Chapter 16

A Thief's End

Nathan jumped down the other side of the wall, leaving Elena and Sully behind. He began making his way towards the mountain, climbing on cliff-sides and suddenly, after a bit, he came across a set of footprints. He knelt down and nodded, "Sam!" he shouted, "Sam!" No answer. Even if Sam was in the area Nathan doubted he would've answered. He was so preoccupied with finding Sam he didn't notice the spectacular scenery. The mountains spread out in front of him, misty and almost purple. He kept following the footprints, making his way through the cliffs. The footprints kept going on, "Well you didn't fall to your death so that's good," Nathan said, "Means I still get a chance to kill you…"

He had walked up the side of the mountain, and he saw Sam's footprints enter a cave that descended downwards. "Here we go," Nathan said. He we prepared for whatever was down here. He walked into the cave, which didn't quite end up going completely dark. There was usually a hole in the ceiling, and sunlight poured inside. He saw a wooden bridge in front of him. He cautiously walked onto the bridge, and it snapped. He fell to the ground and started sliding down a muddy slope. The slope dropped off, but there was a cliff-ledge in front of him. Nathan got into position, and jumped up. "Whew," he said as he started climbing along the ledges. He entered a room of the cave that was filled with water. He saw a large turtle climb into the water and swim away, followed by a frog. He climbed off the ledge, and jumped down to the one below it. He was descending down the cave, towards the water. He saw the ledge end, and drop down quite a bit. He latched his grappling hook to one of the rocks and jumped off the ledge. Dangling in midair, he suddenly looked down. There, sitting in the middle of an underground lake was the biggest, most magnificent treasure galleon Nathan had ever seen. He gasped, "It's Avery's ship," he said. He started to lower himself down, but the rope ended. He looked around, but there were no handholds on the cliff. He looked below. The drop was about twenty feet. He dropped down, flailing his arms and legs to slow his fall. He hit the water and sank down about thirty feet. He swam back up to the top and took a breath. The water was deep, and Nathan swam to the other side, towards Avery's ship. He was inside the chamber adjacent to Avery's ship's chamber. He couldn't see any way to get into the ship's chamber. Nathan went underwater, and he saw the cave wall had a hole in it. He swam through the hole into the ship's chamber. When he surfaced, he came up behind a rock and just a short distance away he saw a Shoreline boat parked next to a wooden deck. There was a single mercenary, accompanied by Nadine Ross. The mercenary was loading the entire Gunsway treasure into her boat. There were two large chests, each filled with two hundred million dollars' worth of gold and jewels. Nadine walked over, she was wearing a white tank top and long military pants. "We almost done here?" The mercenary slammed the chest into the boat, "That's the last of them ma'am," the mercenary replied. "Good," Nadine replied, "If we hurry we can catch up to the others," Suddenly a boat began driving away towards Avery's ship. Nadine looked at it and sighed. She had a feeling she knew who it was. Coming down the deck was a mercenary, followed by Rafe, who didn't look happy at all. "Sam just stole our boat!" he said. He grabbed Nadine's arm, "He's headed for Avery's ship, come on!" Nadine shook off Rafe's grip. Nadine shook her head, "Let him," she said, "We're done." Rafe stared at her, incredulous. "We're done!?" Rafe said angrily, "Most of my men are dead Rafe," Nadine replied, "And those who aren't have already left." Rafe stood there, staring at her with eyes half-open. He looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. His face turned extremely angry, "Do you see that?" he said pointing to Avery's ship, "The end is literally in sight!" "That maniac pirate of yours has rigged this entire cave," Nadine replied, "I'm not setting foot on his ship!" Rafe shook his head and looked at her, "Nadine, if you cut and run right now…the loss of all your men, everything we've done…is for nothing. Nadine shook her head, "We have millions in gold right here. I'd say that plus our lives is something." Nadine began walking away, but Rafe stood where he was, looking into the wall. "No wonder so many of your men abandoned you." He said. Nadine stopped in her tracks and turned around, "Excuse me?" she said clenching her fists. Rafe turned around, "We're on the verge," Rafe said, "Of making history here, and you're willing to just walk off with a fraction of what Sam's going to get from that boat." Rafe breathed deeply, sweat going down his forehead. Nadine took a step towards Rafe, "If he can walk away from there alive…he can have it. Hey, I'd say he's earned it." Her eyes narrowed, "God knows you didn't." Rafe stood there, glaring at her. Suddenly he slapped Nadine in the face. "Now look," he said with fury, "We can just