KEZZ 1: Thank you again for the review!
And so the war begins in earnest!
Ani watched as Dwight got down on his knees in front of Rick. Daryl was practically oozing anger and domination as he stared at the man, somewhere between wanting to hear him out and wanting to kill him where he knelt. Ani couldn't say she blamed him; the man had threatened her and then shot her, shot Denise, tortured Daryl. Hell, she wanted to beat the man herself for what he'd done to Daryl, how he was still wearing the wings that were supposed to be on Daryl's back on his own, how he'd killed Denise. The only thing that held her back was the fact that both Daryl and Tara were standing in front of her and Rick had the man at gunpoint. Anything she did at that point would be overkill. As it was, she was still having a hard time controlling her own anger as the man stared at Daryl, either completely oblivious to the pistol in his face or obscenely obtuse in the face of real danger.
"Who is this?" Tara asked.
"He's the man who killed Denny," Ani growled out venomously, Tara's eyes snapping to the man as a look of shock, hurt, and anger etched itself onto her face.
"Look at me," Rick's low voice called out, catching both hers and Dwight's attention and both turning to look at the man. "Why?"
Daryl wasn't the only one having a hard time accepting the thought that Dwight wanted to help. Although Rick's face was hard and set, Ani could tell that he was just as doubtful as she was that the man was being honest. It was just too convenient. Rosita and Beth disappeared, the rest of them went to get guns, and then Beth came back with Dwight in tow? It didn't matter what the man said, how he reacted, how he begged, nothing he did would change the fact that he simply could not be trusted. Even as she analyzed his words and realized he was being honest, Ani refused to believe that there was any good to be found in the man on his knees.
"Because I want it stopped. I want Negan dead."
"So why don't you kill him?" Rick asked him.
"It can't just be me," Dwight told him. "They're all Negan."
"That girl you murdered," Tara said, moving to stand in front of Dwight as Rick gave her room to speak. "She had a name. Her name was Denise and she was a doctor. And she helped people!"
Dwight looked down before looking up and wincing, his eyes flicking back to Ani as he said, "I wasn't aimin' for her."
Daryl did not take too kindly to the reminder that Dwight had been trying to make it easier to get Ania back to her parents. With a growl of his own, he shoved Tara out of the way while pulling out his knife and grabbing Dwight by the throat. He held him to the wall, the knife at Dwight's eye, ready to kill at any second. Even in his anger, though, Daryl didn't want to give up what might be the only advantage that they might have. On top of that, if he was right, it had been Sherry that let him out of that cell. While she might not have had anything to do with Ania's escape, if it hadn't been for Sherry's help, Daryl might not have ever made it out. It was that thought, and that thought alone, that stayed his hand.
"Do it," Tara encouraged him, Ani making no move to stop Daryl. "Do it!"
"You wanna end it this way," Dwight said quietly while looking Daryl right in the eye, "you go ahead. I'm sorry. I am. I know you want to. Hell, I would too with what I've done."
"He could just be here to see if the two of you are here," Rick suggested, not having made to stop Daryl any more than Ani had.
"We can't trust him," Michonne agreed.
"He owned me," Dwight admitted, Ani's face contorting into a scowl because she knew he was telling the truth. "But not anymore. What I did, I was doin' for someone else. She just got away. So now I'm here. So are you, because of her," Dwight told him, confirming Daryl's thoughts even as his face darkened further.
"Do it!" Tara said.
"There's another choice."
"Daryl. Daryl, you knew her!"
"Negan trusts me. We can work together, we can stop him!" Dwight told them, Daryl's breathing coming out hard as he fought the war inside him that told him to trust the man until it was all over. Everything in him wanted to kill this man, but he wasn't wrong when Dwight said, "You knew me then and you know me now. You know I'm not lyin'. I'm not."
"Do it," Tara shouted. "Do it!"
"D," Ani said quietly, her face contorting into one of disgust before she finished her sentence and turned around, "he's fuckin' tellin' the truth."
