"I know it's wrong, but I'd trade any number of people for one of ours any day."

~Glenn Rhee

"Now don't make me ask again," Negan warned Spencer. The clueless man wasn't supposed to open the gates to Alexandria. Spencer reluctantly let Negan and his men into their home, wondering who this man was and what the hell he was doing here.

Before things could escalate, Rick arrived at the tense scene. "What are you doing here?" He asked breathlessly, his eyes glued to what Negan held in his hand; Lucille.

"What does it look like I'm here for, Rick? I'm here for half of your shit!" Negan pointed the bat at Rick, who unwillingly flinched.

This did not go unnoticed by Negan, so he commanded him to hold it. Rick grudgingly took ahold of it; not wanting to see the dried blood and pieces of flesh clinging to it.

"We can gather the supplies for you," Rick told him, desperately wanting Negan to pack up and go.

"I'll be the one to decide that," Negan fired back, looking around at the scenery. "This sure is a nice place ya got here." Rosita rolled her eyes in annoyance, something that Negan did not appreciate. He stood in front of her, his chest nearly touching hers. She did not turn her face up towards him; she refused to meet his lecherous look. Unable to take this invasion of space any longer, Rosita walked off back to Spencer. Negan chuckled at this, but Rick was far from amused.

"Alright, start searching the house for whatever you want!" One of Negan's lieutenants yelled. "Nothing is off limits!" The Saviors perked up upon hearing this and immediately started to raid the houses.

Rick could only watch helplessly as his people's items were forcefully taken from them. Negan grinned in amusement at the scene in front of him, enjoying how Rick was under his thumb.

Dwight, wanting to have some fun of his own, turned his attention to Rosita and Spencer. "Roooosiiita," he called out to her. She narrowed his eyes at him in disgust. "I need you all to do me a favor," he snatched her hat. "I want Daryl's bike and you know where it's at."

Rosita looked as if she wanted to murder Dwight on the spot and oh, how badly did she want to. "Whatever," she responded before climbing into the car with a puzzled Spencer.

"Before you go, I'm gonna need your guns," Dwight held out his hand

"How do you expect us to get the bike then?" Rosita shot back.

"I'm sure you can find a way..." He implied that if they wanted to live they better find a way to retrieve the motorcycle. Rosita practically shoved the guns in Dwight's burnt face before accelerating off.

"We found this," a Savior approached Negan with a camcorder.

"Now what do we have here?" Negan turned on the camcorder and a fully bearded Rick came onto the screen, causing Negan to laugh. "Talk about an extreme makeover!" Negan switched on the recording button and filmed the vastly different Rick in front of him.

"Say hi to the camera!" Negan zoomed in and out on him.

Once Negan got bored of that, he started viewing the other videos. "Oh, memories," he pointed at the screen, which showed Daryl being interviewed. Rick swallowed his grief that threatened to spill over as he saw his brother. Negan skipped to the next video and whistled, "I would have asked her to be my wife in an instant if she hadn't died. She would have made an excellent addition to my home." He flipped the screen over to show a long-haired Maggie talking about her skills. Rick gripped Lucille tightly, seething once again.

"Did you come to pay your respects?" a man behind Negan asked. Negan quickly turned around startled.

"Holy shit, you are creepy as hell! Scaring me with that freaky smile," Negan said to a slightly insulted Gabriel. The priest led the way to the graveyard, with Negan and Rick following behind him.

They looked silently at the graves before Negan spoke up: "How is her husband doing? I wouldn't expect too well." Something in his word choice bothered Rick, but he couldn't indicate what. Gabriel only looked at Rick worriedly and Rick did the same. The truth is they didn't know; Glenn had shut himself up in his house. "I'd like to see him; where is he?" Negan continued.

"I'm right here," an angry voice responded behind the three of them.

"Ah, the man of the hour!" Negan roughly grabbed Lucille from Rick's hand and placed it on Glenn's shoulder, causing him to twist his head to avoid the barbed wire. Rick and Gabriel could only hold their breath as they watched anxiously.

"I was just paying my respects to your lovely wife," Negan pressed the bat down on Glenn's shoulder. Glenn visibly fumed as Negan's insensitivity continued. "I can see you haven't changed your clothes. No wonder you smell."

In just a swift move of the arm, Glenn had a gun aimed straight at Negan's mouth. "I can see you haven't stopped running that mouth of yours. No wonder so much shit is being spewed out."

"Glenn! Put the gun down!" Rick couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Glenn knew what this man was capable of and he still does this?

Negan was very surprised by this, but laughed it off. "Did you just threaten me, boy?"

"Glenn, please. Put it down," Rick begged. He wouldn't be able to see another person have their brains smashed, not again, not ever.

"Rick, don't interrupt. We are having a conversation," Negan glared at him, then switched over to Glenn. "I doubt you even have the balls to pull the trigger."

