The brothers opened the golden doors and inside was a grand looking hall, but it was a complete mess. Once upon a time I didn't doubt it looked beautiful, more beautiful than anything we'd seen so far but something had happened to completely destroy it. There were many, many grand looking shelves and chests placed strategically around the hall to form what looked like corridors, and around the end of the room were multiple columns decorated with beautiful carvings. There was even a large, intimidating statue at the end of the room which looked like it was made from marble. High up on the walls were grand paintings of the twelve founders, however the entire place had been completely ransacked.

The beautiful shelves were toppled over and splintered, the chests were dented and had been thrown around carelessly, and the columns lining the walls had plenty of damage from what looked like more than age. Even the paintings of the founders had been vandalised, the word 'thief' painted on them. The statue at the far end had even been decapitated. The falling through of most of the roof must've caused some of the damage, but a lot of it looked like it was done on purpose.

"It's empty," Sam stated the obvious. "You think Rafe?"

"Nah, nothings been touched in here for hundreds of years," Nate said after brushing his hand along a nearby table, revealing how dusty it was.

"Right... well... search for clues?" Sam suggested, Nate and I shrugging.

"Might as well," I said, the three of us getting to work. There was a lot to search, various drawers on the ruined shelves and plenty of crates and chests. I came across a painting of one of the founders on the floor, it having once been high on the wall, and was now branded with the word 'thief', just like the others. There were a few more skeletons in fancy armour dotted about the place also, it looking like the battle had extended to inside.

I opened up one of the chests and saw a piece of parchment. Filled with curiosity I lifted it out and saw it was a manifest, describing a lot of Mughal treasure. "342 gold coins, Mughal... 240 silver coins, Mughal... 734 copper coins, Mughal... hey guys, I found a manifest!" I called out to the boys who came over.

"I found one too," Nate said, holding up his own piece of parchment.

"What the hell happened here?" Sam asked, an anxious tone in his voice.

"Good question," Nate said.

"What if... maybe there's no treasure left? They spent it all on the marble floors... so the colonists find out their money's gone and they get pissed," Sam said.

"Of course... that'd make sense of everything," I said and the boys looked at me as though to carry on. "Think about it. We found makeshift tunnels and hideouts in town right? One of which had a map of this very treasury with arrows pointing to it... the invasion was the colonists. They must've thought that the founders were taking it for themselves, I mean that would explain the portraits," I pointed out.

"Thief," Sam muttered, seeing them all.

"Exactly. Not murderer, not tyrant-,"

"Thief," Nate said.

"The colonists we're trying to get their treasure back, but I think these guys took it for themselves before they could get it," I explained.

"Pirates will be pirates," Nate chuckled.

"That and the manifests on the shelves... the treasure was here," Sam said in disbelief.

"Begs the bigger question... where is it now?" Nate said and we all thought for a moment, looking around to see if there was anything that could tell us.

"Huh," Sam muttered, catching our attention. "I know where they moved it."

"What? Where?" I asked and saw him looking up. I followed his gaze to see that what remained of the ceiling was painted with a map of the island. "That's Libertalia," I saw the town marked.

"Right, so follow it to the right side of the island," Sam pointed to a specific part.

"'New Devon'... wait, Avery was from Devon, England," Nate said.

"He sure was," Sam said. "Man those are some seriously large mansions," he said, pointing out the paintings of the mansions next to a scroll which read 'New Devon' on the map.

"Each of them has its own sigil too," Nate noted.

"Because that's where they lived," Sam said.

"Those are some serious houses," I chuckled, staring up at them. "Perhaps when we find the treasure I can buy one."

"Let's go tour them then," Sam said, nudging my arm playfully.

"Whaddya say we go climb that watchtower?" Nate gestured a watchtower he could see through the fallen roof.

"New Devon here we come," Sam said excitedly. In order to head through the large hole in the roof we had to do some furniture arranging, clambering on shelves, swinging on chandeliers and climbing up a few of the paintings until we were on the roof. We were outside in no time and were working our way up as we climbed through the window, surprised to see the interior still intact. "Wow, I'm shocked the stairs are still intact," Sam spoke exactly what I was thinking.

