bad to say about the symbiote.

Both of them were good, and Sophia adored the both of them dearly. She'd seen her daughter following Alex around a lot back at the farm, and she gravitated toward him when she was scared. In the short time he had been around them, he had been a better role model for Sophia than Ed ever had been.

"Mama?" Carol blinked and turned her attention to Sophia.

"What's the matter, honey?" she asked with a smile.

"When's Alex and Venom going to be back?" the girl asked.

Carol stepped over and hugged her, "They'll be back soon. They just went to get some things we left behind the other night."

Sophia nodded, "They saved us again. From the walkers, and that monster."

"That they did. And everyone's grateful to them for all they did."

The younger blonde looked up at her mother, "It's really sad, how Alex lost his mom. He was all alone for so long before he met Venom."

Carol smiled down at her, "They had each other. And now they have us."

Sophia bit her lip, thinking about something a moment before looking back up at her mother, "Maybe...Maybe we can be his family?"

The older woman wasn't expecting that, and blinked several times, "I...what do you mean, Sophia?" she asked after a bit.

"Well, Alex lost his family a long time ago. And...well...he always treats me how I think a big brother would. And I've always wanted a big brother...and…" Sophia trailed off, her face turning a little red.

Carol was surprised, she really wasn't expecting Sopha to say something like that. She didn't really know what to say. Until her daughter looked up at her, her brown eyes, the only good feature she got from her father, almost pleading as she waited for her mother to say something.

Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her little girl and ran her fingers through her hair. "I think we should wait for Alex to get back. And we'll see what he has to say about your idea. Okay?"

Sophia's smile beamed brightly before she hugged her mother tightly. Carol hugged her back, wondering what Alex would say about her little girl's idea.

X

A walker fell dead with a machete burrowed in its head. Alex planted his foot on its back and yanked the blade free as a tendril shot from his back and beheaded another. All around him, dozens upon dozens of rotting bodies were laid out, all of them permanently dead.

The once beautiful farm was nothing like it once was. The main bulk of the horde that attacked had moved on, but there were still a lot of stragglers left behind. The warm home was in ruins, a wall completely collapsed and blackened from out of control fires that had burned out.

The barn had been completely destroyed in his and Venom's fight with Phage, the fields torn up with deep trenches. And the animals that didn't manage to escape were found torn to bloody shreds where the walkers had caught them.

The Greene's home truly belonged to the dead now. Like so many places before.

Shaking the blood from his machete, Alex went back to gathering supplies. Almost everything they had gathered that day was where it had been dropped, and he wasted no time in gathering it all up and loading it into the back of a black Chevy 4x4 he found along the way that still worked.

Once everything was loaded, he started going through the rest of the property and grabbed anything that was still useful. Finding some things in the remains of the RV and adding it with the rest before moving onto the house. Spending an hour picking through the wreckage and managing to find some food, Hershel's medical bag and a few other odds and ends.

Going up to the second floor, Venom using tendrils to keep him from falling through weakened boards and holes in the floor as he searched each room.

It turned out one of the rooms he had crashed through from Shane and Phage's first attack was Beth's. Both host and symbiote felt bad about that even though it wasn't their fault.

Shaking his head, Alex took out a large bag and started gathering a few articles of clothes like he had in Hershel and Maggie's rooms. Figuring the Greenes would appreciate having something to change into that he could add to the rest of the group's clothes that was already in the truck.

Venom laughed when its host blushed as he loaded a few of Beth's undergarments. Trying his best to keep his mind out of the gutter before sealing the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Turning to leave, Alex paused when something caught his attention. Crouching down where the bed had been flipped over, moving pieces of the frame aside, he found a broken jewelry box that had once been on the nightstand.

Inside he found only one piece of jewelry, a gold cross on a chain with a sapphire in the middle with diamonds around it. He picked it up carefully, also finding a picture frame facedown on the floor. Turning it over, he saw that it was a picture of Beth with her sister and father. A young man Maggie's age was in it as well along with an older blonde woman.

It wasn't hard to figure out that the unknown duo were Beth's older brother and mother respectively. This was cemented by the fact that the same cross he held in his other hand was around the woman's neck.

"A keepsake, from our mate's mother," said Venom, knowing the significance behind the necklace.

Alex nodded, pocketing both the cross and the picture before moving on. After another hour he returned to the truck and loaded everything in the back with the rest.

The host approached the driver's side door, but paused at the last moment. "We need to talk," he said seriously.

Venom came out in its head-tentacle form. Not saying a word, already knowing what its host was going to ask.

"Level with me here, V. How many more of your kind are we dealing with?" asked Alex.

"It's...hard to say. I know of two that died in the lab before you and I bonded. And we killed Phage. If any others survived all this time, they are well hidden. Or too far away for us to sense." the symbiote lamented. "I just hope and pray Riot wasn't one of them…"

The name had Alex perking up, "Riot? Wasn't he the one running the cult you came here with? The one that worshiped Knull?"

Venom nodded, "And the most dangerous out of us all. He's ruthless, merciless, he's eaten anyone that stood in his way. He planned to take over this world in Knull's name. Saying something about it was part of some 'plan'."