Glenn slowly lowered the gun, but eyed Negan as he did it. Negan smirked, "I knew it. The closest thing you'll ever get to having some is with Lucille." Negan raised the bat, causing Rick and Gabriel to shout and plead. Glenn firmly held his ground, bracing for the impact. But at the same moment, a commotion was heard.

The situation was diffused as Negan, Gabriel, and Rick decided to figure out what was happening, leaving Glenn behind with Maggie's grave.

Glenn fell to his knees beside it, stroking the dirt. At this point, he had a death wish. He didn't care if Negan killed him, but he was going to go out as a martyr. He was going to prove to him that he wasn't scared of whatever punishment Negan dealt out.

The three of them entered the street to find one of the Saviors being threatened by Carl. The Savior was harassing Enid until Carl came up to put a stop to it.

"You all better leave. Before you see how dangerous we really are," Carl waved the gun at the Savior. Rick wanted to cry upon seeing what was happening.

"Careful, kid, or you might shoot your eye out," Negan leered. This struck Carl, who sighed before putting away the gun.

"It seems like your people don't know how to handle guns. They're too trigger happy and irresponsible," Negan addressed Rick. "I can't allow this, Rick. I'm sure you'll understand when I say I'm taking all your guns as a precaution." Rick nodded grimly; Carl couldn't even look at his dad at that moment.

"Show me where all your guns and my guns are," Negan demanded. Across the street, Carol was crying as some Saviors took her mattress. Rick noticed this as did Gabriel. They looked to each other in understanding what they were going to do. "I'll lead the way," Gabriel smiled as Rick went to Carol.

"Carol, I'm sorry. But I'm not in charge anymore. You have to do what Negan says," Rick tried consoling her.

"It's not only that. It's just... everything we've worked for... It's all gone because of me."

"Carol, don't say that. It's not your fault."

"Oh, stop it, Rick. I can see it in everyone's eyes how they feel. They blame me. I blame me."

"I was the leader. I'm the one who failed you all. I thought we could take him on... but I was wrong. I put us in this situation."

"Rick, you still are our leader."

"No, not anymore. This is our life now; we work for him."

"Then I don't want this life," Carol's eyes welled up as did Rick's.

"Carol..." Rick started to say before she stopped him.

"Go to him, he probably wants to know where you're at." Rick slowly walked away, glancing at Carol as he left. Her appearance looked ragged and tired, but in spite of this, she smiled at him.

In the armory, Abraham was raging as Negan and his men confiscated all the guns. He saw Rick walking over and came towards him before he reached the armory.

"Rick, what in tarnation's is going on?! He just waltzes here, insults Olivia and I's appearance, and starts taking things! Why are you allowing this?!"

"Because he's in charge now. We do what he says," Rick wearily explained.

Abraham huffed. "I only take your orders. Not this scumbag's."

"Abraham, you weren't there when he killed... when he killed them. Please, just follow his orders. He can still hurt people. He almost hurt Glenn earlier."

"Alright, but I don't know how much more I can keep silent. It's a good thing Sasha is away at Hilltop; I don't think she would let this asshole walk all over her," and with that Abraham left Rick to deal with the Saviors.

~

After Rick endured more mockery from Negan, he decided to find Glenn and talk to him about his behavior. Negan was still collecting the guns and didn't need Rick at the moment. Rick searched for Glenn at his house, but he was nowhere to be seen. He thought he might still be at the church and he turned out to be right. Glenn was sitting at the closest pew to the front with his head down. Rick thought was praying until he got closer and saw he was unloading and reloading his gun.

"You're going to need to hand that over," Rick ordered.

"If Negan wants it, he can come get it himself."

"Glenn!" Rick said sharply. "I get that you're angry, I get it. But he nearly killed you. If you act out again, he will kill you. Or someone else."

Glenn looked up at him sternly. "The Rick Grimes I followed would have never bent over backwards to serve Negan. He would have put a bullet through his brain the minute he stepped foot in Alexandria." Rick only listened, grief and guilt overwhelming him. "The Rick Grimes Daryl and... and Maggie followed and respected would have avenged them by now," hot tears spilled down Glenn's cheeks. "Why is the Rick Grimes that's standing in front of me allowing this murderer to control our lives?"

"Cause I want you to live, Glenn," Rick's voice was barely above a whisper. "Maggie would want you to live."

Glenn let out a shaky breath at this. "Maggie and Daryl would want us to live. But not like this."

"We don't have the numbers to..."

"Screw your numbers. It wasn't like that at Woodbury," Glenn pointed out. Rick lowered his head at this.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear," Gabriel said, stepping out of the shadows. "Rick, we can... we will overcome this. It isn't entirely hopeless."

"There's no way out," Rick responded sadly.

"There's always a way," Gabriel approached them, smiling. "I believe in us. I believe in Rick Grimes."

Glenn stood up and finally gave Rick the gun. "Here." Rick looked in disbelief at Glenn as he walked out of the pew.

"Glenn, I need to ask you something. Do you blame me for what happened?" Rick asked, already expecting the answer to be a sound "yes."

