"No! No way in hell! That was not the deal. You people swore you could take the Saviors out, and you failed. So, any arrangement we had is now done -- null and void." Gregory scorns as he struts around the office, upset and annoyed. I roll my eyes, crossing my arms. Daryl is to my left while Tori lurks to my right. I glance over at her, expressing my burning frustration with only my face. "We aren't trade partners, we aren't friends, and we never met. We don't know each other. I owe you nothing. In fact, you owe me for taking in the refugees, at great personal risk."
We are gathered in Gregory's office, trying to knock some sense into the senile old man, without any physical altercations. Though, I've realized upon our first meeting, it's like talking to a wall. It's taking all my self-control not to smack the smug coward around just for fun. Right now, I'd take speaking to Negan over this man. At least he's somewhat entertaining to banter with. Though, the two men never know when the shut the hell up. Fucking men and their giant egos.
"Oh, you were very brave staying in here while Maggie and Sasha saved this place. Your courage was inspiring." Jesus expresses his appreciation, or lack thereof, while sarcasm drips from his voice.
"Hey, don't you work for me? Aren't we friends?"
"Gregory, we already started this." Rick growls.
"You started it."
"What are we, fucking children?" I mimic, " 'you started it!' Grow up, old man. You had your hand in this, too. You got blood on your hands, just like the rest of us."
"We did. And we're gonna win." Rick offers.
"I do not like you, Veronica. I do not want you here." Gregory snarls. Returning to Rick, "these are killers!"
Feeling is mutual, asshole. I straighten up, raising my chin, crossing my arms. He glances away from me, face twisting in disgust.
Victoria makes an amused sound at his words. "This new you likes making enemies, huh?" She whispers. I snort, shrugging. She's wearing faded light blue jeans, a white shirt, army green vest, and white tennis shoes. Her long brown hair is braided down her back. I still find myself envious with how beautiful she always appears. Even in the middle of the apocalypse, she still somehow looks as if she's still prim and proper, untouched by the darkness. The perfect, golden child.
I'm still in the clothes I wore when I met Negan personally. I haven't had a chance to change as it's been a very busy week and I was on the road seventy five percent of that time. My greasy hair is thrown into a sloppy bun behind my head with a few stray pieces framing my face. I'm dying for a shower.
Next to each other, we look like Yin and Yang. The golden child and the black sheep. Though, I'm thankful we are finally mending the bridge that had separated us all of our lives.
"So what does that make you, Greg? You sat back and agreed to the attack on his outpost!" I accuse, pointing a finger in his direction. "Every single one of us standing before you is guilty over someone dying, whether it be by their own hand or someone else's. Charles Manson never killed anyone personally, but he was still found guilty of murder. I'm pretty sure Negan will see it the same way."
"Is this how you want to live? Under their thumb, killing your people?" Rick inquires.
"S-Sometimes we don't get to choose what our life looks like. Sometimes, Ricky, you have to count the blessings you have." Gregory shakes his head.
"How many people can we spare? How many people here can fight?" Maggie questions.
"'We'? I don't even know how many people we have, Margaret. And does it even matter? I mean, what are you gonna do? Start a platoon of sorghum farmers? 'Cause that's what we got. They grow things. They're not gonna want to fight."
"You're wrong. When people have the chance to do the right thing, they usually step up. I mean, people just --" Tara voices.
"L-Let me stop you before you break into song, okay? And, by the way, who would train all this cannon fodder?"
"I will." Sasha offers.
Rosita smirks, "give me a week."
Kelly laughs, "give me a day and they will be just like Veronica." Grinning, clearly amused with using Gregory's name for me. "Trust me, she's a fucking weapon with her hands."
"Rhetorical, okay?" Gregory bellows, "I don't want to know. I never want to hear another word about any of it, ever. "
"Would we be better off without the Saviors, yes or no?" Rick cocks his head, glaring at the older man.
"Yeah. Sure. Okay."
"So, what will you do to fix the problem?" Michonne asks.
"I didn't say we had a problem. You did. And what happens outside of my purview is outside of my purview."
Daryl scoffs, "what the hell, man? You're either with us or ya ain't. You're sittin' over there talkin' out of both sides of your mouth."
Not wanting to hear any more of the bullshit pouring out of his mouth, I come to a resolve before I hand him his ass. "I'm done with this baby back fuckin' bitch. He doesn't deserve to lead these people." I wave my hand dismissively, stalking out angrily.
"She's not welcome here at Hilltop." I hear Gregory whine before I slam the door to the office behind me. The loud thud causes Enid's neck to snap in my direction. Fuming, I ignore her. I don't wait for everyone in the lobby, instead, I walk out of the door, finding several people milling outside of the Barrington house. My boots clacking every step of the way.
"Hey, you're Vanessa, right?" A male question. I nod, crossing my arms, "Jesus mentioned that you can fight. Can you teach us? We owe you guys, and want to help you fight."
