Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.
Bamby
VPOV
Daryl kicked the door open and charged in, crossbow raised and ready. When no one jumped out or came running, we moved forward, slowly making our way through the room. It was some kind of office, with cubicle like areas with desks and lights set up for people to work.
Moving further into the room, we headed for the only other door in the area. Daryl took point while I walked behind him, my back to his and my gun raised just in case anyone found the two of us.
Reaching for the door, he tested the handle and found it unlocked, before throwing it open. Then he stopped.
"Daryl?" Looking over my shoulder, I saw him tense. "Daryl?" Lowering my gun, I turned to him, reaching out to place my hand on his arm.
He took a small step to the side and let me see what he'd found.
It was a closet. A dark, small, lonely closet. Inside was a plate and a dog-food sandwich on the ground, and blood. The smell and look of it reminded me of the storage room Negan had kept Sasha in, which had no doubt been the same one Daryl had been kept in.
My throat tightened as I pictured what it must have been like for him. How he must have felt. How he must feel now that he knew the woman he loved had not only betrayed him, but it was with the same man that had treated him less than an animal.
"I'm so sorry." My voice shook.
Looking down at me, he frowned, confused. "Vic-"
"I hate myself. I hate that I spoke up against Negan the night he killed Glenn and Abraham. I hate that I let them take you. I hate that I didn't fight harder to save you. I hate that I gave in so easily. I hate myself so much because you deserve better."
Turning to me, he grabbed my arm with his free hand and backed me up, away from the closest. Even when I couldn't see inside anymore, I continued to stare, shocked and broken beyond belief.
"Don't," he grunted, guiding me back until I collided with one of the desks. "Don't talk like that."
"It's true."
"No, it ain't." Grabbing my chin, he lifted my head until I met his gaze. "You had no choice."
"Daryl-"
Not wanting to hear me anymore, he cut me off as he pressed his lips against mine in a rough kiss. At first, I struggled, not wanting to give into him when we needed to talk about us, about what I'd done. But I couldn't fight for long, and soon melted into the kiss.
Dropping his crossbow onto the table, he grabbed my hips and lifted me onto the table with a grunt, never parting our lips. Reaching for his shirt, I fisted the material and pulled him closer as my legs wrapped around his waist, locking him in place. His fingers dug into the flesh of my thighs, pulling me against him until I couldn't possibly get any closer.
His tongue licked against my lips and I groaned, letting him snake it into my mouth and slide against my own. Bringing a hand up to the back of my head, he carded his fingers through my hair and held me with a death-like grip as he devoured me with his mouth.
When we both needed to breathe, he reluctantly pulled back. With a heaving chest, he stared down at me. "Don't wanna hear you talk like that."
All I could do was nod.
"Come on." Stepping away from me, he grabbed his crossbow and my hand. "We gotta keep looking."
RPOV
I'd come to the last room I had to search, and there were still no guns. Walking further into the last room- someone's small home- I noticed something on the dresser. A photo. Reaching for it, I snatched it up and couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"Damn it."
"Keep your hands down." I froze as someone stepped up behind me, a gun aimed at my head. "Turn around slow."
Doing as they said, I found myself looking into the eyes of the person in the photo. Of a person I'd known a long time ago.
"Hi, Rick."
"Your name is Morales. You were in Atlanta."
"That was a long time ago." He kept the gun aimed at my face. "It's over, Rick. I called the Saviours back. And they're coming." He cocked his gun. "Guns down now."
Crouching down, I placed both my guns on the ground between us.
As I stood again, he scoffed, "So, you're the Rick from Alexandria. This whole time, it was you."
"You called your men in for nothing. The fight's out there. It's just me in here." There was no way I was letting him get out of this room. I couldn't let him find Daryl and Vickie.
They could hold their own, but I didn't want to risk it. Seeing that baby, it just reminded me that while Vickie could protect herself, I didn't like that she had to. Back in Atlanta she hadn't been able to do much. She'd barely shot a gun before. Now she'd killed more people than most of us. She was covered in scars. She'd been through too much.
There was more, though. Vickie and Daryl… they had a child of their own. Aly needed her parents to get back home. They needed to get back to their family.
"Did you hear what I just said? I know who you are. I saw it in the mirror through the open door. And it wasn't any kind of blast from the past. As soon as I saw you I knew you'd made the same trip as me. From there to here. Shit, well… well, I guess we aren't the same guys we used to be, huh? 'Cause you're a monster."
He wasn't wrong. I wasn't the man he'd known back then, and he clearly wasn't the same either.
"I called them back because you're a prize, Rick. We've been told we don't kill you, the Widow, the King, or the Princess. Not if we don't have to. Except the Princess. No one puts a hand on her."
It wasn't hard for me to figure out who he was talking about. Vickie. The fact she was completely off bounds… I was starting to think more went down at the Sanctuary than she had shared.