stand here and insult each other all day, or we can finish what we," Nadine grabbed Rafe and punched him in the gut, before bringing him down to the ground. Nadine pulled out her pistol, "Oh were finishing it alright!" Nadine was about to shoot Rafe, when she heard two guns cocking. Both of the mercenaries there aimed their guns at Nadine. "Sorry ma'am." One of them coolly said. One of the mercenaries helped Rafe to his feet. With a hand on his stomach, Rafe coughed and then looked at Nadine. "Thing about mercenaries Nadine," he said, "Their loyalty…it's bought. It's not earned. Nadine held her pistol out, but she wasn't aiming at anything. "Now come on," Rafe continued, "Either we can finish this thing together…Or we can just end it right here." Nadine slowly put her pistol back in the holster. "Let's go make history," she said shrugging. "That a girl," Rafe said in a low voice. He held out his hand to the boat, "By all means," he said. Nadine slowly got onto the boat, and she and Rafe took opposite positions inside, Nadine glaring at Rafe. The boat started and they drove away. Nathan watched them leave. When they were gone, Nathan got out of cover and swam over to the ship. He climbed up the side of the ship and got onto the main deck. There were barrels and other supplies, the main mast towering above him. It was an incredibly fancy ship, gold lined the deck, and there were cannons on the deck. He saw a hole in the main deck and he jumped inside. He looked around him. There, surrounding him on every side, was gold. It was the lost treasure of Libertalia. The entire floor was covered in gold coins, there were gold statues, entire chests filled with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. He suddenly forgot all about Sam, Nadine and Rafe. He looked at it all, and shook his head. Overwhelmed, he bent down and picked up a gold coin. He looked at it, there was Henry Avery's sigil on it, and the Gunsway on the other side. He shook his head, "There it is," he said, "Another treasure in the palm of my hand. How many chances at a normal life have I thrown away?" he sighed, "And in the end one question remains: was it all worth it?" He flipped the coin onto the ground. Suddenly there was a huge explosion. Nathan fell to the ground. Flames starting to spread into the treasure chamber. "What was that?" he said. He walked forward, past immense piles of treasure. He didn't care about any of it. He walked over to the next chamber. He looked at the door and opened it. When he did, smoke and sparks filled the doorway. He coughed and waved his hand in front of his face. The next chamber was a huge cargo hold. There was even more treasure, some hanging in nets from the ceiling. There were flames all over the room, "Sam!?" Nathan yelled. No answer. There was no treasure on the floor, except for large piles of gold coins stacked up in the perimeter of the room. There was a huge cloud of smoke in the room. Suddenly Nathan heard a pistol cocked. He whipped out his. It was Rafe. There was blood dripping down one side of Rafe's face, and his impeccably slicked back hair was messed up for once. "Hey Nate," Rafe said. "Where is Sam?" Nathan demanded. Rafe coughed, "Oh he's right there," he replied. Nathan looked. Sam was pinned underneath a huge wooden beam. He wasn't moving, and his eyes were closed. "Sam!" Nathan called. Rafe rolled his eyes, "Relax, he's alive. You know this idiot nearly got us all killed." Nathan glared at Rafe, "I'm getting him out of here," he said. Rafe narrowed his eyes and his face was covered with rage, "No, you're not," he replied in a low voice. Nathan shook his head, "Look Rafe you can have all the treasure OK? Just let me save my brother!" he coughed. Rafe laughed, "After everything he's done!? How noble of you…But no." "We stay here any longer and we're all dead," Nathan said, "This ship's about to burn down! Is that what you want!?" "That's not what I said," Rafe replied. "What do you think Nadine?" Nathan looked behind him. Standing in the doorway was Nadine, pointing a pistol at Nathan. "Good to see you up and about," Rafe said, "Be a dear and relieve Nate of his gun." Nadine slowly walked down the steps. "Hand it over," she said. Nathan looked at her, "You really think you can trust him?" he asked, "huh?" "Not your concern," Nadine replied. Rafe huffed, "Now why are you trying to instigate?" he said, "Nate? Nadine and I are partners. I don't screw over my partners." Nathan handed Nadine his gun, "Get over there," Rafe said. Nathan walked over. "You and your brother though," Rafe said, "Right from the start you took advantage of my generosity, you tried to cut me out and it's high time you learned-" Suddenly Nadine put her pistol to the back of Rafe's head. Rafe sighed and ground his teeth together, "What are you doing?" he asked. "Now you give me your gun," Nadine said sternly. Rafe scoffed, "Nadine," she cocked her pistol and Rafe's smile disappeared. "I won't ask you again," Nadine said coldly. Rafe sighed and slowly put his pistol behind his head. "You are being…profoundly