PHILIP BLAKE GATHERED his people within the forest and spoke to them. He understood that many of them would question the reason for the upcoming mission and wanted to reassure them that what they were about to do was right.

"I have to talk all of you into doing something. Something I know we need to do. And I don't know how to talk about it."

Tara Chambler, sister of his current partner Lilly and aunt to Meghan, spoke up in front of the line of people.

"What do you want us to do?"

"I want you to survive. We're not gonna last here. The biters, there'll be a herd of them. They'll fill the pits, they'll crawl over one another. There'll be enough to tear right through our camp. Or it'll be people. There's nothing between us and the rest of the world. Nothing between us and them. We stay here, we die."

After a beat, the Governor continued. "The people who destroyed the camp I was in with Martinez...they live in a prison. It's north of Highway 34. They got walls...fences, plots of land for farming. We could live there. If we're willing to take it from 'em. Inside...they even have a kid of mine. Took them from me. I'm looking to reunite with them finally."

"So they have your baby?" One person asked.

"I guess they were kind enough to not destroy that part of me too." He said with a little venom in his voice. "I have a plan to do this without anyone getting hurt. I captured two of them."

"What?" Tara asked.

"I was scouting the prison and our paths crossed, so I took 'em."

"You took them?"

"They're the key." He shot back. "They're gonna help us take that prison without firing a shot. We can have it and we don't need to kill anyone."

Philip took another beat. He looked at the rest of his militia. "But...we need to be prepared to."

The man continued. "The people in this prison, not all of them are bad. But most of them are thieves, murderers. Now why should people like that have peace of mind when we're burying our own just about every day? These people, they mutilated me...burned my camp...killed my daughter...stole what was going to be the light of my life." He looked at Tara for a moment. "Now you saw me—I tried. I tried to die. 'Cause I didn't want to accept that you couldn't live in this world without getting blood on your hands. I found you people, and I don't want to die. I don't want you to die."

They all stayed quiet as they listened to their leader. He kept going.

"Now we need to move—now. They're gonna realize their people are gone and they're gonna start getting ready for whatever's next. We need to surprise them. Scare them. And we will win."

He looked at each of them. Nobody spoke up and it was Tara who did so first.

"I'm in."

A man chimed in. "Me, too."

There was then a collective agreement with everyone. Philip was content with what he had.

"Pack up and get ready. We'll go over the plan in half an hour."

The Governor entered the RV where he held his prisoners, Michonne and Hershel. He grabbed the old man and sat him down in the seat beside the woman. Philip picked up a snack and handed it to them.

"You should eat. It's gonna be a long day. Nobody is gonna hurt you."

"I don't believe that." Hershel replied.

Philip sat down and started putting away the first aid kid he used on Michonne for the gash on her head, which was caused by him earlier.

"Well, I don't care." He shot back.

"Just tell us what this is. Please."

"It isn't personal."

"Then what is it?"

"You know...when Y/N killed Penny, my daughter...she was dead. I know that now. But that was then, I don't want to hurt anyone. I need the prison, that's it. There are people I need to keep alive. You two are gonna help me take it. No one needs to die."

"I'm gonna kill you." Michonne suddenly said. "If not, Y/N will and he ain't gonna be as kind as me."

"No, none of you will." Philip replied, not even giving her a look.

"I'm gonna take my—"

Hershel stopped Michonne. "Stop it." The old man then looked at Philip. "You want the prison?"

"Yeah. And I'll take it as peacefully as I can."

"Governor—"

"Don't call me that." He said with a scoff.

Hershel nodded. "Your people, our people, we can find a way to live together. These people you need to keep alive, do you love them?"

"You're a good man, Hershel." Philip breathed out. "A better man than Rick."

"Everything you've said, the way you've said it, you've changed. So has Rick. And Y/N...he's a father now, there isn't a benefit for him to have such bloodlust anymore."

