"My blood, my family is standing right here."

~Glenn Rhee

Rick was currently feeling more awkward than outraged at the moment. He shifted his eyes uncomfortably to the driver's side, who was seemingly lost in the rock music that filled the car. He was trying to find the words to interrogate her, but it seemed that his previous days as a law enforcement officer were failing him when he needed them the most.

"Um, Commander, can I take this off now?!" Jeffrey practically shouted over the radio and bag that covered his head.

"Oh yeah," Maiya laughed. "Sorry, I forgot about that. Good acting by the way. I thought you would break character."

"You mean to tell me he was never in any danger?" Rick frowned at the woman.

"Of course not. Jeffrey's been my friend since the beginning. I would never hurt him," Maiya explained. "But threatening him was the only way you would come back with us."

"Yeah, I thought it was crazy when she first told me. And I admit I was scared. I wasn't sure what might happen. But everything's all good now." Jeffrey stated from beneath the bag as Glenn removed the cable ties.

Jeffrey gave a sigh relief once he removed the bag, grinning widely at the nephew Rick practically demanded come along with him. Carl returned no sign of warmth, only glaring in response.

"C-Carl, you hardly look like the boy I remember...You've grown so much," Jeffrey stuttered, trying to ignore the obvious. "You're no longer the kid I used to wrestle with."

"Yeah, the end of the world tends to do that to people," Carl retorted, surprising both his dad and Glenn.

"Carl!" Rick turned to face his son, giving him a look to 'stop talking immediately.'

"It's fine. I was just being stupid... From what Glenn has told us, you all have been through so much crap since you arrived in D.C." Jeffrey's eyes turned sad.

Rick wanted to ask what exactly Glenn told his brother, but that would have to wait for now. There were more important things to know, which would help Rick assess the danger this group posed.

What sort of danger he and Carl were in.

"Jeff, I'm sorry that I seem so distant right now, but I'm just... stunned. I never imagined I would run into you again. I just accepted you were dead... It hurt less to erase you than to think you were still out in the world somewhere...searching for me." Rick hadn't realized he was crying until he finished his sentence.

"Richi- Rick, let me say something first. Something that I've been wanting to say for so long. I'm so, so sorry!" Jeffrey suddenly cried. "I never visited you once in the hospital. I was in Spain studying abroad and it wasn't until the end I heard what happened. I feel so guilty that I wasn't there for you."

Everyone was staring at the young man now, but he ignored their gazes and kept speaking. He might never have another chance and he didn't intend to waste it.

"I just hope... I hope you weren't there alone. I hope Carl, Lori, and Shane filled my place. I'm such an awful brother..." He whimpered.

At the mention of his wife and former best friend, Rick had to look away from his brother. Carl also lowered his head to hide his tears.

Glenn even bit his lip, knowing that this was probably a triggering memory for both father and son. Judging from their responses, he was correct, which led to a brief moment of awe for Glenn.

"Are-Are they dead?" Jeffrey's shoulders slumped, remembering that he hadn't caught a glimpse of them in Alexandria.

"Yes..." Rick let out a shaky breath. "And you're not an awful brother. I understand you couldn't be there. But you're here now."

"When I woke up in that hospital so long ago, I was alone. Everyone thought I was dead. But something told me my family wasn't. Alone and scared in this new world, I met a man named Morgan and his son Duane. They gave me another chance at life. You should have seen me riding through Atlanta like a cowboy," Rick chuckled softly, reflecting on his early days in the apocalypse. "Someone else gave me another chance at life too... I thought I was done for in that tank. There was no way I was going to escape from that horde of walkers. Until I heard his voice over that walkie talkie."

Glenn's breath was caught in his throat as he stared at Rick in sheer astonishment. He would have never believed that Rick would reference this story again if he had not heard it with his own ears. Even though he knew where the man was going with this, he wanted to hang onto every word he spoke.

