Y/N made it to Mariana and grabbed her, his weight taking the both of them down. He turned as they fell, taking the brunt of the landing before they rolled again, Y/N's body finishing on top of Mariana, fortuitously behind cover, as the ones in the woods opened fire.

The others jumped behind cover, Javi calling out "Mariana!!!" as he did. Y/N looked down at the girl underneath him, asking:

"You hit?"

Mariana looked up at the teen who had just saved her life lovestruck and blushed intensely at the intimate position they had landed in. She shook her head and replied:

"You just saved my life."

Y/N rolled off and to a knee, pulling his gun out and cocking it as he returned fire.

"Clem?!?" He called out, relieved when she shouted back, "I'm fine you?"

"We're good. Javi, Tripp?"

Both men yelled back they were fine as the gunfight continued. Y/N and Mariana were trapped behind a barricade, about 20 feet from the others, who themselves were a dozen feet roughly from Tripp's armoured vehicle.

"You gotta get over here babe" Clementine yelled, Y/N chuckled as he fired before getting behind cover again: "Yeah crossed my mind too"

"Can you make it?" Javi yelled, Y/N replying "AR will chew us up. Tripp... surprise packet!"

Tripp nodded in understanding, pulling a grenade from his chest and pulling the pin, throwing it across the road into the forest. Y/N grabbed Mariana's hand and said "3...2... and the moment the grenade exploded pulled her up and towards the others, firing into the trees as he did. They made it to the barricade Clem and Gabe were behind, Clem firing at their adversaries, Gabe sat on the ground with his hands over his ears.

"Thank God" Clem smiled, kissing Y/N as the pair got to cover, Mariana calling out with concern:

"Kate?"

The couple looked over next to where Javi and Tripp were firing from behind the burnt out van, Kate was sat next to them on the ground, holding her stomach and bleeding.

"Kate? Kate!?" Javi yelled, drawn from the fire fight and noticing her injury for the first time.

"Fuck are you ok?" Javi panicked, leaning down and seeing the extent of her injury, a gunshot wound to the stomach.

"Didn't get behind cover fast enough... I'm fine, really."

Clementine and Y/N kept firing as Tripp leant down and spoke to Javi:

"She's not. And the longer it takes us to get out of here, the worse off she's gonna be. Kate needs a doctor, which means we gotta go. We got a window here, man. We gotta get a move on before they start shooting again!"

Javi nodded, looking over at the others. He made direct eye contact with Y/N, panicking, and Y/N could see he was begging for help and overwhelmed. Y/N yelled out:

"Clem will go with Tripp, Kate and the kids in the truck. She'll help Kate get back to Prescott. You and me buy them time, finish this!"

"What?" Clementine yelled next to her lover. He turned quickly and gave her a pleading look.

"Babe I can't fight these assholes if I'm scared for you"

She nodded sadly in agreement before Gabe started squawking:

"What? No! Javi, you have to come with us! Javi, please!"

"We don't buy them an escape and they follow us straight to Prescott. You gotta trust me man" Y/N said firmly to Javi who nodded and said: "We'll buy you guys time. Please, get my family to safety" as he looked at Tripp. Tripp nodded before Gabe yelled again:

"No, Javi, please come with us. Please"

"We're moving over in three, get behind me. One... two... three"

Y/N stood, walking over towards the van and firing at different spots in the trees, hoping to keep everyone down as Clementine grabbed the Garcia siblings and dragged them out behind Y/N. They made it to the van and Tripp said to Y/N:

"You sure about this, kid?"

Y/N nodded as he reloaded a fresh mag, and replied: "We'll buy you time. Get your asses out of here. Get her some help"

Tripp nodded, handing Y/N a spare handgun and some clips, Gabe meanwhile was whining to Javi:

"You have to come with us, I can't do this Javi, I can't do it"

He suddenly gurgled as Y/N grabbed him hard by his jumper, just underneath his throat, and practically spat in his face:

"You're a soldier now! You need to take your mom, get her back to Prescott, or she's gonna die!"

Gabe didn't answer, he just stared at Y/N wide eyed. Y/N released him, disgusted at the snivelling coward as Tripp yelled: "We gotta move"

"Grenades" Y/N demanded, Tripp handing the last three to him as Clementine hugged her boyfriend, leaning up and kissing him passionately.

"Come back to me" she whispered as they parted.

