So I hope you like it. Thanks for at least giving it a chance.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Last of Us or any of the characters in the game.

"The number of confirmed deaths has passed two hundred. The governor has called it state of emergency..."

"There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lining the streets."

"Panic spread worldwide after a leaked report of the World Health Organization showed that the latest vaccination tests have failed."

"...With the bureaucrats out of power we can finally take the necessary steps to..."

"Los Angeles is now the latest city to be placed under martial law. All residents are required to report to their designated quarantine-"

"Riots have continued for a third consecutive day and winter rations are at an all time low."

"A group calling themselves the Fireflies have claimed responsibility for both attacks."

"Their public charter calls for the return of all branches of government."

"Demonstrations broke out following the execution of six more alleged Fireflies."

"You can still rise with us. Remember, when you are lost in the darkness, look for the light. Believe in the Fireflies."

Chapter 1: Firefly Queen

Jason's POV

Bang!

My eyes snapped open as I heard a knock on the door. I stayed laying down hoping Joel would go get the door.

Bang! Bang!

I sighed as I got up to go answer the door to the apartment. Joel had already beat me there though.

"I'm comin'." He said, unlocking the door and opening it to reveal Tess.

"What happened?" I asked, worried, when I saw the state Tess was in. She had a couple of bruises on her face.

"Where were you Tess?" Joel asked, angrily.

"West end district. Don't worry, I just got jumped when I was coming back here." She started pour some liquor in a glass on the table as I went over to the sit at the table. She took a swig of the drink. "We had a drop to make."

"We. We had a drop to make."

"You wanted to be left alone remember?" She said, as Joel walked over with a rag to clean the cuts.

"So let me guess. The client made off with our pills. Is that about right?"

"Deal went off without a hitch. We have enough rations cards to last a month." She pulled them out of her pocket and threw them on the table.

"Gimme that." Joel said, taking the rag away from her and he started dabbing her cuts. "Are they still with us?"

"Funny." She smiled. She could easily take care of herself even without us helping her.

"Did you find out who they were?" I asked.

"Some nobodies. What actually matters is that Robert fucking sent them." She said. I looked up when she said that. Joel was a little shocked to hear that, too.

"Our Robert?" Joel asked.

"He knows we are trying to go after him. He thinks he can get us first."

"Son of a bit is smart." Joel sighed.

"Not smart enough. I know where he's hiding."

"Like hell you do." Joel said.

"Old warehouse in Area five. Probably not for long."

"Let's go now?" Joel said, walking to the door.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Tess said.

"Oh I'm totally ready." I said, jumping up from my seat and over to the door. They both stared at me.

"No." They said at the same time, striding past me to the door.

"Oh c'mon. I'm almost going to be sixteen!"

"Almost is the keyword here." Joel said, unlocking the door again.

"And sixteen year-olds don't wine like little kids." Tess said, clearly agreeing with Joel.

"I'm not wining. And plus some kids are younger than me and they have already dangerous things."

"Okay, you have a point, I'll give you that." Tess said, earning a glare from Joel.

"What? No, Tess we are not taking him." Joel refused.

"Oh c'mon, it'll be like we are training him. And maybe it will scare him, so he won't want to come with us anymore." Tess said.

"He going to be shot at and he can die."

"I've gotten shot at before." I said.

"Fine. Whatever. You can come with us." Joel said, opening the door. I sighed in relief. I was starting to get scared that they actually weren't going to let come with them. Since I was the last one out, I locked the door. I was trailing a little far behind them, but I could still hear their conversation.

"If something happens to him..." Joel whispered.

"He smart and strong enough to handle whatever happens." Tess said.

As we exited the building, I looked around seeing guards posted at their usual spots on the ceilings and streets, keeping an eyes out for any trouble or infected. There was some people having conversations with each other, but other than that no one was really doing anything interesting.

"Check points still open." Tess said.

"We only have a couple hours left until curfew."

"Better hurry up then." We started walking around the corner to the exit of the alleyway. We passed some people by a dumpster and caught some of their conversation.

"I've been selected for outside work duty." The girl said to a guy she was talking to.

"It's such crap. The soldiers are supposed to take care of the outside." He replied.

"I'll remember to tell them that next time."

As we continued walking, we noticed that the ration line was still closed. It has been closed for while already.

"Attention. All citizens are required to carry a current ID at all times. Compliance with all city personnel is mandatory."

A couple of soldiers had road blocks on the street and were pointing their guns at some people. They probably thought they were infected.

"Down on the ground!" One of the soldiers demanded.

"You leave me alone."

"Hands on your head. Now!" A soldier yelled, pointing his gun at the guy's head.

"Scan them." Another soldier said. He pulled out a scanner that would tell them if the people were infected or not. He put the scanner behind the guy's ear and there was a little click.

"He's clean." They did the same with the next guy.

"Clean." They scanned the girl next.

"Got one!"

"Hold her down."

"I'm not infected. The scanner is wrong!" She started shouting.

We kept walking in the opposite direction. As we were getting closer to the checkpoint, we could hear some gunshots in the distance.

"More people are getting infected." Tess said.

"Meaning more people are just sneaking out."

"I got us new papers. Shouldn't give us any trouble up there." We walked up to the checkpoint line.

"Let me see some IDs." The soldiers said, holding his hand out.

"Here." Joel handed him the IDs.

"What's your business here?" The soldier asked, while he looked over the IDs.

"Got the day off. Visiting a friend."

"Alright, move on through." The soldier moved aside and we took a couple of steps forward and a truck exploded. Tess and Joel staggered back, knocking me down.

