───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
THE GROUPS started to climb their way up the plains, rick had discovered that the plan which gregory had delivered was something to draw them out to be killed. maggie had also joined up with them on the little mountain.
it was a beautiful view, the only disappointment being the gigantic horde of walkers wandering in another direction. it was probably just as big as the quarry build up.
"god... you ever seen one that big?" someone asked.
rick shook his head, "no. things are changing. let's go."
daryl and rosaline bumped shoulders as they feasted their eyes upon the undead in the distance. the marksman grunted, "how much further?"
"we grow closer." ezekiel assured, "yonder, over the ridge."
rosa smacked her tongue, rallying her dog to her heel, "come."
the team continued further up the hill until the same ominous whistle that negan had used echoed in the distance. rosaline felt herself shudder for a moment as daryl slid her an m4.
she tried to scout out where they could possibly be, rheagar shielding her with a low growl rumbling out of his throat.
negan's voice came out amplified on a radio, "well, damn, rick, look at that. pegged again. pegged so very hard. i ambushed your ambush with an even bigger ambush!"
"how about you step out and face us?" rick screamed angrily, circling around in one spot, ready to shoot.
"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!" the leader of the saviors exclaimed, "guess what else i did. i brought you some of your old friends. you remember your old buddy eugene?" he continued.
"asshole got away." rosaline hissed under her breath, frowning to herself. if that coward was there, she'd definitely be giving him a staredown.
"well, he is the person that made today possible. same goes for dwighty boy here."
the brunette swiveled around to look to michonne, who'd been suspicious of the plan since the start, "what happened?"
michonne only seemed as stunned as her.
she could practically feel negan grinning on the other side of the walkie-talkie, "in case you were wondering, he didn't team 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.
so he hadn't betrayed them. dwight had stuck to his words ever since he had come to them with the offer of defeating negan.
"gabriel, well... he's gotta go too! we're cleaning house today, rick. and then... there's you. it never had to be a fight. you just had to accept how things are. so... here we go. congratulations, rick."
what was going to happen?
daryl inched to get closer to her side.
"three! two!" at least a hundred saviors rose over the top of the plains, guns aimed right towards them. they were going to be shot down, "one!"
bang!
everyone who'd been lined up side negan, had their bullets explode inside their guns, slamming them to the floor. rosaline's eyes widened as she sized up eugene. he was their bullet maker.
had he done this to redeem himself?
"their bullets exploded inside their guns!" rosaline yelled out.
rick's eyes filled with hope. this was their chance.
"now!"
all three communities untied together began their race for the saviors. shots fired as they appeared at the top.
rosaline pushed rhaegar forward by grabbing the clasp of his vest, "get negan. do not kill him."
"he's running!" maggie cried out.
"rheagar is going after him!" she reassured, "he might need help. i'll go."
daryl had merged in with the crowd, his heart was racing as he saw rhaegar disappear after negan behind the cars. he knew that his wife had sent the dog after him and that most likely meant she was to follow.
the young woman let out a sharp breath as she saw that her people had the rest of the saviors cornered. they began to kneel - the battle for them was over and they knew.
rosaline spotted rick running with her between the cars.
their eyes met.
"rheagar?" he inquired hastily, "he went after him didn't he?"
baying had given him the answer. rheagar was hot on negan's trail. rick raised his gun, shooting near his head but missed hitting some glass hanging off a tree. negan hid behind a tree.
rosaline's breath shuddered. she remembered carl's words. the chase was over. he was injured he had nowhere to go, "rheagar!"
the german shepherd slid across the grass, stopping immediately, skidding across the grass. he tilted his head.
"why'd you get him to stop?" rick's head snapped to her, "he can take him down and we can kill him."
"rick." the girl sighed, "remember what carl said?"
his eyes softened for a moment, "yeah but that don't change the plan."
"i think it does."
however, before he caught her word he'd already thundered off after negan. from behind the tree that he was hiding against, he lunged out, tackling rick.
a fight started between the two. rick had ripped lucille out of negan's hands, pretty easily. the faulty bullets had exploded, injuring him. the former sheriff took him down to the ground, but was outwitted as the leader of the saviors stood up in time to deliver a kick to his abdomen.
rick grunted, taking everything on the chest. negan went to pick up his bat, looking over her father. rosaline lifted her rifle, aiming it at him. if he was going to swing for rick, she'd have to shoot him.
