"I swear to god, I'm going to save him then kill him myself," I growled, Nate and I making our way inland once more, heading for the distinct mountain.

"Can we just focus on the saving part for now?" Nate requested and I let out a sigh. "You okay?"

"No... after everything we- everything we've done and he still- he still-," I tried to hold back the waterworks when Nate pulled me into a hug.

"I know, I know... we'll get him back though," Nate said.

"Alive?"

"Yes, alive," he said firmly. "Hey look, footprints," Nate pointed out behind me and I turned to see there were in fact a set of footprints in the mud. "We just gotta head to the mountain, save Sam, get the hell outta here... yeah. We'll all be laughing about the whole thing tomorrow."

"That's rather optimistic," I said bitterly.

"A bit of optimism never hurt anyone," he said before swinging across to another cliff side. I followed, us having to scale the sides of multiple mountain sides just to follow the trail of footprints Sam had unintentionally left in the mud for us to follow.

"Hey, what's this?" We came across a skeleton laying slumped against a rock, looking somewhat defeated. Nate approached to investigate as I had a rummage through the skeletons bag, coming across an old and delicate letter. "Oh my god," I whispered as I read it. "This is Jonathan Burnes."

"What? Read it," Nate said.

April 14, 1808

Although I successfully extracted Hayes' bullet from my thigh, the wound festers and the Fever has abated. I long to see what lies on the inside of the mountain, but the pain is too great to bear and I must rest, regain my strength.

With a moments respite, doubt creeps into my mind. Was I wrong to punish the men for breaking their contract with me? I have dedicated my life to finding this place, finding Avery's treasure, and their actions nearly robbed me of my destiny. No. My actions were just.

Tonight, I rest. The fever will break. And tomorrow, I finish my grandfathers journey. Then, upon returning home, I shall write of my exploits here: a book by Jonathan Burnes to sit in the libraries alongside history's greatest adventurers.

At worst I shall loose this leg. But in the end, I will have lived a life worth living. And Claire will be proud of me at long last.

Claire.

Forgive me.

"Wow... wait, so First Mate Hayes shot him?" I asked Nate and he nodded.

"Yeah... I found some more letters when we were separated... sounded as though Burnes was going a bit crazy trying to find Avery's treasure. Was willing to hurt those around him to get to it-,"

"Sounds like someone I know," I said bitterly and Nate sighed deeply.

"Listen (y/n), I know Sam's been an asshole about the whole Alcazar thing. Lying to us, well we have the right to be frustrated, but I don't think he ever intended it to get this messy. It doesn't mean he doesn't care."

"What're you trying to say Nathan?" I asked with a harsh tone as we walked, entering a cave.

"I'm saying he cares about you. A lot. When we were in Libertalia earlier he as good as admitted it to me that he loves you-,"

"I know! I know- thats what's making this harder Nathan, he claims he has these feelings then he goes ahead and stabs me in the back," I said and Nate sighed.

"Do you hate him?" Nate asked carefully.

"I hate that I don't hate him," I muttered.

"So how do you feel?" Nate asked, already knowing the answer. "You love him?" He asked and I nodded timidly. "Then for now just focus on that. We need to save him, I need to save my brother and you need to save the guy you love. Alright?"

"Alright," I said, feeling a bit less irritated and a bit more confident. We came across an old wooden bridge and tried crossing but naturally it gave way, us sliding down closer and closer to a ravine.

"Up there!" Nate shouted, pointing out a branch and we quickly used our grappling hooks to catch it before we fell to our deaths. I let out a sigh of relief, swinging to the opposite cliff face and climbing up, us having to crawl through a narrow tunnel until we were in an open chamber. We had lost sight of Sam's footprints so had to figure out a different route, it being dangerous and full of precarious swinging.

"I think we have to head down here Nate," I said, wrapping my grappling hook around a branch before abseiling down the side of a cliff until I saw something that made me stop and my mouth drop. "Nate, you might want to see this," I said, staring at Henry Avery's legendary pirate ship below me, The Fancy.

"Holy crap- that's The Fancy," Nate said, breathless.

