Archive of Our Own

You walked through the corridors of the Sanctuary, your boots soaked in the blood of your fallen fellow Saviors. 

As you passed by the other inhabitants of the factory, they bowed their heads toward you. Not quite kneeling, but showing you respect nonetheless. You ignored them as you headed up a dark staircase. You only had one destination in mind and if he was in a meeting then they would have to come back another time. 

Arriving at the door to his bedroom, you knocked twice. You heard a muffled “come in” on the other side and you pushed into the room. Negan stood by the windows watching over his kingdom. “Well?” He asked, keeping his back turned. 

You walked over to his desk and slammed down a shell casing. Negan looked over his shoulder, raising a single brow. “They’re all dead,” you said simply. The anger that passed over his face was clear and you knew it was only a matter of time before he bashed someone’s head in with Lucille. 

As Negan stared at the casing, your thoughts went back to what you had seen at the Satellite Station. Some new group had broken in during the night and slaughtered every one stationed there, slitting their throats in their sleep. The last time you had seen that much fresh blood was after your family had been killed. That was right before Simon had found you and brought you home to the Sanctuary where you’ve been ever since.

“No survivors?” He asked, bracing his hands on his desk. 

“None that we could find,” you explain, sitting into your right hip. “Whoever did this, they have a shit ton of firepower.” You watched as he rubbed his hand over his bearded face, trying to stay calm. “There’s something else,” you said. 

“Tell me,” Negan said, his gruff voice very low. 

“There’s a connection to The Hilltop,” you said. 

“How do you know?” 

“One of the men who walked the perimeter radioed me and told me that Gregory was having issues controlling his people. Some brothers got greedy or didn’t come through on a delivery. Your men ordered them to bring Gregory’s head to the outpost in exchange for the other brother. Seems like they brought a head, but it wasn’t Gregory’s.” 

“Jesus,” Negan said, “so these assholes cut off some dude’s head as a decoy?” You shrugged. 

“I bet it was just a Biter they found, but yeah, the whole thing was a ruse.” 

“The Hilltop has new allies? Another community?”

“That would be my guess,” you said, nodding. “Some new place with good fighters and a lot of ammo. Our people have been through Hilltop multiple times, if they were hiding an armory like that, we would have found it. Besides, you know Gregory, he’s a coward and he’d be too afraid to lie about having guns. Especially to Simon.”

“Well he’s not much of a coward if he’s havin’ these dicks to his dirty work, is he?” 

“Probably not,” you said, collapsing into a chair behind his desk. “I bet it was the same people that blew up the bikes.” 

“Would make sense,” he agreed. “Son of a bitch!” He growled as he paced. “I’m gonna kill them, all of them.”

“Let’s not rush into anything, Negan,” you said, carefully. “The last thing we need is more dead Saviors.”

“So, what? You want me to just sit on my ass while these assholes shoot more of my men? Is that what you want, (Y/N)?” Negan said, turning his fury filled eyes on you.

You were unbothered by his demeanor. You knew Negan almost better than anyone. When Simon had brought you to him in the first place, he had tried to intimidate you, but you had grown up with men like him and he never scared you. Negan picked up on your lack of fear pretty quickly and took a liking to you. 

He started you out on simple jobs. Mostly running the fence and keeping the workers in line. Though, when someone had tried to attack Frankie, you had taken the man down in only a few moves, breaking the guy’s back. Negan had finished the bastard off, but that single action had promoted you to Savior immediately. 

Slowly, you got more and more responsibility and the rest of the men and women began to look to you for leadership whenever Negan wasn’t around. Simon, especially. You were now Negan’s right-hand woman and probably the only one in the factory bold enough to call Negan on his temper and in some cases, his utter bullshit behavior. 

“That’s not what I said, Negan,” you said slowly. “But if you go after these people and it turns out that they have more artillery than we know of, we’re all screwed. Hell, they could have more RPGs, bigger explosives, more guns, or even more people. They took out nearly every man before the alarm went off. So I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to fuck with them until I had more information.”

