Okay ... so I guess it's turned into a two-shot now. But I just couldn't resist writing about the scene that Kyrie suggested in a review (so blame them!) - the cutscene was just asking for a bit more Nate and Sully detail, and phew, it was a lot harder than the first one to write, but I had to do it after I re-watched the scene the story involves. So enjoy!
The gates leading into the 'Atlantis of the Sands' cranked open, exposing a view over the massive, beautiful abandoned city, gold gilded buildings fading into the distance and impossible wall of sand bordering the edges. Nate exchanged glances with Sully - This was why they did what they did - This moment. The reveal. The discovery.
"Ha Ha! It worked!"
It's good to hear Sully laugh. Elena and Chloe were really starting to get him worried about his (father?), wondering whether he should stop hauling Sully along with him on these adventures. But in this moment it was all clear to Nate: Sully was fine, and he always would be, because that's how Sully worked. They would carry on treasure hunting, because they both loved it, not because Sully felt obliged to do it for Nate. And they would always win, because that's just what they did.
Nate smirks across at his long time friend before leaping across onto a nearby chandelier, at this stage of his life Nate thinks he would die of shock if ever there was a simple way to get from A to B. He moves as quickly as possible but somehow Sully still beats him to the floor of the grand entrance hall. Again. In the moment before leaping across to the ladder Nate throws across to Sully;
"In the words of Victor Sullivan: 'I'll be go to hell'" Sully'll get the reference, he always does.
Nate jumps to the floor beside the other man, legs bending slightly at the knee the way Sully taught him all those years ago. ("You may be able to land with your legs straight out like matchsticks now, but just you wait kid until you've got some real weight to throw behind a landing") As he rises out of his stoop and they both simultaneously move forward Nate catches the slight grin on the other man's face at his enthusiasm. Nathan Drake is well aware that he may be acting like a child, but it's only Sully, so what does it matter?
All joking thoughts are thrown aside as the pair emerge through the magnificent arched doorway. The city sprawls out below them, shaded behind a haze of sand which drifts through the air, making each breath sit hot and dry on the throat.
"Holy shit...It's true it's really here," whispers Nate.
"Oh my God" Sully's hushed epithet making it clear he agrees with Nate's sentiment.
As if in reaction to their wonder, their searching eyes; the armed golden statues lining the edge of the pathway move their arms, pointing their spears downwards towards the grand staircase that will lower them into the bowels of the city, inviting them in.
"Wow" And this time its not even clear who said it. But it doesn't matter because they are both thinking the same thing. They've done it again. Nate and Sully, Sully and Nate. They've won against the odds, they've protected each other (not to mention Elena, and a handful of others), they've survived to see the reward. Nate glances across at Sully, seeing the awed expression on the man's face and knowing its reflected on his own. Only Sully would understand just what this means to Nate, what it all means. And in that moment Nate hopes, god he really hopes, that nothing ever happens to Sully. Because what's the point of all this without him. Nate's only family.
But now it's time to enjoy this. Nate begins to stroll down the steps, gesturing grandly; "Victor Sullivan, welcome to Ubar." On a whim he takes a turn to the right (and hell, if he'd known what was about to happen, he would have turned and walked out the city then and there, 'Atlantis of the sands' or no), heading across one of many ornate walkways and into a shaded gazebo like building. The dust hanging heavy in the air is already starting to dry out Nate's throat, only recently recovered from his trip in the Rhub Al Khali.
And is that what he thinks it is?
A Fountain. In the desert.
There is no other word for it;
"Incredible," Nate croaks as Sully draws level with him, "This is how the city could thrive all the way out here. The whole place must be fed by an underground spring."
Sully notices the slight hitch in Nate's voice. How long was the kid wandering in the desert for anyway? Elena would be furious if he brought Nate back delusional with heat stroke.
He had to admit it was hot though, and dry. The water did look rather inviting..
Sully slapped some of the water across his face and the back of his neck as Nate drank longs gulps of the spring water straight from the fountain. Kid needs to learn his limits, thought Sully, standing back up and looking across at Nate.
