So I'm a huge fan of The Last of Us, and I actually do think that The Last of Us Part 2 is mostly good, (It suffers from occassional weak writing, I have to admit), but like many other fans, I was never able to stop wondering how the plot might have played out if Joel didn't die at the beginning.
This FanFic is my answer to that question.
In this altered timeline:
-It is ultimately Ellie who is murdered by Abby, and Joel is the one who will embark on the quest for revenge.
-Mel and Dina are not pregnant.
-Abby in this story is not meant to be a perfect reflection of the Abby in the actual TLOU2 story. This version is less morally grey and more of a one-dimensional villain.
-Any scenes from TLOU2 that are skipped over in this re-telling are skipped because they will be unchanged from the actual version of TLOU2. (Ex: Joel telling Tommy about what happened at Salt Lake City, the museum flashback with Joel and Ellie, the flashback where Seth calls Ellie a Dyke and Joel stands up for her, etc.)
Finally, just a quick disclaimer: In writing this, I am NOT saying that my altered take on TLOU2 is better or worse than the actual story of TLOU2. This is just me having fun with an alternate scenario. Nothing more.
...
Prologue: Father's Day, 2011. Two years before Outbreak Day.
Father's Day technically wasn't until Summer, so in order for the children at Austin Elementary to tell their fathers how much they meant to them, they were going to have to celebrate it a day after Mother's Day. Each of the children had to prepare their own speech to give to the class about their father. What they did for them, what their personalities were like, and how much they loved them. The children's fathers were invited to stop by to witness the speeches, of course.
Joel promised Sarah that he would be there to witness her speech, after all, she suffered from stage fright and seeing him there would have made a world of difference. The young father was deeply concerned he wouldn't be able to make it in time, but thankfully, his boss was surprisingly reasonable that day.
Applause filled the small fourth-grade classroom yet again. "Excellent job, Sean! Alright Sarah, I know you've been excited for this. Get on up there.", the student's teacher said in a chipper voice. Knowing Joel was present, Sarah had no anxiety to get in the way, so she proudly stood from her seat, and marched to the front of the classroom. While the other students needed a sheet of paper to read from, Sarah had her entire speech memorized word-for-word.
The blonde ten-year-old looked out at the classroom, and made eye-contact with her father who tried his best to feign the strength and optimism fathers were supposed to have, but the severe bags under his eyes suggested otherwise. He smiled back at his daughter, warmly. "You can do it.", he mouthed at her. Sarah smiled back, and then began.
"My daddy is named Joel, but to me, he'll always just be, "Daddy". My daddy is very strong! He can lift me with just one hand! His muscles are almost as big as Texas!"
The classroom laughed.
"My daddy has a great beard. I sometimes see him shave it, and it makes me sad." The class laughed, again. "So he promised me he would keep it from now on. My daddy is a great big brother to my uncle Tommy. They're grown-ups, but they act like kids around each other a lot!" And I wouldn't have it any other way, Joel thought.
She continued, "My daddy is always smiling whenever I'm around, because he says that he is as happy as can be."
She paused for a moment, then said, "But he's lying."
Some mild gasps and, "What's?", filled the room, and Joel's facial expression turned into that of concern and confusion. Sarah continued, "When he thinks I'm not around, I hear him say bad words about how much money he has to pay for bills. When he thinks I'm not looking, I see him holding some boo-boos he got at his job because they hurt. Sometimes I see him crying while he looks at pictures of Mommy, who passed away before I got to meet her."
She paused for a few seconds, then looked directly into her father's eyes. "But he smiles anyway...because he wants me to smile."
A lump filling his throat, Joel walked over to the front of the class, and scooped up Sarah into a tight hug. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, Baby Girl."
...
Jackson, Colorado. Twenty-seven years later.
Joel was awoken by the sound of knocking on his door. Slowly, he rose from the couch, and walked over the door to answer whoever it was. He opened the door to see that it was none other than Jesse. "Morning! The significantly younger man greeted. "Morning.", Joel said, groggily. "I heard your kid had quite a night after I left.", Jesse said.
