Description: This was an interesting idea I had one day. I picked up Metro 2033 and started reading the book and was instantly hooked. I then started reading Last of Us stories and then this idea just kind of got stuck in my head.

I'm pretty sure this is the first Crossover between these 2 series and I've always loved originality so I thought why the hell not?

IMPORTANT: This will be a combination of both the book and the game. For example, the ghosts in the Metro tunnel where you meet Khan was never in the book. Actually, there were no supernatural events in the book. With the exception of a ghost story at the beginning of the book, there is no supernatural aspects. So it will combine elements from both stories. Additionally, I am altering Artyoms age to 17, with his journey beginning when he was 16.

Summery:

After a week Jackson County did not feel all that great to Ellie. It was a nice settlement but after everything she's been through she had difficulty socializing with others. One day she decides to head down into the old sewers underneath the town to do a bit of exploring and reflecting. What she finds defies all logic and understanding, a heavily armored shadow that can't even speak English. Ellie decides to speak to this strange specter and finds an odd kind of friend. What follows could give her the redemption she seeks after failing to cure the world with her own gift.

Chapter 1

Healing and Crying

Ellie looked in tragic awe at the rising sunset from the roof of one of the well maintained houses. It was beautiful in ways that her young mind could simply not process, especially in this trying time in her life. The mix of orange and reds gave an almost unearthly beauty to this overtaken and diseased world. The warmth that bathed her skin and giving it a crimson glow took away all of the chills from the cold spring night.

She has been here only a week so far and she found a strange difficulty to really do anything outside of sit around in silence. The house she sat on was her new home, one she shared with Joel and almost made her fantasize about living with a father in the world before the biological infection. A world where her only worries were boys and clothes; a world where she could take away all of her troubles with a day at a shopping mall. The stories of a mall always entertained her thoughts and she wished that she could one day experience the feeling, though it's doubtful one would open up for at least another couple generations.

Electricity was an interesting thing, one she never really had in the Boston Quarantine Zone. Electricity was somewhat rare for non-military personnel and considered more important than gold in this day and age. Then again, Ellie never really saw the point of gold, a nice looking thing to be sure but considered nothing but dead weight since it had no value for survival. The only people who still carried metals and trinkets like gold were people who kept old things for sentimental reasons.

They even had running water and for the first time Ellie even had the chance what a shower was. Of course, due to many reasons people were only allowed 1 minute of shower a week but it was something everyone looked forward to. Old herbs and plants provided scents and a clean feeling to a person and would mostly be used instead of a shower. A shower was seen more as a luxury than a necessity.

Food was plentiful as well, master cooks and chefs could take raw meat, some plants, vegetables, and water to turn a meal into something that matched the old days. Spices and flavoring was not hard if you had a keen eye for certain plants in the wilderness and vegetables were easy to grow. They could even make Tea, which from what Ellie knew was hot water with crushed up leaves poured in. It tasted amazing and she would savor every cup she had.

Ellie now lived in what most would consider paradise, yet there was something off. Something that prevented her from really enjoying the amazing things around her.

Everyone is supposed to earn their keep in some way, working in the farms, tending to animals, or helping to keep the County safe. Joel worked in manual labor, helping to build and repair anything that needed it. He said that he didn't mind it and he could go back to when he worked in carpentry from before the infection. It also gave him the chance to put down his gun; metaphorically of course since no one would even leave their beds without at least a pistol for protection.

Ellie however did nothing at the moment. Joel asked Tommy if she could have some time to herself to come to terms with everything that has been going on lately. Ellie neither cared nor did she feel bad about not working. Her mind was exhausted from everything and she only wanted to sit down or walk around until she could figure things out.

"Hey baby girl, I'm heading to the other side of town." Ellie heard Joel yell from down in the front yard. "Make sure you get some rest, ok?" He told her, knowing that she rarely sleeps these days.

Without looking at him Ellie nodded her head. Joel did not see her do it but he knew the silence was her acknowledgment.

By the time Ellie decided to get up the sun was now a quarter of the way through the sky, around 9 or 10 AM. She hopped down from the roof and decided to walk around.

The whole place was somewhat lively. People were working all around from building or repairing things to children playing in the street. There were even a few people her age yet she never really talked to any of them.