"Please don't jinx it," I begged as we stepped foot on the wooden stairs, heading up. Too soon however the stairs stopped, and it seemed as though if we wanted to carry on further we'd have to climb the outside of the tower. I glared at Sam who rubbed the back of his head.

"Whoops," he chuckled. The view as we climbed was absolutely stunning as we could see the entirety of the island, the sun beaming down making the green jungle look vibrant and the blue sea look sparkling.

I tried to ignore the height of the tower as we climbed, wanting to forget the fact that if any of us fallen we'd be dead. "Hey guys?" Nate called out as he was leading the way up the tower.

"Yeah?"

"What?"

"Okay good, just making sure you haven't plummeted to your deaths," Nate said.

"Haha," Sam laughed sarcastically.

"Please do not say that," I begged the youngest Drake but we were thankfully finally able to enter the tower again. I bent over my knees, panting a little to try and let the adrenaline calm down.

"You alright?" Sam asked, placing a careful hand on my back.

"Yeah, I think so," I smiled at him. The way he looked at me made my heart beat rapidly, and I was desperate to just kiss him and tell him how I truly felt about him. I could barely keep it in any longer, so I promised myself that the next time we were alone I was going to tell him.

"(y/n), I'll boost you up here," Nate said, gesturing what used to be a ladder.

"Oh, sure," I said, being thrown up to the level above us through the hole. With all my strength I pulled the two brothers up after me, then climbing a ladder still intact to reveal that we were on the top of the tower.

The view was utterly spectacular. We could see for hundreds of miles in every direction, the mountains on the island looking strong and intimidating whilst the green jungle looked lush and inviting. I leant against the black rail that ran most of the way around the top of the tower, taking in the views. "This is... just incredible," I said, taking a moment to appreciate where we were and what we'd seen.

"There it is," Sam pointed out and I saw, situated in a nest of sharp hills, a grand looking mansion. It was obvious that it was far away, over a few hills and across a river but the fact that it was still noticeable enforced it's size.

"What d'ya say we go rob from the rich, huh?" Nate suggested, slapping his brothers back before making his way back down the tower on the other side, this leaving Sam and I alone. I watched the oldest Drake as he leant against the railing, staring at the mansion in the distance.

"Sam? You alright?" I asked, approaching him carefully.

"Yeah, I just... I mean Libertalia, it's real... New Devon is real and it's right there... the treasure is right there, I just- I'm just a little excited but kinda nervous at the same time... does that make sense?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah it does," I laughed. He nodded, smiling to himself and was about to head in the direction Nate went when I suddenly grabbed his hand. We were alone after all, and if I didn't tell him now then I was afraid I would never tell him, however as soon as he turned to face me again the words got caught in my throat. Instead I acted on impulse and stepped up to him, pressing my lips against his.

He seemed shocked at first but I persevered, moving my lips against his and it didn't take him long until he kissed back. I cupped his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in tighter until nothing could fit between us. I felt as though I had been swept off my feet, despite being the one to initiate the kiss.

"I love you Sam Drake," I breathed as we parted, looking into his dark eyes. He smirked, clearly satisfied, refusing to let me go. "And after all of this... I want us to... y'know-,"

"Be together?" He finished for me and I let out a laugh, nodding. "Good, 'cos I want that too," he whispered, leaning in and kissing me again. I could've happily stayed on top of that roof kissing Sam all day but annoyingly Nate had to go and interrupt our moment.

"Are you guys coming or what?" He shouted, already a fairway down the tower. Sam and I parted and chuckled, him pecking me quickly before taking my hand. I couldn't stop smiling, the two of us heading to the gap in the iron fence where Nate had climbed down moments ago.

"Ladies first," Sam said gentlemanly.

"Oh, so you want me to be the bait?" I raised my eyebrow.

"What? No I was- I was being a gentleman-,"

"Relax, I'm only teasing," I pecked him quickly, but as I was about to climb down a large explosion below us caused the whole tower to shake. Sam immediately pulled me back into his arms protectively, him also reaching out to hold the rail for a bit of stability. "Nate! Nathan, are you alright?!" I shouted, praying he was okay.

"I'm fine! Hurry up, we gotta go! RPG!" He screamed, another rocket hitting the already unstable building.

