Kathryn is nearly halfway across a rock, leaning forward trying to get a better look at the sculpted wall. Her eyes drift off to the column of gold, cheeks still wet from her teeth, but brain is running a hundred miles per hour. The surprise is gone, now, she wants to engrave it in her mind.

"They just left all of this here," she breathes out. "The San Jose's crew must have driven them out."

John B is interested in something else entirely, slamming his hands down her shoulders. "Kat. You see all that on the ground?" Amongst the stalagmites, pieces of shiny rocks are scattered everywhere. "That's loose gold, Bug."

"Oh my god, it's everywhere," Sarah breathes out next to them.

Kathryn leans back, a smile easily stretching her lips. "I'll stop the nerd-ery if we pick some of those up, that's for sure."

They nod, awkwardly agreeing, humming, and sliding across the smooth rock like an improvised slide.

For the following minutes, they take as much gold as they can, which isn't a lot considering the sheer weight of it, but Kathryn can deal with the gym session, really, because the look on JJ's face when he sees the gold nugget she's picked up, oh, that'll be worth at least half of it.

Going full Kook indeed.

They're laughing, giggling, really, shouting and jumping up and down as the light dims down. When they're in darkness, Kathryn shuffles for her bag, putting the gold to the side.

"We have to haul ass, right now," she says, heart suddenly in her throat as she holds the lit flare. "Otherwise, we're entombed in there, and that's not the kind of fate I want."

John B nods. "We'll come back for the rest. Let's go."

The way back is quicker – they've already discovered the rooms, the hidden mechanisms. The fact that time is wasting also helps. Not that it wasn't before, but the very real prospect of being buried alive burrows under her skin in all the right ways to light an actual fire at her ass.

They're lucky that the flare is waterproof, able to guide them under water. They're even luckier to manage to actually swim up, with the gold in their backpacks. Now that's they know El Dorado is right behind them, they just have to get some materials, call the authorities, make it a protected landmark and–

"Easy now, young Darcy, easy!"

Kathryn could start screaming.

Singh holds them at gunpoint, John B extending an arm in front of Sarah, Kathryn waddling in front of them. Singh could kill them now. He could kill them now, and find El Dorado. They have nothing to offer him in exchange, not anymore, and definitely after the stunt they pulled the night before.

"Go for a little swim now, did you?" he asks when no one dares to say anything. She quickly glances around the cave. Where the hell is Big John? "Step out of the water and put your hands up, all of you. Now!"

They don't have much choice but to follow his orders, as he screams at them all the while, because Kathryn guesses it makes him feel better about himself? She doesn't know, she doesn't care, she just needs a plan out of here.

"Drop the flare. Drop it!"

She makes a face, lowering it to the ground. Dropping it is dangerous, it's literal fire. Her backpack nearly slings over her head from the weight of the gold.

Singh doesn't smile, even if he seems pleased, looking at them. "Looks like you're carrying a load there, young Darcy. You want to tell me about it?" Her jaw clicks shut. "What is in the bag?" he asks, detaching the syllables as if she didn't understand the first time. "Show me what's in the bag."

She doesn't move. He cocks his gun at John B. She guesses she showed her hand the night before.

"Fine," she seethes, opening her backpack, showing him the gold inside. He keeps staring at her. "Hey, at least look at it." Put the gun away from John B.

He doesn't. No, he just shoves his hand inside and takes it out, a piece nearly too big to fit in his palm.

He inspects it, laughing, rejoicing for a work he never put in, a privilege he never deserved. Isn't that always how it goes, with them? Finding something and getting it stolen from them the very next second.

"So, you found El Dorado at last. I know I was right to keep you alive, you know," he starts screaming out to the cave, probably hoping that Big John would hear him. Kathryn wouldn't put it past the man to be gone already. "But unfortunately for your son, the celebration will be short-lived."

He puts the cannon right above John B's heart, and Kathryn's blood drains from her face, Sarah softly gasping next to her. She feels her fingers tremble, but she can't jump Singh this time, can she? He's too close to John B, she'd be too late before she even tries anything.

