Author's Note: Took this down temporarily to make some adjustments. Sorry.

So I'm a huge fan of TLOU, and while I did (mostly) like TLOU2, part of me was never able to stop wondering what the story might have looked like if Ellie was the one who had been killed at the beginning instead of Joel.

This Fanfic is my answer to that question.

A few things I want to make clear before you start the story:

-Mel and Dina are not pregnant in this version of the story

-Abby in this story is NOT meant to be a wholly accurate version of the character. This version is less morally gray and more of just a straight up villain

-Abby and Owen didn't break up in the Aquarium flashback. They're still together in the beginning, and Mel is single.

-Any of the flashbacks in TLOU2 that aren't included in this story still happened, I just didn't include them because it would've been redundant and pointless for anyone who has already played the game and knows the story. (Joel and Ellie at the museum, the dance in Jackson, Finding Strings, Ellie returning to Salt Lake City and learning the truth, etc.)

-Lastly, in writing this story, I am NOT trying to say that my version is better or worse than the actual story of TLOU2, this is just me exploring an alternate possibility, nothing more.

Okay, with all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy it. I'm a fairly new writer, so I don't mind constructive criticism.

...

Austin, Texas. May 13th, 2013. Four months before Outbreak Day.

It was two days after Mother's Day, and the 6th graders of Austin Middle School were giving speeches to honor their fathers. Father's Day in reality, of course, was in June, so the only way they were able to celebrate it in school was to do so a month early.

Applause filled the classroom. "Excellent work, Shaun.", the teacher said. Shaun walked back to his table, a half-hearted smile across his face.

All eyes turned to a young, blonde girl. "Your turn, Sarah."

Sarah's expression was one of concern. She had spent the past seven days carefully preparing her Father's Day speech, genuinely wishing to give one from the heart. She had yearned to do so, but only if the person the speech was made for were present.

Sarah quickly gazed over to the classroom door. Nothing.

"Sarah," her teacher said in a somewhat impatient voice. "Right.", Sarah said as she shot up from her seat and made her way to the front of the class. Some of the girls near the front snickered upon seeing her apparent doubt.

All of the other children had scripts in hand to read off of as they gave their respective speeches. Sarah had boasted the day before that she wouldn't need to, that she had memorized it all, word for word.

Sarah stood in front of the class, her expression devoid of the confidence she had that day. As she felt the eyes of all her classmates on her, she looked back over at the door. Nothing.

"So much for little miss perfect.", Sarah heard a whispered voice say.

Sarah couldn't stall, forever. After she closed her eyes for a few seconds, she began, "Mm-my dad-"

The door opened, and in walked a sweaty, exhausted man in a blue t-shirt and jeans with a short, brown beard. Suddenly all of the attention was briefly taken off of Sarah, and had turned to the random man. "Uh, sorry I'm late, y'all.", he said, chuckling lightly through mildly tired breaths. "I didn't miss it, I hope?"

"Actually, you're right on time, Mr. Miller.", the teacher said. Joel and Sarah locked eyes, and Sarah's frown had turned into a smile, her doubt gone just as soon as it came.

Now able to properly give her speech, she began, "My dad is the best dad anyone could ever ask for. My dad is very strong. He can lift me up with just one arm!" Joel then flexed his arms, showing off to the class. Sarah blushed, but she continued, "My dad is very mature, but he still talks to my Uncle Tommy like they're little kids, a lot."

"Damn right, I do, but he's starting it most of the time." Joel thought.

Sarah continued, "My dad says he's never tired, and that he's always happy because he got to have me...but he's lying."

Joel's expression went from one of happiness to confusion and concern. Sarah continued, "A lot of the time, when he gets home from work, he gets home hours late, and he immedietlely has to go to bed before he can say goodnight to me. Last month, when he thought I was asleep in bed, I saw him crying while looking at a picture of my mom, the mother I never got to meet."

Sarah paused for a few moments. "I'm very thankful that I got to be there for my dad, just as he's there for me. My dad is the best dad anyone could ever ask for."

Applause filled the classroom, again. This time, with much more genuine enthusiasum than with previous students. Sarah and Joel walked up to each other, and she was scooped up into a tight hug. Despite the full classroom, it felt as though they were the only ones in the world.