Michonne looked at Hershel. The old man was oblivious to the fact that the runs Y/N and Michonne went on constantly were to look for and kill the Governor. The bloodlust was always there despite the birth of AJ. She decided to stay quiet.

"The three of us..." Philip began, mentioning Rick and Y/N. "We'll never be able to live together. Michonne and I, we'll never be able to live together. Liliana...for what I did, regretfully, we won't be able to either."

"We'll find a way—"

"I found a way!" Philip exclaimed, then lowered his voice after the fact. "I'm trying hard. There's all kinds of ways I can do this. This way, you get to live and I get to be..."

The Governor trailed off and didn't finish his statement. He got up from the seat and made his way toward the door.

"You say you want to take this prison as peacefully as possible." Hershel began. "That means you'd be willing to hurt people to get it. My daughters would be there. That's who you'd be hurting. If you understand what it's like to have a daughter, then how can you threaten to kill someone else's?"

Philip glared at Hershel, taking a moment before laying out the truth to the old man.

"Because they aren't mine."

He soon exited the RV, leaving Hershel and Michonne inside.

Glenn and Maggie were in their cell. The man was laying down on the bed, still rather weak as he was recovering from the bad flu he had. They were talking about possibly going on a vacation and their anniversary when they suddenly heard a knock on the bars.

"Heya." Y/N greeted. "Hope I'm not intruding...just wanted to see if Glenn was all right."

"You aren't." Maggie reassured, sitting on the bed Glenn was on. "It's fine."

Y/N nodded with a smile. He looked at Glenn who gazed back at him.

"I'm doing good." He said. "I should be 100% in a couple of days. Okay...maybe not 100%. Probably ninety. Eighty-five?"

"Hey, eighty-five is all I need to have my buddy back for the supply runs." Y/N said with a chuckle. "Take any longer...Ramon might have to take your place there and on the council."

Glenn weakly laughed. "Yeah...he wishes."

Y/N looked at Maggie. "Hey, I overheard you talking about Amicalola Falls?"

"Yeah, we were thinking of possibly going there for our anniversary...whenever it is." Maggie replied.

"It's nice there. I visited it during the all-star break last year. A couple of teammates and I. I bet it still looks amazing."

Maggie looked down at Glenn and smiled.

"You should start planning something too. With Lili. Maybe even take AJ." She said.

"Family road trip at this time?" Y/N chuckled. "I don't know...I dreaded that possibility in my college days and it's even scarier now."

The two of them laughed. He gave them a nod and decided to leave the couple alone.

"Feel better, man." He told Glenn and then bid farewell.

He went down the walkway and saw Rick and Daryl on the other end in a heated discussion about something. Curiosity got the best of him and he went up to ask what was going on.

"Carol's gone. Rick banished her." Daryl spat.

"What?" Y/N questioned.

Rick shook his head. "It was her. She killed Karen and David."

"Shit..."

"She'll be fine. She has food, water, weapons, she's a survivor."

"Stop saying that like you don't believe it!" Daryl interjected.

Daryl paced and leaned against the railing. He thought of Lizzie and Mika and how Carol was close to them.

"What are we gonna tell those two girls?"

Y/N put his hands on his waist. "I—I'll tell them. She was an aunt figure of sorts...it's—it's gonna sting."

Rick looked down and took a breath. "I haven't told Tyreese yet. I don't know how he's gonna take it."

Daryl got off the railing and looked at Rick. "Let's go find out."

"You two do that." Y/N told the two as they walked away. "I already seen him pissed off enough and I love my face."

Daryl flipped him off as he and Rick walked down the stairs. Y/N chuckled, going downstairs as well. His plan as of now was to find Lizzie and Mika to inform them of Carol's departure.

Y/N walked out of the cell block and went into the administrative building where he knew they would be. In one of the conference rooms, he saw the two girls among the rest that were staying there. Mika was the first to notice him come in.

"Y/N!" She greeted him.

He smiled and went up to them. "You two doing all right?"