Joel's eyes widened. "I think Dina kissed her, first. You know what that kid's like." Jesse's expression changed into something less friendly. "Wait, I was talking about you and Ellie's fight with Seth, Ellie kissed Dina?" Oh, shit, Joel thought as his eyes widened again. "Me and Dina are broken up for less than a week and Ellie's already making moves on my girl!?", Jesse said. "Look, Dina might'a done it just to piss you off or somethin' I...ah, Goddammit.", Joel said.
Jesse then burst out laughing. "I'm messing with ya, old man. I don't care. Get your coat." Joel rolled his eyes, then began to shut the door. But before he could do so, Jesse stopped him.
"It's still pretty fucked-up that Ellie did that, though."
Joel slammed the door shut, then heard Jesse laughing some more on the other side. Joel put his winter coat, gloves, and backpack on, then walked out the door. "Got everything? Great, let's move. Follow me.", said Jesse. "Hey, is Ellie up?", Joel asked as they walked. "We got reports of infected out north. Maria sent Ellie and Dina out early to scout." Jesse replied.
"Ellie and Dina together?", Joel asked. "Yup. Lucky them I guess, huh?", Jesse replied. Joel merely grunted. "Heads up, you're the talk of the town this morning.", said Jesse. "Ugh, God...", Joel groaned. "So, lemme get this straight: Ellie kissed Dina," said Jesse. "Dina kissed her.", Joel corrected. "Which triggered Seth to call Ellie a no-so-nice word, then you decked his ass," Jesse continued, "More of a push." Joel corrected, again. "And then instead of thanking you or something, Ellie told you to fuck off. That part, I don't get.", said Jesse.
Joel didn't respond for a few seconds. "...It was a strange night, kid."
"Anyway, Maria wants a word with you. She's at the diner.", Jesse said. "Ugh, is this about Seth?", Joel asked. "No clue. Possibly.", Jesse answered. "Ugh, fine.", Joel said, reluctantly. He knew not to test that woman's patience. "Hey. You and Ellie are gonna be okay, right?", Joel asked. "Of course. Dina and I are done. You don't have to worry about me causing trouble, old man."
"Good.", said Joel. He wasn't surprised, though. Jesse practically looked up to him as a hero. He wasn't about to do anything to piss him off.
They made it to the diner. "Wanna grab some breakfast?", Jesse asked Joel. "Not this time. I'm not speaking to Seth anytime soon unless I have to.", Joel answered. "Okay, I guess. Maria's in the back. Come on.", said Jesse. They made it to the back of the diner. "Joel! Over here.", Maria called out. He walked over to her. "Seth's got something he wants to say to you-" "I don't wanna hear what that birdshit-licker has to say.", said Joel, cutting her off. When it came to not pissing Joel off, insulting Ellie was rule number one, and Seth broke it.
Not that was gonna stop Maria, of course. "Do it for the sake of keeping the peace. Please.", she said. "...Fine.", Joel replied. Seth walked up to them. "Good God.", Joel said under his breath in an annoyed tone. Seth's demeanor expressed genuine shame and fear. "Uh...Hey.", Seth began. "Look last night, I drank entirely too much, and I made a big mistake. I'm sorry."
"Right.", said Joel, rolling his eyes. "Maria tells me you're heading out. I made you some steak sandwiches.", Seth said, handing them over. "Gee, thanks.", Joel said in a monotone voice as he took the sandwiches. "Anyway. You take care out there, alright? You're one of Jackson's best defenders.", Seth said. With that, he turned around and walked away, thankful Joel didn't decide to feed him his own teeth.
Maria turned to Joel. "I appreciate that." Joel rolled his eyes, again. "Whatever." Jesse walked over to him. "Whatcha got there?", Jesse asked. "Sandwiches that prolly got spit in em'.", Joel replied as he handed them over. Jesse sniffed them. "Mmm, spit.", Jesse said, jokingly. "Let me walk you out.", Maria said to them.
