Author's Note: To some of the reviews that I've been getting on my story about Cassie and Derek. To NinjazNeverDie: I know you want to see Cassie and Derek get together, but if you look at the timeline and compare to Drake Reborn and The Ancient Pharoah, it would not make sense. Also, I don't write lemons so don't be expecting any lemons.

Warning: Mentions of attempted suicide.

Cassie Drake: Daughter of Nathan Drake and college student on vacation that turns into the dive of a lifetime.

Derek Lowell: Cassie's sidekick who is fiercely protective of her.

Erkin Yura: A marine archeologist and good friend of Cassie and Derek from Kazahkstan.

Sydney Walker: A CEO turned pirate obsessed with wealth and becoming a god.

Extended summary

Cassie Drake and Derek Lowell, age twenty, off on summer break and by chance, they are drawn into another adventure in the most unconventional way possible. This time, they swim to the bottom of the infamous Bermuda Triangle to look for a legendary lost city that is so iconical, it eluded other archaeologists.

Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent.

Plato

Summer 2034

Maui, Hawaii

Cassie's POV

Six months, it has been six months since my adventure in Iceland with the Neo-Nazis. Now I know why it was called 'Iceland'; because you could freeze your ass off.

I just turned twenty about a week ago and since I considered twenty to be the true adult age instead of eighteen, it feels good as hell to be an adult. I spent nineteen years as a child and now that I am fully mature, I can live the rest of my life as an adult. I'm still a foot shorter than Derek and it was pissing me off but I had to admit that Derek was ripped. I remember when Derek and I were naked in Iceland (nothing sexual happening) and he was ripped with a six-pack. I was in shape, having a six-pack myself but he looked hot as hell with his shirt off.

I lied down on the soft and warm sands on Maui while I'm wearing a blue bikini. I just lie here, drifting off to sleep, not a worry in my head because there should be none. I have not gone on an adventure since December but I was already missing the thrill.

When I felt my skin turning red, I quickly got up and looked at the sea. The waves crashed beautifully as I see kids run into the waves. Man how I wish to swim in the water, but I had just gotten my delicate blonde hair straightened, so not happening, but it could happen tomorrow though.

All of a sudden, I felt someone staring at me. I slowly turn around and see my best friend Derek Lowell in his wetsuit with his goggles and oxygen tank on.

"Hey there, Cassie," he waves. "As you can see, I am going scuba diving now."

Yeah, I can state the obvious. "Yeah, I can state the obvious." I always had a habit of saying whatever was on my mind. "Remember, if you hear the Jaws music, then swim for your life."

He chuckles at my joke, "Yeah, I'll remember that Cassie." He begins running off into the ocean and dives in headfirst.

I smile as I watch him dive. From my distance, he looks like a dolphin and I saw a dolphin at Seaworld. Man, I wish I could join him. I so wished that I could see his six-pack again.

Then, in the corner of my eye, I spot someone. This particular person was tall, had long and thick black hair, had dark skin and wore a suit. Who wears a suit on a beach? No one, that's who.

The man appeared to be roundabout twenty-five years old and when I saw him smile at a girl, he had very clean teeth. In all my experiences, I can almost always tell when someone is bad or not. The psychopathic/sociopathic bullies I met on Easter Island, Derek told me how he fought a Mongolian crime boss, and the Neo-Nazis we both fought six months ago.

I know nothing of this man, other than the fact that he was trouble.

As he walks away from the shore, I decide to follow, leaving Derek behind. I put on my sneakers, a shirt, and I follow him.

I follow him all over the beach to a crosswalk with all kinds of civilians. I push myself past them so I can catch up to Man in Suit.

While everyone was waiting for the light to turn green, Man in Suit pulls out a magazine and begins to read it. Why would someone read when they are at a crosswalk; the light could turn green at any second.

I push myself a little closer to the man, but out of his sight to remain undetected. When the light turns green, I start following him, shadowing myself in the crowd.

I followed the man everywhere, eventually into a subway. I stand near the door with some other guy behind my back. Now I had my eyes on the man behind me. Like Man in Suit, I was getting a feeling that the guy standing behind me was trouble. He wore a New York Giants hat over him, what appeared to be soft and brown hair and his skin looked to a pale, most likely due to anorexia. The only thing that distinguishes him from the Man in Suit was he was not wearing a suit, but a leather green jacket and blue jeans. A noticeable trait was there was a long scar on his wrist, it looked as if at some point in his life, he tried to commit suicide but failed. I dubbed him Scar Man.

The subway ride was currently heading to the town square, but I have no intention of going there, all I am doing is following Man in Suit and if Scar Man was affiliated, him.

I swear, that I saw Man in Suit was staring at me. He gives me a death glare before he goes back to reading his magazine.

Behind me, Scar Man was listening to music on his iPhone and quietly mouthing the lyrics to the song. Me, being able to read lips, saw that he was mouthing the lyrics to the song, OMG by Usher.

The lights flicker several times before the power finally goes off. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, it appears we are experiencing some technical errors all through the subway. Until we get some information on what is going on, everyone please remain seated and we will play some music for you." Then some emergency lights from below light up, giving off an orange environment.

I did not listen to the music the driver played on the loudspeaker, instead, I focus on Man in Suit and Scar Man.

Since he was presumably unable to read his magazine, Man in Suit rolls up his magazine and puts it away. I see Scar Man put away his headphones and walk towards Man in Suit.

The two walk forward and away from me. I chose not to follow, but instead read their lips, so I move to the center of the aisle so I can read both of their lips.

I was barely able to keep up with them. I only picked up a few phrases.

Man in Suit: That woman is following us, do you think she knows of our plans?

Scar Man: Most likely, I saw her trailing you from the beach.

Man in Suit: What are we going to do?

Scar Man: Ditch her somehow.