"I love you, Dad.", Sarah said. "I love you too, Baby Girl.", Joel said back. "I swear, I'll never let anything take you away from me."

Sarah giggled, then leaned in closer to her father's ear, and said in three different voices all at once, "IT'S TOO LATE."

Joel suddenly felt his stomach get wet, and as he pulled away from his daughter, his face turned from bliss to one of utter terror as he saw that her pupils had disappeared, she was bleeding from all orifaces, her mouth had been twisted to an inhuman, massive grin, and she had a gaping, bloody hole in her stomach. "NO!", Joel cried out.

Outside the classroom, he could see that the day had instantly turned to night, and he could hear the sounds of agonized screaming, inhuman clicking, and the sounds of soldiers loudly calling out orders to one another as they fired their rifles.

"We're burning, daddy.", Sarah said. "Burning, all burning.", the classmates and teacher said to Joel, who was desperately covering Sarah's stomach wound with his hands, seeing that his watch was now broken. "No, no no no NO NO!", Joel cried.

"You'll burn too, daddy. YOU'LL BURN TOO."

"NO, SARAH! NO!"

THE

LAST

OF

US

PART II

...

Jackson, Wyoming. 25 Years Later.

Joel awoke with a gasp, and heard a knock on his front door. He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he saw that it was none other than Jesse, wide awake, and fully geared up. "Morning! I know grandpa's need their sleep, but..."

"Yeah, sorry for oversleepin'.", Joel said to the significantly younger man. "Heard your kid had quite a night after I left.", said Jesse. "Yeah, we'll talk about it in a minute, let me grab my gear.", replied Joel as he shut the door. "Get your stuff together, we're already late!", Jesse called out from the other side. "Yeah, yeah.", Joel said to himself.

Joel then grabbed his revolver, watch, coat, and backpack, then walked out into the town.

Prologue: Twisted Justice

"Hey is Ellie up?", Joel asked Jesse. "We've got reports of infected out north. Maria sent her and Dina out early to investigate. "Her and Dina, huh?" Joel thought to himself. "Heads up; you're the talk of the town this morning.", warned Jesse. "Ugh, God...", Joel groaned. "So let me get this straight," Began Jesse. "Ellie kissed Dina,"

"I think Dina kissed her."

"Which triggered Seth to call Ellie a...not-so-nice word, which in turn made you deck him,"

"Was more of a push."

"Then Ellie responded by essentially telling you to go fuck yourself. That part confused me.", finished Jesse. "It was a strange night, son.", said Joel.

"We gotta go to the Tipsy Bison, first. Maria wants a word with you. Given the location, it's probably got to do with Seth.", said Jesse. "Great.", said Joel.

They continued walking. "Hey, just so you know, you don't have to worry about me getting pissed at Ellie or anything. Me and Dina are finished. I got no issue with Ellie if this is how things are, now.", said Jesse. "Good.", replied Joel.

They finally made it to the Tipsy Bison Diner, and after shifting through the crowd for a bit, they found Maria. "Hey, Joel! There you are, come here. Seth's got something he wants to say to you-"

"I really don't got time to listen to that asswipes mouth.", said Joel, cutting her off. But Maria wasn't budging. "Joel, please. Do it for me. Just deal with this now, and we can put an end to some unnecessary discord."

"Fine.", said Joel. "Seth! Hey! Joel wants to speak to you.", called out Maria. Seth slowly, and sheepishly walked up to them, holding something small in his hands. "Uh...hey. Listen, last night...I was drinking too much.", Seth said in a meek voice. The two men were about the same age, but Joel possessed far, far greater strength, and they both knew it.

Joel didn't respond, he merely shot an angry gaze at him. "I'm trying to say I'm sorry is all. Here, I made you these. They're steak.", Seth said as he handed the sandwich to him. Joel waited for a few seconds, took the sandwich, and responded, "You ever speak to Ellie like that again, the only thing I'll be feeding you is your own damn teeth."

Seth stood, paralyzed. "Um...uh...well..." Joel's gaze unwavered. "You...you stay safe out there.", Seth said before he walked off, secretley hoping that a bloater would tear Joel's face in half while on patrol.

