Newly Revised

"Well, look at you, Mr. Big Shot," Eugene heard Frankie say as she walked up behind him. "You were destined for this."

They'd only just gotten the machine shop up and functional, something that had taken all day even with the ten extra men that had come with him just to help clean the place out. The facility hadn't necessarily been poorly maintained, it just had a lot of dust and grime built up that needed a good elbow greasing. There were another ten men that would be staying at the shop with him, Frankie and Tanya coming to help them maintain their daily needs. If he was going to be able to make enough bullets and somehow pilfer some for the colonies, not just provide for Negan, he was going to have to be especially careful with all the people Negan had sent him with. If only he had some of Simon's people here, it would have been made that much easier, but, according to him, anyone he had that he could send was currently under one Maggie Rhee's vigil. As such, he would have to work with what he had in order to ensure he appeared to be on the side of the Saviors, though he supposed he still was in some ways. He was trying to end the war for everyone without getting anyone else severely injured or dead. Eugene turned around to see Frankie walking up, taking notice of her little black dress and heeled feet and lack of goggles.

"Nobody on the line without gloves and proper eye protection," he told her.

"I just thought I could help," she said after she rolled her eyes and looked around the place. "Maybe you could show me how to make one."

"I'm sure I could. But your job is to take my dinner order, relayin' it to Tanya via the long range," he told her with a nod. "Eggs will do nicely. Dancing with tomatoes."

"One tomato omelet—you got it," she said discouraged.

"No, no fold over. I'm talkin' a scramble. Several of them actually, for my crew."

"No damn tomatoes," one of his men piped up, looking back at them. "Peppers, lots of 'em. As many as you've got."

"You heard the man," Eugene said before moving to an as of yet unused area of the machine shop. "And I'd like said repast set up over here, in the Northwest corner, which I hereby designate as this workplace's official cafeteria, break room, and motivational presentational cubby. And my brow will soon be in need of wipin'," he said as he came back around to her, giving her a condescending tone and look.

She looked about ready to respond when the doors burst open and Negan came through laughing, everyone in the room falling to their knees in response, "Eugene! Lookie what I've brought for you."

Two men carted Gabriel into the room, setting him down at the table they were sorting casings at Eugene standing and looking from the preacher to Negan before saying, "I am agog. Why would you bring him here?"

"Well, you needed an extra set of hands to sort out those bullet casings, right? Apparently, his eyes don't work for shit, but he does have a set of hands. Simon suggested he get his hands dirty to earn his keep, and I must say, I agree whole-heartedly. After all, everyone contributes and he's used an awful lot of resources fightin' whatever nastiness ended up inside of 'im."

"We'll see if it helps. Simon does seem to have an eye for usefulness. I only have a few bullets as it is. Quality munitions, but the quantity is full-on scant. It's still gonna be a few more days, maybe a week, before we have any sort of supply to speak of."

Negan sucked on his teeth while grimacing and getting quiet as he began talking, "See, Eugene...that simply doesn't work for me."

"I think a more biblical approach for maximum fright may be in order," Eugene said uncomfortably. "We could rig several medieval style catapults, start launching undead arms, legs, torsos over their defenses, maybe heads or, you know, a big pile of guts. Pure psych-ops. I mean, there's some really traumatic theatrics there."

He stood there staring at Negan as the man considered his words before he lifted his eyebrows and gave a little bow towards Eugene, "Thank you. I do believe a rose just sprang out of that pile of shit. Let's roll. Big day tomorrow."

Eugene waited for him to leave before turning to Frankie and asking, "Are you gonna relay the dinner order, or do we need someone more suitable for the task?" As she rolled her eyes and walked away, he walked up to Gabriel and spoke lowly as he tossed a container of spare casings that needed plucking through. "Let it be clear, you are here to work. I will not allow anyone to fall behind or take up space if they are unable to complete their tasks. If Simon thinks your competent enough, I suppose you'll do the trick just nicely."

"We are all doing God's work," was all Gabriel said in reply, placing a rather well concealed piece of paper on the table in front of him that Eugene grabbed under the cover throwing a mask at the man.

