A/N: For all my gaming followers and readers. This is one series of four games that I've been wanting to test the waters on with my writing skills. This is the 1st game adaptation of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, but of course, in SQ style. I will follow close to the game as I possibly can, but it will also include some of my own dialogue and add-on's that I feel will fit Emma and Regina a little better. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Uncharted game series, I hope you give it a chance and buckle up for a wild ride! Happy reading and Happy Sunday! :)

Part 1 of 4.


Chapter 1: Ambushed


There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory. - Sir Francis Drake, 1587.

Emma could recite that quote by memory. It was a favorite of hers, in fact. As an explorer, she could tell you about many treasures that have yet to be discovered. Today, she found herself off the coast of Panama, her diving gear fitting tightly against her body, glistening with remaining water drops from recently taking a swim.

She quickly rings her hair out and ties it into a quick ponytail.

"Is this it?" A brunette woman asks, holding out her camera as she begins recording an old, rusted looking coffin lying before them.

"Yeah. Just like I said." Emma had forgotten Regina was even here, due to her excitement of finding this discovery.

Regina was a reporter and a good one. She had a show on the side, when she wasn't out exploring with cute explorers/treasure hunters like Emma Swan. What? She wasn't made of stone. She could admit to a beautiful woman when she saw one.

"I am here off the coast of Panama, where we believe to have found the coffin of legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake. Who was buried at sea over four hundred years ago." Regina saw Emma through the lens of the camcorder as she dug it within the rusted parted edge. She couldn't say who was more excited, Emma or herself.

The blonde grunted as she struggled with one side, but it budged. She made her way around the other side of the coffin and repeated the same action with the crowbar.

"Are you sure you want to be defiling your ancestors remains like that?" Regina asked her.

"You make it sound so dirty," Emma releases a small laugh, looking over her shoulder quickly at the brunette and her camera. "Besides, I thought you didn't believe me."

"Forgive me for not taking your word, Ms. Swan, but I did do my research and apparently Francis Drake didn't have any children." Regina pointed out. What kind of reporter would she be if she didn't do her research on a famous explorer?

And she was right. Emma wasn't of any relation. She grew up without parents. Not that she never had any, but they both passed away when she was very young, and pretty much grew up alone, orphaned and looking after herself. Like any orphan kid- she would make up stories in her head of families she would have liked to be a part of or had that would have wanted to adopt her.

"Well, history can be wrong, you know." Emma releases another grunt, pushing with all her might against the crowbar and coffin, feeling the lid finally slide off a few inches. "For example… You can't defile an empty coffin." She breathes out her words, her hand dropping the crowbar to the floor as she lifts up the lid and pushes it right off with one last grunt.

"What the hell?" Regina's mouth drops to the sight of an empty coffin. Just like Emma had said.

Only Emma wasn't disappointed. It wasn't Drake's remains that she specifically cared about, but what was lost for centuries, inside that very coffin.

Her hand reached inside, her fingers digging through the sand filled coffin, searching until she felt something cold and rusty. A light, proud laugh escaped her lips upon parting open a small box and finding what she was hoping to find. It was a small, pocket sized leather journal. The very journal of Francis Drake.

She was a damn good explorer.

"You devil." She flipped through the old pages with an excited twinkle in her eye.

"What is it?" Regina's head leaned in, along with her camera, trying her best to see what the blonde was so excited about. "Hold it up- let me see." She demanded.

"Whoa!" Quickly closing the journal, Emma raised her hand, covering the lens of the camcorder. "No way. The deal was for a coffin. That's it."

What? "Hey!" Regina grabbed the blonde's bicep to turn her back around as she was about to walk away from her. "If my show hadn't funded this little research of yours, you wouldn't of-"

"Look, lady, you got what you wanted, alright?" Emma bit back. She was not letting her win.

But, Regina scoffed, standing her ground. "Look, Ms. Swan- you signed a contract-"

Emma chuckled, shaking her head. A contract meant nothing to her. No matter what she had promised. All she cared about was to get what she came for.

"And the contract states that I have a right to everything you-"

"Whoa, whoa…" The blonde's brow creases, her eyes no longer focused on Regina but on boats, growing more and more closer by the minute as they seemed to be approaching their way. "Could you hold that thought for just a second?"

