Eugene was feeling absolutely chaotic and fearful inside as he stood around watching as all the Saviors and workers milled around to prepare for the last attack. Dwight was already in chains and the same outfit he'd found out that Daryl had worn during his stint at the Sanctuary. He had lied his way from Dallas to DC and yet he had never been afraid of being killed by Abraham. Truth be told, he was forever grateful for the little girl that kept the old soldier from knocking his teeth in, which played a small part of his choice to help his friends. It was only because he wanted the others to be able to play along properly and Abraham was too honest while Daryl had been too preoccupied with what had happened to Ani in Alexandria. He had meant what he said about Rick and Ani jumping headfirst into the entire conundrum with Negan without knowing what they were getting themselves into, but that didn't mean that they were wrong to fight him. Eugene had ears and could hear the little whispers of his men at his outpost about how their leader reacted to any little issue. He had seen the man's cruelty firsthand and realized that violence was his entire go-to when it came to not getting his way. At least when Ani and Rick didn't get things to go how they wanted it to, they didn't resort to bashing someone's head in and they certainly didn't treat people in a class system like Negan. Rosita's death, Abraham and Daryl's anger, and Gabriel and Simon's support in the plan to help Alexandria were the only things keeping him from openly weeping as he and Gabriel came up behind Negan as he talked to Dwight.

"Sucks don't it, D?" Negan asked him. "I mean, even with that disgusting, knotted cheese on the side of your face, you once had these people's respect. But now? Well, now you don't have a damn thing. Load him up," he told Laura, who then pushed the traitor out of the compound before Negan turned around and saw him. "There's my bullet maker," he remarked.

"Attaché in tow and order fulfilled PDQ, as promised," Eugene assured him as he slowly walked up. "Every munition personally quality-controlled by yours truly. Sleep be damned and efforts be tripled, the deed is done," he said, handing Negan a gun he had loaded properly and pointed to a pile of haybales he'd put a t-shirt with 'Rick' written on it over. "Take yourself a tester."

Negan chuckled and fired off a few rounds before chuckling again and handing Eugene back the gun, "Regina laid out hte plan for you, right?"

"That's why I requested the ride-along. Depending on the terrain and timin', the pump and primin', I believe we should attempt a one-fell-swooper. A firing line that would minimize chaos opportunity and alpha-to-omega this thing in less than ten."

"Are you sure that's something you want to see?" Negan asked him.

"More of a 'need to' thing."

"Look at you," Negan smiled as he addressed the entire compound. "Let's roll out! Lance, Duke-Boylan Road," he told the men, handing them a map. "Map will show you where I'll be if there's trouble."

"No, we got this one locked down, Jefe," one of the men said.

"Damn straight you do," he said, watching them walk away and turning back towards Eugene, noticing Gabriel standing next to him. "Idiots. Why don't you tag along, Gabey? It's a nice drive. I got some shit that I want to confess." It didn't take too long before they were all loaded into the same truck, Negan smiling away as he began talking once again, "Bless me father, for I have sinned...probably. Any second now. Those men I sent out down there on that road settin' up the roadblock with the dead not knowing they're joining their cold asses any second 'cause Rick and his band of pricks. We're gonna hit 'em hard," he said before sighing loudly. "You know, I don't enjoy sacrificing my own people. You know that, right? I mean, those guys back there, they came up with Simon. Some of us had to take one for the team, it may as well be them."

"I still don't understand," Gabriel admitted.

"Rick was slipped some intel, make him think he can get the jump on me. The thing is, it came from a less-than-reliable source," Negan said, not knowing that both Gabriel and Eugene knew more than the man himself did, "so, if I were him, I'd be scouting ahead. Takin' out that little road-block crew is gonna make Rick think he's got the real story, where I'll really be, and come to get me. See, that is the trap. And that is how we will get them," he informed them. "They're gonna find that map I gave the crew with a time and place I'll be, and they're gonna believe it, because they will have killed all those poor bastards."

"So that's it, then?" Gabriel asked. "You're confession is that you're gonna kill every last one of them? When you spoke before, you seemed almost as if you didn't want it to happen."

"It ain't about want, Gabey," Negan answered. "It never was. And here's the kicker. You said you didn't want to die a fruitless death. Well, you can't always get what you want."

~x~

"It's all goin' ta end tamorrow," Ani said as she and Daryl entered the room they shared after discussing with the others what they were going to do with the information Simon and Gregory had given them. "I don' know how ta feel."

"Get to finally relax and take it easy like I want you to. Go huntin' and get you more squirrels," he told her, making her laugh as she stripped herself of her boots. "What you laughin' at?"

"Ya," she giggled. "Ya too fuckin' cute."

"I ain't cute."

"Yeah, ya are," Ani contradicted, moving to straddle him when he got his own boots off, her smile turning somber as she looked into his eyes. "I love ya. Ya know that, right?"

