THE DEAFENING SOUND of silence had been all Ellie had awoken to. Her sarcophagus had been the empty cell she once shared with Coda in cellblock A, where life came to die.That very morning, there had been no bounces to her rib cage. No fresh flowers picked by the thoughtful fingers of a virtuous girl. No infectious laughter to lift spirits. It was only Ellie. Forgotten—with loneliness draped around her like an anchor, dragging ceaselessly with each footstep. And being happy again felt more like the attempt to stuff a frayed thread through the eye of a needle.

Her aching body slowly raised from the folds of the mattress, weakly rising to her feet as her eyes tuned in to her surroundings. Ellie blinked the sleep away from her eyes, terrorised by the ache residing behind them. A throbbing headache perched on her temples like hawks. The door screeched as it suddenly opened, and in hobbled Hershel with a medical mask enveloping his mouth protectively, along with his gloved hands of caution.

"How are you feeling today?" Hershel inquired calmly, though made no point in reference to either the illness, or the news of Coda's demise.

Ellie shrugged weakly, slowly trailing her vacant eyes to meet his as he sat nearby, "How am I supposed to feel now?" her voice trailed off as she clenched her eyes shut, releasing a shaky breath before she finalised, "I don't feel anything."

"I can't expect you to agree, but I know you, El. You're not ready to give up yet." Hershel asserted, his tone had been firm, yet wholly pleated with compassion, "You have to keep going."

"What for?" Ellie snarled, hoisting herself to her feet as she turned back to Hershel, "I am gone."

Hershel sighed loudly, subdued with the unmistakable sorrow she had been withstanding so bitterly. He nodded shortly, his eyes suddenly softening as he proclaimed, "You may not be religious, anymore, but I am. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

"2 Corinthians 4:17-18," Ellie muttered weakly, though her gaze respectfully raised to meet Hershel's kind eyes, "

"You got it, Ellie. Your symptoms have ebbed. You're healing at a much better rate than many of the others," Hershel notified, his eyes gleaming with delight at her recovery, "That's got to count for something."

Ellie could only enable a harsh huff of air to trail from her lips as she glared down at her lap, before she grumbled, "It might be something to you, but I'm tired of fighting so much, Hershel."

Struck like a lightning bolt; Ellie's words punctured Hershel's skin like heated shards of titanium. He swallowed hard as he intensely studied her eyes, only to be welcomed by darkness. He slowly picked up her necklace, permitting it to fall into the warmth of his palm. There wasn't a single moment that Hershel regretted his choice of gifting Ellie the necklace. It had been her faith when she hadn't retained any, since the day he had bestowed it to her. But somehow, along the way, she'd merely forgotten. All Ellie could do was flash her tearful eyes in his direction, awaiting his words of solace.

"You called me Hershel," he noted quietly, almost as though his voice had been fragile enough to break. All Ellie could do was shrug as he continued, "Don't let your trauma change you, Ellie. You're going to beat this world. We've looked to you for answers for a long time."

"Don't let this world spoil you," plagued Ellie's mind even though she blinked to discard the memory, but Lori's voice did not cease. Her hand snaked to the bridge of her nose, pinching it to relieve it of the tension forming, though Lori's voice continued to resound. She needed to hear those words, and Lori certainly knew it. Wherever she may have been, she would always be there, alongside Ellie and Rick in their leadership. Alongside Carl in his development. Alongside them all in their survival.

After a sharp sigh, Hershel gave Ellie's hand a gentle squeeze, allowing his eyes to slowly clasp shut as he whispered, "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but we... we lost Brett, earlier. Rick wanted me to ask if we could hold Coda's funeral the same time. I know Brad didn't want a funeral..."

A gust of wind left Ellie's chest as she clutched onto Hershel's hand, overtaken with grief at the notion they had lost yet another member of their group. She gulped heavily as she declined her gaze to the ground, and weakly managed to squeak out, "How?"

"Michonne, Shane and Brett went out to find Luke," Hershel announced, suddenly drawing Ellie's eyes to his at the disclosure, though he held his hand up to silence her, "They figured you needed some hope. But, please, don't blame yourself. For your sister's sake."

"Oh, God. River lost a friend because of me." Ellie breathed out, unhurriedly curving her hands around her head to shield her view of the tragic world she had been compelled into. "How are we supposed to keep going, Mr Greene?"

With a soft smile curling at his lips, Hershel's eyes sparkled with hope as he kindly responded, "We work together to let go, and move on. This is temporary."

>>>

"It seems like only yesterday we were all sat outside some abandoned warehouse, searching for birthday candles for her seventh birthday. It seemed daunting at the time, after the farm," Ellie's voice broke as she calmed her breathing, attempting to deny a sob from climbing up her throat. She slowly clenched her lachrymose eyes shut to proceed. But no vigour could drag the words out that effortlessly. "She deserved the candles. I don't regret doing that. We had fun; and it was special. She was special. And I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. She was my saviour. She saved me from my own destruction."

Her eyes slowly roamed to Daryl, whose face had been occupied gaping at the ground beneath him; wholly void of sentiment as his jaw had been clenched. Tight. Ellie bit at her bottom lip before continuing, and slowly extended her hand to meet Daryl's. Though modest in its notion, Daryl couldn't help but feel the static electricity climb through his veins, like the first moment he had ever held Coda in his arms. The moment he knew she was his. The one decent commodity to come of his pernicious life. Ellie's fingers laced with his, and instantly, his darkness was replaced by light.

"Nothing felt so scary when she was beside me. For so long, it was us against the world..." Ellie's voice trailed off, though the hairpin curl of her reminiscent lips left the group smiling through tears, "She literally was my "mini me". It should've been the other way around, but she helped me through the pain. She was right there with those eyes that could guide you through any darkness. I..." her voice cracked as she scrunched up her face, but Daryl's squeeze to her hand soothed the storm, "I don't think I can tell you a single moment she complained about anything. She always took the good from the bad. She was the definition of positivity."

