Chapter 16: The World Turned Upside Down

~Clary~

This is it, I think as I stand on the balcony of Barrington, leaning against the railing. I watch the people below, a mixture of Hilltop natives and refugees from Alexandria and the Kingdom. All of us, though, we're fighters; all on one side in this war against the Saviors.

I meet Jesus's eyes as he looks up at me from the ground, and I call, "Can you come up? We need to talk." Jesus nods, and I jump back in surprise when he climbs up the side and over the bannister. "Damn, okay."

"It's faster," Jesus says with a shrug. He looks down at me as he leans against the railing beside me. "Everything okay?"

"You want my answer or the truth?" Jesus gives me a look. "I think it's the final battle, Paul, and I always knew I wouldn't walk away from the final battle. I don't think I'm going to survive this. That's why I wanted to talk."

"You wanted me to tell you that you'll make it through." I shake my head. "Then, what do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you that you will make it through. I want you to promise me that you will, damn any and every consequence. You survive, no matter what."

"Clary…"

"Please. Promise me."

"I'll promise if you promise. I'll survive if you promise to survive."

"You know I can't do that, Paul."

"Promise me, Cheyenne."

"You still follow me, yes? Despite all of the other leaders—Maggie, Ezekiel, Rick—you're my right hand. You'll still listen to what I have to say over them?"

Jesus pauses for a moment, like he doesn't understand why I'd have to ask that. "Of course."

"Then it's an order," I say. "As your leader, I'm ordering you to survive. Understand?"

Jesus looks away, out over the Hilltop; and when he looks back at me, I see tears in his eyes. His voice shakes as he says, "Yes, I understand."

"I, um, I have something for you," I say, taking a small step towards him. My hands shake as I take off the necklace I've only had off once for more than a few minutes since it was given to me. I run my fingers over the chain, coming to rest on the ring. "I want you to have this because it's time for me to let go."

"Clary…"

"Shh," I murmur, slipping the chain over his head. The ring comes to rest in the middle of Jesus's chest, and I look down at it sadly before lifting my eyes to his. "Sometimes I think that this is what kept me alive, Paul. And now, it's keeping you alive."

It's those words that cause Jesus to break like I've never seen before. I've seen him upset, a few tears falling. But I've never seen him break.

Jesus barely has his arms around me before his knees buckle, and he falls to the ground. I kneel with him, wrapping my arms around him as he sobs. I don't quite know what to do, not having expected this. I'm almost too shocked to move, only able to tuck his head under my chin as he presses his ear to my chest. One of his hands rests on my back at the opposite side of my heart, and I realize what he's doing. He's feeling for my heartbeat, listening to it.

"Paul, I'm still here," I whisper. "Hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that. My heart's still beating, I'm still breathing. That's what you said to me, when you got Daryl outta that place. My heart was beating then, and it is now. So just focus on that. Listen to my heartbeat."

"Please," Jesus sobs. "Please, don't go. Don't leave me."

"I'm not trying to die, Paul," I whisper. "We've talked about this. You know I don't want to die, but I'm willing to if it means an end to this war. But I promise you, Paul, I'll do whatever to live through it."

"And I'll promise to stay alive because I can't let you die, Clary. Especially if it means the war could end. You were there for the beginning, for all the battles. This new world, a world without the Saviors, is the one that you dreamt of. You have to be there to see it." I run a hand through Jesus's hair, kissing his cheek before resting my forehead against his. "There is no new world without you. You are the new world, Cheyenne Raleigh."

Jesus doesn't stray far from my side as we look over the map with the leaders of the communities and their right hands. "Alright, we'll stick to this road," Daryl says, pointing down at a road on the map. "Keep to the trees. Get there quicker. Plus, we can keep an eye on the road that way."

"Yeah, if they're planning anything, we'll see it," Rosita agrees with a nod. They got back yesterday after I did only to report that Eugene had the bullet factory up and running.

"I trust Clary's word, but can we trust Gregory?" Michonne inquires.