"I know. You too," Daryl said while resting his hands on her hips.

"Tamorrow..."

"Don't."

"Daryl," she drew out, making him look at her before giving him a gentle kiss. "Tamorrow, if anythin' goes wrong..."

"Stop," he demanded. "Don't start that shit. Negan don't know Eugene's tryin' to help us. Could've just saidit. Wouldn't've tried to kill him if we knew."

"Right...like ya didn' want ta leave Jesus hangin' in a tree," she laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. "But we don' know if things are goin' ta turn out the way we want, D. Hell, we don' even know if this is anotha ruse Negan's got planned and we're fallin' right inta what 'e wants us ta do. We haven' heard from Dwight since 'e left in the woods. Ya had Eugene in ya hands and 'e said absolutely shite all 'bout workin' ta help us. Dwight neva said anythin', eitha. Jus' that Eugene helped the Saviors get out a the Sanctuary and destroy our home. I barely trust Simon's intentions are genuine, and that's only 'cause 'e helped Phia. Personally, I think the asshole's jus' tryin' ta save 'is ass. But we don' know what's goin' ta happen. I just got my husband back propa. I don' want that ta change and I don' want things ta go back ta how they were."

"They won't, baby girl. I know you're gonna go, but..."

"I know ya don' want me ta. I'm scared ta death a not seein' ya eva again, though. Ya goin' out and neva comin' back. We're goin' tagetha, or not at all," Ani sighed, the two resting their foreheads against each other. "I love ya so damn much."

"I love you, too. You stay between me and Merle tomorrow. You don't leave our sides, you hear?"

"I promise."

Daryl kissed her gently then, bringing one hand up to her hair and holding her to him lightly, Ani reciprocating his affections in kind. She had missed this side of him after everything that had happened between the Sanctuary and how controlling he had become in his fear. He had been overbearing and the sweetness of his slow motions at that moment washed away all the negative feelings that lingered within her. She was slowly getting her husband back and starting to heal after what had seemed like a lifetime of struggle. The two weeks that had passed by in the blink of an eye after the Sanctuary had been an endless nightmare she couldn't wake up from. How he was treating her now, the love and affection evident in every touch and kiss he gave her lit a fire in her that she hadn't felt since they'd been reunited. It only spread as his slow kisses moved from her lips down her jaw to her neck, attaching his lips to the crook of her shoulder. She couldn't help the slight moan that escaped her as he began to mark her as he used to, one hand pulling at his hair lightly.

Daryl wasn't intending to start anything when he'd kissed her; he'd wanted to reassure her that they would make it through the next day. But feeling her in his lap, tasting her lips, it had been so long with everything that happened, he needed to feel more than just her skin against him. Some things required more than just words and he wanted to show her that she was more than just the woman carrying his child. He'd made enough mistakes the last couple of weeks and didn't know if they had enough time for him to make it up to her. He didn't want to hear it from her, didn't want to think about it himself, but there was a chance they wouldn't make it back. There was a chance that they would lose it all during the next fight even though they knew Negan's plan and had their own plan of attack. Right now, though, all he wanted to do was forget about everything and hear her sweet voice calling his name while writhing beneath him. It had been far too long that he had been with his wife as a man and if the worst did happen, he wasn't about to waste his last night with her. His pants had grown tight by the time he made his way back up to her lips and recaptured them in a heated kiss.

Ani's skin was on fire as Daryl's tongue roughly invaded her mouth and his fingers began to press further into her skin and scalp. The way his hand was tangled in her hair and lightly pulling it while his arms were wrapped around her leaving no room for her to move away. Both of them were breathing heavily as their minds went blank from everything except the desire and need to feel the other. She was rubbing herself against him as best she could in the position they were in, managing to move her body far enough away to bring her hands around his front. Through the pants and moans escaping her, she snaked her fingers up his chest and began pulling open the buttons, the feather-light touches of her fingertips making him inhale sharply. She wasted no time in spreading her hands out on his chest and creep them up to his shoulders, pushing his shirt and vest from them as he kissed her throat. He had to release his hold on her to finish taking off his shirt and took advantage of that to take hers off as well. Ani was used to Daryl ripping them off and hissed out a breath as her body tingled from him caressing her sides to remove the article more carefully, bringing her comfort bra over her head with it. He just stared at her for a moment, taking in her flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and blown pupils, her hair even more mussed up from his hands.