"just so you know, eenie meenie miney moe, that was bullshit. i made a choice. i just didn't want to kill two kid's dads in front of them." negan admitted, shooting a look at rosa, "turns out that would've been the best thing i could've done. had i done it, carl might still be alive. good thing she's grown. she knows how to survive."
from the side, rhaegar pounced. his fangs tearing into negan's hand which he held the bat in. rosaline gasped, watching as he inched backward, snarling at the man.
she had no idea if she was meant to do something, this isn't wasn't carl wanted and this was not her fight to finish.
"you're beat. your people are down." rick taunted.
he groaned, attempting to get up, "i'll get out of it. i always do. it's just us rick. hell, even the dog and your kid. you, you are torn open. i am bigger, i am badder and i got a bat."
the former sheriff sat up, "we can have a future."
"i know i will."
was he willing to honor what carl wanted?
"just give me ten seconds," rick requested, desperately, "so i can- i can tell you how."
"no." negan denied.
"just give me ten seconds for carl."
rosaline felt a pain in her chest for her late brother, "negan hear him out. then fight. if that's what you want but do it for my little brother." she pleaded, coming closer to the pair.
negan stared at her then began to count down.
"carl said it doesn't have to be- it doesn't have to be a fight anymore."
"he was wrong. eight."
"no, no. he was right."
negan's lips began to tremble, his eyes stinging with tears. rosa had to rub her eyes to see if she was seeing right. negan was crying.
slash!
rick had slashed at his throat.
the man fell to his knees. the young woman's shaky hands lifted to her lips. this didn't feel right. he used carl's wishes to kill him. it looked like he'd given up. rosaline stumbled closer.
"look what you did," negan choked out holding onto the open wound, "carl didn't know a damn thing..."
his body thudded as it collided with the floor. he and rosaline stared at each other. this wasn't what carl wanted and they both knew it. even there and then, despite everything negan had done she felt sorry watching the man bleed out right there and then.
by that time everyone had arrived to watch him suffer on the floor. rick looked at them, "save him."
maggie's face dropped michonne going to restrain her, "NO! no, he killed glenn! he can't!"
rosaline whirled around looking at rheagar, "go bring the bag." she commanded and the dog raced off. other people with medical experience stepped up. although, if this was the time to use her knowledge from before it was as good as any.
"we have to." rick said.
"no! we have to end it! rick!" maggie yelled sorrowfully, "we have to make it right!"
daryl didn't refuse either, watching his wife help to keep the man that had held hun hostage alive. he'd taken her advice and his hatred and disdain had crumbled away with every day.
he had her and she was alive. that was all he needed. not to live in hate. they'd already exchanged those words the night before. rosaline had told him honestly that she didn't feel like killing negan would make anything even.
their battle was finished. the war was done.
"what happened... what he did, what we lost- there's gotta be something after." rick uttered, "we're all gonna go home now. negan's alive. his way of doing things is over and anyone who can't live with that will pay the price, i promise you that. any person here who would live in peace and fairness... who would find common ground... this world is yours, by right. we are life. that's death! and it's coming for us unless we stand together! so go home. then the work begins. the new world begins. all this... all this is just what was. there's gotta be somethin' after."
when rosa kneeled down negan seemed to be fading out of consciousness, but he still spoke, "i'm sorry... angel. to you and... your brother."
she shook her head, "let this be your punishment. now you'll have to live with what you've done, but maybe you can make it right. in the end, making it right is all you can do, negan."
"i..."
rhaegar had returned holding a bright red first aid kit. rick had also joined her, "what can we do?"
"siddiq would be much better help, but we have to stop the blood loss. he's gonna need stitches definitely. antibiotics." she rambled on, "where is siddiq?"
"he's coming. he went to get people to help him lift negan into a car."
"what about you?"
"i'll be fine."
rosaline nodded, holding her palm over negan's throat. under her, his hand lifted meekly, resting on her arm. it looked like he wanted to say something so she stopped him, "don't talk negan, make sure you stay awake until someone else comes to help me."
rhaegar laid down next to her, blinking at the man on the floor. he seemed confused as to what was going on. he was meant to be chasing him just before. killing him, even.
beside her rick raised his head to the sky, eyes puffy and red. he was seeing something they were not.
"my mercy... prevails... over my wrath."
