Sorry I've made you guys wait so long for this chapter, but I wanted it to be absolutely perfect and now it finally is!

So buckle up guys, this chapter is gonna be a long one. And if you're not crying by the end of it, I'm gonna personally reward you with your very own Beet-Nick! Please get that reference lol.

Violet's POV
We were halfway through the hull of the boat, Clem had already managed to take out the majority of the guards we ran into. It actually feels like we'll be able to pull this off without anymore casualties. Willy takes the bomb and puts it into the engine, turning back to Clem with a thumbs up. "Okay, now to find where they're keeping our friends." Clem whispers back, scanning the metal ceiling above her. "I'll go up first, you guys follow close behind." She says as she begins walking up the stairs, we hid behind a stack of boxes, noticing some cheaply welded together cell doors with Minnie guarding them. "Figures of all the people to be guarding the cell doors." I say with a frustrated tone.

Clem didn't seem phased, her eyes scanning the room around us as she thinks of a plan. I always loved when she got like this, when she was so determined and focused. Clem looks at Minerva for a moment before sighing. "Let's hope this isn't the dumbest thing I'll ever do." She quickly gets out of cover, holding her pistol up and aiming it at Minerva. I look at her shocked, not expecting her to take such a bold route. Minerva looks at Clem and myself shocked. "What the hell are you doing here? If Lilly finds you here.." She says, her voice trailing off. "Cut the crap, it's not like you care if she finds us." I say as I hold my knife in front of me defensively. Minerva looks at me with a pissed off look. "Of course I care, why do you think I came back here? I was going to release your friends when Lilly's guard was down and now you fucked that plan over." She snaps, pointing in the direction of the cells. "Wait, so you didn't betray us?" I ask confused, there's no way not after what Willy said. "No I didn't betray you. Why the fuck would I side with Lilly she fucking killed my sister." Minerva says defensively, dropping her crossbow to the floor and getting on her knees. "Believe me or don't, I don't fucking care. Just take your friends and go." She says motioning back to the cells. Clem wouldn't lower the gun, she seemed hesitant, and I honestly couldn't blame her. I rush over to the cell door, going to open it when I heard a loud thud behind me. I turn to see Clementine, AJ, and Willy all getting knocked out cold by some goons. I reach for my knife in a panic but Minerva beats me to it and pins my hands to the wall behind me.

"Honestly Vi how are you still this gullible? I swear the girl is dragging you down with the rest of them. If only you'd come with me, I'd hate for her recklessness to get you killed." She says, I ignore her and try to knee her stomach. She moves out of the way and punches my gut, sending me falling to the floor. "Guess it's going to take a little more convincing." She says before sending the butt of her crossbow down onto my head. My vision was blurry as I hit the floor, slowly slipping out of consciousness.

~*~

I woke up dazed, looking around the small cell to see AJ on the other side still unconscious. As soon as I regained my vision I sat up looking around in a panic. "Clem? Clem?!" I stand up and run to the cell door looking around trying to see her. "Clementine?!" I shout, only hearing a laugh from down the hallway. "Will you relax? She's right there." Minerva says as she comes into view, pointing to the floor of the cell across from me where Clementine was knocked out cold. I shot her a glare and kicked the cell door. "You fucking bitch!" I snap, if Clementine was hurt I swear to god I'm gonna rip her tongue out.

"You seem to really care about this girl, what was it you said again? 'No matter what, I'm always gonna choose her. Even over myself I'd choose her?' Well I'd love to put that to the test." She smirks as she leans on the wall beside the cell door, looking into my eyes. "What are you talking about?" I ask hesitantly, I could feel the lingering feeling of fear in my stomach. Minerva is not the type to bargain, and I can't seem to figure out what she is planning. "Very simple really, you stay and I'll let her go. Lilly wants to keep her as a soldier but to me she is just dead weight, it would be a shame if I were to accidentally shoot an arrow right through her eye on her first day of training. Of course this all could be avoided if if were you there with me instead. You agree to stay, to not try to run or fight it, and I'll let them all go. It'll be just you and me like it was before the world turned to hell." She says with a sinister smirk. I looked at her with shock and rage, there was no way I'd go with her! My gaze shifts over to Clem on the ground and I hesitate, what if she did hurt her? I can't protect her when I'm surrounded by psychos with guns. "I see you need some time to think on it, but the clock is ticking. When this boat departs, she is getting left behind. It's your choice whether she is getting left behind alive or dead." She says before walking off laughing.