Daryl stood up and turned around, laying her on the bed being careful to make sure not to put too much weight on her. He needed to slow down and take it easy rather than keep up a pace that would inevitably lead to him being rough with her. As much as he wanted to throw her around and show her just who she belonged to, without her shirt on, it was becoming more and more obvious she was pregnant. It made him grow even more uncomfortable in his pants as he recaptured her lips briefly before nipping, licking, and kissing his way slowly down her body. He could feel her eyes following him as he moved, stopping to give each hardened nipple attention with both teeth and tongue. Ani could barely believe how sensitive her breasts were as she moaned out his name and her fingers pulled at his hair. She was writhing in pleasure from his ministrations when he finally moved on and spattered gentle kisses on her skin. It was the first time he'd ever really paid much attention to her stomach and the gentleness of his kisses made her look down at him and run her fingers through his hair. His own eyes snapped up to see her loving smile while his hands made their way to her hips, working her pants down over them. She was already dripping when he pulled them all the way off and made his way between her legs. He could see her chest heaving in anticipation with her eyes locked on his when his hand began to run down her thigh, barely touching her when her cry of ecstasy sounded out.

"Sensitive little girl, huh?" Daryl smirked, watching as she covered her face in embarrassment.

"Shut up," came her muffled reply, refusing to move her hands away.

"Nuh-uh," he told her and pulled her arms down. "You show me them eyes."

Ani was still blushing as she turned her gaze towards him as he grabbed under her knee and raised her leg to his shoulder. Staring up at her, he lowered himself slowly, kissing a trail along the inside of her thigh. Her breathing was labored in anticipation as his blue eyes watched her lips part and her fingers clench into the sheets beneath her. When the flat of his tongue finally reached her core, she cried out again, unable to keep herself from letting her head fall back. She knew he liked seeing her watching him, but it truly had been a long time since he had touched her like this. Her moans filled the room as his tongue lapped at her, entering her folds while she arched her back and bucked into his mouth. Ani did her best to open her eyes and look down at him only to find him still staring up at her. Her leg muscles clenched around his head when his fingers entered her, using his tongue to tease her clit. Her voice got louder until she was begging him to let her cum all the while he watched her. The way her head fell back and her chest arched up, the way her breasts moved with every moan and cry of his name. He had missed how she tasted and the sight of her writhing in pleasure because of how he was treating her. His pants were painfully tight by the time he decided she had been begging long enough and crawled his way back up her body. Daryl kissed her passionately, making her taste herself on his tongue, before pulling all the way back and standing up, stripping himself of the last of his clothing.

He lowered his weight on top of her, being careful of how he laid on her, once again capturing her lips while wrapping his arms around her and tangling a hand in her hair. He rubbed himself against her core as she raked her nails lightly down his back before moving his hips to enter her. They both moaned at the feeling of the other, Ani's walls clenching down around him once he was fully seated. He swallowed her cries of ecstasy as he began to move at an agonizingly slow pace, torturing both of them. It didn't take long for her to start begging him again, crying for him to go faster, harder, anything but how gentle he was being with her. She was meeting him thrust for thrust, trying to get him to move how she wanted him to and failing. Daryl was savoring the feel of her and was trying to keep himself at a steady pace, but the more she moved beneath him, the harder it was to stay in control. Before he snapped, he pulled out and turned her around, slamming back home while pressing her into the mattress. His chest was flush against her back and his breath in her ear caused her walls to tremble around him. When they clasped down around him, all bets were off as he sat back on his heels and pulled her hips with him and wrapped his arm around her front to her neck. He pounded upwards inside her as he lost himself to the pleasure with every call of his name that escaped her lips. She bore down on him with every thrust of his hips, spurring him further until the thread snapped and he came hard inside her. They fell forward, though Daryl was careful not to fall on her, breathing heavily and enjoying the lingering orgasms that were still causing them to twitch.

"Fuck, baby girl," he said, not bothering to move or pull out of her, his chest still against her back and his member inside her. "Wasn't meanin' to do that."

"Glad we did," Ani responded, wiggling to turn and face him. "Been fightin' so much, 'tween the Saviors and us," she sighed. "We needed this."

"Yeah," Daryl responded while resting his chin against her forehead. "I love you, baby girl. You and Lou."

"I love ya, too, D. With all my heart. Ya and Lou, both."

They fell quiet after that, holding each other as closely as they could as they tried and failed to fall to sleep. Both of them spent the night catnapping and giving each other reassurances and spreading feather light kisses and touches on the other's skin. Neither of them had slept much and they were both worried as they rose from the bed. Daryl pulled her into his chest from behind once again and spread his hands out against her stomach. His pregnant wife and their unborn son were going to be in the line of fire whether he liked it or not and he was bound and determined to give his life for theirs. It didn't matter that Simon had informed them that Eugene was on their side and had been working on a way to help the Hilltop win. While he wasn't sure how the man was going to pull it off, it was supposedly a done deal that he, Simon, and Dwight had been working together to stop the Saviors. All they had to do was get to the area they would be able to ambush them and they'd be able to end it without a fight. Both of them were ready for the end of the war and Negan's death, an end to his deluded way of trying to build something worth living for. An end to him terrorizing communities, people, and families just because he could. To be able to enjoy getting ready for the baby and the last few months to just be a husband and wife rather than parents. He pressed one last kiss into her hair before they finished getting ready and left the room and ran into Merle and Sophia.