“Didn’t realize you were givin’ the orders now,” he said as he approached you. Negan leaned over you, bracing both of his hands on the arms of the chair you sat in. His dark eyes drilling into yours. 

“Never said I was,” you told him, not breaking eye contact. “Not everything is as black and white as you think it is, Negan.” He slammed his hands down, trying to intimidate you, but you remained as still as a statue. 

“I make the decisions, I decide who dies, (Y/N),” he growled. “Isn’t that why you’re still alive?” 

“Don’t!” You yelled, pushing him back. He leaned back from you, letting you get up as he watched you, the anger still present on his face. “Don’t you say that shit to me. This whole ‘intimidation’ bullshit doesn’t work on me. Threats don’t work. I’m not some little girl you can scare, Negan. I’m not one of your wives and I’m definitely not one of your bitches like Dwight who laps at your heels. You asked me to go check out the outpost and advise you on our next move. Well there it is, I advise that we make sure we know who we’re dealing with before we start shooting or in your case, swingin’.” 

You were out of breath as you finished your speech. Negan stared down at you, his arms crossed. You could tell he wanted to hit something or even someone, but you also knew that he’d never lay his hands on you. He had tried once before, but after you said no as soon as he tried to kiss you, he had backed off immediately. However, now you weren’t so sure his furniture was going to survive the rest of the day. 

“Anything else?” He asked through a rigid jaw. 

“I think someone should take out Gregory. We both know he’s an idiot. He’s become a liability,” you explained. Negan was silent for a few moments before taking a few more steps back and gesturing to the door. 

“I’ll think about it,” he said. “Get out.” You didn’t have to be told twice. Walking swiftly, you exited the room and headed straight for the nearest staircase, needing to get as much distance between you and the bossman as possible. There was only one person you wanted to talk to right now and you knew right where to find him.

You found Simon in the hall outside of his room. 

“Hey, (Y/N),” he greeted with a wave. You didn’t answer him as you pushed past him and into his room. He followed you as you flopped down on his bed with a sigh. “Was it that bad?” you glared at him through narrowed eyes. “That would be a yes.” Simon took a seat in the chair across from you. 

“What is the point in him even asking me for help? Every time I give him advice, he ignores everything I say, Simon. I don’t even know the point of it all anymore,” you vented, staring up at his ceiling. 

“Careful, girl,” he said, watching the door. 

“Oh, calm down, Simon,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “You act like he has superhuman hearing.” 

“Some days, I really think he does,” Simon mumbled, kicking his feet up. “Maybe you should just keep your head down for a while?” You sat up on your elbows, staring at him. You and Simon were as close as ever. You knew he had feelings for you, but you never felt that way. However, he was the closest thing to family you had right now and you trusted him with everything you had. The main problem was that he was as loyal to Negan as anyone. He took the phrase “I am Negan” to heart and damn anyone who disagreed with him. 

“You’re asking me to lay down like a damn dog?” you asked, your brows raised. 

“Only for a little while. You know, just until this whole new group situation is figured out.”

“I’m the one who should be figuring out how to handle all of this! Negan trusts me to handle all the dirty work, but all he seems to care about right now is making some kind of head-bashing spectacle. Fear-mongering only goes so far, Simon,” you explain, falling back onto the bed. 

“What are you saying?” he asked, concerned. 

“He wants this new world to prosper. He’s saved people and protected children and women and he’s done a lot of good, right?”

“Of course,” Simon agreed. 

“Exactly, so why is it that the only way he thinks to get people to work for him or invest in this new world of his is to threaten them with death and or starvation, etc.? Do you not see how wrong that is? Ruling with an iron fist has never worked in the past, I don’t know why he thinks it’ll work now.”

“Because it has?” Simon offered. You scoffed. 

“Yeah, for now,” you said, getting to your feet. “Face it, Si, one day shit is gonna hit the fan and people are going to stop being afraid of him.”