I just stared forward, not knowing what to do or how to get out of this. I dropped to my knees as I stare at the floor. I wanted to have faith that Clem could get us out of here, but we had no weapons and no leverage. If Minerva is claiming she is going to kill Clem then she will, she doesn't bluff. I don't want to go with her and don't want to leave Clem but- was my happiness really worth risking Clem's life? "W-Wait!" I yell hesitantly, grabbing Minnie's attention. "Fine, if I stay with you . . . you swear to let them all go?" I say, looking at Clem. Minerva nods and smiles evilly. "I am a woman of my word am I not?" She walks over and kneels down in front of me, lifting my chin with the tip of her crossbow. "It's a deal then." She unlocks the cell door, letting me step out. I look over to Clem to see her stirring as she finally wakes up. Her eyes slowly open and she sits up, I go to run over to her but Minerva grabs my arm. "Good you're finally awake!" She walks over to Clem's cell and kneels in front of it, whispering something to her that I couldn't hear.

Clementine's POV
My head was pounding as I opened my eyes, the light from the room felt like a stinging pain as I look up. As soon as I saw Minerva I shot her a glare, she walked over and kneeled in front of the cell door whispering to me. "I told you that you were just my replacement." I looked at her in anger, standing to my feet and walking to the cell door. I looked over at Violet in surprise, seeing her standing behind Minerva outside of the cell door. "Violet? What are you doing?" Violet goes to speak but Minerva cuts her off. "What do you think she's doing? She double crossed you, after all she knows where her heart truly lies." Minerva says with a smirk, putting her crossbow on her back and looking towards Violet. I looked over at Violet in disbelief, she couldn't have, she wouldn't do that! Violet just stared at the floor, hugging her arms to her stomach. "Violet, please tell me she's lying." I begged softly, looking at her as I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Violet stayed silent for a minute or two, before finally looking off down the hall. "I'm sorry Clem.." She says softly, I looked at her shocked and heartbroken. I wanted to scream, say anything, but I couldn't seem to get the words out. "Now then, we got what we wanted. I'd rather you not be here to kill my people." She walks over to the cell, lifting the latch and opening the door. As soon as the latch was released I slammed the door open with my shoulder, going to tackle Minerva when Violet grabbed my arm and stopped me.

I ripped my arm from her hold, spinning around and looking at her with both anger and sadness. "Violet how could you?! I thought you cared about me I trusted you!" I shout, looking at her through teary eyes. She goes to say something, but stops herself and looks away from me. "This is your opportunity Clem, you can sit here and argue about it or you can get your friends out and leave." Minerva snaps as she stands back up. I looked at Violet once again, before scoffing and unlocking the other cell doors. I slowly helped everyone up and grabbed AJ, picking him up on my back. "Should've listened to me Clementine, she knows where she belongs." Minerva says, grabbing Violet's hand. I turned around, my eyes locked with Violet's as I just watched in disbelief. I could feel tears fall down my face before I turned around and started running down the hall.

Violet's POV
As soon as everyone was a safe distance away I kicked Minerva in the shin, taking the moment of her being stunned to run after them. "Clem!" I shouted down the hall, trying my best to find the direction in which she went. I could hear Minerva behind me as she shouts down the hall. "You lying bitch!" Minerva yells, her voice echoing down the hall. I finally manage to make it to the top deck of the boat, I see Clem in the distance helping everyone onto a cart. "Cle-!" My shout was cut short as Minerva moves behind me, wrapping her arm around my neck. "You shouldn't have done that." She says with a pissed off glare, aiming the crossbow towards Clem. I hear the engine of the boat begin to start and then I remember.

The bomb.

I quickly elbow Minerva in the stomach and jump over the edge of the deck, landing onto the dock with a hard thud just in time as the boat explodes into a cloud of smoke, fire, and debris. I look back up into the smoke, not seeing Minerva anywhere. I stand up, my shoulder was in agonizing pain as I run through the smoke and fire. I could hear walkers in all directions, I reached down and grabbed a broken piece of wood from the boat, smashing in the heads of any walker that got too close to me. I finally reach the cart only to see AJ and Clem weren't there. "What are you doing here?! You fucking sold us out!" Willy yells as he points his knife towards me. "I was tricking Minerva you dumbass! Where is Clementine?!" I shout, trying to help them get the cart moving. "We don't know! We lost her in the smoke!" Ruby yells as she helps Louis. I turn around and look through the smoke in an attempt to spot her. The walkers were closing in on us and I still couldn't manage to see her. "Vi we gotta go! Clem will meet up with us!" Louis yells as he pulls my arm. "No! I can't just leave her here!" I shout back, continuing to scan the war zone in front of me. My eyes locked with Minerva who was struggling to fight off walkers, the walkers begin taking bites out of her flesh. I avert my gaze and jump onto the cart with Louis as it starts to move.

I look down at the ground, seeing something white and blue with a D on it. I quickly jumped off the cart and ran to grab it. "Violet! What the hell are you doing?!" Louis yells, I ignore him and grab the hat. I run back towards the cart, quickly jumping on and looking down at the hat in my lap. I bring the hat up and hug it to my chest, feeling tears sting my eyes as they fall down my face.