"So why are you here, Rick? I know you, just like before. You're always the guy willing to rush in. But why? What is it you're looking for?" he asked, but I just stood there, staring him down, refusing to answer. "Nothing to say, huh? It doesn't matter. Not anymore. Not for you or anyone else you brought in here. 'Cause what's left of my people… they're coming. And we'll get you to Negan. Or we won't. Either way, we're gonna settle your shit, Peaches."
"Is your family here?"
He barely flinched. "We never made it to Birmingham." There was a pause before he corrected himself, "They didn't."
"Well, I'm sorry."
"Really, Rick?"
"I am." I nodded, speaking truthfully. "I lost people, too. Lori. Shane. Andrea. Glenn. Negan killed him. Forced him to his knees. Bashed his head in right in front of me. In front of his pregnant wife," I spat the last part.
That had him pause and lower his gun. "He had a wife?"
"Not before. He met her."
"In this?"
"Yeah. In this. She's the Widow." I watched him carefully to see if I could get a reaction out of him. "Are you Negan, too?"
"I lost my family. I lost my mind. I was in some tow trailer, sleeping myself to death. Waiting to become nothing. And the Saviours… they found me. They thought I was worth a damn. Worth bringing back with 'em. So, yeah." He raised his gun again. "Yeah, I'm Negan. To make it this far, this long, I had to be. I had to be something. Just like you."
"We're not the same."
"How's that?"
"Well, look at you."
"Look at me? Look at us, Rick. Look at us. We're two assholes who'll do whatever we have to just to keep going. And the only difference is I'm the one holding the gun. That doesn't make me any worse than you, Rick. That just makes me luckier. 'Cause let's face it, if it wasn't me, if it was you holding the gun, I'd be brains out on the floor right now."
"You don't know that."
"And you do? Huh?"
"I know I wouldn't want to."
"Come on. Is that the best you can do?"
"I'd- I'd at least try to find another way."
"Yeah? Why? 'Cause we knew each other for a few days back at the start?"
"Look, I know- I-I wouldn't- I wouldn't just-"
"You want to know what I think? I think you can talk all you want. You can say all the words. Lori, Shane, Andrea, Glenn. They're all dead, and somewhere along the way, Officer Friendly died right along with 'em. Just like I did with them. That's what I know, Rick."
Movement behind him caught my eye.
"Wait, no!"
As Morales turned around Daryl shot an arrow into his head.
"You good?"
With wide eyes, I looked from Daryl to the body now on the ground. "That-t-that was-"
"I know who it was. It don't matter. Not one little bit."
Vickie stepped up beside him, glancing at the body with barely a flinch before she looked to me. "We got nothing. What about you?"
"The guns aren't here," I told them, getting to my knees to pick up my own guns.
"What?" Daryl was pissed.
"He called the Saviours back from the courtyard." I nodded to Morales. "We gotta get out before-" The sound of gunshot cut me off. "They're here."
DPOV
Running down the corridor, Rick, Vic and I tried to find the nearest way out before we were found by the Saviours. As we neared the elevator shaft, though, we had to jump back into another hallway as gunfire started.
"Come on! Come on! Let's go!"
"Fuck." Vic pressed herself against the wall and checked her ammo. "They're blocking the way out."
"It's them!" A voice of one of the Saviours called.
"We're gonna have to fight our way through." Stepping forward, Rick took a breath and then leaned out to look down the passageway. "There! Go!" He gestured to a room down the hallway.
Vic and I hurried over to the other side of the hallway and ducked into the small room.
The three of us stood by the edges of the corridor and got ready before we stepped out.
Bit by bit, one by one, we shot at the nearing Saviours. Ducking back for cover here and there, I stayed high while Vic stayed low, and Rick stayed on the other side. We didn't stop pulling the trigger as the Saviours kept on shooting back at us.
"I'm out!"
Reaching for her holster, Vic pulled out her other gun and slid it across the ground to me. We met each other's gaze, nodding at each other before we got back to it.
We both knew what was at stake here. Not only could we die, but that meant that everyone else could be in danger. But to make matters worse, we could get separated. Held hostage until they found a way to get Negan out of the wall of walkers back at the Sanctuary.
If Vic went back there, nothing good would happen. If I got my hands on Negan, he wouldn't make it out alive.
"Hey!" Ricked yelled, catching our attention. As we looked at him he gestured across the walkway.
Vic and I trusted whatever plan he had and nodded. He counted down from three, aimed, and then shot.
White fog filled the hallway from the fire extinguisher he'd shot at. It quickly clouded our view, and the Saviours'.
"Come on!" Rick called.
Moving quickly, Vic and I hurried over to Rick before the three of us moved the last few steps towards the elevator shaft. Ducking behind the wall before the drop-down, we waited and listened as the Saviours hurried after us.
