Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.
Bamby
MPOV
"We are not letting them in!" Gregory exclaimed as he stood beside me.
Jesus had come back with the others and explained to me why they'd brought the Saviours. Apparently it had been his idea. Apparently he thought this would be a better way to handle the situation than to kill them all. By locking them up and keeping them here.
Part of me could see his logic, but not all of me. I could also see the danger, the hindrance, the resources they were going to cost. There were families behind our walls, he couldn't possibly expect me to risk their lives to save those of people who'd killed countless people mercilessly.
"No way!" Gregory shook his head, his view on the subject strong and clear. "With what they did? With what they do? They are monsters!"
"Gregory-"
He didn't even give Jesus a chance to argue his point. "No! This is not a sanctuary for killers. We'll be putting the safety of everyone in jeopardy!"
With a cold and stern glare, I looked to him. "Get out of here."
"I know what they are. I have stared into the face of th-"
"Gregory!" I snapped at him the way a mother snaps at her children. "Go."
Sighing at me, he finally did as I asked and walked away.
"He actually came back after all that," Jesus muttered as soon as he was gone.
"And I actually let him in."
Stepping forward, with her arms crossed over her chest, Tara shrugged. "No offense, Jesus, but I kind of agree with that prick."
"There are families here. Children," I added.
Jesus seemed set in the idea, however. "There's two empty trailers out back. We could lock them up in there with 'round-the-clock guards until this whole thing is over. And go from there."
"You know what they've done to us. What they've taken from us."
He nodded at me. "Of course I do. But they surrendered."
"Jesus…"
"We can't let them go, and we can't kill them." He shook his head. "We can't."
VPOV
After we'd dealt with the remaining Saviours that had turned into walkers, and any body that might turn later, everyone began to climb into the cars to leave. A few stayed behind, though, as we all had to go off into different directions and do more for the plan.
Dad walked outside, a baby in his arms.
I stepped forward out of instinct, taking her into my arms as a smile spread over my face. "Hey there, sweetie."
"She was inside?" Tobin asked as he neared us.
"She was." Dad nodded. "I have a- I have a stop to make, and Daryl's got his bike. Vickie is going with him." He looked up at Tobin. "Maybe she can go back with you or Scott?"
"She can go with me." Aaron stepped forward.
My heart broke at the sight of him. During the fight… he'd lost Eric. I couldn't imagine the pain he was in.
"I can, uh, t-take her to the Hilltop. She'll be safe there," he assured us, stepping towards me.
"You sure?" dad asked him, not about her being safe but about him going to Hilltop.
Aaron nodded. "Eric and I were gonna go up- we were gonna go there after and update Maggie. So that's what I'm gonna do." His eyes remained on her as she wriggled in my arms. "Please. I have to."
"Of course." Offering a small smile, I handed her over.
"Her name's Gracie," Dad added.
He smiled down at her brightly. "Hey, Gracie."
Daryl stepped up to me, sliding his hand into mine and giving it a squeeze. I looked down at our hands and smiled, while my heart cracked a little more. I knew seeing me with a baby in my arms would have reminded him of our dreams, but that just reminded me of my truths. The chances of me ever having a baby of my own were slim.
Following Dad, we headed over to his car and Daryl's bike, needing to keep the plan moving. Dad had a few more things to do, while the Daryl and I had to go home and get everything ready for the next part.
"See you back home." Dad nodded to us as he stepped up to his car.
"Sure you wanna talk to them assholes alone?" Daryl asked, knowing the Scavengers weren't the easiest to get along with.
"Yeah." Dad shrugged. "That's how it gets done."
"All right. You're gone too long, I'm gonna come lookin' for you," Daryl reminded him before moving to get on his bike.
"Where he goes, I go," I added. "We'll cut through them all to find you."
Dad chuckled. "I know. That's the plan."
The sound of gunshots going off and hitting Dad's car had us all ducking. Daryl held me down behind his bike as Dad ducked behind the car, looking over in the direction for where the shots had come from.
"Hey!" Dad called. "Hey! You're alone. You got to be. There's not enough room for two of you behind that tree. And there's a herd coming. I'm just sayin'. Hey, I tell you what we'll make you a deal. You drop your gun and come on out. You tell us what we need to know. You do that, you can take a car. You go. You live. How about it?"
There was a pause as the person thought about the options before responding, "Why should I trust you?"
"'Cause I'm giving you my word," Dad told him. "There's not a lot that's worth much these days, but a man's word that's got to mean something, right?"
"O-o-okay." On shaking legs, the guy steppe out into the open.
