Newly Revised
Ani watched as Dwight got down on his knees in front of Rick still feeling sick to her stomach at the sight of the man while her body shook. 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; hell, she wanted to beat the man herself for what he'd done to Daryl. He was still wearing the wings that were supposed to be on Daryl's back on his own on top of how he'd killed Denise had a knife in her own hand. She knew that the man was also the reason that her husband think that she had been swayed by Negan. Dwight had also done a damn good job of defending the Parkers when the pair tormented her husband, specifically using their child to get him riled up. He was the reason she and Daryl had been having so many problems and if she was angry at Gregory for getting them all involved, Dwight was the target of her rage with what he had done. The only thing that held her back from driving a knife into his heart 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 and she was shaking so bad that her grip on the knife was driving her nails into the palm of her hand as the man stared at her husband, undisturbed by the pistol in his face.
"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 with how quiet everyone in the room had become. 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 a little too convenient that when Rosita and Beth disappeared, the rest of them went to get guns, and then Beth came back with Dwight in tow. There were just too many coincidences, especially considering the fact that they hadn't thought the Saviors would know about their guns. What if they had been watching them all day and had sent Dwight into Alexandria to see if she and Daryl were here and get an idea of just how many weapons they had. 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. He had done nothing but harm her family and was the only person that deserved to die more than Gregory and Negan on the face of the planet as far as she was concerned.
"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 Ani back to her parents. He shoved Tara out of the way while pulling out his knife as he growled in his anger and grabbed Dwight by the throat. He held him to the wall, the knife at Dwight's eye, ready to kill at any second if the man uttered even a single word about Ani or Denise again. Even in his anger, though, Daryl didn't want to give up what might be the only advantage that they might have if they even had it. If it weren't for the fact that he was absolutely certain that Sherry had something to do with his escape considering how often she'd tried to warn him, he would have already pierced the asshole's eye. Ani refused to move to do anything about it, refused to stop Daryl in any way, shape, or form since she knew what the bastard had done, though she also knew that she should. It wasn't just that the man could have valuable information, it was that that just wasn't her husband. While she didn't mind killing the bastard in a second, Daryl had the heart of a saint and would give the man a chance. That was probably the only reason he stayed his hand, even as Tara started begging him to kill Dwight for what he'd done to Denise.
"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 could see 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 my best friend! I fuckin' hate myself for sayin' it! For defendin' 'im! I want 'im dead, too! But we got ta win, Tara! Ain' that why ya broke ya damn promise? 'Cause ya know we got ta win? This might be our only way ta get a step ahead! I fuckin' hate it, but we got ta fuckin' bite it back for now!" Ani cried, her face, voice, and eyes shining with hatred even as tears stained her cheeks.
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 she was going to help plan. "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 to reflexively push her a bit behind him even as one of her hands found purchase in his shirt at the small of his back, the other gripping her own knife a little harder.
"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. Hell, I don't care if I die. 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 end 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.
Tara once again started accusing Ani of not caring about Denise since she was so willing to give Dwight the benefit of the doubt. They had a yelling match that ended with Tara storming away and Ani in a fit of tears that both Beth and Jesus couldn't quite calm down. Denise had been Tara's girlfriend, yes, but she had been Ani's best friend and she had spent the most time with the other woman. She'd helped her set up her medical inventory on top of her books and had taught her about herbs long before Tara had come into the picture. It was a stupid argument to have and an even stupider thing to throw in Tara's face, but hearing Tara yell at her over and over again about how she betrayed Denise was too much. Ani was hurting, too, it wasn't just Tara and it wasn't just Tara that wanted Dwight dead; why was it her fault all of a sudden for Denise's death? Why was Tara acting like she was an accomplice in what had happened even though she had been the intended target? And that had been the thing that had made Tara storm away, saying that Dwight shouldn't have missed. Ani knew it had been said in anger, knew that it had been said from a place of hurt, but it stung deeper than Tara even realized, because she knew Tara was right. They both would have to apologize to the other at some point since they both were wrong, but at that moment, the only thing Ani wanted to do was either punch something or curl into a ball and stay there until she felt numb.
Rick, Michonne, and Daryl came out just as Tara got to her own house and sat on the steps looking at the rest of them in anger. Daryl immediately went to Ani, who tried very hard to say it was just stupid pregnancy hormones again until Jesus told them the truth. He was mad at Tara for blaming Ani and yet his wife refused to let him say anything to the other woman. No, she had to explain to him that they were both going through and had said things that the other couldn't quite understand. Tara wasn't really blaming her, Ani told him, anymore than she thought that she was worse off than Tara due to the time she'd spent with Denise. Daryl had sighed as Michonne left to get a burner truck for Dwight to take back to the Sanctuary while Beth went to man the gate. Ani stood with her arms folded beside her husband without making any actual contact as they watched Dwight climb into the truck and head for the gate. They both were rather hesitant about the entire situation because if a single thing went wrong, for Ani, it meant being separated from Daryl again and made to be entertainment; for Daryl, it meant being imprisoned again without any information on her and the baby. Neither of them were happy with the outcome of what was happening right that second, 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, a sour look still etched on her face. 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. Even though Ani tried to tell her she should go back to be with her sister, Beth refused to budge from her standpoint. She said that she owed it to Rosita to see this fight through and she wasn't going to back down now. 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 when she saw the door wide open. She took in it's ransacked state and the missing furniture, going over to her bookshelf and finding her ransacked CDs. The kitchen was a mess and when she went into their room and found her dresser and closet ransacked, she brought her arms in around herself as she felt once again violated by Negan.