"Whether or not we are, there's work that needs doin'. Put that on," he told him before heading over to the area he'd designated for the others to eat in and cautiously opened the paper, reading the plan Simon had written down. "Here we go," he sighed before crumpling it up and putting it in his pocket.

~x~

Merle was quick to get to Alexandria after Rick dropped in nearby, originally meaning to take Ani's ATV, but the Saviors still had a car out by the busted back wall Daryl had escaped through. He'd decided that it would be better to drive it than her ATV, especially for Bobby since, if he couldn't find Sophia, he wasn't about to let the cat out of his sight to make sure at least it got back to Ani. So far, they'd been lucky not to run into any Saviors, but Merle wasn't holding his breath that that luck would hold out for much longer. There was no way the Saviors were going to make it that easy, but then again, he was heading the opposite direction of the Hilltop at the moment. There would be fewer Saviors in this direction than there would be if he was trying to get to the others, and one of their own cars being on the open road wouldn't seem strange. He hoped that Rick had made it back with Jadis and that he would let Ani and Daryl know what was going on, once again, starting to berate himself for allowing Carl and Sophia to take charge. He made his way down the road Jadis had told him she'd seen the Saviors take Sophia; the last thing he expected was to see a black pick up truck blocking off the road. Merle cautiously rolled up to the truck, only for a man to open the door and step out with a big smile on his face as if nothing was going on. Cursing under his breath, Merle threw the car into park and opened his own door, bringing his gun up and aiming it at the man, only holding back from shooting because of what Jadis had said. Even Bobby had her hackles up, hissing and puffing herself up as big as she could as Simon began walking closer, though, she did that with anyone she didn't know. Still, Merle kept the man in his sights as he moved forward while Simon, surprisingly, raised his hands in surrender.

"I was wondering when someone was going to come this way," he said friendly enough. "Didn't expect it to be a one-hand wonder and a cute little kitty-cat."

"That's close enough!" Merle warned. "The girl. Where is she?"

"Sophia? She's safe. She's home, or she should be by now. Dropped her off early this morning within a couple miles of Hilltop."

"Why should I believe you, huh? You been tryin' to kill us all this time."

"True, I have been. Call it a guilty conscience," Simon said, his hands going to his hips as he looked down. "You know, I was all for killin' all of you for a while. But, makin' kids run for their lives, pregnant women fight, puttin' 'em under the stress of it all. I can't keep goin' like this. Hell, I don't want to keep this shit up."

"Yeah? Then how about you shoot yourself in the head? Save us all the trouble of havin' to kill you ourselves," Merle countered, not believing the man for one second.

"I could do that," Simon said while nodding his head in agreement. "Or...I could give you these," he said while moving around to the back of the pick up and dropping the tailgate, stepping back to let Merle take a look. "Seems like y'all could use 'em, and with my boy Eugene on my side, it's easy enough to pick up a few extras. Figured you could use the food, too. Can't be much left at the Hilltop with everyone headin' there."

Merle could hardly believe his eyes as he looked into the man's truck bed and saw everything that he was offering. A clear tote of bullets sat in the back of the truck, several more totes and baskets of food, one that looked to have medical supplies, some with clothes or blankets, he couldn't tell clearly. It was a decent haul of stuff they would desperately need at the Hilltop with the war still going on and he couldn't help but lower his gun for a moment as he took in the offering. On top of all that, Simon said that Sophia was already at the Hilltop, having gotten there this morning while he and Rick were probably at the garbage pit with Jadis. After getting over his shock quickly, he re-positioned his rifle and aimed it back at Simon, not wanting to fall for whatever trick the man had up his sleeve. No one just switched sides for no good reason; hell, only reason he did was the horror stories he'd heard about Ani's past. Even then, it'd taken him a couple months to fully integrate with the main group thanks to the girl constantly pestering him and his standing with the Woodbury citizens. But, for all he knew, the man was laying yet another of Negan's traps by pretending to be a turncoat. He wasn't going to trust Simon just because he brought a bunch of crap that would be useful in the days to come.