The kid's head suddenly snapped up, he was looking over at the back of the building, the side which provided a view over the entire city. Sully was immediately on the alert. What did he see? Had Nate heard something? The kid started to walk towards the open space at the back of the room, looking intently at something in the sky. Sully followed him, growing more and more curious by the second, eventually drawing to a halt beside Nate, right on the edge of a sheer drop down into Ubar. He tried to follow the kid's unerring gaze upwards, one hand raised above his eyes to block out the sun, but Sully couldn't see anything.
"What is it, kid?"
Nate turned to look at Sully. And the man immediately knew something was wrong.
Sully had seen that expression twice before in his life, once on the face of Charlie Cutter, and again on Nathan Drake's, when he ran, ran away from Sully, Sully and Elena. If Victor Sullivan had a wish it would have been to never see that expression on Nate's face again, because it meant bad things were about to happen. "Nate. Are you alright?"
The kid doesn't show any reaction to Sully's words, a look of shock was on his face, and he is staring intently at a spot just over Sully's shoulder, as if the man isn't even there. "Nate?"
And then the kid attacks.
Nathan Drake rushes at Sully, throwing his whole weight into a shove which pushed the older man to the ground. Sully automatically reaches up with his gun and dashes it at the side of Nate's head. Wait, no. It's Nate, he can't hit Nate. He pulls back the punch, only lightly tapping Nate's temple. Then Sully is thrown to the floor as the kid jumps over him and starts to sprint away, face twisted in a mask of rage and anger. "Nate!" Sully calls out after him, "Kid!" Nate doesn't even turn.
Sully pushes himself to his feet starts heading after Nate, walking considerably slower after his throw down. The kid might not want Sully to follow him, but Sully'll be damned if he lets Nathan Drake run off alone. It's not long before he hears the crackle of gunfire spreading around the city. What the hell is that boy thinking?
As he reaches the bottom of the staircase that he saw Nate jump down only moments before, Sully hears the sound of a grenade exploding, swiftly followed by a crumbling sound as the bridge that Nate has run along starts to fall apart. There is no time for hesitation, Sully dives forward, runs as hard as he can to get across. He thinks he's going to make it, but a huge chunk of brick falls away across the entire length of the bridge, there is no way past. Now it's only a case of turning, swiftly as possible, and heading back the way he came before the entire walkway collapses.
When Sully reaches the solid platform that he started from, he stands for a moment facing the direction Nate had run in. He feels deflated. Maybe I really am getting too slow. That bridge wouldn't have been a problem for him even a year ago.
That's when he hears Nate shout out in fear, the cry echoing around the walls of the city, bouncing off the ornate arches and grand stairways. And so what if Sully is getting a little older? Right now Nate is in trouble, and it doesn't matter if Sully can't scale walls and jump impossible distances as much as he used to; as long as Nate can do it, Sully will do it too. And it's not just because of the kid either - Sully would be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy the hell out of their adventures.
It's time to find Nate.
Sully heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He spun back against the wall and edged around towards his attacker. For the past two hours he has been shooting, running, taking cover, shooting. Sully thinks he's seen far more of Ubar in the last couple of hours than he would ever have planned on. The man doesn't even have to think as he lines up his sights with the place where his attacker will emerge, poised and ready to shoot. Easy.
Wait a minute. Was that a blue checked bandana? Sully called out, "That you kid..?" all the while edging closer to the entranceway, ready to fire if it wasn't. Sully heard a familiar stop, shuffle manoevere and immediately lowered his gun.
Nate stepped cautiously into the pagoda-like building, sweeping his gun around alcoves and darkened areas in the corners of the room. He seemed just as collected as ever, cataloging his surroundings. "Oh thank god..." Breathed Sully, he looked down at the gun he had in his hand, the one he had hit Nate with. He tossed it aside like rubbish. Move on, old man, Sully told himself. "You all right?"
No answer, hostile expression. "Man, I had a hell of a time-"
Nate levels the gun at Sully's chest.
Sully starts, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Of all the things that could happen, of all the dangers he is constantly analysing, this is the one thing both of them have never had to worry about; they have each other's backs, they don't turn on one another. Sully knows that Nate's not in his right mind, knows that if he was the kid would never do this, but it feels just the same.