They left the diner. "Please be careful out there, you two. There's been an unusually large amount of infected sightings, recently.", said Maria. "Oh don't worry, I'm pretty sure Joel could just punch them all to death.", Jesse replied. Joel chuckled, lightly. "It'd be nice if it were that simple." They walked in silence for a few seconds. "So, what's the plan for me this time?", Joel asked. "I was thinking you and Tommy could take care of the creek trails.", answered Jesse. "Okay, sure.", said Joel.
Maria pulled Joel aside. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?", she asked him. "Sure.", said Joel. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Ellie, but frankly, it's beginning to concern me." Joel rolled his eyes. "We're just goin' through a bit of a rough patch, that's all. We're gonna be okay. Promise." Maria remained silent for a few seconds. "...Okay. You two be safe."
Joel and Jesse found Tommy having a snowball fight with a group of children. Utterly annihilating them, of course. Whether it was with gun or with snowball, Tommy rarely missed. "Tommy! Time to go to work.", said Joel. "Hold on, gimme a minute!", answered Tommy. After pelting one of the kids with snow one more time, Tommy said, "And THAT, y'all, is why you do not mess with Jackson's Finest!"
The children merely responded by crowding around him and dragging him to the ground. "Ack! Help! They've gone completely berserk! Help!", Tommy yelled, laughing. Joel grinned, then walked over to them. "Alright kids, that's enough. We got some actual fighting to do." The kids complained, but they complied. "Hey there, Joel.", said Tommy, still chuckling a little. "Hey, little brother. Thanks again for helping me out last night."
"Was the least I could do. Though I heard that Ellie was pretty damn rude to you afterwards. You two alright?", Tommy asked. Joel re-iterated to him what he said to Maria earlier about it being nothing more than a rough patch. "Alright, if you say so.", said Tommy. "Anyway, you and I are running the creek trails, this time."
"Great.", Tommy replied. After they went to the stables to grab their horses, they went to the front gate, where they were given their rifles. One Remington Bolt-Action Rifle for Joel, and Tommy's usual M14 Semi-Automatic Rifle. After they were all geared up, Jesse gave his usual speech to the patrol groups.
"Alright. You all know the drill. Run your routes, mark your logbooks, deal with any infected you see. You run into anything you can't handle, you come straight back. Be smart. Be safe. Good luck, y'all."
With that, the patrol groups mounted their horses, and took off to do their duty.
...
Meanwhile, in a cabin not far away, a small group of people slept inside.
Abigail Anderson awoke, aggressively. Another nightmare. She looked around to see that the majority of her friends were still asleep. All except for Owen and Melissa, who stood side by side pearing out of the large window. Abby walked over to them. "Hey." she said, greeting them. They smiled. "Hey.", replied Mel. "What were you dreaming about?", asked Owen. "Was I talking in my sleep?", Abby asked. "You were doing that teeth-grinding thing.", said Owen, prompting the three to chuckle, lightly.
Abby then noticed the snow on their coats. "Where've you two been?", she asked them. "Me and Owen were scouting earlier. The good news is, we've found them. The bad news is, they're pretty much a small army. Their base is essentially a city. They have guns, electricity, patrols, outposts, they're a big damn group.", said Mel. "You guys aren't having second thoughts, are you?", asked Abby. "We'd be lying if we said that we didn't, but this whole mission was your idea, so it's up to you.", said Owen.
"Well, we didn't come this far just to pussy out of it, now. We're trained soldiers, we can figure this out. We can corner one of the patrols and make them give us info."
Mel and Owen were afraid of that. They didn't like this mission from the beginning, but Abby was never the same since the Salt Lake incident all those years ago. Pulling this off was their only chance of putting all of this behind them and getting their friend back.
"Yeah, okay, sure. Most of the patrols only consist of about two people, so we could probably make that work.", said Owen. "Good. I knew I could count on you guys.", said Abby.
Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this, Mel thought to herself.
...
Despite Maria's warnings, Joel and Tommy didn't encounter that many more infected than usual. Definitely nothing the two veteran survivors couldn't handle. Just a few Runners, and the occasional Clicker.