He looked younger than me, and realising that, I remembered how young I actually was. Before the world had ended I hadn't even been able to drink legally. I'd never had sex, and certainly hadn't killed another person. Hell, I'd barely shot a gun.
There was no way to really track how much time had passed since the end of the world, but I would guess it had been about four years. A lot had happened in that time, and I was still in my mid-twenties. You had to grow up fast in a world like this.
Stepping out from our own hiding spots, we all aimed our guns at the guy as he looked at each of us, his knees practically shaking with fear.
"W-what do you wanna know?"
Dad lowered his gun. "You ever have any M2 Browning .50-caliber guns here?"
"We did." The Saviours nodded. "For a while."
"What happened to 'em?" Daryl growled, pissed just at the sight of a Saviour.
"They got sent to another outpost yesterday."
"Which one?" Dad asked in a calmer manner than my husband.
"It was Gavin's. It's west of here. Can I, uh- Can- can I go?"
Without missing a beat, Daryl shot the guy in the head and then looked to me. "Which team's at Gavin's?"
"Carol's," I answered without missing a beat or blinking an eye. "They don't stand a chance." As Daryl climbed onto his bike, I turned to Dad, seeing him looking at us with disbelief. "What?"
"I gave that man my word."
"Don't matter," Daryl countered as I climbed on his bike behind him. "After the shit they've done. None of 'em deserve to live."
NPOV
The sound of a gunshot going off had me dragging Gabriel through the corridors of the Sanctuary a little faster as we neared the gathered crowd.
"I am Negan!" Regina exclaimed. "Anyone else want a bullet? Anyone?"
Slowly down, I whistled as I rounded the corner, watching everyone get to their knees. Beside me, Gabriel followed suit, getting to the ground.
"Ah, Regina," I chuckled, though I was not amused. "Now, why'd you have to go and do that?" My eyes scanned the gathered crowd. "I am guessing that a lot of you fine folks thought I was dead, chewed up, never to be crapped out again. Well, here's a little refresher on who the hell I am. I wear a leather jacket, I have Lucille, and my nutsack is made of steel. I am not dying until I am damn good and ready. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I am in deep need of a sandwich, a shower, and some of that, uh, wilting lion orchid deep-tissue shit that Frankie learned in San Francisco. Hell, I might do it all at once."
All eyes remained cast down.
"But after that, we have some serious business to attend to." I lifted Lucille and pointed her at Simon. "Like talking to my right-hand man. You see, we got to figure out how all this could've happened like it happened. And then? Well, and then we're gonna get back doing what we have always done. We will save people.
"Thank you, Negan," one of the female workers called out. "Thank God for you."
Grinning, I looked down at Gabriel as he looked up in bewilderment. "And that is why I am here." Turning to two Saviours, I gestured to the priest. "Gentlemen, gently take him to number 2. Gently."
VPOV
We'd been approaching where Carol's team had been designated when suddenly a Jeep had pulled out of the lot and sped down the road. One of the men inside the vehicle looked back at Daryl and I as we rode in front of Dad, and with that one look we knew.
They had the guns, and they were taking them straight to the Sanctuary.
Reaching for my gun, I got ready as we neared the Jeep.
Unfortunately, before I could shoot, the back of the Jeep opened, revealing one of the Saviours as they then began to shoot at us with the M2 Brownings. Losing control of the bike, Daryl slid off the road and into some tall grass. I rolled further than him, hitting a large rock as I did. If it wasn't for the leather jacket he made me wear every time I got on the bike with him, the fall would have done some serious damage.
Dad kept going, knowing that Daryl and I would be fine, but he had to get those guns before they got to the Sanctuary.
"You all right?" Daryl hurried over to me.
Clutching my arm, I hissed and nodded. "Fine." Taking his offered hand, I let him get me to my feet. "Come on. We need to help Dad."
Hurrying over to Daryl's bike, I helped him stand it back up before the two of us climbed on again and continued down the road.
Going as fast as he could, Daryl didn't waste any time in catching up with Dad. As soon as we were behind him, he swerved out of the way as I grabbed my gun and started shooting. The guy in the back, shooting at Dad, didn't have a chance to get out of the way before I shot him straight in the chest, killing him.
It was all now about Dad getting beside the Jeep and swerving the driver off the road.
Holding onto Daryl tightly, I watched as Dad fought with the driver for a moment before managing to sneak in beside him. Then he surprised us all as he jumped into the Jeep.
My grip on Daryl only tightened as I watched them struggle in the Jeep until Dad somehow managed to get the upper hand and swerve towards an approaching slope. Right before the Jeep went down, the Saviours was pushed out of the car before Dad went down the steep slope and crashed into a tree.