Joel turned back over to Maria and Jesse. "Don't ever do that, again.", demanded Maria. "That was great.", said Jesse, laughing moderately.

The three of them left the diner. "Jesse, when you head out, I want you to meet up with Dina and Ellie. Those two have been out for far too long.", ordered Maria. "Of course. Where do I meet them?", asked Jesse. "They should be at the northwest lookout later today. Just...be careful. There's been far too many sightings of infected lately.", said Maria. "Understood.", said Jesse.

"Joel, I want you and Tommy to patrol the creek trails.", said Maria. "Got it. Where is Tommy?", Joel asked. "He's over there in the little playground with the kids. Guess he got bored waiting for you.", answered Jesse. "Hey Jesse, give me and Joel a minute.", said Maria. "You got it.", said Jesse, walking away for a bit.

Maria turned to Joel. "Listen, I don't know what's going on between you and Ellie-"

"Maria, you don't gotta worry about it. We're just goin' through a rough patch, that's all. She'll be alright." Maria remained silent for a few seconds. "...Okay."

Joel, Jesse, and Maria then walked over to the playground, where they found Tommy, basking in his victory after winning a snowball fight against the children single-handedly. "Now that is why you do not mess with Jackson's finest!", Tommy said. "Oh yeah? Get him!", one of the kids said as they all charged at him and pinned him to the ground. "Ack! Help! I'm surrounded by infected! Help!", Tommy yelled.

Joel walked over to them. "Alright, y'all had your fun, but we got some actual work to do, today.", he said. "Aww.", some of the kids said as they backed away from Tommy. "'Bout time you got up, Brother!", said Tommy, still on the ground. Joel offered his hand, then pulled him up. "Yeah, because I sure am upset I missed that.", Joel said, sarcastically.

The two brothers then walked to the stables, got their horses, then led them to the front gates of Jackson, just in time to hear Jesse's usual speech before the patrolmen headed out.

Jesse began, "Alright, you all know the drill: Run your routes, mark your logbooks. Clear any infected you see. You run into anything you can't handle, you come straight back. Be smart about it." Jesse paused for a few moments. "Good luck, y'all."

With that, the brothers, Jesse, and the rest of the patrolmen at last ventured out to do their duty.

...

Abby Anderson woke up with a jolt, gasping and clutching her chest. Another nightmare. As she looked around the cabin, she saw that the majority of her team was still asleep, all except for Owen and Mel, who were standing in front of the window. Slowly, Abby got up and walked over to them. "Hey.", she said to them in a groggy voice. "Hey.", Mel said back. "What were you dreaming about?", asked Owen.

"Was I talking?", Abby asked him. "You were doing that teeth-grinding thing.", Owen answered. The three of them chuckled for a bit. Abby then noticed that Owen and Mel had their coats and backpacks on, and were even covered in a bit of snow. "Where have you two been?"

"Me and Owen did some scouting ahead, and it turns out the group is much bigger than we were afraid it would be. They have a large town, with adequate security to properly fortify it, even after they sent out some patrol groups. They're practically a small Battalion.", said Mel. "You're point being?", Abby asked in a somewhat agitated voice. Owen and Mel were afraid of this. "Listen, Abby, we frankly don't think that this is a good idea, and that we should probably just head home, but when all's said and done, this is your mission. This whole thing was your idea, so we decided that the final decision should be up to you on what our next move is.", said Owen.

Abby remained silent for a few moments. "...Well?", Mel asked. "I'm thinking.", Abby said in an abraisive tone.

Finally, she came up with an idea. "Let's wake up Manny and Jordan. I'm gonna take them to go ambush one of the patrols for intel. The three of us have had enough training to ensure that we can probably pull it off. These people aren't stupid, but they aren't soldiers like we are. They definitely won't be as hard to deal with as the goddamn Scars. Everyone else will stay here to guard the cabin."

Mel rolled her eyes and looked away. Owen merely looked down in disappointment. Abby never did care about the odds. "...Okay.", said Owen. "...Fine.", said Mel. Abby grinned. "Good, I knew I could count on you guys.", she said.