"Why you doin' this really? Ain't out of the goodness of your heart," Merle accused. "What do you get out of it?"

"Negan out of power. This dumb cycle of killing people to get others to fall in line. It worked, 'til it didn't. Rick and Ani, they'll never kneel. They'll never learn Negan's way, and that might be for the best," Simon told him. "Hell, Ani's way of thinking, gettin' everyone together to work towards a future, rebuild somethin' like what we had. It's worth the risk, don't you think? Changing sides in a war Negan could never win. I like winning, and it just don't sit right with me makin' a kid be without their father just to prove a point. I might have my fair share of deaths on my hands, but, even I have my limits."

"You really think I'm gonna believe you?"

"Believe what you want," Simon said with a shake of his head, "but this is all for the Hilltop. Take it or leave it. None of it's been tampered with and most of the food is from the Hilltop to begin with. Got some clothes in there, too. Won't be able to bring any more out for a little while. Not until closer to when it's all goin' down."

"And when's that?"

"Well, you got a reprieve for the evening. I suggest you take this and get it to the Hilltop and get some rest. Come tomorrow, Negan's got somethin' real nasty planned out."

"Oh? Care to share with the class, or are we just playin' who's got bigger balls?"

"Unlike Negan, I don't really care to compare sizes. All I know is that he's got somethin' planned. Has us all gatherin' in the courtyard first thing in the mornin'."

"So we could ambush you all in the mornin', is that what you're sayin'?"

"No, you don't got the ammo for that, not even with this. See, this here, this is to make sure you get through tomorrow. It's not for retaliation, it's for protection. You get through tomorrow, expect another shipment soon enough."

"Why you really helpin' us?" Merle said, finally dropping his gun completely, though not his guard.

"Had a sister that lost a lot. Fought hard as nails to keep what she had. Maggie's a fighter. Reminds me an awful lot of Deloris in a way, but she's lost enough, don't you think?" Simon asked. "Lost her man. Almost lost her kid. I don't want her losin' anymore."

"So you're helpin' us out of a guilty conscience and because Maggie reminds you of your sister? Ya either stupid or playin' a long game. And I ain't a fan of long games. You playin' with me, I'll kill ya. Ya do anythin' to hurt me or mine, ya dead. The first inklin' I get of you pullin' one over on us, I'm gonna make sure you wished you never were born, you got me?" Merle threatened.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Simon said. "I'll trade you, the truck for the car."

"Toss the keys in the cab."

"Still in the ignition," Simon told him as he walked towards the car, allowing a wide berth between himself and Merle.

Merle backed up to the truck, not taking his eyes off the man he didn't quite trust, Bobby following along suit while still puffing herself up. The thought of Sophia being safe, of being able to take munitions, food, medicine, and clothes to the Hilltop when almost everyone there had been run out of their homes without any of it, was too great to pass up. He waited for the man to drive off before he crouched down and started checking the break and fuel lines and then popping the hood to check the engine. Once he was sure the truck was going to work properly and not stall or blow up or the breaks giving out, he called for Bobby and got in himself. He still was having problems believing that Simon was actually trying to help them for the reasons he gave, but the things in the truck really were too good of an opportunity to pass it up. Tearing up the pavement, he wasted no time in gunning towards the Hilltop, taking about twenty minutes to get there, only one other car passing during that time. He'd been prepared to have to fight more Saviors until it stopped and Abraham got out as he pulled the truck up, both of them wearing shit eating grins.

"We were just on our way to search for your ass. Nice truck. Where'd you get it?" Abraham asked.

"Simon, if you'd believe it. Said Phia's back at Hilltop, that true?"

Both Abraham and Sasha burst into smiles, Abraham laughing away while Sasha answered, "She's there alright. And Ani won't leave her alone, let alone Carl."

"Why? What's goin' on there?" he asked confused.

"Well, let's just say the two are gonna be thicker than thieves from now on. I do think we'll be hearin' weddin' bells sometime in the future," Abraham chortled.

"What the hell'd I miss?"

"Carl kissed Sophia when he saw her."