“So what do you propose, (Y/N)?” 

“Nothing right now,” you said, heading for the door, “but I wouldn’t expect Negan to always be the one in charge around here.”

After a couple of weeks of nothing, you were getting worried. 

Negan had kept you out of meetings when he would meet with Arat, Simon, and Dwight. He had also recalled the outpost leaders and even began sending out scouts. Whenever you would see him walking around the compound, he would simply walk away and grin as his followers fell to their knees before him.

When you had asked Simon about it, he brushed it off as “guy talk” or something completely unrelated to what had happened at the Sat Station. You knew he was lying. Simon was the worst liar you knew and it was becoming blatantly obvious that something was about to happen.

The day came not long after your talk with Simon. You were lounging around in your room, trying to get a few hours of rest before you had to go back on guard duty when a knock came at your door. “It’s open!” you yelled. You looked up from the book you had been flipping through to see Sherry enter your room and quickly close the door behind her. You didn’t know her that well, but she was the only wife you tolerated. Especially knowing why and how she had married Negan. 

“Something has happened,” Sherry explained, rushing over to sit down on the bed next to you. She looked almost frantic. 

“Sherry, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” you asked, looking over her quickly, but she was shaking her head. 

“No, no, no,” she rambled, “it’s not me, it’s Dwight and Negan, and the others.” 

“Okay, calm down,” you said, grabbing her shaking hands. “Start from the beginning. What has happened?” Sherry took a few deep breaths before she spoke. 

“Negan ordered Simon and Dwight and bunch of the other outpost leaders to set up roadblocks,” Sherry explained. “The other group, the ones that took out the Sat Station?” you nodded, “They’re on the move and Negan wants to ambush them.” 

“They’re on their way here?” you asked, confused, but Sherry was shaking her head. 

“No, they’re headed towards Hilltop,” she explained. 

“Sherry, how do you know all of this?” you asked. All of this was privileged information. Only the Saviors close to Negan knew specific details about plans. Sherry hiked up her dress and pulled out a radio she had fastened to her thigh. 

“Frankie and I took this about a month ago from Fat Joey,” she whispered, “We’ve had it to keep an eye on what’s going on.” You stared at the radio, surprised. The girl had guts, you had to admit. She pressed the radio into your hands. 

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” you asked, reading the worried woman’s face. 

“Daryl Dixon,” she whispered. 

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” you asked. 

“Do you remember when Dwight, Tina, and I escaped?” she asked and you nodded your head. “Well, when we were running, we ran into this man, Daryl, and Dwight tried to rob him. He took his crossbow and then tried to get his motorcycle. Hell, we held him at gunpoint as we escaped through the forest. Eventually, he fought back and stole the bag we were carrying.”

“The one full of insulin,” you nodded, remembering Tina was diabetic.

“Right, well once he realized what we had stolen…he brought it back and tried to help us. He then told us he was from someplace that could take us in. He was relatively clean, had food, weapons…” she said, trailing off, waiting for you to catch up. 

“He’s from the other community. The new one?” you realized. 

“Yes,” Sherry said. “Daryl helped us when he didn’t know us and he helped me bury Tina. He’s a good man, (Y/N).” 

“Why are you telling me this, Sherry?” 

“Because before I came here, I heard on the radio that Dwight had taken ‘the archer’ captive. Shot him in the shoulder and took him along with other members of the group. I think we both know what happens next once Negan starts to round up people from a community. Remember what happened at Hilltop and then the story about all those men and boys killed?” You did remember. You weren’t a part of the Saviors when that particular attack had happened, but Simon and Arat had told you the stories. It was one of the reasons that you didn’t follow blindly behind Negan and kept a lot of the Saviors close in your confidence. You knew it was only a matter of time before something similar happened again. 

“He’s going to make an example of these new people,” you figured and Sherry nodded. 

“Look, I don’t care about the others, but Daryl saved me and he tried to save Tina. He didn’t have to return the medicine to us or offer us a chance to go with him, but he did. I don’t want him to die and I do not want to enter a war with people that were probably just trying to do something good.”