"I know we're headin' off for a fight, but you could've at least kept it down so some of us could sleep," the oldest Dixon remarked, Ani turning beet red.

"You're just pissed you didn't get any," Daryl clapped back,

"I can' believe ya were actually able ta get some sleep," Ani told him. "We could barely shut our eyes."

"Well with all that love makin', I wonder why."

"Gods, give it a rest, ya asshole. Where's Phia?"

"She's already downstairs."

"She ain' goin' ta like me."

"You ain't gonna like us," Merle harshly commented, earning him a look from his younger siblings before realization dawned on his face. "Oh, fuck no! You ain't goin' ou-"

"I'm goin'. And I'm stayin' 'tween ya and D, so ya betta not leave my side," Ani shot him down. "D and I already talked 'bout it. I can' sit 'ere waitin' and wonderin' whetha or not the two a ya are comin' back. And I know damn well neitha a ya are stayin'. Rick's talkin' ta Carl and Maggie's talkin' ta Beth. Tara agreed ta stay back and we've got the four a them ta fight. So, let's get our gear ready, go ova the plan one more time, then head out."

"You should eat somethin'," Daryl told her. "Don't need you feelin' faint."

"I couldn' eat if I wanted ta. My stomach is already in knots from all this shite. I know it's s'pposed ta be easy and Eugene's plannin' somethin', but we don' know 'xactly what 'cause Simon wasn' able ta get ta 'im 'fore 'e came 'ere. We know they're on the same page. We know they're s'pposedly on our side. There's a lot a variables we jus' don' know. The risk is worth the gain if everythin' goes accordin' ta plan, but if it don', we're all screwed."

"Are you sure you wanna go?" he asked.

"Ya know I got ta."

Merle scoffed and stomped down the stairs with Daryl and Ani staring after him before Daryl pulled her under his arm and kissed her hair. They continued down into the foyer with many of the others and began checking their gear as well as helping prepare defenses. While they were leaving Kal, Eduardo, and several of the others from Hilltop that were capable, they weren't fighters like the group from Alexandria. Leaving the kids and Tara would allow the others to have a fighting chance at getting away if Negan had decided to split his forces and come after whoever was left at the Hilltop. They already had a plan in place just in case that happened in which everyone would take the back tunnel out of the settlement and run into the woods. Where everyone else had suggested they go back to the Kingdom or the tunnels underneath Alexandria, Ani had a different idea. They would be closer to the apartment complexes that she and Sasha had found and it would be relatively easy to hide their tracks while quickly getting there. Ani's biggest worry was whether or not the Saviors that came would be carrying munitions or not because the Hilltop was severely short on ammo. Carl wasn't the best with throwing knives, Enid was mediocre, and while Sophia had become a damn near expert, she couldn't take on however many Saviors would attack with just her knives alone. It would take all of them working together to keep their people safe and stay one step ahead of the Saviors. That was the argument she made that got Sophia to agree to stay back and help with evacuation and protection if the time came and they needed it.

"I can't wait for all this to be over," Maggie commented when Ani walked up to her. "No matter what, Negan dies today."

"Fuck yeah 'e does," she agreed. "Ain' ova 'til the asshole's dead."

"You sure you wanna go out there?"

"Are ya stayin' behind?"

"Couldn't even if I wanted to. I have to see this through. I have to see him die."

"And ya will," Ani promised, a single hand to the other woman's shoulder showing her the comfort she was trying to convey.

"Let's finish this," Maggie said, both of them finished with gathering their gear.

They left the house and looked around at many of the people who were getting ready to head out with them and Rick. Henry was once again following Carol around, though the boy looked much happier and had even taken off his armor, instead donning a clean, white shirt. Whatever had happened between the three the night Sophia had yelled at her mother to shut up, it had clearly been for the better with how both kids were behaving. Even Carol had seemed to be feeling much better after that night and Ani couldn't be happier to have things settled between the three. In fact, Henry was even willing to listen to Sophia and Carl when the rest of them were away, yet another happy occurrence from that night. Ani felt safer knowing that the kids were all on the same page as she followed Daryl over to where Abraham, Sasha, Michonne, and Rick were standing. Jerry and the King seemed to be sitting and enjoying the morning sun while the others that were going out with them were milling about themselves. Everyone seemed to know that they would either win it all and be free of the reign of the Saviors, or lose it all and be killed. All in all, if it weren't for the heavy atmosphere as they came to stand next to the table with the map Simon had brought on it, Ani would believe it was just another day.

"We'll stick to this road," Daryl told them as he pointed at the map, "keep to the trees, we can get there quicker. Plus, we can keep an eye on the road that way."