"C'mon (y/n)! Back through here!" Sam pushed me towards the ladder, the two of us climbing down quickly but the ladder had weakened and it broke, causing the two of us to fall onto a floor below. "(y/n)! You alright!" Sam clambered to his feet, helping me up. "Nathan! Down here!" Sam called, another rocket hitting the building and setting the greenery on fire. Smoke was filling the entire place, the once gorgeous wooden stairs now having fallen down the shaft.

"Where are you?!" Nate cried and I saw him on what remained of the floor above us.

"Down here!" I shouted, waving at him rapidly.

"LOOKOUT!" Sam screamed, tugging me closer to the wall as an entire floor above us fell through, knocking down most of the others on the way down.

"The stairs!" I pointed out that one of the staircases were still intact, and after Nate jumped over to us we ran as quickly as we could.

"Something tells me they've really had enough of us!" Sam yelled.

"Really? What gives you that idea?" Nate called back sarcastically.

"C'mon quick, down here!" Sam cried, Nate falling behind a little.

"Don't wait, just go!" Nate yelled, before another explosion threw him across the tower, him hitting the far wall.

"NATHAN!" I yelled, running up to him and trying to pull him to his feet.

"C'mon little brother, we gotta go!" Sam said desperately. The tower was beginning to shake and was clearly on the verge of collapse. There was a corridor through what used to be some fancy doors before Shoreline blew them off, and once Nate was on his feet the three of us were about to run down it until one last explosion caused the tower to fall.

We slid down the floor of the tower as it fell ninety degrees, rubble falling on top of us as we moved. I tried to grab onto anything to stop from falling to my death but it was no use - until Sam reached out and grabbed me tightly. He threw his grapple hook in the air, it wrapping around a beam above. The tower seemed to fall onto a building opposite, creating a sort of path across the large ravine below us. "Climb (y/n)!" Sam ordered me and I did as I was told, praying to god that the tower was going to hold its own just long enough for us to make it to the other side.

"Don't stop, just run!" Nate yelled out as Shoreline blasted the building with more rockets. Through an immense amount of luck we managed to reach the building on the other side of the ravine before the tower collapsed completely into the river below, however we couldn't stop. Shoreline mercs had made their way into the building we had managed to get to and were shooting wildly at us, so we ran down the length of the corridor to find a blocked door. "We gotta get through!"

"Cover us!" Sam told me and I nodded, attempting to shoot as many of the mercenaries that were firing at us as I could. I managed to take a couple out until suddenly Sam grabbed my hand, pulling me through the open door. A grenade suddenly appeared by our feet and Sam practically threw me out of the way, and when the grenade exploded it took out a large majority of the floor, creating a gap between the three of us. Sam was able to jump to my side, but when Nate tried the floor gave way and he ended up sliding towards a cliff edge.

"NATHAN!" I screamed, unable to do anything but watch as he jumped, managing to grab the building on the other side instead of pummelling to his death.

"He's alright! C'mon, we gotta get to him!" Sam shouted, pulling me along. The corridor led out to a bridge, leaving us open to the firing from the other mercenaries. We tried shooting back but there was a lot of them, so we attempted plan b which was to outrun them. Across the bridge we were in the building I believed Nate had jumped to, so he had to be somewhere.

Up ahead I heard voices, one sounding like Nate and the other sounding like a woman. "Wait, wait there's still time," Nate's voice said as Sam and I crept closer.

"Hm. Trust a Drake? I'm not falling for that again," the woman who, as I peered through the hole in the floor I saw to be Nadine Ross, said. 'Again?' I thought. 'Has Nate dealt with her before?'

Suddenly Sam leapt through the hole, landing on Nadine and knocking her to the ground. She was athletic and knew out to fight however, so she kicked Sam harshly in the face. I jumped down but I was too late, she had already pushed Nate through a window and down a rooftop. "Sam, Sam you okay?" I asked desperately, helping his up.

"Yeah, we gotta go to Nathan," Sam gestured the door Nadine and Nate had just pushed through. We slid down the roof to join the party, but it was rougher than expected and we ended up loosing our guns.

Still we fell down into the room below, Nadine and Nate waiting to start a fight. "What, you think after everything I'm just gonna let you walk away?"