"Jesus Christ, I've got a bad feeling about this." Mel thought.

...

Despite Maria's warnings about an unusually large amount of Infected being near Jackson, Joel and Tommy wound up not encountering any particularly intense threats. Just a few Runners with the occasional Clicker. After all the two had been through, those were trivial foes.

Eventually, an extremely intense snowstorm began to happen, and the two brothers sought shelter. "Eugene's place ain't far from here! Follow me, and try not to lag too far behind! Ya don't wanna get lost in this shit!", Tommy yelled over the roar of the storm.

Thankfully, it only took about five minutes for them to reach the building Tommy mentioned, and once the brothers made it inside, they took off their winter gloves and breathed a sigh of relief now that their ears and faces weren't being assaulted anymore.

"Oh...I miss Texas.", said Joel, prompting Tommy to laugh and feel a brief pang of nostalgia. Though the summers could be quite brutal sometimes in the Lone Star State, winters there were generally quite tame compared to Wyoming.

After they had settled in for a bit, Tommy asked, "Listen, I know it ain't my business, but just what in the goddamn hell is goin' on between you and Ellie? You two were just fine for the majority of the time I've known her, but it was like six months ago when she ran off for a bit a switch just went off in her brain that made her real pissed for no reason! You got any idea why?"

Joel thought for a bit on whether or not to tell the truth, or to fabricate a lie. But he ultimately decided that Tommy should know. "When Ellie ran off...she went to Salt Lake City. To the Firefly Base." Tommy's eyes widened. "Wait, you ain't saying-"

"Yeah. She knows, Tommy. She knows what really happened, now. What I did to them."

Tommy shook his head. "Ah, Christ. I was afraid this would happen at some point. Shit, what are you gonna do?"

Joel closed his eyes for a bit. "I...I don't know. We talked about it for a bit last night after the thing with Seth. She told me that she doesn't think she can ever forgive me, but that she wants to try anyway. I'm hoping that maybe-"

Joel was cut off by the sound of the front door bursting open. The brothers readied their guns, but thankfully it was just one of their own. "Oh thank God, it's you two!", Dina said, gasping through breaths. "You alright, Dina? Where's Ellie?", Joel asked her. "She was with me! We got seperated in the storm! I can't find her!", Dina exclaimed. "Goddammit.", Joel said as he aggressively walked past her with Tommy following close behind him. "Wait, I'm going with you guys!", Dina said. "Dina, you stay out there any longer and you're gonna freeze to death. Stay! Here!", Tommy ordered.

"Fine. Just...find her, please.", Dina said. "We will.", said Joel.

...

"Dina, where are you!?", Ellie called out in the unforgiving storm. In the next instant, she saw blood shoot out of her horse's skull, and immedieately crashed to the ground. "Ack! Fuck! Who the fuck-" As if to answer her question, when she rose from the ground, she was faced with a rifle inches away from her chest. Ellie saw that she was outnumbered three against one. "You come with us! If you don't comply, you will be shot! Understand!?", a woman's voice boomed. With little alternatives, Ellie raised her hands in surrender.

...

Upon being marched to the strangers base, Ellie noticed that these people were all well-armed and seemingly well-trained. Likely not just typical hunters. At the same time, their lack of uniforms meant that they probably weren't FEDRA, either. Surely, they couldn't possibly be...

They marched her down to the basement, where she saw a dead, mutiliated body. Her eyes widened in horror.

It was Jesse.

"ARGH! NO! You fucking pieces of shit! I'll kill you FUCKS!", Ellie cried out as she fought in vain against these random, new threats to her town. She was finally pinned down, but not before Jordan took a slash to the face from her switchblade. "Ack! You bitch!", Jordan yelled as she kicked her over and over again.

"Enough!", Abby demanded. "Pin her to the wall.", she ordered. After her comrades did so, Abby unholstered her shotgun from her backpack, and blasted Ellie's legs, causing her to shriek in horrible agony. Mel and Owen winced. "Mel, get one of your first aid kits out. We don't want her dead." At least not yet, Abby thought to herself.

While Mel did her work, Abby and the others took a good look at Ellie's face. "Oh my God. Abby...it's her.", Owen said.