"No. I'm glad I rescued that idiot from the tank that day in Atlanta," Glenn smiled a little causing Rick to break down. Gabriel smiled sadly at this, too before Glenn walked out of the church. Rick and Gabriel followed shortly after.

Negan was packing up the last of their items when Rosita and Spencer finally returned. Dwight grinned at his new motorcycle and took it from Spencer. "You find anything else?" Dwight asked.

"Just your dead friends," Rosita replied nonchalantly, crossing her arms. Dwight pursed his mouth into a tight smile at this. Rosita ignored this and went to Glenn's side. Rick, who Negan had forced to hold Lucille again, thanked Negan to get him to leave.

Negan nodded and turned his attention to Glenn. Rick had a firm grip on Lucille, ready to strike Negan if he hurt Glenn.

"And here I thought you were a threat. You have caused me some trouble, but I've found it quite amusing. You, trying to take me on," He pointed his finger in Glenn's face. "That's almost as funny as you getting a wife in the first place!" Glenn took a deep breath in, trying to control his anger.

"I should kill you. But your attempts to be a man, to be on my level, were just too entertaining. Plus half of you would be dead already for giving me lip. I'm a nice guy, I don't want to keep killin' you all," Negan's eyes lit up as a thought crossed his mind. "Ya see, Rick was a man. But now he's my bitch," He went over to Rick and patted him on the shoulder. "Hell, all of you are!" Negan shouted gleefully.

Michonne, who was on a hunting trip, strolled into Alexandria with a rifle and a deer. "Ooo! Dinner!" Negan rubbed his hands together. Michonne scowled at him as she laid the deer at his feet. Negan cleared his throat, "You're forgetting something, the rifle." Michonne unstrapped the rifle from her and put it down beside the deer. She hated being in this position, practically bowing to a man who had killed her family. She wasn't going to go down so easily; she was going to defy him each chance she got even if it were in subtle ways.

Negan smugly grinned as he started to head off towards his truck until he said: "Oh, I almost forgot something." He went to Rick and snatched Lucille from his hand. "I just slipped my dick down your throat and you thanked me for it," He leaned into Rick, his tone menacing.

Rosita, Glenn, and Michonne could only glower at the man who had not only destroyed their lives, but used every chance he got to insult, mock, and break down them and their leader. Rick closed his eyes as he took the jab, knowing he could not respond accordingly.

The gate was shut as Negan finally left the city, letting the residents give a sigh of relief. However, the peace did not last long since Spencer confronted the real villain in his eyes, Rick.

"We should have made a deal with them when we could've. Oh, yeah. We're sooo lucky! You've led us to the promised land, isn't that right, Rick? It's over; this is our life now. Maybe if you would have thought this through, Daryl and Maggie would still be with us!" Spencer snapped.

Rick opened his mouth with a retort, but Glenn jumped in front of him, furious. "When I hit your brother that time, will be nothing compared to your broken jaw and smashed in teeth if you ever say her name again," Glenn's entire face turned dark. Spencer swallowed as he saw this new side of Glenn. Everyone there gaped in shock, even Rick who had witnessed Glenn's threats earlier. Glenn turned on his heel and went off to his house.

Later in the day, Rick was setting up blankets over where his bed used to be when Michonne walked in. "I'm concerned about Glenn."

Rick looked up for a moment, but went back to his work. "He's just struggling to accept it. But he's going to have to."

Michonne shook her head, "How do we accept this? We have never simply accepted things before; it's why we have survived as long we have."

Rick sighed, "We all have to accept this in order to make it work. In order to survive. This is how we live now."

"I'll try," was all she said before she left the room.

She went back to her "hunting spot" when she noticed smoke in the distance. Curious, she went to investigate and to her horror, she wished she hadn't. All of their mattresses were in a pile, smoldering. She started shaking with rage, but it quickly turned to tears. No, she was never going to accept this.

In the night, Rosita made her way towards Eugene's house with a shell casing she found in the woods whilst searching for Daryl's bike. As she made her way over there, she got the feeling someone was following her. "Who's there?" She turned around, ready to fight.

"It's just me," Glenn said, carrying something behind him. But it was too dark to see what it was.

"Glenn? Why are you following me?" Rosita asked, slightly weirded out.

"I wasn't. Well, I didn't mean to. I was walking back to my house after picking up something when I saw you."

"Oh, I was going over to Eugene's," a new emotion overtook her. Determination to bring down Negan's reign. "I'm going to have him make me a bullet."

Glenn was surprised by this grit in her, but also liked that he wasn't the only one feeling this way. "For what?" He already knew what she meant, but he wanted to hear her say it.

"All it takes is one bullet. One bullet to end this," Her eyes seemed to glow with rage. "Why is everyone so scared of him? Yeah, I know what he did was terrifying. But without that bat, he's-"

"He's just a man. That's what he's been from the start. Nothing more than an ordinary man," Glenn finished for her. Rosita nodded in agreement.

"Or it could just take..." Glenn revealed what he had been hiding. He threw it down between them; it made a loud clang as it hit the pavement. "One bat."