"Ani!" Tara shouted in anger, looking over at the woman with a twin look of disgust before the woman shouted back.
"She was me best friend! I fuckin' hate meself for sayin' it! For defendin' 'im! I want 'im dead, too! But we gotta win, Tara! Ain' that why ya broke ya damn promise? 'Cause ya know we gotta win? This might be our only way ta get a step ahead! I fuckin' hate it, but we gotta fuckin' bite it back for now!" Ani cried, her face, voice, and eyes shining with tears and hatred.
Daryl had lowered his knife but was still holding Dwight against the wall while breathing heavily when Beth spoke up, "They have Rosita, if she's even alive."
"Why didn't you say something?" Jesus asked her. "He could be our only chance to get her back."
"I don't trust him. That's why I put him in here rather than lettin' him wait in a house. I don't trust him at all. But I trust Daryl. I trust Ani."
"Negan's coming soon," Dwight informed them. "Tomorrow. Three trucks probably. Twenty Saviors and him. I can slow them down, bring some trees down in the road, buy a little time for you guys to get ready." Rick looked at Daryl, who was staring Dwight down while chewing his lip, before looking back at Ani who was still looking down in disgust as Dwight kept talking. "If you can take them out, that's where we start. You kill them, I'll radio back to the Sanctuary..."
"The Sanctuary?" Rick asked.
"Where Negan lives," Dwight clarified. "That's what they call it. I can radio back to them and say everythin's okay. You drive the trucks back, I can lead you right inside and with the right plan we can wipe out the rest. Check to see if your friend is still alive. Then, we get the workers on our side. Build our numbers up. We go from outpost to outpost and end this."
"Keep talking," Rick said quietly.
"There's a total of three outposts, about six guard watches. Regular patrols. We go in at the right time, we'll be able to cut the patrols off from going out. The guards we take out one by one before we hit up the outposts. Most of the soldiers stay at the outposts. He only keeps those he trusts or wants to keep an eye on himself at the Sanctuary. The majority of the workers are there, though. The idea is to keep the outposts manned with only a handful of workers, the rest are soldiers to keep the Sanctuary itself safe," Dwight explained. "The workers, we can get them on our side easily enough. A lot of them are terrified of Negan. They don't like how the soldiers run things. And you caused quite a stir when you visited the market," he said, looking to Ani, who simply moved to stand closer to Daryl, not even liking being in the same room as the man but knowing she had to listen. "If you go with us, it'll take only a few words from you to convince them to fight."
"She's ain't goin' anywhere near that damn place," Daryl growled out, a hand reaching behind him reflexively even as one of her hands found purchase in his shirt at the small of his back.
"Suit yourself," Dwight said. "But the fact remains, the workers are already ready to fight back. They just don't have the means."
"Say we do this, say we follow this plan of yours," Rick countered. "What happens when the fight's over? What, you take over for Negan?"
"No," Dwight chuckled. "No, I did my time as a leader and look where it got me. I don't care what happens after. Who leads, who leaves, who stays. I couldn't care less about any of that. I just want Negan stopped. I never wanted for any of this to happen, but now I have a chance to help stop it."
"How much time can ya give us takin' the trees down?" Ani asked.
"A few hours, tops."
"Ya think that'll be enough?" she asked Rick.
"It'll have to be."
"D," Ani whispered, making him half turn towards her, both she and Daryl staring at the man still leaning against the wall in murderous contempt, "ya think we should trust 'im?"
"Said it yourself, he ain't lyin'," he muttered back. "Don't matter, anyways. Don't change how things are gonna end for him."
"Alright. I trust ya," she said, turning away and leaving the cell with Tara, Beth and Jesus.
A few minutes passed by before Rick, Michonne, and Daryl came out, Dwight trailing behind them quietly. Ani stood and watched as Michonne left to get a burner truck for the man to take back to the Sanctuary while Beth went to man the gate. Daryl walked up to her, standing beside her without making contact as they watched Dwight climb into the truck and start it up. Neither of them were happy with the outcome of what was happening right now, but they had to trust their guts that this would end the war faster than they could manage without an inside man.