Regina watched her reach for some binoculars, looking at what- she wasn't sure. She couldn't see anything when the sun was beaming down, shielding her eyes. It was different when she wasn't looking through the lens of a camcorder. But, Emma saw something, and by the looks of it it wasn't good.

Next, a click of a radio was heard. "Sully? We got a problem. You better get here fast." Said Emma, holding the radio near her lips.

"Okay- what's going on?" Regina hoped her fellow explorer could at least have the decency to answer that question. She rushed to set her camera down against some wooden crates. She watches Emma reach for a briefcase and place it down to open it.

"Uh… Pirates." She shrugs, her voice sounding so natural as she spoke the word: pirates.

"Pirates?" Her brow raises as she releases a chuckle.

"Yeah," Emma reaches for one of two handguns that she kept inside a case. She's picking it up as easy as you would pick up a sheet of paper, all too familiar with weaponry. "The modern kind. They don't take prisoners. Well- at least not male prisoners."

"Wait," Regina shook her head. "What are you talking about?" That's when her eyes focused on at least four speedboats heading their direction. "Uh… Shouldn't we call the authorities in this case?"

"Uh…" Emma's cheeks grow a small shade of pink as she keeps her back to the brunette. Her hands kept bust with loading a loaded clip into the gun. "Yeah, that'd be a great idea. Except we don't exactly have a permit to be here." She releases a nervous chuckle.

"I'm sorry?" Regina's eyes grow wide upon the discovery of the blonde's lie. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah," Emma shrugs, pulling back on the weapon's chamber. "So, unless you want to end up in a Panamanian jail, we should probably handle this ourselves."

That was her best advice.

"That could be worse?" Regina can't hide her shocked expression. Was Emma serious right now? Was she really ready and able to fight off four speedboats?

"Well, you obviously have never been in a Panamanian jail." Her hand does a motion that flips the handgun so the butt of the weapon is facing Regina. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

"Uh…" She wasn't an expert. Regina could count the times she shot a gun before as she reached for it with hesitation. "Yeah, it's easy. You just point and shoot, right?"

Good enough. "Good girl." The blonde smirks, more for motivation before pulling back on the next loaded handgun that she had for herself. "Here we go."

Regina drew in a breath that trembled on it's way past her lips. Just point and shoot. That's all you have to do. She looked down at the gun she held, feeling the cold and heavy weight of it resting against her now sweaty, and trembling palm.

Her fingers closed around the grip, her palm full. You can do this, Regina. You. Can. Do. This. She wasn't about to die here. Not like this. She was a reporter, damn it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emma's voice startled her from her thoughts as she hid, crouching down behind one of the wooden crates, gun in hand. "I suggest you take cover, unless you want to get shot."

Bullets didn't take long to exchange between the pirates and the explorer.

Regina rushed over, taking quick cover behind other crates that had been placed in the middle of the dock. Suddenly a sinking feeling rested right at the very bottom of her stomach. I should have aimed for a better boat. It would take one good hit by a rocket launcher to sink it. It was just or equally rusted up as Drake's useless coffin.

She shook her head at herself while rushing over to crouch next to the blonde, handgun ready.

One of the four boats stationed itself nearby, where two buzzed cut pirate twins began to shoot with their AK-47's. This was really happening. She was gonna die.

"What do you think they want? How did they even find us?" Regina asked, her eyes taking in Emma's expert shooting, firing one clean shot to twin number one's head. His body resembles that of a rag doll.

"Uh… They sort of want me. These guys have been tailing me for weeks. I thought I'd lost them." Emma gives the reporter an apologetic shrug, which Regina can quickly decipher that very action as a sign that she wasn't let in on everything here.

"And, what may I ask, did you do to piss them off?" Regina asked through the echoes of gunshots being exchanged. The scent of gunpowder lingering in the air, along with the sea.

"That's a little difficult to explain right now." She replied, firing two shots at twin number two that impacted his shoulder, followed by his heart.

Another motorboat approached them with three pirates firing their way. Emma leaned her back against the crate, drawing in a few deep breaths, her chest heaving. She ejected the mag from her handgun, confirming enough roads locked and ready before snapping it back into place. She peeks out from the corner of the crate, spotting a red, steel gallon aboard their boat.