"Oh, hell," Merle cursed before heading back to the truck, whipping around before he entered it to ask, "What's Ani doin' 'bout it all?"

"She's got them on guard duty inside the walls. No more recons, no more scouting, no more fighting," Sasha informed him. "Sophia going missing and what happened with the baby, who's fine, by the way, they're all fine. But it really affected Ani. She wants Sophia and Carl protecting those who can't protect themselves. She's staying by Daryl for the rest of the fight, and then is letting him tell her when to rest the rest of the pregnancy. She doesn't want to sit it out and be locked in her head again, but she knows she has problems with knowing when to stop."

"'Bout damn time she made a right call," he commented, climbing in and scratching Bobby's head before starting the truck back up. "Let's go visit your momma."

~x~

Rick waited for the gate to open before walking through it with Jadis just before noon, Michonne running up to him and kissing him while Carl brought Judith with him to hug his father. The look of consternation of Rick's face as he looked over to the captured Saviors caused Ani to look over, seeing them doing nothing more than they had been. Rick's anger at everything that had happened, losing Alexandria just months after losing the prison, was justifiable, but she couldn't help but wonder if she would have to talk him down from something stupid, too. She'd already given Tara another earful at how she had been with Dwight, ensuring the woman knew exactly where she'd messed up whether or not the man had helped them escape. She let her know that it didn't matter what the hell she said, when all was said and done, Ani and Daryl were killing the man. Ani had also talked to Morgan, who was dealing with a full-blown PTSD crisis, a crisis she wasn't sure she would be able to help with if he kept fighting. It had taken a few hours and the help of Henry to talk the man into eating and taking a rest thanks in part to one of the Saviors taunting him. Ani was surprised when Gavin of all people told the man to shut up and then cold cocked him in the back of the head and knocked him out when he persisted. Even though Daryl hadn't liked it and had stood next to her with Sophia as if they were her bodyguards, Ani had been over to talk to some of the Saviors, too. The one that had gotten knocked out was responsible for Morgan's current state of being, Gavin was willing to quietly sit out the rest of the fight, and Alden, well, he seemed like he was just trying to survive. Talking to him and some of the others, they weren't Negan in any way, shape, or form, just people working for a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. A good many were literally construction workers and technicians, foremen who were responsible for upgrading the Sanctuary's outposts' infrastructures and security, things they needed desperately for the colonies. Currently, she was sitting in the shade of the stalls near the blacksmith, listening and watching as Rick and Jadis explained themselves to Daryl as he stepped out.

"Where's Merle?" Daryl asked Rick. "Why's she here?"

"Jadis knew where Sophia was, so Merle wanted to bring her along."

"Sophia's here. What about her people?"

"All dead," Jadis responded. "The Saviors."

"Where'd Merle go?"

"Still looking for Sophia, which means one a us is goin' ta have ta go get 'im," Ani surmised. "Only way 'e'll come back is if 'e knows she's here."

"I'll go back out in a few," Rick told them.

"No, I'll go," Daryl said. "I'll find him quicker."

"No, you need to stay here. Stay with Ani and Sophia. I...I need to be out there right now," Rick said, handing Judith to Michonne and walking away.

"Ya know, 'e's prolly already on 'is way back 'ere. Sash and Abe went out 'bout an hour ago ta look for 'im and Rick, and anythin' else they could find," Ani told Daryl as he walked up to her and helped her stand.

"Yeah, I know. Still, what we did..."

"Stop," Ani told him, bringing her hand up to his face. "Ain' our fault they got out. Ain' what we did. Couldn' a been what we did. All we did was bust it open. They had ta eat through a lot a resources ta get out. Had ta have."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm gonna go talk to Rick. Stay 'round here 'til I get back."

"Yes, dad."

"Shut it. After last night, you're lucky I ain't got you locked in one of the damn rooms in that house!" Daryl growled out. "You're stayin' in these gates 'til I say otherwise."

"Don' take me sayin' I'll let ya tell me when I've had 'nough for granted, Daryl," Ani growled back. "I didn' agree 'cause I wanted ya goin' crazy 'bout me. I jus' don' want our baby comin' early 'cause I'm havin' problems. So don' fuckin' push it."