Daryl stopped by the edge of the road before we both jumped off and ran to check on Dad.
Climbing up the slope, Dad looked up at us. "Hey."
I let out a relieved sigh. "You scared the crap out of me," I scolded as I offered Dad my hand and helped him back up.
"Sorry," he grunted, trying to catch his breath. "We got the guns."
"You look like shit," Daryl noted.
"Really?" I rolled my eyes at him, earning a shrug.
It was hard to remember that my husband was also best friends with my Dad. They weren't friends because he was my husband, but because they'd been through so much together. It made for a weird dynamic sometimes.
"Let's go see if this asshole's alive." Dad gestured over his shoulder where the Saviours was still on the road. Walking over there, Dad took the lead as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the guy. "Your people back in the chemical plant, did you win?"
The Saviour was barely holding on. Just looking at him I could see whatever Dad had done in the Jeep had done some damage. He wasn't gonna make it far, even though he was trying to crawl away.
Rolling onto his back, the Saviour looked up at the three of us. "No one did," he answered, coughing up blood.
"The hell's that supposed to mean?" When the guy didn't answer, Daryl put his gun in the guy's face. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"Everyone's dead."
"Bullshit."
I could understand Daryl's denial and disbelief. Carol was another one of his best friends. She was family. She'd been with us since Atlanta. One of the remaining Atalanta five. Carol, Dad, Daryl, Carl, and myself. If she was dead, it would crush us all.
Not only that, but there were a lot of people in her group. A lot of good people. A lot of Kingdom people. To think we'd pulled them into this war only to get them killed made me sick to my stomach.
"There's no one else? You're the only one?" Dad asked.
"Me. The King. The Axe Man. And a short-haired psycho lady."
Oh thank god. Even though there were still a lot of people we'd lost, I was grateful Ezekiel, Jerry and Carol had made it out. I was glad we hadn't lost everyone.
"You did this." The Saviour looked up at us accusingly. "My people. Your people. They're all gone." He looked down at the bloody wound on his side where Dad had stabbed him in the car. "Damn. And now me, too."
Turning away from him, Daryl and I left him to die on the side of the road as we began to climb down to the Jeep to fetch the guns.
Daryl helped me climb down the slope, moving slowly and carefully so I wouldn't slip. As he got to the bottom he grabbed my waist and lifted me, before setting me down beside him. I smiled up at him quickly before we continued for the car, while Dad started his descent.
Reaching for the back of the Jeep, Daryl tried and failed to pull one of the crates out. "Give me a hand with this."
Stepping forward, I worked with him to get it out as Dad caught up. Daryl and I set the box down and opened it, finding dynamite inside.
He reached back into the Jeep and grabbed a bag, emptying the contents onto the ground before stuffing it with the dynamite. "We can use these now."
Dad watched him with a frown. "What?"
"Well, think about it." Daryl shrugged. "There ain't no Kingdom no more."
"Yeah…" Dad still didn't get it, and to be honest neither did I.
"We know what we got to do. We blow open the Sanctuary, let the walkers flood in. They'll surrender. It'll be done. Hell, we could end this by sundown."
I looked from Daryl to Dad, seeing the conflict in their eyes. "You know what… I'm just gonna let you two figure this out while I get the rest of the stuff out of the Jeep." Turning my back to them, I reached back into the vehicle.
"They have workers in there, right? Families, too," Dad noted. "Are there?"
Pausing a moment, Daryl weighed the options. "We'll hit the south side of the main building. The workers live in the north side. They'll be up the stairs before the walkers even get in."
"What if they don't?" Dad really wasn't into the plan. He didn't want to hurt people who didn't deserve it. Hell, he didn't even want to kill every Saviour. "There are people in there who aren't fighters. Doing this could change that. Make them pick up guns and stand by the Saviours. And if the Saviours don't surrender, maybe everyone fights us. And we don't have the Kingdom anymore." I glanced over my shoulder and watched him shake his head. "We're not doing this."
I understood where he was coming from. While I was prepared to kill those who had wronged our communities, who had killed mercilessly because of Negan, who followed him blindly… I wasn't prepared to kill those who had done nothing wrong.
Just like how I knew Negan would never kill people like that in our communities. Children, elderly, the weak. If Negan won and he got into Alexandria, I at least knew no harm would come to my sister and daughter.
Daryl, however, seemed to be determined to see this new plan through. "No. You ain't doing this." He shoved Dad's shoulder and started to walk away, the bag of dynamite in hand.
Not giving up so easily, Dad hurried after him, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him back. "There's a plan, and everyone's sticking to it."