Carl, who had never known about this occurrence, was listening intently to his dad. But what had also caught his attention was Glenn's disturbed expression. It hadn't been since Maggie's death had he seen Glenn this distraught.

"It looks like I keep falling into his debt. Not only did he save my life, but he's led me to my family... twice." Rick finally smiled at his brother. He couldn't explain it, but the rage, hate, and disappointment he once felt towards Glenn disappeared as he looked into the faces of his brother and son.

Maiya took notice of her brother's reaction and smiled to herself. The story of how he and Rick met was one that mirrored hers and Jeffrey's; one that demonstrated just how incredible humans could be.

"Wow... that's amazing. This man..." Jeffrey pondered out loud.

"He's sitting right beside you," Rick answered, taking a glance at the speechless Glenn.

~

Meanwhile, in Alexandria, the people who were not allowed to come along were in crisis. Their leader had just been taken to a vague location known as The Castle. The Alexandrians were advised not to follow with Rick reassuring them he and Carl would be alright. 

It didn't help that Glenn had seemingly betrayed his former friends in favor of a mysterious group led by his sister of all people.

"Maybe this group is friendly," Tara suggested hopefully to the skeptical group huddled outside the gates.

"You saw how they were. They threatened that kid." Rosita reminded her. "Who was that kid anyway?"

"He had to be important to Rick. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone with them," Aaron pointed out.

"He kinda looked like Ric-" Olivia suddenly stopped herself as what she was indicating dawned on her. On reflex, she looked at the child she was holding for any sort of familial resemblance. 

Everyone groaned loudly once this implication hit them, nearly slapping themselves in the face. From all people to resurface and be threatened, it just had to be Rick's possible brother.

"This is turning into some sort of damn soap opera," Dwight grumbled.

"Well, let's hope this is his long-lost brother and not son." Abraham was somehow the only one to find humor in this grim situation. However, this earned him a glare from Rosita.

"Anyway, this group cannot be trusted. They admitted to watching us. They know too much about us. Even without Glenn telling them..." Michonne furrowed her eyebrows in frustration at how easily they had been scouted.

"What the hell was that talk about wanting to get along? What do they even need help with? They seemed to be fine without us!" Dwight angrily exclaimed.

"Dwight, do you know who they are? Since they apparently worked for Negan?" Gabriel asked, trying to figure out what their leader had meant by their rebellion had put them in Negan's warpath.

"Nope. Never have seen them. But I never knew about Oceanside either. To be honest, Negan kept me in the dark about who worked for him. Like he did other Saviors," Dwight replied with a frown.

"Where did they even go?" Sherry voiced her concerns. "Like the woman said they were going to a castle, but there are no castles here. Was that just a codename?"

"Who knows with these people. I don't like the looks of them honestly. Just how long were they watching us?" Eric crossed his arms over his chest.

"Glenn must really hate us if he's willing to side with them and threaten Rick's brother," Tara confessed gloomily.

"....He has every right to. I mean, what have we done for him? What do we have to offer? At least he has a family now," Rosita muttered, kicking at a rock.

"Whatever. Screw him. We have bigger things to focus on. Like if these juvenile delinquents are the new version of The Saviors," Abraham grimaced as he adjusted his backpack. "I want to be prepared if they are trouble. Because there is a strong possibility they will be."

"I agree. We don't want another surprise again..." Gabriel shuddered at the memory of the last time they had underestimated The Saviors. "If things do go wrong, the other communities should already know what is happening."

"I was thinking the same damn thing. I'm going to alert Sasha," Abraham declared without hesitation.

"Is someone going to alert Ezekiel then?" Aaron wondered.

"No, I don't want people to split up again. When too many people are split up, trouble always follows. If there is an attack here, we need everyone here," Michonne stressed, which brought forth more arguments.

As the group quarreled amongst themselves, a figure listened in from the distance. It clenched its fist in determination at the opportunity that arose.

Once it had enough of the bickering, it stepped away and went back to its home where a number of people were waiting.