"These guys don't like you very much, do they?" Regina asked, remaining in cover right beside her.

"Less talking, more shooting." Her head whips around to throw Regina a glare before peeking out from behind the crate, her eagle eye trained on the gallon as she took aim and fired a single shot.

Regina's eyes grew wide, her mouth almost hitting the floor in shock at the massive explosion that took place before her. The bodies of those pirates went up higher than the flames.

"I think we're good." Emma breathed, taking in the flames that were devouring the boat. Her head turned when she felt Regina's arm reach for her bicep.

"Think again." Brown eyes were focused on three more boats that were approaching theirs.

"Shit, Sully, where the hell are you?" The blonde murmured under her breath. She ran right toward the middle crate, rolling her body against the ground to avoid any bullets that were being fired right at her. Her hand reached for the top to grab another loaded mag from the case before loading it into her gun. The previous one sliding out and clanking somewhere near her feet.

"They're getting on board!" Regina shouted, seeing two men jump right off their boats with the goal of boarding their ship.

"Oh, no you don't," Emma fired three shots as soon as she saw them take a leap for the water. Two of her bullets missed, but the third managed to strike one pirate in the stomach, causing him to create a splash at sea.

A buzzed-cut pirate's arm reached for the edge of the ship, pulling himself up until he was on board, only to be met by Emma's fist, striking his stomach with an uppercut. Her hands didn't waste time in reaching for his head, forcing him to bend over so that her knee met with his face. With a grunt, he reached for his nose where she saw blood. Emma finished him off with another punch, knocking him out cold.

"Point and shoot," Regina aimed her gun, using the sights and firing a shot.

Emma's head whipped around behind her to see one pirate that his goal was to attack her from behind, had he not been stopped by that bullet. Her eyes looked behind her fallen strands of hair, over at the surprised brunette.

There was no time for a thank you, but the look in Emma's eye said it all.

Suddenly a loud explosion caught their attention, it was so loud and so close that it shook underneath the women's feet.

"Uh, Swan… I think someone has a rocket launcher." Regina's eyes grow wide again, seeing another missile being fired but missed them by a few inches.

"Oh, this is not good." She rushed over to the other side of the boat toward two more pirates that were climbing aboard. Suddenly they were surrounded by more speedboats that Emma hadn't realized when they had shown up.

Regina fired a couple of rounds, ducking for cover. Now, whether she killed the man or not- she didn't know, but to see one of her bullets strike him near the heart and see his body fall off the rails of the boat gave her a satisfying feeling that maybe, she wasn't useless with a gun after all.

The blonde's feet thumped loudly against the metal ground as she ran straight toward a bearded pirate, leaping into the air and balling her fist that struck him right in between the eyes. Despite the pain in her hand, the next thing she could think of was to shove the man right over the railings of the boat.

Another loud explosion rumbled underneath their feet, followed by another. Emma could catch sight of the pirate holding the rocket launcher, but to have a clear shot at him was impossible. Not when their boat was surrounded by more men, firing shots of their own. Her and Regina didn't have any other option but to hide behind the two middle crates, seeing their ship starting to catch fire as it took a third hit.

"Oh, I don't think I'm getting my security deposit back." Said Regina, knowing she was going to get an earful of this later at work.

"God damn it, Sully! Come on!" Emma hissed out loud. Victor was supposed to be here by now.

Then, like out of pure luck, the all too familiar revving of a Grumman G-21 Goose seaplane rumbled through the air, right above their heads. A grin stretching out on Emma's lips.

"What is that?" Regina asks, looking up at the sky and seeing the plane being expertly piloted as it flew its way around and fired shots at a couple of pirates.

"Whoo! Alright, Sully!" Emma stood to her feet, feeling safe to do so. She reached out to take Regina's hand, helping her to stand. "Calvary's here!"

"Oh, good!" Regina's head followed the flames that were now surrounding them both.

"We have to jump!" Emma's eyes found Regina's.

"Right. Oh, wait!" Regina rushed over and away from Emma to reach for her camera. She had recorded some pretty good stuff with it, there was no way she was going to lose it here.