Mika nodded. Y/N turned to Lizzie and asked if she was feeling better.

"I am. Hershel's tea seemed to work."

"That's good."

"Can we see AJ?" The nine-year-old asked.

"Not right now. I think he's asleep along with Judith."

"Awww."

"When is Carol coming?" Lizzie asked. "She said she'd be here later."

Y/N let out a sigh and put his hands on the sides of his waist.

"Uh...there's something—"

BOOM!

Everyone heard the explosion from outside and the building shook. Y/N looked around as the girls got close to him out of fear. He wondered what it was...

Y/N had run outside and joined several people in the courtyard. This included Rick, Daryl, Tyreese, Maggie, Beth, Sasha, Bob, Carl, Liliana, Ramon, and Erica.

"Get back!" Rick exclaimed at a couple of prison dwellers who were outside. They listened and ran out of the area. The group stood by the fence and looked out, seeing several cars on the field outside the prison...along with a tank.

"Rick!" A familiar voice called out from the top of the tank. "Come down here. We need to talk."

Immediately, they knew who it was. Y/N glared as he caught eye of the one-eyed man.

"Governor..." He muttered.

"It's not up to me!" Rick shouted back. "There's a council now! They run this place!"

"Is Hershel on the council?"

A woman took the old man out of a car and put him in front of the tank. Maggie and Beth were all mortified.

"What about Michonne? She on the council, too?"

A man brought out Michonne as well and put her beside Hershel. Rick shook his head and continued to shout.

"I don't make decisions anymore!"

"You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here and let's have that talk."

There was silence. Rick looked at Daryl and gave him a nod. He looked back at Carl too and held his head.

"We can do this." Rick faintly said. "All right."

Carl nodded. Rick then opened the gate and walked through. As he neared the gate, Philip looked out at the others and eyed one specific man.

"Before we have our lovely conversation...bring the ball player out here. I want him here, right in front of me with these two folks."

Rick looked back at his people. Y/N and everyone overheard the Governor's request.

"Quickly. Or else I fire upon your home again."

Y/N let out a breath through his nose. He feared that if he didn't comply, he'd kill Hershel and Michonne or fire at the prison...likely the administrative building where the children were.

"I'm coming out!" Y/N shouted.

Liliana along with the rest was perplexed by his willingness to go.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She asked.

"I gotta." He simply said as he started taking off his belt and holster.

"No, you don—"

"It's me he wants, let me go out there."

Liliana didn't respond and kept looking at him. Y/N continued.

"He's not gonna talk to Rick unless I do. Can't have him hurt anyone else."

She finally relented, kissing him and he handed the belt to her. He made his way toward the gate and Ramon was there.

"Are you sure about this?" He faintly asked.

He nodded. "I got a knife in my boot in case shit goes down."

Ramon was content with that reassurance. He opened the gate for him and Y/N walked to the entrance of the prison. He operated the pulley system and went outside, meeting a soldier who had him at gunpoint.

"Move." He demanded.

With his hands up, Y/N walked to where Hershel and Michonne were. Philip smirked from the top of the tank as he looked at Y/N.

"Hey, slugger. Life doing all right for you?"

Y/N didn't respond and simply glared. Philip continued.

"How's my little one doing?"

The young man still stared daggers at him. Finally, Philip ordered the soldier to put Y/N on his knees beside the other hostages, getting in the middle between Michonne and Hershel.

"Just know..." The Governor spoke to Y/N. "All this leads back to you."

Back in the courtyard, Daryl looked out and counted every soldier in Philip's militia. He walked back and spoke to some of the group.

"We can't take 'em all on. We'll go through the admin building, through the woods like we planned."

"That a good idea?" Erica asked.

"Best one we got." Ramon replied. "We don't have the numbers anymore."

"When's the last time someone checked the stash on the bus?" Daryl asked.

"Day before we hit the Big Spot." Sasha answered. "We were running low on rations then. We're lower now."