Once Mel was done, Abby unsheathed her Ka-Bar knife and got in Ellie's face. "I'm sorry that had to happen, but this can all stop right now, as long as you cooperate. Your friend over there didn't, and look where that got him."

Ellie growled, blood pouring down her nose. Abby positioned her knife above Ellie's nose. "Joel Miller. I know you know who he is. Where is he?"

"Why? You gonna kill him like you killed Jesse? Like a fucking coward!?"

"As you wish.", Abby said less than a second before she began to saw Ellie's nose off of her face. Ellie howled in horror and pain, but Abby showed no hesitation or remorse, using the combined strength of the military blade's razor-sharp edge and her own well-trained muscles to saw her victim's nose off as quickly as possible.

In less than ten seconds, Ellie's nose had been completely severed, leaving two bloody holes where her nose had once been. "You see this?! THIS is what happens to people who don't do what I say!", Abby yelled while waving the nose in Ellie's face before she chucked it aside like garbage.

Ellie couldn't help it anymore, she felt tears slide down her cheeks due to the unbearable pain and the knowledge that she would look hideous for the rest of her life, if it didn't end today.

Abby then pulled some pliers out of her backpack. "Wanna talk, now?"

"GO. TO. HELL!", Ellie cried out despite her immense pain.

Abby clicked her tongue. "Okay." With that, she grabbed hold of one of Ellie's front teeth with the pliers and began to slowly rip it out of her mouth.

The rest of the Salt Lake crew merely stood, paralyzed. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Even Manny looked uncomfortable. He and Abby had tortured Scars back in Seattle before, but this person was likely innocent, and now being horrendously mutilated for no reason other than having the misfortune to be accociated with the wrong man, much like Jesse.

Finally, Ellie's tooth had been ripped out, and cast aside in a similar fashion to her nose. Abby took a few moments to let Ellie cry for a bit, then took her knife back out and positioned it close to the gums where her tooth had been before. "We'll repeat this exercise as many times as we have to. Where. Is. Joel?", Abby demanded.

"GO FUCK YOUR FUCKING MOTHER!", Ellie cried out, in a partially slurred voice due to her missing tooth and intense crying. Abby sighed. "You're really starting to piss me off, Ellie.", she said before she carefully stabbed the tip of her knife into Ellie's missing tooth area. Ellie shrieked to a point which began to hurt their ears. This was the most painful thing Ellie had ever experienced.

Owen and Mel almost began to tear up, themselves. Had their friend really gone this mad?

...

"ELLIE! ELLIE!", Joel yelled as loud as he could. He got seperated from Tommy during the storm, but he didn't have time to go back for him, now. Ellie came first. Always.

He looked down, and saw the cabin with the lights on. "Maybe she's in there."

He made his way down, then made it inside the main room. Ellie wasn't there, and neither was anyone else. However, he did hear some muffled screams coming from downstairs. "Ellie?!", Joel said as he drew his short .44 Magnum Revolver and made his way downstairs.

When he burst through the door, he saw that a large group of armed strangers were gathered around a muscular woman torturing another woman with a knife. "J-JOEL!?", Ellie cried out to him. "ELLIE, NO!", Joel yelled as he aimed his gun at the torturor, but he was grabbed by three of the strangers just before he could get a shot off, the bullet shooting into the roof instead. The hispanic man with a bun broke Joel's arm, grabbed his revolver, and bashed him in the face with it all in the span of about six seconds. Then shot a bullet into each of his thighs to ensure he couldn't fight back.

Manny, Jordan, and Leah all kept on beating him for a few more seconds until Abby shouted, "Enough! Lemme see him!" With that, the three ex-Fireflies backed off of him, and Abby walked over to him. Their eyes all widened in shock. "Well, well. I don't believe it.", said Abby. Today truly was her lucky day.

Joel looked over at Ellie, observing the damage that had been done. From the waist-up, Ellie had been stripped down to her bra, and her torso was covered in slashes and some bruises as well. Some of her fingers had been cut off, the bone jutting out of where her index finger used to be, and her nose had even been sliced off. Despite all this, Ellie was still awake. Even more so now that she saw that Joel was here.