"Fireflies!"

"Fucking shoot them!"

The guard slammed the gate shut. "Get out of here!" He yelled at us, but I could barely hear him. My ears were ringing from the explosion.

"C'mon! Start running!" As Tess and Joel started running, I scrambled up and tore after them. Sirens started blaring making my ears hurt way more than they already did.

"Attention. Checkpoint five as now closed until further notice. All civilians must clear the surrounding area immediately." The lady over the intercom kept repeating that over and over again.

As I was following Tess and Joel, people were panicking over the attack of the Fireflies. Everyone was just running around unsure of what to do. Tess ran into a building and held the door open for us.

"Here patch yourselves up." She handed us a first aid kit and Joel started cleaning the cuts that we got during the explosion.

"They're going to close all the checkpoints. We're going to have to go around the outside." Tess started walking down the hall.

"Outside the wall?" Joel asked.

"Or we could just let Robert go."

"Cute."

"Hey, Tess, you see that shit?" A guy sitting on a bench outside in the hallway came up to us.

"I was there. How's the east tunnel looking?"

"It's clear. No patrols. Where you off to?" He asked.

"Gonna pay Robert a visit."

"You too?" He questioned.

"Who else is looking for him?"

"Marlene. She's been asking around, trying to find him."

"Marlene? What do the Fireflies want with Robert?"

"You'd think she would tell me?"

"What did you tell her?" Tess asked.

"The truth. I've got no idea where he is hiding." He said. I could tell he was telling the truth.

"Good man. Hey you stay out of trouble, military's going to be in full force soon."

"See you around." We continued walking, leaving the guy behind.

"We better find Robert before the Fireflies do." Joel said.

"Go fuck yourself!" Robert threw his empty gun through the door we were taking cover behind. Robert took off running out of the door.

"He's running!" Tess said. Joel started running after with Tess and me on his tail. I hoped my asthma wouldn't start acting up anytime soon.

"Robert!" Joel shouted.

"Screw you, Joel!"

We ran in the door he had ran through leading to another door. "He ran through here!" Joel ran up to the door and kicked it open, just as Robert was running around a corner. I was already starting to breathe hard, even though we only ran a few steps. I started slowing down, but Joel, as old as he is, keep running quickly. Robert ran into a building and jumped out of a window with Joel right behind him. After Tess had gotten out of the window I got out to find Robert cornered by a fence blocking one side of the alleyway and Joel blocking the other.

"Come on!" Robert was banging on the gate like it was going to open. I leaned against the wall ready to try to stop him if he tried running again.

"Hello Robert." Tess said.

"Tess. Joel. Jason, right?" He said, looking at me. "No hard feelings, right?" He said, now looking at Joel.

"None at all." Tess said, bending down to get a pipe off the ground. This guy was fucked.

"Alright." He said. Then he tried running and I took a step forward to get him, but Tess hit his legs with the pipe knocking him over. "Look whatever it is you heard, it isn't true okay? I just wanna say-"

"Want to tell us where the guns are?" Tess asked him.

"It's complicated alright?" Joel stepped away from the wall, going over to where Robert was laying on the floor and kicked him right in the nose. He bent down and grabbed Robert's arm laying it out straight on the concrete and started to put pressure on it.

"Ah stop, stop."

"You were saying?" Tess went over and crouched next to him.

"I sold them." He said, out of breath.

"Excuse me?" Tess said.

"I didn't have much of a choice. I owed someone."

"You owed us."

"I just need more time. Just give me a week."

"I might have done that if you hadn't tried to fucking kill me."

"It wasn't like-" Tess cut him off.

"Who has our guns?" Tess asked, more forcefully.

"I can't." Joel twisted his arm and I heard the snap from where I was standing. I wince imagining the pain.

"Who has our guns?"

"Fireflies. I owed the Fireflies."

"What?"

"They're basically all dead. We could just go in there and finish them off." Robert was spouting nonsense, nodding his head. "We get the guns. What do you say?" Joel and
Tess stood up.

"That is a stupid idea." Tess raised her gun and put two bullets through his head. A pool of blood started gathering around Robert. Disgusting.

"What now?" Joel asked.

"We're going to get the guns, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're going to get them back."

"How?"

"Explain it to them. Let's go find a Firefly." Tess suggested.

"You don't have to look far." We turned around, to see a woman step out of the shadows. A dark skinned woman came into my view. In one hand she was holding a gun and with the other she clutched her side over her bleeding wound. Marlene. Leader of the Fireflies.

"There you go. Queen Firefly." Joel said.

"Why are you here?" Marlene asked.

"Business." Tess replied. She gestured to the wound. "You're not looking so hot."

"Where's Robert?" Marlene asked, looking around. Tess stepped aside so Marlene could see the state Robert was now permanently in. "I needed him alive."

"The guns he gave you, they weren't his to sell and I want them back." Tess demanded. Marlene shook her head.

"Doesn't work like that Tess."

"The hell it doesn't."

"I paid for those guns, so if you want them back you are going to have to earn them."

"How many cards?"

"I don't give damn about ration cards." She shook her head. "I need something smuggled out of the city. You do that and I'll give you your guns back."

"How do we know you got them?" Joel finally spoke up. "Military has been wiping you out."

"You're right about that. I'll show you the weapons." Marlene said.

"Search the area!" We could hear some soldiers through the building that we had just come from.

"I gotta move." Marlene hurriedly said. "What's it going to be?"

"I wanna see those guns.

"Follow me."

This was going to be a long trip.