"I'm done waiting around. I'm done being merciful. How are we honoring our fallen by letting this murderer live?" Netanya demanded as she walked through the door.

"This is how we survived for so long. We got shit done ourselves. We didn't take chances. We didn't listen to any man because the one time we did he destroys us." Netanya was strangely calm while her women were getting fired up.

"I'm not going to let him escape. Not again. We will show him what it feels like to lose his home. To lose someone he loves," Netanya concluded; her voice dripping with sadism. "And then we will kill him."

"Grandmother... he's already lost his wife! You're going to kill his sister too?!" Cindy yelled incredulously.

"Maybe not. We will show him the same 'mercy' he showed us. We will ask her to hand him over."

"You know she won't. You saw how menacing they looked... Please, grandmother. I don't want this anymore. I just want us- all of us- to abandon this. I don't want to lose any more of you," Cindy pleaded desperately. "Especially you, grandmother. You're all I have left."

"I'm doing this for you too, Cindy. I love you. But we cannot live in peace with people like him walking around! He's dangerous. He's the real threat."

"Grandmothe-"

"Cindy, end of discussion," Netanya finished. "Tonight, we set out for The Castle. Gather as many weapons you can from the armory. Especially the explosives and guns. Also, bows and arrows and spears."

"Castle? They're at the Smithsonian museum you used to take me to?" Cindy briefly broke from her remorseful state once this was brought up.

"It looks like. That's the only castle nearby, but the Alexandrians don't seem to know that," Netanya responded smugly.

~

"No freaking way..." Carl's eye widened at the sight in front of them as he pressed his face against the window. 

"You weren't exaggerating when you mentioned a castle..." Rick leaned forward over the dashboard.

"Probably the only castle in America and we were able to secure it. There were only about sixty of us with only the clothes on our backs and a few bullets when we arrived. This place was completely overrun. And with a huge lawn surrounding it, you should have seen it. Everyone thought I was crazy, but something told me this place would be the best place to hole up in," She described proudly as they all climbed out. "Good thing we didn't just have guns. The war had left us with practically nothing. Axes, machetes, chains, sickles, and swords were things we scavenged along the way. Oh, and homemade explosives."

"Geez, sis. You'll need to prepare some sort of recorded speech if you have to keep explaining this," Glenn offered sarcastically, causing Maiya to scowl at him.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Back in Georgia, we also secured an overrun prison," Rick clarified, trying to match his strength with her's subconsciously.

"I built the wall! All those architect classes finally paid off!" Jeffrey wrapped his brother and nephew into a side hug from behind. 

"You all sure like to brag." Carl glared up sternly at his uncle.

"Each one of the members is a genius in something. Architecture, chemistry, medicine, engineering, art, weapons, botany, military, and even fashion are just some of what we excel in," Maiya continued, leading the father and son towards the garden. "Yeah, I know. Why would fashion be of importance? But these uniforms are made of denim, which makes it harder for those monsters to bite through," Maiya laughed at the father and son's reaction to this.

"That is one of the reasons I wanted to reach out to you. We would like any one of your geniuses to work with us. Specifically someone in the science or medical field."

"We don't have any doctors or scientists. They are either dead or fake or both," Carl replied, unimpressed with this tour. Rick and Glenn exchanged a wary look with one another at this, knowing exactly who he was referring to.

"Seriously? Those are the last people who should be dead!" Jeffrey added. "That sucks. How did they even die?"

"Ask your brother," Rick and Glenn suggested at the same time, sending them both into shock. 

"Uh, we can talk about that later." Maiya quickly changed the subject before things unraveled. "We were able to cultivate this garden. But this is our only food source. We've just been living on a vegan diet..." Maiya's face contorted into one of disgust as did Jeffrey's. 

"I want to start up a trade for other food sources. We have a variety of fruits and vegetables and we would like some livestock in return." 

"That can be arranged," Rick distantly answered as he studied the crops. This was the garden of Eden compared to their measly one back in Alexandria.