Many of the children were born here, anyone over 9 years old had come to the County after some time on the road. Most of the teenagers that were Ellies age didn't remember much outside of the walls of the County since most of them came here when they were little. Because of that Ellie didn't feel like talking to anyone who hadn't really seen the same thing she did. It felt awkward and she was very afraid to be seen as a freak in front of her peers.

Getting insulted or even attacked by hunters or older adults, like that bastard Bill, was something she could handle. Aside from Sam, Ellie never really met anyone else her age, except for Riley of course.

The memory of Riley and Sam were heavy on her mind and terrified her of ever forming another bond with anyone else. She didn't want to loose anyone else and if it wasn't for Joel she would have rather been alone at this point.

"Hey Ellie!" Ellie turned around and groaned a bit at the lively blond haired girl who ran up to her. Her name was Katie and she was a somewhat charming, yet annoying person. If she had met Katie a year ago they would have been fast friends but Ellie's distant mood had hampered any kind of friendship between them. Still, Ellie almost laughed at how persistent the girl was.

Katie arrived to Jackson County 9 years ago and was around since it was founded but she was very little at the time. She was only a year older than Ellie but she hasn't been outside the walls in all that time.

Actually, no one under the age of 18 was allowed out of the walls, even for a small trip. Children were trained regularly in how to defend themselves and to survive in the wild but that training never allowed them to head outside of the walls. Even Ellie was now forced to stay inside the walls, which a part of her hated yet felt safe at the same time.

"How have you been?" She asked. "have you been getting accustomed to the County?" Katie got in front of Ellie.

Ellie didn't really say much, she just kind of shrugged her shoulders and made a small grunt. Katie put a huge smile on her face and grabbed Ellie's hand.

"Come on, we're heading down to the creek to catch some fish, you'll be able to meet everyone else." She said as she ran with Ellie in tow, but Ellie tried halfheartedly to get free from her grasp.

The Creek was just a simple stream that ran through the center of the town. Most of the bait used by the adults for fishing came here and it was a fun activity for the kids. They even got days off from working if they caught enough bait since fish was one of the biggest commodities here and never stayed fresh for long.

"Hey guys, this is the new girl Ellie." She introduced Ellie to everyone else. Ellie meekly stood there like a deer in the head lights, not sure of what to do really. She never really had to talk to these many people who were the same age as she was.

"Um... Hi?" She put her arm up awkwardly.

"How you doing Ellie, I'm Joshua, or just Josh for short." A tall boy said, he was the oldest and was 18. He was the only one in the group who went outside of the wall and was part of the security for the County. Ellie later learned that he was Katie's boyfriend. Even Ellie had to admit he was very handsome and she lost her voice again, only this time for seeing a boy that was her age.

"Matt." Another kid said, who was 13 years old and wore glasses. Matt didn't have the best eyesight and since he didn't have prescription eyeglasses he wasn't always the best when it came to things like shooting or sports. He was somewhat skinny because of it but a good kid.

"The names Jennalyn, but everyone calls me Jenn." A black haired girl said and was Ellie's age. She was of Asian descent and Ellie thought she was very pretty, feeling somewhat jealous when she compared herself to her.

"I'm Steve and this is my younger sister Elisa." Another boy, 16 and had a more boyish look to him. Ellie found him to be as attractive as Josh but in a different way. His younger sister was 10 and she looked like a carbon copy of him, though she seemed completely unmarred by the horrors outside of these walls.

Come to think of it, all of them seemed that way. They seemed like a complete anomaly, as if they were characters in one of her comics and couldn't possibly exist.

"So, everyone got their traps ready?" Katie asked as they all picked up simple home made nets.

"Here Ellie, you can borrow my brothers." Jenn said and handed her one. "He went out on a hunting trip and won't be back for another day or two. i'm sure he won't mind." Ellie hesitantly took it and watched as everyone got around the Creek and started to fish.

Since this was her first time doing anything like this, Ellie decided to try and copy everyone else. It seemed simple enough, put the net in the water and scoop up some fish.

With a quick scoop she tried to get a fish that was right below her but it swam away right when the net connected with the water. All Ellie had accomplished was splashing herself in the face. Much to her embarrassment everyone laughed, though she knew it was not out of humiliation but friendly laughter.