"We locked him up inside the house," Maggie says, nodding down to me. "He knew he wouldn't be allowed to walk around free. He knew he was coming back to that. He doesn't believe in anything except himself, and he'd have to believe in the Saviors a whole lot to send us into a trap and think it would work out for him."

"Unless Dwight didn't tell 'em. That asshole could be setting us up."

"He's not," I insist. "If you trust me, then extend that same trust to Dwight. He wouldn't lie. And if he is trying to send us into a trap, he wouldn't've saved my life back there just for me to die another day."

"Sometimes your blind trust saves people," Rick says as he folds the map and puts it in his pocket. "Other times, I wonder if it's gonna get us killed."

"At least I'm not the one putting us in danger," I retort.

I turn to walk away, Rick barking after me, "Hey! What the hell does that mean?!"

"You know exactly what it means!" I snap. "I just wanted to live in peace! It wasn't perfect, livin' under Negan, not by a long shot. But as long as we did what he asked, no one would die and he wouldn't hurt Daryl. But you just couldn't leave shit well enough alone. Whether we win or lose today, the fighting has to end, or else the dead will come for us all."

I walk away, and Carol jogs to catch up to me. She doesn't speak, and for that, I'm grateful. Then, Carol takes my arm, tugging me with her with a rushed, "Come on."

We jog to catch up to Morgan as he turns in circles, searching for something. She calls, "Morgan? Morgan, what is it?"

"They're gone," he says. "They're doing something."

"Who?" I ask. "Morgan, who's gone?"

That gate opens, revealing the small group of former Saviors that Alden took out to lure away walkers. Morgan starts towards them, the Saviors leaping aside as he raises his staff. I run forward, rushing, "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Morgan! Morgan, hey!"

I put myself between Morgan and Alden, backing up as he keeps coming. Fool, I think to myself, knowing that Morgan doesn't give a shit who's between him and his target. Morgan keeps his staff raised, level with my chest. Alden grabs me, pulling me back as we try to back away from Morgan.

Henry steps in, using his staff to knock Morgan's up and away before he touches me. Morgan spins, knocking Henry to the ground and aiming the pointed end at the young boy, who looks up at him with wide, fear-filled eyes. Despite being terrified of Morgan myself, I pull my gun on him, warning, "Back the hell off."

Carol intervenes, Morgan taking a step back as she confiscates his staff.

Morgan looks around at every that has gathered to watch, saying, "They were, uh… they were gone." Morgan points at Alden. "Him."

Alden releases me when he realizes he's still holding on, dropping his hands and taking a step back, whispering, "Sorry."

"They were coming in."

"I asked Maggie if we could clear the walkers from the walls," Alden explains. "We drew them away so we wouldn't have to worry about 'em when we rolled out."

"He did," Maggie says.

"Let's keep getting ready, everyone," Rick calls, drawing all of the attention to him. "First team's going in twenty."

"He said when we roll out," Maggie sneers, turning to Alden. She treats Alden a bit better than the rest of the Saviors, but she still hates him nonetheless. The fact that he's defected doesn't make much of a difference to her. "You and your people aren't coming. You can be here. But you're not us."

Maggie turns and walks away to continue preparations with Rick. Alden remarks, "As long as we got that straight."

He starts to lead the former Saviors into Hilltop, but I catch his arm, the rest continuing on. "Hey, Point Break," I say. "Remember the sheep?" Alden nods once. "They'll see, okay? They don't yet, but they will see. And if they don't, I'll make 'em."

Alden gives me a small, soft smile. "Thank you."

I release his arm, clapping his shoulder. "Alright, now get goin', pretty boy. We got a war to finish ."

A team of Saviors sets up a roadblock, just where Dwight said they'd be, according to the map. We watch them through the woods, Carol passing her binoculars to Rosita. As Rosita watches, Carol turns around and gives us the okay.

Rick, Daryl, Carol, Rosita, and Morgan open fire on the Saviors. They drop to the ground, dead. We move in, sweeping the area for any remaining Saviors. We drive our knives into the heads of the dead Saviors before they turn and kill the walkers they have in the roadblock. I round the front of a car, my gun up, as Morgan goes around the trunk. A Savior is there on his knees, hands raised in surrender as he begs for his life. Morgan raises his staff, and I cry, "No, don't!"