stupid right now," Rafe said. Nadine took a few steps back and Rafe turned to face her. "Look over there," Nadine said pointing to the right. "Nadine," said Rafe, "Stop screwing arou-" Nadine shot at Rafe's feet. "Nadine!" Rafe screamed. "I said look!" Nadine shouted. "OK," Rafe said, livid, "It's a couple of skeletons. So what!?" "I don't know as much about history as you boys," Nadine replied, "But I have a pretty good idea who those two are." "Well enlighten us," Rafe said. Nathan knew who they were. They were both wearing captain's clothing, and they both had cutlasses stuck in their chests. "It's Avery and Tew," Nathan said, "They killed each other." "Good for them," Rafe replied, "What's the point." Nadine looked at them, holding two pistols in her hands, "Everyone obsessed with this treasure," Nadine replied, "Gets what they deserve." Nadine began walking out of the room. "So what you're just leaving us here to die?" Nathan asked. Nadine stopped just behind the door, "Oh I'm just leaving," she said, "Whether you die or not I don't really care." "Nadine!" Rafe shouted, "Wait!" "So long Rafe," Nadine said. With that, she slammed the door shut. "Nadine!" Rafe shouted punching the door, "Nadine! You open this door right now!" He slumped over, his fists clenched. "Rafe!" Nathan shouted, "She's gone! Come on, give me a hand and we'll all get out of here." He went over to Sam and tried to move the beam. Rafe's face was irate, "Oh no," he said, "Oh no that won't work." His fists were clenched and he was breathing hard. "Come on Rafe, help me with Sam and I'll help you open the door!" Nathan pleaded. "I'm not going to be able to enjoy one of these coins," Rafe said, "Knowing you and your worthless brother are still sucking air." He bent down and pulled the cutlass out of Avery's ribcage. Nathan got up slowly and backed up. "OK just…Just hold on, you can practice your fencing when we get outside." Rafe held up the cutlass threateningly, "Nate! Just shut up!" he yelled. He held his cutlass out and advanced towards Nathan. "Rafe come on, this is insane, even for you," Nathan said. "You want to hear insane!?" Rafe shouted, "Nathan Drake raced a madman, and his entire army, to the steps of Shambhala!" He pounced, and swung his cutlass at Nathan. Nathan dodged the attack and got up. Rafe turned and looked back at Nathan, "Nathan Drake found the lost city of Iram in the middle of the Rub' al Khali Desert!" Rafe's words were filled with jealousy. He walked up to Nathan and pulled the cutlass back before swinging at Nathan again. The blade screamed past Nathan's ear, brushing against his hair as he dodged. Rafe yelled, and swung again. The cutlass hit Nathan in the belt, but didn't cut him. Nathan rolled back and stood back up. "Come on we can get out of here together!" Nathan pleaded. The flames were filling the room, which was now almost completely on fire. Sparks and smoke filled the room. Rafe continued his ranting, "Nathan Drake discovered the fabled El Dorado." Rafe stabbed forward, Nathan dodged, and Rafe followed by swiping forward. Nathan was able to dodge both attacks. "Come on Rafe!" Nathan begged, "Stop!" "Nathan Drake is a legend," Rafe laughed, "You know, I shot the man who told me that." "Look I get it you don't like me very much," "You know, for all your greatness Nate," Rafe said, "You are nothing! I warned you…to stay out of my way!" Rafe walked forward and swung. He cut Nathan's shoulder, though not deep, the blood came out. He swung again but Nathan dodged. Rafe was pushing him into the corner. Before he could swing, Nathan punched Rafe in the face, and tried to grab the cutlass. He tried to force Rafe's arms down, but Rafe struggled. Nathan pushed his arms into the wall and pinned them down. Rafe yelled and head-butted Nathan's forehead. Nathan fell to the ground on his back, and Rafe got on top of him and tried to force his cutlass into Nathan's throat. Nathan used all his might to push Rafe's arms away from him, "I have sacrificed everything to find Avery," Rafe shouted, "and I'm not gonna let a couple of two-bit thieves, a senile con-man, or a useless journalist take that away from me!" Rafe shoved his cutlass down, intense hatred fueling his muscles. Nathan could feel the sharp blade starting to press into his throat. He winced, "Enough!" he shouted. Nathan was able to throw Rafe off of him, and he rolled over next to Thomas Tew's skeleton. He desperately pulled the cutlass out, Rafe got up, and raising his cutlass, he swung. Nathan yanked the cutlass out of the skeleton and he blocked Rafe's attack, sparks bursting from the impact. Rafe was tripped, but he regained his balance. Rafe turned to face Nathan, "You care about that parade of losers so much," Rafe said, "I'm going to make sure they join you." Nathan gritted his teeth, "Shut up and fight!" he said. "That's the spirit," Rafe replied, "You know how to swordfight?" "Yeah," Nathan replied, "I stick you with the sharp end right?" "Oh this should be fun," Rafe said. They squared each other off. Nathan clutched his cutlass. Rafe was the