A new plan had been made, and that was to send Negan in on the inside. The people of the Commonwealth and more importantly Pamela Milton, had never seen Negan's face before, they had no idea who he was, so he was the perfect person to sneak inside and get word to your friends and family about what's going on.
Hornsby and his soldiers had cornered you guys in a small town, but you managed to get Negan in a car with the directions to Commonwealth before the rest of you laid low and out of sight.
You had hoped that Hornsby would give up or think that you guys weren't here, but that wasn't the case. His men were creating a smaller area around you, trapping you inside and it was only a matter of time before they found you.
So, you decided to go under them. Literally.
The sewers smelt terrible, but it was good cover. There were a few walkers inside, most dead already though which made things a little easier.
"You okay, Y/N? You've kinda turned a bit pale." Jesus suddenly said, appearing in front of you with worried eyes as he looked your face up and down, wincing at the cuts and bruises that Leah had left behind.
You nodded which was a bad idea, the movement making your head spin and thump violently in pain.
"Whoa. Okay, you aren't fine." Jesus said, grabbing your shoulders when you began to sway. "Uh, guys, we got a problem."
The others all stopped and turned back towards you as white dots started to cloud the corners of your vision and a loud ringing started in your ears.
Jesus must still be talking. His mouth was opening and closing, but you couldn't hear anything above the ringing. Suddenly Daryl's face appeared beside Jesus, both equally as worried and that was the last thing you saw before you felt yourself lose consciousness.
-
"Is she going to be okay?" Judith's voice asked quietly in the background as you slowly started to wake up.
"She just got hit on the head a little too hard, but she'll be okay." You heard Jesus answer.
"So, she has a concussion?"
Jesus chuckled softly, "yeah, that would've been quicker to say. She has a concussion."
"Has she had a concussion before? How bad is it?" Judith asked, worry laced in her tone.
"She has had a few concussions before. She needs to learn to protect her head more while fighting." Jesus answered and, yeah, okay he had a fair point there.
"And you need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Rovia." You grunted, blinking your eyes open and looking around.
You were laying on a couple old cushions on the floor of some storage shed. Jesus and Judith were standing a few metres away, surprised, yet relieved when they realised that you were now awake.
"About time you woke up. How do you feel?" Jesus asked, kneeling down beside you.
You sat up slowly, feeling the familiar ache of a bad headache coming on as you looked over Jesus' shoulder to find the others outside and loading up a car full of supplies.
"I'm fine." You dismissed, standing up as Jesus hovered beside you, as if he was just waiting for you to fall. "Where are we? What happened?"
"We're in the Commonwealth. Carol struck a deal with Pamela Milton. We give her Hornsby so she can pin all the shit her son had done on him, and in exchange our people get a clean slate, and we can just walk away with enough food, water and supplies to rebuild Alexandria and Hilltop."
Okay, what?
You might've been hit on the head a few too many times in the past 24 hours, but that sounded way too good to be true. She was just going to let you guys leave, no strings attached?
"I know. I had my doubts too, but..." Jesus shrugged his shoulders. "Our luck was meant to return sooner or later, right?"
"I guess so."
You followed Jesus and Judith out the small shed, and you held your hand up, blocking the bright sun in the sky as you squinted. The brightness doing nothing but making your headache worse.
"Hey, dude. Thought you could probably use these." Jerry suddenly said, appearing out of nowhere and holding out a pair of sunglasses.
"You're amazing." You sighed, slipping the glasses on with instant relief.
"I know." Jerry smiled before he glanced over at Jesus, "you ready to go?"
Wait, go? Where were they going?
"Jerry, Gabriel, Elijah, Aaron and I are going to take the horse cart and go to Oceanside. Update them on everything that's been happening before we meet up with you guys back at Alexandria." Jesus quickly explained noticing your sudden confusion.
"Oh, that's probably a good idea. You guys leaving now?"
They both nodded, so you hugged them wishing them a safe trip before you followed Judith around the corner where Daryl and a few of the others were loading the cart.