Nate says nothing in reply, just looks at him.
Sully's heart clenches in his chest, he's seen that expression on Nate's face before, many a time. But never directed at him. As if Sully was the enemy. And for a moment, just a moment, the kid, his kid stares coldly at Sully, stares through him, harsh and analytical. And for just a moment, the first time in twenty years, Nate isn't Sully's "kid" - he's Drake, detached and ready to fight.
"How do I know you're real?"
And then the moment passes. The moment where, for a second, Victor Sullivan didn't know Nathan Drake. Where the last two decades of both their lives never happened. No matter how Nate may act, whatever stupid jokes he may crack, he's still a kid to Sully, and kids make mistakes. This time Sully looks, really looks at Nate, like no one else can, and he can see the reduced pressure of his trigger finger on the gun, the doubt and fear that is hiding in his eyes. Nate's just shaken up. He's not mad. He's not crazy. He just needs Sully to set him back to rights.
So he does.
Sully takes a step towards Nate, and then another, another. Nate doesn't pull the trigger, and Sully knows he never would because, hallucinating or not, they are (for lack of a better word) family. And what sort of person would I be if I couldn't trust my family not to shoot me? Closer, closer, Sully's hands are almost on the gun now, and not a hint of worry even crosses his mind that here he is, standing in front of a slightly crazy Nate, who is brandishing a gun at him. He smiles as he pulls the gun away from the kid's hands, not breaking eye contact with Nate. The kid needs his reassurance after all - that, and he needs to snap out of it!
Sully moves suddenly, flicking Nate hard on the forehead.
Their gaze its broken, but this time its because Nate is muttering an indignant "Ow!" and pressing a hand to his face, looking so much like the petulant teenager Sully remembers. Sully leans closer and asks wryly;
"That real enough for you?" He pokes Nate in the chest with the gun that mere moments ago was aimed at his heart. the kid looks up at him apologetically, and they are back into the old routine, Sully the reprimanding mentor; "Don't, ever, point a gun at me again."
He knows Nate can hear the reason behind Sully's scold, that he knows what it would do to Sully if he had to be in that situation for real. But they don't need to say anything about it. Dredging up the feelings once is bad enough.
Nate chuckles at Sully's comment, raising a hand to feel his forehead with a pointed glance at the older man. His laugh isn't cold or mocking - the laugh he gives to an enemy - but a warm, light hearted chuckle, triumphant. It warms something inside Sully to hear that sound - sometimes he worries that he's ruined Nate. The relief is tangible.
"I ... I saw them shoot you," says Nate, and he can't seem to stop looking over at Sully, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Ah... Thinks Sully, So that's the problem. And much as he would never admit it, it is kind of gratifying to know that the kid worries about him too, enough to hallucinate about it and go on a rampage, at least. "Right after the eclipse."
"What?" Sully laughs. Did he hear that right? "What eclipse?" Nate still looks confused, he obviously doesn't remember what happened. Sully shakes his head and continues; "Look, kid, you went nuts right after you drank from that fountain." Nate's eyebrows rise as takes this information in, he looks to the side with that expression and moves to sit down. Now this is an expression Sully knows well. Nate's onto something.
The kid looks up at him expectantly, waiting for more. Sully gestures around the shaded building with one hand, "It's the water. Not the 'Wrath of God'. The whole water supply is tainted with some kind of hallucinogenic agent." Nate frowns as Sully comes to his conclusion; 'Must have driven everyone mad," and the man knows Nate has caught on - Hell, even Sully thinks he knows where this is going. Nate did learn from the best after all. They have it figured out in a matter of minutes, and really there is only one course of action.
Sully pulls Nate to his feet (God, the kid is heavier than he used to be), and they both turn to the entrance of the building. The sun that had lit up every detail of Ubar only a few hours earlier had now dipped low in the sky, dusty rays reflecting off a multitude of bronze statues and figures littered throughout the city to shine back into Nate and Sully's faces. Them against the world. This is what they are used to.
"Whaddya say we end this thing. Once and for all."
It's not a question. They both know what Nate's answer will be.