first to go on the offensive. He swung his cutlass and Nathan parried. The cutlasses started clanging together, sparks flew with each cut. Rafe swung again, but Nathan beat Rafe's sword down. Before Rafe could recover, Nathan punched Nathan in the nose and kicked him in the kneecap. Nathan tried to swing down on Rafe's face, but Rafe blocked and grabbed Nathan's arm. "Come on Nate!" Rafe growled. Rafe took his arm back and cut Nathan in the forearm. "Ahh!" Nathan shouted in pain. "Oh," Rafe said, "Sword's still sharp. Rafe attacked again, hitting Nathan's sword this time. Nathan swung, but Rafe got out of the way, and they circled each other. Nathan attacked, but Rafe dodged and grabbed Nathan "Hold…Still!" Rafe shouted. Nathan kicked Rafe's kneecap and his leg buckled. He escaped the struggle. They swung at each other, steel striking steel. Nathan shoved Rafe away from him. "Come on, quit prolonging the inevitable," Rafe said, "My arms getting tired!" Nathan didn't reply. Rafe shouted and sliced Nathan's shoulder, the fabric of Nathan's shirt split, and the wound started bleeding. "Did that hurt?" asked Rafe. Nathan was back in the corner, and Rafe brought his sword down. Nathan blocked, and their swords crossed. "Now we're getting somewhere," Rafe said. Nathan held back Rafe's sword with both hands. Nathan shouted, and sliced Rafe's sword out of the way, before cutting Rafe's hand. Rafe recovered, and stabbed forward, but Nathan dodged out of the way. Rafe shouted and attacked with renewed ferocity. The sparks flying from their swords blended with the sparks from the fire inside the ship. It was beginning to get extremely hot inside the ship, and some of the gold coins close to the flames were melting. Rafe slashed and hacked, Nathan desperately blocking his vicious attacks. Nathan tried to go on the offense, but Rafe blocked and almost cut Nathan's arm. Rafe held up his cutlass and brought it down hard on Nathan's cutlass. Sparks flew, and Nathan parried another follow-up attack. Nathan tried swiping at Rafe's neck, but Rafe dodged and attacked. Nathan parried and sliced down on Rafe's sword. He then punched Rafe in the face. Rafe grunted in pain. He tried to grab Rafe's arm, but Rafe grabbed Nathan's body and he threw him on the ground. Rafe raised his cutlass high above his head, and Nathan was just barely able to get his cutlass into a defensive position. Rafe slammed his cutlass down onto Nathan's. "This…might hurt a little," Rafe said. Nathan pushed Rafe's cutlass out of the way, "Get off!" Nathan shouted. Rafe's cutlass wasn't in a defensive position, and Nathan took his chance and sliced Rafe. He cut him in the lower stomach. They both rolled away from each other. Rafe stood back up and put his hand up to the wound. Blood covered his hand. He snarled. "Come on 'legend'." Rafe said. He charged forward, "Yaaah!" Rafe landed a ferocious blow to Nathan, then he spun around and slammed his cutlass into Nathan's. Rafe punched Nathan in the nose. Nathan reeled, stunned. Rafe swung, and Nathan parried just in time. Nathan brought his cutlass in for a power blow. Nathan couldn't parry in time, and Rafe slashed him in the arm. "Come on!" Rafe screamed. Rafe was in total control of the duel, and he knew it. The hacks and slices sent more sparks into the air. The fire continued to intensify around them. Rafe swung down, but Nathan was able to parry and elbow Rafe in the nose. Rafe recovered and grabbed Nathan's arms, locking them in place, "Come on Nate!" Rafe shouted. Nathan escaped the struggle and rolled on the ground. He was able to swipe at Rafe's leg and get a cut in. Rafe winced and brought his leg up before he looked back at Nathan, his eyes wide open for once. "Come on!" he screamed. They both crossed swords, before Rafe swiped down. Nathan dodged and Rafe swung down, yelling. Rafe got behind Nathan and tried to lock Nathan's arms. Nathan shouted and used Rafe's momentum against him, flipping him onto his back. Rafe quickly got up. Nathan shoved Rafe into the wall. He stabbed Rafe in the shoulder. Nathan raised his sword above his head and tried to bring it down, but Rafe held his sword up and blocked the blow. Rafe kicked Nathan in the gut and swiped at him again. Nathan suddenly felt a surge of energy surge through him. He shouted and began wildly swiping and slashing. Rafe fell back until he was stuck in a corner. They both crossed swords, their muscles straining. Nathan pushed and shoved, Rafe pushed and grunted, but he was being pushed back, "Now that's the Nathan Drake I hear so much about," Rafe said. With one final shove, Nathan pushed Rafe into the wall, his sword right up to Rafe's neck. "Alright! Alright!" Rafe said. His eyes were half-closed once again in the agony of defeat. "We're done here," Nathan said in a low tone of voice, "I'm taking my brother and we're leaving. You want to stay here and burn with the ship you be my guest." Rafe looked at Nathan, "You got me," he said. Suddenly Rafe sliced his sword out of the lock, and slashed Nathan in the thigh. Nathan yelled in pain, and