"We just started it," Rick said as he walked up next to Daryl, just as tense as the Dixons he was standing next to. "The whole thing."
"If he's lyin', I'm gonna kill 'im real slow," Daryl warned. "When this is over, I don't give a damn if he's sorry. I will kill that son of a bitch."
"If I don' get ta him first," Ani shot back. "Already promised ta snap 'is neck."
"If he's lyin', this is already over," Rick told them with a look that said whatever happened next was on them.
Daryl just looked over to Tara, who had sat on the steps to the house she had once shared with Denise. She was angry at the two of them, but was trying to understand. Ani glanced over at her before Daryl pulled her under his arm and headed back towards where Jesus, Enid, and Michonne were standing. They were all on edge with Dwight's visit and subsequently leaving Alexandria potentially open to a bigger threat. Jesus and Enid headed back to the Hilltop, Beth telling them to let Maggie know she was safe, but wanted to stick around to help Rick and Ani out as much as possible. Rick told everyone to get some rest while they could, since in the morning he was going to be going and getting the Scavengers and bringing them to Alexandria. Ani had a feeling of dread forming in the pit of her stomach by the time she and Daryl made it back to their home, Ani taking in it's ransacked state and the missing furniture.
"I hate this," she admitted as she looked at her decimated CD collection.
"At least they left the beds," Sophia said in an attempt to lighten Ani's mood.
"Yeah, I guess," Ani said. "But me music!"
"We can get you more," Daryl told her, pressing a kiss into her hair as he stepped around her. "Or, hell, we can get your CDs back when this is over. Don't worry 'bout it."
"Right now, all I can do is worry, D. If Dwight tells Negan anythin'..." Ani left the sentence open with a sigh. "I jus' want this all ta be ova so we can stop worryin' 'bout all that and start worryin' 'bout the stupid stuff, like what the hell we're gonna name this kid."
Sophia laughed while Daryl scoffed and shook his head, "Right now, you need to worry 'bout gettin' some sleep. I know you're tired."
"We should all try ta get some sleep 'fore we gotta get up in the mornin'," Ani told them. "C'mon, I wanna sleep in our bed again."
Daryl stopped by Merle's room and grabbed the pillow off his bed since Ani had left Daryl's back at the Sanctuary. Merle had hardly used his since he'd gotten with Francine, which was where he was now, so neither of them thought he would care about taking his. When they got to their room, he stripped out of his shirt and boots, Ani doing similar before taking her pants off and putting on a pair of sweats she hadn't worn in forever. When she went to lay down, Daryl grabbed one of her ankles and pulled her to the other side of the bed, making her laugh at his antics before quieting down. He laid down on her side of the bed while she rolled over to look at him, trying to find a comfortable position on her left. Daryl rolled onto his back and wrapped an arm around her as she moved to rest her head on his shoulder. Neither said anything as they held onto each other, too lost in their own thoughts to form words.
Ani was worried that something was going to go wrong, the unforeseeable future resulting from whatever was going to happen tomorrow. It was supposed to be easy, supposed to be an obvious win. But with Dwight being the one to set the plan into motion, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the whole event. Daryl laid with his arm around Ani worrying about pretty much the same thing. They both had similar worries regarding the baby and whether or not this entire thing was going to work out. If it went south, Negan would know where they were and neither doubted for a second what he would do if he won instead of them. They would both be taken back to the Sanctuary and it wouldn't be a pretty outcome for Daryl let alone such a kind treatment for Ani as the last time. The worry had Ani sit up straight after some time and turn her back on Daryl while wrapping her arms around herself.
Daryl watched her for a moment before sitting up himself, moving just enough to nudge her back with his knee, "You okay?"
"Jus'...do ya have ta be out there tamorrow? If things go south, if they don' go accordin' ta plan...If Negan sees ya..."
"I could ask you the same," he gruffed quietly. "Ain't like you're stayin' inside either."