"Whatever. Stay here, I'll be back."

Daryl walked off then, leaving Ani to sit and talk with Sophia and Carl. He was still angry about everything that had happened himself, and the guilt he was feeling over what happened at the Sanctuary, their little stunt, was starting to eat him alive. Even if Ani said it wasn't on them that the Saviors got out, he couldn't help but think it might have been. On top of that, being told by the doctor that he shared in the blame for Ani's panic attack, for the stress they'd put the baby under, had him feeling even more guilt on top of anger at himself for not doing better by her. He knew she wouldn't see it that way, knew she was blaming herself alone for it all, but if he'd of stayed to take care of her and let Merle or Sasha take his place, Ani wouldn't have been in such bad shape. If only he had stayed back with her and been there to help her, her and the baby wouldn't be in danger for the rest of her pregnancy. The guilt he was feeling was stifling as he rounded the back of the house and looked at Rick sitting next to Glenn's grave, the man looking at him before going back to the grave.

"You know, I..." Daryl started. "I look around and I think about the people that are gone, and the people that are still here. It ain't right. And it ain't fair. Look, about...what I did at the Sanctuary, tryin' to end it real quick. I just wanted it done. I didn't want to give them another chance, not again. Not to get to Ania again, not after...And I didn't care who was there. I don't know if that makes it right or-"

"It does," Rick assured him. "I didn't want to risk killin' innocent people. I should've just been worryin' about our people, our home. To hell with anyone else. I should've listened to you and Ani when you suggested it. We'd," Rick sadly chuckled, "we'd still have our homes. It's the Governor all over again. I messed...I messed up."

"We'll keep fighting," Daryl promised. "Until you're ready."

"I'm ready," Rick immediately countered. "Maggie's got lookouts out there."

"Every half mile, yeah, I know."

"I'm goin'. When your brother gets back, send him out."

"I'll go with you."

"No, we're coverin' as much ground as possible. Makin' sure everythin' and everyone's prepared. We don't need you out there. Stay here with Ani and get ready. This fight ain't over."

~x~

"Welcome home, Dwighty-boy!" Negan told the man while offering him a pack of homemade brew before allowing himself into the room. "I gotta say, it is damn good having you back. See, things gotta get done. I need my top guys out front acin' that shit."

"Thanks," Dwight said after a moment of silence, Negan seeing the worry on his face and looking at him critically.

"Had yourself a close call, I hear."

"Got ambushed," he said before gesturing to his wounded arm. "Took this. The rest didn't walk away. Well, until...I got to the woods, kept goin'. You know, I headed toward Hilltop. Figured our people would be puttin' up a blockade sooner or later," he said with a bit of a chuckle.

"Good job," Negan replied. "But we pulled the blockade. Let the mice play a little, 'cause, you know...our people need to get their business in order. You'll see. So, why don't you just slug a beer, put on your best vest, and get your ass downstairs, 'cause like I said, we got work."

Negan was excited about the next part of their plan and thought about just how brilliant Eugene really was to pop such an idea out of his ass. Sure, it would probably give the pregnant ladies quite the shock on top of probably making them sick to their stomachs, but it wasn't his damn fault. The three communities should have stayed in their lane and just worked for him, but, instead, they'd banded together like the jackasses they were. Still, having them all in one place made it easy to plan the counterattack as he stood in front of his army of Saviors with three fresh walkers strung up to the fence. In the light of not having enough ammunition to go after the Hilltop, using walker guts as scare tactics was the next best thing and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited for the day ahead of them. He'd given Rick's people the night, let them get that one last meal in, have one last romp in the sack with whoever suited their fancy; now he was finished giving them time. Besides, the more time he gave them to rest and recuperate, the more time he gave Ani and Rick the Prick to come up with some other means to get back at him. Negan was over giving those fools time to plan against him and was going to strike them in full force rather than let them strike first.