Ellie could not deny the sob that hit her, leaving her body shivering unceasingly as she sunk to her knees beside the makeshift gravestone. Her hand folded over her mouth to hush the sobs instinctively, though the cries of those around her had nearly been loud enough to block out the pitch of her own. She could barely hear her own heart punching against her chest to evade the agony. Even her heart could not bear to be inside her body any longer.

"I–I tried writing a speech since the moment I found out she..." River spoke up, her voice cracking as their gazes shifted to her emotional, yet sheepish stance. She cleared her throat as she shakily unfolded a crumpled piece of paper, and instantly whispered down to Ellie, "If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't," Ellie whispered back as Daryl gently lifted her to her feet. He instinctively kept his arm neatly slotted around her waist, but she did not have the energy to remove it. Though a niggling feeling in her chest left her wondering whether she wanted him to move it, or not.

River permitted a deep breath to gust from her lungs, slowly steadying her breath as she held the paper up to her eyesight. The very moment her eyes docked upon the name "Coda," she simply couldn't help the cry that fled her lips. Her dark eyes lifted from the paper to meet Rick's tearful gaze, who simply shot her a nod of reassurance.

"Cuore mia... Coda wasn't just my niece. She was like my daughter, too," River commenced with a giant grin displayed on her lips, though she could barely see through her clouded view of tears, "I know what you're thinking. 'You're, like, twelve.'"

Ripples of laughter left the mouths of the group, but it simply went a quick as it had come.

"I didn't know how to express it. So, if you don't mind, Italian is a little easier," River announced, before she cleared her throat to continue, "Grazie di tutto, angelo piccolina. Cammineró con te fino a notte. Mi manchi tu, luce dei miei occhi. Mi dispiace per aver fallito. She was everything to us."

"To all of us," Daryl croaked, his voice hoarse as he shielded his tearful gaze from the sight of the group, though they had already known his grief.

Ellie's face crumpled into a frown as she faced her sister, understating sporadic words such as "mi dispiace" meaning "I'm sorry" and "fallito" meaning "failed." No words could've been so far from the truth in Ellie's eyes, for River had done everything for her family. River hadn't failed anybody, except her inner self that deserved more love than she had received.

Ellie slowly stood beside her sister, allowing their arms to link as she trailed her eyes between each grieving member of the group, until her eyes finally latched back onto Daryl. She nodded slowly as she finalised, "She may be... gone, but not from our memories, or our hearts. I–I don't know how I'll go on without her... but, we have to. To honour her." Ellie ensured she hd been looking at Daryl the moment her name rolled from her tongue, "Coda Harriet Dixon."

Daryl's head instantly snapped in Ellie's direction, his eyes broadened incredulously at her revelation of Coda's middle name. How could he have not known his own daughter's middle name? It wasn't clear whether Daryl's disbelief had been from the notion of his ignorance, or from the heartfelt relief that Ellie had gifted Coda with the name of his own mother. Either way, all Daryl wanted to do was sink into Ellie's warmth, and have her skin rest against his once again.

It was always those connective moments that told Daryl he was going to be alright. But no hope could snuff out the almost certainty Daryl had that Ellie would never come back to him, now that Coda had been dead. There was simply nothing left to connect them, or so he thought.

"To Coda Harriet Dixon," Rick repeated, his tearful eyes connecting with Daryl's, followed by a nod of reassurance.

"To Coda Harriet Dixon!"

River quickly cleared her throat once the chorus of sobs died down, leaving their gaze to latch upon her once again. Sheepishly, she rubbed at the nape of her neck as she muttered, "Brett was quiet, but he was damaged. But, nobody seemed quite as strong as he was. He's the only person who really understood me, after..." her voice trailed off as they each, individually lowered their heads in shame, "Shane, you were the last person to see him alive. Per favore, we have to know."

Ellie's eyes widened hastily as she glanced over at Shane, suddenly overwhelmed with the eerie similarity between Brett's ambiguous death, and Otis' sudden death at the farm. Her hand slowly folded over her mouth to hush the breath caught on her throat, though Daryl had instantly noticed. He, too, knew Shane was capable of far more than he had been letting on.

Who was to say he couldn't have sacrificed one of their own? Ensuring the growl in his throat hadn't been audible, he curved his hand around Ellie's waist, and yanked her close as Shane gulped against River's tense statement.

"I can't," Shane breathed out, unable to draw his eyes from Coda's grave beneath him. His head slowly shook as he bowed it low, "I can't."

"Please," River squeaked out, her innocent eyes bulging against her glistening sheen of tears. All Shane could do was sigh as he slowly took his place beside her. Her hand folded against his, leaving nothing but a vessel of guilt thumping in his chest.

Shane sighed as he kept his eyes firmly planted on the ground, unable entirely to remove his gaze as he begun shakily, "Brett was the guy who came up with the idea to go search for Luke. Two dozen walkers ain't much, but someone was watchin' us. Michonne spotted a car marked with a cross, leavin' the neighbourhood and ran after it, but it drew them over. Brett sacrificed himself so that I could get back to Michonne. He–he was a true soldier. Just like Brad. I know he didn't want a big funeral. But, those men are the definition of soldiers. True at heart."

Shane slowly reached out of his pocket to reveal Brett's army medals, leaving Ellie to whimper as she knew the true events. It was likely Shane had allowed Brett to die, or somehow sacrificed him unwillingly for the "good" of the group. It was far too similar to Otis' death to be a coincidence.

Shane was becoming reckless once again, and there wasn't a single thing Ellie could do about it. The medals twinkled against the sunlight, bouncing graciously from each medal as they blinded Ellie, but she could not draw her eyes away. Shane's hands had been spotless, yet had far more blood on them than what what met the eye.