“Sherry, they killed an entire outpost of people,” you reminded her. 

“Right because all of the Saviors are saints,” she said and you knew she was thinking of Negan and more importantly her husband who was introduced to the iron once they had been taken back home. “(Y/N), you and I both know he is out of control. Negan is unfit to lead us any longer.”

“I go up against Negan and I die,” you told her, letting go of her hands. Sherry was again shaking her head. 

“You have a lot more people in your corner than you think,” she said, getting up. Sherry walked over to your desk and picked up your sawed-off shotgun. She tossed it to you and you caught it easily. “I know you think the same way as I do, (Y/N), so please, do something. If not for me then for all the innocent people that are forced to work here and fear a monster.” 

Sherry’s speech vibrated through your bones and as you stood from the bed, a small smile crept on your face. “Sherry, if this goes wrong and I die, I’ll haunt your ass,” you promised. Seeing that you were on board, she smiled back. 

“So, don’t get killed.”

You set out not long after you and Sherry talked. 

Fat Joey was on watch and you barely had to sneak past him to get to a bike. The man was clueless and while you were always allowed to leave the Sanctuary, you didn’t want anyone tipping Negan, Simon, or Dwight off that you had left. Sherry had said she would cover for you as long as she could, buying you as much time as possible. It was official, you really did like that girl. 

Strapping your shotgun to your back, you kickstarted the bike and took off towards the main stretch of road Sherry had heard indicated on the radio. Said radio was on your belt along with another pistol and duel blades were in your boots. You were armed for a fight and one that you knew could happen. Fear entered your gut as you rode. While you weren’t exactly afraid of Negan, you knew he had a lot of power. You only hoped that Sherry was right and that you had more supporters than you initially thought. 

Stashing the bike just under an overpass, you went on foot. You needed to stay invisible as long as possible. Any kind of tip-off would ruin your plan and considering you only had one, everything needed to be perfect. An hour or so later and you found one of the roadblocks. Simon’s voice was the first one you heard.

Keeping an eye on the Saviors on the perimeter, you snuck through the brush and got within earshot. On the road was Simon along with the main group of men he commanded. Across from your people was a large RV. People stood out in front of it, all armed. Simon was taunting a man that stood at the front of the new group. He was handsome, tall, had a bit of beard, and he looked at Simon as if he were something less than human. You instantly knew that this was the new group. 

Getting closer, you looked for anyone that resembled Daryl on either side, but you couldn’t see anyone that fit Sherry’s description. You then knew that “the archer” was indeed Daryl and Negan already had him. You watched the exchange a little longer before the leader of the opposition, ordered everyone back inside the RV and they took off back down the road. Simon then signaled for his men to move out. You snuck away from the edge of the trees, moving deeper into the woods.

You knew how all of this would work. Saviors would continue to corral the group along the road, keeping them from getting to Hilltop. It was a tactic you had helped develop all to insight fear and paranoia. It worked on smaller groups and then Negan would lay down the law, give a speech, and then let them go with the promise Saviors would be taking their stuff. However, none of those previous smaller groups had slaughtered Saviors before. You just knew this was going to get bloody. 

You didn’t bother trying to track down the other roadblocks. Instead, you waited by the radio trying to figure out where the final place was going to be. Negan liked large areas that he could use to put on a show. It also needed vantage spots to watch for Biters and needed to provide areas to block in the hostages. A literal nightmare. 

You walked through the forest as the sun dipped below the trees, keeping your eyes and ears open. Any time you heard a noise, your mind went to Negan. Your nerves were getting to you and all you could think about was him finding you and making an example of you. You don’t know when he had stopped trusting you, but from your last meeting, it was apparent that he didn’t want to look to you for advice any longer. 

