Welcome to my longest chapter ever. It's equivalent to four usual chapters wrapped into one. Please remember to review when all is said and done, I mean… one reviewer every new chapter is okay… but I would much prefer some more encouragement.

I really hope you appreciate how much effort went into this chapter, it took all night to write (3AM to 7:30AM).


Uncharted: Seekers of the Lost

By Obrusnine

Last updated: June 17th, 2012 fD

(ED: Basic Edit / RW: Rewrite / fD: First Draft / FD: Final Draft)


Chapter 11: Blood

"For where thy treasure is, there also will thy heart be." –Anonymous


Charlie cut Flynn's bonds and watched him as the group proceeded up the mountain.

They passed through a few populated areas, but they were mostly deserted at this time of night. One or two people caught sight of them, but they made sure to keep the AK's well hidden beside them to avoid eliciting a panic.

Sooner rather than later, they were approaching the peak.

"So, you said we were looking for caves or some such correct?" Chloe asked.

"Yes." Nate replied

"There are a lot of caves up here love." Chloe responded. "We'll be searching for ages."

"We'll just have to search one by one until we find-" Nate started.

"Wait a second." Flynn said. "I… think I sense something over there."

He pointed to a rock formation not far away.

"Sense? What a load of rubbish." Charlie said. "Shut up and keep moving."

"Hold on a moment." Nate said. "What do you mean sense?"

"It's like I'm being… repelled away from that direction. There's a slight pain on my head that comes up just because I look in that direction." Flynn replied.

"Well, no one has any clue as to the Grails earthly abilities, as it was "risen to the heavens" before anyone could write what its powers were." Harold said. "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't at least check it out."

"It could be a trap." Elena said.

"That's just a chance we'll have to take." Harold replied.

"Lead the way Flynn." Nate said.

"No problem, because going towards pain is a splendid idea." Flynn replied.

"Hey, at least you can find something without a map." Sully said. Nate and Sully laughed at their reference to a joke they had made a few years back when Flynn captured them.

"Is something funny?" Flynn asked.

"Yes, yes something is." Nate said. He added nothing more and turned away to lead them in the direction as they kept sniggering. A few minutes later, Flynn had led them among the rock formation. He groaned slightly as they got deeper inside.

"Something wrong Flynn?" Nate asked off-handedly.

"My headache is getting worse, and it's starting to be quite difficult to tell which way it wants me not to go." He replied.

"That must mean we're getting close." Harold said.

"Wait a second, there." Flynn said pointing at a seemingly random spot on the wall of rock not far away.

"Mate, there is nothing there." Charlie said.

"You don't see that?" Flynn asked.

"See what?" Nate asked.

"Some words written on that spot of wall over there, with glowing gold letters." Flynn replied.

"Can't say I do." Harold said. "Let's take a closer look."

They approached the wall until Flynn was nearly collapsing in pain.

"This… is as close as I can get." He said. "It's in Latin, English letters if that matters."

"Since when do you understand Latin?" Nate asked.

"I don't, but it sure sounds like Latin." Flynn said.

"What does it say?" Harold asked.

"Qui hic sequi non potest procedere, fatum manet in morte. Sed istarum alibi si probare te dignum procedere.

Intrare, et non revertar donec probationes complendas expectantibus te et antequam cadunt." Flynn said.

"That means… "The one who guided you here cannot proceed…"" Nate began.

"His fate rests in death." Harold continued.

"But yours rests elsewhere if you prove yourself worthy to proceed." Nate continued.

"Enter here and you will not return until you complete the trials that wait for you, or until you fall dead." They finished together.

"Fall dead does not sound too ominous for you?" Charlie said. "Besides, why should we believe this rubbish?"

"Charlie, we never told him anything we found out about we had to do when we got here. He knew about the trials." Nate said. Charlie shrugged.

"You're missing one thing, where is there to proceed to?" Chloe asked.

"Is there anything else on the door Flynn?" Nate asked.

"Weird symbols and a handprint in the middle." Flynn said. "What does it mean, my "fate rests in death"?"

"I don't know…" Nate replied. "But press your hand to the door where the handprint is."

"But that means I have to get closer!" Flynn responded.

"I know, but do it, and I promise you can leave." Nate said. Flynn nodded and stood up. He groaned in pain as he stood and got even closer.

"Agh… my headache is so bad I can barely see." Flynn said. "I hope this works."

He pressed his hand to the wall, and suddenly, that part of the wall collapsed inward and into the depths. Then Flynn stumbled back into the rocks.

"What do you know…? He was telling the truth." Charlie said.

"You can leave now Flynn." Nate said.

"What, are you serious Nate?" Elena asked.

"I promised him he could go." He replied.

"He could show up again at any time and kill us!" Chloe said.

"I won't do that." Flynn said.

"Oh, and we can definitely believe you." Chloe said. Flynn grinned nervously and scratched his head.

"Look, we can't bring him in there." Nate said. "None of us want to stay out here right?"

"I do!" Charlie said.

"With him?" Nate asked. Charlie shook his head now.

"Never mind." He said.

"So, we don't really have any choice but to let him go." Nate said. "Go Flynn, get out of here."

"You don't have to ask me twice." He said. He got up and walked away from the rock formation.

"Okay, now let's go." Nate said. He walked to the opening and looked down. "It's a slide, and it's steep. Once we go down, we're not coming up."