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
and so, they let negan live. they'd patched him up and he was going to be okay. life had begun to go back to normal. maggie had been bitter that rick let him be saved.
however, his imprisonment was going to teach people the new world. he was going to be an example of what happens to people like him. they were always going to be defeated.
the sanctuary was going to be made into something better. it was a suitable place to live in. before and after. with a bit of fine-tuning, it could be made into a home.
rosaline and daryl had gone to the woods with a truck, she was in the back with rheagar whilst her husband wanted dwight in the passenger seat.
once they were deep enough, he ordered him to get out. he'd not told her what he was going to do. rosa hoped that he was not going to kill him. he'd definitely redeemed himself for the better.
dwight looked up at them, "i know why i'm here." he sucked his lip, "i know what i did to denise. to you. to you, rosaline. to other people and it doesn't matter why. i knew i'd have to face it to pay, and i should. i'm ready. i got to see negan taken down, and that's enough. me? i'm a piece of shit. there's no going back to how things were."
rosa stared down at him as he began to cry. she looked at daryl through her peripheral vision, her expression saying almost as if to forgive him, "you know-"
"look, i'm so sorry. please. please."
daryl's nose scrunched up, throwing the car keys at him, "shut up. you go, and you keep going. don't you ever come back here again. if i ever see your face around here again, i'll kill ya. you go out there, and you make it right. find her."
he meant sherry.
the marksman took rosaline's hand, walking them away, patting his thigh to get rheagar to join them on their stroll back.
rosaline smiled, "you did the right thing. instead of killing him. you did."
"i took yer advice." he murmured, his fingers brushing against her's softly until she took them into her own palm, joining their hands together.
this was their new future together.
she just had one more thing to do. visit negan with rick and michonne once he woke up.
once arriving back at alexandria, she and daryl split off. he went back to hilltop to talk to maggie. rick had suggested that daryl should be the one to lead the saviors to a new future. he had the qualities of a leader as rick's right-hand and was more than capable.
his wife just didn't know how much that stuck with her. it would mean leaving judith and their home - even if it was in waste from the bombardment that negan had ordered on to it. of course, everything could be rebuilt with time.
rosaline walked into their makeshift infirmary, rick, and michonne already waiting for her.
negan lay in a hospital bed of sorts, his windpipe wrapped with a clean bandage. his more erratic breathing showing that he was conscious.
michonne looked down impatiently, "we know you're awake."
"i never said i wasn't." he rasped, barely above a whisper. he was hurting.
"good. because we need to tell you some things and you don't have to open your eyes now but you're gonna open them soon. because we're gonna make you watch what happens." the woman explained.
rick stepped near the bed, "and this isn't about who you killed. no, we've- we killed people. no, this is about what you did to us, what you did to so many people. how you made people live for you, how you put people under your boot."
negan had finally opened his eyes, trying to raise himself off the bed. he was cuffed, too, "i saved people!" he gasped out.
michonne pressed her fingers to his throat, pressing down slightly, inflicting some pain upon him.
rosaline raised her brow at siddiq who stood in the back of the room with a disapproving look.
"enough." rosaline said lowly, "i think what's coming to him after will be worse than pain."
"he needs to know. this isn't a discussion," she replied, hearing him grunt under her hand.
rick nodded, "we can open up his stitches just for a little while just to remind him. carl pictured something better. all of us working together for something bigger than all of us. and you'll have a job, too."
finally, she lifted her hand away from him, "yeah. you'll get to be apart of it - you'll be an example of what this will be."
"we're not gonna kill you. we're not gonna hurt you. you're gonna rot in a cell."
"for the rest of your life, day after day." michonne added.
"you're gonna be evidence that we're makin' a civilization, something like what we had, something we're gonna get back." the former sheriff continued.
"and you get to watch it happen and you get to see how wrong you were about what people can be, about what life can be."
"you, alive, is gonna help show people that things have changed, that keepin' you breathing earns another way, a better way. that's the part you'll play."
"so, after all this.. maybe you're good for something." the woman finished.
rosaline walked over to him, looking down at his tear-brimmed eyes. she knew that deep-down negan was sorry from the moment that they fought up near that tree and he was crying. however, giving him a life sentence was more sparing than what they had initially planned.
she shook her head, exiting the room.
it was time to start a new life.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
aww, i do feel sorry for negan. even with what he did, i do have a weak spot for jeffery dean morgan lol.
don't forget to comment and vote!
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────