Newly Revised

Carl watched as Rick gave Michonne an intimate kiss before walking over to him and pulled off his hat, giving him a crushing hug before turning towards the truck he was heading out in. Sophia had given the Dixons her farewells, promising to stay in Alexandria while they were gone, Carol receiving a small hug from her as well. He wasn't sure if she'd done it out of fear of losing her mom again, slowly getting over her anger, or simply trying to make amends before it was too late. It almost felt like they were telling everyone they knew and loved goodbye for good, not just for now. So many people were hugging reassuring each other that Carl's confidence that they could win was slightly shaken. He could tell that Sophia was nervous, too, because they both knew that one wrong move meant everything would crumble around them. He could only hope that everything went according to plan and they would actually be able to end the war with the Saviors without losing anyone else. Carl didn't know how he would make sure Alexandria stayed standing if his dad didn't come back even as he tried to reassure him. Rick told him that it was the end of the war, that the Saviors were going to be finished by the end of the day. With that he walked away and Carl was left watching his dad and most of the rest of the adults from Alexandria load into the cars. Along with all the fighters Hilltop and the Kingdom had to offer, they rolled through the gates of Alexandria to head to the rendezvous point as Michonne stood beside him.

"I know you wanted to go with him," he told her. "I did, too."

"Everything hurts," Michonne said. "But I'll help you defend this place."

"Me?" he scoffed.

"Oh yeah," Michonne replied. "This is your show." When Carl just scoffed and turned away, she walked over to him and nudged him with her shoulder. "Okay...You'll see."

He waited for a while before deciding to try to find the man he'd met a couple days ago, hoping that he'd be in the same area as he had been. If he wasn't, then maybe he'd find someone else who needed help while he was out there, someone else that could help them. Grabbing his bag, he went to the kitchen while Michonne was on patrol and gathered a few supplies and a couple bottles of water. Hope was something worth holding onto, something that had to be held onto, but it meant nothing if they didn't keep hope alive themselves. His dad was dead set on the war with the Saviors, and while Carl had thought that that was the right course of action at first, he couldn't say that it actually felt right now. What was the point in a war that would only hurt more people than it would help and use up resources they barely had? Something about what that traveler had said hit close to home for the boy, and he couldn't help but want to help him. Maybe it was that he'd brought up his mom a lot, something Carl had been thinking about himself seeing Sophia and Carol. Maybe it was how scared yet sincere the man had looked when he'd held up his hands in surrender. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't even had a weapon on him as far as he had been able to see. All Carl knew was that, after his dad left, he couldn't sit around and do nothing; he'd already told Sophia that there had to be something left when all was said and done. Now, he was taking it into his own hands to make sure that the world would turn out to be a better place rather than just leaving things lie. He left a couple cans of food and a note that said sorry at the spot he'd last seen the man before looking around. While it was hard to make out, he knew something or someone was hunkered down in the bushes, but the only problem was that what his dad had done had made the man scared of him now. Carl knew he was going to have to walk away, potentially track and follow the man, if he was going to be able to get him back to Alexandria. No one could survive on their own anymore, especially an unarmed man that foolishly would talk to anyone he came across.

~x~

A single arrow from Daryl's bow shot through the heart of the Savior on the tree platform, killing him instantly before they moved onto the next stop. They snuck their way to the road blockade, Daryl taking no time in grabbing the man and breaking his neck, snagging up the cigarette he'd dropped as Ani grabbed his gun. Daryl sat on the hood of the car as she walked up to him and showed him the gun; it was exactly what they needed for the explosions and was still fully loaded, but what was scratched into the top made them both grimace. Over forty lives had been taken by that man, and both Dixons doubted very much that a single kill had been necessary. That was the whole reason they were ending this thing, because the Saviors, the assholes like the one Daryl had killed, the one Ani was staring at and wishing she could do something worse to, they killed just because they could. Ani might have had a higher body count than anyone, even if she wasn't sure what it was anymore, but every single person they had killed had been to keep their family alive, to keep themselves and each other safe. Even if Rick said it wouldn't end today, they could end it all in a single afternoon if they tried hard enough. Once they got the heavy artillery Dwight had told them about from Regina's complex, they could easily get rid of the Saviors and Negan once and for all. They made it back to the meeting place after dealing with the guard dogs and waited with everyone else for the final teams to arrive. Rick, Maggie, and Ezekiel were standing on a flatbed trailer while everyone else stood by their cars, Daryl holding Ani to his back with one arm, her hand resting on his.