"Always" Y/N replied. Kate moaned as Javi lifted her, Y/N nodding and pulling a pin from the first grenade. He lobbed it across to the forest, screams and yells heard as it exploded. Javi was up in a moment, rushing Kate over to the van as the other three teens followed, Y/N throwing the second grenade to more screams when it too exploded. He waited thirty seconds, throwing the last one as the vehicle left, nodding to Javi and with a sadistic grin and said "Let's finish this"

--~--

The vehicle was racing back towards Prescott, Clementine pressing her hands against Kate's injury trying to slow the bleeding. Mariana was sat with tears streaming down her face, Gabe was silently stewing.

"You ok?" Kate asked Clementine with a whimper.

"I'm supposed to be asking you that" Clementine smiled sadly.

"I'm sure they'll be ok. They'll both be ok" Kate grunted through her pain.

"Thinks he's a soldier" Gabe muttered to himself, jumping in shock as Clementine rounded on him:

"Y/N was a soldier!"

"What?" Tripp asked from the driver's seat, the three Garcia's looking shocked as well.

"We were at a community, a very large one, a couple of years ago. They used dominoes as currency, called them bones. They were at war with this other group, really sick... more animal than people... if you joined their military you got double bones, so Y/N joined so I could stay home with... with our son."

Tears formed in Clementine's eyes as the others looked at her in shock. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, not moving her hands from Kate's wound.

"He got put in their best squad, the Gamma Squad. He has a tattoo for them on his right shoulder. He was a hero in the war. They wanted to give him all sorts of medals after it, for bravery, for going over and above the call of duty. Y/N being Y/N refused them all, of course. He wasn't looking for praise, or awards. He just wanted to protect his family. We lost a lot of good people when Wellington fell."

--~--

The forest was burning from the grenade fires, Javi and Y/N firing before Y/N stopped and held up a hand to Javi. Javi stopped as well, the two listening as they heard screams, "fall back" and cars starting.

"They're retreating" Javi said with a smile, Y/N checking his mag before walking across the road just as a man wandered out. He had burns down the left side of his body and was being followed by two walkers, attempting to fire at them, his empty gun just clicking. Y/N quickly despatched the two with headshots before shooting the man, first in one knee, then the other.

"Jesus" Javi muttered as the man screamed, Y/N replying "information" before he stopped, instantly recognising the man.

"Y-you" the man muttered, staring fearfully before Y/N emptied his last three bullets into his chest. Javi stood and stared, shocked as Y/N watched the man die before he asked "he knew you?"

Y/N walked over, turning the man's head with his foot, revealing a brand on his neck.

"This brand is from a group called the New Frontier. What they did to me and Clem... they took everything from us. I swore to myself if I ever found them again I'd kill every single one of them."

Y/N clenched his fists, his cheek twitching as he snarled.

"If these are the fuckers after your family, I've got your back Javi. We'll kill them all."

Javi nodded, unsure what else to do. He could tell from Y/N's tone and behaviour that these weren't just threats or a Gabe-sque attempt to sound tough, Y/N wholly meant his words. Javi pulled the tyre iron he had on his belt and raised it before Y/N said coldly:

"No, let him fucking turn."

--~--

There had been a vehicle left behind from the fleeing New Frontier fighters, so Y/N and Javi drove back as quick as they could.

"So I asked Clem for you two to stay with us, she said she'd have to talk to you" Javi said as they approached the gates.

"Yeah, I'll have to talk to Clem, but like I said I won't leave you alone to defend your family against these animals" Y/N replied in his usual tone. It wasn't relaxed, but neither was it exactly aggressive. It was the kind of tone that made Javi feel Y/N was always a moment away from violence. He couldn't imagine what these kids had been through, alone in this world, to have shaped them the way they were. They pulled up in front of the gates and Javi jumped out as Y/N parked the car and let go of the steering wheel. He clenched and unclenched his hands into fists as he let go of the wheel, trying to shake off the after affects of the adrenaline dump his body had given him after the fire fight. He'd noticed the last six months it seemed to be getting worse after each encounter.

He stepped out of the car and followed Javi, entering the large gate as Tripp worked on the engine of his armoured vehicle about thirty feet in from the gates. He looked across at the two and smiled, reaching out and shaking their hands as they got to him.

"You're both back. How did it go?" Tripp asked. Y/N nodded as Javi only asked:

"Kate?"

"The infirmary" Tripp motioned to a sign twenty feet away and Javi ran over. Y/N nodded and began to follow before Tripp stopped him.

"Hey Kid, just before you head off, just wanted to say- Clem said some things in the truck, some of the shit you two have gone through. If anyone deserves a place to hang their hat it's you two. If you want to stay you're both welcome."