As their patrol went on, the weather took a turn for the worse, and a rather nasty snowstorm had blown in. "We should take cover! I reckon Eugene's place ain't far from here! Stay close to me, Tommy! We don't wanna get seperated, now!", Joel yelled over the roar of the storm. "Alright, I gotcha!", Tommy replied.
It took a bit to get there, as the horses could only move so quickly against the storm, but the two brothers eventually reached the old outpost, which was recently abandoned. Eugene passed away from a stroke brought upon due to old age, and his home was yet to have someone knew to occupy it.
After they had gone in, they went down to the basement, and were surprised to see that Eugene...had been growing Marijuana, and lot's of it.
Joel and Tommy both chuckled, moderately. "Shit, did-did you know about this?", Joel asked, knowing that Eugene and his brother had gone way back due to their time in the Fireflies together. "Ha-ah, I mean, I saw him take a couple hits from a doobie now and again, but nothing like this.", Tommy answered. Of course, neither of the brothers were going to indulge in any of it, they personally never cared for that sort of thing.
So now, as they waited out the storm, there was nothing to do but chat.
Tommy began, "...You know, you ain't that much younger than Eugene was when he bought the farm." "Mm-hmm.", Joel responded, wondering whether or not Tommy's pun was intentional. "Even so, I still got about fifteen years left, and frankly, it's a god-damn miracle I even managed to keep going this long."
"Don't even start with that shit.", Tommy said.
After a few moments of silence, Tommy changed the topic, and asked the question that had been plaguing his mind for quite a while. "Look, I know you assured me that it's alright, but Ellie turnin' on ya so quickly after bein' mostly cool with ya up to that point just don't make no sense. If something's gone wrong, you can tell me. I won't tell nobody, I swear."
Joel pondered in silence for a moment...but he trusts his brother. "...Ellie knows about Salt Lake City. What really happened."
Tommy's eyes widened. "Shit...you sure?" "Yeah. That time she ran off and I had to go get her, she went to the hospital where I made my choice. Where I stopped them. She said if I didn't tell her the truth, she'd run away. For good. After I told her what really happened that night...she was pretty angry."
Tommy huffed. "Yeah, I'd imagine. But you still think things will be alright?"
"Last night, she told me that she doesn't think that she can ever fully forgive me, but that she wants to try, anyway. We're planning to watch a movie together, this evening." Tommy felt mild relief wash over him. "Shit, well, hopefully, that won't be too awkward-"
They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps loudly trampling down the stairs to the basement. Joel and Tommy readied their weapons, but thankfully, the intruder wound up being someone they knew. "Oh thank God, it's you two.", said Dina. The brothers lowered their guns. "Where's Ellie?", Joel asked. "She was with me, but we got seperated by the storm. I dunno where she is.", Dina answered.
"Ah, dammit!", Joel said under his breath as he stormed past Dina. "Hey Joel, wait!", Tommy said as he followed him. "We shouldn't go out, now. This weather's dangerous." "Yeah, and Ellie's out in it. We gotta go get her.", said Joel.
...
"Dina! Where are you!?", Ellie called out against the storm, but no response came.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a bullet pierced through her horse's skull, downing him immiediately and sending Ellie flying forward into the snow. "Ah! FUCK! What the fuck!?...", Ellie said as she slowly stood up from the sudden attack. When she rose up, she was met with her answer. Three strangers armed with rifles pointed their weapons at her. Two men, and one woman. "Hands in the air, you're coming with us!", the woman yelled. Perferring not to get riddled with bullets, Ellie complied.
...
When Ellie arrived at her attacker's temporary base, she was greeted by quite a few more armed strangers, who all kept their weapons trained on her. The woman who appeared to be in charge was unusually muscular and kept her dirty blonde hair in a long braid. Who in the holy fuck are these people!? Ellie wondered. They had better weapons and training than most Hunter groups, so she reasoned that they probably weren't those. At the same time, they were FAR too under-equipped to be FEDRA, so she ruled that possibility out, as well, for which she was grateful. If FEDRA ever came knocking at Jackson's door, they really wouldn't be able to do much to fight back.