"Clem..."

Clementine's POV
I run through the forest with AJ and Tenn, struggling to avoid the walkers as we run. I was trying so hard to focus on the task but my mind was just racing. I tried my best to avoid sobbing but I was breaking down in tears as I left my anger out onto every walker that blocked our path. How could she do this? How could she betray us after everything we've been through together? Did she ever really love me at all? I manage to help Tenn and AJ squeeze through a small crack in the stone and into a small cave.

As soon as we were clear of the walkers I dropped down and sat against a rock, running my hands through my hair as I sob. "Clem.." AJ says quietly, sitting beside me and leaning his head on my arm. "I'm sorry.." I couldn't even seem to focus, I was trying so hard to pull myself together and protect the boys but I felt like I was just stabbed through the chest. I couldn't remember the last time I felt this much pain, the only moment I could think of being . . .

Lee..

The one person who I viewed like a father, who saved me and taught me to take care of myself. He was like family to me, and I didn't know how I'd live on without him. But this is worse, far worse, I can't live without Violet. I know I can't, she was my everything. She made me genuinely happy in this fucked up world, and none of it was even real. I feel like such an idiot, I let myself finally care about someone again and once again I've lost them. "Clem, we have to go.." AJ says softly, trying to help me to my feet by tugging at my arm. I didn't move, I couldn't seem to bring myself to my feet, I just felt so broken. "Um, guys!" Tenn shouts as he points across the water, the large amount of walkers piling up on the other side. I look over at the herd, standing up and wiping the tears from my face. I need to focus, I need to get these boys out of here. "Come on." I begin to walk with the boys down the cave, searching for the way out.

~*~

We finally manage to start working our way through the forest, trying to find our way back to the school. "Clem, are you gonna be okay?" AJ asks, looking up from his gun and over to me. I just stare forward in silence, I felt so empty I didn't even know how to answer that question. "I don't know AJ.." I finally whisper softly, not feeling anything really. I felt like I was dreaming, wishing more than anything that this wasn't real. That this was just another nightmare I was having and we haven't even left for the boat yet. But this was real, and there was nothing I could do to change it. Violet was gone, and she was never coming back. The thought alone made my heart hurt, more than I could handle.

"Clem!!" I hear someone scream from behind me, the familiar voice causing my body to tense. No, that can't be her I must've imagined it. I turn my head, looking behind me to see Violet running towards us. "Vi..?" I ask softly, watching her confused. I have to be dreaming, this isn't real. Before I could even say anything Violet tackles me, the force of the impact sending me falling towards the ground. Vi wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging my tight as she sat on her knees beside me. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried!" She sobs into my shoulder, hesitantly I wrapped my arms around her. "How- . . . I saw you- . . ." I didn't know what to say or what to believe. I wanted to trust her and hold her tight, to tell her how much I love her and how happy I am to see her. But what is this is all just a lie? Violet pulls away from me and looks into my eyes, bringing her hands up to cup my face. "I'm so sorry Clem, Minerva was going to kill you and I thought if I could just play along for long enough . . . god I'm so sorry." Her face was tear stained as she pleaded, looking at me with sad eyes. Seeing this caused something inside of me to just click, I pulled her into my lap hugging her tight. "I'm never taking my eyes off you again.." I whisper softly as I hold her close. I could hear Violet laugh softly through her sobs. "I'm okay with that." She whispers back, laying her head on my shoulder.

I could hear AJ clear his throat, causing Violet to quickly get off of me with a red face. "Sorry." She says, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck before helping me to my feet. "Did everyone make it out safe?" I ask, immediately feeling a sense of relief wash over me as my eyes scan across Violet. "Yes,  they're on their way back to the school. I insisted I had to go look for you, I couldn't leave you out here alone." I can't help but smile at this, moving over to kiss Violet's cheek. "Awe, you worried about me or something?" I tease, causing Violet to shove me away. "Obviously I was worried about you idiot! I watched you run away thinking you hated me!" She shouts, tears in her eyes. "Hey, I'm sorry . . . I was just messing with you." I say softly, gently pulling Violet by her wrist into a soft hug. "Come on, let's go home." I whisper, earning a nod from Violet. We continued to walk reaching the bridge, I jumped over the car and started helping Tenn and Violet over as well. The silence was broken by a distant singing. I look off at the tree line confused and slightly nervous. "No, it's not possible.." Violet says as she looks off in shock, noticing Minerva walk out from the trees with a herd of walkers. I grab my bow and start shooting the walkers. "Minnie?" Tenn asks as he walks forward shocked. "Tenn don't!" Violet tries to grab his arm and pull him back, but he yanks it away. "Tenn, come with me." Minerva says as she gets closer and holds her hand out.