"See anythin' comin' within a few miles with how open the roads are that way," Ani added. "Should be able ta hear 'em, too."

"You think you can trust Gregory and Simon?" Michonne asked her.

"I don' think we really got a choice, 'specially not with the extra intel Simon gave us on how Negan thinks and what 'e thinks Eugene might be doin'."

"And what's that?" Abraham asked.

"Somethin' 'bout the guns. Disablin' 'em or somethin' like that. I don' know. I ain' a gun expert! I jus' know how ta shoot 'em!"

"I locked them up inside the house," Maggie informed them. "They know I won't let them walk around free. Gregory knew he was coming back to that and Simon expected as much. He's a wildcard, but Gregory doesn't believe in anything except himself, and he'd have to believe in the Saviors a whole lot to send us into a trap and think it would work out for him."

"That's what I think 'bout Simon, too. Why send us inta a trap afta trickin' 'is own men inta a trap ta make sure they didn' start shite when Negan's dead?"

"Unless Dwight didn't tell Gregory everything and Simon had to leave before he could find it all out," Daryl suggested. "That asshole could be helping Negan set us up."

Whatever they were going to say was dead on their lips when Morgan came storming past them, the man clearly seeing something that wasn't there. Carol moved to run after him, Ani going to move with her only to be stopped by Daryl shaking his head. Merle went instead as Carol tried to get the man to see sense, but he was too far gone in his head. There was nothing more in his mind than the fact that 'the Saviors,' or rather, the old outpost workers, had escaped. Merle was trying to get him to see reason as much as Carol was asking what was wrong, eventually making the older redneck tell her to shut up because she wasn't helping. All it took was that small exchange between the two of them for Morgan to slip away and try to attack the workers coming in through the gate. Merle ran to the man and put him in a bar hold until he calmed down and came out of his trance. It took a few minutes because the man continued to fight, managing to get Merle off of him, until Henry got in between his line of sight and the workers. The problem was that he knocked the boy down, pointing his stick at him threateningly before he realized who it was. Carol got in between the two and gently moved the weapon away, only for Morgan to begin to have another kind of breakdown in which he progressively became distraught. Ani felt sorry for the man and said as much and hoped that he would either find a way to gain peace of mind or would die in battle; there was no in between for someone so far gone. From what Rick and Morgan, himself, had told her, he wasn't just going through PTSD, but was also dealing with psychosis from everything he had lost. Aikido had worked to bring him back from the loss of his son, but the loss of Benjamin had brought it back with a vengeance.

"I hope 'e holds out," she said quietly, everyone glancing at her.

"He will," Rick said. "Once this is done, he'll be alright. He'll come back."

"Carol did," Maggie commented.

"But for how long?" Ani asked, walking over to the trio.

"They were gone. And they were coming in," the man was saying.

"I asked Maggie if we could clear the walkers from the wall," Aiden told him. "We...drew them away so we wouldn't have to worry about 'em when he rolled out."

"He did," Maggie confirmed, Morgan only looking even more confused before defeat clouded his emotions.

"Let's keep gettin' ready, everyone," Rick said, breaking up the awkwardness. "First team's going in twenty."

"He said when we roll out," Maggie told Aiden. "He said when we roll out. You can be here. But you're not us."

"As long as we got that straight," Aiden responded quietly.

"She'll come 'round," Ani told him. "Ya ain' a bad person. And I can see how ya don' see yaself as 'Negan.' I have faith in ya."

"Well, that makes one of you," he said before walking away.

"Maybe you shouldn't come with us," Rick told Morgan.

"I have to," he replied.

"Nah, ya don'. Ya already got 'nough goin' on in ya head. Ya sure ya can keep it in?"

"You've done enough."

"I have to."

"Morgan-"

"Rick," the man cut him off, "I have to. I have t-to...It's not me. It's everybody else, and I'm gonna keep 'em alive. I'm gonna keep Henry from...f-We...We are worst than we were," Morgan said, turning to Ani. "Me and you. We are. I killed those men in the bar, you killed all those people before Alexandria. You, too, Rick. Not giving Negan a chance, killing those men at the outposts. I mean, it's what it took, yeah, but..."

"That ain' the same thing, Morgan," Ani said. "What I did...that was ta savive. What Rick did at the outposts, it was war. And what happened at the bar; Merle wasn' any help even knowin' how ya've been havin' problems. Ya lost everythin' back at the start, and everythin' again afta Ben. Ya barely holdin' it tagetha for Henry. But ya can come back from this."

"I've lost everything. What does it matter if I spend whatever's left on keeping people alive?" Morgan asked.

"Because you haven't lost everything," Rick told him. "Not yet."

"I have. And I can't go back. So let's just finish this."