Oh my God, could they be Fireflies? No, it couldn't be. They're dead. Joel killed the last of them, Ellie thought.
Finally, they directed her to the basement, and there, she saw Jesse. With his own blood pooled all around him. His throat had been slit from ear to ear.
"No-NO! You fucking bastards! Let go of me!", Ellie cried out as she struggled against their grasp. The woman with the braid responded by taking out her pistol and shooting Ellie right in both of her knees. "ARGGH! GOD!", Ellie screamed. "Pin her against the wall!", Abby commanded. "Mel, stop the bleeding! We need her alive, for now, at least."
Knowing who the girl was, Mel complied. After Mel was finished, Abby knelt down and got up in Ellie's face. "Hello, Ellie. Been a long time."
"Argh! Argh...How do you know my fucking name? Who are you people!?"
Abby didn't respond for a few seconds. "We're the good guys. We're the Fireflies." Ellie looked down to the floor. "Or, at least we were. Joel killed most of the rest of us the night he did what he did. In Utah."
Ellie's fear grew higher as she realized that it wasn't Jesse these people came here to kill. Or her. "No..."
"Yeah, I have plans for him. Big plans."
"No!"
...
The storm's intensity only grew stronger as the search went on, and ultimately Joel wound up getting seperated from both Tommy and Dina. "TOMMY! DINA! Shit..." He then came across a relatively large cabin. "Oh good, maybe she's in there.", Joel said to himself.
Shortly after he made it inside, he heard screaming. Screaming that sounded like it was coming from the one person he never wanted to hear scream. "Shit, Ellie!?", Joel cried out as he sprinted down the stairs to the basement.
He opened the door to see a large woman with a braid repeatedly throwing punches at a girl who was sitting on the floor with bullet wounds in her knees.
It was Ellie.
Less than a second before he could shoot her attacker, he felt someone grab his wrist and break it, causing his pistol to fall out of his hands. His attacker then grabbed his pistol then fired off a shot into his thigh, causing him to fall to the floor. All in about four seconds. Whoever these people were, they were well-trained.
After Joel fell to the floor, he saw that Jesse's lifeless body was lying nearby. "ARGH! You sonsa bitches are dead! I'll kill ya!", Joel cried out.
"Joel!...", Ellie blubbered out. Her face was bruised and bloody, and even some of her teeth had been knocked out. Abby grinned. "Well, well, speak of the Devil. How you doing, Old Man. It's been a few years, huh?"
Joel continued to struggle. "I don't even know who you are!"
Abby then said the thing that she had been wanting to say for a very long time. "Remember the sons, brothers, and fathers you killed that night at Saint Mary's Hospital? Remember the cure that would've gotten made if you didn't screw everything up? It's time to pay, you old fuck."
Joel slowly stopped struggling, then said, "Fine, you're right. You're friends are dead because of me. I get it. But please don't punish her, it ain't her fault! You punish me! YOU PUNISH ME!"
Abby unsheathed her Ka-Bar Combat Knife, prepared to finally avenge her father and her friends...
...when she suddenly got a better idea.
"...You're right. You deserve to be punished. And I know the best way to do that." And with that, she quickly walked over to Ellie, knelt down...
...and dragged her blade across her throat.
Joel wailed as he watched the blood jut out of his daughter's throat. "NO! ARGH! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"
Abby's friends merely stood, paralyzed. This wasn't the plan. Mel's eyes were as wide as possible as she ran her hands through her hair. "...You fucking maniac..."
"What? What's your fucking problem!?", Abby asked her. "This isn't what we talked about, for fuck's sake! I mean, maybe we-maybe we still could've-"
"No. We couldn't have. The only person who could've possibly made the vaccine is dead, and you know it.", said Abby. Besides, I dunno what you're complaining about, I got what I wanted. You wanted to go back to Seattle, well now we can fucking go back to Seattle!"