Morgan doesn't listen, killing the Savior anyway. He stabs him with the pointed end of his staff, then slits his throat. Jesus rushes over upon hearing my cry, taking my arm and pulling me behind him, as he knows what Morgan has done in the past. Jesus raises a hand, moving to rest it on Morgan's shoulder. I latch onto Jesus's arm, trying to pull him away from Morgan. Jesus glances over his shoulder at me, assuring me, "It's alright."

He rests his hand on Morgan's shoulder, questioning, "Morgan, are you with us?"

Morgan tears his gaze away from nothing in the distance, and Jesus glances over his shoulder, trying to find what Morgan was staring at. Morgan turns and walks away, never answering Jesus's question. Jesus turns to me, brushing my hair back with one hand as he asks, "Hey, you okay?"

"He—he—he surrendered," I reply. "Paul, he surrendered and he pleaded for his life. Morgan murdered him."

"I know you've stopped killing," Jesus says. "Alden and Dianne told me what you told them."

"He knows," Carl's ghost whispers in my ear.

"What do you know?" I ask.

"About how you've stopped killing because you stopped counting. Alden was worried about you, especially after you took off the other night. He told me what happened when you were out burying the Saviors, what you said."

"What exactly did he tell you?"

"Are you hiding something?" Jesus asks, pulling me to the side of the road so the others don't eavesdrop. "Clary, I… I know about Carl, if that's what you're asking. I understand it, I do. Losing someone you love. But if you tried to die for Alden just to… to be with Carl, then… Clary, maybe you shouldn't be out here."

"I have to, Jesus. I can't give up when we're this close."

"Good people, we found something on our quarry," Ezekiel says, ending my conversation with Jesus.

As we start over to join him, I take Jesus's arm, whispering, "I would prefer it if no one else knew, Paul."

"Of course," Jesus says with a nod. We join Ezekiel as he unfolds another map, Michonne asking, "What is it?"

"A list and another map," Ezekiel answers, reading it. "And what appear to be other facts."

Rick takes it, reporting, "They're lining up Saviors on the Old Mill Road. That's where Negan will be."

"We have to get to Negan before they figure out what happened here," Carol declares.

"Clary, the walkie," Rick requests, and I pass it over to him. "Maggie."

"I'm here," she says.

"It's time. It was a trap. So we're changing the plan." Rick passes the walkie back to me, scolding me, "It's your blind trust that wanted the rest of us to put our faith in Dwight, in a Savior. Look where you've gotten us."

I bow my head as Rick passes, unable to meet his eyes. I want to protest, but I can't. I really did trust Dwight. I really did have faith in him. I really, truly believed him.

And look where it got me.

We meet up with Maggie's crew, continuing on the course she and Rick worked out in case it was a trap. I walk with Ezekiel, admitting to him, "I didn't know."

"Hmm?" Ezekiel questions, glancing down at me.

"I didn't know," I repeat. "All of D's intel, it checked out. There was no reason this shouldn't. And then, it turns out that he gives me—the one who has put the most faith in him, of all people—the trap to end the revolution."

Ezekiel tells me, "I believe that sometimes everyone, including yourself, forgets that you're a child that can fall prey to naivety."

"I'm not a child, Ezekiel. I'm seventeen, and living in this world, there are no children."

"You're a child," Ezekiel repeats, "living in a world where there are no children. Embrace the contradiction, dear Cheyenne. It's what I did."

"Hey, I, uh, I'm sorry about Shiva, by the way." Ezekiel nods his acknowledgement, and everyone slows to a stop around us. I look around for what's causing us to stop, pushing to the front of the group as they all turn to look. I freeze when I see the herd, whispering, "Oh, my god."

"Jesus," Rosita sighs.

"Holy damn," Jerry says. "You ever see one that big?"