"We could run away. Grab Phia, Merle, Francine and jus' go. Live in the woods like ya said we would if it didn' work out 'ere," Ani suggested, turning towards him with a pleading look. "We could...we could hide or...or we could go ta Oceanside and ask ta stay with 'em. We don' have ta fight."
"Where'd you put my wife?" Daryl joked, earning a small chuckle and smile from Ania as he sat up and put a hand on her cheek. "You really think you could run away now?" When she shook her head, he brought her into his arms again and laid down with her, "We got the numbers. We got the weapons. It's gonna be alright, baby girl. You, our baby, Phia, Merle, you're all gonna be just fine."
"Ya betta be too, Daryl. I need ya ta make it out alright," she said as she reveled in the feel of being in his arms.
"I need you to be safe. Should stay in the house."
"I know, but I don' wanna be stuck in the house if a fire fight breaks out. I'd ratha run for cova out there than cowa in 'ere not knowin' if a random bullet's gonna strike. 'Sides, I can cova ya ass as ya cova mine," she told him before gently kissing his lips and tucking herself under her chin as they both contemplated how tomorrow could go. "I gotta see it, D. I gotta see Negan go down with me own eyes. Afta what 'e did ta ya, what 'e made me do in front a Carl and Phia, I gotta be there when 'e goes down."
"I know you do," he gruffed out, staring at the ceiling as he held her. "We both gotta see it."
They held each other close, each in their own little world as they drifted off into sleep. When morning came around, they stayed in bed for as long as they could before Merle was pounding on their door. Together with Francine and Sophia, the three Dixons made their way to the armory where Merle and Daryl left Ani to help with prepping and handing out the weaponry. Daryl, Aaron, and Merle went out to the box truck they had planted explosives in. Rick had added that at the last minute, Ani agreeing that perhaps a show of force before they showed their hand with the Scavengers would be more beneficial. She was standing at the gate with Michonne when the Rick led a group of garbage trucks through and several people came in behind on old bicycles. Ani couldn't help but look over at Michonne in trepidation, caught somewhere between wanting to laugh at the odd way the people dressed and cry at the way they acted. Either way, she was definitely disheartened as who she presumed to be the leader of these people walked up to Rick.
"What you fight for?" she asked.
"Not the place," Rick told her while looking to Michonne. "The people, each other. You're a part of that now."
"We take, we don't bother," she told him. "Our way. Maybe another way. Yours?" she asked Michonne.
"Yeah, we're together," Michonne answered quietly as Ani bit her lips to keep quiet, though she had to smack her hands over her mouth at the woman's next words.
"I lay with him after. You care?"
"We should get back to work," Michonne said, looking quite offended.
The look on Rick's face when he agreed, a mix between confusion and terror, had Ani bursting out laughing as Rick and Michonne walked away. The lady turned to look at her and simply raised her eyebrow while shrugging her shoulder, a gesture Ani returned before walking away herself, still chuckling. She left the gates and went over to the truck the guys were working in, checking on the progress. Beth was in the truck too, Merle leading her step by step through the process of carefully setting the wires up on the trigger mechanism. Her delicate hands were much better than his bulky, singular appendage according to him, and her help allowed them to take less time in getting the bomb prepared. Ani was beginning to shake as her nerves set in the more prepared Alexandria became for the inevitable war. Soon enough the gates were closed and everyone was set up where they had planned.
Ani was standing between Daryl and Merle, Sophia standing just off to the side. Merle had given the switch to Beth so he could keep his rifle at the ready. Turkey calls sounded out around them signaling the impending approach of the Saviors, a collective tension causing everyone to double check their guns and ammo. The tension in the air was so thick Ani could practically feel it buzzing around her. With a shuddered breath she looked at Daryl, the fear and worry she felt obvious in her eyes even as she maintained a stoic expression. She could see it in his eyes, too, though he just nodded at her in reassurance, causing her to breath deeply and release it slow in an attempt to focus on the task at hand.
"Beth, you get into position," Rick called out. "I'll signal you. And the wall's gonna hold?"