Rafe kicked him to the ground. Nathan's cutlass was flung out of his hand. Nathan gasped for breath and saw Rafe walk towards him, his cutlass in front. Nathan tried to crawl out of the way. "You know what Nate," Rafe said, "Underneath all the bravado you're just a sad little boy with delusions…of grandeur; who by the way can't fence to save his life. So long, Nathan Drake." Rafe brought his cutlass up for the death blow, "Nathan!" it was Sam. Sam was holding Nathan's cutlass and he sent it across the floor. Nathan grabbed it and sliced Rafe's sword away from him. Rafe growled, and brought it back up, hacking down harder than he ever had before. Still on his back, Nathan blocked three vicious attacks, "You don't know when to give up, do you?" Rafe shouted, "That's good! Don't hand it to me!" He brought his sword down on top of Nathan's, the blades crossed, Nathan's back on the ground. "I've had everything handed to me, on a worthless, silver platter." Nathan shoved him away, but Rafe gave him three more devastatingly hard blows with each word, "Everything!" Clang! "Except!" Clang! "This!" With his final blow, Rafe brought his sword down so hard, Nathan's blade broke off. Nathan laid there, staring up at Rafe, nothing but the hilt of the sword and four inches left of the blade. Rafe loomed over Nathan, a satisfied smile on his face, pointing his sword at Nathan's throat. "I earned this," he said, "All of it." Suddenly Nathan saw that Rafe was underneath one of the treasure nets hanging from the ceiling. There was about a half ton of treasure inside. He looked beside him, the rope that held the treasure net up was right beside him. "You want the treasure Rafe?" Nathan asked, "It's all yours." He sliced the rope with the few inches of blade. Rafe looked at the ceiling and Nathan rolled out of the way. Before Rafe could dodge, the net fell on top of him, crushing him to death underneath a massive pile of gold and jewels. Nathan gasped and got up. He let the sword hilt go, and he ran over to Sam. The ship was beginning to groan as it burned. Fire was weakening it, and if they stayed inside for even a minute, the entire top deck could collapse on top of them. Sam was trying to lift the huge wooden beam, and Nathan got beside him, pulling with all his might. "Hey, come on let's get you out of here," said Nathan. They both heaved harder, "I'm trying," Sam grunted. It was no use. Sam shook his head, "It's too heavy," he said. "Just try again!" Nathan pleaded. They both tried once more, but it was too heavy. "It's no use," said Sam. "Try again!" Nathan shouted. Nathan struggled to lift it, but it wouldn't budge. "Nathan!" Sam said. Nathan desperately tried to lift it once more. Sam grabbed Nathan by his shirt collar, "Nathan! Listen to me!" he said. Nathan looked at Sam. He looked into Nathan's eyes, "All I ever wanted to do was find this treasure with you," Nathan shook his head, "Sam, no! Shut up!" Sam shook his collar, "We did it!" Sam said, "We did it little brother, OK? It's alright." Nathan shook his head, "Sam, no. There's gotta be another way!" "Nathan," Sam begged, "You have to go!" "There's got to be something!" Nathan said. Sam shoved Nathan out of the way, "Nathan go! You gotta go! There's no other way! Go back to Elena!" Nathan got up, his hands behind his head. The ceiling started to groan louder than before, and wood was beginning to fall. "Nathan I have to know you made it out of here alright!" Sam said. Nathan backed up, not leaving. "Nathan the whole place is about to blow up!" Sam yelled. Suddenly Nathan saw something. It was a cannon sitting in the middle of the floor. "That's it!" he yelled. He took up a piece of wood and lit the fuse. "What are you doing!?" Sam shouted. The cannon fired into the floor, and water began flooding the room extremely quickly. The water level rose and Nathan ran over to Sam, "Now! Do it now!" Sam took a breath and pushed, the water helping. He was able to squirm up out from under the beam. He stood up and Nathan beckoned, "Come on!" he shouted. They both took a breath and swam out of the hole in the bottom of the ship. When they surfaced, the ship cracked and split in two. Suddenly it exploded, and another explosion went off right beside the ship on the cave wall. They started desperately swimming to the exit. Suddenly, huge boulders began falling from the cave ceiling near the exit. Nathan swam for his life and the ship broke apart into three pieces. The mast began to tip over, "Nathan, look out!" Sam shouted. Nathan saw the mast falling on top of him. He dove underwater. The mast crashed into the water, and Nathan saw the crow's nest fall in front of it. He swam out from under it and surfaced. The cave ceiling was cracking, and gigantic boulders were crashing into the water, just in front of the exit. Nathan swam faster and faster. Sam shouted something to him but Nathan didn't hear. All he could do was swim. More boulders hit the water, some landing almost right on top of Nathan. The only thing Nathan could think of was Elena. He had to make it back to her…alive.

