Okay. I lied. I was going to write something entirely different, but then I came up with this idea and I like it a whole lot more :D
So not all of this will be my own material like I planned, and I might end up writing SOME of the finale, but I'm still gonna change things. Ha. Sorry :D

setting: episode 14 "Prey"

Damnation

Chapter 56 - Speed

Now that he thought about it, he was actually glad that Connor was with him. Although he would rather kill the Governor himself in the most brutal way possible, and although he would love to take on Woodbury all on his own - he knew that this was impossible. Because he didn't have a clue, a plan, an idea. It wasn't like he couldn't do or plan things himself. He just prefered people telling him what to do, and he certainly liked it better when somebody else came up with a plan. Especially when what they were about to do was so incredibly dangerous. But it needed to be done, he wanted it to be done, he just wanted revenge. He still felt incredibly heartbroken and sad, but right now it was the rage inside him that dominated his entire being.

Merle was dead. Merle had been killed.
He needed to murder someone for that. Actually murder.

He watched Connor, who was standing there, leaned against the engine hood of the car that was still parked close to the church. He had both his arms folded and was staring into the distance, his infamous thinker face right on. He still looked pale, dirty and bloody but that didn't seem to bother him.

"Can always go alone" Daryl muttered after a moment because Connor didn't come up with a decent plan fast enough.

The Irishman looked at him and snorted.

"And get yerself killed, too? You wish. No, if we're gonna kill that motherfucker we're gonna do it right and we're gonna do it my way."

Daryl stared back at his friend, eyes still piercing and ice cold because of the incredible hatred inside of him.
He just wanted the Governor dead. He wanted everyone dead for that. And that as soon as possible.

"I get to kill him" he said and that wasn't a suggestion, it was a fact.

It looked like Connor didn't really like that idea. Of course he wanted to do it his way, with his stupid prayer and all that shit, but the Governor did not deserve to die like this. Not with a bullet to his head. No. He needed to die real slow. And no one would stop him from killing that son of a bitch however he wanted.

"I don't even want yah in there with him. I just need yah t'get me inside."

Connor raised an eyebrow.

"And you think it's gonna be that easy?"

"You told me!" Daryl snapped and shoved his friend against the car.

"You told me we'd get in there, sneak inside his apartment and kill him!"

"But that was before everything went ta hell, man! I was counting on at least two or three more days ta figure all this shit out, and I was counting on taking yer brother with us! With him it would've been so fuckin easy, he could've told us where the Governor's at, he could've told us about a shitton of hideouts and houses we'd have no.."

"But guess what, he's dead, yah moron! My brother is dead because of your shitty ideas! Now get me inside! Cos if yah won't help me then I'm gonna go there myself!"

Connor stared back in surprise, and once again there was hurt and frustration written all over his face. He hated being blamed for Merle's death, no matter if the older Dixon had made the decision himself or not. The Irishman rubbed his chin awkwardly and got up to walk in circles. He moved his hand through his messy hair, brain rattling with thoughts and ideas.

"There's gotta be at least 20 people we need ta take out" Connor muttered and looked at his friend, who was just brooding and sat down on the engine hood with folded arms.

"All those sick fucks with guns that shot at us when we tried ta save Glenn and Maggie? And the people that attacked the prison when we came back? All those guards and everything, they're just out fer blood. We'll have ta kill them as well. Andrea told me that there's old people and kids there. We can't put those in the line of fire. We need ta separate the wheat from the chaff here. We can't blast in there like last time. We'll have ta be as quiet as possible. Kill one at a time."

"Fine. Let's get going then" Daryl growled and headed for the driver's door, but Connor grabbed him by his arm.

"Ye do know that we're most certainly gonna start te real war with this if we don't finish this properly? Cos if we ferget one slimy fuck over there they'll come back and shoot at us and wipe the prison off the map like they tried last time with te walkers and the truck. We can't just kill the Governor and think that's it. We need ta make sure Andrea takes over Woodbury. She told me that people respect her and that te majority doesn't even know about that sick fuck's twisted games."

Daryl growled and stared back at him. He didn't want to think about any of this. He just wanted the Governor dead. But he knew that Connor wasn't going to let go like that, so he nodded and sighed.

"Fine."

And once again there were speeding down the road, and this time they were heading for Woodbury. Connor still didn't really know how the fuck they were supposed to make this work, but he had a vague idea. They would have a -lot- to do today. They would have to sneak their way inside Woodbury, and before they even got to the Governor they would have to render their victims defenseless. Or at least as defenseless as this could get. Which meant slicing tires, breaching one of the walls for walkers to help them distract the guards, possibly setting the armory on fire and locating all their enemies and possible hideouts. Connor still firmly believed that it would be a suicide mission, and he hated to take Daryl with him, but he also knew that his friend needed to get his revenge, needed to get this done. They would have to put their lives at stakes to save the lives of the many others that were innocent in this war.

And truth was that he wanted to take that Governor out just as much as Daryl, because that bastard had nearly killed him as well when he had shoved that walker at him.