"We have to get down there, come on," I said, taking the lead and swinging to the cliff opposite. We were now in what looked like the centre of the mountain, it being dark and cold however atmospheric lighting was illuminating the cave from the various entrances letting in natural light.

"This is probably the best way," Nate gestured at an unstable looking slide. I let out a sigh knowing he was right, so together we jumped on and ended up being thrashed around a little due to its instability, before we finally landed with a loud splash in water.

"That's fresh," I said as I surfaced, goosebumps appearing on my arms. "Did Sam really do all that?"

"Nah, he probably found the dry, less painful way down," Nate said as we started swimming, needing to get back to The Fancy. We had to swim underwater to get through a tunnel, but when we emerged again it seemed as though we were under a wooden dock. "Shh," Nate whispered to me, pointing up. Through the wooden slats I saw movement, and I heard Nadine speak.

"Are we almost done here?" She asked in an irritated tone. I could see a mercenary unloading what looked like chests onto a speedboat parked next to the dock. There was a whirling sound of another speedboat, this apparently being unexpected by the two.

'Sam?' I mouthed to Nate who shrugged his shoulders.

"Sam just stole our goddamn boat!" Rafe came storming into the picture. Together we watched the drama unfold: Rafe slapping Nadine, Nadine pinning Rafe down and her mercenaries turning on her. The four of them then clambered onto their speed boat and headed straight for The Fancy. We swam out from under the docks and stood on it, marvelling at the beauty of The Fancy.

It was incredibly large with sparkling gold lining around its painted black wooden slats. The masts were tall and intimidating, with the large sails still somehow intact. It was a magnificent sight, but after seeing the incredible architecture in New Devon I shouldn't of been surprised.

"Let's see what you've got in store for us, Captain Avery," Nate said, slapping my back before diving back into the water. I nodded and followed, us swimming quickly until suddenly the entire bow of The Fancy exploded. "Holy shit!" Nate cried and smoke began pouring from the inside of the ship.

"No... no, Sam!" I shouted.

"C'mon, we gotta hurry!" Nate shouted, us swimming with all our might up to the boat. He helped me as we clambered onto the boat through the hole the explosion caused, and inside there were a number of flames filling the place with smoke.

"Shoreline," I spotted the two mercenaries dead on the floor. As we headed out onto the deck another explosion went off, shaking the whole ship.

"Sam?!" Nate shouted.

"Down here," I pointed to a grate leading to the hull. Nate and I jumped down and I looked around to see piles and piles of treasure. "Shit this... this is it," I said, looking around.

"There's your treasure," Nate muttered. There were hundreds of thousands of coins scattered everywhere, gold statues and chests filled with what was undoubtedly valuable trinkets. There were instruments, rugs and gold plates of various sizes, but I couldn't let myself be distracted from our ultimate goal.

"(y/n)! Through here!" Nate called out and I went to join him, the smoke only getting thicker and thicker. We went through a door into room, treasure all lined around the edges being protected by large iron gates. There were multiple rope pulleys around the room which held in place sacks of treasure to the ceiling, including chests, cups and statues, but around us flames were getting stronger and stronger. "Sam?!"

"Sam! Are you here?!"

"Hey (y/n)," Rafe's voice said and out from the smoke he emerged, holding a gun directly at us. Nate grabbed and drew his own, aiming it at the psycho. I went to reach for mine but found it was gone: probably lost from all the sliding it took to get down here in the first place. "And Nate too..."

"Where is Sam?" Nate demanded.

"Oh, he's right there," Rafe gestured to the side of the room and underneath a large wooden pillar laid Sam.

"No!" I shouted, running up to him quickly.

"Relax, he's alive," Rafe scoffed, and I checked Sam's pulse to make sure he was telling the truth which thankfully he was. I nodded to Nate to let him know Sam was indeed alive. "Y'know this idiot nearly got us all killed."

"I'm getting him outta here," Nate said sternly.

"No, you're not," Rafe said simply.

"Sam, Sam please wake up," I tried shaking him and he groaned. "Sam!"

"You can have the treasure alright? Just let me save my brother!"