"When I first met him," Rick said, "Jesus said that my world was gonna get a whole lot bigger. Well, we found that world. We found each other. That...'bigger world' is ours. By right. That we've come together for it, all of us...it's that much more true. It's ours by right!Any person who would live in peace and fairness, who would find common ground, it's their right too. But those who use and take and kill to carve out the world and make it theirs alone, we end them!" he yelled out at the crowd of faces from the three settlements, prepping them for the battle to come. "We don't...we don't celebrate it. But we don't have shame about it, either. There's only one person who has to die...and I will kill him myself. I will. I will," he said with conviction. "But if it's the others, the others who prop him up, who stand by his side, even if they just look the other way, so be it. Then...we keep makin' the world bigger. Together."

"Together," Ezekiel called out. "Bound forever! To quote the Bard, 'For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother! Shall be my sister!" he said, gently touching Rick and Maggie's shoulder before Shiva roared out.

"We've practiced. We've been through it over and over again," Maggie called out, having spent the last two days making sure the walkers on the highway would be where they needed to be and that everyone knew what their formations were to be as the soldiers in the groups set up the explosives for today. "We all know the plan doesn't end this morning. That we may have to live in uncertainty for days, maybe more. That we have to keep our faith in each other. If we can hold onto that with everything we have, the future is ours. The world is ours."

"I don't want to wait for it anymore," Rick told them all. "You don't either—I know. So we don't have to wait for it. If we start tomorrow right now...with everything we've beat, everything we've endured, everything we've risen above, everything we've become," he told them, his voice getting louder and clearer with each 'everything' he stated. "If we start tomorrow right now no matter what comes next, we've won. We've already won!"

Daryl looked down at Ani as the leaders finished up their speeches and asked if she was still alright, only to be kissed before telling him to hurry up as she walked over to her ATV and started it up. They only had so much time to get to the bridge bypass to meet up with Carol, Morgan, and Tara after checking in with Rick and making sure that everything was ready. Ten minutes, to be exact, which was why they let their engines rip and headed out with as much speed as they could. In fact, it was ten minutes to get to the bypass, a potential two minutes to get the horde's attention, and five minutes to get to the footbridge. Then, hopefully, it would only take another five or so minutes to get things set up and another ten for the Saviors to fall for the trap. She and Daryl would only have a few minutes to ignite every explosion from there to the Sanctuary so that the herd stayed on the track they wanted them to, not the one the Saviors themselves had set up. If they timed it right, the dead would be upon the Sanctuary right about the time the others got in their cars and took off, everyone getting back to the first spot afterwards to regroup before heading out to their assigned outposts. If they didn't, well, Ani just hoped and prayed to the gods that everything went according to plan as Carol and the others came into view.

"You sure you're up for this?" she asked when the two stopped.

"You know it," Daryl answered.

"A course I am, Cars. I got ta be. 'Sides, I ain' doin' nothin'. Jus' ridin' with D and then hangin' back 'til they need a medic," Ani told her with a shrug.

"You just being there is a bad idea. You really think you'll be able to hang back?"

"She's got Merle, Sasha, and Abraham lookin' out for her," Daryl told her. "And a promise that I'm gonna whoop their asses if they bring 'er into the line of fire."

"Yeah," Ani agreed in irritation. "See, I'm so damn protected I might as well be a fuckin' national fuckin' treasure. I mean, I can' really fight both Abe and Merle with Sash standin' there keepin' me from bein' able to get away. 'Sides, Maggie's also goin' for the first part. If she had the medical know how I did, she'd prolly be hangin' back, too, but still there fightin'."

"Here we go," Tara said, silencing the little powwow the three of them had going on while Morgan stood to look in the same direction as the others. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four., three, two, one. Shit," she said when nothing happened.