"Here, let me show you." Steve said and gently grabbed Ellie's hand. Ellie blushed at the contact since this was the first time a boy her age even touched her. "You don't try to whack the things, you gently put the net in the stream and let the fish swim in." He lowered her hand so that the net went into the water. Ellie tried to focus on the task but could not get past the fact that a cute boy was so close to her.

As soon as a fish went into the net because of the stream Steve yanked her hand up and brought the fish with it.

Ellie froze in mild shock, for an instant she could feel her old self coming up to the surface and she did something that shocked everyone at the Creek due to her apparent shy nature.

"Yea motherfucker, I got you this time!" Ellie yelled triumphantly, old feelings of innocents and rebellious speech coming back to her. However this feeling faded the moment she saw everyone's shocked face. "Um... sorry?" Ellie tried, hoping she didn't do anything stupid. Katie was the first to break the silence.

"Hell yea girl, I knew there was something under there! High five." She held up her hand at Ellie.

Ellie almost burst in tears. Just now has the gravity of the situation hit her. She's safe, surrounded by future friends and in a society that wants to better her. She hated not being allowed to leave the walls but rejoiced in the thought that the people did so to keep her safe and not pen her in.

Casting everything else away, Ellie gave Katie a high five and did so for everyone.

"What did I tell you Ellie." Steve said, slightly proud of himself but also happy Ellie was breaking out of her shell.

"That was pretty sweet, I haven't had that much fun since the truck ride with Joel." Ellie laughed.

"See girl, I told you that we were fun to hang with." Katie said.

"Yea Ellie, you'll love it here." Jenn said.

"It's not the best sometimes but life here is better than anywhere else." Matt reinforced.

For the next hour Ellie sat with everyone in content silence, making sure that the bucket full of minnows didn't fall over. Everyone talked and joked about the things that have happened all week, all the latest gossip and rumors that was going around the County. Ellie stayed somewhat quiet but listened to the stories and conversations with complete interest.

"So Ellie, where are you from?" Elisa asked, which sparked everyone's curiosity.

Ellie was hesitant to say really, she didn't want anyone to know how rough she had it so no one thought she was a freak but she didn't want to keep secrets either. They noticed her hesitation.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Ellie." Josh said.

"Yea." Katie added. "Take your time and tell us when you're ready." She assured her new friend.

"Well..." Ellie began. "I grew up in the Boston Quarantine, right before me and Joel came here."

"Wow, i heard the were rough." Matt said. Ellie shrugged.

"Why do you call your dad by his name?" Steve asked. "You guys not on good terms?" Ellie shook her head.

"He's not my dad." She said.

"Who is he then?" Elisa asked.

"He's actually a smuggler who got me out of the Quarantine Zone. He was a complete asshole at first but he's a lot nicer under that hard ass exterior." Ellie laughed a bit.

"A smuggler? That's so bad ass." Katie commented with a slight blush. "Not to mention hot." She giggled, making Ellie rear back slightly with disgust.

"Hey... I'm right here!" Josh yelled in a jokingly jealous tone and a bit of a chuckle at the end.

"Please, upstanding handsome men with honor are so pre-infection. These days it's all about rogues and rule breakers." She joked, punching Josh in the chest lightly, who made a pained face jokingly.

"So Joel is Tommy's brother, right?" Jenn asked a bit randomly.

"Yea, though they haven't been on good terms from time to time." Ellie said honestly, glad that they were no longer talking about her.

The rest of the day went by and all the teens were just having a good time. Ellie managed to shed off some of her depressive exterior and open up a bit more. She was secretly happy that Katie decided to drag her out here. Slowly, layer by layer the older Ellie that began the journey out west was resurfacing. Before the death of Sam, the monster David that tried to kill her, and the hopeless feeling of failure that the Fireflies were unable to make a vaccine, before all the pain and suffering Ellie was coming back to her normal self.

"Well, it's almost sunset and curfew will be soon." Katie said, pretty much dismissing everyone. She was the oldest girl and was seen as kind of the leader of the group, while Josh was seen as the protector. It reminded her a lot of Tommy and Maria.

"Man." Ellie whined. "I hate curfew." Everyone voiced their agreement. The curfew was in place only for children since the people wanted to protect them from any threats. During the day when there were people around and day light the kids were considered safe but at night when you lack those two things, no one wants to risk a Clicker or Hunter that somehow sneaked or wandered in here to get a kid that was alone at night. It was vastly different from the Quarantine, which had curfews to make sure no one did anything against the soldiers. Of course the older kids would regularly break curfew... they were kids after all and Ellie knew that soon she would be just as rebellious again.