"Yeah, we'll manage." He replied. "Things go south, everyone heads for that bus. Let everybody know."

"What if everybody doesn't know when things go bad?" Tyreese asked. "How long do we wait?"

"As long as we can." Daryl said before walking away.

In the yard, Rick went up to the fences. He saw the Philip's soldiers and his friends on their knees in front of the tank.

"Let 'em go right now." He pleaded. "I'll stay down here. Talk as long as you want. But you let 'em go. You got a tank. You don't need hostages."

"I do." The Governor quickly shot back and then looked at the tank. "This is just to show you I'm serious. You and your people, you have till sundown to get out of here or they die."

"It doesn't have to go down this way."

"I got more people, more firepower. We need this prison."

Rick stood quiet. Philip shrugged and continued.

"There it is. It's not about the past. It's about right now."

"There are children here. Some of them are sick." Rick said. "They won't survive."

Philip looked down and then at some of his soldiers. They didn't react. One that he didn't see that actually did was Tara.

"I have a tank." Philip exclaimed. "And I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about?"

Rick swallowed and looked down. Back at the courtyard, Daryl was rolling out crates containing weapons and discreetly handing them to the people at the fence.

"I could shoot you all." The Governor said. "You'd all shoot back. I know that. But we'll win and you'll be dead. All of you. Doesn't have to be like that. Like I said, it's your choice."

They heard snarls of walkers nearby. Two of them were nearing the fence. Philip took out his pistol and shot them both down.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Philip holstered his weapon and spoke to Rick.

"Noise will only draw more of them over. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get out of here."

Rick was unresponsive, still deliberating the next words he was going to rebuttal with. Philip took his silence and continued.

"You got maybe about an hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing."

The former officer looked at Hershel, who looked back at him. Rick lowered his head and muttered to himself.

"The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here." Philip said again.

After thinking for a moment, Rick finally spoke up.

"We can all—we can all live together. There's enough room for all of us."

Y/N heard what he said, taking it in and looking down at the grass.

"More than enough." Philip replied. "But I don't think my family will sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof."

"We'd live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other till we're all ready."

"It could work." Hershel chimed in and spoke to Philip. "You know it could."

"It could've. But it can't. Not after Woodbury. Not after Andrea."

"Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice."

"We don't. You do."

"We're not leaving." Rick said firmly.

Philip seethed his teeth at the man's response. Rick continued to explain.

"You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless. Now, we can call live in the prison or none of us can."

Philip didn't like how this was going. He quickly hopped off the tank and motioned for one of his soldiers to hand him Michonne's sword.

"We'll fix the damn fences." He muttered as he went up beside the knelt Hershel, holding the blade to his neck.

Y/N turned his head slowly and saw how close the sword was to the old man's skin. He gritted his teeth in anger. Back in the courtyard, Maggie and Beth sobbed at the sight of their father beneath the weapon.

Rick knew how serious the Governor could be. He darted his eyes around at all the soldiers until he laid his eyes on Tara. He could tell she was hesitant about the whole thing.

"You. You in the ponytails." He called out. "Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?"

"What we want is what you got." A soldier replied. "Period. Time for you to leave, asshole."

"Look, I fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates...you're one of us."

Some of the soldiers glanced at each other after the man's offer. Philip still stared at Rick in anger. Suddenly, Y/N spoke up while on his knees.

"He's right. Our conflict...our conflict is over. What's done is done. We can't—we can't dwell on the past. You have to think of the now and the future. A future...a future that involves you and your people."

Hershel smiled at the young man's words, as it mirrored what the old man told him several months ago when he first joined the prison group. It seemed that Y/N was willing to give up his vendetta toward Philip in order to make sure his family and home were safe.

After Y/N's statement, Rick continued to speak to Philip and all of the soldiers.

"We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know...we all can change."

Hershel kept smiling, feeling very proud of the kind of leader Rick had become. Like Y/N, he was willing to settle their differences so they can avoid casualties and live peacefully.