Ani grabbed a hold of Daryl's arm as she took a sharp intake of breath while Carol looked on nervously and Morgan became impatient. The entire area was dead silent as they spread out to see whether or not there were any signs of the horde coming. She couldn't help the worried glances she gave Morgan and Carol as they stood there; their entire plan hinged on using the horde to trap the Sanctuary so they had time for their next plan. Daryl shared a look with Ani and Tara himself before turning back to look at the highway with a critical eye. The only one that didn't seem overly concerned was Tara, who seemed more disheartened than anything as she looked at her watch and back. She went back over to stand next to Daryl, putting her hand on his bicep as they shared yet another glance as the worry began to really set in. If they didn't have the dead, they could potentially grab the explosives and set them up on a different side of the factory, blowing the entire thing to pieces and destroying the building. The cost in lives would be pretty high, but it was the Saviors that would die, those who followed him and refused to fight back even when they could. They needed the walkers in order not to have to deal with that kind of situation where countless who didn't need to die would. When nothing came after a few more seconds, Ani was about to suggest the only other alternative method they had when Daryl went a bit rigid next to her.

"Naw, look," he said, pointing to the turn in the road. "There."

"Okay," Tara said. "Close enough. Within a ten seconds. Kingdom knows their stuff."

"You got it?" Carol asked Morgan.

"Yeah," he responded.

Daryl and Ani ran back to their open vehicles while the others ran for the two cars they had brought and started them up. Once they were all far enough away, Morgan flipped the switch to blow the old beater they were using to get the walker's attention all to hell. It went up in a loud explosion of fire and smoke that was hopefully loud and big enough to catch the Saviors' attention. Dwight was supposed to radio the coverage as soon as that happened, telling whoever went to inspect to take the exact route he had given to Daryl and Ani. He and Tara were currently affixing metal wire to another van while Carol and Morgan set the explosives near a very large building. Ani was playing lookout with her pistols silenced while the others were working, opting for handguns rather than risk the kickback of rifles, even if it would hit her shoulder. It was relatively quiet around the buildings, most likely because it was close enough to the Sanctuary that they'd probably already cleared the place for their courtyard.

When Carol and Morgan came up, Carol asked, "How close are we?"

"Close," came Daryl's reply as Ani pointed out another walker, hearing the engines revving in the distance.

"Shit," Tara said to Ani's observation. "Could that thing set it off?"

"Maybe," Ani answered.

"I got it," Morgan said.

"Morgan," Ani said, getting ready to shoot the thing as he moved. "Morgan!"

"Just let 'im," Daryl said, pulling her back to him as they watched the man move while keeping an eye out for the convoy that was drawing ever closer.

"Oh shite, 'e's goin' ta get caught in the blast!" Ani said as she watched Morgan kill the walker and run for cover, the cars coming into view as Daryl pulled her down to a crouching position.

"Trust he knows what he's doing," Carol chided which made Ani roll her eyes.

"Alright, here we go," Daryl said as he crouched over Ani, keeping her covered in case any shrapnel managed to find it's way to where they were.

As soon as the wire was tripped, two things happened at once; the car they'd set to explode did, in fact, explode, which would lead the walkers right to the point they wanted them to be at, and the car that hit the wire got caught in the explosion and flipped, a small fire beginning in its cab as well. Daryl pulled Ani up once it was done and walked with her down to the bike and ATV, kissing her hand and they headed towards each vehicle as Morgan walked back over. Tara had already pulled her car up to them, her and Morgan heading to the satellite station they had cleared out once already. Carol would head out to meet up with the Kingdom at the chemical plant Gavin controlled and take it over. As soon as they were done with their fiery exit, Ani and Daryl were heading towards the same place, though they would be separating when they got to a certain point. While they were meeting Rick at the meadow, Ani was heading to a checkpoint on a hill behind the plaza where Merle, Abraham, and Sasha would be staying with her while Daryl went on ahead with Rick to attack the place. She was terrified of what was going to happen, but there was nothing she could do since she had promised and she refused to ever break a promise to Daryl.

"It's started," Carol said as gunfire rang out in the distance.

"Yeah, it was always gonna be that way," Daryl said.

"Ta be fair, Rick and Negan are both huge egos and personalities. I don' think there was eva goin' ta be a peaceful solution," Ani added as the walkers rounded a corner towards the flaming cars.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Tara said before walking back to her vehicle.

"Beat 'em," Morgan added, turning to enter it himself.

"We will," Carol assured him before giving Daryl a tight squeeze, followed by putting a hand on Ani's shoulder, wishing them both safety. "Be careful."