"What are you doing? Come on!" Emma beckoned her, trying to figure out why when they were about to be blown to bits this woman was worried about losing her camera other than her life.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Regina took the first leap off the rails, her body rolling into the sea water, followed by Emma who jumped right off, swimming as deep as she possibly could, mere seconds before the entire ship exploded to bits just above them.

The red and white seaplane landed smoothly against the water before Emma came swimming up and gasping for breath. Thank God for Sully. Whenever she was in a slump, she knew he was the one man she could count on.

The door to the plane was pushed open, where a man with slick-gray hair and a full mustache and a cigar at the corner of his mouth laughed with gusto at seeing Emma alive. If you asked him, he would swear that Emma had more lives than a damn cat.

"I can't leave you alone for one minute, can I?" He grinned, patting her wet knuckles as the blonde grabbed onto the edge of the plane.

"I had everything under control until they blew up the boat." The blonde grinned as Sully cackled. One thing she loved about him was that the man could appreciate her sense of humor.

Regina gasped for a breath, her arm holding up the camera as she swam near the plane and the crazy blonde.

"Are you alright?" Emma asked, allowing Regina to swim closer to the entrance of the seaplane.

"Yeah. Nothing that years of therapy won't fix." She breathed, shoving her camera inside by the man's feet before taking his offered hand. "Thank you."

"Well, if it isn't the beautiful and talented, Regina Mills." He removed the cigar from his mouth to give the brunette a charming grin.

This made Regina chuckle, especially when he welcomed himself to placing a delicate kiss right at her knuckles. "Flattery will get you screen time."

"Eh, I'm more of a behind the scenes kinda guy." He shrugged it off, guiding her over to her seat, while Emma was left ignored and with her hand held up, expecting to be helped.

"Oh, for Christ sake," she murmured, rolling her eyes before using all of her arm strength to pull herself up. Victor was an all flirt if she ever saw one. She was thankful she, herself, never caught his eye. Otherwise, she would be working alone. "What do you say we get out of here before we attract anymore attention?" She says as she closes and locks the doors to the plane.

It didn't take them long to be far and away, up in the air from their earlier events. Regina sat back, reviewing the footage she had taken along their trip, while Emma rode up front with Victor.

"Well?" He looked at the blonde expectedly, cigar in mouth.

Emma dug through her bag, holding up the long lost diary with a knowing grin. "A little present from Sir Francis."

Victor cackled, "So, you found the coffin? Wait a minute," He leaned in to get a better look. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Drake's diary." She held it open before him with a cackle of her own. "He faked his death, just like I said, Sully. He must have been on to something big."

Victor removed the cigar from his mouth. "Yeah, well, let's just keep that between us." He spoke softly.

"Thank you for the loan, Ms. Swan," Regina rotated her body to hand back the handgun Emma had allowed her to use. She tightened her grip onto the barrel of the weapon once Emma's grip was wrapped around the handle. "I think I've earned a good look at that diary when we land."

Victor removed his cigar once more, throwing a glare directly at Emma, who gave him an apologetic shrug in response.


Regina was glad to be back in her regular clothes after that little adventure, and back on the ground where she could stretch her legs along the dock. Lucky for her she brought the right clothes for the trip, settling on some khaki cargo shorts with a maroon tank top. She called in to report to work upon her arrival, but that didn't give her time to miss the blonde freely changing out of her diving suit and into a pair of cargo pants and an old, long sleeve shirt.

Victor was nowhere to be found when Emma decided to change, which gave Regina a chance to catch sight of the girl's toned body, which was perfect for her frame. She had tied her now dried hair back up in a messy ponytail.

Emma had laid out the journal of Sir Francis as she soon met with Sully inside the quarters and privacy of the boat. Sully didn't trust just anyone, Emma was lucky he trusted her- but sometimes she even doubted it.

"When Drake sailed into the Pacific, he took the Spanish fleet completely by surprise. He took all their ships. He took all their maps, their letters, their journals, and he recorded everything in this diary." Her finger pressed down against one of the exposed pages.

"Uh-huh, so-"

"But, when he got back to England, Queen Elizabeth confiscated all of his charts and log books- including this one. And then swore his entire crew to silence." Emma's hand shut the journal within her grip.

"Okay, so this-" Victor pointed to the journal, going interrupted again by the ranting blonde. Boy, did Emma love History. That was one subject she was always great at back at the orphanage.