"Perfect! Since you don't have any medics, I can send one to you if you send some sort of engineer here," Maiya grinned. 

"An engineer? For what?" Rick raised an eyebrow.

"Can I tell him? I want to be the one to tell him!" Jeffrey chirped. 

"Go ahead," Maiya shared a knowing glance with her brother. 

"We have a helicopter! We're trying to start it up again! It's next to a museum nearby!"

"What?!" Carl and Rick both startled at this.

"You're in the Smithsonian. Surrounded by other Smithsonian's! How else do you think we got our equipment?" Maiya exclaimed, gesturing her arms out wide. 

"Certainly not by stealing from those poor garbage people," A voice said from behind them. Dante emerged with a smirk on his face.

"Tsk, don't remind me of those creeps. They had what was coming to them." Maiya pursed her lips.

"What was this about not fighting?" Rick reminded her of the talk she gave him back in Alexandria. 

"It wasn't much of a fight once we were through with them," The woman snickered. "Humanity was better off without them."

"Yeah, they wanted us to give them our weapons and food," Jeffrey stated glumly. "They weren't good people."

"And they had a pile of things they had no use for," Maiya insisted, continuing their tour to the inside of the castle. "Why let that go to waste?"

Rick and Carl could not contain their amazement at the interior, which Jeffrey gleefully took notice of from beside the pair. Maiya, to a lesser extent, noticed this as well and felt accomplished.

"I have a schedule for everyone here. Everyone gets up before dawn for exercises and training. Afterwards, we eat and everyone is assigned a role to do their own thing. The medics and scientists all work in the lab while the rest of us either make runs, guard the castle, or repair and adjust things around here."

"Medics and scientists? They might have that sort of background, but I would hardly call them that," Rick retorted, half-jokingly.

Jeffrey knew his brother well enough to take this comment as a joke. However, Maiya and to a lesser extent, Dante took offense to this jab. Glenn was already biting his tongue to keep from laughing.

"You want some sort of paperwork? A lot of good that degree did the official ones," Dante shot back.

"They're probably the ones who caused all of this. And as usual, the younger generations have to fix their mess," Maiya sighed. 

"Hey, I-I didn't mean to- It was just a joke." Rick put his hands up in defense, not wanting to get on their bad side. 

"Dad, aren't you going to ask them your famous question?" Carl pointed out. 

"Might as well. I hate to ask this, but how many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed? Why?"

Jeffrey, Dante, and Maiya all looked at each other before the latter shouted:

"What?  What kind of dumbass question is that? That would be really psychotic to keep a kill count! And yes, we have killed before. Who hasn't in this world? It's how you survive!" Maiya shrieked, beginning to doubt if Rick and Alexandria were suitable allies and her face showed it.

Rick remained silence for once unable to believe how easily this woman could run circles around him. She was like her brother, but at the same time the complete opposite. She was hard to figure out, which bothered him.

So as she showed them the defense towers, weapons storage, briefing room, and eventually the helicopter site, he observed how she conspicuously left out the supposed lab. 

 As much as this castle interested him, he wanted to speak to his brother in private. This group was perfect- almost too perfect for his liking. They were organized, intelligent, and talented, which made for a deadly combination. 

However, he wondered if he would enjoy finding out just exactly what his brother had been a part of. 

~

"You missed me so much you're already back." Sasha smiled warmly at Abraham. When he didn't smile back, she knew something was wrong.

"Abe... what's going on?"

"Rick and Carl... they've been taken by Glenn's sister who may also have Rick's brother!" Abraham mentally facepalmed as he realized just how strange that sentence was. 

"....What?"

"I know it sounds crazy but-"

"But you just drop this Star Wars reveal on me! This makes no sense! Where did she even come from?!" Sasha cried.

"I have no idea. This group just appeared at Alexandria and Glenn was with them. They made Rick and Carl go with them- they had this kid who looked like a Grimes, but we don't know exactly who he is. Alexandria is practically gone to hell in a handbasket. I had to even sneak away to get over here!"