"We will, Cars."

"Shit, this is gonna be fun," Daryl said, looking at the horde of walkers approaching them.

"No, it isn't," Carol chided.

"It's better than lettin' things be, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is," she said before she walked off to get into her own vehicle.

"You gonna be alright, baby girl?"

"We got ta do this."

"You don't."

"We do," she said, walking up to him and pulling him down into a passionate kiss that lasted as long as she dared to let it. "Let's get this done and ova with."

"Alright," he told her, watching her walk to her quad before taking a drink from his canteen and getting on his bike properly, double checking the gun they'd found.

As the horns blared from the Sanctuary, they looked at each other and revved their engines, slowly heading towards their next destination. As they went through an intersection, Ani first, Daryl pulled the gun and took careful aim at the box sitting on a little pallet on the other side. The explosion and fire that would continue to burn would keep the walkers on track all the way to the Sanctuary gates. Ani stayed in front of Daryl the whole time, making sure to stay on the opposite side of wherever the boxes were placed. He was an excellent shot even on the motorcycle, only taking a single shot each time to set the bombs off while he continued moving. They would stop and wait just for a few minutes to make sure the majority of the walkers were sticking with them, almost all of the walkers continuing on their predetermined route thanks to Daryl's efforts. He even managed a shot from over a hundred yards while keeping the bike steady and turning around a curve. Ani had to admit that even she probably wouldn't have been able to pull that off, even if she was on the ATV and not the motorcycle. They pulled away from the Sanctuary and the horde, gunning it as fast as they could to get to the meadow roughly two miles from the plaza. They got there before anyone else did and just sat against a tree enjoying what little time they had left, waiting for Rick and company to arrive. When they all finally arrived and checked to make sure everyone was there, they realized they were a car and a person short. Gabriel's vehicle never showed up, not even after ten minutes, which was all they could spare if they were going to keep on track with the other teams.

"We could wait a bit more," Daryl said as Rick checked his watch again, Ani looking at it over his arm as well.

"We can't," Rick told him. "He stopped to get me."

"Huh?" Ani asked.

"Negan," Rick said in explanation. "He was on the ground and I was shootin' at him and Gabriel, he stopped to get me."

"He did a good thing then," Ani said, looking back at the path.

"We gotta start out," Rick told them.

"You alright?" Daryl asked him.

"This isn't about me," Rick said with a cock of his head and eyebrow.

"Yeah," was his response before Daryl let out a loud whistle and waved his bandana around while walking over to Ani. "You stay with Merle, you hear me? No goin' off on your own. No gettin' involved in the shoot out."

"I promise," she told him, leaning his forehead down against hers. "Jus' come back for me, ya got it? Ya not allowed ta leave me on my own with Lou."

"I won't. I'll be there," he assured her, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead getting on his bike. "You wait for me."

"I will," she told him as she backed away. "I love ya, D."

"Love ya too, baby girl," he replied before heading out, following Rick's truck.

~x~

Daryl took aim and shot the guard to the plaza as Rick moved forward and practically dove right through them, Daryl hot on his trails. The others they were taking into the building followed behind them as quickly as they could, gunfire sounding out from the other side of the building where the rest of Alexandria were ambushing the Saviors. Along with Rick and some of the other fighters, they took out the two guards at the front of the complex and entered the building with ease, once again finding the way unlocked. It was relatively empty as the group splitting up with the others looking for Saviors and Rick and Daryl going after the heavy artillery that was supposed to be here. They needed to move fast and move quiet in case there were any Saviors left to protect the guns inside and they had to make sure they died. He and Rick split up after reminding everyone that it was a race for the guns before entering another wing of the first floor. The place seemed to be deserted as he entered yet another empty office while gunfire continued outside, meaning their plan to keep the others pinned down was working. It didn't take Daryl long to clear his section of the floor and head back towards the lobby type area that held the stairs and elevator. He was met with Rick's rifle to his face, the map Dwight had drawn them in his hand telling Daryl that he hadn't found anything either. The others had yet to rendezvous with the two of them which meant that they were still looking for the guns.

"Ain't nothin' on this floor," Daryl stated.

"Only option is up."

"High ground. Good cover," he agreed.