>>>

With his back sunken against the freezing guard tower wall, a cigarette dangled loosely from Daryl's fingers as he stared ahead at the nothingness encircling him. He had laid his only daughter in the earth for eternal peace, yet he had felt the furthest from peace. Nothing felt right when the distant sound of footsteps no longer belonged to the fragility of her feet, but by the unwelcome members of the group that simply couldn't understand his pain. The looseness of his index finger trailed over the golden band on his finger; a token gifted by his father. Perhaps gift had been too kind of a term. It was more like a reminder. He was a Dixon forever.

Daryl knew its meaning ran deeper. If not to others, then certainly to his mother, and himself, as he let it guide him through life. It was merely a signifier of all he was capable of; all his mother had wanted him to achieve, even if she couldn't provide it for him. The slight shift in the breeze told Daryl someone had joined him, but his sore eyes couldn't be raised from the cigarette he considered welding with his skin to ease the pain in his chest.

"How are you feeling?" he heard Ellie's quiet voice inquiring, but did not see her as she approached his side.

A horrendous question. He wasn't. She sunk down beside him, feeling Daryl's arms brush against hers as he muttered, "Fine."

"I know you better than that," Ellie reminded, but her voice had been entirely void of emotion. As expected. "Thanks for letting me do that."

Daryl's gaze slowly trailed over to Ellie's hand, but dared not meet her eyes. His hand slowly outstretched the cigarette, which she graciously accepted between her fingers as he grunted, "It was the right thing to do."

"Maybe," was all she said momentarily, before a loud sigh escaped her chest. Softly, she mumbled, "It doesn't make it easy, though."

"I thought..." Daryl mumbled, feeling his throat clench at the memory displaying in his mind. He cleared his throat to relieve it of its burden, "I thought after my 'ma that it wouldn't scare me no more. Death."

Ellie slowly leaned her head against his arm, feeling him tense under her touch, until he softened it entirely she whispered, "I'll never forget that day. I think that day made us stronger, uh... together."

A smile stretched at his lips, uncontrollable entirely from the impact of her words. Though his mother's death had been agonising, Ellie had been at his side the entire time. Her support never ceased to amaze him, which left it entirely laughable that she would even be in Daryl's presence after his betrayal. He knew his luck was a thin thread, waiting to snap against the velocity of mistrust. A mistrust that Daryl caused. A silence befell them suddenly; entirely smooth in its nature as they sat together against the guard tower. Just like that, they were at peace one again.

"Here," Daryl suddenly broke the silence, his voice no louder than a husky mumble as he shifted Ellie's hand into his palm. He flipped her hand upside, leaving her palm exposed as his other hand fiddled with the golden band, "Want ya to have it."

"What is it?" Ellie inquired, her fingers poking at the golden band in her palm as she inspected it. She'd recognised it from whenever Daryl had worn it, only had never quite received an explanation.

Daryl's fingers slowly peeled the ring from her palm, and pushed it onto her thumb, as it had been the closest match for his finger. He ignored the smile that curved at his lips instinctively, but Ellie had remained entirely silent. The butterflies in her stomach suddenly grew beaks. Relentless in their pecking and biting. Leaving her with only uncertainty in her veins as Daryl's hopeful eyes met hers.

"Why?" she squeaked out, blind to anything other than the glistening band ahead of her. It should have been exciting. Why wasn't it?

Daryl sighed as he bowed his head, recognising Ellie's reluctance with a clear view. He slowly folded her fingers around the ring, clasping it shut as he placed his hand atop of hers. She remained silent at his touch, observing the gleam in his eye that spoke a thousand words. Pain. Ellie couldn't bring herself to ease his pain when it had been the same very pain haunting her chest.

"I have to tell ya somethin'," Daryl mumbled, his gaze fixed on the ground beneath him as he slowly sunk back against the wall. As Daryl slipped a fresh cigarette between his lips, he added, "About... Coda."

Ellie's eyes instantly raised to his face, scanning his wrinkled forehead as he tensely scrunched his face up. With a slight head tilt, she whispered, "You know who did it, don't you?"

All Daryl could do was nod. He pushed the smoke out of his chest with vigour, ignoring her intense gaze as he muttered, "I do."

A wave of breaths plummeted out of Ellie's body as she gripped onto Daryl's arm for support, even if she had been sitting still. The shock had been enough to leave her body shifting like a glitch. The trembles in her muscles pressed against her like needles, suddenly aching with each time they shook. Daryl's index finger slid against her skin to ease her pain, but even he knew that nothing could prepare her for the revelation.

The same way nobody had prepared him. But even if the fall had broken his back, he'd be there to stop Ellie from facing the same fate. The redneck slowly shifted the cigarette to Ellie's lips, his eyes daring to spill with tears as she sucked the smoke down into her lungs.

"It was Carol," Daryl choked out, suddenly overtaken by tears as they dripped down his cheeks. His head slowly bowed to his chest as he sobbed, leaving Ellie to let out a sudden gasp, "Fuckin' Carol. Rick told me after the funeral."

"No," Ellie shrieked, suddenly feeling herself straddling his lap as he clung to her like a koala, "Fucking... Carol?"  Neither one seemed to remember that Ellie was sick. It simply didn't matter anymore.

Daryl scoffed bitterly, unable to reopen his dripping eyes as he barked, "Fuckin' Carol."

"What... why?" Ellie whimpered, feeling Daryl's tears dampen her chest as he buried his face there for comfort.

Daryl clung tightly onto the fabric of Ellie's shirt, shaking his head slowly as he steadied his breath to announce, "She wanted to get rid of the virus. Thought she'd stop it from the source."

"The source was not Coda," Ellie choked out, feeling her grip loosen from disbelief, "Daryl... did you... did you talk to her?"