Sasha was at a loss for words as Abraham continued. She had to sit down to process all of this before she asked him:

"Where did they go?"

"We didn't follow them... We weren't allowed to. But they mentioned a castle."

"Castle? There are no castles here!" Sasha groaned.

"That's what we thought too. Sherry suggested that it could be a codename for something else, which makes the most sense."

"There is a map lying around here somewhere." Sasha started pulling open drawers in her office. 

A knock at the door interrupted them and Jesus entered.

"King Ezekiel is here."

Sasha seemed surprised he was here until Jesus reminded her that he was here to discuss their trade.

"Just what I needed at the moment," Sasha sighed. "Bring him in...Wait, is his tiger here?"

"Of course. He hardly ever goes anywhere without her," Jesus answered, glancing at Abraham. "Is right now a bad time?"

"No," Sasha replied the same time Abraham said, "Yeah."

"We can go outside to meet him. Besides he should know about all this." Sasha rose to her feet. "Jesus, I need a favor. Can you try to find me a map of the D.C. area? We're trying to locate something."

"Sure. I'll look for it while you talk with the King. He is waiting right outside."

As Jesus said, King Ezekiel was on the porch with Shiva, who was playing with a box. Nevertheless, Sasha and Abraham both tensed up at the sight of the big animal.

"Greetings!" Ezekiel waved. "It has been too long since I have seen you, Abraham. Sasha, you look wonderful as always."

"Thanks, Ezekiel. It is nice to see you too." Sasha forced a smile despite her concern.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I will not be able to trade livestock with you for some time. Our pigs have caught an illness."

"It's fine, I understand these things happen," Sasha stated dejectedly. "But we can still provide chickens if you can make up for our medical storage."

"That will be no problem at all," Ezekiel grinned.

"Sasha! I found it!" Jesus came running out of the house with a map in hand.

"Thank you so much, Jesus." Sasha took it from him and put it in her back pocket.

"Forgive my intrusion, but what is that map for?" Ezekiel asked, sensing something else was happening.

"Guess this is a good as time as any. Rick and Carl have been taken by a new group that includes Glenn and his sister... and possibly Rick's brother?" Sasha looked to Abraham for confirmation, which he nodded his head verification.

Ezekiel and Jesus glanced at each other in confusion. Even Shiva had stopped playing with her box to look at the group.

Abraham thought this would be the time to start explaining what little he knew. "This group has admitted to scouting us and watching us. They know a lot about Alexandria and have even worked for Negan at one point. But they didn't claim to be Saviors... They wanted our help in something. They want to work with us."

"Do you know where they went?" Jesus scratched his head, becoming even more confused.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. They were vague, but they said they were going to a castle." Sasha pulled out the map.

"The Smithsonian Castle! It is not too far from where I used to work and where I rescued Shiva!" Ezekiel concluded ecstatically. Hearing her name, Shiva let out a chuff.

"Yeah, it has to be there. Which is actually a great place to live in." Jesus tapped his chin.

"Well, then do we start heading over there?" Sasha was ready to hop into a car and see the place.

"No. We don't know exactly how dangerous these brats are. The last thing we want to do is underestimate them." Abraham gritted his teeth. "We need to scout them too before we do anything."

"Then we need to be sure this is the place... I want to know who we might be up against," Sasha specified.

"The best way is to sneak into the compound," Jesus suggested. 

"Jesus... if this is going where I think it is-" Sasha started, but Jesus cut her off.

"I can do this. I-"

"No," She interrupted. "If something goes wrong, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. There has to be another way."

"Like what?" Abraham bluntly questioned. "The man knows what he's doing."

"I can even take a walkie talkie with me," Jesus reassured. 

Sasha felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back as embraced the man.

"Okay. But promise you will come back here. I need you. We all do."

"I promise."