"That'd be the wise thing to do," Sam said sternly and she laughed, assessing the three of us and apparently coming up with a strategic plan.

"Oh c'mon Nadine, really? We know you're a badass and all but there's three of us," Nate said.

"You don't think my men are on their way here now?" She asked and I glanced at the boys, feeling slightly nervous. "All I have to do is buy some time. That's if I don't finish you myself."

And so a fight broke out, and she was much more capable than I gave her credit, even against three of us. She punched and kicked hard, then pinning me to a table and punching my stomach and face multiple times.

"Get off of her!" Sam screamed, attempting to jump on Nadine but she punched him away. This distraction allowed me to knee her in the stomach and punch her on her cheek, hard, knocking her away from me. Nate took over and I shook my fists, readying myself for more. She soon had Sam pinned against a wall and was kicking him brutally, but before I could run and knock her to the ground Nate ran up to her and the two fought before she ended up throwing him out a window.

I had no doubt that he was still alive, so I took the reigns myself and was satisfied that I was managing to keep up with her. "For some reason I thought you'd be better!" I spat, her then landing a kick across my face. Sam joined the fight again, but she was able to pin him to the ground with her hand around his neck. "Get off of him!" I yelled, attempting to pull her off but she kicked me away effortlessly.

"Do you know how many men I've lost?! It's all just a game to you!" She screamed in Sam's face.

"NADINE!" Nate's voice yelled from above us, and he jumped from the floor above us landing a powerful hit on her, so powerful it broke through the floor we were on and the four of us tumbled down several flights, before landing on the edge of a cliff.

Wounded and hurt I attempted to stand, looking around to make sure Sam and Nate were okay. Annoyingly for us Nadine was also okay, but before she could do anything Sam had grabbed a gun and pointed it in her direction. "You're fast, but you're not that fast," he said.

"Forget about her Sam, we gotta go! Before they- ah crap," I said, seeing none other than Rafe Adler run through the building and out onto the cliff, gun in hand followed by several heavily armed mercenaries. Sam suddenly grabbed Nadine and put the gun against her temple, shocking me to my core. "Sam!"

"Whoa whoa whoa who, everyone just calm down," Nate tried to intervene.

"Well, this is interesting," Rafe said, his voice making me grit my teeth. I hadn't heard it in almost thirteen years. "Nate. Samuel. And is that little (y/n)? I was told there was a girl on this little find, and I had a hunch it was you," he said, aiming his gun between the three of us.

"Put your guns down! All of you!" Sam shouted.

"No," Rafe said simply.

"Rafe, this guys on edge," Nadine hissed.

"Oh don't worry about him Nadine. These guys don't kill in cold blood, it's just not their style," Rafe said simply.

"Are you willing to bet her life on that?" Sam scoffed.

"Sam, put the gun down," Nate said firmly.

"Go ahead, shoot her," Rafe said nonchalantly.

"Don't do it Sam, not like this, not in front of (y/n)!" Nate said desperate. Sam glanced towards me as I looked at him, terrified, knowing this wasn't him. I silently begged him to do as Nate said. The mercenaries tried to step closer before Sam screamed at them to stop.

"Another step? You mean... like this?" Rafe said, stepping closer.

"Sam, please," I whispered but he ignored me.

"I warned you," Sam said, blinded by hatred but thankfully Nate got there first, moving Sam's arm before he fired the weapon. Nadine fell forwards as Nate threw the gun off of the cliff. My heart was beating rapidly and I was completely shocked that Sam had almost blown her brains out.

"Hold your fire, don't shoot!" Rafe shouted at the mercenaries.

"'Don't worry Nadine', 'it's not their style'," Nadine spat Rafe's words back at him.

"What can I say I didn't think he had it in him," Rafe said casually. I watched nervously as Rafe wandered closer to Sam who simply stood, looking as though he expected this. "Samuel," Rafe muttered. "You okay?" He brushed dirt off of Sam's shoulder. "I guess you knew this moment was coming," Rafe suddenly hit Sam in the face with his gun.

"Hey!" I shouted, running up to Sam who was knocked the the ground.

"C'mon man, you already got us, take it easy," Nate tried to intervene. I saw blood seeping out of Sam's nose but had nothing to stop it with. "You're a businessman, let's just work out a deal."

