Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

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At that moment, we heard their truck approaching. "All points are covered." Was that Eugene? "Every contingency is already met." Holy shit, that asshole. "I come armed with two barrels of the truth." He'll die if that bomb goes off. "A test is upon you and I'm giving out the cheat sheet." The truck he was on parked next to the wall. He stood next to something with a sheet over it. "H-hello. I come salved with the hope that it is my dropped knowledge that you heed. Options are zero to none. Compliance and fealty are your only escape. Bottom-lining it - you may thrive, or you may die. I sincerely wish for the former. For everyone's sake. The jig is up and in full effect. Will you comply, Rick?"

We watched as Rick stood there in silence for a few moments. "Where's Negan?" He finally asked.

Eugene lowed the megaphone. "I'm Negan." I sighed, my heart sinking in my chest.

Rick closed his eyes, then looked at Rosita. He sighed. He looked back at Eugene. He nodded to Rosita and she pressed the button. I looked away. Nothing happened. Rick looked at her and she looked at him, panic in her eyes. Rick went for his gun and Jadis stood, gun trained on his head, along with the rest of the scavengers. These assholes tricked us. "Fuckers..." I mumbled.

One of the Scavengers opened the gate. Negan and Dwight got out. Negan was smiling, as always. They opened the truck, taking the explosives. Rick stood up as they entered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Rick and Negan locked eyes. "You ever hear the one about the stupid little prick named Rick who thought he knew shit but didn't know shit and got everyone that he gave a shit about killed?" He pointed at him. "It's about you. Y'all are gonna wanna put your guns down now."

"No one drops anything." Rick said. He looked at Jadis. "We had a deal."

"Tamil cane for the boat things. Followed ones who took. Made a better deal."

Rick sighed and shook his head. "You push me, and you push me. And you push me, Rick! You just tried to blow us up, right? I mean, I get me, my people. But Eugene? He's one of yours. And after what he did - He stepped up. You people...are animals. Universe gives you a sign and you just-" He jabbed his middle finger in the air. "shove your finger right up it's ass." He chuckled. "Dwight, Simon, chop-chop."

They got up onto the truck, unstrapping whatever they had on there. He pulled the cover off. A coffin? They set it up and got down, Negan stepping up. Who could the coffin be for? "So, you don't like Eugene anymore. You guys gotta like Sasha." Oh god. "I do too." He tapped on the coffin with his bat. "Got her right here packaged for your convenience, alive and well." My heart was pounding out of my chest. "Now, I brought her so I wouldn't have to kill all of you, and not killing all of you could get complicated." The whole situation has changed now. "See, I know there's a lot of firepower left in there Rick. So I'm gonna make this simple. I want all the guns you've managed to scrape up. Yep, I know about those, too. I want every last grain of lemonade you got left. I want a person of your own choosing...for Lucille."

He paused for a moment. "Daryl. Oh, I gotta get me my Daryl back." He pointed at him with two fingers. "I see you. And the pool table and all the pool cues and chalk. And I want it now or Sasha dies, and then all of you." He smiled again. "Probably." Rick said nothing. He was angry. "C'mon Rick. Just because I brought her in a casket doesn't mean she has to leave in it." Negan sighed when Rick still said nothing. "You know what? You suck ass, Rick. You really do. I don't want to have to kill her, but that's exactly what you're gonna make me do."

"Let me see her." Rick finally spoke, taking a step forward.

Negan chuckled. "All right. Just give me a second. I might have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing." He turned to the coffin, tapping it with his bat. "Sash. You're not gonna believe this crap."

I gasped when she came out snarling, her eyes glossed over, skin pale. She turned. "Holy goddamn!"

She knocked Negan off the truck. We went into action. We took down Scavengers left and right and then the Saviors. It was utter chaos. I ran with Daryl, we watched each other's back. We watched from a distance as Jadis guided a now limping Rick to a field of Saviors. Carl already on his knees. She jabbed her gun into his wound when he stopped, forcing him to keep moving.

Negan walked up, taking his bat from Dwight. Please, God, not again. "Hello, again."

Jadis made Rick get on his knees beside Carl. I couldn't make out what Negan was saying. He spoke to Rick, then Jadis. Jadis walked away. Negan starts making his way around both of them, talking. I could hear him better now.  "-like I'm not the guy with the bat - I'm just the guy that makes your kid spaghetti. Oh. Oh, shit. Maybe this is on me. Maybe this is all on me. I gotta make it right. I guess I gotta start all over again." No. "I gotta tell you, Rick, if I had a kid, I'd want him to be just like your kid, which makes this so much harder."

Carl said something to him. Negan leaned over and said something back, then pointed down the street. People were laying dead, in pools of their own blood. I gasped when I heard a woman scream, watching as a body fell to the street. "Daryl, Michonne was up there. Oh, my god."

I tried to ignore the tears in my eyes and turned back to see Negan crouched in front of Rick, looking like his heart just stopped. Rick suddenly looked angry, getting in his face, speaking quietly through gritted teeth.

Negan stood up quickly after that, resting his bat on his shoulder. He went behind Carl and took his hat off. "You said I could do it." He raised his bat to swing, but was interrupted when Shiva came out of nowhere attacking a man behind him. The Kingdom. I couldn't help laughing as they came on foot and on horses, killing Saviors left and right. "End these Saviors and their accomplices!" The King yelled. "Alexandria will not fall, not on this day!"

Not long after The Kingdom, I saw Maggie with the Hilltop. Daryl and I joined them, killing the Saviors around Rick. We were pushing them back, taking them out one by one. Even Morgan was killing. We saw a flare go up and smoke bombs all around. We gathered around the RV. "They're falling back." Rick said. Maggie gave orders and then left again.

"Now, we finish this!" Ezekiel yelled, running with others toward the gate, firing at Negan as he flipped us off. When we tried to chase him, the Scavengers shot at us, keeping us inside as they closed the gate. We tried to get it open, but it was jammed with something. Daryl got on the wall, looking down the road. They were gone.

~*~

We all went out in groups after we got the gate open, searching for Sasha. We figured she did it herself, screwed up Negans plan. Maggie and Jesus found her and finished it. We buried her, along with the others. We took care of the wounded, talked with the people from the other communities. Maggie, Rick, and Ezekiel all gave a speech, getting us ready for war. This is it. We're fighting him, getting him back for all the evil shit he's done to us. For what he did to Glenn and Abraham. It's about time.