Staring at the entrance, Elena saw the entire thing collapse. It was completely blocked, and there was a huge cloud of dust billowing out of it. Elena rushed to the edge of the water, and he saw Nathan and Sam swimming towards the shore. Elena's heart skipped a beat, "Oh Nate! Nate!" she ran to the shore, "Come on, I got you," she said helping him onto shore. Nathan gasped for breath and laid down on the shore, heaving. Sam swam up to the shore and Elena helped him up. He laid down on the shore himself and coughed. Elena stood up and smiled. She got out her radio, "Hey Sully, I got 'em." She said. "Where are you?" Sully asked. "Right here," Elena replied. She pulled out a flare gun and aiming for the sky, she fired it. A small, red fireball flew into the air and exploded. A few moments later and Nathan heard the motor of the plane coming for them.

Nathan stared out the window. There was Libertalia, the great pirate ruin. He stared out at Avery's mountain, where the treasure laid at the bottom of the ocean. Mist cloaked the mountains, and a pinkish tint from the sunset gave it an almost other-worldly kind of beauty. Sam stared out wistfully, and Nathan sat down beside him. They both looked into each other's eyes. Nathan smiled and gave Sam a pat on the knee. Sam nodded, then looked back at the island.

Several hours later they made it to King's Bay, Madagascar. Elena and Sam were talking to each other one side of the dock, and Nathan gathered his things with Sully on the others. The sun had gone down and the dim light of the moon began to rise in the sky. None of the stars were out yet, but it wouldn't be long. The lights on the dock gave a warm orange glow to the water below him. Nathan zipped up his bag. "So, you got everything?" Sully asked. Nathan nodded and stood up, "Yeah, I guess so. Feel free to sell anything I left behind." Sully chuckled. "Sure I can't give you a ride home?" he asked. Nathan shook his head, "Well, after the last few days I think I want a plane with drink service and reclining seats. Plus uh…" he looked towards Elena, "She and I have a lot to talk about." Sully nodded, "Yeah, you do." Nathan gave Sully a look and chuckled, "And no more late night phone calls about one last time…" Nathan laughed, "I promise." He said. He opened his arms, "Thanks Sully," Nathan said as they embraced. Sully sighed, "Take care kid," he said, "And don't be a stranger." Nathan nodded and picked up his bag, "Hey next time you're in town, drinks are on me." Sully chuckled, "I'll hold you to that," he said pointing his finger at Nathan. Nathan smiled and he walked off over towards Sam and Elena. As he walked up, he saw Elena smiling and laughing, and Sam talking, "And then the bunny," he said, "escapes anyway and leaved little bunny surprises all over the headmasters bed. Man was he-" Nathan decided to end the conversation, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, what are you telling her?" Elena snickered and looked at Nathan, desperately trying to squelch a laugh, "Just about your little magic show phase." Nathan glared at Sam, "Oh you little…" "What was your stage name?" Elena said biting her lip to keep from laughing. Nathan shook his head and sighed. "Go on, tell her," Sam said. Nathan shrugged and sighed. He looked at Sam, then at Elena, "Nate the Great." He said. Sam laughed, "It's not funny," Nathan said defending himself, "It makes sense, it rhymes." Sam held out his hands and looked at Elena, "In his defense he was pretty good; there was just that one mistake," Nathan put his bag down on the dock. "Look Sam," Elena said, "It has been an experience getting to meet you." Elena held out her hand for Sam to shake. Sam looked at Elena, "A handshake?" he asked, "Bring it in for the real thing," Sam opened his arms and he and Elena gave each other a hug instead. While they hugged, Sam whispered into Elena's ear, "You take care of this numbskull will ya?" Elena smiled, "Yeah I will." She replied. Elena took Nathan's bag and began walking for the car. "I'll be there in a sec," he said looking at Elena. She nodded. Sam took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "I like her," he said looking her way, "Lord help her, she sure seems to love you." Nathan chuckled. Sam took a drag on his cigarette, "Listen the offer still stands," said Nathan. Sam shook his head, "I appreciate it, but I'm good," he replied. Nathan looked at Sam, "Hey if it's just because you feel like you're imposing you're not. We talked about it," Sam waved his hand, "It's not that," he said, "OK, it's a little bit of that, but…I guess I just thought that after we found Avery's treasure that I'd be…satisfied?" Nathan