"Yeah, I'd put 'em up there too," Rick said.

"Stairs," Daryl told him, pointing to the door that led to them and trying it, finding it locked. "Damn, wish we had Ani's lockpickin' skills right now," he said after trying and failing to kick the door down.

"You really want her in a fire fight again?"

"Hell naw. That's why she's by them trees," he stated before looking at the elevator. "Come on, help me get these damn things open. Looks like we're climbin'."

It took a few minutes to open the elevator shaft and Daryl was thankful that the elevator was on the ground floor due to the lack of power in the building. If it had been stopped between floors, this little endeavor of theirs would have been impossible as Rick helped give him a hand up onto the top of the elevator after he'd given the man a leg up to get there in the first place. The climb itself was difficult with the crossbow and the rifle on their backs but opening the elevator doors once they got to the next floor was ridiculous. Daryl was breathing heavily by the time he threw his bow onto the floor and climbed out of the shaft himself, turning to help Rick up as well. They'd had to climb up the shaft three times before they reached the top floor of the building, both covered in sweat and out of breath. Back to back they checked the hallway to make sure they were in the clear once again before nodding their heads to each other.

"Last floor," Rick told him. "The guns have got to be up here."

"He said they'd be here," Daryl responded, though his anger was growing by the second at the fact that they hadn't found the damn things yet.

"Everything else he passed you is checking out," Rick assured him.

"That guy's a piece of shit."

"If those guns get to the Sanctuary, they could cut through those walkers and free up an exit," Rick cautioned. "We'll go faster if we split up. I find the M2s, you find 'em, we use them, hit the courtyard right then and there."

"End this quick," Daryl agreed, wanting to end it all as fast as possible.

He took off down the hall, his bow at the ready as he checked room after room. The place was still cleaned out. Not a single soul seemed to be on the inside of the building. Every room was empty as he opened doors or paused quickly only to whip into the room with his bow up. His thoughts were mostly focused on the task at hand, though a part of it was focused on what was happening outside. As long as that gunfire kept up, they had time to search the building and find the guns. While he was worried about Ani, he knew she was safe and that Merle wouldn't let her do anything risky, let alone Sasha and Abraham. And while that knowledge helped keep his worries at bay, the anger that grew with each passing room that was empty only made him that much more determined to kill Dwight when all was said and done. Kicking the door to a room open, he entered it to find it empty yet again. Closing the door behind him lightly just in case anyone was hiding, he crept through what looked to have been an office space with his guard up. The gunfire outside was starting to let up while some screaming could be heard dotting the noise as well. He knew they only had so much time to find what they were looking for.

It was with hope that he opened yet another door only to find what had probably been a utility closet, though what was in it caused him flashback. On the floor, a pile of puke, what looked to be shit on a couple pieces of bread, and a pair of handcuffs reminded him of every single minute at the Sanctuary. Everything he'd been through, everything they'd done to him, came roaring into the front of his mind until the reality and gravity of the find set in. Who knew how many people the Saviors had done that to, how many they had forced to change simply to survive the torture the Saviors themselves inflicted? If it hadn't been for Ani, Lou, Merle, Sophia, and the rest of them, he might not have been able to hold out as long as he had and might not have even escaped. Those had been the four longest days of his life and it was only when he heard a clatter from down the hall that he was brought out of his mind and began moving again. By the time he found the source and heard the man talking, the sound of fighting had ended and the gunfire outside had completely quieted down. Rounding a corner, he could hear Rick talking to someone, the voice sounding familiar to Daryl as he brought his bow up and he closed in on the open door.

"Wait! No!" Rick shouted as he pulled the trigger just as Morales whipped around, dropping their old acquaintance to the ground.

"You good?" he asked Rick, who just stood staring at him like he'd lost his mind.

"That—T-That was..."

"I know who it was," Daryl cut him off. "It don't matter," he said as he went to retrieve his bolt. "Not one little bit. You find them guns?"

Rick just stared at him while Daryl gave him a blank expression back before answering, "They're not here."

"What?!"

Rick dropped to a knee and grabbed the gun he'd dropped along with the one Morales had been holding on him, "He called the Saviors back from the courtyard. We gotta get out before..." His words were cut off by a door banging open from the stairwell, Daryl moving to take cover by the wall as Rick stated, "They're here."

