Chapter 5: Negan

*****Alexandria****

Buffy, Dawn, and Willow were loading up a few things into their car as they planned on following Negan.

Simon turned back into a man right before they were about to head out.

"What the hell happened to me?" he asked.

"The witch turned you into a fucking rat!" Negan informed him. "Lucky for us, the spell was temporary."

"That's not possible," Simon said, shaking his head.

"It is. We all saw it!" Jared added. "David's still hiding in his truck."

When David saw Simon human again, he looked relieved and rolled down his window.

"You were a rat, Simon! That insane witch turned you into a fucking rat!" he told Simon. Then he saw the witch in question walked toward Negan's vehicle and rolled his window up, making the sign of the cross.

"Why is she still alive?" Simon asked, rage in his eyes.

"Well, what exactly do you want me to do? Try to kill her and fail? Then we'll all be rats!" Negan said. "Not to mention, someone with that kind of power is someone we have to have on our side. She didn't actually harm you. You're fine, right?"

Simon had to agree, but he wasn't going to let this slide. He might have to have Negan removed as head of the Saviors.

"Are you ready to go?" Buffy asked as she approached Negan's vehicle.

"Yes," he said.

"I'm going to be riding in a car with Abraham driving. Dawn and Willow are coming, too," she said.

"I thought your sister can just open portals wherever she wants," he said.

"She has to have a clear destination first before she can. Once she goes to your facility, she can leave by portal," Buffy said.

"That is a risk we should not allow," Simon said, looking at Negan in disbelief. "You want to just walk them into our home, so they can case our weaknesses."

"She's not a fighter like her sister," Negan said. "It's a harmless parlor trick."

"She can drop in on us at any time," Simon pointed out. "That's an unacceptable risk."

Negan considered his statement and realized it was true. "Okay, that's a good point. However, if we let any of them there, the result is the same. They can show Dawn," he said.

"I save people," Buffy said, glaring at Simon. "I don't participate in the slaughter of humans. Not for any reason."

"Well, we did kill some cannibals that were luring people to Terminus with promise of safety," Dawn said. "They would rob them and then eat them."

"No fucking way!" Negan exclaimed. "Killing cannibals is a public service if anything would be."

"That was our thinking," Buffy said. "I couldn't believe people would sink so low."

Negan could tell that she was still bothered by it, and he would bet that killing cannibals wasn't easy for her. He didn't pay much attention to the angry Simon.

"People are sick mother fuckers," he said. "I know this hellscape we now live in has forced me to do things I would never have done a few years ago. Hell, I was a PE teacher and coach."

"Really?" Buffy asked, surprised.

Negan nodded. "I had a wife that I loved but took for granted. This shit happens, it forces you to reevaluate things. Survival is all that matters. If you can help others survive, then that is only a good thing," he said.

Buffy was surprised by his comment. He really wasn't a psychopath. His intentions were to help, and he ruled with an iron fist. That meant she could reach him.

If not, she would do what she had to.

If he proved to be too dangerous, she would kill him.

He was right. Survival was all that mattered in the end, and if he threatened the survival of good and decent people like the ones in Alexandria, he would die.

*****A Few Hours Later****

It took them close to two hours to get to the Saviors' compound. It wasn't pretty as it seemed to be some old factory or something. It was very large, though, and the number of people was in the hundreds.

"Is this your only place?" Buffy asked.

Negan shook his head. "No. I have a few other smaller locations that are more like outposts," he shared.

He took them all around and explained their point system that was used as their form of currency.

"That's a good idea," Buffy said.

"Thanks," he said.

"So why do you keep the dead outside like that?" Dawn asked him.

"For two reasons," he replied. "It's scary as shit, and if a member of our community gets out of line, I will throw them in there. Also, we have discovered that if the dead smells the dead, they don't bother you as much. Like, you can cover yourself with their blood and walk amongst them, which is gross as shit. This is just more pleasant. Keeps them at bay for the most part."

Buffy nodded. "We just teleport away if they get too close to us," she said. "I would never rub that nasty crap on me!"

"Definitely gross," Willow agreed.

They spent about a half hour or so walking through the complex and meeting people. It was decided that Willow and Dawn would stay and see what Willow could come up with to help them grow their own food. They would go back to Alexandria by portal, so Buffy was free to head out with Negan, who had his men gather up supplies. Dawn wasn't too sure about leaving Buffy alone with Negan, but Buffy assured her that she could easily handle one man.

"It's possible for someone to get the jump on Willow, no matter how magical she is," Buffy pointed out. "You can watch her back."

Dawn reluctantly agreed.

Negan's people had similar misgivings.

"You are taking one of our guys with you," Simon said.