Y/N nodded and gave a one sided smile, replying:

"I'll have to talk to Clem, but thanks man."

Tripp nodded and then chuckled:

"No problem, but after seeing you in the fight back there I'd rather you be with us then against us."

--~--

Javi rushed into the makeshift infirmary. Eleanor and Mariana were next to the bed, Clementine about ten feet away washing her bloody hands.

"Kate" Javi said in relief as she slept. Eleanor looked at him and said simply:

"She asked for you, you know."

Javi didn't appreciate the guilt trip and replied:

"I got here as soon as I could. Those guys didn't go down without a fight. They would have followed us back if Y/N and I hadn't held them off."

Eleanor nodded.

"I managed to stabilize her. Those bastards did her one favor, at least, any lower and that bullet would have torn her stomach lining as well. Your boy Gabe... he wanted to help but-"

She was cut off when Clementine returned and asked panicked:

"Y/N?"

Javi quickly reassured her:

"He's ok. He was with Tripp, he'll-"

Y/N appeared round the corner just at that moment, Clementine squealing in relief as she rushed over to her boyfriend, hugging him, kissing him, crying.

"I'm here, I'm here" Y/N said calming his lover before he whispered:

"We need to have a talk."

He nodded to Javi as he led Clementine away by the hand, sitting at a bench across the other side of Prescott's main strip. It wasn't hard to get privacy, most of Prescott's residents were terrified of Y/N and gave him a wide berth.

"Is something wrong?" Clementine asked as anxiety began to overtake her. Y/N looked at his girlfriend stoically, trying to be as gentle as he could, as he replied:

"The assholes at the junkyard. It was them."

Terror gripped Clementine's chest as she tried hard not to hyperventilate, the trauma of what was done to her, what was taken from her, the emotion of it all hitting her like a tonne of bricks. Y/N wrapped his arms round her lovingly, moving her hat and kissing his lover on the head as she buried herself into the embrace, hiding her face into his muscular chest in an effort to feel safe.

"What are we going to do?" Clementine whimpered. Y/N continued to kiss the top of her head and rub her back before he replied:

"I told Javi I won't leave him to face the fuckers alone. They already tried to kill Martina, I'm not going to let another family be ripped apart if I can help it."

Clem was puzzled for a moment before she replied: "You mean Mariana?"

"Thought it was Martina. Tripp offered us a place here Clem, Javi asked us to stay with them, but at the same time if the New Frontier are close I'm going to track them down. Everyone who was there that night, everyone who played a part- David, Lingard, Joan, Ava, Badger, Max, Lonnie, Rufus, they're all going to die for what they took from us. I'm gonna kill them all."

--~--

Javi watched the two teens leave the infirmary and turned to Eleanor again.

"So when's she gonna be up on her feet again?" he asked with a hope that was quickly dashed.

"She's stable, for now, but she's still bleeding inside. I don't want to lie to you. It's probably just a matter of time. I... I wish I could do more. I'm sorry, Javi. I'm going to get cleaned up. You may want to find Gabe. He looked pretty upset when he left."

Mariana broke down in tears instantly. Javi wrapped his arms around his niece and looked at Eleanor.

"Thank you for all you did, and for not sugar coating it. I'll track him down."

After leaving Mariana sitting next to Kate and holding her hand he walked out towards Tripp again. He looked across, shocked to see Clementine in tears as Y/N held her close, rubbing her back as he whispered to her. He walked over to Tripp who smiled and asked:

"How's she doing?"

"Not great. As well as can be expected, considering" Javi replied with a sad expression. Tripp nodded and sighed before asking:

"It's a hell of a situation. Just know, I'm praying for you. All of you. And whatever happens...you all are welcome to stick around in Prescott. If that's what you want. Nobody's gonna force you, but... We'd be glad to have you all here."

Javi smiled in relief. Kate was in bad shape, the van was gone, he wasn't sure if he had a bunch of psychos on his ass. He'd had no idea what he was going to do.

"That sounds... really really great. Thanks Tripp."

"You're very welcome. I extended the same offer to those two as well" Tripp replied, motioning over to Y/N and Clementine who were still sat in their loving tender position.

"She is definitely a calming influence on him" Javi smiled as he looked at the pair. "He scared the hell out of me when we first met, but he's a good kid under all that anger."

Tripp nodded, replying without thinking:

"I've seen him go completely unhinged, not like Eli, the opposite, beat these two assholes to death in Conrad's Bar three months ago. Took three men to drag him off the pair of them."

"Jesus" Javi whispered as Tripp nodded and continued.