Violet's POV
"You're dying." Tenn says softly as he watched Minerva get closer. "Yes! I am, I'm finally going to a better place." She says as she gets even closer. Clem grabs another arrow and lets it fly, turning towards Tenn with a look of concern. "Where everyone gets to be a person again?" He asks hesitantly, as he takes another step forward. "Tenn don't listen to her!" Clem shouts as she continues to shoot walkers. Minerva looks over at her and glares. "Stay out of this! I'm taking my brother back!" She turns her attention back to Tenn. "Come with me Tenn, we can see mom and dad, and Sophie. It won't be real if you're not there!" She says, holding her hand out to Tenn. "Don't be stupid Tenn." Clem adds again, AJ stepping behind her. "Don't let her trick you." He adds, causing Minerva to glare at both of them more specifically Clementine. "I'm fucking fed up of you taking the people I love from me!" She yells, swinging her axe up and towards Clem. Clem dodges the axe, grabbing the handle and attempting to yank it from her arms.

I help AJ jump across and run over to help Clem, grabbing the axe with her and yanking it from Minnie. Clem tries to grab her bow to shoot the walkers, but it was knocked out of her hands as Minnie jumps over the truck and tackles her. I grab the bow and try my best to keep the walkers off of them as they wrestle, my heart racing as all I can do is watch and hope Clem wins. Finally, Clem manages to kick her off; only for Minnie to reach for a gun. "You are not his family!" She yells as she points the gun towards Clem. "No! Clem!!" I shout, but before I can put the bow down to help Clem is already on her feet wrestling the gun out of her hands. Minnie breaks free from the fight and grabs her axe, sending it flying down and cutting Clem's leg open. She yells out in pain as she falls to the ground, her scream feeling like a dagger through my chest.

Clem grabs the gun and shoots Minnie in the shoulder, causing her to back up into the walkers. I drop the bow and run over to Clem now that the walkers attention was taken off of us. "Clem! Are you okay?" I ask in a panic, helping her to her feet. "I'm okay, I'm okay." She says softly, trying to reassure me I'm guessing. "I'll get Tenn, you jump across." I say, running over to Tenn after Clem nods in approval. As soon as I see Clem clear the jump I grab Tenn. "Tennessee! Move your fucking ass now!" I yell, but I can't get him to budge. "Let him go! You'll die if you don't!" I hear AJ yell, but I ignore him and keep trying to pull Tenn away. I hear a gunshot run out, blood gushing from Tenn's neck. "Violet! Please jump!" I hear Clem yell, as if my feet moved on their own I jump the gap, turning to see Tenn being surrounded by walkers. "Oh my god, no no! What the fuck?!" I yell as I turn to AJ. "How could you do that?! Tenn is gone! That sweet little boy who loved to draw is gone because of you!" I shout in grief, turning to see Tenn's body being eaten by walkers. "AJ saved your life Violet! You'd be dead if he hadn't taken that shot!" Clem shouts back with an angry tone. "You think that's okay? Just gunning down one of our own?!" I yell back as I look over at her. "I didn't want to shoot him! He was my first real friend! But he was messing up again just like when he got Mitch killed! So I had to decide, Clem said I could so I did." AJ says in defense of his actions. "Violet, AJ saved your life. I know you cared about Tenn but what would I do without you?" Clem asks with tears in her eyes as she kneels beside me.

I wanted to be angry, but as much as I hated to admit it they did have a point. I pull Clem close, looking back across the gap. "Goodbye Tenn." I whisper softly, holding onto Clem's arm. "Come on, we have to go." Clem says as she struggles to stand up. We run out of the bridge and start making out way over to the fence. "I'll jump the fence and pull you up." I say as I climb the fence and reach down to grab Clem's hand. "Violet watch out!" Clem yells, motioning behind me. I turn around to see a herd of walks closing in, I kick one in the skull as I jump off the fence. "They're surrounding us, there's too many." Clem says as she grabs onto the fence. I grab her hand through the fence. "Just go, we'll find another way and meet up with you." She says, but i shake my head and grip her hand. "No! I just got you back I'm not gonna lose you again!" I shout, holding her hand tight to keep her from leaving. "Violet, it's only going to be for a bit I promise I'll find you again." She whispers, but I don't let her hand go. "No! Clem I was so scared I was never gonna see you again. Please, I can't lose you. I'm not letting you go." I say through tears, not wanting her to ever leave me again. She looks at me before looking behind her to see the walkers. "I'll see you again, I promise. I love you." She says softly, kissing my hand before running off with AJ. "Clem? Clem!!" I shout, but she ignores me and keeps running. "FUCK!" I shout, turning around and seeing the walkers boxing me in. Despite all of my being telling me to go after her, I decide to listen and run in the direction of the school.

Please stay alive, please don't die on me. I need you Clementine, please don't leave me.