"We gotta go, man," Daryl told him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him out of the room. "We gotta go."

They ran down the hall, trying to make it to the elevator shaft before the Saviors managed to make it up the stairs. The way was clear up until they actually reached the shaft, Daryl quickly having to jerk back when he looked down it and gunfire rang up at him. Rick cursed and searched for a way out, pointing Daryl to a room back the way they'd come, but neither man had much time to move before the Saviors opened fire. He barely had time to be able to duck into the room when the bullets went flying, only having a pistol and his crossbow with him while Rick had a rifle with half a clip and his Python. They were being shot at from both directions, Rick and Daryl each taking a side and trying to stem the flow of enemy bullets in order to make a run for it. It was going to be a loosing battle as he emptied his entire clip, unable to take a single Savior out due to the cover the office furniture gave. He could see Rick, who looked back at him as he switched to his second pistol and fired again, neither doing very well. Two more rounds were all he was able to fire off before the hammer clicked, the few bolts he had left no where near enough to help.

"Hey! Hey!" he shouted over the gunfire to Rick, getting his attention. "I'm out."

The Saviors were getting closer by the second when Rick shouted out at him to get his attention, holding up three fingers. Daryl nodded his understanding and began counting in his head as Rick took aim at something, smoke obscuring their attackers' sight. It gave him just enough cover to get over to Rick without getting shot, especially since they didn't have any bullets to fire back. The Saviors were damn near on top of them when they used the smoke to their advantage and each grabbed one man, killing them as they took their guns. Smoke was still everywhere as they took opposite sides of the hallway and opened fire on as many as they could. They were still going to lose the fight with the amount of opposition left before yelling could be heard from the men firing at them and even more fell to the ground.

"Teams of four, sweep the offices!" he heard Aaron call out.

"Aaron!" Rick called out.

"Rick!"

"We're by the elevator!" he called out, the teams making quick work of the remaining Saviors.

"Merle?" Daryl asked upon seeing the older redneck.

"Hey, baby brother," he said with a cocky grin.

"You're supposed to be with Ania!"

"I'm here on her request," Merle stated simply. "Ain't even here for you, Darylina, so don't worry 'bout it. Let's go. Make sure these damn Saviors stay dead."

~x~

Ani waited in the field as the gunfire began sounding out, her nerves getting to her as she tried her hardest not to let her body start shaking. Her pacing went from slow to wearing a path in the tall grass as even more noise surrounded the area, but what really had Merle worried was how frightened she looked. She was staring at the plaza even though, between the trees and the buildings surrounding the plaza, they weren't able to see anything at all about what was happening. Daryl was in one of those buildings with Rick, and that was all either of them knew and all they would know until the end. If everything went according to plan, the Saviors would be pinned down by Alexandria's gunfire. All they needed to do to win was to keep them pinned down outside of the complex long enough for Rick and Daryl to get what they needed and the Saviors' own dead to turn. She was beginning to shake uncontrollably and her face was pale by the time she once again tried to see past the tree line.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Tiny," Abraham tried. "They'll be fine."

"Yeah, ya sayin' that don' mean I believe it," was his response. "Aaron, Eric, and Francine are in the fire fight. Daryl and Rick's inside by now, prolly. And I'm sittin' 'ere with my ass hangin' out for the bitas ta chomp!"

"Hey, we're all sittin' up here doin' nothin'," Merle said. "All to keep you and that bun safe."

"Yeah, well, if it weren' for Little D, I'd be fuckin' with 'im!"

"You seriously gonna blame that baby, now? Fuck that shit. You ain't blamin' my nephew for this shit show. We're both out here with our asses hangin' out," Merle told her, walking over to her and bumping her with his elbow. "He ain't some little pussy-ass bitch. He can take care of himself. Give 'im time."

"I don' want ta give 'im time, Merle. I should be in there with 'im."

"We all should be," Sasha said as she came and stood next to her. "But you were right in making sure the teams had a medic at a distance with a team of their own. It could come in handy."

"Yeah, I know," Ani said, her unintentional arrogance showing once again. "That's the whole reason I suggested it. Well, that and so I could be a part a it all without bein' a part a it."

Sasha and Merle both chuckled as Merle went back over to Abraham and was handed a cigar.