"There's probably an exit on the other side." Harold said.

"But we can't be sure of that." Elena said.

"Honey, when can we ever be sure of anything?" Nate asked. He grabbed hold of the top of the slide, and slid down yelling. She shrugged and followed him.

"I'm too old for this." Sully said shaking his head.

"So am I." Harold said, but he went down the slide. Sully shrugged and followed him. Charlie went to the top of the slide.

"Bollocks, why does it always have to be small spaces?" He said observing the tight space. He walked away and didn't look at the shaft. "Okay, I'm going to have to trick myself. On three." He gulped. "one…"

Then he ran backwards and fell down screaming as he went down the slide backwards.

"It'll all be over soon…" He started to repeat to himself over and over again for almost 45 seconds. "Oh my god please make it…"

He didn't finish the sentence as he suddenly slammed into a bunch of small stones over a dirt floor and rolled. Sully and Harold helped him to his feet.

"Now what did you go and do that for son?" Sully asked.

"As I've said before, I'm not a very big fan of tight spaces." Charlie replied dusting himself off.

Nate looked around ignoring them; pieces of weathered stone floor were everywhere. The floor was covered with dirt and small stones. But he couldn't see far into the impenetrable darkness, as the only light was from the shaft they had just come down. He turned about and grabbed a torch from off the wall.

"Need a light kid?" Sully asked going for his lighter.

"Not this time Sully." Nate said pulling a book of matches from his pocket. "I brought my own matches this time."

"Huh, I didn't think you'd taken that to heart." Sully said grabbing his own torch and lighting it.

Nate struck a match across the matchbook and lit his own torch. They were at the far end of a large hall, the light from their torches didn't even reach the ceiling, and it didn't reach the end either. But he could just make out a huge stone tablet in the center of the hall.

"Well, would you look at that…" Sully whispered.

"I guess you were right Nate." Chloe said.

"Aren't I always?" Nate asked. He approached the giant stone tablet in the center and lifted his torch so he could read the engraved script. He read it out loud. "Ante te iacet quinque iudiciis. Omnes perferre et grail habeto. Non solum indigna morte manet. Vos vires adversus omnem terram ultimam quaerentes enim cogitationes potentium saeculi. Nolo tibi fortuna Restat ut ingratus necem. Est non retro. Rex Arthurus."

"Yea, so what does it all mean?" Sully asked.

"It means my friend…" Harold said. "Before thee lies five trials. Complete them all, and the grail shall be yours. Fail, and only death awaits the unworthy. You will face all of the forces of this Earth in this final quest for one of the most powerful devices of this world. I wish thee luck, as the alternative is an unpleasant death. There is no turning back. King Arthur."

"Nate, what have we gotten ourselves into?" Elena asked.

"It doesn't matter. You heard King Arthur, there is no turning back." Nate replied.

"Then we should get going." Elena said.

"Good idea, stay close." Nate replied. They all rounded the large tablet and saw a door at the end of the hall. They followed Nate to it.

"Nathan, be careful opening that door." Harold said.

"I will." He replied. He tried pushing one of the doors, it was stuck. He handed the torch to Elena. "Dad, help me with this will you?"

"My pleasure." He replied. He took up a position on the opposite side of the door.

"On three." Nate said. "One… two… three!"

They pushed the doors with all their might and they flew open. Nate stumbled inside while Harold let the door carry its own momentum and steadied himself easily. There was one rather thin wooden bridge stretching across a chasm.

"Look, up there kid." Sully said pointing towards the ceiling, which was rather lower than the hall they had just left. Nate saw it, it was another tablet, but he couldn't read it at this distance.

"I can't read it from here…" He said.

"Look, there's the door." Charlie said pointing across the chasm.

"I see it, looks like stone. No way we're lifting that." Nate replied.

"Those levers must have something to do with it." Elena said. Pointing to two levers on either side of the entrance to the bridge. Nate walked over and pulled one. He waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

"We probably have to pull them both at the same time." Nate said.

"I'll do it." Charlie said taking up a position at the other lever.

"On three." Nate said.

"Wait, is that one, two, three… or one, two, three, pull?" Charlie asked.

"I thought we'd been over this Charlie, just pull." Nate said. They both pulled there levers.

"Hey, look at the tablet!" Chloe said. Nate heard it before he saw it, fire springing to life far above them, lighting the otherwise dark place. It revealed that a large stack of wood was below them, and Nate was sure it was covered it oil to from what he could see. He looked up and saw that fire traced the Latin lettering.

"Primum iudicium est iudicium per ignem." Nate read. "Your first trial is a trial by fire…"

Suddenly, there was a scraping of stone across stone and everyone started looking around.

"What was that?" Charlie asked.

Nate looked around for the source, before he saw it. Four spots along either side of the wall had opened up, and just as he looked, molten lava started pouring from the openings.

"Oh shit!" Nate said. "Everyone, across the bridge now."

Harold was first, dashing across the wooden bridge as the lava set fire to the wood below, which quickly spread. The rest eagerly rushed after him as the fire leapt to incredible heights. Nate looked back as a stone slab collapsed right where they had come in.

There's no going that way… He thought.