After saying her goodbyes Ellie went back home where Joel was sitting on the front porch and playing a guitar that he managed to find. Ellie was glad that Joel was healing after all the years of guilt and pain that he went through. Ellie almost missed the hard ass that he was but was immensely glad that he was finally moving on from his loss. Ellie didn't fully realize just how much she saved Joel's soul with just her presence and existence.

When Joel looked at Ellie he smiled a bit, glad to see here back and safe. It was subtle though, after all this was still Joel, a guy that doesn't have soft moments often.

With the connections she made with the group of teens Ellie couldn't hold it in anymore. Joel raised an eyebrow as he saw her eyes water up and stood up to see what was wrong.

In a moment Ellie ran as fast as she could and crashed into Joel, slightly hurting the older man from the impact and making him stumble back slightly. Taken off guard by the action Joel froze slightly, trying to figure out what brought this about and see if she needed comforting. his answer was given as Ellie began sobbing uncontrollably into his flannel shirt. With the care of a father he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, even as her tears began to stain the material of his shirt.

"It's ok baby girl." He whispered sweetly. At first he believed these were tears of sorrow, but he soon realized that he was very wrong.

Her emotions were buried deep down for God knows how long, all of that anger, hatred, and sorrow finally burst to the surface. But these were not tears of agony, far from it in fact. Ellie now realizes that this is a new beginning for here, that now she can live a normal life surrounded by people who love and care for her. The relief and happiness contrasted so much with the bottled up pain and fear that the only way she could cope was to cry in the arms of the person she cares for most.

"Joel." She whispered through her sobs. She wanted so desperately to say something. Anything. She wanted to tell Joel how much she grew to love him, how much she sees him as her father, how happy she is, and how safe she feels here. She felt that these thoughts must be formed into words but what she didn't realize was that her sobbing told Joel everything he needed to know. He knew every thought in her head while she balled out her feelings, projecting he inner most thoughts to the world in the same way that her tears are expelled from here eyes in rivers.

Soon Ellie went limp in Joel's arms; all that crying and emotional release made her exhausted and sleep deprived body collapse on itself. She was snoozing peacefully in Joel's embrace and she wasn't waking up anytime soon; not that Joel would be cruel enough to deprive her of this much needed rest.

Joel stood there for a moment, flashbacks of Sarah sleeping peacefully in his arms brought back feelings of pain but it was balanced out by feelings of paternal instincts. He loved Ellie as much as he loved Sarah.

Joel sadly realized how pathetic he was, he knew that the reason he was so close to Ellie was because of how he felt for his lost daughter. It made him realize just how old and alone he really was.

Pushing those thoughts aside Joel picked Ellie up and carried her off to bed. With care he had not shown since that last night with Sarah, he laid Ellie in her bed and placed the covers over her body, not bothering to risk waking her by taking off her shoes and socks.

Joel gently rubbed Ellie's head, bringing back all the memories of the care he would show his own daughter and bent down to kiss Ellie's forehead.

"Good night baby girl." He said happily and walked out of the room. He shut out the lights and left Ellie to sleep.

Instead of going to his own bed Joel sat down on the sofa in the main living room. The day of manual work exhausted him and the thoughts of how pathetic he felt resurfaced again. The guilt of lying to Ellie about the Fireflies made this feeling even worst and the thought that there could have been a vaccine created made him feel like the devil incarnate.

Joel thought to himself about what he would have done if he gave Ellie away at the capital building. If he knew her fate back then would he have even cared that he would have sent this young girl to her death?

To be honest, Joel really did not care. Ellie means more to him now and as long as she lives he doesn't give a damn about how he feels.

Joel leaned back in the sofa and knew that he would not be able to sleep tonight, the weight of his guilt was too powerful to let him have this moment of relief. With a heavy and tired sigh the old man leaned back and stared at the ceiling, his mind going over the most recent events over and over again without relief.

And there we go, that's chapter 1. I personally really liked how this turned out.

Please review and if you have suggestions I am open for them (Though I can't garentee I will use them). Reviews help me to make better stories and help to motivate me more and more with the feedback I get.

good or bad anything is acceptable, as long as it's not intentionally insulting.