"You have three seconds to come out before I start firing," Singh says. He cocks the gun, for emphasis.

"One."

"He didn't even try to save him earlier, you can't think it'll make him move now!"

"Two!"

Sarah holds John B's hand, sobs spilling past her lips. Kathryn's hands bawl into fists, and her stomach sinks and she thinks John B is about to die right before her eyes.

"I'm here, Singh." A collective sigh goes through them when Big John steps out of the shadows. "Over here."

Singh orients the gun away from John B, and that's all that matters for half a second. The next, well, they realise that if Big John is holding something that looks like a flare, but it's definitely not one.

It's dynamite. He's holding dynamite.

"You kill us," he says. "I'll make sure this thing blows. That roof won't hold, and you'll never see El Dorado."

Kathryn gulps, unsure if he's bluffing. Maybe Big John had an epiphany, like her mom did, and suddenly, he wants to make up for his bad behaviour, who knows. What she knows is that he's about to risk it all for his son, and that's the most admirable thing Kathryn can think of, as John B holds her and his girlfriend's hands.

"Drop your gun," Big John orders. Singh grimaces. "Drop the gun!"

He only aims it right back at John B's chest. "Don't be an idiot!" Kathryn cries out, voice high with despair.

"No, if my son dies, we all die."

Singh shrugs. "You see, the problem is I don't believe you, John. I don't believe that you would blow up your opportunity to see El Dorado, even to save your own son, and even your own son knows that, you know." John B risks a glance at his father. He can't disagree with Singh, not on this. "You've proven it time and time again, John, you know that." He holds up the gold he stole from Kathryn. "This John is the great quest. This is what we've been looking for our whole lives. So put that thing out, and join me."

Kathryn clenches her jaw. Maybe if none of them had been in that situation before, she would have higher hopes. But their parents have consistently and continuously put the treasure before their children. So really, they should have known. All of them should have known better.

Big John moves to put out the dynamite. "...No, I can't..." Her lids snap shut. She doesn't want to see this. "This is for you, kid."

The only thing she hears is the wind. No tongue, but always speaking. She opens her eyes. The dynamite lands right above the entry point, stuck in a crevice in the stone wall.

"Run!"

Kathryn shoves at Singh on her way out, dragging John B after her, the boy tugging Sarah with him.

Their shoes hit the wet ground, nearly slipping at every turn, hauling ass before the cave collapses on them.

"Dad hurry up!" John B tugs at Kathryn's hand. "Take the gold."

She stares at him, nearly shaking him. "You took time to get it?"

"Don't argue– get out of here, take Sarah, go."

Sarah grabs her hand and starts running before she can even think about arguing back, against his express order.

They're out, when the dynamite goes off.

The whole ground shakes under their feet, sending them flying right into the dirt. Kathryn's chin hits first, hard, her top teeth sinking in her bottom lip, piercing the skin.

She turns around hurriedly, wiping the blood from her face, placating her fingers against the wound which will definitely get infected, but at least, the first thing she sees is John B's brown hair, lying face first next to his father.

No sign of Singh. There's a man she won't mourn.

"You okay?"

"You're bleeding!"

"It's fine, we gotta go."

Sarah and her heave Big John up. "Anybody could have heard that blast," he grumbles.

Evidently, that's the least of their problems, as the girls move forward, running, the boys right behind. Until Sarah stops, heaving for breath, and Kathryn is forced to. What are they running from anyway? Singh's dead!

She inhales sharply, and turns back at Big John.

He's holding his stomach. His bleeding stomach. It soaked right through the shirt, onto his hand. At least a pint of blood has been lost. At least from what she can tell, she's no Pope, but she can guess that it's not exactly ideal, or liveable.

Her bag clunks loudly when she puts it down. "What the hell happened?"

"A bullet grazed me," he heaves out, gaze zeroing on her backpack.

Her eyes blow wide. "This is from last night?"