There was nothing left to say when the man was as determined to go to end the war as Ani was and wouldn't take no for an answer. Along with him, Rick and Michonne, Sasha and Abraham, Merle, Daryl, Carol, Jerry, Jesus, and Ezekiel, Ani left the Hilltop. They had to go to the first area before Negan was able to fully set up his trap. According to Simon, there would be a ten man ambush within a mile and a half of the Hilltop and Negan would expect Rick and the others to take them out. Knowing Negan as well as he did, the man had warned that they needed to make Negan think he had the upper-hand. They had to make him think that they were falling into his trap until Eugene made his move. The last that he had heard from the man, preparations were already under way, though that had happened just before he'd been forced to run. Simon had learned that information by way of Negan offhandedly mentioning that the man had assured him they would have what they needed for the final attack. Sure enough, the ambush was right where Simon had said it would be and they took care of them in swift and quiet retribution. They crept towards the men trying to put walkers on chains as a way to block the road, some going around to the other side of the road carefully, without getting caught. It took all of a few rounds of fire from their group to down every single one of the men and almost all the walkers, too.

"Good people," Ezekiel called as everyone was looking around. "I've found something on our quarry."

"What is it?" Michonne asked.

"A list and another map," he answered. "And what appear to be other facts."

Rick took the map and looked it over, handing it over to Ani to ask her what she thought, "It's what Simon said might happen. But the problem is, do we play inta it or do we take precautions?"

"It says they're linin' up Saviors on the Old Mill Road," Rick told the others. "That's where Negan might be."

"We have to get to Negan before they figure out what happened here," Carol said, only to be immediately shot down by Ani.

"This was too easy a kill and they don' have any real firepowa. Negan knew this was goin' ta happen. What 'e don' know is that Genie's still on our side."

"How do we know he was telling the truth?" Sasha asked. "For all we know, he could be lying."

"For all we know, 'e could be tellin' the truth. We won' know 'less we get ta where Negan is. Simon says Negan ain' big on killin' off whole communities, so it's unlikely they'll go for a big play. At least I hope not," Ani admitted.

"Maggie," Rick called into the walkie.

"I'm here."

"It's time," he told them. "Looks like it is a trap, so we're gonna change the plan. Take your team and meet us at the second spot. We'll meet you there shortly."

They walked until they met up with the other two teams that had set out from the Hilltop just outside a field that they could cut across to get to the spots marked on the first map. Ani was walking between the Dixon brothers with Abraham and Sasha behind them, most of the people in the party quiet. Jesus was a very patient man and had fought with Morgan firsthand when he tried to kill the captive Saviors the first time. He was attempting to help Morgan find a way to come to terms with himself as well as curb the violence and urge to kill that had overtaken him. It was a really nice thing to see and Ani couldn't help that things could go back to normal after this fight was over. She could see Morgan at least finding a place to have peace away from everything that was straining his mind, maybe by living in the same cottage Carol had. Speaking of Carol, the woman seemed to have completely pulled her head out of her ass for the moment and owned up to her past mistakes. She hadn't even tried talking to Sophia when it was time to go, the two ignoring each other in exchange for being around those that made them happy. Daryl had sworn he was going to take her on a hunting trip, just the two of them, just as soon as things settled down. Merle was planning on helping get the Sanctuary fixed up since he knew a bit about working in a factory and maintenance. Rick and Michonne were planning on just enjoying their newly found relationship while getting some valuable family time in with Carl and Judith. Maggie and Beth were planning on settling down at the Hilltop and working with the farmers there to increase their yield. Everyone had a plan for after the war and the excitement over the thought of being able to finally move on had many of them brimming with the desire to get it done with. Once Negan was dead, once the Saviors were no more, everyone could start on their healing process.

"Holy fuckin' shiteballs," Ani said, everyone coming to a stop as they looked out on the horizon.

"Holy damn," Jerry concured, all of them looking at what could only be called a legion of the dead spread out as far as the eye could see. "You ever seen one that big?"

"No," Rick answered. "Things are changing. Let's go."

"How much further?" Daryl asked when they all started moving again.

"We grow closer," Ezekiel told him. "Yonder, over the ridge."

"We really gonna walk right into this?" Abraham asked after another minute, the field they were supposed to go to coming into view as they exited the trees. "Could end with us all being nothin' but splash patterns in the grass."

"We're too far gone ta turn back now," Ani said.

Her words rang true when whistling sounded from all around them, sending all of them into a bit of a panic and making them raise their weapons. They weren't supposed to be surrounded by the Saviors; they were the ones that were supposed to be doing the surrounding. Ani began cursing Simon under breath and praying to the gods that he was at least right about Eugene. They were all looking around as the whistling grew louder and louder, beginning to hurt Ani's ears with the pitchiness of it. She could tell they were using some kind of loud speaker, maybe several, with the screeching the whistling made on top of its own high sound. Daryl and Merle were both moving around Ani as they tried to find where the Saviors would be attacking from, Sasha and Abraham doing the same to Maggie. Everyone was on edge and the fact that there was no visible threat was a cause of great concern for most, Ani most of all. She hated things like this, not being able to see what she could hear, and never thought she'd have such a bad bout of fear from it during the day, but she was standing there scared out of her mind. The difference between this and the tunnels, though, was that she was with her family, out in the open, and no matter what happened, she was going to see it through to the end.