"Sorella," the sweet honey of River's voice drew her attention, drawing her away from Daryl's lap. River's eyes had darkened entirely as she muttered, "we are all here for you."

River stepped aside to reveal Michonne and Rick, accompanied by Carl, Beth and Shane as they stood in a row. Beth's eyes shifted awkwardly between Daryl and Ellie, feeling her cheeks flush as Daryl's gaze had reciprocated hers. However brief, the acknowledgment ignited a confidence in Beth she hadn't known previously. Rick's eyes peered between Daryl and Ellie with caution, understanding entirely that Daryl hadn't informed anyone until now.

"El, I need you to know we took care of it. We sent her on her way, told her not to come back. Gave her some supplies, but, that was out of mercy. Not kindness," Rick affirmed, his voice stern, yet fragile as he appeared close to tears.

Ellie breathed out, disbelief pushing the air right from her lungs like it had any right. She sunk back her tears like a goblet of wine and squeaked, "She should be dead."

"Believe me, sorella, I agree with you. I bet she did this on purpose," River hissed, instantly drawing each of their eyes to face her with disbelief, "What? Is it so hard to believe?"

"Why do you think that?" Beth asked quietly, her eyes bulging from her head as River's eyebrows wriggled with irritation.

"Listen, blondie, Brad wasn't even sick. He wasn't even in that cell block, so he must've been—" the teenager quoted the air as she narrowed her eyes, "— In the way."

"She could be onto something here," Michonne stated, her tone firm, yet quiet enough not to startle Ellie as she had appeared as fragile as glass.

Beth scoffed slightly at their comments, shaking her head furiously before she retorted, "Carol isn't like that. We know Carol. This was with good intentions. To stop the illness spreading."

"Whatever her reason was — she's damn lucky she got away before I could destroy her," Ellie hissed, refusing to draw her pooled eyes from the ground, until she shrieked, "My daughter!"

The entire prison rattled like sand specs from a towel, littering its people onto the ground as the walls crumpled into nothing. The roof caved in with force, sprinkling dust in the hair of those stuck to the ground. Ellie instantly gripped onto River with as much force as possible, and followed after Rick as they all pursued the outside. They halted when the dreaded sight materialised, showing the Governor had returned. He was back. Though Ellie's bones were built of titanium, she was not prepared for a battle against their old enemy. How could he have been back? A breath hitched in Ellie's throat as she glanced over at Rick, whose face mirrored her horrified expression.

It couldn't be.

"Rick, come down here! We need to talk," the Governor boomed at Rick from afar, a growing smirk curling on his lips.

"This is perfect," Ellie gritted viciously, her eyes unable to shift from the Governor as she felt the bloodlust crawl through her veins.

Ellie's hand curled tighter around River's arm as she tugged her behind her, gulping loudly as Rick's expression proved less than consoling. They each exchanged concerned glances before they turned to Rick, awaiting his leadership as always in their turmoil. The group circled around from different areas of the prison, with Daryl standing at a distance with Shane at his side; both men sporting scowls. In the midst of the scene, nobody had quite noticed the absence of their beloved group members.

"It's not up to me! There's a council now. They run this place!" Rick retorted, his voice raised assertively with dominance.

"Hershel on the council?" the Governor taunted rhetorically, gesturing for his lieutenants to bring out Hershel as he had been tied in restraints.

Maggie and Beth instantly shot forward and gripped onto the steel fences separating them from their father's captor, terrified to their cores at the notion they could lose their father. It couldn't be probable — Hershel had been the one person that anybody could count on. A true hero among those plagued with the audacity to claim honour. Hershel was the very definition of honour.

"What about Michonne?" he taunted evilly, prompting his lieutenants to mirror their previous actions, revealing Michonne.

Ellie clutched at the gate in shock, feeling her fingers curl tightly around the steel as if it were the Governor's neck between her bare hands. Bound by fear, Rick clenched his eyes shut as he contemplated his next move, wishing just for a moment for the world to be placed on pause. Just once — carefully. The Governor, however callous in his ways, was far more intelligent than desirable in an opponent. Rick knew he had to be careful. 

"I don't make the decisions anymore!" Rick retorted firmly, though the Governor would be sure to remain rigid in his stance.

"You're their leader," the Governor contended, his voice laced with authority as he glared down at Rick with hatred.

With a firm shake to his head, Rick assertively
hissed, "But I run my ideas through the council first!"

Upon his command, the Governor's lieutenants shoved Michonne and Hershel onto their knees ahead of their master, eager for his next cruel move.

"You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here and we can have that talk," the Governor freely commanded, a smirk growing at his lips with every moment he evoked a threat. It was his drug.

River released a loud growl as she suddenly shoved past Ellie, gripping at the fence nearby as she brought the Governor's attention to her. His head tilted to the side, his lips parted with whatever venom he had concocted from the empty pit of his heart.

"River Cipriano..." the Governor spoke tauntingly, allowing her name to draw out as he displayed a wide grin on his lips, "Last time I saw you, you told me you'd kill me. Isn't that funny?"

"What makes you think I won't?" River shot back with a hiss, refusing to surrender to his threats. She battled valiantly against the desire to burst into tears, materialising as ragged breaths as she glared down at the Governor's smug face, "Figa."

With a smirk of admiration and humour on his lips, the Governor boldly declared, "I don't think you're in such a position to make threats. Send that... lovely sister of yours down with Rick."

Ellie growled at the Governor's request, rapidly shifting her eyes to meet Rick's as he shot her a nod of confirmation to follow him. Before Ellie spun on her heels to follow Rick, she leaned down to kiss her sister on the head, allowing it to briefly linger before she shoved her younger sister in Carl's direction. Rick's hand curled around Ellie's forearm as they trudged down to face the Governor as he stood atop his military tank, accompanied by a myriad of vehicles and fresh faces. Ellie's teeth gritted are the very sight of his smug stance; the way his eyes crinkled with sadistic delight; the way his head tilted at an angle that screamed for Ellie to slice his neck.

