Eugene led their way. His job was to cushion the initial impact. It did not matter that he went rogue or that he was on the other side of the fence than usual. The instinct of the opposing group was not to shoot him. Not while Rick was still in charge. There was always that part hidden deep inside hoping and believing a person just couldn't change so much to be unrecognizable and in fact was still the same underneath. The circumstances did unspeakable things to people.

Circumstance was what also brought Sally to where she was at that moment. Her status was very similar to Eugene's. Negan didn't believe they would shoot her on sight, but Sally went way over the line, only because she did not grasp the concept of lines and their crossing.

In any case, the leading Savior was not willing to risk anything. Sally waited for their moment, out of the plain sight in the truck next to him. She had curled in a ball, holding her folded legs tight to her chest, her forehead rested on her knees in attempt not to get sick even after they stopped in front of the gates of Alexandria.

"They're ready to send us packing, sir," Simon, the driver, said.

"I don't know anything about that," Negan grinned.

"They can try," Sally sitting in between them in the truck suddenly picked up her head looking straight ahead and then at Negan.

His arm was outstretched on the back of her seat, so he moved it just a little and rested it around her shoulders. There was not a cell in Sally's body that would not be drawn to him so she slid over to him and he pulled her straight into his arms.

She let him restrain her for a moment. Their leather jackets grinded together as she was brought to him. She pulled his head down and caressed his face with hers.

"Daryl will be on the other side of that fence," she whispered near his ear. "You know that, right?"

"I'm a little bit hurt you're thinking of him while I'm touching you so yeah, I'm counting on that, now." Negan was only taunting her, because it was impossible to separate their minds from the happening outside of the truck. Killing Eugene right on the spot would be cutting over their budget but that hadn't happened just yet.

Negan proved once again, he had a soft spot for Rick and he mercilessly gave him one more chance to give up peacefully, without the use of force. Eugene was supposed to mediate their submission. But the messenger was the one taking the hit, always. And all it took to persuade the other group to do so were two simple words 'I'm Negan' that just left Eugene's mouth.

Rick couldn't back off and decided to sacrifice one life for the sake of Alexandria. He signaled to Rosita allowing her to activate the explosives that were supposed to blow Saviors up. Given her history with Eugene, it was not easy for her to do, but he was Negan, he was gone. She closed her eyes expecting the pressure wave and pushed the button but...

Nothing happened.

The truck containing the load that was supposed to blast Saviors off the face of the Earth stood untouched. The only thing the button seemed to do was turn the world against Alexandrians. The Scavengers turned their weapons against them, taking Negan's side and the villain himself finally made an appearance, ready to take over.

Sally waited for him to get out of the truck. He helped her down but her place was not by his side at the time. She let go of his helping hand and all she wanted was to exchange it for another one to hold for support. Rick had the firepower and people, and even though they were not on his side for much longer, this time, Sally was terrified. She almost lost Negan one too many times and their late arrival made her uneasy.

So there she stood in between Dwight and Simon feeling paralyzed, Negan's unrefined language was leaving her unaffected.

Sally hovered over Negan's back, watching for any potential danger coming his way. Her eyes were roaming all around the place, securing the scene, trying to determine in which direction the threat was lurking. She could feel it in her gut, but never saw it actually coming.

On the other side of the fence, Rick had that face on again, going head against the wall whatever the cost. Daryl could just kill them all with that death stare. And Rosita had just about enough of it all. She was a time bomb but that was about it. All of them stood at the gunpoint of the Scavengers.

Sally shivered as Simon and Dwight moved to put the coffin with Sasha inside on display. Negan on his way to the trailer it was on noticed how tense Sally was and passed her so close they briefly touched. If she knew what was coming next, she would grip him tight and never let him go, but Negan went on with their plan.

"So you don't like Eugene anymore. Hell, not even Sally." He acted like he was embarrassed for them. "You guys gotta like Sasha!" He tapped the coffin with Lucille.

And then the scolding took place, demands were put into words and the punishment was right on schedule after that. But that was only white noise for Sally. Mentioning Sasha made more Alexandrians rise above the fence to quench their curiosity. One of them being Carl was what preoccupied all Sally's attention.

She still couldn't quite figure out what was that emotion taking over his face when he looked at her. It was not pure hate, he wasn't disappointed. In the past, they could channel each other so easily and that was the piece Sally was missing... Carl couldn't let go of that childish naivety, of the innocence that knew Sally on the right side of the tracks. He just failed gripping the concept of Sally being the bad one... They let her hold his hand after he was shot and in recovery, she was taking care of him. She was raising him! He looked up to her and it wouldn't just stop.

Serene memories blindfolded Sally for a brief moment but violence yanked her back into reality. Carl really took after Sally and started rebelling the first chance he got, shooting the enemy on their front.

All Sally could see was Negan falling of the trailer, attacked, right before Arat dragged her down behind big wheels of the truck that was standing before them. Sally was crazy enough to jump out of the hiding to go and help Negan but Arat held her down, away from the gunfire.

"Negan!" Sally tried to get back to her feet but she soon saw Arat was not letting her go. She looked around trying to find anybody who was able to help. And so she did. The guy who always seemed to be wearing a beanie, the same one she met in the basement in Hilltop was taking cover by her right side.

"Help Negan!" She shouted at him and he immediately executed her orders and unknowingly himself.

Sally peeked under the truck and almost crawled forward, only if Arat hadn't held her in death grip.

"They'll get him! They'll bring him!" She reassured Sally, making her hold her position.

Sally checked under the truck again and found only Sasha chewing on a face of a man, all that was left to recognize him by was a beanie.

Sally turned back and finally spotted Negan, potentially safe. At least he was sheltered. He crouched next to her, keeping his head down, Simon followed, Arat had them covered.

The plan they had was great, it worked, up until the point it didn't and all it took was one unexpected walker. New-turned Sasha was helping her group even after her death. Sally then saw what Negan did before, she was a valuable asset for Rick. And all he seemed to do was piss Negan off and he was still far from done with that.

"Plan B it is!" Negan shouted.

Sally gripped his leather jacket, not concerned with how angry he was. "Are you alright? She turned!"

Negan's temper instantly cooled down. "Not a scratch, love. Good as new. Come on, now," he helped her up. "We're ending this shit!"