Hello my lovelies, I'm back with another chapter! I'm so sorry it took this long! I didn't even realize it had been a month! I haven't been having the greatest time at work. But anyway, enough of my ramblings. Please, read and enjoy, and perhaps... leave a comment if you feel so inclined. I always enjoy hearing what you guys have to say.

Could this day get any worse? Nate and I went to grab our guns, but Talbot held his own gun up in emphasis.

"Ah, I wouldn't recommend that," Talbot warned, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Sully and I both cursed. "Nice work, gentlemen and lady. Harris, please relieve Mr. Drake of the artifact."

"Yeah, Harris, come get it," Nate encouraged. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I didn't like his tone of voice. It usually meant he was about to try something stupid. Sure enough, as soon as Harris attempted to take the amulet from him, Nate grabbed the guy's gun and started pushing back. A single shot rang out and Nate jerked back, clutching his upper left arm. That stronzo (asshole) shot my boyfriend!

"Now - it's hardly worth dying over, is it? Your friends don't think so," Talbot said calmly. Nate glanced at Sully and I. As much as I hated to admit it, Talbot had the upper hand. For now. I gave a reluctant nod. Jaw clenched, Nate handed over the amulet. As Harris walked back over to his boss, the room filled with a sort of scuttling sound.

"What is that?" Harris asked nervously. In answer to his question, hundreds of spiders began filing into the room.

"Oh my God…" Nate muttered.

"What the hell," Sully added. I froze at the sight of the eight legged creatures. They surrounded us, staying just outside the field of light cast from Sully's torch. "Stay in the light." Harris was not so lucky. I watched in silent horror as the giant spiders started crawling all over him. I was frozen with fear. My heart pounded against my chest, my breaths coming quick and shallow. I stared numbly at Harris' body and didn't even notice as Talbot left, locking us in. I vaguely registered Nate and Sully talking. My entire body was shaking. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't think. My head started to swim from lack of oxygen. Suddenly, Nate grabbed my face in his hands, forcing me to meet his eyes.

"Alex, breathe, sweetheart! I need you to stay with me, ok?" I took a deep breath, clearing my head slightly. "We need to get out of here and I need you present. Can you do that for me?" I gave a shaky nod. Nate smiled briefly. "That's my girl. C'mon, up there. Stay close." He didn't need to tell me twice. I stuck as close to him as possible without tripping him as we hurried over to the wall where there was an opening above us. "Ok, Alex, you first." I stepped into Nate's open hands and he boosted me up. Once up, I quickly turned to help Sully and then Nate. We bolted back through the tunnel, spiders coming from all directions. "My God these things are fast." We ran out of the crypt and climbed up a spiral staircase, spiders still close behind. I reached the top first and paused just long enough to see if the boys were still following before jumping out the window onto the terrace below. The boys were right behind me. I scrambled as far away from the window as I could. I collapsed onto the ground, pulling my knees to my chest, my entire body shaking. A few feet away, the guys checked each other for spiders as I attempted to get my breathing under control. I vaguely heard Nate call my name, but didn't respond. I jumped as he knelt in front of me and repeated my name. My gaze snapped to his. Concern was shining in his blue eyes. He gently placed a hand on my knee. "Stai bene. È finito ora," (You're ok. It's over now.) He assured me quietly. "Segui il mio respiro." (Follow my breathing) He rubbed his thumb across my knee soothingly. He exaggerated his slow, steady breaths and I copied his example. Slowly, my heart rate returned to normal and I stopped shaking. He sent me a soft smile and got to his feet, holding out a hand. I uncurled and took his hand. He tugged me into his arms. I buried my face in his chest, hugging him tightly. He merely held me and rubbed my back. After a few moments, I pulled back.

"Sorry about that," I said. "Wasn't of much use there was I?"

Nate cupped my cheek. "Hey, it's not your fault. With all the stuff we go through, I think you're entitled to a spider phobia."

I gave a light huff. "You always know just the right thing to say."

Nate chuckled. "I try." He leaned down and captured my lips.

"Can we agree on one thing?" I asked as we pulled away.