"Let them go — right now!" Rick ordered firmly, his desperate eyes darting between the Governor and his hostages.

"You've got a tank, you don't need hostages," Ellie breathed out in disbelief, her head shaking at the sight of their family tied up.

With a taunting smirk on his lips, the Governor nodded slowly as he retorted, "Oh, I do... This is just to show you I'm serious."

"Bullshit," Ellie hissed viciously, her hand instinctively falling to her holster as it curled around the handle of her pistol, "Let them go! We'll stay down here and talk all day if we have to — you let our people go right fucking now."

As though he had been entirely unfazed by Ellie's demand, the Governor's persistent smirk lingered on his lips as he announced, "I'm givin' you and your people until sundown to get out of here."

Ellie scoffed loudly at his absurdity, gritting her teeth threateningly as she spat, "This is our home. We've got sick people; women and children! I am one of those people. My... my daughter was one of those people."

"I know you'll forgive the lack of empty sympathy," the Governor retorted evilly, his voice deep with the thunder of cruelty, "This is our home now." 

"We've got women and children..." Rick repeated incredulously, his body caught in a haze of disbelief.

"So do we," the Governor retorted nonchalantly, almost as though he had verified his own superiority over the Earth's remaining habitants. "We need this prison."

"Let me ask you something, Governor," Ellie boomed, her voice cracking as she flared her nostrils, "Are you prepared to die for this cause?"

Rick shot Ellie a brisk glance, his eyes pleading for her to refrain from taunting him further, although Ellie was sure to ignore it. If she hadn't been practicing defiance, she simply hadn't been Ellie. She folded her arms across her chest as a smirk toyed at her lips, quietly observing as the Governor pondered his wilfully malevolent response.

"I think perhaps you're confusin' me with someone else, because, I'm the one with the tank, right?" the Governor shot back with wit, his lips twitching with humour, "A man chooses, a slave obeys. Isn't that what you said?"

Ellie couldn't help the wry cackle that escaped her lips before she shot back, "How can you remember that, yet, still question why we're standing here right now? We are not your slaves."

"It's certainly not something I will forget," he taunted further, his eyes squinting as her hand fastened around her holster once again.

"Well, in that case, why don't you come down here and show us how much of a man you really are without your little tank, hey?" Ellie growled, only earning a grip at her arm from Rick to ease her rage, "Like real men."

Seemingly humoured by Ellie's enragement, the Governor merely taunted, "Men? You can't expect me to fight a little lady like you?" his lips formed into a thin line as he reminded darkly, "It's your choice."

From beside the tank, a triad of snarling walkers alerted everyone from their stances, leaving the Governor to slowly remove his gun from its holster. With a firm bite to her lip, Ellie snatched her gun from her holster like a bolt of lighting, and shot each walker down consecutively, without so much as moving a muscle. Rick's hard practicing over the many months prior to their discovery of the prison had turned Ellie into a soldier. A warrior. Just as Coda had always deemed her.

The Governor's gaze instantly bolted to Ellie as he spun 360 degrees, greeting her with the barrel of his gun as he smirked. Rick's hand latched onto his revolver as he felt a growl rumble from his chest, although he hadn't needed to draw his weapon as the Governor faltered his gun, and stapled it into his holster with one swift movement. The overwhelming sense of quasi-authority lingered in the air as the Governor puffed his chest, preparing a speech.

"Noise will only draw more of them over. Longer you wait, harder it'll be for you to get out of here," the Governor contended firmly, slowly turning his gaze upward at the blue sky above with a quick shrug, "You've got maybe... an hour of sunlight left."

Hershel's eyes gazed intensely between his two leaders, his eyes glistening with the same hopefulness he had back at the farm. It was always Hershel's integrity and trust in both Ellie and Rick that allowed them to work so collaboratively. He was the very essence of their council; the glue holding the sarcophagus of safety in the form of a prison together. Hershel nodded slowly at both Rick and Ellie, conforming to them to keep a tight grasp on the last remnants of hope they possessed.

"We spilled blood to get here — innocent, unnecessary blood. We made it our home the same way you turned Woodbury into your home," Ellie growled loudly, ensuring the entirety of his clan could hear her words, "This is where we stand. Join us, or fucking leave."

"We can—" Rick started, his voice cracking as he hesitated, "We can all live together. There's enough room for all of us."

"More than enough. I don't think my people would be comfortable sharing it with yours," the Governor contended, his head shaking as he turned his gaze back to Ellie, "I couldn't live with a traitor such as River Cipriano. She's still wanted in Woodbury."

Ellie's eyes spilled with tears as she trembled with refraining from raising her weapon to his head, loudly choking out, "What makes you think my sister would want to live with her rapist?"

"I already took care of the vermin that is Merle for you," the Governor started boldly, suddenly shifting his gaze to River as he smirked, "I know Merle must have left his... mark on your sister."

A scoff nipped from Ellie's tongue as she smiled sarcastically, unable to stop herself from darkly taunting, "Believe me, it'll be nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

Though he had the entire power to end her life with the swift signal of his hand, the Governor simply flashed Ellie a cryptic smile, before he calmly stated, "We'd rather you didn't stay here, that is all."

"I don't think you heard me," Ellie hissed as she raised her voice, suddenly halting the Governor to be rigid in his position above, "This is our prison. We already spilled blood to get it, that is of no concern to us. We will stay here, and we will fight for it if we have to."

Nodding along with Ellie's statement quickly, Rick hoarsely growled in the Governor's direction, "We're not leaving. You try and force us, and we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunfire will just draw more of them here, and they'll take down the fences."