"No," Rick says. "Things are changing. Let's go."

"How much further?" Daryl questions.

"We grow closer," Ezekiel says. "Yonder, over the ridge."

"Let's move," I say, turning and continuing to walk next to Ezekiel. "I don't wanna stay here too long with that herd that close."

~Tara~

Kal did his job, warning us of the approaching Saviors. We get everyone out and into the woods surrounding the Hilltop. I lead the way, pausing at the edge of the woods to usher everyone in, making sure no one gets left behind. Enid carries a crying Gracie, rocking her as she tries to shush her.

Kal looks around, asking, "Is Gregory already out here?"

"We left him inside the house," Enid tells him. "Let them have him."

"Keep going," I order. "To the rendezvous point. The others should already be there."

To his Saviors, Alden calls, "Hold up!"

"What's going on?" Enid questions.

"I'm gonna try and slow them down," I say. "Go, Enid."

"What, just you?" Alden questions.

"Look, they can hear her. They can hear her in New Jersey."

"I don't know about Jersey, but I'm not lettin' you do this by yourself."

"You think I'm gonna give you a gun?"

"I'm gonna stay one way or another." He turns to his fellow defectors. "Any of you gents with me?" I turn, finding that all of the Saviors that defected have come back while the residents of the Hilltop continue to the rendezvous point. "'Cause I'm with her. Even if she's not with us."

I throw the bag of guns down at Alden's feet, telling him, "I can see why Clary accepted you."

"We're sheep, just like the rest of you," Alden says, kneeling as he begins passing out guns to the defectors. "You just see us wearing the wolf's clothing."

Alden arms his fellow defected Saviors, and we line up at the edge of the woods, waiting for the Saviors to emerge from the Hilltop to search for us. Finally, we see them round the corner of the wall. They don't see us, but they're heading in our direction. I whisper, "Give it another second. Let 'em come closer."

But we never have to fire.

There's a series of explosions as the Saviors get closer to us, burning all of them to death. The former Saviors follow behind me as we emerge from the woods, and I realize that the Oceanside has come to our rescue. I see Aaron speaking with Cyndie, thanking her for her help with the Saviors. "Aaron, Cyndie!" I call.

They both turn, grinning when they see me. I flip Rachel off as I pass her, continuing the tradition. I pull Aaron into a hug, telling him, "Oh, it's about time you got back."

"Well, I was getting more allies," he replies. "Where's my daughter?"

"You have a child?" Beatrice questions, having wandered over when she saw me. "If I had known, we wouldn't have left you out there, or at least given you something so you'd have a chance to make it back to her. How old is she?"

"You've met my daughter," Aaron replies. "Clary, remember? Tied you up once?"

"That's your daughter? She's what, seventeen?"

"She's not my daughter by blood," Aaron informs her. "Negan took her brother, and I took her in. She's mine, though. Just because we don't share blood doesn't change that." Aaron looks back to me. "Where is she?"

"Fighting," I answer. "She's ending this."

~Clary~

We exit the treeline, walking into an open field surrounded by hills. My heart stops in my chest when I hear the whistling. Jesus has been walking beside me, and I grab his hand. We all aim our guns, but we can't pinpoint which side the whistling is coming from. Jesus and I go back to back as Negan's voice booms over a sound system, surrounding us.

"Well, damn, Rick," he says. "Look at that. You are pegged again. Pegged so very hard. I ambushed your ambush with an even bigger ambush!"

"How about you step out and face us?" Rick shouts.

"Oh, I am everywhere, Rick. Some more bullhorns, more walkies. Pick a direction to run. See how you do. Make it fun for all of us. Guess what else I did. I brought you some of your old friends. You remember you old buddy Eugene? He is the person that made today possible."

"Well, fuck him!" I shout.

Negan chuckles. "You got that same attitude, Little Orphan Annie, for Dwighty boy here?"

I pale, knowing that Negan caught him, as I whisper, "No."