chuckled, "Yeah," he said. "Instead I just have this strange feeling of…" "Emptiness." Nathan finished. Sam nodded, "Yeah," he replied, "Yeah that's it." Nathan nodded, "Well you know, as thrilling as the next adventure might be, in the end…you're always left with that same feeling. Sometimes you just have to choose what you're going to keep…and what you're going to let go." Sam chuckled and took another drag on his cigarette. "Well…" Sam replied, "I guess I'm not there yet. Besides, you got a few ancient cities on me and I can't let that slide." Nathan shook his head, "Ah I left a couple out there," he replied. They both chuckled and Nathan saw a cab pull up. He saw Elena wave. "Oh, well there's my ride," he said. "Yeah," Sam said with a nod. Nathan stood there and looked at his brother, "Sam," he said, "We've come far." Sam nodded, "We sure have little brother," he said. They both embraced each other. Nathan gave Sam a pat on the shoulder, "Listen don't do anything I wouldn't do alright?" Nathan said. Sam shook his head, "Ahh…Get out of here. Vamoose!" he waved Nathan off. Nathan chuckled and walked off. Sam watched as Nathan and Elena got into the car and drive away, Nathan waving until he drove out of sight. Sully walked up beside Sam, "Got a light?" he asked. Sam nodded and gave Sully his lighter. After a bit Sam looked off into the distance, "So, Victor," Sam asked, "What's next for you, huh?" Sully lit his cigar and chuckled, "Well before I got dragged into this," he said, "I was working on a business deal of sorts." Sam nodded, "Of sorts? Hmm. Dangerous?" Sully shrugged, "Ehh…With this people, yeah…It's up there." Sam nodded, "Well I happen to know someone, recently out of prison, who might be perfect for this kind of work." Sully shook his head, "Ooh, I don't know. Is he trustworthy?" Sam took a drag on his cigarette, "More or less," he replied. Sully chuckled, "That'll do," he replied, "Come on." With that, he began making his way to his plane, a trail of cigar smoke trailing behind him. "Hey, you got any more of those cigars?" asked Sam. Sully didn't look back. "Don't push your luck!"

Signing papers was one of Nathan's hated pastimes. Inside his office at Jameson's Marine, Nathan signed his name on a form, stamped it, and repeated the process with yet another sheet. He sighed, maybe risking his life treasure hunting wasn't so bad after all. The pen signed, the stamp pressed. Next sheet. The door opened, and sighing deeply, Jameson entered the room. Nathan smiled and looked up, "Hey, good morning!" Nathan said cheerily. Jameson smiled and laughed his jolly laugh. "Indeed it is," Jameson said looking out the window, "Indeed it is." Jameson laughed again and shook his head. Nathan sighed, "Alright I'll bite," he said, "What's going on? Land a big contract or something?" "Oh, even better," Jameson replied, "I'm on the verge of selling Jameson Marine." Nathan sat back in his chair, "No kidding?" he asked with wide eyes. Jameson sighed again, "Yep," he replied. Nathan sat there a few seconds, processing everything. After a moment he threw up his hands, "Wow," he said, "Well I uh…Uh, I guess congratulations are in order then!" "Well not yet," Jameson replied "But I'm confident it'll go through…They drove a hard bargain. But in the end I think we both came to a…mutually beneficial agreement." Nathan nodded, "Well hey, that's great. Are you going to stay on?" Jameson walked over to the desk and pulled out one of the drawers, "Oh, no, no, no. I think I'd just like to relax…hang with the family…Go fishing every chance I get." He chuckled. He took out the keys to the Marine and began walking for the door. Nathan chuckled, "So who's the sap who's going to buy this place?" Jameson stopped at the door, "Oh, uh, you are." He tossed Nathan the keys and opened the door cackling. Nathan sat there stunned, "What?" he said, "Come on, no, seriously!" Jameson turned around, "Oh yeah, seriously!" he said. He turned and laughed. Nathan got out of his seat, "Jameson, wait! Hey, wait up man!" he ran out of his office, and he was met by Elena. She smiled brightly when she saw Nathan, "Hey!" she said, "Morning guys!" Jameson stood in front of Elena, Nathan between them. Nathan looked at Jameson, then Elena, then the keys in his hand. "What are you doing here?" Nathan asked. Elena looked at Nathan, "Oh no, just thought I'd take…one final look." Jameson looked at Elena, "Just gave your husband the keys." Nathan held out his hand, "Wait, is this for real?" Jameson put his hand on Nathan's shoulder, "All you need to know is that you're making a very wise investment," he said, "Do the right thing here." He patted Nathan on the