"Without fences, this place is worthless, anyway," Ellie added, her eyes squinted tauntingly, though the Governor did not shift his eyes from Rick as she spoke.

"Now, we can all live in the prison, or none of us can," Rick declared firmly, his leadership evident in the way his words had rolled so confidently from his tongue. Yet, the Governor pressed further.

The anarchist instantly leapt down from the tank, and yanked Michonne'a katana our from a nearby vehicle brought along with them. His cruelty never ceased to stun the survivors. The Governor did not hesitate to raise the katana to Hershel's neck, immediately knocking the air from Ellie's lungs, along with those surrounding them, in horror at the sight.

Within a split second, Ellie's arm had instinctively raised her gun to his head, promoting his solders to individually aim their weapons in her direction. She did not falter. Unfazed by their weaponry, Ellie's hand remained entirely still as it aimed at the Governor's head; entirely unable to withdraw, though she knew it was safer to do so.

"D–don't you dare!" Ellie shrieked, though her arm had instantly been yanked by Rick as he removed the weapon from her palm, leaving her to choke out, "Hershel is innocent in this!"

"You! You! In the ponytails — is this what you want?" Rick interrogated the young, frightened woman in the midst of the commotion, her doe eyes widened with fear at his tone. Rick shook his head as he turned to the group, "Is this what any of you want?"

"What we want is what you've got,"  a tough man in the tank replied boldly, ignoring Ellie's scowl that had been etched to her face like a mask.

"And you're not getting it," she spat harshly, curling her hand around the knife left in her holster, though she dared not risk it, "Hence the term "ours"."

"Time for you to leave, asshole!" the man retorted, emboldened by the tank he had been masking for his cowardice.

With her knuckles white like snow from twisting the wooden handle of her knife, Ellie's voice had been void of any emotion as she gritted, "Time for you to leave, asshole."

Something had switched. Like unknown fingers pushing down against the plastic of a light switch. Whose were they? What did the light do? None of it seemed to matter to Ellie as she found herself ignoring the seething desire to end the Governor's miserable existence. He might have exuded power, but he was broken on the inside. It wasn't hard for anyone to tell, when they were broken themselves. It was simply glancing into a mirror. A mirror that seemed to show nothing but destruction, reflecting back from the glassy eyes of their opponent.

"We took in his friends. His family. They've become leaders here! Now, you put down your weapons; walk through those gates — you're one of us," Rick declared firmly, his voice as authoritative as it always had been, "We're not too far gone. We get to come back."

Ellie's eyes connected with the Governor's, her lips curling with evident disgust before she hissed, "Nobody else has to die. It doesn't have to be this way. We can all work together to reclaim this filthy, rotten world. We can get rid of the fruit flies. We are done."

Hershel's smile stretched from ear to ear as their willingness to show mercy had been exactly what he could hope for. The blade slowly shifted from his neck, leaving but a millisecond of relief. The Governor's face dulled over, paling with a hideous, sunken arrogance that left Ellie's hand craving her gun back in its palm. A breath left Ellie's chest as she whirled slowly to face Daryl behind her, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he clung onto the metal fences. His face had almost been enough to drown out the sound of the Governor's final punishment. His last time to bully them. Yet, it hadn't been quite enough.

She couldn't have known it would be the very last time she would see him.

The Governor's words had been enough to draw their hairs to a stand. Almost as small as they had felt against his dark declaration of, "Liar," accompanied solely by the swing of Michonne's katana. Right through Hershel's neck.

The world appeared to stop. Shadows gripped at Ellie's legs, tugging harshly as she fought to stay on her own two feet. She had to. She couldn't even see through the glass layer of tears against her eyes; the scream that left not only her throat, but their family's surrounding them, pierced her skin. Maggie's scream had been enough to draw goosebumps on Ellie's skin, like braille that simply read: the Governor was dead.

With a piercing scream leaving her throat, Ellie didn't hesitate to whip Rick's revolver from his holster at her side, and instantly aimed upwards at the Governor's body. Rick's body tackled Ellie behind the bus the instant her bullet at penetrated the skin of the Governor's neck, grazing him with a promise.

A promise to finish the job the second that she was able to.

Her screams did not cease, even when bullets flew past at every angle, masking as wind as they whizzed past with a breeze. Ellie's widened eyes glared intensely at the ground beneath her, ignoring Rick's frantic calls in her face. How did that happen? Was Hershel truly dead?

Ellie clung to the rusted metal of the bus with vigour; her spilled eyes searching for the man who'd stolen the life of their most prized family member. The man whose wisdom carried them high above the tumultuous life of the apocalypse. He raised them high when they were afraid of sinking. He was the only thing stopping them from succumbing to a fate worse than death. And here he was, the Governor. Destroying all the light that once snuffed out the darkness. The darkness was now on their doorstep, and there was only one thing Ellie could do. Kill.

She scanned endlessly for the Governor, only to be greeted by the tank as it pushed on. It rolled against the gates like they had been ants between fingers. Squashed without a moment's thought. Ellie's hands still curled around the handle of Rick's revolver, but she simply couldn't leave him defenceless. She threw the revolver back to its owner, and felt her own gun being thrown back rapidly by Rick. He shot her a nod, though really all he had wanted to do was fall to the ground and stay there. He swallowed hard as he spun on his heels, remaining crouched behind the bus as it had been the only thing keeping them out of harm's way.

Not any longer.

Ellie lunged out from the side of the bus, her feet missing the bullets that dared fly at her as she scanned for River and Daryl through the thick smoke. Daryl had been nowhere to be seen, but there River was, storming down through the battlefield like an angel of light. She seemed to skim past the bullets like she was built for it. Her bones were but titanium, but with each step, Ellie's heart raced like the thrumming of a caged bird's wings.