"I hate this," she admitted.
"At least they left the beds," Sophia said in an attempt to lighten Ani's mood.
"Yeah, I guess," Ani said. "But my music. They went through my clothes. They touched my clothes!"
"We'll get you new ones," Daryl told her, pressing a kiss into her hair as he stepped around her. "And, hell, we can get your CDs back when this is over."
"It ain' jus' the music. That sucks in it's own. But...they...He made me show 'im my scars. He's the one that went through 'em didn' 'e?"
Daryl didn't say anything at first, just wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, "Don't worry about it. We'll get 'em all."
"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 goin' ta 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 got ta get up in the mornin'," Ani told them. "C'mon, I want ta sleep in our bed again."
Daryl went out to Merle's room and grabbed the pillow off his bed since Ani had left Daryl's back at the Sanctuary and came back into the room. 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. They both stripped down, Daryl taking off his shirt while Ani changed into a pair of sweats on top of her crop top. 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 and both sighed. 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 and what would happen to her and the baby if something went wrong. 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 throwing her legs over the side of the bed, her hands clutching the sheets beside her.
Daryl watched her for a moment before rolling over and move to his side, putting his hand on the small of her back, "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 Ani 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, D. I need ya ta make it out alright," she said as she sighed.
"I need you to be safe. Should stay in the house."
"I know, but I don' want ta 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 goin' ta 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 got ta see it, D. I got ta see Negan go down with my own eyes. Afta what 'e did ta ya, what 'e made me do in front a Carl and Phia, I got ta 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 of worry as they drifted off into sleep until 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 while Ani started handing out weapons. Rick had added the thought of the explosives 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. They didn't look like they were very well off compared to the other communities they had seen and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of place they lived in to look so grubby. Either way, she was definitely disheartened as who she presumed to be the leader of these people walked up to Rick and started talking.
"What you fight for?" she asked in clipped English.
"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 at the undertones of the question, 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 and bringing the guys extra clips. 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 fingers and he couldn't use his teeth in something as delicate as this 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, her adrenaline pumped up. It didn't take long for everything to be ready and everyone standing in their spots at the gate, Ani standing between Daryl and Merle with Sophia standing just off to the side. Merle had given the switch to Beth so he could keep his rifle at the ready and keep her and Sophia covered. Turkey calls sounded out around them making every single person in Alexandria tense at the warning of the Saviors being close. The tension in the air was so thick Ani could practically feel it buzzing around her as she focused her mind on the task at hand and tried not to worry about her small family unit. 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 steady her nerves.
"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. He didn't look any 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. Eugene had never pretended to be anything other than he was, a coward who would do anything to keep himself alive. She couldn't help but be disgusted by that fact 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. Ani was pissed at Eugene and a part of her wanted to see him die in the fight with the Saviors rather than get to stay at the Sanctuary and offer his technical knowledge to them. She could only imagine how much the man had already done for the assholes just to keep himself alive.
"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 almost couldn't believe what she was hearing even as Rick gave Beth the signal and ducked along with everyone by the gate. 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 moved closer to her side. 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. Ani turned just enough to keep an eye on what the Saviors were doing while keeping the Scavengers close to her sight as well while Negan walked up to the gates with a smile.
"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's face was twisted into a look of utmost anger and disgust. He had to have known what was going to happen with the Scavengers before coming to Alexandria to talk. Dwight probably set them up for a trap by withholding that information and said he would delay the Saviors to buy the Scavengers time, not her people. The bastard and Simon climbed up onto a truck and 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 trying to use 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 at his hands whether or not she was onboard with his way of life.
"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 whole troupe! 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 fully stepped in front of 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 as Ani watched it all almost in slow motion. 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. 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 got ta 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, the feel of it almost unrealistic as they began to shoot down the Scavengers along with any Saviors 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 cats moved with them, running forward and attacking as a unit until they could get to the throat until Shiva came out of nowhere and began doing the same. It seemed that the Hilltop wasn't the only settlement that decided to join the fight as 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 took down every single one in an attempt to kill him until she was pulled back by Abraham. She had been 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 smoke bombs went off around them, allowing the Scavengers cover to start 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 after the three had tried to open it while 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 that took a little while to get 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, seeing as she had not been among the dead. 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 antiseptic 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. Daryl ended up being the one who 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, along with the twins and Shiva just for their meat. 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, Ani could hardly believe that Carol had come back and brought the Kingdom along with her considering how adamant she'd been about not getting involved. 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 over, once Negan was taken care of, they could build a better future, together.