Dog was the first to notice you, barking happily as he ran over and you smiled, leaning down to give him a scratch behind the ears before Daryl walked over. His blue eyes were filled with worry as he looked you up and down, but you just rolled your eyes at him.
"A little head knock won't keep me down, Dixon."
"That wasn't a little head knock 'n we both know it."
"Eh, details. Details. Doesn't matter. I'm awake, and how can I help?" You asked, looking around at the crates already loaded into the car.
"Here. Your weapons are here if ya want 'em." Daryl said, walking over to a makeshift table that had a duffle bag full of weapons on it.
He handed over your weapons belt which you clipped on, double checking everything was secure before you grabbed your sword and sheath, tossing it over your back.
"Here." Daryl said, holding out Rick's old Colt to Judith. "It's yours."
The girl took the weapon, looking down at it sadly. "I don't want it."
"Alright." Daryl nodded, a little surprise with that response as he took the gun back.
"My mum talked about the day she'd hang up her sword for good. Not that we'd be completely safe, but enough to feel like she didn't need it anymore. If I keep that, things go back to how they were. But they should be better."
Judith never ceased to amaze you at how mature and knowledgeable she was. You weren't exactly sure how old she was, but she was definitely smarter than a lot of adults.
"They will be once we get home." Daryl reassured.
"How? It's still broken. And what about everyone else here? Shouldn't we stay and help them? Isn't that what you and Mum and Dad did at Alexandria and Hilltop?" Judith questioned, a little attitude rising in her voice.
"That was different." Daryl answered, but she shook her head.
"It wasn't. The only difference now is that you'd rather run away than stay and fight."
"God damnit. Stop. Just stop." Daryl snapped, looking down at her as she frowned at him, a flash of anger washing over her before she turned her head and walked away.
You watched her march off, clearly unhappy before she wrapped her arm around Gracie's shoulders, holding the other girl and comforting her while she waved goodbye to her father in the horse carriage.
Jesus and the guys all shouted goodbye, and you gave them a soldier salute as they left before turning to Daryl.
"All the stories you've told me about Rick over the years, I can see a lot of him in that little girl." You commented, grabbing Daryl's hand and resting your head on his shoulder.
"Mmm. Too much sometimes." Daryl sighed, wrapping his arm around your waist, holding you against him. "We're almost done here. Just gotta pack up our things from the apartment 'n we're good to go."
The word apartment sounded foreign to your ears. Hell, everything about the Commonwealth just reminded you so much of the old world. You always hated your old life, and you always hated being cooped up in any of the communities and Commonwealth was no different.
"The sooner we're out of here, the better."
Daryl hummed in agreement.
-
The kids wanted to say goodbye to their friends before they left, so now you were stuck walking around the main street with Daryl amongst the huge crowd of people that were celebrating the Commonwealths Founders Day.
Judith had run off with one of her friends, so you walked around with Daryl and RJ before you spotted Ezekiel across the street. He was standing by what looked to be a small petting zoo, so you told Daryl you'd meet up with him later and made your way over to him.
The last time you saw Ezekiel was... well, it was back when Alpha and the Whisperers were attacking. One of the last conversations the two of you had was him telling you that he had cancer...
"Zeke!"
Ezekiel spun around so fast, you feared he might have given himself whiplash, but instead, his eyes just widened when he saw you walking towards him.
"Y/N!" He rushed forward before wrapping you up in a tight hug and you hugged him back just as tightly. "I have missed you, my dear."
"It's so good to see you." You sighed, pulling away from him, but his eyes were instantly looking around your face, taking in the damage. "I'm fine. You should see the other guy."
"The other guy dead?"
You nodded, "obviously."
He grinned before he motioned for you to follow him as he made his way back over to the petting zoo. A few goats and sheep were inside the pen where young kids were happily patting and feeding them.
"How-how are you? The last time we saw each other..." You trailed off, not wanting to say it.
"You mean this?" He asked, pulling down the collar of his shirt where the cancerous lump had been, but there was nothing there.
Holy shit. Did that mean...?
