"This is so much better," I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped off of Sully's plane onto a small wooden dock in King's Bay, Madagascar. "Screw the cold, I need this heat."

"Yeah, I thought I missed the cold but this is much nicer," Sam agreed, joining me on the dock. "So where's our hotel?"

On the flight over I had booked us a room each at a cheap motel, nothing fancy but we knew it would be early evening by the time we arrived and that there wouldn't be much we could get done before night fell. "This way," I checked the maps on my phone and led the small group towards the hotel. Sam and I walked ahead, Sully behind us smoking a cigar and Nate at the back on the phone to Elena.

"Hey - er - (y/n)?" Sam said, his voice sounding unsure.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You were impressive back then... in Scotland I mean," he said and I chuckled. "I had no idea you had such stealthy moves, or that you were good with a sniper."

"They're skills I've honed these past few years. I prefer that to getting shot at," I said.

"I don't blame you there. It's thrilling but a pain in the ass," he said but as I looked at him I could tell there was something more he wanted to say.

"What's wrong?"

"If you liked me-," Sam started but my phone interrupted us, dinging and a message appeared saying that we'd reached our destination. I looked up and saw we were at the motel, but a second later I realised what Sam had started to say I looked up at him to see him blushing.

"Is this it kids?" Sully asked, approaching the building. I nodded and the four of us entered the run-down looking hotel, then being taken to our rooms which looked to be a part of an apartment complex. We set up our base in Nate's room, sticking a large map of Kings Bay, in particular the volcano, on the wall but my mind was elsewhere: I was wondering what it was Sam was about to say to me. Whilst in the presence of the other two I acted as casual as possible, Sam also seemingly able to do so.

"So what now?" I asked openly to the three boys.

"Drinks? Food?" Sam suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I saw a bar next door," Nate led the way and I quickly followed, my stomach rumbling at the thought of food. When we settled in the bar, drinks and food in front of us, we began planning, ready to execute once the sun was up.

- The Next Day -

It was a scorching morning as I laid in the back of the four by four truck that Sully and Nate spent ages trying to rent due to an argument they were having with the rental guy - during which Sam and I stood in the background and watched. I of course remembered what he was about to say to me last night, but we had more pressing matters at hand: namely, finding a centuries old pirate treasure.

The sun beamed down as Sully raised his phone in the air, trying to get any form of signal. The view of the volcano in front of us was stunning, but we had a lot of ground to cover so we needed to get a move on. "What're the satellites saying Victor?" Sam asked, him having gotten out of the car moments ago to stretch his legs.

"Right now not a goddamn thing," Sully said and Nate, sat in the drivers seat, sighed.

"Hey, do you know what never looses signal? Paper!" Nate said, pulling out his map.

"Yeah, but you still use a flip-phone. It's 2016, Nate, get with the times," I teased, hopping out of the car as he spread the map across the bonnet, getting a good look at the route he wanted to take to the volcano. He shoved me playfully as I stood next to him and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's get this show on the road," Sam said, hopping into the back of the truck and helping me up a second later. There weren't any seatbelts in the back, just a bench for us to sit on so I held the back of Nate's chair as he began to drive across the rough terrain of the Madagascan plains.

"So, what're we looking for out here?" Sully asked.

"Well, the map showed all these structures around the volcano. Some abandoned outposts, a handful of watch towers-,"

"Watchtowers?" Sully seemed surprised.

"Avery was the most wanted man in the world, so if he was hiding something out here, makes sense he'd need lookouts," Sam explained.

"And one of those towers is right on the volcano," I said, checking the map.

"With Avery's treasure in it?" Sully asked.

"Fingers crossed," I whispered, staring at the map. Nate's driving skills weren't exactly perfect but we were on rough terrain, so there were a few times when I'd jump on my seat or be pushed to the side by his sharp turning.

"Hey, you're missing the views," Sam nudged me, seeing that I was still reading the map, so I looked up and my eyes widened at the sight of the large volcano dominating the scenery. It was beautiful to see the wildlife grow below it. Large birds flew high in the sky, their shadows skimming the dusty, orange earth. "Not bad, huh?"

"Not bad," I agreed, smiling as I looked. I glanced back at Sam to see his eyes on me before he coughed and looked away. In front of me I spotted another pair of eyes on me, and I looked to see Nate's eyes looking at me through the mirror, a mischievous glint in them and I knew what he was thinking.

