Yes, and they will run you down, down 'til you fall.

[ringleadering]

who: team family! what: right after the season 7 finale aftermath. where: Alexandria. [ Unease rolled through Rick, setting all his nerves on edge and heightened his need to do something. Anything. But for the moment, he knew they needed to heal and regroup, taking it easy to plan the next course of action. They were gearing up for war and Rick knew better than to ever underestimate an enemy ever again or a possible alliance. The sting from Jadis only added to the fire burning in his veins and the resolute determination to bring all the saviors down to their knees. Those he left alive anyway because he wanted Negan's head and everyone else close to his base of daily operations. They all needed to burn and pay for their crimes. Pushing the troubling ponderings aside for the time being, Rick moved into the room where Michonne and the other injured were. He just finished rallying the troops with Maggie and left her to finish inspiring them and starting a training schedule. They needed more weapons and there were just too many unknown variables. Running a hand over his face, Rick sat down on the chair next to Michonne's bed, reaching for her hand to messily press his lips against her palm, nearly willing her with all he had to wake up. Rationally, he knew she would be okay but his mind had become a chaotic uprising of tumbling emotions and thoughts. He needed her to make sense of it all again. To soothe the inner storms into a calmer peace. ] I thought - I tried to fool myself into believin' we could make it without each other. We could keep goin', doin' what needed to be done. But I can't. I need you, Michonne. Everybody needs ya. I know you gotta rest but if you could just open your eyes a little bit and talk to me a couple minutes, I'd appreciate it. [ He hadn't even gotten his hip looked at yet. Far too concerned with everyone else. ]

Comments

[boonie]

[For a guy that almost watched his kid die, he's got a good head on his shoulders. Daryl doesn't even want to consider what might have happened if Ezekiel hadn't made it down when he did. Seeing all this renewed vigor in the guy is enough to slap a smile on his face, it ain't much, and it only lasts for a second but it's there all the same. People were gonna have to believe in him if they were gonna pull this off.]

I know that much, but you've got a lot of people who've got more fear for Negan than drive for retribution. Not everybody's like... us.

[Most people weren't built for the fight like their group. The lucky folk who haven't lost people to other people or managed to make it out of Terminus or walk away from The Governor. Most people hadn't wound up parked at the goddamn CDC. They'd lived enough for everyone involved.]

'Course I wanna take the mother fucker out, but Eugene being on their side- scared or not, makes him their first hostage in a crisis situation.

[Living life day to day on dog food and torture, witnessing things from the fence line, Negan didn't play. Everyone got a similar deal but when the chips were down all bets were off. Negan only cared about himself long-term. That they could damn well count on.]

I ain't alright and I sure as shit don't trust him, but I think he's stepped away from the crusade.

[His old lady, probably dead now, but losing someone that close to you- the only person you really had, it did things to a man. They'd all seen it, lived it, first hand. Dwight wasn't a threat anymore because when push came to shove Daryl honestly didn't think he had much will to live. That didn't mean that he wouldn't kick his fucking teeth in for what he was responsible for. Some shit you just didn't come back from. It'd take a lot more than carvings and compromises for him to really be on his side.]

That kid's tougher than you, me, and Carol put together. He's gonna outlive all of us.

[No guarantee on that, but Daryl could dream. Apocalypse or not, the children were still the future. If any of them wanted to survive long term they'd do well to remember that.]

You already know I'm on board. [Daryl casts an investigative look at Carol and Michonne. Rick was old school, chivalrous, and the little things mattered to him. More integrity than any man he'd ever met.] They're not gonna want bit parts.

[ringleadering]

[ While Rick still felt rattled to his bone, he refused to allow for it to show, his training for the force allowing for him to appear calmer and more in charge. Things he needed to be for others to fall in line and believe in the cause they were setting forth. So many groups were disgruntled but they needed to give them the will to fight, which meant having a strong, tough as nails leader. Rick felt less tough as nails than in the past but he knew how to impose an image. He knew how to appear what others needed to see and take in. All marks of a very skilled Sheriff's Deputy. ]

We just got to show him he's one man. If we get some of his Savior's against 'im, it'll really help. They fear more his image and what he's put out there but once that starts crumblin'. Once they start seein' him as just a man. [ Rick shook his head, reminded briefly of the past. ] Same thing happened with the Governor. Men like that always fail. They don't have real connections with anybody. [ The ones Negan surrounded himself with would turn on him the second they smelled blood in the water. ]