"Oh, a deal. I'd love to hear what you had in mind!" Rafe shouted, the kicking Sam in the stomach.

"STOP IT!" I yelled, standing up but Rafe pointed his gun at me.

"Hm. Oh, you can go ahead, I'm listening," Rafe said. I carefully helped Sam to his feet as Nate proposed his idea.

"Look, you wanna find Avery's treasure? We'll help you find it," Nate said.

"And in exchange, I let you live?" Rafe asked.

"Yeah. And a small cut," Nate said firmly but Rafe just laughed.

"The gauchos on this guy!"

"Just enough to get him his freedom," I interrupted and Rafe looked confused.

"'Freedom'?"

"(y/n)-," Sam tried to interrupt but I hushed him.

"Yeah. He did hard time, our time," Nate added.

"Wait Nathan-,"

"And the guy who broke him out, Hector Alcazar, he wants a lot of money," Nate explained but Rafe interrupted.

"What the hell are you guys talking about? Hector Alcazar died in a shootout in Argentina six months ago," Rafe laughed. "I'm the one who got Samuel out."

Rafe's words hit me in the gut. I looked at Sam, desperately needing him to deny Rafe's allegations but he stayed quiet, avoiding eye contact with Nate and I. "What-?" Nate muttered. My heart felt as though it was being shattered and stamped on.

"No... no, Sam?!" I said desperately.

"Ohhh," Rafe said with a smirk. "Wow. What did he tell you? Sam, what kind of story did you cook up? Alcazar, really? You lied, you lied to your baby brother and your girlfriend?"

"We're wasting time!" Nadine interrupted, apparently less interested in the drama that was unfolding. I stared at Sam, begging for him to deny what Rafe was talking about but his silence was enough to tell me Rafe's words were true. Tears of anger came to my eyes as I backed away from him, covering my mouth and having to look away from him.

"The thing is I never stopped looking for Avery's treasure. I just kept running into these dead ends... and then I hear our dear old Samuel Drake - an authority on Avery - was still alive and somewhat well. There was no breakout. I bribed the prison warden and Sam? Oh, well he just waltzed right out the front gate. He spent the last two years tracking down the second Saint Dismas cross and you know what? He did it all with me," Rafe explained and my heart hurt with every word.

"No, no that's bullshit," Nate said.

"Sam, care to refute?" Rafe asked.

"Nate-,"

"Aw Sam, Sam no..."

"Listen, Avery's treasure was ours-,"

"Screw Avery's treasure!" I yelled, pushing Sam away from us as he tried to walk to us, tears now streaking down my face. Rafe laughed happily, as though he was watching his favourite show.

"If it's any consolation he fooled me too. He brought you two and that old man back into the mix and I cannot lie Sam that really pissed me off," Rafe said, his voice turning menacing. "But you know, it's all behind us now."

"You don't deserve it," Sam muttered and Rafe looked at him, confused.

"You do?"

"Rafe? One way or another end it, or I will," Nadine interrupted and Rafe sighed.

"Well you heard the lady," Rafe said, pointing his gun straight at Sam's head and out of instinct I jumped in front of him, surprising Rafe, Sam and Nate. "Really? After what he's done?" Rafe laughed.

"You miss one clue and you can kiss that treasure goodbye," Nate said. "You said it yourself, you keep running into dead ends... face it Rafe you need us."

"Yeah you're right. Well, almost right. I don't need you," Rafe turned his gun on Nate and everything seemed to happen in a blur. Sam ran in between Nate and the gun just as a Rafe fired. The power from the bullet knocked Sam backwards into Nate who slipped and fell over the edge of the cliff.

"NATHAN!" Sam and I screamed, looking over the edge of the cliff just in time to see him splash into the river at the bottom of the ravine. Tears streaming down my face I turned to Sam to see that the bullet had only grazed his arm but it was still bleeding profusely.

"Get her," Rafe ordered one of the mercs who manhandled me roughly.

"Hey, let her go, don't touch her!" Sam shouted, scrambling to his feet.

"Well that's really up to you. You do as you're told and we won't hurt her," Rafe bargained, pointing his gun at Sam's head. Sam let out a deep sigh and nodded. "Good. Let's get going."