"So with our luck, what's the chances this volcano will erupt on us?" Nate asked.

"Zero. It's extinct," Sully said. "Trust me that's the first thing I looked up when we said we were heading for a volcano."

"Wait... Sully, you did some research?" I teased.

"Can't let the kids upstage me every time," Sully said and I chuckled.

"Hey... is it just me or is there something odd about that waterfall?" I asked as we drove through a stream and the boys turned to look.

"Yeah... let's check it out," Nate said, driving right up to it. Through the glistening water there looked to be a cave, so Nate drove straight through the water, it being the refreshing shower I needed in this heat.

"A secret cave behind a waterfall... how very pirate-y," Sam said and I laughed.

"'Pirate-y'?" I quoted as Nate got out to explore. "What are you, seven?" Sam went a little red and quickly turned his attention to Sully.

"How is it you know Kings Bay so well, huh?" He asked him.

"Well... first time out here was for a swap. Stolen diamonds. Deal went bad and I got arrested. Ended up bribing the police chief," he told Sam, this being a story I had been told multiple times so I knew what was coming.

"Of course," Sam laughed.

"And in the process of negotiating the bribe we, uh... hit it off. And I made it a point to visit every few years," Sully said.

"Well, hell, maybe we can preempt any trouble we might get into, can you still reach out to him?" Sam asked.

"Her," I interrupted Sully's climaxing moment. "The police chief was a women, that's how he managed to 'hit it off' so well," I said.

"No, it wasn't like that. We just saw the world in similar ways," Sully said.

"Uh-huh, sure," I teased.

"Besides she moved to Brazil. Been a fair few years since we've seen each other," he said.

"Well if it's meant to be then it'll happen," I said and Sully looked back at me.

"I should probably be saying the same to you, kid," he said, glancing at Sam quickly. I sent the old man a death stare but he just chuckled. Soon Nate returned to us, claiming that there was nothing much of interest in the tighter spaces of the caves, so we splashed through the waterfall once more, my map getting soaked.

"A little warning next time?" I asked Nate and he called out an apology.

"You know that's the first time I've had two showers in one day," Sam said.

"Ew," I turned my nose up at him and he laughed. The drive continued, the bumpy and uneven terrain throwing us back and forth. Multiple times I almost crashed into Sam due to some large rock Nate and driven over, or a sharp corner he had turned. After a while I was convinced he was doing it on purpose. "Whoa, that's a sketchy looking bridge," I pointed out the incredibly large wooden structure that stood tall above us.

"I think we'll need to cross it to carry on forward," Nate said, driving up the hill next to the bridge and lining the car up with it ready to cross. Nerves hit everyone in the car as Nate drove carefully, us trying to offer our advice but Nate accusing us of backseat driving. Thankfully we reached the other side of the bridge in one piece, which was a pleasant change of pace so Nate carried on until Sam pointed out a man made tower in the distance.

We knew that was where we needed to go so Nate made a bee-line for it, apparently not caring about the safety of his passengers as we rocked back at forth. "Hey Victor, what were you arguing with the rental guy about?" Sam asked, and I became intrigued too, remembering the flared argument from that morning.

"Oh your brother insisted on getting a four by four with a winch," Sully said.

"So you sprung for the winch but you couldn't spring for the suspension. I got it," Sam said, imitating an insulted tone.

"Hey it's important! Going off-road, it might rain, might be muddy," Nate tried to defend himself.

"I bet we'll go through this whole goddamn thing and not use that winch," Sully muttered as Nate drove on.

"So we're thinking Avery, Tew and some other big-shot pirates pooled their treasure and came out here because... why exactly?" Sam asked.

"Maybe the British were getting too close to them, they probably didn't want their treasure to fall in their hands," I suggested.

"Sure. Maybe he helped them disappear?" Sam said.

"I'd say that either way there's more than just Avery and Tew in this game," I said confidently.

"You really think so?" Sam still seemed skeptical.

"I just don't know why multiple crosses would be made, nor why there was all those initiation tests in Scotland if it wasn't about getting other pirates on board," I said and Sam laughed.

"Was that a pun?"

"It wasn't but you can take it that way," I said and we laughed together. Soon we reached the tower we had seen so Sam and Nate clambered out to investigate whilst Sully and I stayed in the car.

"So kid, how you holdin' up?" Sully asked.