Oh yes. This meant revenge. This meant war. No matter what.

He still wasn't allowed to drive, which made him feel uneasy. Ever since they had buried Merle Daryl looked so different, so unapproachable, so distant, so cold. So..murderous. He knew that look. This was the look a man had on his face when he thought that he had nothing to lose, because he had lost so much in just a blink of an eye. Connor knew what it meant. Daryl just wanted to kill now. And he seemed to take the grieving in a whole different direction than him when he had lost Murphy. Connor's grief had turned into aggression towards himself, his whole being suicidal and depressed for months. Daryl was heading for the murderous aggression towards others. Which was definitely not a good sign at all.

And he could really see and feel it now, the way the hunter was grabbing the steering wheel with his knuckles going white and his lips being nothing but a thin line. His eyes were nothing but piercing slits, his brows furrowed and every single muscle in his face was way too tense. They were still driving way too fast, and for a moment Connor actually thought that Daryl was about to screw his plan and crash right into the barricades of Woodbury.

"Daryl, look..why..why don't ye just slow down fer a bit, aye? They're not going anywhere" he muttered when his friend sped down a sharp bend and the car nearly drifted off the street.

The hunter wouldn't say anything, his eyes were still fixed on the road.
Connor waited for a bit, hoping to get an answer, but his friend wouldn't react at all. He was in fact driving even faster now.

"Look, all 'm sayin is that yer way too stressed and upset right now ta be driving this car."

Daryl snorted and finally reacted.

"And you ain't? Look at yah, all crippled and bloody. I can drive this rust bucket just fine."

"Aye, so maybe 'm fuckin crippled, but I didn't just lose my brother, alright? Just slow te fuck down, ye'll end up gettin both of us killed before we even get ta fucking Woodbury!" Connor snapped and tried to get his friend to slow down a bit, but Daryl just ignored him.

"I said 'm fine" he growled and fixed his eyes on the road after giving his friend an angry glare.

Right then both men let out a surprised gasp as they saw a woman with blonde hair running right at their car.
Daryl hit the breaks with full force, which threw both him and Connor out of their seats, with only the seatbelts keeping them from crashing right through the windshield.

"Jesus fucking Christ! Are ye trying ta fuckin kill us?!" Connor yelled when they finally came to a halt, because the abrupt stop reminded him way too much of his accident last year.

Daryl wouldn't listen to him though, as he stared at the woman for the second and then stormed out of the car. Connor finally turned his attention towards the person, only to widen his eyes in surprise as well. Standing there, panting and both hands rested on the hood of their car, was Andrea. Connor got out of the car as well and looked at her in shock.

"What te fuck? Andrea? What are ye doing here?!" he asked as he made his way to the front of the car.

Daryl walked around the other side and headed for the blonde woman as well.

"Where is he?!" he snapped and grabbed her by her shoulder.

"Your boyfriend killed my brother!" he spat and Andrea looked at him in surprise.

"Merle's dead? I'm...look.." she still could hardly speak because of the lack of air. It looked like she had been running for quite a while now.

"Why are ye out here on yer own? Without a car? What are ye running from?" Connor observed and then turned his head to look in the direction Andrea had come from, the road that lead to Woodbury.

"Please..we need..we need to get out of here. He's..coming" Andrea gasped as she suddenly walked past Daryl and made her way for the back door of the car.

"Who?" Connor asked with a frown and Daryl just glared at her, fury written all over his face.

"Phillip..he's..he's gonna kill me. Let's go! We need to warn Rick! They're gearing up for war, they're preparing the cars and weapons and he's set up a torture chamber for Michonne we just..we need to get out of here! Hurry!"

She entered the back of the car and Connor looked at Daryl with wide eyes.

"Jesus, we gotta warn them, man" the Irishman said and Daryl stared back at him, but once again he decided not to talk.

He headed for the driver's door and entered the car before his friend got the chance to suggest that he should be the one driving now.

Connor let out a frustrated sigh and then ran for the passenger door, so he could get inside the car before Daryl decided to drive off on his own. He had not even put both his feet inside the vehicle when his friend already went into reverse and spun the car around as fast as he could. The blonde was actually surprised that his friend wasn't being stubborn about their plan and actually seemed to head back to the prison now. And maybe this was a good thing, considering how incredibly erratic the hunter was right now. Connor turned his head to have a look at Andrea, who was sitting in the backseat, chest heaving and eyes open wide because of the shock and fear.

"Te fuck happened ta you? Did he do anything ta you?" he asked, confusion and concern written all over his face.

Andrea shook her head and kept staring back, as if she was still afraid of someone following them.

"No. Not yet. But he will. He wants to kill everyone. He wants Rick to hand Michonne over, but as soon as they get there he'll shoot everyone.
He wants you all dead. We have to warn them. We need to get as far away from Woodbury as possible."

Connor frowned even more.

"And what's it with the torture chamber?"

Andrea swallowed hard and shook her head.