I read their lips and I smile. If they thought they were going to get rid of me, then they were way in over their heads. I continue to read them. They say nothing, they are probably aware that I am staring at them.

All of a sudden, the emergency lights go off and now we are left in pitch blackness. When the power came back on, both Man in Suit and Scar Man were back in their original positions. Man in Suit in front with his magazine while Scar Man was behind me and listening to music.

As soon as the subway took off and came to the West Gate station, everyone-including Man in Suit and Scar Man got off. I decided to follow them, but not directly. I pretended to walk in a different station while I kept an eye out for the two suspicious guys. To stay hidden, I bought a pair of clothes and changed in the ladies' room and when I came out, I looked different.

I followed the two very carefully. Whenever they looked back, I walked in a different direction, and then I saw them talking. From what I read, the two had believed they had lost me. They were unaware.

Both Man in Suit and Scar Man walked into a bar, and I could not go in because I was only twenty years old, not twenty-one.

I decided to sneak in and continue to stalk Man in Suit and Scar Man. When I snuck into the bar, Man in Suit and Scar Man were talking to a bartender with long wavy blond hair. I was able to find out that the bartender's name was Sydney. But Man in Suit and Scar Man remain a mystery and what their plans were still unknown. They were not speaking English, but a foreign dialect that only existed in Australia called Tiwi, and luckily, I understand it. Thank you, Aunt Chloe. So these people are Australian or at least know Australian languages.

Man in Suit: Did we plant it, sir, we sure did.

Scar Man: But we had someone follow us.

Sydney: You got rid of them though, didn't you?

Man in Suit: Yes sir, we lost her on the subway.

Sydney: Good, if we are going to rob the national bank in two hours, then we are not allowed to have any loose ends.

I widen my eyes, a bank robbery? Awesome!

Sydney: Remember, we leave the money and steal only the orichalcum, for it is much more valuable.

I ran out of the bar and run straight to the police station. I have to inform someone that there is going to be a bank robbery, but then again, they weren't stealing the money, only the orichalcum. Why does that sound so familiar?

"Officer, there is going to be a bank robbery at the national bank in two hours," I tell, then I remember something in the conversation. "I also found out that they planted something in the subway, most likely when the lights went out."

The young officer sits in his chair and eats a doughnut while typing everything in on his laptop. "Do you know the names of these three robbers?" he asked, "Can you describe them?"

"Well, I only got the name of one of them. He appeared to be the leader, his name was Sydney." Then I went on to describe Man in Suit and Scar Man. "I don't know anything about them, other than the fact that they are fluent in the Australian language called Tiwi." Then I tell him about the orichalcum.

The officer pulls up an image on his computer and shows it to me. "This man?" He matches Sydney's description. Tall, way brown hair, and looked evil. I nod. "His name is Sydney Walker, he is an Australian professor of nanotechnology, astrophysics, and oceanography and is a company CEO turned pirate. He used to run a company called Nano-Revolution, a corporation that makes weapons out of nanotechnology and headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Ever since he went bankrupt in 2028, he began robbing national and international banks all over Oceania, hoping to revive his old company. No one has seen him in over fourteen months."

"What about the suit guy and scar guy?" I ask. The officer shows me pictures of Man in Suit and Scar Man.

"His two right-hand men. The guy in the suit was his head of security back at Nano-Revolution, his name is Christian Vorton, and he has a reputation for being a hot-head because he can lose his temper quickly. And Scar Man, also known as Cody Vaughn is Professor Walker's bipolar enforcer. He is not originally part of Professor Walker's company, but when he tried to commit suicide one time by cutting his wrist, Prof. Walker saved him and he recruited the young man into his arm of pirates."

"So, what kind of partners did Nano-Revolution have?" I ask.

"Terrorists, private military companies, enemy militia, arms dealers, rich and very corrupt politicians in Europe and some kind of terror group called 'Overload' or something. Because of Prof. Walker's partners, that is the reason he lost his company in the first place. He sold weapons. He has no specific type of people he works for, he has no problem in killing thousands of innocent people and he will make sure his weapons are not fully controllable, thus turning his weapons into something more deadly."

Man, this guy was bad. Worse than those Neo-Nazis I dealt with six months ago. But there was one thing that puzzled me, what is 'Overload?' I will have to solve that puzzle later.

"These three men are going to steal the orichalcum in the national bank. If a man like Prof. Walker wants something called orichalcum, then there is no doubt that it is highly dangerous."

"I will call a SWAT team immediately and tell them about Prof. Walker and whatever he planted on that subway." The officer picks up the phone and dials. "McGee, this is Sergeant Langham, we have been informed that there is a potential robbery happening at the Maui National Bank, we need a SWAT team immediately."

I was dressed in a suit and acted like someone who was in the mood for applying as a bank accountant. I was wearing a wire on my belly and a bulletproof vest and all the accountants were undercover cops with guns hidden in every corner possible.

I heard the entrance bell ring and I saw two men walking in. It was Man in Suit - or Christian Vorton - and Scar Man - also known as Cody Vaughn - and they had gas masks on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm and you may survive this encounter!" Christian shouted, pulling out a revolver from his suit and fires into the ceiling. Me and the 'accountants' take cover.

Cody takes out a grenade of some kind and pulls the pin. I presume that it is some kind of gas grenade, otherwise, neither man would have worn a gas mask. He throws it to the floor. "If you hold your breath, then you may stay conscious!" Cody shouts. So it was a sleeping grenade he threw.

I take a long deep breath of air before I let the smoke consume me. Let's dance Christian and Cody.

All of a sudden, a van drives through the window, but Christian and Cody barely flinch at it. It appeared the van was with them. A man in a gas mask followed by five others also got out of the van and held up their weapons towards the hostages. I doubt one of them was Sydney Walker, but they were most likely his land pirates.