We got to find a way to get him out of there. We're gonna need him for what's comin'. He can make bullets Rosita said. He's one of us. We aren't gonna leave him with those people. [ The amount of people he felt responsible for and attached to would only lead to more heartache. But he couldn't move past it or stop it all the same. ]

[ He nodded, reaching out to squeeze Daryl's shoulder. ] We'll talk more 'bout it later, alright? After all this is over, you can do whatever you want with him. For now, we need 'im. He might be able to get us numbers.

Wish he didn't have to be. [ His heart clenched in his chest at the mere thought of Carl but he had the means to survive in their new world. Carl knew what needed to be done and Rick didn't worry about him being able to keep moving forward but the mental state concerned him far more. ] But after all this fightin' things will be better.

[ Following Daryl's gaze, Rick nodded his head, resolute. ] I know. I've got other things in mind for them. We've got to work fast and efficiently. We are lackin' numbers and weapons. We've got to find a way to make up for it. [ He let out a slow breath. ] We've got to do whatever it takes. Even if it's not what we like.

[boonie]

[Rick's not wrong, Negan is just a man, and the only thing that makes him a threat is the numbers underneath him. Infect one person with a conscience and the rest were sure to follow. He might not trust Dwight, but right now he was the best asset they had. It doesn't keep him from casting a long look in Rick's direction, because no matter what they were bound to lose people, and not everyone was willing to put their life on the line. Eugene wasn't exactly easy to reach right now and Rosita was still running around with a death wish.]

I don't think you'll have a problem with The Kingdom. [It's Hilltop he's worried about, and their down on his knees bitch of a leader, Jesus might be on their side but most of their people weren't what anyone'd consider fighters. Kingdom had all the right resources, but by comparison, Hilltop was impoverished, and they still didn't have a doctor.]

Someone should canvas down by that ocean tribe. We lost Heath, probably- but I have a feelin' The Saviors know where they're hiding. Now they're not armed, but they're still able bodies.

[Daryl played at an every man for himself attitude, but old habits died hard. He wasn't about to leave a bunch of women like sitting ducks. Especially when they're responsible for not having a way to defend themselves.]

I know it ain't exactly a priority, but somethin' to think about. We still have to put the dead to rest. [They lost some people, just to the fighting between the Saviors and the rest on Alexandria grounds.] and Sasha. [Who wasn't dead so much as gone to him. She made her choice, but she was still family.]

[ringleadering]

[ More than anything else, they needed to ruin the mystery surrounding Negan and wreck the belief he could make anything come to pass. He had far more numbers than Rick would have liked but he knew a majority of them were probably sour over their lot. From what Carl had said, people looked miserable and the first chance they had they would revolt. They just needed to know they could and someone else would take them in and treat them better.

Being a tyrant sure gave power but it also allowed room for uprisings and take overs. They needed to count on it. ]

The Kingdom has been training people for awhile. Morgan said most of 'em can handle their own even the younger ones. It's Hilltop I'm more concerned 'bout. We might have to deal with Gregory. He's too much of a loose canon for what we need goin' forward.

[ He didn't like the train of thought but some things were a necessary evil and he knew he often had to be the one to carry out such things.

Oceanside made a fresh wave of guilt pour over him, fittingly enough. He nodded his head, knowing they needed to do some quick thinking and moving there. ]

We can look for Heath and offer the residents of Oceanside to come to one of the three zones - The Kingdom, Alexandria or Hilltop. [ He didn't really want to make Hilltop an option at the moment until they secured it more but he didn't want to risk alienating them either. ]

Trainin' those from Hilltop needs to happen. We don't want them to be the first casualties just because they don't know how to handle a weapon.

[ Sasha. He would never stop seeing her eyes anytime he closed his at night, adding her to mingle in with the rest of the horrors playing throughout his night time hours. Sometimes during the day given how things were going and how tired he felt. He couldn't even remember the last time he slept. ] We'll handle burying the dead first then fix up the walls and the rest of the town. We'll need to go on runs and stock up before the Saviors block our ways from gettin' round to try and make us desperate to go back under their thumb.