"ARRGH! You bastards! You FUCKING HUNTERS!" Joel yelled.

"Who said we were Hunters?", Abby asked as she reached into her shirt, and revealed one of the two dog tags she wore. It was a Firefly tag.

It all came together for Joel right there and then. "Yeah, that's right. You killed my friends. Killed those innocent doctors. Killed my fucking dad, and took away all our futures! For what, just ONE person!?"

Joel looked down, accepting his fate. He knew this might have been a possibility one day. "Alright! I'm sorry!...For EVERYTHING! I couldn't let her die. Not even for that. But she ain't the one responsible for all that! I'M the one you want! You don't kill her! You kill me! YOU KILL ME!"

Abby smirked a little, pleased to see the boogeyman that haunted her for years broken like this. Knife in hand, she was just about to walk over to him and finish her mission...

...when she then got a better idea.

She realized after seeing him broken like that, broken like she was, once, her true wish was never to kill Joel, but to make him suffer.

With that, she began to march back over to Ellie. "What? No, what're you doing!? You punish me instead, please!", begged Joel. "I'm about to.", Abby replied, darkly.

She grabbed Ellie's head, and positioned her knife in front of Ellie's throat. "No! Please! I'll do anything!", Joel begged. This prompted Manny to laugh. "You should make him suck my dick.", he said in spanish. "Shut up, Manny!", said Abby. She then turned her attention back to Joel. "Okay, you just have to do one thing. Tell Ellie it's gonna be okay. Like the Fireflies would say that it would be okay over the radio all the time. Like Marlene would say to me. Like my dad would say to me."

Joel remained silent for a few moments. Images of Sarah and Ellie began to flicker through his mind.

"...It's going to be alright, Ellie."

Abby smirked. "Thank you, Joel." With that, Abby finally sliced Ellie's throat, unleashing waves of blood.

"ARGH NO! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!", Joel yelled as he was still pinned down.

Mel ran her hands through her hair. "Abby, you fucking maniac..." Abby threw Ellie back towards the wall, then got up in Mel's face. "What's your fucking problem!? You wanted this over with so we can go back to Seattle, right? Well now, we can go back to Seattle!"

Abby then walked over to Joel, who was still crying and cursing, and said, "You're going to live, with the knowledge that you've lost everything, just as we have." With that she kicked him in the face three times, knocking him out.

"Good night, old man.", Abby said before she and her crew began to gather their things and leave.

Joel was too busy yelling and crying to notice Ellie trying to mouthe, "I love you."

...

Joel woke up about an hour later to see that Abby and her crew were long gone, and right next to him, was Ellie. Dead in a pool of her own blood. She had died trying to crawl towards him.

Joel slowly scooped her up, and rocked her lifeless body back and forth as he sobbed, just as he had with Sarah twenty-five years ago.

A few minutes later, Joel heard the sound of the cabin's front door's burst open, followed by Tommy and Dina's voices. Joel didn't bother moving. Once Tommy and Dina made it downstairs, Tommy took in the sight, and suddenly, he was back in Austin, on Outbreak Day. It was happening all over again. He collapsed to his knees in utter defeat, tearing up.

Upon seeing the mutilated corpses of both her past and present lovers, Dina vomited, then collapsed to the floor, sobbing, and repeating, "It can't be...It can't be..."

"Joel...", Tommy said in a comforting, broken voice as he placed a hand on his brothers shoulder.

"Tommy...I failed her. I failed them both..."

...

The next night, Joel sat in his living room, head in his hands, when he heard a knock at the door. He slowly got up to answer it, and on the other side was Tommy, with some food in his hands. "Hey.", said Tommy. "Hey.", said Joel back at him. Tommy gestured to the food in his hands. "I wanted to make sure you were eating."

"it's fine, I already ate.", Joel said, lying. "Can I come in?", asked Tommy, pointing inside. "Fine.", said Joel.

They sat on the couch in awkward silence for a few moments, before Tommy finally said, "To get together the guys we'd need in order to do this smart...we'd be leavin' Jackson vulnerable."

"...You know I can't let her get away with this. Hell, I'd be halfway to Seattle already if it weren't for my wounds.", said Joel. "No, you wouldn't-" said Tommy before Joel cut him off. "You don't think I would!?"