"Nate, what are you waiting for? Come on!" Elena yelled after him. He flipped around and started running across the surprisingly sturdy bridge. But at that point, the fire reached its peak and started lighting parts of the bridge on fire. He ran faster, but he could already feel the boards underneath him weakening.

Suddenly, there was a snapping noise behind him and he fell to the right into the rope and dropped his torch into the fire below.

"Shit, Nate, get out of there!" Sully shouted from the other side. He started running again but suddenly, there was another snap and the entire bridge fell to the right. He went tumbling downwards, but he quickly grabbed onto the rope. He was about half way across the bridge at this point and he could feel fire licking at his shoes.

"Nate, you have to move!" Chloe shouted. He looked to the right and saw Harold pulling Charlie up onto the other side, as he had almost fallen when the right side of the bridge had collapsed as well. He made his way as fast as he could to the right, when he was about three-quarters of the way across. He could feel the bridge weakening and tried to go faster, but there was another snap from his left.

Suddenly, the entire bridge swung to Nate's right and slammed into the stone wall. He almost lost his grip.

"Your almost there Nate, climb!" Harold shouted. He complied climbing as fast as he could up the burning bridge, sometimes having to switch sides to avoid burning fires climbing up from the bottom of the bridge. But just as he was almost there, another snap resounded above the flames and the bridge started falling into the fire.

"Oh shit!" He shouted as he fell. He saw a ledge just as the bridge dropped and quickly jumped for it, managing to grab onto it with one hand as the bridge fell into the fire.

"Are you alright down there mate?" Charlie called from up on top as Nate grabbed the ledge with his other hand.

"I'm… I'm fine." Nate said. Climbing upwards along the scorched rocks. He soon reached the top. "Help me up."

Sully and Harold grabbed his hands and pulled him upwards.

"You alright kid?" Sully asked as he fell backwards onto the rocks to rest.

"I'm alive." Nate said. They went to try and help him to his feet. "Just… just give me a second alright."

"Fair enough." Sully said. Suddenly he pointed and cried out… "Wait; watch it Nate there's a snake!"

"Wait, what!" Nate asked jumping to his feet. He flipped around looking where Sully was pointing. Everyone started laughing.

"Son, you just fell for the oldest trick in the book." Harold said grinning.

"Yea, laugh it up. Let's get moving." Nate said. He grabbed another torch from the wall and touched it to Sully's to ignite it. The next chamber they entered was tall but not very much else. There was hole in the ceiling that light cascaded through, slightly lighting the room. There was a ladder to a raised stone platform far above them, and in the center of the floor in front of a tablet lying face-up upon it was a lever.

Nate went to the tablet.

"Alteram ex aqua iudicium, trahunt vectis incipere." He read. "Your next trial is by water, pull the lever to begin. Hm…"

"Something wrong Nate?" Harold asked.

"I think I know what's going on. The tablet in the front said we'd be facing all of the forces of the Earth." Nate said. "First we faced fire, and now we are facing water. It's the classical elements."

"Fire, Water, Air, and Earth…" Harold said. "Although not necessarily in that order."

"Exactly." Nate replied. "At least now we know what we're facing… But if four of the trials are the classical elements, what would the fifth trial be?"

"I don't know…" Harold answered. "I guess we'll find out."

"Okay… everyone up that ladder. I want you guys save before I pull the lever." Nate said. They complied, and sooner rather than later they were up there.

"There's another stone door up here." Elena called down.

"Got it, is everyone ready?" Nate called back up.

"No." Charlie called back down.

"Fair enough." Nate said. He pulled the lever. Instantly, a slab fell down over the doorway they had just entered by. There was a scraping of stone above him and Nate looked up to see vented uncovered, and suddenly, water fell from those vents. Stone slabs slid open on the walls as the room quickly started filling with water. There seemed to be some kind of pressure plates arrayed under some words Nate couldn't make out on three of the walls.

"Can you guys see the words up there?" Nate called.

"I'm afraid not kid, you're just going to have to wait until the water level is high enough!" Sully called back down.

"That's just perfect…" Nate whispered to himself. So he waited, the water level quickly rose to his waste, then to his chest, and kept going. When he was neck high, he started pushing with his legs to keep himself afloat.

After a few minutes, they were almost to the pressure plates and Nate could make out the words.

"Ego in diversis figuris et moles. Pars me sunt curvae, aliis sunt recta. Vis potes me huc, sed unus pro loco. Quid ego?" Nate yelled above the sound of the water. "I come in different shapes and sizes. Part of me are curves, others are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me. What am I?"

"Riddles? Oh I'm terrible at these." Charlie yelled back. "Um… genitals!"

"That's sick Charlie." Chloe replied.

"What, it's the first thing that came to mind…" He responded.

"The pictures on the pressure plates Nate!" Harold called out. "What are they?"

"Wait, can't he just push all of them until he gets it right?" Chloe called out.

"Something terrible will probably happen if he presses the wrong one." Sully replied.

Nate turned his attention to the pressure plates.

"Um… a continent, a puzzle piece, a quill, and a horse." Nate called up. "This one's easy, it's the puzzle piece!"

"I agree!" Harold called back. Nate swam over to the pressure plate and pushed it into the wall. The stone that had slid over to uncover it slid back into place. He swam over to the next riddle.