"Kat," he stops her dead in her tracks, pointing at the bag. "Is that what I think it is?"

She rolls her lips in her mouth. Of course he'd care more about the gold than himself. But with that kind of wound, she won't be a bitch about it. What he needs is the rest he can get on that random rock, and help. Her and Sarah can go back to the city, and they can get it there. They found their way back in the cave, surely the rainforest is nothing.

So instead of berating the old man, she takes a deep breath, and shakes her head.

"Big John, it's beautiful," Sarah says, choosing to indulge him too.

Kathryn clears her throat. "I'll, uh... I can paint it for you. If you want." She opens her bag. "But I have a feeling you'll like this even more."

She takes the gold out of it. He stares, completely dumbfounded, for a second.

"We found it," John B tells him, patting his shoulder. "Just like you and Kat said."

The only thing he can do is breathe out "Look at that..." and cry, sniffling shakily.

Sarah grins at him. "It was like nothing you could ever imagine. It's all, like, gold... everywhere."

Kathryn tilts her head back and forth. "Yeah, that was sort of the point."

"Yeah, smartass," John B ironises. "I mean, Kat did figure out the other riddle. The walking in the dark."

Big John smiles at her, the way he used to when she was a kid, and beat John B at whatever board game they were playing. "That a girl. Thank you, Kat."

She offers him a lopsided grin. "Sarah found the cave, though. But I think I can confirm it was our pleasure, yeah?"

The blonde chuckles. "Oh yeah."

Sure, she didn't forgive him yet for what he did to John B, how he treated her and Sarah. But this was a start. And she'll have all the time in the world to be angry at him once they are home. Oh, the look on Henry's face when he'll find that out...

"So sweet, you know?"

Kathryn raises her gaze at John B, who looks right past her. This can't be who she thinks it is. No, because Sarah kept the guy away. And he said that he was here to protect his daughter, not steal from them again. And oh, she better not see Ward when she turns around.

But she does. Because of course – now they're done with everything. Singh's dead, they have the gold, they know the location of El Dorado. Now was the time for a Cameron to swoop in and take everything. It was either him or Rafe.

He aims his gun right at Big John. "One big happy family, huh?"

Kathryn extends an arm towards Sarah, tucking the gold back into her bag. "Like you'd know what that means."

A muscle flexes in his jaw as Big John speaks up. "I'm too tired to hold my hands up, Ward. So if you're not good with that, you can just shoot me now."

He sighs a little. "Well, watch what you wish for, my old friend."

"Put the gun down."

"Shut up, Sarah." Kathryn scowls at him, and she sees the gun point slowly towards her. "A Darcy has it all in the end, don't they, Kat? Now you get everything, huh?"

Her lip curls over her teeth as he steps forward. "No, now you get nothing, and that's fine by me."

He reaches for the gold. She puts it further away. "Give that to me."

"No."

"Atta girl."

The gunshot came like a crack of thunder. That's the thing Kathryn remembers most. It was so sudden, her entire senses narrowed to the sound, tearing her eardrums. Time stood still, for a moment, and it's Sarah's cry that brings her back to reality.

Blood splattered on her face, she can feel it, hot across her cheek, rolling down her skin and soaking up her shirt. She thinks some spilled into her open mouth too. She'll never get the taste out.

Ward's eyes roll up into his skull, and he slumps at her feet. Dead. Sarah falls after him, crying and crying and crying and Kathryn can't move. The only thing she can do is stare.

Edward Darcy has an easy smile on his face. "Now. I think you should give me the gold, Kitten."

Author's Note: This could have been a double-update but I SO need you to experience the plot twist and cliffhanger at least for a few hours because OHHH I've been WAITINGGGG!!!!! Loved writing Edward as pathetic only for him to be an actual cold blooded killer this was so fun!!

Also it gives you time to check out cosmicoswalds' new gifs which I'm putting here because I can't get over them kay thanks

(Also while you wait there is another smallerish plot twist and I just want to know what you all think is going to happen? Hehe)