It was completely dark by the time you heard where the final spot was. You trekked through the dark woods, keeping light on your feet. You only had to kill a few Dead as you moved through the darkness. You were getting more and more anxious, but you kept a steady hand on your gun. Hearing an engine of a large vehicle, you slipped towards the treeline to see the same RV from before. You couldn’t make out what they were saying from where you were, but soon they began to move. The RV drove off North as a larger group stayed behind. You watched as they placed someone, a woman, on a makeshift stretcher and headed into the woods. 

You realized that the RV was a decoy, but you also knew that it wouldn’t work. Negan was too smart. You followed the group through the woods, always staying parallel to them. Whoever was laying on the stretcher was not doing well at all. You figured she was the reason they were going to Hilltop as they had a great doctor, the brother to the one at the Sanctuary. That thought made you a bit sick. These people weren’t going to team up or anything, they just needed to help a sick woman. You tightened your grip on your gun and hurried through the trees.

It didn’t take long for the ambush to happen. You circled back, careful not to come across any of the Saviors that rushed at the group. You watched as a clearing up ahead was instantly illuminated with headlights. The group tried to run, but men were on them in a matter of seconds. They all panicked, clearly underestimating their enemy. Simon appeared next, walking towards the leader. He ordered the man to drop the stretcher that held the sick woman. 

One by one, the group complied and set her down. Simon then took their weapons, keeping that sick smile on his face. Sometimes you really worried about your friend. You couldn’t tell if it was all an act or if he truly enjoyed tormenting people. That would be something you would have to figure out and soon. 

Simon ordered the entire group to their knees. They were all lined up before the RV that you knew was always going to end up there. A single man knelt by the vehicle. A scared, shivering man that Simon forced over into the line-up. Moving closer, you watched as Arat opened the back of a van, and out came three more people. A young Asian man, a dark-skinned woman, and a man with shaggy hair and blood dripping down his arm. You instantly identified him as Daryl Dixon. Sherry was right, he was definitely someone you would notice. 

The Asian man struggled on the ground before his eyes met those of the sick woman. “Maggie?” he gasped and she cried as she looked at him. You looked at her closer and noticed how her hands stayed right on her stomach, almost as if she was protecting herself. It was then that you remembered that the Doctor Carson who lived at Hilltop was an obstetrician. Rage entered your veins as you realized she was pregnant and something was definitely wrong. Your anger only increased when you saw that next to the shivering man was a kid. 

The boy had to be around sixteen or seventeen and judging by the way the leader kept glancing at him, you figured he was his son. You thought of your own brother who had died as a teenager as well and your teeth ground together as you watched this boy stare at Simon with pure anger. You knew that this boy had seen some terrible things and you were willing to bet that he wanted to kill every single Savior in that clearing. 

It wasn’t long after that Simon announced Negan. You stayed in the shadows as Simon yelled, “Let’s meet the man!” You stared as Negan exited the RV, Lucille on his shoulder, and a grin on his face. Simon stepped back to let the boss have his audience. 

“Pissing our pants yet?” Negan said, “Boy, do I have a feeling we’re getting close. Yep, it’s gonna be Pee Pee Pants City here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader?” Simon pointed to the man from earlier. Negan approached him, swinging the bat. “Hi, you’re Rick, right? I’m Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is, but I think you’re gonna be up to speed shortly.”

You slowly reloaded your weapon, getting ready. The other leader, Rick, stared up at Negan, sweat blooming on his brow as your boss continued. “Yeah, you are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Yes, you are. You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don’t mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it’s really very simple, so, even if you’re stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes, pay attention: Give me your shit, or I will kill you.”

You moved. 

You stepped out of the trees and fired your gun into the air, shattering the tense and terrifying silence. Saviors all turned their weapons on you as you stepped through the cars. However, once they saw it was you, some lowered them immediately. Negan looked over at you, tilting his head. He let out a slow whistled. “Well, shit!” he bellowed as he looked at you moving closer. “There you are, sweetheart! I was wondering when you’d join us.” 

“Guess my invitation got lost,” you sneered, stalking towards him. You stopped just on the edge of the line-up, placing yourself between Negan and his hostages.