"Numquam ego sum semper nemo vidit unquam, nec velle, et ego fiducia omnium in globum vivere et spirare. Quid ego?" Nate called out. "I never was, am always to be, No one ever saw me, nor ever will, And yet I am the confidence of all, To live and to breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"

"I've heard this one before." Sully called out. "The answer is tomorrow, but what are the pictures?"

The pictures were now underwater, so Nate couldn't quite see them. He dived under and observed them then came back up as the water covered the words.

"The sun, the moon, a grassy field, and the sun coming over the horizon." Nate replied.

"Sun over the horizon!" Elena called. He nodded and dived back under. He depressed the switch, and this was a big mistake. The ceiling collapsed inward and water starting pouring in at a much faster rate as Nate dodged the falling rocked. He went underwater and looked at the pictures again, and he figured it out.

I have to press two buttons at one! The sun and the moon! Nate thought. He swam towards them and depressed both pressure plates, the stone slid over to cover them. He surfaced; he couldn't see the elevated platform any more as the torrent of water got in the way. But he wasn't far from the ceiling, so he took one last deep breath and dived back down underwater to go read and solve the last riddle.

Maius est quam diabolus et malum. Pauperes, et tu comedes et si dives opus morietur. Quod est? He read. It is greater than God and more evil than the devil. The poor have it, the rich need it and if you eat it you'll die. What is it?

He looked down, and was surprised to find that instead of the pictures on tablets… was four Latin characters.

I must have to spell the answer. He thought. Guess no hints on this one.

Nate started thinking as fast as he could. He looked at what he interpreted as the easiest part, greater than god. That got him thinking, what was greater than god in Latin society?

I would think nothing is greater than… wait a second that's it! He thought. The answer is nothing, or in Latin, nil!

He quickly entered the appropriate characters, and with the final riddle solved the stone slid into place. But the water didn't drain from the room. He looked up, and saw that the room was now completely filled, and the gang was watching him and holding their breath from the elevated platform above. He was starting to find it extremely difficult to hold his breath.

He looked down and noticed stone had slid aside to reveal four more pressure plates, but there were no pictures. He guessed they all needed to be depressed for the door to open. He guessed it must be the rocks. He found it funny that anyone who did not get at least one of the answers wrong would have actually drowned to death.

He swam as fast as he could down, and he dragged rocks from the ceiling collapse over to the pressure plates. Just as he was going for the last rock, his vision started blurring and he started shaking all over as his lungs begged for air, which had not been sated for almost three minutes. Just as he was about to give up, Elena and Charlie suddenly swam up, and helped him push the rock onto the last pressure plate.

There was a slide of stone above as the door opened and water flooded into the next room. But Nate couldn't bare it anymore, and he opened his mouth to the water and fell unconscious. Elena and Charlie grabbed him and swam upward with his unconscious body. They finally lifted him up onto the elevated platform after taking huge breaths themselves.

The rest still breathing harshly gathered at his side.

"He isn't breathing." Harold said.

"Oh my god, Nate wake up!" Elena said fearfully.

"Stand back, I need to apply CPR." Harold said. He put his hands over Nate's chest and pushed down hard one time each second 15 times. Then he closed his nose with his fingers and opened Nate's mouth, administered a few breaths, and went back to pumping his chest.

He repeated the process several times, eventually starting to have tears pouring down his face himself.

"Kid… come on…" Sully whispered.

"Come on buddy… don't leave us now…" Charlie said. Chloe held Elena as she cried into the shoulder of her shirt.

"Nate… no…" Chloe whispered. Harold stopped and sat back.

"There's… nothing I can do… he's… he's gone." Harold said.

They were all silent for a moment.

"NO!" Elena shouted. She flipped around, got onto her knees, and she slapped Nate across the face hard. "NATE WAKE UP!"

Suddenly, he coughed water out of his mouth and turned sideways.

"It's a bloody miracle." Charlie said.

"Never underestimate the power of a woman over a man hun." Chloe said hugging him.

"Uh uhn…" Charlie said back shaking his head.

Nate started to sit up.

"Are you all…" He coughed. "…alright?"

"We're fine kid." Sully said getting on his knees and grasping Nate's shoulders. "You almost die for us and you wonder if we are alright? I'm more worried about you."

"I'm fine…" He said pushing Sully away. "Let's just keep going."

"The faster we're out of here the better." Harold said. "Are you going to be alright Nate?"

"I just said I was fine Dad." Nate replied annoyed.

"Hm…" Harold said nodding. They went into the next room.

They walked into a plain empty room just as tall as the last one. There was another elevated stone platform, but no ladder. He could see lots on wooden bridges and such above.

He walked forward to a lever in the back of the room and read the inscription on the floor.

"A iudicio per terram et experimentum quis tenaci. Quinque minutes a temporis trahere in vecte, terra sepelire te in eam scriptor tenaci." Nate said. "A trial by earth and a test of one's grip. Five minutes from the time you pull the lever, Earth will bury you in its grip."

"A test of one's grip hm?" Sully asked. "Looks like we're going to have to climb up, and if we don't reach the top in five minutes, the ceiling collapses on us."

"Correction Sully, I'm going to have to climb up." Nate said. "It said one's grip. See that lift up there?"

He pointed to the right of the elevated stone platform.

"It's probably guided by a pulley system. When I get up there, I'll lower it down to you guys and raise you all up." Nate said before coughing.

"Let someone else do it Nate, your hardly in the condition for-" Sully started.