"Not everyone. There's a lot of our people that are dead, Rick. Things change, man." Daryl went to walk off again, only to stop himself this time. "Negan and that other group, this is on them. If people die, it's their fault, not ours."
"Daryl, we can't do this."
"And we got our own people to look after." Daryl looked over Dad's shoulder at me. "I got my own people to look after."
He would do a lot for our communities. He would do anything for our family.
As Daryl tried walking away again, Dad just kept following him. "We're not doing this. Hey! I'm not letting you do this."
When Daryl didn't stop Dad reached for him once again, but this time Daryl spun around and clocked him in the jaw. Dad dropped to the ground.
"Daryl!" I cried out.
"This ain't your choice," Daryl grunted at Dad before grabbing the bag again and trying to leave once more.
Jumping to his feet, Dad pounced on him.
I watched as they fought, punching each other until Daryl got Dad on the ground. Straddling him, Daryl punched Dad again, but he wasn't one to give up. The struggled and fought, rolling over until Dad had the upper hand.
Getting to his feet, Dad grabbed the bag the threw it back to the car, by my feet. Daryl just jumped him, getting Dad into a choke hold.
"Stop it!" I screamed, storming towards them. "Both of you! Stop it right now! Daryl!"
Dad's eyes went wide as he looked over at me. Tapping Daryl's arm, he got my husband's attention and had him look over as well. He let Dad go right away before hurrying over to me and grabbing my arm. I barely had a chance to look behind us as he dragged me away before the Jeep exploded, sending the three of us flying.
Rolling onto my back, I leaned on my elbows and watched as the flames grew and the dynamite blew up.
Well… there goes Daryl's plan.
NPOV
After cleaning up and relaxing a bit, I returned to the meeting that had been cut short earlier. This time, though, we were more focused on figuring out how Rick and his piss patrol knew how to hit us, where one of the workers got a gun from, and how the hell we were gonna get the fuck out of the mess we were in.
Stepping forward, Arat dumped a bag onto the table. "Good news is, I figured out where that asshole's gun came from."
"And the bad news?"
"They're ours," Gary started. "Stolen from the armoury. A worker couldn't have gotten this many guns without us knowing about it."
"They couldn't have got one," Laura noted.
Simon shook his head as he sat at the other end of the table. "No, one of our own did this. Is doing this, right now."
"Tell me how we find him, Simon."
He shrugged. "We find when the munitions went missing. Through that, we get an idea of the how, which hopefully leads us right to who. But we start with when."
Sounded like a decent plan to me.
DPOV
I stopped my bike by Rick as he climbed out of his car- which he'd jumped out of earlier. Vic got off first and stood there, waiting for her dad to come over to us. I stayed on the bike, though, still a little pissed at him.
"There's a plan. We got to see it through," Rick noted as he came to stop by Vic, directing the words at me.
"We gotta win," I countered.
"Yeah, we gotta."
He didn't even realise how badly I wanted Negan dead. If he knew, he wouldn't have fought me on my plan. He would have been right by my side. As much as it would've helped me, I still wouldn't do it to Vic or our family. I would never use what she went through to get what I wanted.
"Choke hold's illegal, asshole."
I gave Rick a short nod. "Mm-hmm. Yes, it is."
"You're both idiots." Vic rolled her eyes at us and then turned to her dad. "Car isn't working?"
He shook his head. "Looks like I'm walking."
"Yep."
"Stop being a dick, Daryl," Vic warned as she stepped up to give Rick a hug. "Be safe."
"I'll meet you when I'm done with the last play," he assured us as they parted.
Giving Rick one last small smile, Vic climbed back onto the bike and wrapped her arms around me.
Despite being pissed with the guy, I was still worried for him. "You sure about doing it?"
"Yeah, I am."
Knowing there was nothing more to do, and that he was determined to do this part on his own, I started the bike and rode off, hoping he could get through to the Scavengers.
NPOV
As we all started leaving the meeting, I called Eugene back before he could get too far, "Yo. Dr. Smartypants." He froze before slowly turning to me. "Big, big chance here." I started towards him. "You solve this thing with the bad-smelling convention outside, I will make you very, very happy. But even if you try your best and I know you try your best but you don't figure something out… I assure you, I will kill you quickly so you don't have to see all the awful, horrific things that are gonna go down here when we run out of food and water. What I'm saying is that I got your back either way. You got mine?"
I knew there was a good chance he was the one who betrayed us, but until I had proof, I was gonna trust my threats lit a fire under his ass. I trusted he was gonna get us out of here to save himself, 'cause that's the kind of person he is. Someone willing to do whatever it takes to save his own ass.
Bamby