"No response?" Negan questions. "Huh. I would've thought for sure that the Orphan would try to save her spy. You hear that, Dwighty boy? There's nothing for you. In case you're wondering, he didn't sell you out on purpose. No, he is just a gutless nothing that sucks at life. And now, he gets to stand up here and watch you all die, and he's gonna live with that. Gabriel, well, he's gotta go, too. We are cleaning house today, Rick. And then… there's you."

Please, Negan, I silently beg. Please don't let them know.

"It never had to be a fight. You just had to accept how things are. So… here we go. Congratulations, Rick. Three! Two!" Saviors appear over the crests of the hills, surrounding us on every side. "One!"

The Saviors fire, but their bullets don't reach us. Instead, the majority of them drop to the ground or drop their weapons.

"What the hell?" I ask.

"Talk about a backfire," Carl quips.

I hiss, "Shut up, Cowboy."

Jesus glances over at me as everyone else looks at each other, equally confused as to what just happened to the Saviors. Rick siezes the moment, shouting, "Now!"

We split off, charging up the hills to battle the Saviors. Jesus gives me a small smile as he sees me knocking Saviors out rather than shooting them, adopting his code of not killing. We kneel over a Savior together, tying his hands behind his back. "Morgan!" Jesus calls.

Morgan knocks a Savior that's rushing us to the ground, spinning his staff to stab him. Jesus says, "Morgan, you don't have to."

Instead, Morgan uses the blunt end to knock the Savior out. Jesus smiles now that he's got another person to stop killing. Morgan turns before he can say anything, marching on into the battle. I see him heading for Dwight, who takes cover beside a car. I whisper, "Oh no."

I scramble to my feet, running to reach Morgan before he reaches Dwight. I tackle Morgan away from Dwight with a shout, his staff rolling out of reach. We roll, trading punches, until Morgan pins me beneath him. I fight him off as he tries to get his hands around my neck, and I snap, "We're supposed to be fighting them, not each other!"

"You're protecting them!" Morgan accuses.

Dwight kicks something to me, and I wrap my hand around wood. I swing it, knocking Morgan off of me with his own bo staff. I roll onto my knee, swinging again and knocking him to the ground. I stand, aiming the pointed end of the bo staff down at him as I pant, "Dwight's… one of... us."

I throw Morgan's staff off to the side, kneeling beside Dwight as I cut him free of his bindings. I turn his head, sighing softly as I take in the cuts on the unburned side of his face. "I'm sorry."

"You know, I think I'll have that drink now," Dwight returns.

"Yeah, yeah, I owe you one," I say, shaking my head at him as I press my spare gun into his hands. "Stick with me."

Dwight stands, following me as we catch up with Maggie. We raise our guns as we approach the Saviors, but they don't retreat. Laura raises her hands first, calling, "Don't shoot. Please." She gets on her knees, hands still raises. "We're done. It's over."

Laura nods to her fellow Saviors, and they kneel, hands raised. I let out a soft laugh, lowering my gun. "It's over," I echo. "They surrendered. It's over. We've won."

"Not yet," Maggie says. "They might've surrendered, but it's not over until Negan's dead."

~Rick~

I chase Negan down to a tree, stained glass hanging from its branches. I fire but miss, instead shattering the glass in one window. Negan hides behind the tree as I fire again, but my gun clicks. Fuck it. We'll do it up close and personal.

I run down, but Negan's ready for me. He hits me with Lucille, and I can feel the bat's barbed wire cutting into my side. I cry out, knocking Lucille out of his hands. I tackle him to the ground, and we roll, trading punches along the way.

Negan pushes me off of him, and I reach for another weapon of some sort. I cry out as he kicks me in the side, right where he hit me with Lucille. I drop to the ground, and he kicks me again. I roll over, wheezing as I try to catch my breath.

Negan picks up Lucille, standing above me. "Just so you know," he says, "eenie meenie miney moe, that was bullshit. I made a choice. I just didn't want to kill a kid's dad in front of him. Turns out, that would've been the best thing I could've done. Had I done it, that kid might still be alive."