"They'd put the hard word on Clementine while he was out for a few hours, back when he and Clem stayed here for a bit. The world's better off without those shitheads in it, but I wondered long and hard what could turn a kid so cold. Losing a child so young though, it's no wonder he just wants to burn the world down."

Javier nodded in agreement before his head shot round in genuine shock as Tripp's words sank in:

"They lost a child?!?" he gasped. Tripp looked shocked himself, not having thought before he spoke.

"Yeah, shit it wasn't my place to say, just something Clementine said on the way back. Just goes to show, you don't know what someone's walking around with inside them. When everything gets too much."

If it was possible Javi felt even worse now. He thanked Tripp again and after asking with no luck if he had seen Gabe he approached Conrad who was working on the gate.

"Hey, Conrad. Have you seen a kid come through here?"

"Blood all over his hands? Dark look on his face? Headed off that way, without saying a word. If I were you, I'd give him some space. Just my advice, one parent to another" Conrad said, pointing to a small side exit, just a doorway, that led to outside of Prescott.

"He's had a really bad day. Can't let him go off by himself--not right now" Javi replied sadly.

"Sorry to hear that. That blood--I take it that wasn't his?" Conrad asked.

"His stepmom's. It doesn't look good."

"You gotta stay strong for her--do whatever it takes. Know if my Francine were in the same situation, I'd fight like hell. Anything we can do to help you out--just let me know."

"I... appreciate that" Javi nodded before heading over to the door, closing it behind him. He found Gabe kneeling on the ground, repeatedly hacking into a walker corpse with an axe.

"Gabe...? Gabe, c'mon. Look at me" Javi said firmly, putting his hand Gabe's shoulder. He stopped attacking the walker and looked up at his uncle.

"Kate, she needed me during her surgery, she needed my help! I just ran away, like a stupid little kid!"

"You stayed long enough to do some good, and 'cause of that, I'm proud of you. You were there for her. As much as you could be" Javi smiled.

"That doesn't count. I'm done feeling this way. Feeling... powerless. I can't be some helpless little boy anymore, I need to be a man. Just like my dad was. He knew how men were supposed to act" Gabe whined. Javi sighed. Gabe couldn't be counted on to make a good decision at the best of times, let alone with all the stress that was currently going on.

"What you said sounds real nice, but it's easier said than done" Javi tried to reassure and calm Gabe, but it didn't work as he snapped again:

"I don't care if it's not easy. Next time, I'm not gonna sit back and watch. I'm gonna do something. I have to!"

"Listen, Gabe..." Javi began to say before he heard several trucks approaching.

"Get inside! Now!" Tripp yelled from on top of the wall. The two ran back inside and as the gates shut behind them Javi looked across and saw the two lovers still sat about thirty yards away. Y/N was smiling and wiping Clementine's eyes as she nodded.

"Y/N! Clem!" Javi called out. The two teens looked up as they were ran towards. A look of terror grew on Clementine's face as Javi said in a panic:

"It's them. They're here."

A switch looked like it was flipped inside Y/N as his face instantly hardened and his eyes went cold.

"Clem, get Kate and the girl to Tripp's armoured car. We might have to leave, quickly" Y/N said as his cheek twitched and he handed Clementine his crossbow.

"Where are you going?" Javi asked before Clem could as she hoisted the weapon over her shoulder.

"On top of the wall" Y/N replied. Clementine hugged Y/N and kissed him, much to the dismay of Gabe who snarled at the act. She whispered "be careful" and as they parted Javi said to Gabe: "Go with her, get Kate and Mari to the truck."

"You can count on me" Gabe replied, running off towards Clementine. As he got to her he said in an attempt to sound tough and important:

"I will protect you, don't worry."

He was ignored.

Javi rushed over to Y/N who had stopped at the bottom of the stairway up to the gate top. His fists were against the wall and as Javi arrived he saw Y/N stood there looking down, taking slow deep breaths. He assumed Y/N was having a panic attack, or a traumatic flashback, and left him to let him process everything, rushing up next to Tripp and Conrad and pulling his handgun. What he didn't realise was Y/N was breathing deep, steadying himself, preparing himself for what was about to happen.

The vehicles had stopped and men and women began getting out, Tripp noticing some of their necks.

"These are the freaks who brand themselves" he said coldly, a bald man with a beard yelling out from below.

"Knock, knock! Anyone home?"