They sat in silence for a few seconds. "Tommy...as soon as I'm healed...I'm leavin' for Seattle. I will go alone if I have to."

Tommy didn't respond for a few moments, then said, "...Well I ain't losin' you, again. Maria will be pissed as all hell, but when the time comes...you got my rifle, brother."

"...Thank you.", said Joel.

Tommy began to tear up. "...It's all my fault, Joel. If-if we hadn't gotten seperated, we coulda taken em' together. We-we could've-"

"Nah, it ain't your fault, Tommy...ain't your fault.", Joel said, hugging him.

...

Palestine, Texas. Four decades ago.

"Tommy to the rescue!", a little boy shouted with glee as he began to fire his toy gun at non-existant targets. His favorite game to play was to pretend to be a sheriff protecting his town from Bandits.

His fun was short lived, however, as six boys who were much older than him rode up to him on their bikes. "Well, lookie what we have here, widdle Tommy thinks he's a widdle hero!", the unofficial leader of their gang said before erupting with laughter.

"No! Not Billy! Not now!" Tommy thought as his emotions went from Joy to shame and discomfort, fast. "Take his toy away.", one of the bullies said. As the bullies began to walk over to Tommy to carry out their plan, Tommy threw his toy gun at them and ran in a desperate attempt to get away.

It was no use, Tommy could only throw the plastic toy with so much force. Billy effortlessly shrugged off the attack, charged at Tommy, and pinned him to the ground. "No! Stop! Please!", Tommy yelled as he was assaulted with kicks from all the bullies. "Haha! What a little bitch!", one of them said.

Billy laughed even harder as he saw the tears leak down the little boy's cheeks. "HAHAHA! So much for Sheriff Tom-"

Something hit the back of Billy's head. Hard. This time, Billy couldn't so easily brush it off. "ACK! What the fuck!? WHO!?" They all turned around, and the bullies confidence plummited. One of them even ran away once he realized who he was.

"Oh shit! It's Joel!", one of them shouted. He had thrown a brick at him.

Joel charged head on at Billy, pinning him to the ground and throwing a barrage of punches. But it wasn't long before the bullies used their combined strength to pull Joel off. Now, with two of them holding him in place, Billy and the rest of the bullies began to throw a wild mix of punches and kicks at Joel in an attempt to knock him out as quickly as possible. They couldn't take any chances when it came to dealing with the toughest kid in their grade.

His confidence now restored thanks to seeing his brother, his only real friend come to his aid, Tommy rose from the ground and threw a kick at one of the bullies restraining Joel. "No! Get off of him!"

With one of his living restraints weakened and the other distracted, Joel quickly broke free, kicked his second restrainer in the groin, then focused his attention back on Billy.

The fight carried on for a few more minutes, before a threat that trumped all of the children combined stumbled upon them.

"Hey! What're you fools doing? GET OUTTA HERE!", the middle aged man boomed. Joel and Tommy froze. It was their father.

Billy and his fellow thugs-to-be ran away as fast as possible, while Joel and Tommy reluctantly walked over to their father. They knew trying to escape from him was pointless.

After he dragged Joel and Tommy back into their small, dilapitated house, he began, "Now what in the goddamn hell was goin' on out there? Joel, was you causin' trouble again?!"

He hadn't been this time, but nonetheless, he began to say, "Yes", when he was cut off by Tommy saying, "N-no sir, it was m-me. I was just out playin' and they just started beatin' on me! I didn't mean to cause no trouble! Honest!"

Mr. Miller shot Tommy a disturbing look. "Well, well. For once, you're ass was the problem.", he said as he took off his belt and began to walk over to him. Tommy closed his eyes and turned his head away, bracing himself for the whipping.

Instead, he heard the sound of glass breaking and his father's pained cry. "Don't you fucking dare! He done suffered enough, Dad!", Joel cried out after throwing one of his father's empty beer bottles at him.

His father's rage blocked out his pain, and he charged at Joel, pinning him to the ground, punching and choking him. "No! Daddy! Please don't hurt him!", Tommy begged, but it was no use.