"Why though? What could possibly be here that your former cult leader would want for a god?" asked the host, wanting to know more.

"I don't know. He kept the details to himself. But whatever it was, your race would have suffered greatly."

Alex thought hard before shaking his head, "We'll worry about that another time, then. But we'll keep our eyes and ears open incase another one of your old friends decides to have a reunion." he said before getting into the truck. "Is there anything else you're not telling me? Something else I should know?"

The symbiote was silent as it slipped back inside the human. "You know as much as I do at this point."

Nodding, the host turned the truck on before turning it around and leaving the Greene farm for the last time. Running over a crawling walker's head along the way.

X

The sun had begun to set on another day, and the survivors were preparing to head out to another, safer place to set up camp since the ones that went scavenging earlier managed to find some supplies and a decent amount of gas for the cars to get them rolling again.

"Has anyone seen or heard from Alex?" Rick asked as they continued to load up what they had.

"No. Been gone all day like you guys were." said T-Dog. "You think he and his alien ran into some trouble?"

"Not much on this planet can stop them, unless another one of those freaks tried to jump 'em." said Daryl.

The conversation was cut off by the sound of another engine getting closer. The group took cover, drawing weapons in preparation for a possible fight. A black Chevy came up the road and parked close to the others, the engine cutting and the door opened to reveal Alex.

"Well, this seems familiar." the host said with a smirk, remembering the day they all first met. Everyone else relaxed and couldn't help but smile back at him.

"You find anything?" asked Rick.

"Almost everything we left behind the other night." Alex replied before showing them what he brought, "Along with a few extra odds and ends we might need. Also siphoned as much gas as I could on the way back which is why I'm a bit late."

"Shit! We might actually be okay for a while." said Glenn as they took in all the supplies and the six full gas canisters in the back of the host's new truck.

Alex grabbed a couple of bags and approached the Greene family. "I also brought a few things from your home. Mostly clothes. I'm sorry, but the dead have the place overrun. V and I killed dozens of rotters and more kept coming."

Hershel looked solemn at the news as he accepted the bag offered to him. "Thank you for at least bringing us what you could." he said gratefully.

The host reached into his coat and held out a worn, leather bound bible that the old farmer recognized immediately. "With everything that's going on, I don't think a little faith would hurt." Alex said with a kind smile.

Accepting his personal bible, Hershel gave a watery smile to the younger man in thanks.

"Dude, you touched my girlfriend's underwear?" Glenn asked affronted, Maggie rolling her eyes beside him.

"I went through a horde to bring your girl something extra to wear when you two decide to sneak off. I think the words you are looking for are 'thank you'." the host deadpanned.

Before Glenn could say anything else, Maggie spoke up gratefully. "Thank you."

Alex shook his head and turned to Beth who was looking through her own bag, a slight look of disappointment on her face. "Beth?" she looked up as he pulled out the picture frame and the necklace he had found. "Figured these might be important."

The blonde took the items carefully, looking them over with tears in her eyes before hugging Alex tightly.

Once everything was divided up, the group got into their vehicles and began to make their way to their next camp site. In the Chevy, Alex drove with Beth sitting next to him, her mother's cross around her neck. Their hands held over the center console with Venom's head suspended above them.

None of them knew what was coming next. But as long as they were all together, they would survive.

X

Andrea collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. She'd been running nonstop for over a day, ever since she woke up and found the farm in flames and overrun with walkers.

She couldn't believe Shane knocked her out, or that the others had disappeared leaving her behind. With no weapons or supplies all she could do was run as some of the herd came after her.

Now she had nothing left as she laid on the cold ground with the sounds of walker's closing in. Her eyes drifted shut and slipped into darkness with the knowledge she might not be waking up again.

Four walkers that had been chasing the woman closed in, preparing to tear into her warm flesh when the one in the lead had the top half of its head removed with a flash.

The remaining walkers turned only for their heads to be removed as well, their bodies falling at the feet of someone shrouded in a dark green cloak with a katana held in their right hand.

Sheathing the sword at their waist, the figure knelt down beside the woman and checked her pulse. Reaching up, they pulled down the hood to reveal an african-american woman with shoulder-length dreadlocks.

"She's still alive." she said to herself. "We should help her."

Birds chirped in the trees above as she looked to the left, "Because it's the right thing to do. We can't leave her to die." Her cloak shifted unnaturally before going still. Rolling her eyes, she picked up the blonde woman with surprising strength and went deeper into the trees. Showing that she had a dark-skinned child no older than three strapped to her back that looked around them in wonder.

A walker came out from behind a tree and reached for the child, only for a black and green tentacle to lash out and split it down the middle. Both halves falling to the ground as another tentacle offered the child cracker that they took smiling, reaching out and grabbing the strange appendage while he enjoyed his snack.

X

A/N: And thus, the season ends. With a lot more to think about than what some could anticipate.

I'm probably going to start working on a couple of my other stories before continuing on this one. But I fully intend on continuing this until the very end, so don't think for a second I'm done. Because there's no stopping me now.