"Well damn Rick," Negan's voice rang out from all around them. "Look at that. Pegged again. Pegged so very hard. I ambushed your ambush with an even bigger ambush."

"Calm ya asses down, stay on ya guard and wait!" Ani whisper-yelled to everyone. "We'll get our openin' soon 'nough! Jus' wait!"

"How about you step out and face us?!" Rick yelled out.

"Oh, I am everywhere, Rick. Some more bullhorns, more walkies. Pick a direction to run. See how you do. Make it fun for all of us. Guess what else I did. I brought you some of your old friends! You remember your old buddy Eugene? Well, he is the person that made today possible. Same goes for Dwighty boy here. In case you're wonderin', he didn't ream you on purpose. No, he is just a-a gutless nothin' that sucks at life, and now he gets to stand up here and watch you all die, and he's gonna live with that. Gabriel, well...he's gotta go, too. We are cleaning house today, Rick. And then, there's you. It never had to be a fight. You and Ani just had to accept how things are. So...here we go. Congratulations, Rick," Negan's voice rang out, a clear line of Saviors popped over the hill with guns pointed right at them. "Three...two...one..."

Simon had said that Eugene was planning on doing something with the guns per his suggestion, but what happened left them all confused for a moment. As soon as gunfire sounded out over the hills, the Saviors fell rather than any of their number. Ani wasn't sure how it had happened, but with Rick's order, they all charged forward to deal with the remaining Saviors who were still trying to put up a fight. She watched as Negan went running and followed close behind him with Maggie, Daryl, and Abraham all in tow. Abraham, however, split off, Eugene being ganged up on by a group of men lead by Regina, saving him just before they had a chance to finish him off. Many of their number were climbing up the hill the Saviors had tried to ambush them from, guns still up and ready to attack whoever was left. Wherever Negan had run off to, at least his remaining men were smart enough to know that they had lost the fight. Their arms were up and their weapons were on the ground before Ani and the others could even properly see them, Laura being the one to take an initiative to offer their surrender. It appeared Simon had been right about the lack of thrill at the plan their 'fearless leader' had concocted and all the colonists had to do was put enough pressure on them to make them back off. Ani couldn't help but smile because she knew that Laura was one of Negan's top soldiers, so if she was surrendering, it meant that the rest of the Saviors were finished and the fighting was almost over.

Negan knew it was over, too, with how he was being pinned down by Sasha and Rick, his precious bat thrown behind the pair. He had no weapons, no men, and was still trying to worm his way out of it by threatening Rick and trying to mock him for Carl's loss of an eye. It was a low blow, especially when he kept talking about how the best thing he could have done for them and his own people would have been to just kill Rick and give Ani back to her parents. It took everything in all three of the Dixons to not shoot the man where he stood, but Rick had told them to back down. The three of them along with Maggie couldn't help but stare at the man wondering why the hell he was still just talking to him. As soon as he started talking about the future, though, how they could all move forward in peace and move on from what had happened, Ani and Maggie's faces distorted into disgust. Rick's words were like poison to both women, one because of the horrifying death of her husband right in front of her eyes, the other because of the way he toyed with people's lives for fun, including her and hers. Maggie was trying to argue with him, saying that it wasn't his choice, that he had to make it right that Glenn died, that he would have died for nothing if they didn't finish Negan off. Rick wouldn't listen, however, and simply began restraining Negan with his hands behind his back, telling him that the war was finished.

"Ani," Maggie said quietly, making her look over at her. "Make it right."

"Rick!" Michonne yelled, Ani's knife heading in their direction as soon as Maggie finished speaking.

He moved Negan out of the way just in time for it to be embedded in the tree behind them, giving her a look as two of the others came to hold onto her arms. Maggie started begging all over again as Michonne held onto her, for Rick to kill him, for him to make Glenn's death right. Ani had harshly shaken off the people holding her and went for another knife, being stopped by Daryl only because he knew she wouldn't stop until she landed her knife properly in the man's vital points. Rick and some of the others were too close to ensure she wouldn't hurt one of them and he knew that she would never forgive herself if she hurt one of them. How Rick was behaving, how Michonne wasn't letting go of Maggie, it was obvious that the two of them were planning on defending Negan until the end. She couldn't understand how they could just let the man off the hook for everything he'd done, all the people he'd tortured, killing Glenn and Rosita, beating Daryl. Up until now, even that morning, Rick had been ready to end the fight, and now he was leaving it open ended without so much as a care in the world. Ani could literally see the light in Maggie dying in front of her eyes, the little bit of hope she had at seeing her husband's murderer getting what he deserved leaving her as she sunk to the ground. It killed her to know that she had been given the okay to take Negan out, to help her friend get the revenge she deserved, only for someone she thought of as a brother to rip it out from under them. She couldn't even look at the two leaders of Alexandria and turned in Daryl's arms, knowing he was just as angry about the turn of events as she was.