"I'm fine Sully. We all know I'm the best climber here." Nate replied.

"You should listen to Sully Nate." Elena said.

"I'll be fine." He said again. He walked forward and pulled the lever. Instantly, a bunch of handholds sprung from the wall and the gate slammed behind them. He leaped forward, climbing upwards as fast as he could. He eventually had to go sideways over a ledge. He jumped to it and edged sideways.

"Watch it Nate!" Elena called to him from below. The ledge he was gripping started crumbling and he moved faster, when he reached the end, he leapt upwards just as the ledge collapsed from under him.

"That was close…" He whispered to himself. Suddenly, the ledge under his right hand collapsed and he barely managed to hold on.

"Be more careful mate." Charlie called up.

"Hurry up Nate! You have four minutes before we're pancakes." Harold called.

"I'm on it!" He called back. He edged along this one even faster, then leaping sideways over to the next ledge and using handholds to climb up. When he reached the top, he jumped left and grabbed firmly onto a rope and ran along the wall. He then jumped for one of the small wooden bridges and landed flawlessly.

It started to give the second his feet touched it, and he ran for it as it collapsed beneath him. He then jumped for another rope, grabbed onto it and swung and landed on the next wooden bridge. He sped to the left as this one collapsed under him to. He came to a part that had already fallen through except for a small space near the wall. He shimmied across the small space fast and ran and jumped to another wooden bridge as the place where he was standing collapsed.

He ran across this new bridge for a bit, then jumped up and grabbed some new handholds. He climbed upward and to the right for a bit, and then jumped over onto yet another wooden bridge.

"You've got two minutes left!" Harold called him.

He ran across it and grabbed hold of another rope. Instead of swinging on it, he climbed up to the top of it and reached upwards toward another set of handholds. He climbed up and to the left for a bit and set down on another wooden bridge. He was higher than the elevated platform now and across from it. A wire stretched across from the ceiling above him to the other side, which he recognized as a zipline.

"Thirty seconds!"

He pulled out his Beretta and rushed forwards, he jumped and gripped the Beretta with both hands over the Zipline and slid all the way down onto the elevated platform. He then rolled straight into the stone door.

"Ten seconds!"

He groaned, stood up, and looked around. He spotted two levers. He went and grabbed the left one, proceeding to pull it. The lift started descending, and he could hear and see the ceiling cracking.

"Five seconds!"

He ran for the new lever.

"Four!"

He grabbed it with both hands.

"Three!"

He tried to pull it but it was stuck.

"Two!"

It finally gave way and he pulled it.

"One!"

"I got it!" Nate shouted down.

"Good work chap!" Charlie called up.

"Thanks Charlie!" Nate called back. He looked down as they all crowded onto the lift, and he pulled the lever. As he did the next door slid open. They reached the top in a few seconds. Elena came to Nate's side as he sat against the wall breathing harshly.

"Are you alright Nate?" She asked.

"I'm alright Elena. Are you alright honey?" He asked.

"Perfectly fine." She replied. She helped him up and they proceeded into the next room. There was a long chasm similar to the fire room ahead of them. There was no light this time, and they lighted new torches as there old ones had gone out. There was another lever and another inscription.

"Aenean sit amet est. Praestare sine probare tua dignum." Harold read. "This is a test of Air. Perform without it to prove your worth."

"What does it mean "perform without it"? That's impossible." Nate said.

"Well, we'll have to see about that." Sully said.

"Everyone take a deep breath." Nate said. They complied and Nate pulled the lever. As usual, the door slammed shut behind them. He suddenly saw hidden vents emerging above them and felt the air being sucked out of the room. A thin beam suddenly lifted into place across the chasm.

Elena suddenly smiled and stepped forward. Sully went to stop her, but Nate stopped him with his outstretched arm, shaking his head.

She stepped onto the beam and suddenly started walking across it with unmatched grace. She was fast, and was almost halfway across before the beam started breaking apart under her. This time, Nate tried to rush forward.

"MMM!" He tried to say. This time, Sully stopped him with his outstretched arm and shook his head. Elena cartwheeled over to the other half as the first half fell into the abyss. She then easily crossed to the other side, and pulled the lever. Air suddenly rushed back into the room and they opened there mouths again for a deep breath. The door on the opposite end opened up.

"What the hell was that?" Sully asked.

"Elena used to be an Olympic gymnast before she went to college for journalism. She won a silver medal." Nate said.

"Wow, I never knew." Charlie said. "Incredibly sexy."

Chloe slapped him.

"Hm…" She said.

"Oh, sorry love, you're way sexier." Charlie said.

"Hey, that's my wife you're talking about!" Nate said.

"I'm just going to shut up now." He replied. A stone bridge raised into place of the fallen beam.

"Nice job Elena!" Nate said clapping joined by the rest of them. She bowed.

"So that was the four classical elements." Harold said. "This is the final trial; you have to be prepared for just about anything."

"He's right guys, check your guns. With our luck, it's some kind of ghost dog pack." Nate said checking his Beretta and the AK-47 on his back.

"I got 10 bucks it isn't ghost dogs." Charlie said.

"You're on." Nate said.

They all finished checking their guns and nodded at Nate. They then proceeded forward. It was a rather bright hall for a few steps, with torches lining the walls, but suddenly, the floor depressed under them, and the lights went out.