shoulder and started walking off, "Call me when you're through," he said. "Will do," Elena called back. Nathan was about to call after Jameson, but he stopped, and turned to look at Elena, a dumbfounded look on his face. Elena smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "Hi," she said with a grin. "Hi," Nathan replied, still confused, "You're buying Jameson Marine?" Elena looked at Nathan, "We are buying Jameson Marine," she replied. "Oh," Nathan said, "OK…How? Why?" Elena stood there a moment before replying, "Well, I heard this rumor of a salvage job off the coast of Malaysia and I thought it'd be right up our alley." She walked off to the bench at the edge of the water. Nathan shook his head, "Oh, honey, no…look. We barely got out of Libertalia alive." Elena leaned over the railing above the water, staring into the river. "Yeah," Elena replied, "I mean taking an illegal job," Nathan continued, "You know what that leads to!" Elena looked at Nathan, "Who said it was illegal?" she asked. Elena pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, "Here," she said, "Got these this morning." Nathan took the paper. They were the permits for the Malaysia Job. "Are these legit?" he asked pointing to them. "Yeah," Elena replied, "Some of my old contacts out there. They worked some magic in the Malaysia permit office. It was great! I didn't even have to bribe anyone." "Well that's great," Nathan said, "But I don't know how we can even possibly afford to do this?" Elena took the papers out of Nathan's hand, "Here," she said, "Hold out your hand." Nathan stood there, "What?" he asked. "Hold out your hand!" Elena said, "Come on." Nathan held it out. Elena pulled something small out of her pocket and she put it in Nathan's hand. It was a golden coin. On one side was Henry Avery's sigil, and on the other was the Gunsway. It was a golden Libertalia coin. "Whoa…" Nathan said, "Where did you get this?" "It was in my jacket pocket," she said, "Along with a bunch more…" Nathan looked at her, "A bunch?" he asked. Looking back at the coin Nathan sighed, "Sam," he said. Elena smiled, "He's a sneaky one," she said. Nathan chuckled and looked at the coin, "Yeah…" he said. "Of course most of them are going to have to go into our venture here," Elena said, "Along with…all the new camera gear." Elena grinned. Nathan stood back up, "Camera…Gear?" he asked. "Yeah," Elena said, "You know I figured since we were pulling up all that cargo from the dive we could hire, you know…a small crew. We could film the whole thing and resurrect my old show." Nathan shook his head and sat down on the bench, "Whatever happened to, you know, living a…normal life?" Elena sighed, still leaning against the railing. She looked at Nathan, "I think in our attempt to live a normal life we may have…over-steered." Nathan sighed and looked at the river. "Look," Elena said sitting down on the bench beside her husband, "When I was on that island," she said, "I missed the adventure…The real adventure…I missed us." Nathan chuckled, "And now we have a chance to do what we love," Elena said, "But from here on out we're working on a strictly legal basis, alright? And I will be doing all of the shooting…With my…really expensive camera." Nathan shook his head, "Wow," he said, "You've really thought all this through haven't you?" Elena sat back on the bench, "More or less," she said, "But listen, just say the word and I will call the whole thing off." Nathan turned to face Elena, "What? Oh no, no, no, no, no. I don't want to be that guy who ruins Jameson's early retirement like that. That'd be cruel…" Elena smiled and shook her head, "Right," she said. Nathan looked at Elena with love in his eyes. This was a very good thing, and Nathan was ready to live a normal life again, even if it was a little less normal that most people's. "It's not going to be easy you know," Nathan said. "Nothing worthwhile is," Elena replied. Nathan looked at Elena, then the coin, then out into the river. "So," Elena said moving close to Nathan, "What do you say Nathan Drake?" Nathan put his arm around Elena's shoulder and held her close, "Sure, why not." He said softly. But Nathan suddenly remembered something, "As long as I don't have to do any paperwork." He said. Elena laughed, "Well I can't do it," she said, "I'm going to have my hands full with the camera." Nathan shrugged, "Well I'm going to have my hands full with all the diving." Elena sighed, "OK, fine. We'll take turns." Nathan nodded. The sun started rising over the marina, and Nathan and Elena's new future. The water sparkled and shimmered. Nathan smiled, there was another way, "Or…" he said, "I could play you for it."