"Okay, I'm really getting back into the swing of treasure hunting. This is exactly the motivation I need to find the library-,"

"I meant about Sam," he said and my smile faltered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you two have a real spark. You're suited for each other," he said.

"There is no spark Sully, it's fine," I tried to deny the feelings that were slowly building up inside of me with each passing day.

"Listen kid. There's something there that much is obvious, and trust me when I say that if you don't act on it... well you'll regret it for the rest of your life," Sully said in a somewhat sad tone and I had a feeling he was talking from experience. "You don't wanna live a life wonderin' what could've been."

I was silent after his words, thinking deeply. "But what- what if it's not... reciprocated?" I asked quietly, finally admitting my feelings to myself. Sully smiled.

"Well he'd be stupid to say no," he said and I smiled. "But seein' the way he is around you... I know he's only been back in our lives for about a few weeks but I can see the way he looks at you. And even if he doesn't feel that way... well a sense of closure is always good."

"Thanks Sully... although can I ask? Are you speaking from experience?" I asked and Sully gulped.

"Something like that, yeah," he said.

"Who was she? Anyone I know?" I asked carefully and he let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah. You could say that," he muttered but just as I was about to ask more questions, the youngest Drake came back to the truck. "Anything of interest?" Sully changed his tone back to his happy-go-lucky self.

"Yeah actually. That tower, it had Christopher Condents sigil in it," he said and my eyes widened.

"Who the hell is Christopher Condent?" Sully asked.

"Another pirate, was around a similar time to Avery... so that supports my theory, right?" I said excitedly.

"It's looking that way. We'll keep on going just to make sure. Now we gotta clear this muddy slide, so Sully, looks like this winch might come in handy after all!" Nate said proudly, taking it and climbing the steps next to the muddy hill. I couldn't help but chuckle as he tightened the winch around a sturdy looking tree before hopping back in the car.

Thanks to the winch we managed to clear the muddy hill, something Nate happily gloated about. He was still a child at heart. Once we were all back in the car we carried on our journey, keeping our eyes peeled for any man-made looking watchtowers. I definitely couldn't get enough of the view; the volcano truly was spectacular and I was regretting not bringing my camera.

"Just imagine... you come here, a well-to-do pirate, far away from your oppressive government..." Sam's tone screamed awe and wonder, however Sully soon interrupted.

"Ha, poor oppressed pirates. All they wanted to do was murder and pillage in peace."

"No, no they wanted to leave as free men," Sam tried to defend them, but I had to agree with Sully on this one.

"Well if you're gonna pick a place to run away from society, you could do far worse than here," Nate pointed out.

"It'd be hard for the British to get to them here... they couldn't of picked a more perfect spot," I agreed.

"See Victor. And in a place like this they could live as freely as they wanted," Sam said proudly.

"I mean... I bet they still murdered and pillaged to their hearts content, whenever they got the chance," I said and Sully laughed whilst Sam pouted. We rounded a corner and saw another tower up ahead, however a sudden explosion at the base of it made Nate slam the brakes hard, so hard I almost fell into the front seat with him if Sam didn't pull me back.

"I see 'em," Nate said grimly and I looked through my binoculars.

"Shoreline," I muttered, seeing the name and logo plastered on some of the crates littered around the tower.

"Hey kid, be careful with those," Sully said, referring to my binoculars.

"Yes I know," I said, keeping my attention on Shoreline. I could see at least six mercenaries scouting the place, not paying any respects to the hundred years worth of history they were walking on. "Looks like they found an old colony outpost."

"But the wrong one, right?" Sully checked.

"That's the good news," Nate interjected and Sully sighed.

"That means there's bad news."

"The only route to the volcano is directly through them," Nate said.

"Shit... how're we gonna play this?" Sam asked.

"Just follow my lead," Nate said. As quietly as we could we drove closer to the tower, parking the truck out of sight.

"Hey, look... that guy on his own... he's got a sniper," I whispered.

"Great. Let's take him out first and (y/n), you keep the rifle. Find a good vantage point. The three of us will try and take the rest out stealthily but if things go down we'll need you help," Nate whispered and I nodded, climbing the small ruins quietly and taking the sniper rifle. I aimed it, scanning the area for the other Shoreliners whilst the three boys scoured the place, taking out the mercenaries one by one.