"You see, Drake discovered something on that voyage, Sully. Something so secret, and so valuable, they couldn't risk it getting out." She grinned with a proud glint in her eye.

Victor enjoyed History as much as the next person, but there was something he cared about more than History, and that was gold.

"Alright, Em-" he shook his head, holding out his hand to prevent Emma from speaking anymore. "Just pretend for a minute that I don't really care about any of that stuff, and cut to the chase, would ya?"

Emma sighed, her hands holding her leaning body against the table. "A man only interested in the climax. You must be a real hit with the ladies." She chuckles with a shake of her head.

"Never had any complaints." Victor proudly grins crookedly due to the cigar in his mouth.

"Alright, I'll cut the good part, just for you." Emma flips through a couple of pages, setting the journal back down on the table and waits.

A chuckle is soon heard from Victor as he realized that what he was staring at was a map. "El Goddamn Dorado."

"He was on to something big, alright." Emma grins.

"Does it say anything else?" Victor snatches the diary off the table to get a closer look, only Emma snatches it right back.

"Oh, so now you're interested, huh?" She grins again.

"Yeah." He places the cigar back in his mouth, the taste never lingering more sweeter against his taste buds.

"Unfortunately, no," Emma flashes the last bit of the diary before him, where he finds himself with a torn page. "Last page was torn out." It was a let down, but Emma wasn't about to get discouraged by it. This was a chance to finish said discovery of Sir Francis Drake. "I'm telling you, Sully. This is big. Real big."

"Yeah," Victor breathes. "Only… We got a little problem." His hand wraps around Emma's jawline as he directs her eyes toward the pacing brunette just outside their boat, too engraved in her phone call.

"Yes, that's what I said- it blew up." Regina spoke into the phone, releasing a chuckle. "Hey, that's why we have insurance, right? What? The camera?" She laughs this time, "Oh, no- the camera's fine- don't worry about the camera. Yeah."

"Hey-" Emma moves away from Victor's grip, massaging her jaw for a quick second. "Victor, the girl's fine. She can hold her own. You should have seen her." She grins almost proudly.

"Fine," he snapped with a slight frown. "You go out there and you tell her we just found the lost city of gold, maybe her producer can get it on the air tonight."

"Oh, come on, Sully," she rolls her eyes.

"Em-" Victor called out, not as a friend but as a father figure, gathering all of Emma's attention. "Do you trust me?"

"More or less," Emma's body leaned against the table again. Truth was, Victor was the main one of a few in a circle of people she trusted. But, the man wanted gold, and even she had to wonder sometimes if he would dare stab her in the back over it sometimes. Friendship and partnership be damned.

But, when he spoke to her in an authoritative voice like he was now- she had no reason to doubt it.

"Good. Because we are going to have every scumbag out there racing us to get to that gold first, I can promise you that. Unless we cut her loose, right now." He waved his cigar at her, his eyes locked on hers.

Emma sighed, her head almost hanging. He was right. She knew he was right. As attractive as Regina was, she was only hanging around to get her hands on a good story and expose it, which would be no good for them.

"You're a real gentleman, Sully." She told him.

"Hey, I know a pretty girl when I see one, kid. And so do you-"

"What-?" Emma's eyes grow wide in surprise.

"That's right." Victor nods, placing the cigar back in his mouth. "Don't think I haven't seen the way you drool over her. You practically need a bib!"

"I do not-" Emma scoffs, her cheeks growing a light shade of pink.

"Hey, I know. It stinks. But she'll get over it." There goes that authoritative voice again.

"No- I don't care if we are over budget! I'm telling you, this could be the story of a lifetime!" Regina's eyes fall on Sully, who waves at her with a friendly grin, while Emma is leaning over the table, with an almost disappointed look. "Hi," she waves back for effect, speaking into her phone next. "No, I don't trust them, okay? That's why we need to move fast. So, just get me the camera crew, and-"

Next thing the brunette hears is the motor of the boat, taking off into the sea, the water splashing by the dock. It all happens so fast, it makes Regina turn and run across the dock.

"Son of a bitch!" She hurries, but stops as she reaches the end, seeing the boat only becoming smaller by the minute. "Hey!" She groans in annoyance. "I should have seen that one coming."