Christian and Cody walked into the bank vault with a large drill and they returned several minutes later holding a yellow canister of something, most likely the orichalcum.

I mentally smile, the 'accountants' behind the desk were armed with M16s and gas masks of their own.

The driver of the van got back in the driver's seat and drove out. He went driving backward with the back doors open, the pirates jump back in.

Just as Christian and Cody were going to load the canister into the van, the accountants emerge and aim their guns at the robbers. Christian and Cody give a look of fear, and then they notice me and I can easily see them glare at me through the visor of their gas masks. They had recognized me.

The pirates already loaded in the van open fired, but we returned fired. I hop over the desk and one of the undercover SWAT guys hands me a gas mask.

I see Christian and Cody load the canister into the van, but I was not going to let them get away. I quickly grab the speargun that an undercover cop brought with and I fired. The end of the spear lodges itself deep into the canister just as the van took off.

I saw the canister rip from their grasps as they drive off. "OH MY GOD!" I hear one of the pirates shout as they realize that they lost the one thing they came for.

The van of pirates did not attempt to drive back and retrieve the canister.

I smile in triumph, the pirates' plans to steal the orichalcum has backfired. The pull the canister towards me before I notice several police cars give chase to the van of pirates.

As the canister was within my reach, I notice something shiny inside. Something had fallen out of the canister and I pick it up. It was a very small and yellow bead that was glowing. It could easily be mistaken for a plant seed. But a man like Sydney Walker, who is a notorious pirate and arms dealer, wanted this, then it must be more powerful than I think. I quickly put the bead in my pocket.

I went back to the beach to look for my friend Derek, who was still in his wetsuit. "Hello," I say casually as I sit down on the bench next to him.

"What happened to you?" Derek asks. I give him a confused look before he explains himself, "I just saw on the News that you were helping undercover cops take out those gangs of pirates at the bank."

"Nothing much just got shot at and foiled the robbers' plan, other than that, I am completely unharmed."

"You left the beach, I thought you were abducted for a second." I completely forgot about him at the beach.

I pull something from my pocket. It was the orichalcum bead. "Lookie lookie," I say in a cheerful voice. He says nothing but takes the bead from my hands without even asking. Do you know what this is? Orichalcum."

"Do you know what orichalcum is?" he asks, trying to emulate a know-it-all, "It is an unnamed element that is connected to the lost city of Atlantis. Plato wrote about it in his dialogue. He said that the orichalcum that I hold in my hand can lead to Atlantis."

I widen my eyes. "Seriously?" Though after hearing about his past adventures, I shouldn't be surprised.

"Yeah seriously."

I was then reminded of something from my childhood. "My grandmother, my namesake, she went looking for Atlantis in 1977, one year after Dad was born," I remember hearing this story so well. "She was so close to finding the lost city, but the press did not believe her. They called her a delusional woman who could not see straight."

He gives me a sad look. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I answer, "My grandmother's reputation from then was damaged. She was now called Cassandra the Delusional Woman." I suddenly got an idea. "Wait, if grandma's reputation has been damaged for all these years, what if we could somehow restore it?" I suggest. I know it was far too early to be doing what I had in mind but I am a born treasure hunter and adrenaline junkie. If I'm not going to get a rush out of doing something dangerous, then I would find some other way of getting a rush. I don't look for lost cities just because, I do it for the fun. They say the important thing in life isn't the destination, but the journey. Yeah right.

"What if we go find the lost city of Atlantis. We will say it is her find and all the credits go to her."

Derek stares at me. "For reals? It's been six months and you barely turned twenty. Don't you want a break from something dangerous?"

"It might not be dangerous, plus I'm missing the thrill of adventure. I'm sure you are as well."

I could see Derek contemplating his decision. I would love to bring Derek along, he was my best friend and crush. Wait a second!

"This should be fun. I'm going with you." I am so happy at his choice and honestly, if he hadn't gone with, I would've stayed. But then again, he went to Mongolia without me so I guess if I went without him, then it would even the score.

I stare at the oricalcium under a microscope. When observing up close, it looked like a bunch of tiny beads floating in water. Man, where did this oricalcium come from? I mean the bead came from Grandma's safe at the bank but I was asking it's specific origin.

I zoom in and I see something written on one of the beads. I quickly grab a piece a paper from my pocket-sized journal and write down what I see. I have no idea what it said, but it appeared to be an ancient language, or it could be the language of the Atlanteans. It could be the language Atlantean, but I knew no language.

So I took the notepad to a book in my library at home to decipher it. Mom and Dad weren't home and I was glad so Derek and myself let ourselves in. I find the book where I learned the Polynesian language and began mentally copying and pasting words together.

"Wait, I know some of this language," I admit awkwardly to Derek behind me. "The lost city of Atlantis lies in a notorious placed called the Devil's Triangle, and today, we call that place the Bermuda Triangle." I widen my eyes. "Well, they do say that Atlantis is in the Atlantic Ocean and the Bermuda Triangle is in the Atlantic Ocean. It makes sense, because on a regular basis, people try their hardest to stay as far as possible from that hellhole. It could also explain the disappearances."

"Sounds like someone is very keen on finding Atlantis. In case you have forgotten, the Triangle is 500,000 square miles, bigger than the Rub al' Khali desert, which is six hundred square miles across." Derek's statement reminded of Dad's Iram of the Pillars adventure. "Okay then, is there anything on that little bead that provides a specific location?"

I study it closer this time. "Nothing?" I then hold up a hand to signal that I found something. "These numbers represent coordinates. Get me a map." He obeys. He writes down the number coordinates that I tell him to write.

"Alright, so far this is all I got from the coordinates," Derek says before he shows me the location. The coordinates of Atlantis were literally in the very center of the Bermuda Triangle. "Cassie, quick question: How are we supposed to get inside the Bermuda Triangle and get out on the other side?"