After a nerve-wracking few minutes they called out to me, letting me know they'd taken each of them out. I hung the rifle around my body, thinking there was a chance we'd need it again, and went to join the boys. "Rafe and Nadine must have hundreds of guys out here. They could stumble on the treasure through pure blind luck," Sam said angrily as I approached them.

"Hey look, they've wired dynamite to this door... now what do you bet..." Nate took a few steps back and shot at the dynamite causing the door to blow. When the dust cleared we entered and saw another sigil patterned on the ground.

"Huh... Adam Baldridge... he was a trader, a general scoundrel," Sam said and I laughed.

"Yet another pirate captain," I said, nudging Sam's arm.

"Okay okay, I'll admit it. Maybe they did pool all their treasure together," Sam said, raising his hands in defence.

"Let's keep looking. We know the tower we need to get to, so let's try and get there before Rafe's men do," Nate said, running outside to see the car had already been driven up to us by Sully. Nate then took the wheel and we headed off again, weaving our way between rocks and trying to climb up muddy hills until we reached an opening where, up ahead we saw multiple large trucks making their way up the volcano.

"Shit... more Shoreliners?" Sam sighed dramatically.

"Yeah, they're really going all in aren't they?" I asked rhetorically, peeking through my binoculars.

"What if they found the treasure already?!"

"Sam relax, they're still looking alright? They're searching every inch of this place, if they found it they would've taken it and fled by now," I said.

"Yeah... yeah you're right," Sam said, calming down a little. I watched the Shoreline trucks through my binoculars, seeing the way they were going and silently thinking that that was the same route we had to take - surely it wasn't a coincidence. Rafe may be ruthless but he was also clever, and there was a chance he had also somehow figured out which tower to go to.

A question from Sully however suddenly caught my attention. "So Sam... if you don't mind me asking... how'd you pass the time in prison?"

I peeled myself away from my binoculars and glanced at Sam subtly. "Ah y'know, reading mostly," Sam said nonchalantly. "There was this one guard, saw me as a charity case I guess. He'd check out books from the library for me."

"What did you read?" I found myself intrigued by the topic.

"History mostly. Especially anything related to Avery, just in case," he said. "Besides books, push-ups, smoking, things like that. Just a whole lot of thinking."

"If you had a guard doing you favours why didn't you use him to get word to us?" Nate asked.

"Oh I tried. I asked him to mail a letter... to your PO Box."

"I never got it."

"That's 'cos the warden saw. I got busted and I never saw that guard again," Sam said.

"Jesus Christ, that's brutal," I said and Sam nodded.

"Eh, I got my own back when the warden decided to room me with Alcazar. That didn't go exactly how he planned," Sam said with satisfaction.

Nate drove on a little further, us starting to see a few decorated stone pillars. They looked to be guiding our way, and I assumed that things this fancy meant we were on the right track. After dealing with a few more mercenaries - me having to do a bit of shooting this time - we pushed on, and drove through more pillars to see another tower.

All four of us clambered out to investigate, Sam helping me up the broken stairs leading up to it. The tower was on a cliff side and the view was incredible. "Holy shit. You can probably see all of Kings Bay up here," Sam said.

"It's stunning isn't it," I smiled, then glancing up at Sam who had a strange look in his eye as he admired the view. "Sam?"

"Sorry I just- I just keep waiting to wake up and find myself in solitary or something," he sighed. "Like it's all one dream... being here... finding Avery's treasure... with you..."

"Sam," I wasn't really sure what to say.

"No, no, sorry (y/n). No guilt trip. I'm just... happy," he said quietly. We leant against the stone wall, quietly admiring the view together. "Thanks for coming along," he whispered so that Nate and Sully wouldn't overhear, but they were on the other side of the tower.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," I said reassuringly.

"I can't- I can't tell you just how much I missed you y'know," he said, catching me off guard. He pulled me into a hug and I felt my heartbeat pick up, holding him tightly in return. I had definitely missed his hugs.

"I've missed you too... so much," I muttered into his chest. A second later however the voices of Nate and Sully caused us to separate quickly.

"Nothing much here," Nate said, leading the way back to the truck. I nodded and was about to follow when Sam grabbed my hand. I turned to face him and he was just smiling at me sweetly. He proceeded to brush a piece of hair behind my ear, before leading the way back to the truck. I tried to fight the fluster that threatened to show on my face and instead headed back to the truck with the others.