I kick Negan's feet out from under him, and he goes down. We're both on our hands and knees now. Negan cradles his right hand to his chest, and I can see blood on it—he was injured when the guns malfunctioned. I press my hand against my wound, holding myself up with one hand. "You're beat," I say. "Your people are down."

"I'll get out of it," Negan replies, pushing himself up to one knee. "I always do." Negan uses Lucille to push himself to his feet, while I sit up. "It's just you and me, Rick. And you, you are torn open. I am bigger, I am badder, and I got a bat."

"We can have a future," I say, slowly reaching behind me to grab a shard of glass to use as a weapon.

"I know I will."

"Just give me ten seconds," I plead, pushing myself to my feet. "So I can tell you how."

"No."

"Just give me ten seconds for Carl."

Negan pauses for a moment. "Ten… nine…"

"Carl said that it doesn't have to be a fight anymore."

"He was wrong. Eight."

"No, no, he was right."

Negan steps towards me, bat raised; but he stops at that. We stand barely an arms' length apart now. Negan's stopped, and I find myself wondering if he's actually considering surrendering for Carl or if he's contemplating his swing.

I don't give him the chance to do either.

I slice his throat with the glass in my hand before he can move. Negan drops Lucille as he falls to his knees, pressing his hand against his bleeding throat. "Look what you did," Negan manages. "Carl didn't know a damn thing."

And he topples to the ground.

~Clary~

Negan collapses, Rick standing victorious above him. Slowly, he turns around. Then, to Siddiq, he orders, "Save him."

"No!" Maggie cries. Michonne holds her back, Maggie choking on her tears as she screams, "No! He can't! No! He killed Glenn!"

"We have to," Rick says.

"We have to end it!"

A sob forces its way out of my throat, and I let it out as I start to collapse. Daryl catches me before I can hit the ground, sinking with me to our knees. He holds me as I cry because it's not over. Negan may be done, but there's a threat still standing. I thought that maybe I could get Rick and Negan to destroy each other, to take each other out; but only succeeded in Rick stopping Negan.

Not a goddamn thing changed.

"It's not over!" Maggie screams. "We have to make it right! It's not over until he's dead! No!"

"What happened, what we did, what we lost," Rick says, starting towards the rest of us. "There's gotta be something after. The one who have 'em up, put your hands down. We're all gonna go home now. Negan's alive, but his way of doing things is over. And anyone who can't live with that will pay the price, I promise you that. And any person here who would live in peace and fairness… who would find common ground… this world is yours, by right. We are life!" Rick turns, pointing to the massive herd in the valley below. "That's death! And it's coming for us. Unless we stand together! So go home. Then the work begins. The new world begins. All this… all this is just what was. There's gotta be something after."

Kal opens the gate for us when we return, and we're greeted by more people than the amount we left behind. A woman with short hair approaches me as those that left to fight spread out, reuniting with those left behind. I vaguely recognize her, but I'm unable to place her. "Your father is a good man," she tells me. "He risked himself just trying to make a deal with the people that left him in the woods to die, just so your people would have a chance to win."

"You…" I start, then trail off, still unable to place her. Then, it hits me. "Oh my god, Beatrice! You're from Oceanside! That means—Dad!"

I take off to find Aaron, running through the Hilltop and pushing around people. "Dad!" I shout. "Dad!"

"Cheyenne!" I hear Aaron shout from the other side of the blacksmith's stall.

I round the corner, sliding in the loose dirt as I nearly crash into Jerry. I see Aaron up ahead, spinning in a circle as he tries to pinpoint where my voice came from. "Dad!"

Aaron spins on his heel, and I see the relief in his face when he sees that I'm alive and uninjured. There's a catch in his voice as he says, "Chey—Cheyenne."

"Dad!" I cry, taking off to meet him. He steps forward, and I launch myself into his arms. I'm crying as I wrap my legs around his waist, never wanting to let go. Aaron falls to his knees, sobbing as he holds me tighter. I feel the dirt press into my back as he doubles over, Aaron pressing his face into my hair. He kisses my temple as I cry, "Never do that again! Please, Dad! Don't leave me!"