"This is finished!" he shouted over her cries, "It doesn't have to be a fight anymore! Take him," he said calmly, handing Negan over to Morgan. "What happened, what we did...what we lost...there's gotta be somethin' after."

"That's easy for ya ta fuckin' say!" Ani erupted. "Ya not the one who lost shite! Ya not the one that was tortured! He didn' take shite from ya but a house! Ya ain' lost shite!"

"We have to make peace," Rick told them. "We have to. For Carl. For Judith. Sophia and the others. We have to make peace. The ones who have 'em up, put your hands down," he called. "We're all gonna go home now. Negan's alive, but his way of doing things is over. Anyone who can't live with that will pay the price," he told them. "I promise you that. And any person here that would live in peace and fairness...who would find common ground...this world is yours, by right. We are alive," he said before pointing to the horizon and the dead it held. "That's death! And it's comin' for us! Unless we stand together! So go home! And then the work begins. The new world begins. All this...All this is just what was. There's gotta be somethin' after."

Everyone began to leave, Daryl going to check on Carol as Ani, Sasha, and Merle went over to Maggie. They were all just as angry as the widowed woman that Rick had made the unilateral decision to spare Negan when that had not been the agreement. It wasn't until they got back to the Hilltop that they found out that it had been the kids who had accidentally convinced him to spare Negan. Carl and Sophia had been talking about what they would do after and whether or not the Saviors would really stand down if they killed Negan. Rick had simply overheard their conversation and decided that they were right and Negan had to remain alive for the others to see reason. There was no point in making him a martyr and continuing the war because the Saviors only saw another Negan in the making. Killing Negan would be the same as ensuring peace would never be gained and that was something Rick desperately wanted to achieve. Ani knew he was right, but that didn't make it any less a slap in the face that he would make that decision without at least talking to Maggie first. That was one thing she was thankful to Daryl about as far as what he was planning on doing with Dwight.

He'd decided that, to repay Sherry for helping him, he would let the man go on the condition of him never showing his face again. She was the man's wife, and if Daryl had been in a similar position, he couldn't say that he wouldn't have done anything to keep Ani safe. He had done everything in order to save Sherry's life and no matter how wrong his deeds had been, he still deserved a chance to find her. Daryl had admitted to her that he would want that if the roles were reversed and that was the only reason he was going to spare him. Ani had offered to stay behind, not wanting to be anywhere near the man in case she 'accidentally' killed him herself. She and Merle instead talked to Sophia and learned everything that had happened at the Hilltop in their absence. Oceanside had pulled through at the last minute when it was just them and Aiden and his men against a large number of Saviors. They had been waiting in the trees to ambush them when fireballs came out of nowhere in the form of Molotov cocktails the other outpost had brought with them. Aaron had been able to talk them into fighting against the Saviors by pointing out that they had been the ones that had taken everything from the women of Oceanside. She was thankful to the women for having saved the kids and even told them as much before everyone truly split off. By the time Daryl came back, Ani was with Maggie, talking about the grief and anger she felt at Rick and how she would never go back to Alexandria until he was dead.

"It doesn't have to be that way," Jesus told her. "We don't have to kill anymore."

"I know you were right," Maggie replied as she sat at Gregory's old desk, Ani standing by the door, "about saving the Saviors from the satellite outpost. Having them here. I don't regret what I did. But you were right."

"Some a the Saviors are good people, and they deserve a fair shake," Ani added.

"Rick was right about not killing all the Saviors," Maggie continued.

"He was right," Jesus affirmed.

"Ain' nothin' wrong with savin' the Saviors. But Negan?"

"He was wrong about that."

"So what does that mean, Maggie?" he asked as Daryl walked into the office and pulled Ani into him.

"We have a lot to do," she answered. "We have to build this place up. Make it work better than before. Make it thrive for the people who live here. We need our strength, the ability to defend ourselves better. We have to have that."

"And a plan a attack when we need it," Ani added. "Not jus' waitin' for shite ta go bad, but be ready for things ta go bad."

"We will," Jesus told them.

"We help the people get ova what they've dealt with. Help 'em heal and move past this."

"But Rick and Michonne...Rick was wrong to do what he did. Michonne, too," Maggie said, sitting back in her chair. "So we're gonna bide our time, wait for our moment...and then we're gonna show him."

"Yeah," Daryl spoke up, agreeing with her and his wife as much as Merle did. "We will."