"We all wanted to be a part of it. But Maggie went back to the Hilltop to make sure it was defended and to keep her baby safe. You needed to be here, to see it, and that's fine. But me and Abraham? We're going to make sure you and your baby are safe."

"Ya don' know how much that means ta me, Sash. I jus' wish we were all in that damn buildin' helpin' keep Rick and Daryl safe."

"Well, unfortunately, we're sittin' 'round comparin' which end of the turd is the dirtiest," Abraham countered from his place by the tree. "Best thing we can do is try to keep our minds off'n it and keep the way clear of hostiles, whether dead or alive."

"And waitin' for our people ta see if we got anyone ta patch up," Ani said sadly. "Gods, how the fuck are the three a ya so damn calm?!"

"Because you're nervous enough for the four of us," Sasha joked.

"ANI!" Aaron's voice rang out. "Ani! We need you! Eric...Eric, hold on, baby."

"Oh, gods," Ani said as she and the others began to move, grabbing her bag and opening it as she ran.

"Help him," Aaron cried. "Help him! I got you, Eric, I got you. It's okay."

"How bad is it?" Eric asked.

"It's a through and through!" Merle told Ani as they got him to the trees and put him down against it.

"That's good," Aaron told him as Ani got to work on trying to stop the bleeding. "Ani'll patch you up. We're gonna get you to the Kingdom's doctor. Just have to keep pressure," he said as he looked at Ani, who's devastated expression had him sob as he clasped Eric around the neck. "Oh, Eric," he cried. "I'm so sorry..."

In true Eric fashion that had Aaron sob out a laugh, he asked, "Were you the one who shot me?"

Aaron began sobbing as Ani kept pressure against the wound, even though they all knew how this was going to end. "I-I pulled you into this. You didn't want to fight," he told him as Eric grabbed a hold of his collar.

"Until—Until I did," Eric responded weakly, already beginning to have to fight to stay conscious. "You need to help them," he told Aaron, who tried to abject through his tears. "You need to go. I can bleed here fine on my own. Besides, I've got Ani here. Who better than my best friend to look after me if not my other half?"

"I'm not...I'm not leaving you," Aaron said.

"Don't be an idiot," Eric told him. "They need you," he said as Aaron looked down while sobbing. "Aaron, look at me. Look at me," he whispered, his hand rubbing against Aaron's cheek lovingly as Ani grabbed another rag from her bag to try to stem the bleeding. "You know I love you. And you know I'm right." Aaron shook his head and leaned in, kissing Eric for all it was worth while Ani was leaned away before breaking away and sobbing, "Okay. Now, stand your ass up, get back to the fight, and you win this thing," Eric commanded.

"I will," Aaron said after clearing his throat and blowing out harshly. "We will. You look after him," he said, turning to Ani before looking back to Eric. "I love you."

"I always had a hunch," Eric responded with a sad smile, watching as Aaron grabbed his gun. "Now go."

"Merle," Ani said. "Go with 'im. Make sure 'e comes back out."

"You got it, Ani," Merle responded, heading away with Aaron after giving the man a nod.

"Eric, I can'...I can' stop the bleedin'," Ani sobbed. "I can'...The bullet, it hit somethin' I can' fix. I don'...I can'...I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault," he assured her giving her a smile. "Just, do me a favor?"

"Anythin'," she promised.

"Don't let me turn. He can't...He won't recover from that."

"Ya know I would neva, love," she told him, bringing his head to her shoulder as she sat next to him and quit crying, the grief replaced by determination.

She had only managed to hum through a single verse of one of their favorite songs when his body lay limp in her arms as she rocked him. Abraham offered to end it for him for good, but Ani refused; he was the third best friend she had lost and she owed it to him to make sure he didn't turn. There had been times the deaths had made her feel conflicted about whether or not she had been right. But right now, there was no conflict in her mind of whether or not she was right. There was nothing but a burning desire to destroy the entire world if it meant making Eric and Denise's deaths right. The stench of iron was all around her as she went to wipe the hair stuck to her cheek by sweat. Sasha and Abraham looked at each other when she left a streak of blood across her cheek in the process. Covered in Eric's blood, she sat there staring at her hands until Aaron ran out, collapsing next to them and taking Eric's body from her, wallowing in his own despair.