"Shit, what was that?" Sully asked.

"Elena and Sully, torches. The rest of you stay close to them." Nate said. They all quickly complied, getting into a tight formation around Elena and Sully who lit torches. Suddenly, there was howling in the distance before them. They stopped in their tracks scared half to death.

Suddenly, letters appeared in mid-air in a smoke like fashion.

"You've got to be shitting me." Sully said.

"That just is not possible." Charlie said.

"Temptationem spiritus tuus in ipsa natura positum. Deus, miserere animi." Nate read. "Your final test rests with the spirits of nature herself. God have mercy on your soul."

"Oh look, he's giving up on us already." Chloe said chuckling nervously. The smoke letters disappeared.

"You know… I saw in a TV show once that you can keep ghosts at bay with iron…" Charlie said.

"Well, let's hope our bullets are made of it." Nate replied. "Now let's move."

They walked forward as fast as they could. Howling again bounced across the walls. Charlie slapped down ten bucks in Nate's hand.

"I find your predictive abilities very disturbingly accurate son." Harold said.

"I just had to open my big mouth." Nate said. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out as Charlie shot into the dark. They all aimed their guns in that direction.

"There was something there, like a glowing dog of some sort. It just disappeared…" Charlie said.

He started whispering something under his breath to himself. Suddenly, there was a growling behind Nate. He flipped around and there was a roar as the glowing ghost dog charged at him and jumped at him. He fired two bullets right into its chest and it burst into smoke.

"Whatever the grail is, it must have paranormal abilities when you get this close." Harold said. Suddenly, there were roars and growls from all around them and a pack of ghost dogs burst out of absolutely nowhere.

"Shit, run!" Nate said. Putting bullets into any one of them he could see. They ran straight into the pack, keeping any they saw at bay. They cut through them, but as they kept running there was no end of the hall in sight and there seemed to be a limitless number of them.

"They're gaining on us!" Charlie yelled as he reloaded his Beretta.

"Run faster!" Nate yelled back.

"Aren't you supposed to exorcise ghosts?" Chloe shouted.

"Yea, but I don't have that whole part of the bible memorized!" Nate yelled.

"You could give it a try." Chloe yelled. Harold grabbed something from his bag and threw it to Nate. He caught a large silver cross.

"Who knows, that might help." Harold said.

"Thanks Dad…" Nate replied. Harold shrugged.

"Sacerdos ab Ordinario delegatus, rite confessus…" Nate began. The dogs suddenly stopped in their tracks howling in pain and the cross in his hand shined extremely brightly. Illuminating almost the entire hallway and showing they were far from their goal. "Go, this seems to be holding them at bay! Hopefully that lever at the end of the hallway opens the door!"

As he stopped the exorcism chanting, the dogs start to begin getting back up, so he continued.

"…aut saltem corde peccata sua detestans, peracto, si commode fieri possit, Sanctissimo Missæ sacrificio…" Nate continued. He was several lines in before they reached the end of the hallway. Harold spotted an inscription.

"Gratulatione, natura iudicavit te dignus transire per et petere grail. Lorem celare nemo umquam invenies illum." He read. "Congratulations, nature has judged you worthy to pass by and claim the grail. Please, hide it where no one will ever find it again."

"That's great." Charlie said. "Just open the damn door."

Sully complied by pulling the lever.

"Nate! Run for it!" Sully yelled after him. He turned and ran as fast as he could, keeping on reciting the exorcism. But about halfway back to the door, he couldn't remember anymore.

"Shit." Nate said. He ran as fast as he could as the dogs kept chasing after him. "Sully, go inside!"

Sully nodded and retreated through the door.

"Nate, they're gaining on you, run like your life depends on it!" Elena yelled.

"It does!" He shouted back. He reached the end of the hallway a few seconds later, he pushed in the lever and the door started to close. He quickly did a slide under the door just before it slammed shut. They were now in a dark hallway lit exclusively by Elena and Sully's torches.

Charlie helped him to his feet.

"Thanks…" He said.

"So… that's it?" Chloe asked. "I was expecting something with a little more flash."

"Well, it is what it is." Nate said. "Besides, the holy grail should be all the flash you need."

She shrugged as Nate took the lead down the hallway. They didn't walk for very long before reaching a wooden door. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"It's… stuck…" He said pushing as hard as he could. Sully rolled up his sleeves.

"I've gotcha kid." Sully said. He added his pushing to it.

"It has a bit more give, but we need more force." Nate said.

"I'll help you with that." Harold said. He came and helped them out, and with a few heaves, the door flew open with sudden force. They were in the center of a dome shaped room. A pedestal stood in the center, and on top of it, was a shining cup with gold lining the base of the glass and a golden ring encircling the top.

"Oh my god, that's it… it's the Holy Grail…" Nate whispered to himself.

"I… can feel it in the air…" Harold said. "Like… something beyond understanding…"

"Look at all this writing…" Nate said. "It's in so many different languages."

"Here's Latin I presume?" Sully asked pointing at a spot on the floor.

"Look, French, Cuneiform, Sanskrit…" Harold said pointing.

"English, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Chinese…" Nate continued. "All the same message."

"Well, spill it, what's it say?" Chloe asked.

"Yea, out with it already." Charlie said.