"Well, in case you have forgotten..People can take a boat ride into the Triangle and come out fine. The disappearances are rare."

I comfort and reassure not only him but myself as well because I don't want to end up in a Lost situation. "Alright then, but are we going to fly into the Triangle or take a boat ride?"

He smiles. "You're the captain, not me."

I suddenly remembered. "Yura," I say to him, "Erkin Yura, remember when we went to Kazakhstan and we met a charming fella named Erkin Yura? Well, he told me that he wants to be a marine archaeologist and boat captain, so I can call him and ask if he could give us a ride."

"Up to you, I am just a helping hand." I quietly laugh at Derek (he could always make me laugh and I love him for it).

"Okay then, I am calling Erkin, he should still be in Oahu." I take out my phone and call Erkin. "Erkin, it's me, Cassie," I say into the phone. "I need a favor, a personal favor. Can you give Derek and myself a boat ride into the Bermuda Triangle?"

Then a dial tone. Guess he hung up, then he called back and answered yes.

"Thank you, Erkin, you are a good friend and helper." I happily hung and turned to Derek, "Get ready for a trip into the Bermuda Triangle."

A Day Later

Miami, Florida

Derek and I met up with Erkin Yura at the pier in Miami. Erkin Yura was a young man, older than me by two years, had long blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and stood at five-foot-eleven. So Derek was still the tallest one in the group (being six-one). It has been far too long since I've seen Erkin and it felt good to know that he was still a marine archaeologist.

"Hey there Erkin," I say, shaking his hand firmly.

"What's up, Cassie?" he says before turning to Derek. "Derek Lowell, a pleasure to see you again. How many years has it been?

"You too, Erkin," Derek replies, "And the last time I saw you, it was my fourteenth birthday. So six years ago." Derek replies.

"So, two tickets through the Bermuda Triangle?" Erkin asks me. "Are you guys sure, I mean, who knows what monsters await in there."

Just twelve hours ago, we had managed to intercept through this weird writing on the bead the coordinates to Atlantis and using our prior knowledge, looking up books on Plato's dialogue, cross-referenced to deduce that Atlantis was located in the Bermuda Triangle. "We are all sure. We made a unanimous vote. We are all prepared to face whatever monsters we encounter in the Bermuda Triangle."

Erkin sighs, but shrugs. "Alright then. Then I am going with you, the whole way through." He leads the two of us onto a small but durable boat.

I climb in the boat and sit down on a chair. Man the chair was cozy. Get me a fishing line and a bottle of soda and I can stay out here all day.

Derek sat next to me while Erikin was in the cabin.

If there were going to be any monsters, then I would be the first one to spot it. I doubt it though, I did not believe in mythological creatures like the Kraken or the Loch Ness monster, they could easily be explained as something that was mistaken for a monster. Although two years ago, when I was visiting Lake Superior, I saw a Sea Serpent.

But I am not in Lake Superior and chances are, that was not a Sea Serpent (or was it).

"Cassie?" I hear Derek call and I turn to him. "You ready to sail into the Bermuda Triangle?"

"I'm not excited, but if it is worth finding Atlantis and restoring grandma's reputation, then I am ready to sail into the Devil's Triangle." I stare into the clear and blue sky. Man how it looked so beautiful. I then had an epiphany that came back now and then. My feelings for Derek. I never really loved him until the conclusion of my Easter Island adventure although it is most likely a crush I feel like it will evolve into real and passionate love. If that is the case, then I will tell Derek how I feel about him...but when the time is right.

"All hands on deck!" Erkin shouts from the cabin. "Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times!"

What do you mean Erkin, all of our arms and legs are in the vehicle? Can you get drunk from ocean waves? All of a sudden, I feel Derek holds my hand. I gaze at him and I realize that he had fallen asleep. How the hell did he pass out on me? The only time he ever passes out on me is when he sees me naked and it was funny as heck when he did back in Iceland six months ago.

Man, Atlantis, here we come.

Hours later, Derek woke up and the first thing I said to him was: "Who knew that orichalcum was made of uranium, but with no radiation?" I hold the glowing bead in front of him.

He took it and studied it for himself. "It appears to be emitting some kind of energy," he then turns to the sea captain: "Erkin, get me a thermal imaging camera." Erkin obliges and pulls a pair of goggles out of a nearby compartment.

Derek places them over his head and studies the bead carefully. I am assuming what he is seeing is cool because he keeps leaning towards the bead.

"Anybody wants to look through, it looks awesome?" Derek asks everyone in the room (Erkin and I). I saw Erkin raise his hand before putting on the thermal imaging goggles.

I tap Erkin on the shoulder and ask if he could give me the thermal imaging goggles.

I place them around my eyes and gaze at the bead in my hand. What I saw was a brighter and very colorful blue light emitting from the bead. I was able to deduce something three seconds later: "It appears, that the closer we get to Atlantis, then the brighter the bead lights up." I take off the thermal imaging goggles.

"Just like the game hot and cold," Erkin compared, "The closer you get, the warmer you get, the farther you get, the colder you are."

"Nice way of putting it Erkin," I say with my usual sarcasm. "It's not like a game of hide-and-seek where Atlantis hides and the bead seeks. "Erkin, you think these things can work underwater?" I gesture to the thermal goggles.

"Sure can," he answers with a shrug. "They are water-resistant, heat-resistant, freeze-resistant, they are custom made and I have six of them. Enough for the three of us and three to spare."

"Wait for a second, do you think if that bead emits that kind of energy, then do you think Atlantis will emit a similar, but a larger amount of energy?" Derek spoke again.

I pat him on the back. "That is a very good hypothesis, D-Man," I call him by my usual nickname for him, "So, looks like we are going to swim to the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle. Wonder how deep it is."