"I won't," Aaron promises, sitting back on his knees. "I won't. I promise, baby. I'm never leaving you again."

~Aaron~

It was Clary's request, the two of us taking off like this. I don't know where we're going, letting her drive. As we wind down the roads, I begin to recognize where we are and where we're going. I don't say anything, knowing Clary has her reasons. She pulls to a stop in front of the office outpost, the place where Eric died. "Clary, why are we here?" I finally ask. "What're we doing?"

She doesn't respond, instead opening her door. I follow her out of the car; I watch as she opens the trunk to reveal an assortment of flammable liquids, including gasoline, lighter fluid, and alcohol. There's more lighter fluid and alcohol than gasoline, as the fossil fuel is a bit scarce these days.

"What the hell is this?" I ask.

Clary grabs one bottle of booze, unscrewing the lid and taking a drink before offering it to me. I take it after a moment, but I don't drink, watching as she unloads the trunk. "Clary, what are we doing here?" I repeat.

Clary grabs a can of gasoline, closing the trunk as she says, "We're burning this place to the fucking ground."

~Clary~

Aaron and I start on the top floors, pouring gasoline and lighter fluid all over the outpost, working our way down to the ground floor. We split up, covering more ground. I leave the door open behind me, emptying the last of the lighter fluid by the doorway.

Aaron's sitting on the hood of the car, waiting for me. I grab the bottle of alcohol from before, hopping up on the hood beside him. I take another drink before filling the flask I still have in my jacket pocket. Aaron exclaims, "You have a flask?! Cheyenne!"

"It's Dwight's," I reply, putting the cap back on it and sticking it in my pocket. "I owe him a drink. Now where's that rag?"

Aaron passes it over to me, and I twist it into the bottle. I flip it upside down, letting the alcohol soak the rag a bit. I look at Aaron. "Want to do the honors?"

"Hand it over," he says, and I pass him the Molotov. "You light, I'll throw."

I smirk, grabbing my Zippo. I flip it open, lighting the Molotov. Aaron waits for it to catch and burn for a few seconds before he throws it, the bottle shattering when it hits the floor just inside the door. We sit on the hood of the car, watching the outpost burn. I grab the pack of cigarettes from my bag, taking one and lighting it. Aaron looks over at me as I take a drag on it. "I thought he made you quit," Aaron says.

"He did," I reply. "And I tried. I really did, Dad. I tried for Eric, but with everything that's happened? I was goin' crazy." I hold up the pack. "And D offered."

"A Savior, a bad influence on my daughter," Aaron sarcastically says. "Wow, who would've thought?"

"He's not," I say after a long moment. "Dwight ain't a Savior. He told me, that night before we lost Sasha, that he follows me. He's been done with Negan since Daryl escaped." I look over at Aaron. "You know, Jesus has been giving me hell for smoking, too."

"Good," Aaron remarks.

I sigh, throwing the cigarette to the ground and putting it out with the toe of my boot. Then, I throw the rest of the pack into the fire. I take Aaron's hand, whispering, "Carl used to give me hell, too."

Aaron wraps his arm around me. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"Negan said that it was Rick's fault. Carl, that it was on Rick, 'cause he wasn't there to stop him from doin' somethin' stupid."

"You think helping Siddiq was stupid?"

"I don't know," I admit. "Siddiq's turnin' out to be okay, but that don't make up for losin' him. And not everyone out there is like Siddiq. A lot of 'em are a danger to us. We got lucky, I think, that Siddiq's a good guy. But it don't make up for it." I sigh. "This whole thing, it's all on Rick."

"How? The war, or…"

"What? No. Well, the war, that's on a lot of people, but no. I meant Carl. That day, the day before it all started, we saw him out there. Carl and I, we talked to him. I was gonna ask him the questions. Rick, the second he saw Siddiq, shot at him. Siddiq ran, but if Rick never shot at him, Carl never would've gone out after him. He never would've gotten bit."

"So, in a way, Negan actually was right," Aaron says after a long minute. "Rick shooting at Siddiq caused Carl to go out after him, and he was bitten out there."