"No," Negan said.

"You can't possible trust the woman," Simon said.

"I trust that she's not going to kill me," he said. "She claims to have had a vision of me killing two of Rick's guys. She said that it would have led to the destruction of the Saviors and me. She knew exactly which guys I was already eyeballing. You weren't there, Simon. It was like she could look inside my soul. There's no malice in her."

Simon frowned, not knowing what to think. The guys had all backed-up Negan's tale, and they also confirmed that he had been turned into a rat. However, it was just preposterous to the man of science.

He knew, though, that it was impossible to change Negan's mind once it was dug in.

"Fine. But if you end up dead, I will order the men to attack Alexandria," Simon said.

"You do you," Negan said. "But if I do die, I doubt it will be because of Buffy. It will be 'cause of the undead. Just know, what you do against that group will garner enemies better served as allies."

Simon nodded and said goodbye as Buffy joined him. Her sister walking behind her.

"Is little sis going with us?" Negan asked.

"No, I'm not," Dawn said. "But know that if you try to hurt Buffy in any way, I'll have Willow figure out a hell dimension that we can send you to!"

Negan snickered, enjoying the imaginative threat. "Okay," he said.

"You think I'm joking. I assure you that I am not," she said. "We could do it."

Negan looked at Buffy, who shrugged. "It's possible. I've been to one before. No picnic."

"Listen, we're scouting. That's it," Negan said.

"I have an idea of where you should look," Dawn said. "The naval base in Norfolk. Well, not the base itself as it's probably overrun. The big ships around the Norfolk waters. Those would be very easy to secure, and food is right there in the ocean. Because of the way those ships are designed, it shouldn't be too hard to kill the undead. Not to mention, there isn't a full crew around the clock when stationed at their home base."

"That's way too far to travel," Buffy said. "It's a few hours in a car, but the highways would be closed off."

"I did go to a lecture once at Old Dominion University in Norfolk," Dawn shared. "I could open a portal there. In forty-eight hours, I could open it back up at the same place."

Buffy looked at Negan. "Do you think that would be enough time to scout the area and then get back to Dawn?"

Negan frowned considering it. "It's an unknown area. We should give it sixty hours at least. If we aren't there, she can send a search party to look for us," he suggested.

"Good idea," Buffy said. "Send Faith and some guys from Alexandria as well as some of Negan's."

Dawn looked at the Rolex that she got from Giles for graduation. "If I remember correctly, Battleship Wisconsin is on display as it's de-commissioned. That means there won't be a lot of the dead in it, but there won't be a lot of food or supplies in it," Dawn told them.

"Okay, that's one we'll for sure check out," Buffy said. "The ones next to it probably have more of both."

"True," Negan agreed.

"It's one o'clock, so let's say nine P.M. in two days. That's fifty-six hours," she suggested.

Buffy had a watch that didn't need to be charged also as Willow made sure they all had one for these reasons. "Okay. That works," she said. "I have my backpack for supplies. Are you ready?" That question was directed to Negan.

"Absolutely," Negan said, excited to get so many hours alone with the golden goddess. He already had cast aside his three wives, even giving Dwight back his wife, in anticipation of seeing her again. Sure, he had seen the way the Daryl guy was eyeballing him, and Negan figured the man was hot for Buffy. It just meant that he had good taste. Negan figured that if the pair was already lovers, the guy would've insisted on coming with them. Since he didn't, Negan knew she was up for grabs.

Dwight handed him a bag, and he threw it on his back. His people were gathered around, watching the newcomers with undisguised interest as many hadn't been there that fateful day when they had met her. However, the place was buzzing with rumors.

"Simon's in charge," Negan told them. "Make nice with the people in Alexandria. I'll be back in three days."

"Be careful," Jared said.

"I'll take care of things," Simon assured him.

Negan slapped him on the back. "I know you will," he said.

"Okay, Dawn, do your thing," Buffy told her.

"Back up," Dawn said to a few that were a bit too close to where she wanted to open the portal.

When she opened her portal, there was an audible gasp from Negan's people.

"What is that?" someone asked.

"That's a doorway to Norfolk, Virginia. A university I'm familiar with," Dawn explained. "I can open portals to any place that I have ever been."

"So you're like a mutant?" a teenage boy asked her, his eyes wide with excitement. In their dark world of constant death and loss, to see a real person doing something so extraordinary was incredible.

"That's a possibility," Dawn said. "I was born with the powers, but I only learned how to use them a few years ago." No reason to ever tell anyone her origin story.

"What is that building?" Negan asked.

"The library," Dawn said.

"Of course, it is," Buffy said, smiling at her sister. "Dawn's a big nerd."

