come together --- aerosmith version
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[POV]
Although the group had devised a plan for the Governor, they still prepared for the worst. They packed their bags and loaded the cars, leaving them just outside of the prison fence.
JJ walked over to her brother after seeing Carl yank away from Rick. She crossed her arms and leaned against the car. "I've never seen him this mad. Even with Lori. He's just--- he's shut down."
Rick sadly looked over to his son, "He's still a kid. It's easy to forget that sometimes."
While she was standing with Rick, her eyes landed on Daryl. They'd been closer since they buried Merle. Their relationship had changed from being a part of the same group to friends. Daryl looked at JJ differently, too. He saw her as someone other than just Rick's sister.
Rick did one last sweep of the cellblock, making sure everything and everyone was ready. JJ, Glenn and Maggie stayed hidden behind the makeshift walls on the walkway, prepared to defend the prison. Which they did. Decked out in body armor, the three shot up the Governor's crew when they were leaving the prison.
"Get the hell out of here!" Glenn shouted, shooting rounds at them alongside the other two.
JJ got in the few last hits at their truck as the Governor and his team retreated.
Maggie stood up, lifting her helmet's shield, "we did it?!"
"We did it." Glenn breathed heavily. "Come on down." He told the two.
They met up with the others in the courtyard. "We did it. We drove them out." Rick was proud of the group.
"We should go after them." Michonne opinionated.
"We should finish it." Daryl agreed.
JJ nodded, her adrenaline still pumping, "Finish the fuck out of it."
"It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?" Maggie motioned.
JJ looked to her friend, then her brother, "they're probably on their way to regroup as we're standing here."
"JJ's right. We can't take the chance. He's not gonna stop." Glenn said.
Carol nodded, "They're right. We can't keep living like this."
"So we take the fight back to Woodbury." Maggie reminded, "We barely made it back last time."
Daryl shook his head, "I don't care."
"Yeah...let's check on the others. Come on." The split group met back inside the prison cell block where Hershel, Beth and Carl brought Judith back in.
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[JJ]
I leaned against the truck, ready to finish this with the Governor once and for all.
Rick joined me, "He shot somebody."
I looked to my brother, seeing him motion to his son, "Carl?" He nodded. "Why?"
"It was one of the Governor's soldiers- a kid. He was handing over his gun."
"So, why did Carl shoot?"
Rick shrugged, "I don't know, but I'm scared he's turning cold."
I comforted him, patting the top of his hand, "go talk to him. Before we leave." I motioned over to Carl, who was sitting over on the bleachers and had his head down. Rick handed me his gun before walking over.
By the time Rick had walked back over, Glenn and Maggie had joined Michonne, Daryl and I.
"Rick, we're staying." Glenn told him. "We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back, we'll hold him off."
"Just the four of us?" Daryl stated, "All right."
"I appreciate you staying." Rick told the two, before the four of us headed off.
Once again, I was in the back seat. We didn't get too long down the road before finding three of the Governor's vehicles and a whole bunch of walkers, which we handled first.
There was a woman hunkered down in the big truck. She told us what happened. That the Governor turned on his own people.
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We neared Woodsbury. It was quiet until they fired the first shot.
"Tyreese! It's me don't-" The woman we were with, Karen, stood up.
Rick pulled her back down.
"Karen! Karen, are you okay?!" The man yelled back.
"I'm fine." Karen snatched her arm from Rick, moving to where Tyreese could see her.
"Where's the Governor?"
"He fired on everyone. He killed them all." She told him.
"Why are you with them?!"
"They saved me."
Rick took a deep breath, shouting, "we're coming out! We're coming out."
The five of us, including Karen, raised our hands in surrender as the gate opened and two walked out. I recognized them from the prison. Tyreese and Sasha.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"We were coming to finish this. Until we saw what the Governor did."
"He-he killed them?"
Rick nodded, "yeah. Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it. She might be here."
It gave me chills going back down to where I was held.
"You good?" Daryl asked.
"No."
"Would you rather stay up there, stand watch?"
"No."
"Suit yourself."
We kept walking.
"This is where he had Glenn, Maggie and JJ."
"The Governor held people here?" Tyreese looked to me, "Held you here?"
"Did more than hold 'em." Daryl told him.
We came up on one of the doors. Blood pooled at the bottom of it and we all shared similar looks. "Will you open it?" Michonne asked Rick as the rest of us held our weapons at the ready.
Milton, the one who annoyed the shit out of me was dead in front of the...what looked like a dentist's chair. And Andrea sat propped against the door, bleeding profusely. "Andrea." Michonne knelt by her.
"I tried to stop him."
Michonne put the back of her hand to Andrea's forehead, "you're burning up." She held her shirt back to reveal a bite on her neck.
"Judith, Carl, the rest of them..."
"Us. The rest of us." Rick corrected.
Andrea weakly smiled, "Are they alive?"
"Yeah, they're alive."
"It's good you found them." Andrea told Michonne, "No one can make it alone now."
"I never could." Daryl added.
"I just didn't want anyone to die."
Maybe Andrea and I weren't the best of friends, but it hurt to see her like this. Sure, she had horrible taste in men, but I didn't hate her.
She sighed, "I can do it myself."
Michonne protested through the tears, "No."
"I have to. While I still can." Andrea looked to Rick, "Please, I know how the safety works."
Rick softly placed the handgun in Andrea's hands.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Michonne told her.
"I tried."
"Yeah, you did. You did." Rick's head fell as we waited outside the room for the single gunshot.
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[POV]
Come morning, the group brought back the residents of Woodbury on an old school bus. Rick gave a nod to the others, letting them know it was okay. The people filed out of the bus and into the cellblock.
"I can't believe he's doing this." Carl told his aunt after Rick had walked away.
JJ nodded, "Nah, it's who he is."
"We don't know these people."
She patted her nephew's shoulder, "well, we're gonna get to know 'em." JJ went over to the back of the truck, "you wanna see what I found?" She reached in, bringing out a slightly deflated soccer ball. "Isn't this fun?" Carl didn't look impressed. "Oh, come on. What is wrong with you? You love soccer."
"I used to." He deadpanned.
JJ mocked Carl, "I used to...please. You're sounding as old as your dad." Her nephew laughed. "Tomorrow, we're playing soccer. And I will win."
Carl smiled, shaking his head, "You play soccer as well as you drive."
"Hey, that is-" She began to protest, earning a 'really?' look, "okay, you might be right."
"It's okay, I'll show you how to play well."