“Finally here to take me up on that offer I proposed to you all that time ago?” he asked, leering at you. You lifted your gun and cracked open the barrel, letting the shells drop to the ground.  

“That is never going to happen, Negan,” you said tossing your empty weapon to Simon who caught it on instinct. 

“Well, then what the fuck are you doing here? Because I’m in the middle of the something, (Y/N), and you know how much I hate being interrupted,” he said, leaning back. You ignored him and glanced down at Rick who was looking at you in confusion. You then looked down the line to see Maggie, clearly still in a lot of pain.

“You,” you snapped your fingers at a Savior. “Water.” The man, you think his name was Matthew, tossed you his canteen. You moved past Negan and he stepped out of your way, clearly amused. Slowly, you crouched down before Maggie. She stared at you with wide eyes, her hands still clutching her stomach. You removed the cap of the canteen and made a show taking a long sip of the water to show it wasn’t contaminated before offering her the bottle. “It’s okay,” you whispered, gently. Maggie reached out with a shaking hand and took the water, lifting the bottle to her lips. 

You stood then and turned to Negan who was now glaring at you. “What the hell is this, (Y/N)?” he said, pointing Lucille at Maggie. You made a barrier between him and her. 

“Don’t you dare point that thing at a pregnant woman, Negan,” you spat, getting your courage back. His brow furrowed as he looked at Maggie and then back at you.

“Again with giving orders, Darlin’!” he yelled, shaking his head. “I thought we shut that shit down!” You shook your head, moving towards him.

“We didn’t do anything, Negan. We haven’t done shit in a while. I used to be your right hand, but you clearly don’t see the need for me anymore. Tell me, Boss, when are you going to use that thing on me?” you asked, pointing at Lucille.

“Oh, I’m thinking about it right now,” he sneered. You rolled your eyes as you began to circle him. 

“You know, when I heard about this little gathering, I was hurt that I wasn’t included. I mean, I was the one that invented the whole roadblock thing in the first place, right? And imagine my surprise when I find you doing this,” you gestured to the line-up. “You’re an asshole, Negan, but since when do your torment a sick, pregnant woman and a fucking kid?” you asked, pointing to the boy in the hat. Negan goes to speak, but you shush him, surprising the shit out of him. 

“I’m not finished,” you said, smiling at him. You then turned to Rick. “Rick, was it? Look, Rick, I don’t like all this unnecessary drama and the whole ‘I’m the alpha male and you’re my bitch’ scenario. If I had it my way, I would have met with you and you alone and discussed all of this like civilized fucking people. Am I pissed that you and yours murdered a bunch of my people?” you shrugged, “Meh, they weren’t the best company anyways.”

“(Y/N)…” Negan warned, but you just placed your finger against your lips, telling him to shut it. 

“Let me ask you something, Rick,” you said, kneeling down to his level. “This is all Gregory’s fault, right? He offered you something, maybe food or medicine, if you took out Negan and his men.”

“Somethin’ like that,” Rick said.

“Well, here’s the thing about that little weasel, he lies. He knew about the other outposts and our main set up. He played you. In fact, I bet he did it just so we would focus on killing you instead of taking more from Hilltop, Kingdom, etc. However, I don’t like being fucked with and Negan really hates it, but unlike the brute behind me, I’m not a total sociopath.”

“Dammit, (Y/N)!” Simon called and you gave him the finger over your shoulder. 

“Now! The fun part!” you said, getting to your feet. “Boss!” You called, looking at a very annoyed Negan. “Do you wanna know a secret?” 

“If it will get you to shut the fuck up,” Negan said, knocking Lucille against his boots. 

“You see, there is a little bit more to a story you’ve been told,” you said as you walked towards Dwight that stood behind Daryl. You clapped the scarred Savior on the shoulder. “Dwighty boy, here, actually knows this one pretty well,” you said, pointing at Daryl. “Daryl was the one who helped Dwight, Tina, and your wife Sherry keep away from our men all those weeks ago,” you explained. “Hell, he even tried to help Daryl and even thought about joining him and Rick, and Maggie at their wonderful community.”