Philip looked down at the sword he was gripping, slowly moving it away from Hershel's neck. For a moment, the man thought that the offer was one he could accept.

But the more he wallowed in the silence...thoughts started to fill his head.

The attack on Woodbury.

Y/N killing Penny.

Merle's loyalty shift toward Daryl.

Liliana and her baby being behind the walls.

Andrea's betrayal.

Rick, Y/N, and the rest of them were the main reasons everything he once loved and cared about was gone. Philip looked straight at Rick through the fence and glared.

"Liar."

SVAASH!

The Governor swung the sword down at Hershel's neck, cutting the side of it and almost decapitating him.

Y/N saw it happen in his peripheral vision as did Michonne. From the courtyard, Beth and Maggie cried out in anguish. Everyone else looked on in shock.

Hershel fell to his side, still bleeding out. Rick immediately shouted and pulled out his revolver.

"No!"

BANG!

He hit Philip in the shoulder. Carl from the courtyard fired his rifle at the soldiers too. Several of them fired back and the firefight commenced.

GRATATATA!

BRAKAKAKAKAKA!

BRAKA! BRAKA!

POW! POW!

GRATA!

POW! POW! POW!

GRATATA! GRATA

BANG!

A shot ended up hitting Rick in the thigh. The man let out a yell as he dove behind an overturned prison bus.

The bound Michonne had rolled away and gotten behind some cover. Y/N, who was not tied up, immediately went prone and rolled under the nearby truck. Soldiers didn't notice this and kept firing at the prison.

He laid on his back as he crawled under the truck, seeing the feet of soldiers. To his left, he spotted a horrible sight...Hershel on the ground.

The bound old man was bleeding out and still trying to crawl away. Suddenly, the Governor walked over and grabbed him, where he sliced away at his neck with the sword.

SVAASH! SVAASH! SVAASH!

Y/N immediately looked away. He wish he could act but there was still too many militia around and he had no gun. All he could do was tear up and angrily pound the ground with his fist.

The Governor dropped the blade. He looked up and saw his partner Lilly, but she was holding the body of Meghan. He walked up to her and saw that she was bitten on the neck.

Without a word, he took the girl's body and carried it. Philip then took out his pistol and aimed it at Meghan's head, pulling the trigger.

POW!

Philip didn't even look at distraught Lilly as he laid her daughter's body on the ground. He was emotionless as he walked back to the fighting militia.

"Go through the fence in your cars. Get your guns, we go in." He exclaimed. "Kill them all."

"Roger that!" A soldier replied and then shouted at the others. "Move in!"

They all started going toward the fence. The tank easily drove through it and made it inside the yard. Cars did as well and the militia used them to take cover from gunfire coming from the prison dwellers.

BRAKAKA!

BRAKAKAKAKAKA!

GRATA! GRATA!

POW! POW! POW!

The truck Y/N was under moved as well. He still laid on his stomach as it fully drove away, and he quickly noticed a soldier a mere foot away from him.

The man didn't even get a chance to look down as Y/N unsheathed the knife he had in his boot and slashed his achilles tendon. The soldier yelled out as he fell but was silenced with a stab to the neck.

SULK!

A another soldier was to the side and quickly noticed Y/N on the ground with their dead colleague. He aimed his weapon, but the young man picked up the dead soldier's sidearm and fired at him.

POW! POW!

He hit the man with two shots in the chest. He spun around, seeing another soldier going toward the gate but he still didn't notice him. The young man aimed the gun and shot at him too.

POW! POW! POW!

The soldier dropped dead after the shots to his back. Y/N panted as he stood up. The man gripped his knife with his left hand and held the pistol in his right.

He looked on past the toppled fence at the soldiers and their vehicles in the yard. He glared as he made his way toward the prison.

The prison dwellers shot from the courtyard. Beth and Maggie were side by side as they fired their rifles.

