It felt surreal to be back after so long. I knew I would return eventually, but Woodbury had seemed like a different world completely: different location, different people, essentially a different life.

In many ways, after being saved from my otherwise fatal bite wound, Woodbury had felt like heaven – a vision which was obscured only by my love for Carl.

I knew I would return to Alexandria eventually; I had made that my mission since I had first awoken following my operation, but to actually be back was a sensation that I had not prepared for nor fully anticipated.

"You ready?" the Governor looked down to me. I responded with a firm nod.

As the gates were finally opened with a loud creek, revealing the community in all its glory, the Governor and I walked inside Alexandria's walls, flanked by the guards which were far too well-armed for me to feel comfortable stood by them.

It's as though they've geared up for a war or something.

If it wasn't for the fact that Phillip had often stated how dependent the community was on these negotiations, I would have probably been convinced by that theory. But from what I had been told, the importance of this agreement was far too high to be simply thrown away.

That didn't change the fact that such powerful weaponry being casually carried by strangers into the community had struck fear into Alexandria's citizens. Children that were running around, playing football or tag now ran inside, and families backed away nervously as the soldiers paraded down the street.

"Phillip Blake?" a voice called from close by. We all turned to face the sound, where we discovered Deanna's son, Spencer.

"If you follow me, I'll lead you to the church. My mother and Rick – the two leaders of the community – they're waiting for you there."

"My men are coming too," the Governor insisted.

"All of them?" Spencer asked, clearly intimidated by the sight of rocket launchers and AK47s that could easily outgun the rusty pistols and old rifles stored in Alexandria's armoury.

"No," the Governor replied, eliciting a sense of relief from both Spencer and me, "just some. Wouldn't want to start a war, would we?"

He then turned to me, "now you can take a look around, and find Carl. Let me know how it goes. I'll find you after the negotiations are finished."

I nodded in understanding before Phillip, accompanied by about half a dozen of his ten bodyguards, began walking toward Alexandria's church. Peering up toward the steeple, I saw Sasha and Tyreese stood in the guard tower, both tightly clutching their weapons. I gave a smile of relief and waved to them, but brother and sister were preoccupied; their scopes following the movements of the Governor and his men.

Nobody's taking any chances here; each community wants to protect their own.

This is going to be a big day for everyone, not just for me and my reunion with Carl...

I could only assume that Carl was at home, so that was where I decided to go. I breathed in deep, thanking God that I had lived to see this day, before walking down the street to find my boyfriend.

---

-Phillip-

Rick Grimes seemed like a formidable man. He sat in front of me with a Colt Python holstered in his pocket, one hand firmly clutching it at the two of us sat at a large oaken table in the center of the church.

An elderly woman stood beside him, her arms crossed as she listened to the conversation intently. I assumed this to be Deanna: the former leader of the community, until Rick had essentially took over.

These were the two leaders of the camp, together in one room, which had pleased me even before we began discussing our negotiations.

This will make things that much easier...

"You understand this is a momentous occasion for both of our communities?" Deanna spoke.

"I'm quite aware," I responded calmly, "if it wasn't, I wouldn't be here."

"Of course, but you're becoming dangerously close to squandering it by bringing so much firepower inside our walls."

"You can't be too careful," I replied – the same excuse I had given Riley back in the vehicle – "and I'll tell you what: as a token of our new-found alliance, you can have these weapons. They're military grade armaments, and I guarantee you won't find them anywhere else."

"Let's not jump to conclusions here," Rick spoke up, "we don't even know if there is an 'alliance' yet."

"We have weapons, ammunition, medical equipment, vehicles and more back in Woodbury. But Alexandria has things we need too; diesel, for example, and food and water. Together, we have two prosperous, sustainable communities, Rick. Two beacons of hope; two symbols of a good future, not just for us, but for humanity as a whole. Can we afford to not forge an alliance here?"

"That remains to be seen," Deanna replied for him.

"We don't have any proof of all of these provisions that you claim to have," Rick elaborated on her behalf, "we might be able to show you the 'petrol, food and water' we have here at Alexandria, but how are we supposed to believe you?"

My patience gradually began to wear thin. I had expected a setback like this – I had prepared for a setback like this.

"It's been a very long journey. I'd hate for it to be for nothing, Rick."

Rick leaned forwards, clicking the safety off on his pistol, "I hope that wasn't a threat."

However, at that moment, I took my eyes off Alexandria's leaders and instead noticed a boy that was slumped on the dust-coated pulpit steps at the front of the church.

"Who's this?" I asked, directing my gaze at the boy, who barely acknowledged my presence.

"That's none of your concern," Rick growled in frustration.

"I think it might be," I replied, realizing that the teenager matched Riley's descriptions of Carl Grimes himself.

"Phillip Blake," Deanna snapped, drawing my attention back to her and Rick, who were clearly losing patience and the will to co-operate, "do you want to negotiate or not? Because if you do, you're doing a poor job of convincing us."

I chuckled cynically to myself.

These negotiations were failed before they even began...

The rest of my men would have infiltrated Alexandria's armoury by now. They would have already stolen the weapons and fuel, as I had instructed.

And that meant I was done here.

"Actually..." I sighed, "No. I don't want to negotiate. Why negotiate, when you can just take what you want?"

Rick and Deanna had been careless; they only had three people protecting them. Two men and a woman. They held pistols and wore casual clothing. They looked more like shop-owners than soldiers.

I raised my hand and clenched it into a fist. That was the signal.

"Oh God," Deanna exclaimed, accompanied with a shout of "get down!" from Rick.

In an instant, he had flipped the table, knocking me back from it, and pulled Deanna and himself behind it.

Then, gunfire erupted from both directions, and the world went to chaos.