Cornered.
Rays of golden sunlight cascaded down upon the glistening fronds and dense foliage within the island that held the secrets of Libertalia. But the peace and serenity of this secluded paradise was soon broken by the echoing chaos of gunfire and explosions!
Cliff faces now had gaping bullet holes and select sections of the trees and grasses were burning from the grenades that had gone off!
Nathan Drake (the formerly retired treasure hunter) found himself racing along the winding paths dodging the mercenaries of Shoreline one after the other, fighting when he could, but making sure to stay one step ahead of the seemingly endless barrage of goons constantly taunting him to come out or to show his head.
Finally he found a hidden passage through the mountain, effectively losing his pursuers. Upon further inspection of the passageway, he came across what appeared to be an old "playground" of sorts. Balls and broken wooden swords covered in moss, stone structures holding up ancient climbing platforms and water cascading down the sides of the walls clearly from the earlier rainstorm that pounded the island. Nate however was still shaking from the adrenaline of running for his life, and wasn't interested in sightseeing. Now if only he could find a way out.
Behind him came the sounds of hushed whispers and he knew that Nadine's men had obviously discovered his secret passage. Looking around, the treasure hunter saw that there was very little in the way of cover or good vantage points to take on however many had decided to follow him in. Finally he made a decision and relented to hiding slightly to the left of the entrance, gun drawn and ready to fight.
After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, Nate heard the sound of boots scuffing along the moss-covered stone floor. "Only one?" he thought to himself. "They must be dumber than I thought." Glancing out from his corner, he saw a merc with his arms raised in a non-threatening gesture, seeming to be quite nervous. Eventually he spoke in the traditional South African accent Nate had heard a lot of on this adventure.
"I'm not here to fight you, mate. I already told the other guys you ain't here. Found your brother here too. He's safe at a cave just down by the beach." Nate aimed his pistol at the guy's head and raised his voice to ricochet it around the cave. "Why the hell should I trust you? You and your friends have done nothing but try to kill me and my brother since Scotland!" At this, the merc appeared to flinch, clearly scared for his chances of getting out alive. But there was confidence and determination in his voice when he spoke again. "I never tried to shoot you or your brother. I even tried to help you now and then. Kinghitting other guys, 'accidentally' dropping a grenade near them if you were in a tight spot. You're telling me you never noticed?"
At this, Nate could recall certain events that hadn't made sense in Scotland and Madagascar: a random explosion going off here, some guys going down over there that had nothing to do with him, Sully or Sam. He lowered the gun and spoke again. "Okay... Say I believe you. Why would you betray your employers, hell, your own friends to protect me and mine?" The merc dropped his arms and visibly relaxed before shrugging. "Because I've been doing this all my life and I'm sick of it! Shoot this, kill that. There's no goddamn point anymore. I figured I could at least try and make up for the shit I've done in my past." Nate blinked in surprise at this revelation, stunned by the genuine honesty this guy was coming out with. Chewing on his bottom lip, he exhaled and stepped out of hiding directly behind the merc.
"Ahem!" Nate cleared his throat and saw the other man almost jump out of his skin before turning around with his head lowered. Looking up quickly he laughed and said a simple "Hi." Nate was taken aback by the man! Lines of black paint streaked across his face, highlighted by the sun beaming down from the sky above. Brown eyes stared back at him, and he maintained a lop-sided toothy grin, with the light also making his dark-brown (sharkfin mohawk) hair seem to glisten. Nate must have been staring for too long because the merc chuckled. "See somethin' you like mate? I get that a lot." The treasure hunter blushed and stared away at the climbing structures. Out of the corner of his eye, Nate observed the other man shrug. "Well, that won't matter if we're both dead Mr Drake. Name's Knot." He reached out his hand and Nate looked down at it, then back up again. All he had to do was shoot this guy and run back the way he came. The others had probably disbanded by now and were looking somewhere else. But looking into this guy's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he met Knot's hand in a firm shake, feeling callouses that had built up from years of fighting. "Call me Nate. Now please take me to my brother. I have a few things I need to tell him." Knot smiled even wider and started walking past the adventurer. Looking back, he winked while playfully swaying his hips. "Follow me... Nate."
Author's note: Wow! It's been so long since I posted anything here. This story came to me after playing the multiplayer of Uncharted 4 and really loving the attitude of Knot. His voice, his snarky wit and his cool appearance. So, I figured I could write a rare pairing of Nate falling head over heels for a former Shoreline mercenary. Not 100% sure where this will go, but I will obviously be avoiding a significant level of canon from the story. But I sincerely hope whoever reads this enjoys it, and I always welcome constructive criticism. Thanks for reading!