River scurried behind the bus with caution, her feet scuffing against the ground as Ellie yanked her with vigour. Rick round them up beside him, his widened eyes trailing between them as he feared for their safety. He had almost wished River had stayed where she'd been; safe with Carl with the others. But this was River. She was an unstoppable powerhouse of bravery. Anyone in her wake should fear her wrath when she simply feared nothing. Rick held his index finger to his lips, silencing them as he heard the footsteps of the Governor. Enticing him.

"Don't move," Rick ordered firmly, his eyes desperately locked to Ellie's to emphasise his sincerity, "Please, Ellie. Listen, for once."

With a slight hesitancy lingering in his body, Rick took one last peak at Ellie and her sister. Leaving them alone had been the last thing he wanted, or even needed. But, there was something in him that couldn't help but pounce at the Governor once he had curved around the bus. Immersed in a tousled brawl, both men threw their punches with as much force as possible. Brute force against two Alphas, begging for their place at the top of the food chain. 

River shot down insignificant stragglers of the Governor's army, leaving time for Ellie to observe the battle ahead. But there he was.

"Ellie!" Where are you?" a familiar voice called through the haze of battle, drawing Ellie's gaze to face Shane as he shot his way down.

The moment he skidded down beside Ellie a bullet flew past him, prompting Ellie to drag him strenuously out of harms way. She sucked in a shape breath as Shane held her close, suddenly feeling as though she could unravel entirely with fear at his touch. But she couldn't. Ellie was far stronger than that. Ellie withdrew from the embrace with tense eyes, facing Shane's horrified expression and beads of sweat lining his forehead. All she could do was shake her head, feeling all words flee her body. They were empty now.

"You gotta get out of here," Shane ordered, his head shaking furiously at the stubborn blonde.

With a quick shake to her head, Ellie felt her bottom lip tremble, before she choked out, "I have to kill him!"

"No, you don't!" Shane barked, his dark eyes swirling with concern as she refused his eye contact, "Take Riv and get out of here!"

"Shane!" Ellie snapped, suddenly drawing his frantic eyes to a halt on her like a spotlight of dread. His face crumpled to a frown as she shakily declared, "I have to do this. You need to take River and wait for me back up there!"

Shane cupped at Ellie's face with his large hands, his eyes softening entirely she peered through a layer of tears. He sighed heavily, "I'm–I'm not gonna leave you here."

"I need you to," was all Ellie could choke out as she brought Shane into a tight embrace once again, burying her head deep into the brief warmth of his neck, "Get Daryl. Please... brother."

Shane gave Ellie one last squeeze before he breathed out, suddenly feeling all air knocked from his lungs. He nodded slowly as he peered at River, meeting her terrified expression as he affirmed, "We'll all he waitin' for you, El. Go kill this bastard."

Before River departed for the battlefield, Ellie brought her younger sister into a tight embrace. She was desperate to remember the sound of River's heartbeat. Fearing only that she would be detached from her only remaining family member if anything went wrong. But, she couldn't afford to think that way. If she wanted to destroy his darkness, she would simply have the be the strongest light there was.

The second River's fingers left Ellie's, a gust of wind escaped the confinements of her chest, leaving her trembling. Her gaze shifted to her own hands — all they could do. The ones she had dreamt of placing either side of the Governor's throat to squeeze. The ones that were going to have his throat between them.

Ellie's hands fumbled quickly with the ammo in her pocket, ensuring it had been locked and loaded for what she was about to do. The gun slid perfectly into her hand as she stood up from behind the bus, instantly sprinting in Rick's direction as she whistled. They each halted their brawl as Ellie hovered above them, her lips tightly fixed in a scowl of disgust.

Rick's eyes clenched tight as his body ached; screaming for his life to drain out from him from the impact of the Governor's wrath. No words were spoken as Ellie aimed the gun in his direction, her head slowly tilting as his mouth hung open in terror.

"You still passing on the offer to fight a little lady?" Ellie spat sarcastically, her eyes twinkling with bloodlust, "Let Rick go."

A smirk steadied across his lips as he gave Rick one final blow to his ribs before he unfolded from their brawl. He shakily stood to his feet, his hand gripping at Michonne's katana, despite the sting in his broken hand. He needed to remain superior. The destruction of everything around had been nothing but background noise. His final prize would be destroying Ellie; the one defiant sheep that the shepherd could not herd.

The Governor's hand whirled Michonne's katana up in an instant, feeling almost proud to wield the weapon of a supposed dead woman. Ellie's hand lingered beside her; her fingers trailing against the seam of her holster as secretively as she could.

"Take one step closer, figa, I dare you," Ellie snarled, her finger slowly slipping the safety off her gun to halt the Governor in his tracks. Her new favourite Italian word.

"What kind of man would you be to bring a gun to a knife fight?" the Governor taunted, though breathless from his previous predicament. His body had met significant blows from Rick, but he appeared valiant.

A scoff left Ellie's lips as they twisted into a firm smirk, her eyes flashing an intoxicating bloodlust as she hissed, "A smart one." Her hand instantly flung the pistol in the Governor's face, refusing to waste a single moment while he grimaced to whip the knife from her holster, and ploughed it into his stomach. Thrice. A squeal of agony left his lips, instantly prompting a grin to spread from ear to ear in Ellie's face. The knife plummeted to the ground after the third stab, but it simply seemed to enjoy the fall.

He staggered backward as the blood oozed from his stomach, feigning a shock as he twisted his lips into a grin. He pushed forward, slamming Ellie's back against the bus with vigour as she hit it with a slam. Ellie groaned as she attempted to push against his brute force, only he proved much stronger. In a second, Michonne's katana has been whipped against her throat, flattened against her skin like a necklace. Without barely lifting a finger, the Governor thrust Ellie's throat down to the ground with the katana, his hands holding it either side as he kicked her ribs down with vigour.