"Y'all know how it works," he told his soldiers as he paced in front of them. "You get a bite, some kind of wound from one of these things, something from them gets in you, and you die. You join the club...which sucks. What if we could use that to our advantage?" he asked as he turned around and started banging on one of the walkers, attacking the gut until Lucille covered in the ick of the thing's bowels. "Ah, you see how Lucille is gettin' to know our beautiful, cold friend here? That's it," he said before turning and showing his men. "Look...at...that. No more smashin' and bashin'. With this—well, this, it can just be a touch. Or a big, wet kiss. Either way, this gets you full membership," he told them, "and that's what we want. We want people to join the club. Hilltop is gonna learn to toe the line one way or another, dead or alive...or some kinda shit in between," he said, holding up Lucille and looking at her in delight. "Let's get to work!"

He watched for a few as his men got to work, taking notice of Dwight, who finally quit hiding in his room and came out to play with the rest of his men. Him and Laura both had never returned after the barricade had been broken, and when he'd sent someone to investigate, all they found was a bunch of dead Saviors eating a bunch of dead Saviors. Rick and Ani had managed to one up him even there, and damn if it didn't sting his pride that he'd lost so many to those two pains in his ass. All that would end soon enough, though, even sooner depending on how his next attack all worked out. With a smile, he watched as his men got to work, tearing into walkers and getting their weapons all kinds of nasty for the Alexandrian assholes. No matter what, he was ready to make sure that this fight was over and done with by any means necessary and he really did quite like the idea of using guts.

"Get 'em good!" he called out to his men. "It's alright if they spill out. I'm gonna gather up the jackpots for refreshers, and guts is guts. Push it in nice and deep. That's the stuff. Holy damn! This is gonna be all kinds of awesome," Negan said as he walked up to Simon, who was wearing a look of malcontent. "Once the Hilltop just feels the tip of what we are packin'," he laughed towards the man, "they are gonna drop to their knees lickety-split."

"Yes, sir," Simon said with a small laugh, watching as Negan walked away before continuing the nasty business of dirtying up his blade with walker blood.

Negan claimed it was all about scaring the people at Hilltop into submission, but how many would die from the nicks and cuts that they would inevitably be levying against them? Would the wounded include the kids or the pregnant women and what about his own men still being held at Hilltop? Negan wanted to get the three colonies in line with the rest of the Saviors, but that wasn't going to happen with just a bit of walker guts and a kamikaze attack. He needed to let Dwight know they were on the same side sooner rather than later if he was going to be of any help to the people of the Hilltop. Luckily, the odds were in his favor as they started loading up weapons and artillery to take with them, buckets of walkers guts going into the back of his transportation truck. Negan walked back up to him as they were finishing that job and told him to get everyone ready to head out, letting him know he was taking his own car specifically so Lucille could ride in the passenger seat, soaking up as much blood and guts from the walkers the man could get her to.

"Alright, listen up!" Simon said, everyone stopping to listen as he gave out the instructions. "Today is about scaring these people. We're not goin' for head shots, just flesh wounds. Hit a few, leave 'em livin', let 'em turn. Don't kill 'em!" he informed them, hoping that the others would take his warning seriously before walking over to Dwight, who was mounting his motorcycle. "D, Negan's handling his own transport, so you can ride with me."

"Well, I was gonna scout ahead, see if anything's coming our way," Dwight confessed, even though in reality he'd wanted to get to the Hilltop to give them warning.

"Well, considerate thoughts, but we've got scouts out, you know, scouting. Far more expendable soldiers than you, which is not to say you're expendable...at all. Listen, you ride with me, we make sure you're up to speed on the plan, capiche?" Simon asked before embellishing a little. "It's what Negan wants so I don't know why we're still jawing. He says, we do, that's kind of the dynamic we got goin' on."

"Yeah, well," Dwight started before stopping and looking down at the bike, getting off to follow Simon.

"Well, what?" Simon asked as everyone loaded into their various vehicles, Dwight climbing in next to him. When Dwight remained steadfastly silent, Simon took his chance as they pulled out of the Sanctuary, "Let me guess, 'yeah, well, maybe that outta change.'"