"The one who guided you here is a human summoned from death... Risen again in life…" Nate began. "He or she, whichever you saw, was there to seek you out for the grail sensed potential, and obviously confirmed, worth. You have fought through the toughest challenges possible to arrive here, standing at the base of the pedestal that holds upon it the Holy Grail.

"If you are truly worthy, you will find some place to hide it where no one will ever find it again. King Arthur."

"What does the grail do exactly?" Sully asked.

"Well, only one way to find out." Nate said. He stepped up to the pedestal, and he stepped forward until he was standing right before The Holy Grail. "Hey, there's something written in Latin at the base of the glass on the golden ring…"

"What?" Chloe asked.

"Grail devolvat in potentia, alterius sanguinem comedas ex eo. Imperium animi in te humanitatis." Nate said. He didn't repeat it in English; his face took on a horrified appearance.

"What does it say Nate?" Elena asked.

"It… it says..." Nate said. Then he looked at her. "To unleash the power of the grail, partake of the blood of another from it. You will have complete control over the minds of humanity."

"That's what the Grail does?" Harold asked. "That's exactly what the Templar's would want, power over everyone's mind? Madness."

"There's more." Nate said.

"What?" Sully asked.

"There are three pictures on the top ring. A cup, I'm assuming that's the grail, a box…" Nate replied.

"…the Ark of the Covenant…" Harold said.

"…and a staff." Nate finished. "Also, inscribed on the cup is a triangle. Three points, three pictures, three artifacts even if we don't know what the last is… a holy trinity."

"The power of three." Harold said. Nate looked around.

"Wow." Nate said astonished.

"What is it?" Chloe asked.

"I can see more now that I'm holding the grail." Nate said. Harold walked over to the entrance and looked down in like he'd heard something. Then he turned back to look at Nate.

"What does it say?" Elena asked.

"The truth lies within the Ark, which lies at his birthplace." Nate said.

"Who's birthplace?" Charlie asked.

"Well, considering we're dealing with Christian religion, I would suppose Bethlehem inside the Church of Nativity." Nate said.

"Now, that is quite enough." The voice emerged from the entrance to the place where the grail was.

"Nate…!" Harold said. They all flipped around, and they all saw the man who had shot Nate back in Ethiopia. He was pointing a silence pistol to the side of Harold's head.

"Jason Tepla, Grandmaster of the Templars." Nate said.

"Jason, I should've know that was you." Harold said.

"Shut up Harold." Jason said grinning at Nate. "Hello Bob, or should I say Nathan Drake? Oh, and there's old Marly, or should I say Charlie Cutter. Then we have Elena Drake, Chloe Frazer, and Victor "Goddamn" Sullivan."

"Someone's done their homework." Nate said as Jason stepped forward into the room with Harold. Two more men with silenced MP5 sub-machine guns walked in, covering everyone with their guns.

"I'm the leader of the most powerful organization in the world, I always do my homework." He said. "But, of course, this time you did it for me. You took care of all of the traps and even figured out where the real Ark is. Genius work."

"You son of a bitch." Elena said.

"Oh, someone has a naughty tongue, and naughty tongues must be silenced." Jason said. He pushed Harold down onto the ground and then walked over to Elena and slapped her across the face and she fell across the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Nate said almost rushing him. The men raised their guns at him and he was forced to remain still and grit his teeth.

"That is the proper place for a woman, groveling at my feet." Jason said. "Talk back to me again, and you will be in far worse condition."

She went to talk back anyways, but Nate shook his head at her and she remained silent.

"Now, give me the grail if you would be so kind Nathan." Jason said stepping up to him.

"Don't… do it Nate!" Harold said. This was a big mistake; Jason flipped around and put three bullets into him.

"DAD NO!" Nate yelled.

"I don't tolerate traitors." Jason said. Then he turned back to Nate. "Now give me the grail Nathan, or I will kill the rest of your friends one by one."

He handed the grail over.

"Don't you hurt them." Nate said.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Jason said. He turned around to his guards and nodded. "I must say this has been quite a pleasant encounter Nathan. I hope not to see you ever again."

One of them planted Dynamite on the ceiling of the entrance tunnel. Nate gritted his teeth, waiting for an opportunity. Jason turned back to him and waved. Suddenly, there was a gunshot and the man planting the Dynamite's head exploded. Suddenly, a swift form ran around the dead man and seized the second man with Jason hostage.

Nate could scarcely believe his eyes, it was Flynn. He circled around Jason until his back was to Nate, and Jason's was to the tunnel.

"Flynn?" Nate wondered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I saw these guys coming up the mountain. I knew they were after you, so I followed them. A few minutes after they got in, my headaches suddenly stopped… like whatever had been causing it had its attention elsewhere." Flynn replied. "Crazy huh?"

"It must've been the ghost dog attack." Sully said.

"Wow, no kidding." Nate said.

"Ghost what?" Flynn asked.

"Nothing." Elena said. "Just focus on what you're doing."

"Good point love." Flynn said. "Now, I would appreciate it if you put that gun and the uh… cup down."

Jason smiled, raised his gun and shot the man Flynn was holding hostage in the head. Still he held him up as a human shield.

"They are expendable. They are now with god." Jason said. "There mission is to serve me in helping become capable of serving him. Little do they know that my real plan is to become god."

"What the hell do you mean?" Nate asked.

"A simpleton like you would never understand." Jason replied.