"He's sick. I saw how he prepared this creepy torture chair. He had all sorts of medical equipment there. Sick things. We need to get Mich away from him.
We all need to get away from him."

"Jesus fuckin Christ, that guy's a complete nutter" Connor murmured and looked at Daryl with a worried look on his face.

"We was just about ta kill him ourselves. That fucker needs ta be taken out" the Irishman went on and then looked back at Andrea again.

"And I think you'd be a big help there, actually. I think we can really make my plan work now. We get our people outta the prison fer a while, sneak into Woodbury, you tell me where the Governor's at all the time and we can kill him together and take all the twisted people out. 'm sure ye know who's good and bad?"

Andrea widened her eyes and shook her head in surprise.

"What? No. I'm not going back there. We need to leave. Just go. Your prison's not worth it. This town is not worth all the bloodshed he's preparing the people for."

"Aye, but I'm sorry. We gotta take that fuck out, Andrea. I'm not te kinda person who runs away from sick fucks ta keep himself safe.
He needs ta be controlled and taken out so he can't harm any more people than he's hurt or killed already."

Andrea was just staring back at him and shook her head.

"We can't.."

"Well, let's...let's just get ye back ta the prison and get our people out of the danger zone, aye? We can discuss that shit later."

Daryl, who had not said anything to the whole issue until now, looked in the rearview mirror so he could look Andrea in the eye.

"How many of 'em are followin us?" he asked and Andrea moved some hair out of her face.

"I'm pretty sure it's just Phillip. I saw him drive by in his car when I hid in the woods."

Daryl stared at her once more.

"Just him? Behind us?"

Andrea nodded.

"Yeah, I think he was going to run me over to keep me from getting back to you. You can't imagine how glad I am to see you guys."

Connor chuckled and looked at her as well.

"Aye, yer quite the lucky one. Could've been a whole lot worse. Guess we're all lucky today" he muttered when he remembered how he had not been bitten by all the walkers at the motel, but he stopped smirking and regretted his choice of words immediately when he remembered what had happened after that.

"I mean...Well, not all of us" he said quietly and looked at Daryl as if he was trying to apologize, but once again his friend kept ignoring him. What he did instead and without a warning though, was hit the breaks one more time. He then placed a hand on the back of Connor's seat and had a look behind them as he tried to steer the car in reverse, away from the asphalted road and towards a small forest track between two large bushes.

"What te fuck are ye doing now?" Connor asked in surprise and looked at his friend with a confused frown.

"We need ta fucking warn people!" "Daryl, we need to get to the prison" Connor and Andrea said at the same time as Daryl drove further back until they were squeezed right between the bushes and could only see the road right in front of them and the rest of the forest track behind them.

"Let me drive this car now, ye don't even know what yer fucking doing anymore" Connor complained and tried to grab the steering wheel, but Daryl grabbed him by both his forearms and stared his friend right in the eyes.

"Use your brain you stupid dumbass and get a hold of the situation right now."

Connor frowned even more and tried to free himself, but Daryl was holding him to tight and wouldn't stop glaring at him.

"Te fuck are ye talking about? 's what I'm saying to you! The situation is real fuckin screwed right now and we need ta get back to the group as soon as fuckin possible! Those people from Woodbury are heading right fer them!They're armed to their teeth and it would be ridiculous ta get in there right now. Andrea just told us, we need ta warn our people, they're gonna get slaughtered!"

"Daryl, they've got heavy armory, riot suits, bulletproof vests and all sorts of army equipment and they're going to use it soon if we don't warn Rick and the.."

"Dear Phillip is all on his own. Right behind us. And he thinks he's just chasing Andrea" Daryl interrupted her and kept staring at Connor, ignoring the woman who was still trying to reason with him.

And the Irishman finally understood what his friend was aiming at. He widened his eyes and opened his mouth to form a surprised and satisfied oh.

"Jesus, this is Christmas. You clever fuckin bastard you."

Daryl grinned, but the grin was far from friendly or happy.
No, this was an evil, twisted and bloodthirsty grin, and for the first time he actually really looked like a killer who was just about to murder somebody.

"What are you talking about?" Andrea asked and interrupted their intense staredown as both men came to the conclusion on what they could do in a minute.

A couple of seconds later she finally seemed to understand as well.

"No, you can't..killing him won't change a thing. Martinez will just take over, it won't end it, we're just wasting time here. I think we should..."

Right then the loud roaring of the engine of a pickup interrupted Andrea mid sentence. Daryl raised his finger in the air to stop Connor and Andrea from talking with a loud "SHH!". Everyone inside the car froze and held their breath for what felt like eternity. Then a white pickup truck sped past their hideout, away from Woodbury, down the street and towards the prison.

"Looks like our guest of honor arrived" Daryl grunted as he started the engine of their car and hit the accelerator as hard and fast as he could.

"Daryl, don't!" Andrea pleaded, but it was already too late. They were speeding down the forest track, back to the road to follow the Governor.