"After everything he's done?" Rafe laughed. "How noble. But no."

"If we stay here any longer we're all dead!" I shouted. "Is that what you want?!"

"That's not what I said," Rafe said. "What do you think Nadine? Be a dear and relieve Nate here of his gun."

Nadine Ross stepped into the room, aiming her gun directly at Nate. He had no choice but to hand over his gun, however unsurprisingly Nadine turned her aim to Rafe, demanding his gun also. "Look over there!" She shouted, gesturing two skeletons collapsed in the corner, both wearing fancy clothes and both with cutlasses sticking out of their rib cages. "I don't know as much about history as you, but I can take a pretty good guess as to who they are."

"It's Tew and Avery," Nate said. "They killed each other."

"Everyone obsessed with this treasure gets what they deserve," Nadine said, backing out of the room.

"So you're just leaving us here to die?" Nate asked.

"Oh, I'm just leaving. Whether you die or not isn't my concern," she said, slamming the door shut. Rafe ran into it, trying to open it but it wouldn't budge no matter how desperately he tried.

"We're gonna get you out of here Sam just stay with me," I begged, trying to lift the wooden column off of him.

"(y/n)?" He groaned.

"Yes, yes it's me," I brushed some of his hair away from his face. He smiled up at me, clearly in pain but trying not to show it. "Nate, help me!"

"Sam, c'mon," Nate tried to help me lift it but we weren't strong enough on our own. "Rafe, help us with Sam and we'll help you open the door!"

"I'm not going to be able to enjoy any one of these coins whilst you three imbeciles are still sucking air," Rafe spat, pulling the cutlass from what was once Avery's gut.

"Nathan," I caught his attention.

"Okay, just calm down, you can practice your fencing when we get outside-,"

"Nate! Just shut up!" Rafe shouted, then lunging his sword towards Nate. He dodged it just in time, Rafe continuing to attack. Nate was managing to keep Rafe's attention, so I turned my own to Sam.

"Okay, okay, on three... one, two three!" I tried pulling. "C'mon Sam, push it!"

"I can't, it's too heavy," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "(y/n)... I'm sorry-,"

"Shut up, you can apologise later!" I shouted, trying to pull him out again.

"(y/n)- Nathan," Sam groaned and I turned to see Rafe on top of him, second from cutting his throat.

"Nathan!" I threw the sword that was once in Tew's gut across to him, letting him counter attack.

"(y/n), listen to me," Sam whispered when I was back by his side. "You gotta get outta here-,"

"No-,"

"Yes, please (y/n), I'll be okay," Sam smiled but my vision became blurry as tears streaked down my face. He reached up and gently touched my cheek, trying to wipe away my tears. "I'm sorry baby... for everything," he whispered, coughing. I held his hand against my cheek, biting my trembling lip.

"I can't loose you again," I whispered.

"You'll be okay," Sam said.

"No, no we have to get out of here," I tried a couple more times to pull the wood off of him as the fire built up around us, burning everything to the ground. I could hear the clinking of swords behind me, Nate and Rafe still battling.

"(y/n)! Listen to me!" Sam said and I collapsed next to him. "You have to get out of here, please baby, I have to know you got outta here safely."

"No I can't-," I gripped his top, crying into his chest.

"You, your pathetic excuse for a brother and the sad little girl will all die here," Rafe spat and anger flooded my veins. I turned to see Nate on the floor, his sword broken in two. Rafe had his sword pointed at his throat. "Well, I think I earned this," Rafe laughed and I stood.

"You want the treasure so badly?!" I shouted, grabbing an ornate knife from the piles of treasure and unsheathing it. "You be my guest!" I yelled, having noticed where Rafe was stood: directly under one of the strung up sacks of treasure. Using the knife I cut the rope on the pulley, and in a second it all came crashing on top of Rafe, crushing him in an instant.

"Holy shit (y/n)!" Nate shouted, staring at what I had just done. The two of us went back to Sam, us both now trying but it was still too heavy.

"It's too heavy," Sam kept on saying but I was desperate to free him. "Listen to me, listen to me!" Sam stopped us both. "All I ever wanted to do... was find this treasure... together... and we did it, okay, we did it!"