I cock my head, feeling pride swell in my chest, "I can, but you'd be better off with the man who taught me. Because Daryl got free and is here, Negan will be searching for me and him. I'm already in his crosshairs. So, I need to return to Alexandria to protect him, so he can be here to help me raise our child." I hick my thumb towards the office, "Kelly's in there. I'll talk to him and get him to stay and train you." My eyes find everyone, "but he already offered to help, along with Sasha and Rosita. You all will be in good hands. But you all need to know, not all of us will walk away from this." I run a nervous hand through my hair, deciding to be honest, "there will be loss on both sides. Some of you will die. I could die. But we could also die walking outside that gate from a walker. You can't fear that or go in halfcocked. You cannot be afraid to take another life. In this world, it's them or us. There is no black and white, right or wrong. The saviors took so much from both of us. We need to fight-" The door swings open behind me; I glance over my shoulder seeing the calvary has decided to join me. I smile, knowing we might be getting exactly what we came for. I return my attention to the people of Hilltop, "we need to fight for our children, each other, and everyone else under this man's thumb. We need to avenge every person the Saviors killed. We need to avenge ourselves. If we fight side by side, we will become so much more than just trade partners. We will be fighting alongside family. It's time to liberate ourselves from the boogeyman in a leather jacket with a fucked-up obsession with a bat." I take a step to position myself in the middle spreading my arms, "you cannot be just farmers. Not in this world. You've been held at a disadvantage and there's two men to blame for that - Gregory and Negan. Once upon a time, I was one of you. Though, I wasn't a farmer. I was weak and scared until I got thrown into this world. I was alone for two months before meeting Rick and Daryl." I gesture to the men, " soon, I became the woman that stands here before you. This world isn't nice to soft people. It's time to train and find the warrior inside every single one of you. Maggie, Rick, Daryl and most of the people standing here with me have faced down a war or two. I will be honest, in a war, battles will be lost, but that will not mean we lost the war. Negan will probably retaliate, but he will not win. Not against us. Negan is just another big bad with a God complex and I've met my fair share since the dead started walking. We've won before, and we will win, again."
"What's going on?" Maggie questions, curious eyes watching the scene playing out in front of her.
"How are you so confident that we will win?" Someone else asks, dragging my attention back to the people in front of me.
"I can tell you about the time we made home inside of a prison. There was a community nearby. Maggie, her husband, and I ended up kidnapped on a simple run. A simple run. We should've been fine. It ended up being wrong place, wrong time. I was raped and barely alive when they found me. Their leader, The Governor, had attacked us more than once. There might have been a battle or two that we lost, but we killed him in the end. He took down a few of our own in the process. There was another community, cannibals this time, Rick had met while I was absent. They had kidnapped Rick and company, and eventually killed one of our own once my family was able to escape, before their leader was indisposed. Daryl ran into a group of men ran by a leader that was just as deranged. Rick put him down after his son and family was threatened. Each of us can tell you a story from these times. Or maybe some more I'm not able to recall at this very moment. This isn't something that's new to us. For us, this is a normal Sunday family dinner. We know what we are capable of, and we know each of you has that buried in your soul." I shrug. "Don't take my word for it. Just trust us. We will make sure you're ready when the time comes for war. Get ready to fight, 'cause it's time we take back our shit from Hitler Jr."
I gesture for Maggie that it's her turn to take the floor, I said all I had to. I just hope it helped more than hindered our situation. She nods, pride behind her eyes as she grins in my direction.
I lean against the pole listening as everyone standing before us offer to join us in the war against Negan. I motion for Kelly to stand next to me, "you gotta stay and teach them combat with and without weapons." I whisper, "when I go back, I'll drive the truck back here, dropping off a few guns and knives."
"That's the plan."
'We are really doing this!" I grin, feeling excited to cut down the Saviors. "Down with the Boogeyman in a leather coat!" I joke, laughing, sharing a smile with my childhood crush. My eyes find Daryl. The love I felt for Kelly is much different than the love I feel for Daryl. With Daryl, I feel complete. It's easy and natural. Like a moth to a light. I found a missing part of me I didn't know I needed. We fit together like a puzzle.
We follow the family as they begin to head towards the gate. I listen as they try to figure out how we can recruit more people, find more help form people we have yet not met or know exist, since Negan still has the numbers on us.
Daryl grunts, "well, we find the right stuff, then maybe we don't need the numbers. Blow 'em up, burn 'em to the ground."
Tara shakes her head, "you said there weren't just soldiers with the Saviors, that there were workers there. People didn't have a choice."
"We gotta win." Daryl growls. I cock my head at him; when we get a moment alone, I need to ask what he has gone through. In his eyes, I realize something inside of him is broken and angry. He wants blood for his suffering.
Rick runs a hand through this hair, "we need more hands, another group. Negan has outposts. The geography, the distance works against us. We gotta get back. If they come looking for Daryl, we need to be there." His eyes find me, "and that means you, Vanessa. He's going to be looking for you when Daryl comes up missing. I know you want to stay with him, but you can't."
I nod, "Kelly is staying here. He's going to help train these people."
"Good." Rick accepts the decision, "great speech back there, too. I told you, you'd be leader someday." Tori pats my back, I peer over, seeing her smile at me. Mom and Dad are proud of you. I'm proud of you. Her words from only a few days ago begin to replay in my head. I suck in a shaky breath, I really have come a long way since I last saw her.
"You don't have to get back." Jesus offers. "Not yet. It's one of theirs, long range. We can listen in, keep track of them." He reveals a walkie talkie he has been keeping on his person.
I grin, "I fucking love you, you evil fucking genius."
Michonne rests her hand on her hip, cocking her head, "so, if we're not going back, what are we doing, then?"
"I think it's time we introduced you to Ezekiel. King Ezekiel." Jesus smirks.
"King?" My mouth falls open in surprise. Oh, you gotta be kidding me. I doubt there's nothing left in this world that could shock me, but famous last words and all.