"The doctors here are great." Was all he said, a giant smile spreading across his face, and you felt tears of joy threatening to spill from your eyes.
"Oh my God." You gasped, wrapping your arms around his neck, hugging him again as the silent tears fell down your cheeks at the sheer relief flooding through you. "Thank God. Thank God."
Ezekiel chuckled softly, patting your back before you eventually let go and wiped the tears from your eyes with the back of your hand.
"Are you nearly ready to leave? We got the car full of supplies out back and..." You began to say, but paused when you noticed the sudden shift in your best friend's expression. "Wait, are you not coming with us?"
"I can't." He replied, smiling sadly at you.
"What? Why? Wait, if it's about any treatment that you're on, we'll make sure we have enough medicine-"
"It's not that. My place is here." He simply answered, extending his arms out as he looked around the community. "I feel... I feel like I'm making a difference here. I'm helping people. I haven't felt like this since the Kingdom. I missed it."
You looked down at the ground sadly, "but I'll miss you if you stay."
You knew you were pouting and sounding pathetic, but it was true. Ezekiel and Jesus were the first real friends you had ever had. They were your best friends and nearly losing Jesus to the Whisperers and then nearly losing Zeke to cancer... you couldn't bear to lose either of them for good.
"And I shall miss you too. But this place... the Kingdom... you... gave me a second chance to do a whole lot more. So, that's what I'm going to do. I have to."
You lifted your head, those once happy tears now sad and Ezekial's expression softened when he saw them.
"I sometimes hate that you're a good guy, you know that?" You sniffed, wiping the tears from your face once again. "Like really hate it."
Zeke smiled at your words before one of the goats in the pen beside you trotted over and began trying to chew the pocket of your jeans. You jumped backward with a yelp, not expecting it before you glanced over at Zeke and the two of you began laughing as you walked back over and gently patted the animal.
You both heard the shitshow of Sebastian Milton's speech over the microphone while you played with the goats. The whole secret recording of him spilling the beans on the truth about Commonwealth was rather entertaining if you were being honest, but it was overshadowed by the sudden threat of walkers that were now in the streets.
How the walkers got through the reinforced, guarded, ten-foot walls of the Commonwealth was a question you wanted answered, but now was not the time for it.
Nabila suddenly rushed around the corner, her youngest children in her arms while the older ones clung to their mothers' clothes, standing by her feet.
"What do we do? There's walkers everywhere." She said in sudden panic, one of the babies in her arms crying loudly, drawing unwanted attention as a walker staggered around the corner towards you.
The crowd of civilians had scattered and diverted, everyone yelling and screaming, but of course, this walker decided to zero in on the baby crying instead of the other people.
You reached behind and drew your sword from your back, holding it in front of you as the walker got closer.
"Zeke, get her and the kids to safety. I got this." You ordered, glancing over your shoulder at him.
"Come with us." He said, picking up two of the kids.
"I can't. I have to find Daryl."
"Y/N-"
"I'll be fine. Just go!"
Zeke screwed his face up in frustration but knew that he couldn't convince you. You were stubborn like that. To your relief, he turned away, ushing Jerrys wife and kids back to the safety of the buildings before you focused back on the walker.
The grip of your sword felt nice in your hands. It felt comfortable. It felt natural as you swung the blade, cutting the walkers head clean off before you moved onto the next one. Taking them out one by one.
It didn't take long before the last walker was dead. The main street of the Commonwealth looking like a bloodied massacre.
Dead bodies of the walkers and civilians littered the ground, but there was one dead body in particular that the surviving civilians seemed to be focused on.
Daryl and Judith were standing in front of it as you made your way over to them. Judith now had her father's Colt in her hand, and you smiled proudly at her, but froze when you saw whose dead body it was on the ground.
Sebastian Milton. The Governors son.
"We need to find Eugene. Now." Daryl whispered quietly to you.
You frowned in confusion, "Eugene, why?"
"'cause he threw the walker at Sebastian 'n all these people saw."
Oh, shit. If that piece of information got back to Pamela, Eugene was dead.