GRATATA!

GRATA! GRATA!

"I'm out of ammo!" The blonde teenager exclaimed.

"Run for the bus." Maggie said. "I'll cover you."

She did as told and ran off with her sister soon following. Tyreese, Sasha, and Bob took cover behind a truck and fired through the fence.

BRAKAKA!

BRAKAKAKAKA!

POW! POW!

Their tank rolled up with the militia beside it. It aimed at one of the buildings and fired.

BOOM!

Debris scattered everywhere. Sasha looked back at the damage and let out a breath.

"Go!" Tyreese shouted at the two. "Get out of here!"

Sasha ran off with Bob. Tyreese stayed behind the truck and shot at the soldiers.

POW! POW!

The tank shot another round, hitting a wall by the garden.

BOOM!

Liliana, Ramon, and Erica were together behind cover, peeking out when they could and shooting at the incoming soldiers.

GRATATATA!

BRAKA! BRAKA!

BRAKAKAKAKA!

Erica took a breath as she loaded the rifle. In the back of her mind, she knew this would be a losing battle.

"We have to get to the bus." She told them.

"You might be right." Ramon breathed out. "But where the fuck is Y/N?"

"I don't know."

Liliana wasn't saying anything and just fired at the militia about to come into the courtyard.

BRAKAKAKA!

Erica spoke to Liliana. "I'm gonna get AJ! Meet at the bus!"

"I'll go with you." She replied.

"We run out as a group it'll just make us a bigger target. You two cover me."

Liliana looked at Ramon, who nodded at her. The blonde turned to her best friend and accepted the plan.

"Once you're able to move, get to the bus." Erica said.

"Erica." Liliana spoke before she could leave. "Be careful. And AJ—"

"I'll protect him with my life, Lili. I promise."

The blonde smiled at her friend. The Latina quickly ran out of cover as Ramon peeked out to provide covering fire.

GRATATA! GRATATATA!

Two ended up backing away and moving to another cover. They continued firing at the moving soldiers.

BRAKAKAKAKA!

GRATA! GRATA!

Suddenly, they heard the tank charge up another round. Ramon noticed the long barrel aiming above them.

"Oh, shit! Move!"

Liliana heard the call out and ran to her right with Ramon diving to his left.

BOOM!

It hit the building ahead and debris flew everywhere. Chunks of concrete and dirt scattered across the entire area.

The Governor walked across the grass. He neared the overturned prison bus and held his weapon, knowing that Rick had taken cover behind it.

Unbeknownst to him, Y/N was close behind. He raised the pistol he had and pulled the trigger...but it clicked. He had emptied the mag on the soldiers he killed earlier.

Y/N tossed the gun aside and charged Philip. The man heard the footsteps and turned around just when Y/N raised his knife. Philip grabbed his arm and stopped him but the young man ended up pinning him to the side of the bus.

Y/N bellowed as he kneed Philip's abdomen. Philip grunted and headbutted Y/N, causing him to drop the knife. He landed a punch to Y/N's stomach, but he countered the next one and Y/N landed a right hook across his face and then one to his stomach.

Philip stumbled back and allowed himself to be pinned to the bus again. Y/N wailed body shots and a couple of punches to Philip's head.

The Governor grabbed the young man's torso and tried to tackle him, but Y/N elbowed the man's back and forced him to let go. As he was doubled over, Y/N entwined both hands and initiated a double-fist punch, causing him to fall.

Y/N stood over Philip but the man quickly kicked the young man's knee in.

"Argh!"

Philip got to his feet and grabbed Y/N. He shoved him face-first into the side of the bus. Y/N was about to turn around but the Governor punched him and immediately grabbed the back of his head.

Philip hit Y/N's face against the side of the bus. He did it again...and again...and again. Y/N elbowed Philip and broke free for a second, but the Governor grabbed him again and resumed the attack.