Joel looked over to Ellie, who's face expressed a mixture of shock, sorrow, fear, and regret. "...D-Da...d", she tried to say, but it was no use. She was choking to death on her own blood.
Abby then marched over to him. "You're gonna spend the rest of your sorry fucking life knowing the pain we have to live with every single day.", she said before she kicked him in the face, knocking him out, cold.
...
Joel awoke sometime later. The first thing he saw when he came to was Ellie's eyes. Open, but not alive. It wasn't just a nightmare. His worst fear had come to pass a second time. "No...No...", Joel said as he began to cry some more. He briefly looked back over to where she was sitting earlier, seeing a trail of blood from her previous position to where she was, now.
She had spent her final moments of life trying to crawl towards him.
He sat up, wrapped his arms around Ellie's lifeless body, and held her, rocking back in forth. Suddenly, he was back in Austin, Texas, again. The night everything changed. His mind kept on going back to the past when he lost Sarah, and this moment, here. He was nothing more than a worthless, horrible man. And an even worse father. He knew it.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...", the defeated old man kept repeating as he kept on rocking her.
He was then interrupted by the sound of the basement door opening, and in came Tommy and Dina. As soon Dina saw the scene in front of her, her past and present lovers both dead with their throats viciously sliced open, she began to cry, "No! NO! NO!" She fell to the floor and began to vomit. "Why!? God, WHY!?"
Tommy's eyes widened and watered. "I...Joel, what the hell happened?"
"Tommy...I failed her. I failed, all over again..."
...
Later that evening, the surviving trio returned to Jackson with their two fallen in tow. Jesse's parents sobbed at the sight of their deceased child. Although Ellie wasn't all that close to the majority of Jackson, many casted looks of sympathetic sorrow at the sight of her lifeless body. Even Seth looked like he regretted their last interaction. All kept their distance from Joel. Whether it was because of respect or fear, he didn't know.
Joel sat alone in his house, staring at the two pictures he valued most.
One, was of him and Sarah after she had won the, "Most Valuable Player" Trophy at Soccer, decades ago. The other, was taken far more recently. It was of him and Ellie after they had returned back to Jackson from her fifteenth birthday celebration. He had taken her to an old, abandoned museum not too far away from Jackson, where they had gotten to look at exhibits of dinosaurs, and more importantly, space. Her favorite topic. He had even gotten her an old recording of a Mission Control Operator coordinating a blast-off. For a moment, she truly felt like she was finally getting away from the violent, and often hopeless world they had to live in, and got to go see the stars.
It was the happiest he had ever seen her.
Joel was distracted from his reminiscing by a loud knock at his front door. When he opened it, there stood Tommy, who's eyes were a little red. He looked like he had been doing some crying himself. "...Hey.", he said to his older brother. "Hey.", Joel replied. "Mind if I sit down?", Tommy asked. "...Sure."
This wasn't the first time Tommy had seen his brother like this. Both times, it made his heart break to see his brother, the man he often looked up to as his hero, so utterly broken.
After they had sat down on the couch, Tommy began to speak. "Look, I already know what you're plannin' on doin'. We gotta talk about it."
Joel merely grunted.
Tommy continued, "In order to get the guys we'd need in order to do this smart, we'd be leavin' Jackson vulnerable."
"Well, then it's a good thing I didn't plan on askin' for em'.", Joel replied.
"Joel, you know this ain't a good idea-"
"Frankly, Tommy, you're lucky I ain't halfway to Seattle by now.", said Joel in an increasingly abraisive tone.
"What makes you think they're even from Seattle?", asked Tommy. "I heard from the bitches own mouth.", Joel answered. "You sure? You might've heard em' wrong-"
"Is this you talkin' or her!?", Joel yelled.
They both remained silent for a few moments. "I'm leavin' tomorrow, Tommy. You don't gotta come. I don't give a damn how large their group is, or how armed. I've done crazier things over less."