Y/N heard the man's voice, the piece of shit known as Badger and snapped into gear, walking up the stairs and grabbing an AK from the rack of guns about halfway up. Another man, Max, began to yell out:

"I wish we hadn't had to come all the way out here, but unfortunately, Badger here says you attacked his men! He says you fired on them. Took out a lot of-"

He dove behind cover as machine gun fire broke out, Y/N cutting up the New Frontier members as four of them dropped dead.

"You're all gonna die you child killing cunts!" Y/N roared. Some members of the New Frontier returned fire, Tripp tackling Y/N to the ground as he yelled "get down!"

"What are you doing?" Conrad yelled, Y/N snapping back:

"They've got trucks full of walkers. You think they're here to talk?"

"Shut up" Javi shushed, the return fire stopping as Badger once again yelled out:

"Y/N you murdering son of a bitch, you and that other prick need to come down right now, or we kill the hostage!"

The four men on top of the gate looked at each other before the blood drained from Conrad's face as Francine yelled out at the top of her voice:

"Conrad baby help."

He stood, gun pointed at the New Frontier as he roared:

"Don't you fucking hurt her!"

"What are you doing?" Max yelled to Badger. He was ignored as Badger nodded to one of his off siders who had hold of Francine, and as Conrad watched in horror the woman pulled tin snips from behind her back and sliced one of Francine's fingers off.

"No!" Conrad roared as Francine screamed in agony. Badger laughed and yelled: "You two have thirty seconds or we cut more off."

Javi looked at Y/N who shook his head.

"It's too late, they aren't gonna let her go, I'm sorry Conrad. She's already dead" Y/N said, Conrad yelling "no" and Tripp sighing and adding "He's right. I'm sorry Conrad."

"Time's up" Badger laughed. Before anything else could happen Javi stood and opened fire. Francine was quickly killed by one of the New Frontier people, Conrad screaming in pain as he fired.

The two sides opened fire, people scurrying for cover as tear gas was lobbed to the top of the gate and inside of Prescott.

"Fuckin' tear gas!" Tripp yelled and coughed before a grenade landed between the four.

"Move move move" Tripp yelled again, he, Conrad and Javi diving one way, Y/N the other as he was blown from the top of the gate, across to a rooftop of the closest ramshackled building. The world went black as he fell through it, debris breaking his fall as he landed with a hard thud.

--~--

Badger roared from where he stood behind cover:

"Ram the fucking gate!"

Max looked at him and yelled: "What the fuck?! This is already a clusterfuck and we don't have the go-ahead!"

"No, fuck you, and fuck the go-ahead! Ram the fucking gate!" Badger roared as one of the trucks slammed through the front gate, smashing it and rolling on its side. Over two dozen walkers that had been trapped inside escaped, wandering into the chaos of Prescott as locals ran in confusion and terror- tear gas, walkers and now New Frontier fighters swarmed into the town and began massacring the locals.

"We have to get out of here" Tripp yelled as he and the other two made it down from the blazing inferno of the gate, firing at walkers and New Frontiersmen.

"I have to find the others" Javi yelled before shoving Tripp to the left and diving to the right as a car sped towards them. It just missed Javi as he looked up and watched the driver get shot in the head as Tripp's armoured vehicle drove quickly out the gates.

--~--

Kate had been loaded into the car just before all hell broke loose, laying on one of the seats with her head on Mariana's lap. Gabe and Clementine were in the back seats as Eleanor sat behind the wheel. As the chaos began and the then the truck slammed through the gates Eleanor looked back to the others:

"We have to get out of here!"

"No! I'm not leaving Y/N" Clem yelled from the back, unable to get passed the seat where Kate was laid, Mariana yelling out "What about Javi?"

Eleanor didn't answer, watching as a second car sped in before she slammed her foot on the accelerator and sped through the non existent gates as Clementine screamed in horror and banged on the armoured car's window as they sped away from the falling town.

--~--

Y/N came to in a small shack, various roofing debris that had broken his fall underneath him. He was aware of a friggin great pain in his head as he got to his feet and stumbled out the door and towards the sounds of chaos. He saw the armoured vehicle rush passed him, saw Clem inside banging at the windows, and turned to see someone stepping out of a car and pointing a gun at Javi and Tripp. Y/N fired, killing the man as he stumbled forward.

"Y/N!" Javi said in relief, rushing over to help his young friend as Tripp yelled "get in now."

Tripp jumped behind the wheel of the former New Frontier car, Conrad in the passenger seat as Y/N and Javi got in the backseat. The second the doors were closed Tripp floored it, seeing his car driving to the east as he got out the gate and followed it, foot to the floor as the remaining people of Prescott were slaughtered.