"Maybe Negan's been right all along," I propose. "I mean, I hate him for what he did, for Glenn and Daryl. But he was right about one thing."

"What's that?" Aaron questions.

"That I was one bad day away from being him." I reach into my pocket, pulling out the bullet casing. I hold it in my fingers, staring at it as I say, "And I had my bad day."

~Dwight~

I know what this is as soon as Daryl stops the truck in the middle of the woods, about two miles from the Hilltop. "Get out," he says.

I do, and I don't protest or ask questions. We walk around the truck, and I don't meet his eyes. I slowly nod, accepting it.

"I know why I'm here," I say, finally looking at him. "I know what I did to Denise. To you, to your sister. To other people. And it doesn't matter why. I knew I'd have to face it, to pay, and I should. I'm ready." I look up as I feel tears falling down my cheeks. I know I deserve to die and I've accepted that, but it doesn't make me any less scared of death. "I got to see Negan taken down, and that's enough. Me? I'm a piece of shit. There's no going back to how things were."

I fall to my knees. After all that I've done, I don't deserve to die standing. I deserve to die on my knees.

"I'm sorry," I tell Daryl, who remains silent and emotionless. "Look, I'm so sorry. Please. Please."

I break down crying then, unable to contain it any longer. Daryl tells me, "Shut up."

He tosses the keys to the truck down at me, and I slowly pick them up, unable to believe that he's letting me live.

"You go," Daryl orders, "and you keep going. Don't you ever come back here again. If I ever see your face around here again, I'll kill you. You go out there and you make it right. Find her."

He puts his crossbow on his shoulder, walking away, back towards Hilltop.

"Daryl, wait," I say, sitting up on my knees and turning after him. "I just… I need you to ask you one favor. Can you tell Clary that she still owes me that drink?"

Daryl pauses for a moment before nodding and continuing back to Hilltop, allowing me to live.

~Maggie~

"I just wanted to say you were right," I say, looking at Jesus across from my desk. "About saving the Saviors from the satellite outpost. Having them here. I don't regret what I did. But you were right. And Rick was right about not killing all the Saviors."

"He was right," Jesus agrees.

"He was. Not about Negan."

"So what does that mean, Maggie?"

"We have a lot to do. We have to build this place up, make it work better than before, make it thrive for the people who live here. We need our strength, the ability to defend ourselves better. We have to have that."

"We will," Jesus assures me.

"But Rick and Michonne… Rick was wrong to do what he did. Michonne, too. So we're gonna bide our time and wait for our moment… and then we're gonna show him."

"Yeah," Daryl agrees, and Jesus and I turn as he steps out from the shadows. "We will."

"I… I have something I need to confess," a voice says from the shadows. The three of us turn towards Clary as she steps forward. "Something y'all need to know, if we're in this together."

"What is it?" Jesus questions.

Clary glances down. "I've played this game before, this role of a double agent. And this ain't the first time I've gone against Rick." She looks up, glancing between Daryl and I. "Shane didn't just teach me to fight for my life. I was his double agent. He knew I had Rick's ear, just like I do now. He used it to his advantage. The fact that we hated each other was the perfect cover. I worked with Shane… against Rick."

"I never could've guessed that," I admit. "You and Shane were always at each other's throats. But you were with Shane that entire time, and Rick trusted you. Rick still trusts you."

"Rick knows," Daryl adds, "and he still trusts her. Let him be dumb enough to. Shane was right about one thing, and it's that Clary knows how to play both sides. She knows how to lie."

Clary crosses her arms over her chest, shifting on her feet. "I lied when I said I went to the Sanctuary for information, to find Dwight. I didn't even plan on seeing him. Hell, I didn't even know if he was still alive." Clary swallows before admitting, "I said that he could have Rick. I went to the Sanctuary to… to meet with Negan."

AN: And like all stories, this one comes to a close. The revolution has come and gone, and the world has been turned upside down. Will balance be restored, or will our heroes end up in death's other kingdom?