Tommy didn't respond for a few moments. "...I lost you, once. It ain't gonna happen again. If you really gotta do this, you gotta have at least one person you can trust by your side. Maria will be pissed, but I ain't gonna let her stop me. You got my rifle, brother."
Joel felt mild relief wash over him. He would've been more than willing to go alone, but knowing that his brother would be with him was comforting and reassuring. "...Alright. I apprieciate it."
Tommy then noticed the tears forming in his brothers' eyes. "Hey. She meant a lot to me, too." With that, Tommy walked over to him, and embraced him in a hug.
"We'll get em', Joel. I promise."
After all, Tommy owed Joel quite a lot...
...
Texas, Four decades ago.
"Tommy to the rescue!", a young boy shouted with pride as he readied his Red Ryder BB Gun. Cowboy was Tommy's favorite thing to pretend to be.
Unfortunately, today he would deal with some real future-outlaws. Four of his classmates rode up to him on their bikes. "Hey look, it's Tommy!", Billy shouted in his unmistakable, annoying voice which always made Tommy feel smaller than he actually was. "...Hey, Billy."
"Hey, Billy!", Billy said in a mocking tone, promting his fellow cronies to erupt with laughter and Tommy to blush. "What you doin' with that there pea-shooter!? You gotta pretend to be a hero because your too much a wimp to be one in real life!?"
Tommy looked at the ground, reddening some more. "I don't think you should even get to do that.", Billy said as he ripped the BB Gun away from Tommy's hands without hesitation. "Hey! Give that back!", Tommy shouted as tears began to form in the little boy's eyes. Billy merely laughed some more and responded, "Ain't you figured it out yet? You're just a little baby, and I'm the big man around here-ARGH!"
Billy was cut off when he felt something heavy and metallic hit him in the back of the head. Someone had thrown his own bike at him. They all looked to see that it was none other than Tommy's infamous older brother, Joel. "Ah, crap! It's him!", one of Billy's friends yelled. Joel was one of the few, "Bad", kids at school who didn't have any friends to cause trouble with. He was always picking fights with students he didn't like.
Nonetheless, despite the fact that Joel was such a troublemaker, and Tommy was about as straight as an arrow, the two young boys were utterly inseperable.
Joel marched over to Billy, completely without fear. "You ain't a big man...you're practice."
With that, before Billy could throw the first punch, Joel kicked him hard in the groin, and head-butted him right in the nose. Joel always made it a point to hit em' hard, and make it hurt.
Billy's friends finally worked up the courage to defend their leader, all rushing Joel at once, two of them grabbed him, and one of them began to throw punches at him while he couldn't fight back. His spirit strenghtened by Joel's presence, Tommy ran up to one of the bullies who grabbed Joel, and began trying to pull him off. "Get offa' him!", Tommy yelled. With one of his arms now free, when the punching bully began to throw another hit, Joel grabbed the bully by the arm, pulled him in close, and stuck his thumb in his eye. Not hard enough to cause permanent damage, but enough to where it hurt like hell. With the other bullies either distracted or stunned, Joel used his superior strength to break free from the remaining bully's grasp, and continue the fight.
The skirmish went on for a few more minutes, until the Miller's father ran up to them. "HEY! The fuck's goin' on, here!? GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!", the man shouted. Not needing to be told twice, the bullies all got back on their bikes, and rode away. One of them had his ankle twisted by Joel, so he had to hobble away, leaving his bike behind.
Joel and Tommy both stood, shaking. Joel's father was about the only thing in his brief existance that completely terrified him. He promised himself that if he was somehow lucky enough to not get his skull caved in by him before he reached adulthood, and ever became a father himself, he would never be anything like him.
"The botha' you little FUCKS come here!", he yelled as he aggressively grabbed them by their ears and hauled them into their small, somewhat run-down house.
"I've fuckin' HAD it with you little cumshots causin' trouble and makin' MY life harder than it already IS! Imma have to beat y'alls asses, now. Y'all know the rules."
Joel looked over to Tommy, who was holding himself, shaking and sobbing, the bruises under his clothes which still hadn't healed from last time were painful enough.