"What's that?"

"We are never going back in there."

Nate laughed. "I think we can all agree on that."

"I second that," Sully added. He laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You okay, sweetheart?"

I nodded. "Yeah, let's find a way out of here." We dropped through a hole in the terrace and back into the castle. Unfortunately, there was no clear path out.

"I'll see if I can find a way across," Nate suggested. I watched with my heart in my throat as he jumped onto a chandelier hanging over the open space. A crack sounded as the chandelier began to pull from the ceiling.

"Nate, get off of there!" I warned.

"I know! I know!" Nate replied. He quickly jumped onto the wall just as the chandelier pulled away from the ceiling completely. I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead. I didn't know how much more stress I could handle today. No sooner had I thought this and part of the ceiling collapsed from Nate's weight, opening a way up and forward for us.

"Hey, that'll work," Sully said.

"Yeah, just like I planned," Nate announced.

"Right," I muttered. I just couldn't wait to get out of here.

"Now we just gotta find a way down," Sully said. We walked further into the mansion, but Nate held out an arm.

"Ho, ho, hold on… shh-sh," he whispered. We crouched down and inched forward, peering over a broken wall to the floors below. Some of Talbot's men were emptying cans of what looked like gasoline onto the ground.

"Empty those cans. Every last drop!" A mercenary ordered.

"What the hell are they doing?" Nate wondered.

I shook my head. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not good."

"Burn the place down!" My eyes widened. Crap.

"I think it's time we take our leave," I announced.

Nate nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right." He started working his way across the drop in front of us. I ducked as a shot went off. We had been spotted. Sully and I took cover, taking out guys for Nate as he made his way to the other side. The place quickly began to fill with smoke and the centuries old castle went up in flames. "Take 'em out, Alex!" He shouted as he hung from a beam to avoid being shot.

"I'm working on it!" I snapped. I leaned out from my hiding spot and got in a headshot. Nate climbed up on the other side and immediately got drawn into a fight. I tried to help as best I could, but had to be careful not to shoot my boyfriend in the process.

"Over here!" I heard Sully call. I looked up to see him around the corner in front of a beam. "Knock that damn beam down!" I hurried over to the older man, helping him cover Nate as he worked his way toward us.

"We got you covered!" I told Nate, shooting the last mercenary in sight for the time being. Nate quickly tugged the beam and it landed with a loud thud.

"C'mon!" Nate called with a cough.

"You first, Sully," I said. Sully carefully climbed onto the beam, holding out his arms to keep his balance.

"Is this an inner ear thing? Let's go!" Nate shouted urgently. A few more mercenaries appeared. I shot one as Nate ran to take care of the others. Sully finally made it across and it was my turn. I climbed onto the beam and slowly started making my way across. "Alex, look out!" I turned to see a couple mercenaries had showed up behind me. "Hurry, I got your back!" Nate fired at the mercenaries as I tried to pick up the pace. A bullet skimmed past my face, causing me to lose my balance. I let out a startled scream as I fell, just managing to grab onto the beam before I fell into the blazing inferno below me. "Alex!"

"C'mon, kid!" Sully shouted. Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself back onto the beam. Heart in my throat, I hurried the rest of the way. Nate quickly swept me into his arms.

"Let's keep moving!" We ran to a corner where a ladder sat above us.

"I'll give you a boost," Sully said. He braced himself as Nate stepped into his hand. Just as he was lifting Nate, there was an explosion above, throwing both off balance. I quickly helped Nate up. "We're trapped!"

"There's gotta be a way outta here!" Nate insisted. I glanced around. There seemed to be fire everywhere. I spotted an area where there didn't seem to be as much fire yet.

"This way!" I shouted. I led the boys to a hole in the wall, shooting the mercenary standing just on the other side. We wound up in a hall where the fire thankfully hadn't reached yet. Unfortunately, as we ran, the floor collapsed under Nate, revealing the fiery inferno only a floor below.

"You alright, Nate?" Sully asked.

Nate nodded, getting to his feet. "Yeah, I'm ok."