"Five thousand feet to the deepest, water pressure abnormally normal." Wow, Erkin had that bullet in the chamber. "My brother swam to the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle, he said the water pressure is alright."

I gave him an odd look, "You have a brother?"

"You know about Sergey." I don't remember him mentioning that Sergey was his younger brother.

Night came and I fell asleep with my head falling on Derek's crouch. It was now morning and I was getting dressed into a wetsuit and getting ready to dive right into the waters of the Bermuda Triangle.

Derek came out, already dressed in his red suit and had his yellow oxygen tank and goggles and snorkels on. He was wearing the same wetsuit.

Now we were all dressed. Erkin already said we were anchored and the boat was not going anywhere.

"Age before beauty," I urged Erkin to go first.

"Haha, yeah."

Derek and I check each other's oxygen tanks and snorkels and goggles. Just as we were so sure that we are ready, Derek and Erkin dive first. I was about to jump into the water until I felt something being pressed into my back.

I turned around very slowly and I saw none other than Christian and another boat. And Christian had an AK-47 pointed at my heart. Damn, that son of a bitch snuck on the boat when we were asleep.

"You ruined our plans," Christian says angrily. "You stole that orichalcum from us, you bitch." It appears I have pissed him off and I am proud of it. "I want to kill you, but the boss wants to talk to you, he says there is something familiar in your description."

I counted Christian on Erkin's boat and behind him was another boat and I saw three pirates and Cody. I already had all of my wetsuit gear on, all I had to do was knock the gun out of Christian's hand and I can dive.

I slap the gun away and shove Christian. I backflip into the warm water and I swim as deep as I possibly could, hoping to catch up the others. Then all of a sudden, I felt something grab me. I start thrashing to shake it off but it was no use. Whatever it was, it was reaching for my snorkel.

I slap its hand away and knee the figure in the groin, hopefully. The figure lets go of me and I swam.

I saw the face of an angry Christian, and he looked pissed. He had an oxygen tank, most likely the spare one that we left on the boat. Just as I raised my hands to prepare for an underwater battle, I notice something. It was invisible in the distance but I know I see something. The fish, I presume gets bigger and bigger as it swims closer. No doubt it was a shark. I was not afraid of a shark.

But then, when I saw how huge it looked even from a short distance, I widen my eyes, my heart about to burst in my chest. Oh my god! Oh my God! OH MY GOD!

MEGALODON!

I scream in terror, air bubbles escaping me and I swim away. The last I saw of Christian was him being consumed whole by the Megalodon.

I swim as fast as I can to get as far away as possible from the non-prehistoric shark.

Terror wells up in myself as I see the shark swim towards me. Oh god, this is the end!

The monster opens up his jaws to consume me, but I was spared. The Megalodon swam away from me as if it was terrified by something.

I suddenly remembered that I had the orichalcum with me, so maybe the tiny little bead protected me from that gigantic man-eater.

You're gonna need a bigger boat Erkin.

I swam closer and closer to the bottom, eventually catching up to Derek and Erkin. I finally catch up to them at the bottom of the floor, where I gaze upon my eyes, a pyramid. But this pyramid was made of pure crystal and was transparent to the point of near invisibility.

I see Derek signaling for me to swim towards him with the bead in my hand. I also jerk my thumb upwards, to warn him about the giant shark.

He mustn't have gotten the idea because he was shrugging, but I decided to tell him once we got inside of Atlantis.

I saw Erkin pointing to a small hole at the very tip of the small pyramid. He was indicating that he wanted me to swim in there. What the hell?

I swim in head first and I find myself being spontaneously sucked by some kind of current. I reach out to try and grab hold of something, but no success. Then, I felt someone crash into me, slamming their body weight against mine. I looked and saw Derek, unintentionally grinding against me.

At least I think.

Then the two of us get sucked by the current again. This time, we went flying through a small hole in the wall. I had no idea where to go, so I was relying purely on instinct. I grabbed Derek's hand and I reached for the wall beside me, clawing at anything I could use to hold me. I was still unsuccessful.

I cough up something that I felt was in my throat. I reach for the orichalcum to see if it was still there. I was satisfied when it was but still stuck in a rock and a hard place. But I've been through worse. Me and Derek both.

I am not going to die, I tell myself. I am going to live until I am one hundred years old. And that was a promise I intended to keep.

Then me and Derek went sliding down a hole, but there was no water this time, but we still went sliding down some sort of slide. When the hell was done and over with, we landed on some kind of hard surface. I landed right on my back and the wind was knocked out of me. I was in real pain.

I felt Derek fall right onto me, his knee connected right to my gut. With my back in pain and now my gut, it was putting salt on a wound, adding an insult to an injury.

"I am so sorry Cassie, I did not mean for that to happen," I heard Derek apologize. I told him that it was an accident and I accepted his apology.

He helps me get up to his feet, and I saw Erkin in the corner.

"Are you guys alright?" I ask, concerned.

"When was the last time we weren't alright?" Derek asks sarcastically. Does he want me to answer that question?

"Not all the time are you alright. Just like in Burma and Singapore." I say, remembering the incidents. Both incidents happened ten years ago but I remember perfectly.

"Okay, we don't need to linger on that."

"So, where are we?" I hear Erkin ask.

I was so distracted by the pain, I forgot to look around to see where we were. The walls around us were painted with gold and the ground we stood on was made of pure rubies. I was so tempted to take a ruby that I bent down to pull a ruby out the ground, but I remembered how Dad's Agartha adventured ended up.

Me, Derek, and Erkin follow the path of the rubies. The path led us to this door made of silver. I didn't have enough time to study it before Erkin and Derek pushed the door open. Inside, was some kind of treasury room. Instead of treasure, it was orichalcum that filled the room. Huge piles of orichalcum.