Right as the first one appeared out of the fog, Rick grabbed him and tossed him down the shaft. Vic was quick to do the same with the next one, and then I dealt with the third. As we reached for the last of them charging towards us, though, we were stopped as they were suddenly shot down.
"Teams of four, sweep the offices!"
"Aaron!" Rick called through the fog.
"Rick!"
"We're by the elevator!"
MPOV
"Hey!" Gregory called as he banged his fist on the gates of Hilltop. "Hello! Open the gates! I- I need help! I've been through hell! I know you're in there! I know you can hear me!"
I stood on the other side, my jaw clenched and arms folded over my chest as I contemplated our options. This wasn't just about him and me. There were dozens of people who would be affected by my next move.
Looking up at Kal, I gave him a firm nod. Doing as directed, he began to open the gates, but by only a few inches.
Gregory frowned as the gates didn't budge any further. "What, is the gate broken? I-I've told them to oil that-" He stopped himself, realising the truth. "The gate's not broken."
"What are you doing with Gabriel's car?" I asked. Enid had come rushing over to find me after she'd seen him driving towards the community in a car that was familiar and certainly not his. "Where is he?"
"I don't know who that is. Th-the car was just there," he explained with a shrug.
I didn't believe him, but I had no proof that he was lying. "So what are you doing here?"
"I live here. This is my home. I built this place," he said matter-of-factly. "Uh, you weren't here for that, but some of us didn't just show up."
"Shut your damn mouth!" I snapped, barely holding on to my anger. "You're really gonna stand there and pretend you didn't try to sell us out? Sell this place out to the Saviours?"
"I was working for the side of sanity. I was working for peace," he argued.
I should have let Vickie kill him. She'd wanted to gut him the first time we met him when he'd made lewd comments. She'd wanted to do it before she'd left for the Sanctuary. She'd wanted to do it from the moment she saw his face. I should have let her.
Or I should have done it myself. He built jack-shit. He barely lifted a finger around here. I was around long enough to see that it was Jesus who kept the place running. He jumped through hoops to appease both Negan and Gregory, neither of which did anything to actually better the people of Hilltop. Gregory was a leech that needed to be burnt off.
"You threatened to kick people out."
"I tried to save lives. Now those people are cannon fodder," he countered, always having a response to everything. God he pissed me off.
"Those people are fighting for a better life."
"Look, the 'throwing out the families' line was all Negan. He made me say those horrible things." Again, I didn't believe him. Not entirely. They'd said plenty of messed up things before so I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd come up with that speech on his own. "I went to them in- in- in- you know, in the interest of- of furthering good-faith diplomacy. I tried to save lives. Some people, without opinions coloured by a preoccupation with vengeance, might call that heroic."
I would have laughed if I wasn't so enraged. "You were looking out for yourself. You went there to betray us. To warn Negan that we were gonna fight. That's what you told Kal when you dragged him there. It's why Kal left you there.
"Kal?" he scoffed. "Kal is delusional."
"What the hell?" Kal leaned over the lookout railing above, glaring at Gregory.
Having not realised he was up there, Gregory looked up and quickly tried to explain himself, "Kal! Hey. C'mon, man. Y-you-you know you can be dramatic. That- That thing with the sorghum pancakes, huh?"
"You mean when you ate a little girl's pancakes?"
"I did not eat those pancakes!" Gregory insisted.
Kal just moved back and flipped him off.
Sighing, Gregory turned back to me. "Listen, for what it's worth, I did exactly zero harm to your cause. Negan already knew everything."
"Goodbye, Gregory." Turning on my heels, I began to walk away.
"Wait! No! Please! I- All right, I went there because I was scared, all right?" he called out, stopping me in my tracks despite my better judgement. "I knew you were going to fight, and- and I didn't want to be complicit. Because I didn't think you could win. But I see now what- what you saw all along. That- that- that the Saviours can't be reasoned with. That fighting them is the only way.
"I was wrong. I-I-I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. Please, Maggie," he begged. "We're all just human beings with faults and flaws and- and fears! But i-is this who you are? H-Have you no mercy? Have you no humanity? Have you no charity? Please! Open the gate. Open your heart. Don't leave another human being out here to die!"
I couldn't believe I was doing this…
Turning back around, I looked at Kal. "Let him in."
Enid was clearly shocked. "With everything he did? Why?"
"He's not worth killin'. Not yet, anyway."
Once the gates were open enough, Gregory hurried up to me. "You won't regret this. I've changed. I-I'm a believer now. You'll see."
As I turned to walk away again, this time it was Kal who stopped me. "Uhhh. Maggie?"
Looking up at him, I could see the concerned and confused expression on his face. Frowning, I started towards the gate, resting my hand on my gun as I went to see whatever had caught his attention.
Coming down the road, headed towards us, were our cars and our people… and rows of bound Saviours walking behind them.
Bamby