"Yeah, it'll hold, Friendly," Merle called back up to him.
"All points are covered," Eugene's voice sounded out, making Ani crane her neck in an attempt to see the man. "Every contingency is already met. I come armed with two barrels of the truth. A test is upon you and I'm givin' out the cheat sheet."
He was standing on the back of a truck with a loudspeaker, dressed almost entirely in black with a new coat and everything, looking no worse for wear than the last time she'd seen him even though Ani knew he'd been taken to the Sanctuary. For a split second, she was appalled by the obvious conclusion to the questions her mind kept asking, how he was fairing so well and why he was talking to them rather than Negan. But only for a split second. Eugene had never pretended to be anything other than he was, a coward who would do anything to keep himself alive. She couldn't be disgusted by that fact, but she was angry and felt betrayed by how quickly he had jumped ship. It hadn't even been a full week yet, and he was obviously already deep in bed with Negan if he had enough of the man's ear to be able to speak in his stead.
"H-Hello," Eugene said. "I come salved with the hope that it is my dropped knowledge that you heed. Options are zero to none. Compliance and fealty are your only escape. Bottom-linin' it—You may thrive, or you may die. I sincerely wish for the former, for everyone's sake. The jig is up and in full effect. Will you comply. Rick?" he asked.
"Where's Negan?" Rick countered after a moment of silent disbelief.
"I'm Negan," Eugene replied, dropping the loudspeaker in the process.
Ani couldn't believe what she was hearing even as Rick gave Beth the signal and he ducked. She had braced for the explosion, ducking herself closer to the car that was placed in front of the gates as Beth turned away and pressed the button. When nothing happened, she and Merle shared a look before looking over to Beth then up at Rick, the three of them realizing at the same time what was happening. As Daryl raised his gun to point towards the Saviors, Ani whipped around with Merle to point theirs at the Scavengers, all of which were aiming at their people now. The roles had been completely reversed from what they were supposed to be. Daryl looked around and saw the barrels aimed at their people and then the ones aimed at Ani and pulled her behind him as he realized the full gravity of the situation. The gate was opened from the outside at the same time as Negan and the Saviors disembarked from their means of transportation.
In quick succession, they found the truck with the explosives in it and opened it, claiming it for their own as Negan used Eugene as a human shield to walk up to the gates. Once he was standing in front of them, he looked up to Rick and smiled, asking, "You ever hear the one about the stupid little prick named Rick who thought he knew shit but didn't know shit and got everyone that he gave a shit about killed? It's about you!" he sung out. "You're all gonna wanna put your guns down now."
"No one drops anything," Rick stated calmly, though no one really needed to be told that because no one had even made a move to drop their weapons when the Scavengers pulled theirs.
Ani could hear Rick's muttered words to the leader, but couldn't tell what was being said until Negan spoke out again, "You push me, and you push me, and you push me, Rick. You just tried to blow us up, right? I mean, I get me, my people. But Eugene? He's one of yours."
"Not anymore, 'e ain'!" Ani called out, anger lacing her voice as Negan chuckled away.
"After what he did?" Negan countered, turning his gaze on her with a smile. "He stepped up! Did somethin' you refused to do on principle! You people are animals! The universe gives you a sign and you just shove your middle finger right up its ass!" he called out with a chuckle. "Dwight, Simon, chop-chop."
The look on Ani's face got really dark as she watched the blonde man come into view, both she and Daryl freezing up while Ani was practically snarling at the sight of him. Together, he and Simon undid some restraints on something before pulling a tarp off it and standing it up. The silver casket they wheeled into place in the middle of the flatbed pulled a stuttered gasp from Beth and made Ani draw in a sharp breath. Negan was a sick bastard, but Ani had to give him props. He knew how to play on peoples' psyches and break them down and was using that against them now. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Rosita in the casket and a silent threat had been given by her arriving in such a fashion. They could either comply to Negan's whims or Rosita would be the next to die.