"Tommy didn't do nothing, Daddy! Just hit me! Leave em' be!"
Their father thought about it for a moment. "Shit, fine by me."
The next fifteen minutes consisted of Joel in his underwear getting violently whipped with his father's belt, while Tommy was forced to watch as a warning to dissuade him from causing, "trouble" in the future. At one point, their father paused for a moment, and gazed at his son, bloody, bruised, crying, and half-naked. The look on the middle-aged man's face was not one a father should ever have seeing his child in such a state.
Despite everything, Joel desperately wanted to maintain his confident front to help Tommy feel at least somewhat less scared. "...That...that-that wasn't so bad.", Joel blubbered out through blood and tears. But neither Tommy, nor their father were buying it, and the evil man used it as an excuse to just hit Joel even harder.
Tommy stood in the corner, and quietly sobbed. Not for himself, but for Joel. He was his hero, and he couldn't do anything to help him. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."
...
Jackson, Colorado. Present Day.
Joel sat in front of Ellie's tombstone, a lump in his throat. "I know you prolly' wouldn't want me to do this...but I can't help it. You deserve justice."
He remained silent for a few moments. "I quit believin' in God quite a few years ago, but if anyone deserves to go to Heaven, it's you."
Tommy and Dina stood close behind him, tears in their eyes.
Finally, Joel stood up. "Goodnight, Baby Girl...And thank you. For everything." He turned around and began to walk away, but then decided to turn his head back towards the grave.
"...I love you."
Finally, the inconsolable father began to walk away. Dina walked up to him. "I'm so sorry, Joel. Maybe I could have saved her, if I only had been more careful during the storm-"
Joel laid a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "There ain't nothin' you coulda' done, Dina. You prolly' woulda' just been killed, too. And Ellie wouldn'ta wanted that. You were her best friend. She loved you...I know it."
A tear rolled down Dina's cheek. Even though her lover was gone, knowing that her father approved of them brought her some comfort, nonetheless. "...Thank you, Joel."
Joel continued, "On that note, you really don't gotta come with us, it could potentially be a suicide mission-"
"Joel,", Dina began, cutting him off. "Ellie was the prettiest, kindest, funniest, and sweetest person I've ever met. And because of those fucking bastards, I'm never gonna see her smile or hear her sing again. You two go, I go. End of story."
Joel slowly nodded. "Alright. Before we go, I gotta go grab somethin' from my house. We'll prolly' need it." Dina and Tommy both nodded.
The trio somberly walked from the graveyard to Joel's house. There, the front yard was decorated with flowers and goodbye/condolences letters from the Jackson residents, for which Joel appriciated, even if it didn't relieve any of his pain.
After they made inside, Joel said, "The thing we need is upstairs, underneath my bed."
The trio made it to Joel's room. Before Joel went to grab the thing he needed from under his bed, Dina looked over to the side, and saw the pictures of Joel and Sarah and Joel and Ellie side-by-side. Dina had known about Joel's first daughter and her tragic fate, but she never thought much on it until now. "Oh my God, Joel...I can't imagine how much pain you're in.", she said as she began to tear up some more. "...It's alright, kiddo.", Joel replied, with a very brief, light smile.
Ellie picked a truly wonderful human being to call her girlfriend before she passed on.
Finally, Joel pulled the thing he needed out from under his bed. It was a medium-length case. "There a rifle of some kind in there?", Dina asked. "You could say that.", Joel answered. He opened the case, and it revealed something that made Dina's eyes go wide and Tommy grin.
It was an M16A4 Assault Rifle. Unbeknownst to Dina, the same one he obtained and put to great use the night he saved Ellie at Saint Mary's Hospital.
"Woah! You had one of these under your bed this whole time?", Asked Dina. Joel didn't reply. Rather, he merely turned around with the mighty weapon in his hands, the look on his face expressing rage and courage simultainiously. Tommy grinned even wider. His hero was back, and his resolve was stronger than ever.
"...Let's go get these sonsa' bitches.", said Joel.