Y/N's head hit the bus one finale time and he fell to the floor, groaning and his face bleeding. The Governor stood over him, but before he could land some other blow, he heard a bellow behind him. He turned around and was quickly tackled by Rick.

Rick was on top of Philip and landed two punches with his bandaged hand, ignoring the stinging pain coming from it.

Philip kicked Rick off and got to his feet. He immediately grabbed the former officer and pinned him to the bus. Philip landed a blow to Rick's stomach and then to his face.

Rick countered with a right hook at Philip before gaining an advantage and pinning him to the bus instead. Rick landed another punch but the Governor headbutted him and got him off.

On the ground, Y/N was still in a daze and hurting from the fact that his head was hit against steel multiple times. He swore he probably had a concussion.

Y/N crawled on the ground as Rick fought Philip. He saw his knife in the grass and slowly dragged himself toward it, his vision starting to get blurry by the second.

Philip had gotten Rick to the floor with a kick to his injured thigh. He immediately got on top of him and landed several punches across Rick's face.

He was relentless. The Governor kept punching Rick until his face was battered and bruised. Even Philip was getting exhausted from the constant blows he was dealing.

Rick coughed out blood. Philip landed one more punch before wrapping his hands around the man's neck. Rick tried to fight back, but he was too exhausted and was also losing air.

SULK!

Suddenly, Philip was stabbed in the back. He grunted as the blade retracted and then stabbed into his spine.

SULK!

Y/N held Philip from behind and spoke near his ear.

"I told you..."

He took out the knife and hold of his arm, stabbing into his side next.

SULK!

Philip grunted once more before Y/N threw him aside on his back.

"I fucking told you..."

Y/N got on top of Philip and stabbed his stomach. He did a few more times rapidly.

SULK!

SULK! SULK! SULK!

The Governor was still breathing but bleeding profusely from his many wounds. Y/N looked into his eyes as he kept the blade in his abdomen.

"I said I'd kill you." He got close to his face. "Have fun in hell, motherfucker."

He pulled out the blade and got off of Philip, sitting in the grass. The Governor was already immobile with the puncture to his spine and would soon bleed out from the stab wounds. He preferred to not finish him, wanting to prolong his pain and possibly nearby walkers killing him instead.

Rick was on the ground gasping for air. He struggled to get up and kept coughing as he did.

Y/N slowly got up. "Rick...Rick!"

The young man tried helping him up. Rick only had one thing on his mind despite his condition.

"Carl...? Where's Carl?"

"I—I don't know."

Rick allowed himself to be helped up and immediately stumbled toward the prison. Y/N stood there, looking at Philip who was still moaning in pain.

As he stared at him, he suddenly thought of the people at the prison, most importantly Liliana and AJ. The man turned around and ran toward the toppled gate.

Mika had gotten separated from Lizzie and the rest of the kids during the tank's barrage. She was alone by the garden, having her gun and taking cover. Two soldiers ran by and the little girl fired at them.

BANG!

BANG!

"Oh, shit!" One man exclaimed and took cover with his colleague.

BANG! BANG!

Mika shot at the again, although her aim was far from being acceptable. One soldier peeked out and noticed who the shooter was.

"It's a little girl, man."

"What?"

"The fuck we hiding here for? I'm finishing this."

"Are you fucking serious?"

The soldier got out of cover and fired a barrage of bullets in Mika's direction, forcing her to stay behind cover.

BRAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!

He moved forward as he did, adamant about dealing with the girl. The soldier got near, but he was shot down.

POW!

Liliana had arrived and saved the little girl. She lowered her rifle and started going up to Mika.

"Mika! Where—"

BRAKAKA!

The blonde was suddenly shot in the stomach. The soldier who was behind cover had seen Liliana kill his colleague and fired out of instinct.

"No!" He heard someone yell.

Coming into the area was Y/N, who witnessed his girlfriend get shot and fall to the ground. He turned his head and eyed the shooter, who seemed to regret hurting the woman.