"Sam shut up-," Nate started but Sam interjected.

"You gotta go, both of you, you gotta go!" Sam shouted.

"No, there has to be something-,"

"There's nothing, please I have to know you're both safe," Sam pleaded.

"I can't leave you!" I cried, collapsing beside him.

"Nathan you have to take her out, please little brother," Sam pleaded and for a second Nate hesitated, before grabbing my waist and pulling me away.

"NO!" I screamed, trying to free myself.

"The whole place is about to blow! You gotta go!" Sam shouted, and Nate let go of me.

"That's it, that's it!" Nate shouted, somehow excitedly. He positioned a cannon that was nearby and pointed it downwards, before setting it alight. The cannon blew a hole in the floor and water began flooding it.

"Nathan are you crazy?!" I shouted.

"This'll make the beam lighter! And we can swim out this way!" Nate shouted and it was like a light bulb flicked on in my brain. I ran back up to Sam, cupping his cheek quickly before the three of us pushed the beam off of him, freeing him.

"You are one crazy son of a bitch, you know that right?" Sam chuckled as I helped him to stand.

"Takes one to know one," Nate said, the three of us swimming out of the hole Nate created. We swam out into the cave but The Fancy was falling to pieces. The fire was setting off explosions inside the ship, it affecting the rest of the cave as it began to crumble. We could see our exit which was slowly being covered with falling rocks, so we swam with all our might desperate to make it out. I didn't let the tiredness take over so I powered through.

It was a close call but as soon as the three of us were through the cave sealed off completely and once again another treasure was lost.

We didn't stop swimming until we reached a small area of land, where Elena stood ready to help us up. "Oh god, oh you're okay, you're all okay," Elena said as we all tried our best to calm down.

Once she had pulled me onto dry land I collapsed, panting heavily as exhaustion washed over me. I rested my forearm over my eyes in an effort to calm down, until I heard my name being softly spoken. "(y/n)?" Sam's voice said and I removed my arm from my eyes. He had his hand held out to me, and I took it, him pulling me up on wobbly legs. "You alright?" A whirlwind of emotions hit me all at once: anger, irritation, love and upset. Before I could stop myself I found myself slapping him across the cheek. Out the corner of my eye I noticed Nate and Elena back away as though knowing that we needed a moment. "Okay... yeah, I deserved that," Sam said awkwardly but tears fell from my eyes at the thought of almost loosing him for a second time. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around his neck, leant up on my tiptoes and slammed my lips against his.

His shock soon melted away as he held me tightly, wrapping his arms around my waist. Somehow this kiss felt even better than the one we shared in the hotel room in Madagascar, or even the kiss we shared on the watchtower. "Don't you ever tell me I'll be fine without you, got it?!" I jabbed him in the chest once we parted to breathe.

"Got it," he said with a smile.

"Sully's over here!" Nate called out to us. I was desperate to see the old man again, so I happily headed to his tin can of a plane with Sam following close. The four of us clambered onto the plane and I was definitely ready to get out of these clothes, so I headed to the back of the plane first to change into something Elena had brought for me. It was strange how refreshing it felt just to put on new clothes and to wipe down with a towel.

A mix of emotions played once more inside of me. I glanced at Sam as I passed him, him looking up to me expecting me to sit beside him like Elena was doing with Nate but instead I headed into the cockpit, sitting beside Sully and shutting the door behind me giving us privacy.

"Darlin'? You alright?" He asked. I sighed deeply, wondering whether or not it was a good idea to ask him this question but I knew that I needed his advice. As good as Elena (and sometimes Nate) was at giving advice, I needed Sully for this one.

"When we were driving to the volcano in Kings Bay the other day... you told me you were speaking from experience when you said that I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't confess my feelings... and when I asked you if it was someone I knew you said yes..." I said and he remained silent but seemed to know what I was about to ask. "Were you talking about my mother?"