“What?” Dwight said, shoving your hand off. You ruffled his stringy hair and then you noticed the crossbow in his hands. Negan glared at Dwight, his grip tightening on his bat. 

“Don’t worry, Dwight, Sherry told me everything,” you explained. “She’s a good one, it’s a shame you couldn’t keep hold of her!” You then kicked out at Dwight’s knee, sending him down. You snatched up the crossbow and weighed it in your hands. “Oh, I like this!” you kept hold of it as you approached Negan. “You are such an idiot, you know that? Look at these people, Negan! They’re just trying to survive and you wanna punish them for it? Like we haven’t killed people? You are not above any other person.” You then raised the bow to line up with his chest. “But shit, maybe you are below me.”

Negan lunged for you and you quickly stepped back, tripping him. Negan fell to the ground and your foot aimed for Lucille. You kicked the infernal bat from his hands. “Get on your knees,” you said, pressing the bow to the back of his head. 

“You’re gonna regret this,” he spat. 

“No, I don’t think I will, Negan,” you said as he sat on his knees, trying to keep his dignity. “You see, this has been coming for a while. I didn’t know how it would go exactly, but then your wife gave me the idea. Isn’t that adorable? She told me to do something and hell I was thrilled to do just that. There is a new leader now, buddy, and you aren’t it.”

“Simon!” Negan yelled, but Simon shook his head. 

“Sorry, Negan,” Simon said, “I’m not gonna pretend to follow you anymore.” Smugness entered your body. More and more Saviors then began to lower their guns and step forward. Sherry was right after all. Arat came through and pointed her gun at Negan, nodding to you. 

“Seems like I’m the Savior now,” you said. Simon received Lucille and offered her to you. You tossed the bow to him and took the bat. “Give that back to Mr. Dixon, will you?” Simon nodded and went to give Daryl back his weapon. “Oh, I do love the feel of this!” you said, swinging Lucille around. 

“Take your hands off of her, you bitch!” Negan bellowed. You kicked out at his back, sending him to the ground. 

“Language!” you yelled with a laugh. You then turned to a worried Dwight. “Oh, Dwight, don’t worry I’m not going to kill you. No, that is something that will happen because of your own stupidity. I give you maybe a year before the Biters get ya. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Sherry is perfectly fine.” You then noticed a vest on his back and Sherry’s words came back to you. “That vest isn’t yours either. Give Daryl his vest back would ya, Dwight?” The man tore it off and threw it at Daryl who was only watching you. “Y’all are free to go,” you said to Rick and his people. “Get Miss Maggie to Carson.” 

“Why?” The boy asked you, claiming your attention. 

“What’s your name, kid?” you asked. 

“Carl Grimes,” he said. 

“Rick your dad?” he nodded, “Well then, Mister Grimes, let me explain something to you,” you said as you rested your foot on Negan’s leg, pressing hard. Arat never moved her gun from his head. “I hate men like this,” you said, pointing Lucille at Negan, “and I am so fucking tired of people trying to rule over the living while we are always fighting the Dead. Y’all are smart, well-trained,” you looked at Daryl, “incredibly great to look at,” you threw him a wink, “and I never liked the people at the Sat Station anyways. Fuck, I may have done the exact same thing as you did if I was in your position. So, here’s how it goes now. You leave and I don’t take your shit because that stops right now.”

“Looks like the Queen has taken the crown,” Simon said smugly. You smiled at him.

“Negan won’t be seeing daylight for a while, my new friends,” you said to Rick and his people. “There’s been a change in management.”

Around you, all the Saviors began to kneel, bowing their heads to their new leader. Negan swore at you from the ground, but you ignored him. You had always been the true leader and now he was finally seeing it. Kneeling down to his level, you grabbed Negan’s chin. “Tell me,” you said,  “are we pissin’ our pants yet?”