"I'm—I didn't—" The man dropped his gun. "I didn't m—"

BANG! BANG!

Without hesitation, Y/N shot the young man down with a pistol he had picked up before. He walked over to the body and emptied his clip in anger.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

There was a click as he pulled the trigger again. The man walked backward and dropped the gun, looking around in a daze...until his gaze landed upon Liliana and Mika behind him.

He ran to her aid, kneeling beside the wounded blonde.

"Oh, shit...shit, shit, shit." He muttered to himself.

Mika stood over Liliana and teared up. "Lili!"

"It's—it's okay...honey." She struggled to reply.

"This is fine. We'll get you out of here. We'll find Hers—" He stopped after remembering the old man's fate. "We'll get this taken care of."

He looked around. Thankfully there were no soldiers and the gunfire seemed to cease. Amidst his thoughts...he remembered his son.

"AJ...he's at the admin building, right?"

"E—Er—Erica..."

He didn't seem to hear her. Y/N quickly carried Liliana bridal style and got to his feet.

"Let's go get him." He looked at Mika. "Come on!"

He was the first to run with the little girl following close behind.

They ran through the hallways of the administrative building. It was completely empty but the floor was littered with rubble caused by the tank's rounds.

He made it to the room Liliana would stay with AJ in. Upon entering...he saw no sign of AJ...only a toppled crib with blood on the ground. Y/N immediately thought of the worst.

"No..."

Mika also looked on in horror. Liliana continued coughing and Y/N was immediately reminded of how critical her current state was. He laid her on the bed beside the toppled crib.

"Lili? Lili, just stay with me, okay?" He said as he knelt beside her. "We're gonna get out of here and...and find someone."

He looked back at the overturned crib. He started to tear up and the blonde noticed despite becoming weaker from the blood loss.

"He—He'll be fine. It'll be...okay."

Y/N didn't get what she was saying, assuming she was now in a delirious state. He looked down at her stomach and saw the blood continuing to pour out.

"There's gotta be something..." He looked at Mika. "Keep pressure on it."

"Wh—what?"

"Hold your hand down!"

She did as told, although she wasn't sure what she was doing. Y/N got up and looked through the nearby cubby for anything to patch Liliana up with.

Liliana looked at Mika. She weakly smiled and reached out, touching her hair.

"You'll be okay, Mika." She said faintly. "Y/N will take care of you...I—I know he will."

All Mika could do was nod. Y/N overheard what the blonde said and looked back at them. He locked eyes with Liliana...and at that moment he knew that his attempts to save her would be fruitless.

"Baby..." Liliana weakly said.

Y/N continued to tear up. He walked up to the bed and knelt beside his girlfriend once again. Liliana ran her palm across his cheek and smiled.

The young man feigned a soft smile back at her. Liliana then moved her hand to his chest, stopping over his heart. Y/N could recall what she told him last year.

"You have a good heart..."

From there...she slowly closed her eyes.

Y/N didn't think anything happened...until her hand finally dropped too. At that moment, he knew that Liliana was gone. She was dead.

He looked at her face and immediately sobbed, letting out everything that he was holding in since he first saw her get shot. He should've known that she wasn't going to last and accepted it instead of being in denial for the last ten minutes.

Mika was also behind him in tears. Y/N kept looking at Liliana, then reached for the knife in his boot. He continued to cry as he leaned over and kissed the top of the blonde's head.

"I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry."

SULK!

It hurt to do so, but he ultimately stabbed the knife in the back of her head to keep her from turning. Y/N took a deep breath in before sheathing his knife and getting up.

Y/N looked over at Mika, who was still saddened and looking at Liliana's body. They finally locked eyes and Y/N spoke.

"Let's go. We gotta get out of here."

Y/N left the room. The tearful Mika looked back at the cubby, seeing a photo that was taped to it.

"Mika!" The young man called out from outside.

The nine-year-old quickly took the picture before running out of the room.