"Fine, if I can't kill him…" Flynn said. He pointed his gun at Jason instead. "I'll kill you."

"Oh, I'll leave, but one moment." Jason said. He dipped the grail into the pool of blood gathering around Harold.

"What in the hell are you doing you sick bastard?" Flynn said.

"Shit, Flynn, shoot him before he drinks it!" Nate yelled.

Flynn pulled the trigger, and the gun jammed.

"Well isn't it my lucky day." Jason said grinning. Nate ran towards him.

"NO!" He shouted.

But Jason brought the cup to his lips, and downed the cup.

"Nathan, stop." He said.

Nate felt like tendrils were snaking into his mind, he stopped dead in his tracks without knowing why. He tried moving, but found that he could not.

"What…? What the hell?" Nate asked.

"Don't you remember?" Jason asked. "The grail gave me control of your mind. I have no need for this anymore."

He dropped the gun onto the floor. But he made sure to keep a very tight grip on the grail. Flynn pulled another pistol from the holster of the guard he was using as a human shield and dropped him, and took aim at Jason.

"Put down the gun Flynn." Jason said. There was a pause.

"No." Flynn said. He then pulled the trigger. Jason dodged out of the way in surprise and into the tunnel. He seemed to pull something out of his pocket, and it looked suspiciously like a detonator.

"Get away from the door!" Nate yelled. They all jumped away as Jason pressed the button, and the world erupted into flames and dirt.

Nate was up almost instantly after the explosion; he looked around and was sure everyone was alright, just groaning with ringing ears. He looked at the entrance, and saw that it had caved in, trapping them. But he barely cared; he sprinted over to the dirt covered form of his father, and flipped him over. He coughed, he was still alive.

"Dad, you're going to be alright." Nate said. "We'll find another way out of here and get you to a hospital."

"No… Nate…" Harold said. "That's not going to happen."

"Of course it is!" Nate said. Tears started coming from his eyes. "Don't you give up on me!"

"I'm sorry Nate… I was never there… when you needed me…" Harold said.

"I forgive you Dad, you're here now… now stay that way!" Nate said.

"I told you Nate, that isn't going to happen. He shot me in exactly the right places to guarantee I suffer a slow and painful death. We're miles from any hospital at the top of a mountain trapped in a cave that is likely to collapse at any second." Harold said. "I'm not getting out of this one…"

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… it was my job to protect you and I didn't." Nate said.

"No, it was my job to protect you, and I succeeded. If I hadn't been here, then Jason would've killed someone else for his sick sacrifice for the Grail." Harold said. "It could've been you, or it could've been Elena."

Nate nodded solemnly.

"You listen to me son…" Harold said. "You… you protect her with your life. For… without her, without the ones you love… life isn't worth living."

"I will Dad…"

"Heh… I know you will." Harold said coughing blood. "You… should know that he can only control peoples mind when he's touching the grail with his bare skin. No gloves, if anything comes between him and it, he can't use its ability."

Nate nodded.

"Can… can you tell Elena to come over here?" Harold asked.

"Of course." Nate said. He turned and signaled Elena to come over. She crawled through the dust cloud. She started crying once she saw Harold's dying body.

"Oh… my god Nate…" She said.

"Hey… don't worry about me…" Harold said. He stroked her hair lovingly. "Take… take good care of Nate… and while I won't ever be able to meet my Grandchildren personally… tell them… the good things about me…"

Elena nodded.

"I love you Nate… I love you to Elena…" Harold said.

"I love you to Dad…" Nate said. Elena nodded.

"Whether you like it or not… I've done some really bad things in my live; I've killed good people, all to protect you Nate. I was selfish, self-centered." Harold said. "But… it's good to know that what I sacrificed wasn't for nothing…"

Nate nodded.

"Now… I'm going to ask you something Nate. You need to do it." Harold said.

"Anything…" Nate replied.

"Kill me." Harold said.

"No!" Nate replied.

"You said anything Nate…"

"I know what I said, and the answer is still no Dad."

"I'm suffering Nate… please… please just end it…"

He grabbed for Nate's gun, raising it towards his face. He pulled his arm away. Suddenly, Nate felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked around and found Sully.

"Kid, there's no point in leaving him like this." Sully said. "I'll do it."

Sully looked over to Harold, and they exchanged a glance. Harold shook his head, and Sully nodded.

"Okay Nate." Sully said. He started to let him raise his gun, but out of nowhere, Sully grabbed the Berretta from his hand and shot Harold in the head.

"NO!" Nate said. "Sully, why did you do that?"

"You would've regretted it for the rest of your life Nate, I won't let you live like that." Sully said. He turned and walked away.

"It needed to be done Nate…" Elena said.

"I know…" He replied. "That's what makes it so bad."


There it is… A lot happened in this chapter. Some excellent action and platforming scenes (which I hope you enjoyed), some great comedy, some amazing reveals, the heroic return of Harry Flynn, and the heart wrenching death of Nate's father… at the hands of his father figure. I also hope you really loved the Jason Tepla moments, I happen to think he's probably the most chilling crazy ass every to grace the Uncharted universe (definitely more threatening then Lazaravic and Navarro, pfft)

This is going to have some very interesting ramifications in future chapters. Not that I liked killing Harold… but it was just the best course of action for the story.

Remember to review.