He smiled as I mentioned her. "Yeah. For me it was only ever gonna be your mother. When your good-for-nuthin dad left, well... I wanted to tell her. But I was young... younger than I am now at least," he said and I chuckled, "and foolish. Before I knew it five years had passed, she became ill and... well, you know," Sully said and I smiled, a warm feeling in my heart now knowing that he felt that way about her. "I know what you're thinking," he added and I looked at him with curiosity. "You're wonderin' whether you'd be giving up a life of happiness if you didn't forgive Sam."

"I- I wasn't thinking that," I said quickly but Sully just chuckled.

"Listen darlin'. That man loves you, right? And do you love him?" Sully asked and I nodded. "I'm not saying you need to forgive him. Hell I doubt he even expects it, not after everything. But you can't let that get in the way of your feelings. Give him a chance. You don't want to ever wonder what could've been."

I nodded and twiddled my hands together, thinking about all the intimate moments between the two of us. How he held me, how he protected me, how he kissed me... I didn't have to forgive him. I just knew that it wasn't going to be enough to keep me from loving him. "Thanks Sully," I said with a smile before getting up and heading out of the cockpit. To my left was Elena and Nate, and down the far end of the plane sat Sam, twiddling his thumbs. I walked straight up to him, him glancing up at me with an unsure look on his face. Silently I pulled out the seat beside him, took his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders, then snuggling into his side. He let out a deep sigh of relief, kissing my temple and holding me closer.

I glanced up quickly at the other three on the plane, them all looking at us wearing warm smiles. "I love you baby," he whispered in my ear and I couldn't help but smile.

"I love you too."

During the rest of the flight back to Madagascar I redressed Sam's wounds, he redressed mine, we all chatted and Sam and Elena got to know each other a little better, making Nate smile. By the time we landed back in Madagascar we were all somewhat refreshed but ready for warm showers and a good nights sleep.

As we stepped out onto the dock Elena and Sam went ahead with the intention of flagging down a few taxis whilst I stayed with Nate and Sully, unloading the essentials from the plane. "Feel free to sell anything I left behind," Nate said.

"Sure I can't give you a lift?" Sully suggested.

"No that's okay... after the past couple of days I need a plane with drinks service and reclining seats," Nate chuckled. "Plus she and I have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah you do. And no more late night phone calls about one last time, alright?" I said sternly and he smiled.

"You got it," Nate said.

"Don't be a stranger," Sully said, waving.

"Next time you're in town, beers are on me!" He called out, heading to Elena and Sam.

"Thanks Sully," I said, turning to my father-figure.

"What for?"

"Your advice. I need a little happiness in my life," I said and he smiled.

"C'mere," he pulled me in for a tight hug, the lingering smell of a cigar somehow feeling homely. "Love ya, kid," he said, ruffling my hair.

"Love ya too... well, next time you're in town the beers are on Nate," I said with a laugh, heading over to join the others, seeing Sam and Elena hug. Elena and I walked ahead, giving the brothers some time alone whilst Elena flagged down a taxi. I watched the boys out the corner of my eyes talking, until the taxi came and beeped it's horn. I couldn't help but smile as they hugged, Nate then approaching Elena and me.

"(y/n), always a pleasure," Nate held open his arms and I hugged him.

"Don't you dare make this girl worry again, alright?" I said sternly and Elena laughed.

"I won't," he said, wrapping his arm around Elena. "See you back in the States."

"Safe flight guys," I waved as they climbed into the taxi and drove off. Just as they turned a corner I felt arms wrap around my waist and lift me into the air before placing me down again and letting me turn to face them. Sam stood there with a smirk, a new cigarette between his lips.

"So, what's on the agenda for us?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Hm, well I was thinking we could go back to my hotel room," I said and his eyebrow arched, smirk appearing on his lips.

"Oh really?" He teased and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, to have a shower each because you smell of sweat and cigarettes," I said plainly and he laughed.

"Okay... but after that-,"

"We'll see," I said, pulling the cigarette from his mouth and pressing my lips against his. He deepened the kiss and I felt as though all my troubles were vanishing as he swept me off my feet. After a few moments we pulled apart and I found my breath unsteady. I looked up into his dark a eyes and gulped. "To the hotel?" I asked quickly.

"Absolutely."