"Man, this is the shiniest pile I have ever seen before in my life," Erkin awes.

I look to my right and see Erkin picking up several pieces of the orichalcum beads. Me and Derek walk over to him. Derek holds his hand out and waits for Erkin to put a bead in.

Once Derek got possession of the seed, he asked, "What is this for?"

I remind him how the orichalcum had saved me from being consumed by the Megalodon. He was shocked but relied on how I managed to survive. "If the orichalcum could save me from the Megalodon, then it could probably save us from other supernatural creatures and forces."

Everyone shoves at least one orichalcum bead into their pockets before we continue, following the ruby path.

I began humming the song, OMG by Usher as we followed the path.

Baby let me love you down, there's so many ways to love you. Baby I can break you down. There's so many ways to love ya. Got me like oh my gosh, i'm so in love. I found you finally, you make me wanna say oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh my gosh.

As I hummed the song OMG by Usher I remembered Scar Man singing the song on the subway.

I continue singing just as we come across a door made of glass, yet not transparent. Although Derek and Erkin were pushing against the door, it remained close. I decided to help those weak bones.

"Okay, on the count of three everyone. One, two, three!" Then all of us give our full force and weight into the door. We were able to push it slightly open, but it was still closed.

"How about we charge it?" Erkin suggest. We give him the odd look. Was this guy insane?

We charged into the door with full force and succeeded in opening the door a bit more, but none of us could squeeze through it.

"Okay, for reals. This is for all the marbles," Erkin said. "Back in Kazakhstan, me and my siblings used to play football and soccer. I have the shoulder for breaking doors down with my shoulder."

"Okay then Von Miller, then how about you put it to good use?"

The three of us smash through the glass door and fell to the floor on the other side.

I push Derek off of me and he helps me to my feet. "Gracias," I thanked. Then I take the opportunity to look to see where we were. We were now in some kind of room that looked to be made of amber, diamond, gold, crystal, silver, bronze, etc. If I didn't know better, I would say that we are at the entrance to Atlantis.

I stare at the room around me. I have never seen such beauty before. In my twenty years alive, I have never seen such beauty. I, Cassandra Morgan Drake, am proud to say that I am a true adventurer and soon-to-be archeologist.

Derek picks up a circular object made of bronze and put it into his pocket. I give Erkin a piece of gold. All I wanted was this necklace made of pure silver.

Taking out my journal, I quickly sketch everything in my journal and laugh. This was one adventure I was never going to forget. Never, ever, ever.

The only path that we could take was another door that was made of pure rubies. The pathway must've ended her. I strode up to it and try to open the door, but no success. I was considering ramming it open until I noticed some kind of hole in the center. It looked to be about the size of a walnut. It was shaped strangely. Then it hit me. "Keyhole," I say.

But then I saw multiple keyholes right next to it. I counted three at least. "Hey guys, come over here. It looks like some kind of puzzle." When I felt their presence behind me, I told them about the door. "We have to insert some kind of key into the keyholes. But what keys, I do not know." I say.

"Maybe it has something to do with these silver and gold pieces," Derek suggests. He was onto something. Maybe the silver and gold acted like some kind of keyholes, but with keyhole did they go in, I had no idea.

I took out my silver necklace and insert it into one walnut-sized keyhole. Nothing happened, but there was a small clatter.

"Maybe we have to put them in a certain order," Derek says. "Maybe it's color-coded."

"I think I got it. Maybe we have to match the colors up with their level of color visibility. Since crystals are clear, they would go on the first keyhole while the gold would go on the end cause it has less color visibility."

"Good thinking Cassie, good thinking," Derek patted me on the back.

I watch patiently as Erkin inserts his piece into the keyhole. Just as Derek was about to put his circular bronze piece in, I heard something behind me.

I snap around and I saw none other than Cody himself and six other pirates in wetsuits, aiming assault rifles at me.

I look over my shoulder and see Erkin and Derek raising their hands. Derek did, however, put the bronze piece in the hole though. Although nothing happened.

"Look who it is," Cody says smugly, "Cassie Drake and these two." Cody raises his gun to my eye level.

"How did you get here. I though the Megalodon was guarding the entrance to the pyramid?" I ask.

"Professor Walker was able to figure something out for us." I did not get what he meant. "He is the smartest man in the world."

"Listen, if you're going to shoot someone, shoot me," Derek steps in front of me. I was so terrified that Cody might pull the trigger then I begged him not to do this. "Get back," he ordered firmly.

"You know, the boss does want to have a little chit-chat with you, Ms. Drake," Cody says, lowering his gun. "My job is to take you to him and get rid of your friends." I could sense anger rising in Derek. I was about to say something until I heard a clatter, and it wasn't coming from the door, but from the door behind the seven pirates.

Cody and another pirate turned around very slowly to see something, although I could not see it myself.

"Liebel, shine a light," Cody orders to one of his pirates. Liebel shines a light, but I could still not see what they were looking at.

Then I heard Cody shout. He yelled for his pirates to turn around and fire. Before I knew it, I saw Liebel being yanked into the darkness and dropping his flashlight to the ground.

We all stood there silent, too terrified to talk or move. Cody drops down to the ground to pick up the flashlight and shine it down the hall. I stepped forward to see what was going on and I barely saw a wall made of pure gold. It looked to be a beautiful painting, the only odd thing was Liebel was in there, and his face was frozen in terror. That is when I realized, that whatever yanked Liebel, it turned him into a gold statue. What a horrible way to die.

Then several figures jumped at us and the pirates. Cody and another pirate backed as far away as possible while the others fired off everything they had. I saw two of the pirates get grabbed and yanked forward towards the wall with the golden Liebel.

Cody and the three remaining pirates backed up and fired at the monsters.