"So you don't like Eugene anymore," Negan called out. "You guys gotta like Rosita. I do too. I got her right her, packaged for your convenience, alive and well. Now, I brought her, so I wouldn't have to kill all of you. And not killing all of you could get complicated. See, I know there's a lot of firepower left in there, Rick. So I'm gonna make this simple. I want all the guns you managed to scrape up. Yup, I know about those too. I want every last grain of lemonade you got let," Negan told them, listing out his demands almost as if he thought he had already won. "I want a person of your own choosing...for Lucille," he said, pointing to his bat. "Daryl. Ani. Ooo, I gotta get me my Dixons back. And look at that! The little serial killer girlfriend who managed to sneak into my base, trick my men into getting you alone with Ani! I gotta take you too! Get the full set of Dixons on my side. It's gonna happen. You know it will," he smirked and told them cockily, Ani pulling Sophia behind her much the same way Daryl had her.
"And the pool table. And all the pool cubes and chalk," he said seriously. "And I want it now! Or Rosita dies, and then all of you. Probably. Come on, Rick. Just because I brought her in a casket doesn't mean she has to leave in it." When Rick just stared at the man, he pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back up and calling out, "You know what? You suck ass, Rick. You really do. I don't want to have to kill her but that's exactly what you're gonna make me do-"
"Let me see her," Rick called out calmly and quietly, interrupting Negan's tirade.
Negan chuckled before saying, "Alright, just give me a second. I'm gonna have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing." He knocked on the casket gently a couple times before calling out a little louder than normal, "Rose. You're not gonna believe this crap."
What happened when he opened the casket was only the beginning of the chaos that ensued. Rosita was not alive nor well when Negan pulled the casket open, revealing her walker which immediately set upon him. Ani wasn't sure who fired the first shot, only that gunfire sounded out all around them, her own hands up as she held a pistol in each hand and started firing at everyone that wasn't Alexandrian around her. Daryl had whirled around and started firing too, Merle and Sophia taking aim and doing their parts as well. Ani was terrified and focused all at once, zeroing in on a target and making a head shot before her eyes glued to the next one. In slow motion, she watched as Beth got shot, Tara grabbing her and running for cover as she and Daryl laid cover fire for them. Sophia and Merle both proceeded to advance on the Saviors as they ducked for cover, Daryl, Ani, Aaron, and Eric all firing upon them as well.
"C'mon!" Merle called out, shouldering Sophia into the direction he wanted her to go, Ani and Daryl following behind.
They ended up by the solar panels, Daryl shooting down one of the Scavengers as his rifle clicked empty, running up and grabbing the man's gun to replace his. Ani shot another man to cover Daryl as he moved, the four of them forming a squad and finding cover behind a house. They were pinned down and about to be surrounded when even more gunfire sounded out and Maggie came into view with Sasha and Abraham. The cry of relief that escaped from Ani as she saw them brought attention to the Dixons, Merle quipping that it was about time they showed up to Abraham as the man came up and clapped his shoulder.
"Shut your mouth, Stumpy. Be happy we came at all to save your sorry asses from the storm of shit you got yourself in," Abraham said.
"Why don' ya both shut it? We gotta get ta Rick," Ani chastised as a scream sounded out from the guard tower. "Michy?!"
"Ain't got time for that, Ania," Daryl told her. "C'mon! Stay with me!"
As a unit, they moved out. It felt almost unrealistic as they began to shoot down the Scavengers who had been spread far and wide through Alexandria. Sasha, Abraham and Enid formed a protective group around Maggie while Merle, Daryl and Sophia did the same around Ani as they moved. The kittens moved with them, running forward and attacking legs so the others could shoot enemy heads. It seemed that the Hilltop wasn't the only settlement that decided to join the fight as the Kingdom's tiger came out of nowhere as their group rounded a corner, the King and Carol along with several other fighters ambushing the Saviors that had Rick and Carl on their knees. Ani took careful aim, attempting to take Negan out but getting one of the Scavengers instead as the woman ran from the onslaught of Hilltop, Kingdom, and Alexandria fighting together.