~

The sun was setting and on top of the castle made the view look even more spectacular. Rick and Carl were preparing to head back shortly after they ate dinner. At dinner, Rick planned to announce he would work with this group.

Of course, this would be a ploy to find out these people's true motivations and to keep his brother and people safe.

He didn't truly believe that his brother was out of harm's way yet. And he certainly didn't believe his people would ever be.

But given the corner he was in, he didn't have much choice to work with this group. He couldn't just refuse them while he was in their territory. 

While they had his brother.

While they had this strength.

What also linked the two groups was the passionate belief to rebuild civilization. Rick wanted that more than anything; to restore humanity.

If these people turned out to be trustworthy, they would have a real chance of accomplishing this goal.

But there was always that chance- that doubt. 

"Do you plan on telling him?" A voice broke Rick from his inner thoughts. He had been so lost in them that he didn't hear Glenn come up to the top.

"Tell who?"

"Jeffrey," Glenn answered, looking down at something in his hands.  Pieces of paper banded together to form a journal.

"Tell him what?" Rick narrowed his eyes at the man.

"About Shane. How he died. About Lori. How she died. His niece. How Carl lost his eye." The wind picked up suddenly as Glenn's voice became sharper. "Or what about Daryl? The man you called a brother?"

"Don't you screw this up, Glenn!" Rick shouted.

"I'm not going to tell him. But you at least owe him that." Glenn turned his head back to face the sunset; the wind whipping his hair and journal furiously.

 Rick took in a deep breath before speaking. "What I said earlier, I meant it. I really am thankful for you saving my life. For leading me to my son and wife. And now, my brother. I know I don't deserve all of this. But just hear me out, Glenn. What you're facing is something I can't even begin to understand. What you've lost is unimaginable. That would have broken anyone, and you've been the strongest person I have ever known. You need time to grieve and I should have sympathized with that. Instead, I inserted myself into something I had no business in. I'm so sorry, Glenn. For everything you've lost and for every way I have wronged you."

Glenn remained silent at this, only the sound of the wind howling was heard. But even with Glenn's head turned away from him, he could see the tears hitting his papers. 

"I-I.."

But Glenn's words were never spoken as Jeffrey had entered. 

"Dinner's ready!"

Glenn shuddered at this and hurriedly exited the tower, leaving the brothers alone. 

"Hm. He must have been hungry," Jeffrey thought out loud.

Rick wanted to be angry with his brother's intrusion, but his innocent face couldn't allow him to.

"I've been wanting to talk you. But I haven't gotten the chance. Commander Rhee sure had us busy today," He laughed.

"Jeff, I've been wanting to talk with you too. There's just so much I need to say. But first-" Rick enveloped him into a hug. "You don't know how glad I am you are alive."

Jeffrey hugged his brother back, sobbing into his shoulder. "I thought you and Carl hated me or something. You both seemed so aloof."

Rick's heart melted at this. The last thing he wanted was for his younger brother to think he was ungrateful he was alive.

"Carl's been through so much as you can obviously see. He was lost his eye to a bullet. He had to see Lori die and he was the one to..." Rick paused, letting this sink in for an appalled Jeffrey. "He's had to grow up fast."

"I-I would have never thought... Oh, Rick. Here, I have been living a sheltered life when you two have seen hell."

"And there's more... one day, I'll tell you. But not right now. There's something more important you need to know." Rick was finally crying at this tragic reunion. "You have a niece."

"Wha-What? What's her name?" Jeffrey cried. "Where is she?"

"Judith. She was the last thing Lori gave to this world. She's back in Alexa-"

But their temporary joy was cut short as an explosion filled the air.

Jeffrey and Rick broke from their embrace and looked towards where the explosion had hit.

The garden, which was quickly being consumed in flames.

Jeffrey let out a strangled cry at the sight, hanging onto his brother tightly. Rick could only look on in horror at what stood in the distance.

At the gate, stood Netanya and her Oceanside women with their weapons drawn.

And their eyes burning with a fierce vengeance.