"Wait, I think I got it backward," I tell them. "I think I got it backward. Switch them up!" I order. I knew that the silver piece was where it was supposed to be because of silver in the in-between point.

I saw Cody run out of bullets as he fired endlessly at something in the hallway. Then, I saw a hand grab Cody's leg and yank him followed by another pirate. The other two pirates were cowering in the corner and far from the monsters' reach.

I saw something lunge for me. I barely had any time to process it but it looked to be some kind of skeleton in armor. He grabbed me by the hair and yanked me backward. I screech in pain and tell the others to hurry up.

What I see has terrified me. The pirate had become part of the gold wall and Cody was already up to his waist in the wall.

Just as I thought I was going to become part of the wall, whatever grabbed me, had released my hair from his grip and walked out of sight. I was still unable to get a clear view as to what it was. But I did get a clear view if Cody's predicament though.

He was buried up to his chest in the wall, his face purple due to the pain. It was something that made me sad. Every time he screamed in pain, I cringed. "Please help me!" He shouted.

I didn't hesitate to grab his free arms and yank. I was unsuccessful and my yanking only caused him more pain. I stopped yanking immediately. "I can't pull you out."

"No, don't leave me like this!" he shouts in terror, his face turning even more purple.

"What do you want me to do?" I ask.

"Kill me! Please! Do what I tried to do several years ago. Kill me!"

I was hesitant. I even broke a tear, but the more I waited, the more pain that was brought to him. I grab his neck and twist it. I had a flashback after that of all the people I have killed. Peyton Piers. Rudolf Schneider. And now Cody Vaughn.

I watch as his head stiffened at an unusual angle.

Something had fallen out of his breast pocket. A pack of cigarettes. It reminded me of Sully's and Uncle Sam's.

The door with the keyholes opened. I turned to see Erkin holding a dropped gun and holding the two surviving pirate hostages.

"Everyone alright?" I hear Erkin ask. I nod to him. "Good, cause the door is opened."

Me, Erkin, Derek, and the two pirate hostages walk through the door and find ourselves in none other Atlantis itself. I was met with a familiar heartbeat. This is how I felt when I found Hawaiki and Ultima Thule. I couldn't believe that I was actually in another lost city. It felt good to be inside a lost city of a lost civilization.

"Man, that familiar feeling has come back," I gasp pathetically.

The lost city of Atlantis had bridges stretching for at least one hundred feet and below was lava. One odd thing was there were a lot of snakes slithering around my legs. I swore that one of them was climbing up my leg and crawling into my pants.

Derek quickly picked up the snake and threw it to the side, harmlessly of course. Even though I don't hate snakes, I don't want them to get hurt. I despise animal cruelty.

"You alright?" he asks me. I nod, reassuring him. "Okay then, cause I was about to kill that snake if he did something to you."

"No, don't kill it," I beg him. "It's not intentionally hurting me. It's not evil."

"But it could have been poisonous," he counters. He wanted to pull that card.

"Then I would have had you suck out the poison. Simple as that."

"Ha ha ha." I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic with his laugh, or genuinely laughing. I'm gonna go with the former. He was being sarcastic (I'm supposed to be the funny one).

All of the buildings inside Atlantis were made of brick but the windows were made of crystals. I have always dreamed of finding Atlantis and now I have found it. I legit cannot believe it.

Me, Derek, Erkin, and the two pirate hostage walk across the bridge of lava. I looked down and fifty feet below me was real lava the seemed to be heating the place.

Where to go, who knows. Me and the others were just walking across the bridge and wandering endlessly until we found a gateway. It had to be the gateway to the center of the city. I then reminded myself. We were here to restore grandma's reputation, not for gold or money.

I walk very carefully into the gateway with the others following me very closely. If I didn't know better, I would say that this massive room with a huge pillar in the center of the room was the center of Atlantis.

The stonework on the floor looked to be Atlantean. I did some research on the language of the Atlanteans. I was not fluent, I barely learned a few words but I could make out some. If I studied more than I wouldn't have been so rusty.

I bend down to read the Atlantean language. All I was able to make out was 'Power' and that was it. But then I started rephrasing a bunch of quotes that Plato said in his dialogue about power.

"Power to ten, death to one." I had no idea what that meant. No idea at all.

Then, I felt something pressed to the back of my head. It was cold, hard and smelt of gunpowder. I did not need to look around to see who it was. There was only one person who it could be: Sydney Walker.

Why am I always held at gunpoint? It is starting to piss me off.

"Hello, Ms. Drake." I knew the usual, raise my hands and turn around slowly. I counted Walker, two pirates that came in with him and the two freed pirate hostages. "Ms. Drake, it is such a pleasure to see the girl that ruined everything up to this point."

"Listen," Derek began defending, "Don't hurt any of us. Just kill me but let her and Erkin go. They are good people."

"Why would I want to do that; I haven't told you my biggest plan yet. I don't want to kill any of you, just see how much people are willing to bid to lay next to you and your boyfriend and girlfriend in bed."

That did it because I was lunging for Walker and we both almost went falling into the pit of lava.

I was exchanging fists and eventually we both tumbling to the floor and almost rolling over the edge and into the lava.

I felt so helpless as a pirate went to restrain me and get me off of Walker and shove me back towards Derek.

"Well, that was unexpected," Walker dusted himself off. "But I have an even bigger plan." He walks up to me and begins to stroke my cheek. "Did you know that in the Atlantis legends, orichalcum is what made the Atlanteans gods?"

I did not know that. Then I felt his hands around my pelvis. I felt adrenaline in my heart as I kicked him in the groin. He flinched and stumbled backward, almost falling into the pit of lava, but stopped himself.

"That was rude, but I like how you got a spark in you. Make you more valuable."

"You were saying about the gods," a pirate reminded.