After choking Joel for a few seconds, Mr. Miller let go, and Joel gasped for air. "You a resilient little shit, Joel. Maybe some basement time will straighten you out."

Twenty minutes later, the three of them were down in the basement. Joel had been stripped down to his underwear, and his body was a wild mess of bruises and cuts. His father had been beating and whipping him. Tommy stood crying softly in the corner, forced to watch so that he may behave where Joel had, "Misbehaved."

Finally, their father had grown weary of his twisted torture, and craved a beer. "Y'all know the drill. Imma lock you two down here with no dinner, tonight. You gotta piss or shit? Piss and shit. I don't give a fuck."

Tommy began to beg, "Daddy, I-I'm thirsty-" the little boy was cut off by a quick punch to the mouth. "YOU SHOULDA' FUCKIN' THOUGHT A THAT EARLIER!"

Just before their father finally left them alone, he said, "I'm real glad y'alls momma died when she did, so she didn't have to see what naughty little shits you two turned out to be."

After their father shut the basement door and locked it tight, Tommy looked back over to Joel. Their father didn't even have the decency to give Joel his clothes back before leaving them down there.

"I'm so sorry, Joel.", Tommy said, sobbing and taking his shirt off so he could give it to Joel despite the minor size difference. "I-I didn't mean-"

"You didn't do nothin' Tommy. You did better than anyone, today.", Joel said, embracing him for a hug, despite his severe injuries being pressed down on.

The two boys didn't know what kind of men they would grow up to be, but one thing Tommy knew for sure, was that he would vow to never grow up to be a man like his father.

And Joel vowed to never be a father like his father.

...

Jackson. Two months after Ellie's murder.

Joel knelt down in front of Ellie's grave, while Tommy and Dina waited patiently and respectfully, nearby. His injuries sustained by Abby's allies now mostly recovered, he was ready to begin his new, dark mission. But there were some things he had to do, first.

"I know you probably wouldn't have wanted me to do this, but I can't let this go. You know I can't." He paused for a bit. "I quit believin' in God a long time ago, but if anyone deserves to go to Heaven, it's you, Ellie."

He stood up and turned around to walk away, but then turned back around to say, "Good night, Baby Girl. Thank you, for everything."

He then walked over to Tommy and Dina, and said, "We gotta stop by my house before we leave. I gotta pick something up." Dina nodded. "We hear ya.", said Tommy.

On the walk there, Joel said to Dina, "You know, you don't gotta come." "I know.", she replied. Joel continued, "I just don't want you to feel like you have to. Seriously Dina, it could be a suicide mission-"

Dina cut him off. "Joel, Ellie was my best friend. Because of those fucking bastards, she'll never know how much I loved her. You two go, I go. End of story."

Joel laid a hand on Dina's shoulder. "She knew, Dina. I know it."

They made it to Joel's house, flowers and letters of sympathy adorning the front yard. It brought Joel some mild comfort knowing he wasn't the only one to notice how wonderful of a person Ellie was.

They made it inside. "It's in my bedroom.", said Joel. "Is it in like a chest by a window or something?" asked Dina. "No it's...under my bed.", answered Joel. A confused look crossed Dina's face.

When they made it inside his bedroom, curiousity got the better of her and she looked around at some of the decorations. Some pictures of horses, his home state, and of course, Ellie. But what really caught her attention was an old picture of a significantly younger Joel posing with a young, blonde girl.

"Wait, is that Joel? Man, he was kinda hot back then. and who's that kid? He had a kid before he met Ellie? Then why isn't she...Oh. Oh no...", Dina thought.

Joel then revealed what was under his bed. He pulled out a long gun case, then rested it on his bed. After he undid the straps and the zipper, he revealed what was inside.

It was an assault rifle. An M16A4, to be exact. Unbeknownst to Dina, it was the same one Joel obtained and put to great use to save Ellie from the Fireflies in Salt Lake City, years ago.

Dina gasped. "No fucking way; you had one of THOSE under your damn bed this whole time? Seattle's so fucked."

"Yeah...", Joel said in a somber tone as he gazed down at the gun he used the night he changed the destiny of everyone on Earth.

"Well alright. If we got everything we need now, let's go get those sons of bitches.", said Tommy.