"Well, at one time, nerds were set to rule the world, and then everything went to hell," Dawn pointed out.

"Be careful, Buff," Willow said.

"Always. You too," Buffy said.

She stepped through the portal, and Negan locked eyes with Simon, who looked stunned at Dawn's casual display of power. "See," he said with a smirk. Then he stepped in after her, his Lucille and a knife his only weapons.

The portal shut behind them, and Simon looked at the young woman with calculating eyes.

A woman who could open doorways to any place she had ever been would be worth more than the toughest warrior.

Maybe Negan was right.

******Norfolk*****

The Old Dominion campus was a large campus with tan and white buildings and lots of windows. They walked around, seeing the lion statue in the campus and no evidence of the dead.

"It's spooky how empty it is," Negan observed.

"Well, I was attending Dawn's college graduation at Brown University in Rhode Island when things started falling apart and planes were grounded," she told Negan.

"Brown is a great school. You must've been proud," he said.

"I was. She finished in like three years," Buffy said, smiling. "We spent the first several months at Brown, training the ones that were stuck there. Good people. It was hard to leave."

"So you fortified a place like this," Negan said, looking around. He saw two walkers moving toward them. Buffy threw a knife at the head of one before Negan could take two steps forward. "Damn, girl! You don't waste time."

"Nope," she said. "Life's too short. You never know a day will be your last."

"Ain't that the damn truth," he said as he killed the second one with his knife and pulled hers out of the first.

"Thanks," Buffy said, grabbing it and wiping it with a cloth she kept for just that purpose.

"We probably should avoid the football arena," Negan suggested. "There could be people there."

"Good point," she said. She looked around for a map. "There's a map. Let's see how to get to the street."

"Well, we know that this place is west of the Naval ships, so we should go that way," Negan told her.

"How do you know?" Buffy asked.

"The sun," Negan said. He pointed.

"I have a compass in my bag," she said. "Xander gave it to me since I get lost sometimes. I'm a great tracker, but I sadly I lose track of where I'm at when I'm focused on my prey."

Negan flashed her a smile. "I bet you do," he said.

"We should look for some bicycles," Buffy suggested as they pulled away from the map.

"Well, the map said that building there is a residential hall, so I bet we can find some there, but they'll be locked," Negan said, pointing.

"Not a problem," she said. They were there a few minutes later, and he watched in bemusement as she tore off locks like they were made of paper.

"Damn, that's so hot," he said. "You have superstrength!"

"I told you that," she said.

"Yes, but seeing you do that is something else," he said, shaking his head. Sure, he'd seen her toss his guys around effortlessly with her friend Faith, but breaking a lock was just more visceral to him.

They got on the bikes with Buffy shouting, "I'll race you off campus!" Then she took off, and he laughed as he followed after her.

Negan couldn't remember the last time he had done something so innocent and fun.

Then, of course, they ran into a horde of walkers, who zeroed in on them.

"Crap," Buffy muttered. Should she attack or run away? It didn't sit with her to run, but she couldn't let Negan get killed.

She turned to wait for him to catch up.

"There's too many of them," he said.

"Let's take that sidewalk and out run them," Buffy suggested. The fact that the dead were so slow was the only good thing about them. Of course, she had slayer dreams recently warning her of monsters that moved much faster, and she suspected that they would soon evolve. She hoped it would years from now. They needed to rebuild humanity.

Ten minutes later, Negan felt relieved as they passed by the entrance to the campus, the horde far away.

"That was about eighty," Buffy said. "We're lucky that it wasn't bigger."

"Well, Norfolk is relatively small compared to Atlanta or New York city," Negan said. "A bit over two thousand people."

"Still, that's a lot of walking dead to deal with," Buffy said. "There's just the two of us, and I can't let you get killed."

Negan frowned. "I can take care of myself," he said.

"I'm sure you can, but it only takes one bad moment of bad luck to get bit," she said.

"I know," Negan said. "I've lost many."

It was around four o'clock, and they'd made it to the downtown area when they had to abandon the bikes due to the huge number of people on the main street.

Buffy pulled out her scythe and just started to take off heads with her right swing, and then she'd pull back with her left to kill another.

Negan stood a moment watching her because it was breathtaking.

He just had to have her.

Swinging his hammer at heads as bodies, trying to keep up with the Amazon goddess he was following.

Buffy prayed that Negan would be able to hold his own as more people pressed against them.

*****To Be Continued*****

I've been writing this chapter for WEEKS, and I finally decided that I need to just post as the update is long overdue. Sorry that it's not longer. I hope you enjoyed what it is, though. Reviews are always very appreciated. Thanks so much!