"Thanks, Steve. Anyways, the orichalcum is what made these Atlanteans, gods. And I intend to be a god. I want you and your friends to witness my grand glory before I sell you."

I was fuming, I felt my face turn red from anger. I wanted to kill him so badly.

The pirates had removed us of the orichalcum we had in our pockets and we walked towards the pillar in the center of the room.

"This should be fun," I hear one pirate.

"How much orichalcum have you four collected?" Walker asks his pirates.

"three from the hostages, and seven that we collected ahead of time," Steve answered. How could he trust a middle-aged man named Steve?

"Excellent, then our plans should be successful. Ten for ten." He turns to me, "You know what this pillar in the center of the room is? A machine called 'The God Machine' it was just as Plato himself described it. Ten beads of orichalcum should turn us all into gods!" I had to stall for time. I had to use my wits instead of my fists. I remember Derek and I comparing the beads and Plato's dialogue and found a bunch of errors, especially ones involving tenfold and we decided to manipulate that logic to tip the balance in our favors.

"Wait a second. What about Plato's tenfold error? Like Atlantis being three hundred miles from Greece instead of three thousand miles from Greece? Also, he mentioned about ten Atlantean guardians, but I saw only one of them. Or what about him writing about Atlantis being three thousand feet below the surface instead of three hundred feet below the surface?"

I could see it. All of Walker's confidence had completely shattered, but he put on his mask again. "She may be right. We shall divide by ten. Try one bead." Steve puts one bead of orichalcum in a hole in the pillar and steps on a square spot in the ground.

All of a sudden, a small laser beam from the God Machine shot into Steve's head and he grew seven feet tall. I knew I had successfully tricked them. One was not enough, that's what I read. All the other stuff that I said was wrong in tenfold was true. Instead of turning into a god, he shrunk to the size of a dwarf and his head grew horns and his skin turned gray and he had the face of a little minotaur from Greek mythology.

"NO!" Steve shout before he runs in my direction and jumps into the pool of lava, disappearing. The first time I had seen someone commit suicide. I couldn't blame him, he was unable to live with what he had become.

"Well, that didn't work. Maybe we got this backward. Maybe we have to multiply ten by ten." Walker says, smiling at me. "Go get more beads, quickly!"

Several minutes later, two pirates came back with a crapload of beads in each hand.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine," Walker counted the beads the pirates were putting into the machine. "One hundred beads!" He cheers before he steps into the same spot that Steve was stepping in earlier. The same laser shot at Walker's head and his skin began to turn green. "Yes, I am a god! America and Australia will kiss my feet!"

I smile. One hundred beads was an overdose and I doubted that he could handle it.

The three living pirates stared at their leader as he turned into a god. Then the most unexpected thing, even to me, happened.

Walker began growing in height until he screamed with either pain or terror as he fell apart. His body had become too unstable for himself to handle and he was becoming nothing more than a dematerialized atom in a split second.

Good riddance Sydney Walker.

Then there was an earthquake. The overdose of beads had caused an eruption in the center of the city and the place began collapsing.

Me, Derek, Erkin, and the three pirates ran for our lives as the place began to cave in. Structures were falling and the ground started collapsing behind us. I knew that as soon as we got to the doorway to Atlantis, then we had to swim up quickly because we are three hundred feet below sea level. I was not destined to drown. But we did not have our oxygen tanks with us. So all we had to do was take a deep breath and swim as quickly as possible to the surface. We didn't have to worry about the Megalodon because all six of us took a piece of orichalcum for protection.

The six of us dive into the water current from earlier after taking a really deep breath each. We were swept along the current, but I kept holding my breaths. As soon as we were out of the pyramid, I saw it blow up a million pieces. Me and the others swim up immediately.

My lungs were on fire. They needed air. I swam faster to the surface, not stopping for anything at all. I felt my vision starting to blacken until I finally felt pressureless. My head had surfaced and my vision and breathing returned to normal, but I still gasped for air.

I could not believe it, I just swam three hundred feet and came up to the surface.

I saw Erkin's boat and swam towards it. I quickly climbed on board and took a second to catch my breath. I could not believe how exhausted I was. Then I felt someone by my side, it was Derek. I looked up to see Erkin and even the three pirates climb on board.

I saw a fully recovered Derek grab two of the pirates and put them in the corner, followed by the last one. No doubt that they would find a nice place in jail for the three pirates.

Minutes later, Erkin was on the wheel and driving us right out of the Bermuda Triangle. Another adventure succeeded.

"Shame we were unable to prove of Atlantis existence.," I say to myself. I didn't realize I talk loud enough for Derek to hear as he sat down next to me.

"You might want to rephrase that," I heard him say dryly. I look around and see him holding a waterproof camera and it had pictures on it. Of Atlantis Itself.

"Derek, you beautiful son-of-a-bitch." I could not believe that we finally got evidence that Atlantis existed and grandma's reputation would be restored.

"You thought I was as going to leave without taking pictures? You need to open your mind up Daughter of Nathan Drake." I shrug. "By the way, like what you said about me being a beautiful son-of-a-bitch. I like the beautiful part especially."

I laugh at his comment. "Whatever you say beautiful. How about this. You very beautiful son-of-a-bitch?"

"Hey, that sounds pretty good. You are truly your father's daughter."

"Of course I am. After all, I am Cassandra Morgan Drake, the Daughter of Nathan Drake." I lean forward.

I decide to turn in for the night. Erkin was already halfway back to Miami, but I decided to nap it out. I sat down on the couch and closed my eyes and I slowly drift off to sleep.

I grin while my eyes were still closed. The best thing about this adventure was not finding Atlantis, it was spending time with my friends. This was one of my favorite adventures yet. Every adventure that I have been on, the journey has always been worth it and I can't wait for the next one. I hear Cambodia is beautiful this time of year, or at least in November.

The End of Chapter 4