-
You managed to find Eugene before the Commonwealths soldiers did, but you had no idea where to hide him, so you took him to the church where Gabriel was.
Within an hour, word had spread about Eugene. Anyone from Alexandria, Hilltop or any known associates of Eugene were being taken in for questioning. Pamela wasn't messing around and you had no idea how you were meant to sneak him out of the community when all the guards were on high alert.
"State your full name." Mercer ordered from across the interrogation table.
"Y/N Y/L/N."
He nodded, writing it down on his notepad, "why do my people not have any information on you?"
"I already told you. We've been over this like a thousand times." You groaned, rubbing your face with your hands. "I'm with Daryl Dixon. I got hurt out there, so he bought me back. We were all packing up and getting ready to leave and then all this shit happened."
Mercer just stared at you, so you stared right back at him. If Daryl hadn't told you that Mercer was a good man, you would have been scared. Okay, maybe you were still a little scared because this man was intimidating as fuck, and definitely good at his job. But you were even better at faking it.
So, you folded your arms across your chest and leant back in the chair, showing that you were bored of these repetitive questions, despite how worried you were on the inside.
"What is your relationship to Mr. Daryl Dixon?"
"Uh... I'm his partner." You eventually answered.
"Why did you hesitate?"
"Why are you asking me about Daryl? isn't this meant to be about Eugene or something?" You snapped.
"Where were you when the rotters got in?" He asked instead.
Fucking finally, a new question that wasn't about your personal life.
"I was at the petting zoo."
"Who saw you at the petting zoo?"
"Ezekiel. And then Nabila and her kids for a short while." You answered easily.
"Then what happened?" He asked, putting the notebook down, giving you his full attention.
"Then I started killing the walkers and saving your people. So, your welcome."
"When was the last time you saw Eugene?" He asked, ignoring your sarcasm completely.
You thought about the question for a moment because other than the hurried few minutes with Daryl when you grabbed Eugene and shoved him inside the church and told him to lay low, you honestly hadn't seen him since... well since before the war with the Whisperers. God, that felt like a lifetime ago.
"Last time I saw him was before he left Hilltop in search of your sister." You answered, grinning slightly when a surprised look flashed across Mercers face. He clearly didn't expect you to know much about this place and seemed a little taken back. "Yeah, I know things. Look, Daryl vouched for you and said you were good, so prove it and let me out of here."
Mercer stared at you for a few seconds before he sighed, "when you see Eugene, because we both know you will. Tell him to hand himself in. It will go a long way towards helping everyone involved if he does. But, if he or you and your people make this harder than it has to be, no one goes anywhere, and things only get worse for all of you. Understand?"
Yeah, like hell you were telling Eugene to turn himself in. He would get hung for that in this stupid community.
"Understood. Can I go?" You asked, motioning towards the door, and Mercer nodded.
-
Your lies to Mercer didn't matter though, because in the end Eugene handed himself into police custody, and it was all over.
"Are we going to Alexandria or Hilltop?" RJ asked, handing you his Spider-Man backpack to sling into the back of the wagon.
"Alexandria. We're meetin' the others there." Daryl answered, securing the strap on his motorcycle.
"I am looking forward to getting out of this damn town." A new voice said.
You glanced over your shoulder to find a few of the others walking over with their bags over their backs. The woman next to Rosita was someone you hadn't met before, was that Princess?
"Hi, I'm Y/N, and you must be, Princess?" You guessed, holding your hand out towards her.
Princess' annoyed expression vanished instantly as she looked you up and down before a giant grin spread across her face.
"I am! Juanita Sanchez, but I guess as you know, everyone calls me Princess. Oh, man. I have heard so many stories about you from Ezekiel and Eugene. You're a total freaking badass, dude!"
Her excitement and loudness was something that you didn't expect, but you liked it. You liked her.
You never had a chance to respond to her though, because suddenly a man dressed in black grabbed her from behind, holding a cloth over her mouth and nose.
"Prin-" You began to shout, reaching for your gun on your hip, but then something was covering your own mouth and nose, the strong scent of chemicals overwhelming before everything faded into darkness.