"Meet you on the other side." Sully and I used a narrow ledge to inch our way across. Nate of course didn't have it as easy. His beam broke under him, causing him to have to find handholds in the wall. He jumped and landed on the edge of our platform on the other side. Sully and I pulled him up. He and Sully broke through the door blocking our way. The blaze on the other side flared with the new introduction of air. I covered my face and coughed as I inhaled smoke. We didn't get very far when we were attacked again. The place was on fire! What was wrong with these people? I disposed of a couple mercenaries and turned to see Nate battling with a brute. I fired twice and the brute went down.

"Thanks!" Nate panted, taking the arm I offered him.

"Let's just get out of here," I said. We ran down the stairs towards the door, only to find it blocked my more mercenaries.

"Burn, you bastards!" One shouted and closed the door. Well crap. I let out a string of Italian curses. Could this day get any worse? Turned out, it could. Between the collapsing staircases and mercenaries that didn't seem to understand we were fighting the clock, it was a miracle we made it out after all. We almost didn't make it, very nearly getting crushed by the tower as it collapsed.

Finally touching down on solid ground again, the three of us ran from the burning castle. I dropped to the ground, coughing my lungs out from all the smoke I had inhaled. Nate and Sully were in no better condition. Sully sat on a nearby rock and Nate doubled over, hands on his knees.

"Oh man, that was close, huh?" Nate said.

"Close doesn't even cover it Nathan," I grumbled from my place on the ground.

"You two alright?"

I coughed again. "Define all right."

"Oh yeah, just swell," Sully replied sarcastically.

Nate held out his hand to the elder. "Here."

Sully waved him off. "Just gimme a sec. You always seem to forget I've got twenty-five years on ya."

"Ah, c'mon, Sully, you're as strong as an ox," Nate insisted.

"Anyway, what's the hurry? They think we're in that," Sully pointed out, gesturing to the burning castle.

Nate set his hands on his hips as he surveyed the destruction. "We almost were." I sat up with a quiet grunt and gazed sadly at the carnage. It was a shame to destroy something that was once so beautiful, with all that history tied up in it.

Sully leaned forward on his knees. "I gotta say, I'm losing the plot here. Remind me again why we're doing this?"

Nate rounded on him. "No, no, no, no. If you're gearing up for one of your 'I'm too old for this' speeches, spare me."

"Actually, I kind of agree with Sully on this one," I admitted. Nate snapped his head to me. "Something about this expedition doesn't feel right."

Nate threw up a hand in frustration. "Not you too."

"Nate, these guys are playing for keeps," Sully pointed out.

"Yeah, so? What? You're just gonna roll over for 'em now?" I sent a confused glare at my best friend. Where was all this coming from?

"Nobody's talking about rolling over," the elder protested.

"Then quit acting like you're ready to lay down and die, all right?" Nate said angrily.

"Nathan Drake, that's enough!" I snapped, getting to my feet. Nate was taken aback slightly by the use of his full name. I placed my hands on my hips as I fixed him with an exasperated look. "After everything the three of us have been through together, do you really think we're going to back down now?" Nate hung his head, avoiding my gaze. I approached him and cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at me. "Sully and I have had your back for twenty years and that's not going to change just because we've nearly died for the dozenth time." I rubbed my thumb gently along his cheek bone and he leaned into the touch. "But you're being unnecessarily reckless. If we're going to continue, you need to be more careful before you get yourself killed."

"Hell, he'll probably get us all killed," Sully added. I sighed, but didn't contradict him. Unfortunately, he was most likely right. If Nate continued on his self destructive path, he wasn't going to just get himself killed, he was going to take Sully and I with him. Nate's eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, no…"

"What?"

"Cutter and Chloe," Nate explained. "If we were followed…" My eyes widened in realization.

Sully cursed. "Chances are they were too."

"We gotta warn them."

"And get to Syria - fast," I agreed. "No telling what Marlowe and Talbot will do if they get their greedy hands on those two."

"Sure hope one of you remembers where we left the car," Sully said as we jogged into the woods, away from the still burning castle. "Cause I am completely turned around."