Ani wasn't fully paying attention to where she was going or what she was doing, solely focused on where Negan was and what he was doing. He either was really lucky to have people constantly covering him so that he could get to the safety of trucks or the Scavengers and Saviors were just that stupid to keep getting in her way. Either way, she was pulled back by Abraham after a several minutes of being so focused on her shooting that she didn't realize she'd started to pull away from the others. She heard both Maggie and Daryl shout out instructions as she shook her head and remembered her promise to Daryl, quickly returning to his side with Abraham covering her. Merle nodded at the pair as they moved around a vehicle and continued their onslaught. All three colonies began moving as one in an attempt to finish the fight once and for all. The Saviors turned tail and headed for their trucks as the Scavengers lit homemade smoke bombs and began climbing over the wall. That didn't stop the people of Alexandria from firing at the trucks until Ani told them to stop wasting ammo. Even then, the warriors of the three colonies continued chasing after the trucks until gunfire at the gate forced them all to stop in their tracks.
Another smoke bomb went off before the gate was closed from the outside, locking everyone inside the walls of Alexandria. Ani stood with Abraham and Merle as Daryl ran ahead and climbed up one of the garbage trucks by the wall and looked out. In such a short amount of time, the Saviors and the Scavengers had cleared out, leaving nothing but the lingering smoke and dead bodies behind in their wake. They'd even gone so far as to lock the gates closed with some sort of mechanism wrapped in red material. It took a little while to get it undone, and by then, there was no point in trying to take the fight to the Saviors. They had their dead to look after, and after informing Maggie, Abraham, and Sasha of what happened with Rosita, a different kind of hunt took place.
Ani was deposited in the infirmary along with Sophia while the others went to look for Rosita's walker. She was relieved to find Rick and Carl sitting with a rather beat up looking Michonne, Tara on the other side of the room sitting with Beth who had passed out from the pain. With Sophia's help, Ani managed to administer a general aniseptic to Michonne's wounds and patch up the bullet wound on Beth. Thankfully, Beth's wound went all the way through and didn't hit any major muscles or organs, but she was out of the fight for the time being. In fact, both she and Michonne would probably not be able to do much fighting for a couple weeks, and with what had happened today, they might only have a few days to prepare their next move. Knowing that, it put both of them on the sidelines for the rest of the fight, a place Ani was all too willing to wait after today. In the end, Daryl came to get them for the funeral, stating that Abraham had found Rosita with Jesus, Sasha, and Maggie and brought the body back.
Even while Gabriel spoke his service, Ani couldn't help but think about the next step and what they had just been through. If it hadn't been for Rosita's sacrifice, they wouldn't have had the time to wait for the Kingdom and Hilltop to join them. She and Daryl would probably have been captured and dragged back to the Sanctuary to face whatever treatment Negan had planned out for them. Carl would be dead, maybe Merle and everyone else they knew. Even though there had been several casualties on their side, if it hadn't been for Rosita willingly giving up her life like that, a fact that no one disputed, there would have been a hell of a lot more. Hell, she could hardly believe that Carol had come back and brought the Kingdom along with her. She'd half been expecting Maggie even though Rick wanted her to wait, but the Kingdom had been a pleasant surprise all around.
Daryl had showed her a toy soldier he'd found when they'd finally gotten the gate working properly again and he'd closed it, though Ani just threw it as hard as she could away. She didn't give two shits if Dwight hadn't known the Scavengers were going to betray them or not. All she could do was hug Daryl around the middle before turning in his arms and listening to the leaders of the colony. They were declaring a united front against the Saviors and were planning on striking hard and fast. Negan had several outposts, at least a hundred soldiers, and enough weapons and munitions to arm all of them. The plan that was presented to them, the one that was agreed upon, would require even more trust in Dwight and for Daryl to take risks getting information back and forth from the Sanctuary. It would take more than just one day, one moment, to end the war, but it would work. And once the war was ended, once Negan was taken care of, they could build a better future, together.