A groan of agony escaped her lips as she gripped at the tufts of grass, attempting to claw for the katana he had dropped from the impact. The only thing she had met was his foot against her skin. Her head shifted to greet his smirk, leaving her skin crawling with the desire to shed it entirely. He fell to his knees in an instant, straddling her body as his hand ploughed against Ellie's throat.

His fingers twisted around the pained flesh of her throat, desiring to grip so tight until her body could not stand to live. And Ellie was entirely prepared to face such a fate. Until the moment she felt the lightbulb flash high above her head; the moment she remembered all she had fought so furiously for. To kill the Governor.

It seemed perfect that Michonne were to share the same dream, when her katana suddenly sliced through the Governor's chest with vigour. His eyes widened against the tearing of his flesh, clasped in a net of agony as he had taken the most brutal of forces. But, he was far from done. His grip loosened against Ellie's neck, leaving a millisecond for her knees to kick upward, shoving his heavy body off hers with a loud groan from her lips.

Michonne's arms folded under Ellie as she hoisted her to her feet, the two flashing one another brief smiles of appreciation for one another. Until Ellie's eyes widened, recognising Michonne's presence with her meant her absence with River. Ellie clung to Michonne's arms strenuously, almost afraid to let go as Michonne frantically searched her eyes.

"Please, find River!" Ellie shrieked, her head shaking repeatedly as she panted, "Please, I'll get Rick!"

Ellie didn't await Michonne's answer as she spun on her heels, limping slightly as she face the Governor in his dying moments. A sadistic grin twitched at Ellie's lips as she sunk down beside him, relieved to see his eyes fading with each blink. She curled her hand around the wooden handle of the spare knife in her holster, almost hesitant to draw it for fear that once the deed had been done, she'd want more. She simply had to savour it.

Despite his body almost depleted of all life force, Ellie didn't hesitate to thump her first rapidly against his nose. The crunch had been mere music to her ears. She thrashed his face once again, bloodying her own knuckles from the impact as she screeched against the impact. It was torture. And she enjoyed it. Ellie ploughed her fist into his face once more, hearing his groans almost left a pleasure sifting through her body.

The Governor choked against the blood filling in his throat, but still managed to choke out, "We... still... won. Face... your death."

"Not over your dead body," was all Ellie gritted, before she ploughed the blade into his chest, and tore it as far down to his stomach as she could possibly muster, "That's for my family!" She felt his insides surge from the wound in an instant, squelching against the knife that she withdrew once again, and ploughed deep into his skull, "Because I am death."

The second the knife slipped from her hand, Ellie's broken body plummeted the ground, her knees buckling beneath her. The impact against her back hadn't even fazed her as she felt the commotion around her fog at the peripheral, suddenly tuning out the burning smoke of fire and the scent of ashy bullet casings. It all seemed... distant.

Even though her eyes had been blurred like the moment one is falling asleep, she jolted at the touch to her hand. Her neck craned slowly to the left, her blonde locks pushing against the blood on the ground as she faced Rick pulling himself against the ground. It was almost like the sight had been a defibrillator.

Ellie scrambled to her knees in an instant, her hands tugging at Rick's face as she drew his eyes to greet hers, "R–Rick? Can you hear me?"

His head slowly nodded, the weakness in his arms drew his hand to her cheek as he cupped it, managing to croak out, "It's... over."

Ellie smiled in relief against her tears, sinking her cheek into Rick's hand as he slowly pushed up from his back, "We did it."

"No," Rick croaked, his voice hoarse from the battle he'd been subjected to, "You did it."

"Come on, we have to find the kids," Ellie ordered, instantly hauling Rick to his feet with as much ease as she could muster.

With Rick's arm clinging around Ellie's shoulders, they limped together in the direction of the prison, their eyes spilling with tears at the sight of the destruction. Everything they had built had been destroyed in mere moments, all at the hand of one foolish heat he and his sadistic ideologies. Ellie couldn't help the sob that pushed from her throat, leaving Rick's hands to tighten on her shoulders in reassurance. It was all he was able to do.

"River?" Ellie boomed hoarsely, hoping her sister would materialise through the smoke like the angel she had been, "Carl?"

In a haze, Ellie felt her body being tugged by an unknown entity, much smaller than her own frame and much thinner. Ellie's hands slipped into the familiarity of River's arms, feeling her young sister squeeze mercilessly against her as she trembled. Their reunion could not have been less pleasant as the thick smoke of their burning prison choked them more than any relief ever could. The teenager thrust Ellie's backpack into her chest, refusing to waste another moment as she and Carl searched for a way through the destruction.

"We have to go!" River ordered, drawing both Ellie and Rick's haziness to face her scowl of pain.

"J–J—" Ellie could not quite get her words out as she spun on her aching heels, searching for the baby, to no avail. Her body halted as she spotted her empty carrier, feeling the air knock from her lungs as she screamed, "No!"

"We have to go!" River repeated, tugging at Ellie as Rick weakly curled his arms around her shoulders for support. River folded Ellie's hands around the handle of her backpack, but she had been far too distracted by the loss surrounding her.

Rick's face slowly tucked into Ellie's neck, his lips breathing hot hair onto her neck that felt more like a comfort than a mistake as he whispered, "Don't look back. Don't look back."

And just like that, the war was over.

A/N:
BTW I JUST LIKE CAPITALS, soz. THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHAPTERS THO! STRONG LANGUAGE BELOW.

HERE ARE SOME TRANSLATIONS FROM ITALIAN TO ENGLISH:

SORELLA — SISTER

FIGA — CUNT

MIA CUORE — MY LOVE / MY HEART

RIVER'S SPEECH — Thank you for everything, little angel. I will walk with you until night. I miss you, light of my eyes. I'm sorry for failing.