Dante watched as Nate managed to find a foothold in the hull and use it to vault himself up until he grabbed ahold of one of the canons on the main deck. He wriggled a bit, making himself secure before he held out a hand. "I can climb up myself", Dante frowned up at him. He could if he wanted to. He was an established and skilled climber and they both knew it.

"I know. I just thought this would be easier for you". Nate wriggled his fingers.

"How chivalrous", Dante commented dryly, ignoring the warmth the action gave him. It had been a long time since someone had offered to help him despite knowing that he was capable. It felt nice and made him wonder if he had been alone for too long. He took a few steps back to prepare for the jump before throwing himself up to grab Nate's hand.

The other man took his weight easily and merely let out a breath as he hauled Dante up so that he could grab onto the deck and pull himself over. Once his feet were on steady ground and he was confidant that the deck of aged wood was not going to collapse under him, he reached around and helped pull Nate over. "Thanks", the man huffed as he set foot on the deck. "Wow", he muttered as he took in the ship.

The wood was old but seemingly stable. Plants had grown around it, vines half holding parts of it in place. Although it creaked underfoot warningly it held up as the two of them began to explore. Dante headed straight for the hatch down to the hold while Nate peered up at the sails above. Dusty rotten cobweb covered fabric still hanging in tatters from the masts. "Huh", Dante's voice echoed from the hold as he looked around at the dust covered barrels and vines hanging from the ceiling. "No gold yet".

The ladder, half the rungs broken and splintered, creaked as Nate clambered down. His feet thudded on the wood and he wandered over to Dante's side as the curly haired boy sniffed at an open barrel. "Cloves", he hummed.

"You know back then spice was worth nearly as much as gold", a third and recognisable voice echoed fro behind them. The two of them whirled, Dante's lip curling in an annoyed snarl.

"Sully", he groaned. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Sully looked no worse than the last time they had seen him before he had parachuted away from the plane and left them to get shot. He was dressed in a tan shirt and cargos, a green backpack around one shoulder. Nate's shoulders deflated as the scare faded away. "Why am I not surprised?"

Sully held open his phone and the tracking app displayed on the screen. "I keep too any apps open remember? I knew you would figure it out. Hey North. Sorry about your dad, even is he was a pain in my ass".

"Oh shut up Sully", Dante groaned.

"Figure what out?" Nate frowned.

"The puzzle in Sam's postcards. So what is it?"

"Does it matter? I already found the gold".

"I don't see any gold", Sully gestured around at the dust covered barrels of spices.

"Oh it's here", Nate stated, as if it was obvious. It sort of was obvious but sometimes Sully needed things spelled out for him. Honestly Dante often wondered how the man had been such a successful raider, but he guessed that it was mostly due to Sam's help in the past.

"It's a false top. A old pirate trick", Nate explained as he pulled off the wooden lid of the barrel that the cloves were resting on. He dropped it to the floor with a clatter, scattering the spice everywhere as the three of them peered inside. Gold sparkled back at them in the dim light. Gold bangles, gold coins, gold idols, gold nuggets. It all gleamed in the light. "Here's your gold you've been looking for". Nate picked up a small golden statue and tossed it to Sully. "You happy now?"

Dante put his foot to the barrel and pushed it over. Gold clattered over the floor. Sully was grinning madly as he turned to the other barrel. "Holy shit. You've got to be kidding me". He pushed that barrel over too and more gold spilled out. "It's almost more than we thought. Plus the other ship, plus the value of the ships themselves, which you can't even put a price on. We did it! We actually did it!"

He tried to pull Nate into a hug but the younger pushed him away. "Sully, we didn't do anything! There is no 'we'. There's only you. There's not a person in your life that you wouldn't betray for a pice of this. You made that real clear".

"I thought that's what we wanted", Sully seemed both hurt and confused by what Nate was saying.

"No I wanted to do this with my brother Sam", Nate stated, grief colouring his voice. "And Dante, he wanted to do this for his own reasons".

Behind them, Dante had crouched down by the spilled gold. He was holding a bracelet in his palm, watching idly as the light gleamed on it. He thought he should feel something more but the wonder had left him. Now he just felt dull at the sight of riches. His father had spent his life hunting this down and for what?

"I wanted to do this for myself. To prove myself to my father and perhaps end his obsession so we could talk properly again". He sighed down at the gold. "Look at what it has done to my family. They're all dead".

Sully exhaled deeply as he looked at the two young men. Nate, still so new to this life. And Dante, who had been chewed up by this life yet still lived it. "I know", he spoke with honesty. "But North, Nate. Look around at what you two did. Sam would be proud of you, both of you. And Dante, I may not have liked your father but I know that he would be so proud that you were the one to find your family's fortune".

A tear splattered the gold bracelet and Dante wiped it away before anyone could see, blinking quickly. He stuffed the bracelet into his pocket with a few other pieces of gold he had already stuffed in there when the others weren't looking. He may not want the whole fortune, may have hated what it did to his father, but he was not going to give it all up. His father's spirit would be yelling at him in disapproval if he had given it all up. He would keep a few pieces in his father's memory. That's all.

He picked up a smaller item and gazed at it. It was a golden chain, small, with a small oval pendant hanging from the end. The pendant was decorated with a purple amethyst in the centre surrounded by four pale pink rose quartz gems and a pearl hanging from the end. It was heavier in his hands than it should be and the weight of it was grounding. It reminded him of his mother in a way and maybe that was what made him slip the chain over his head and hang the pendant down his chest. The cold metal warming against his skin as he tucked it under his shirt.

He was just rising and taking a step back to Nate and Sully when something thumped loudly outside. Voices echoed and they all froze. The ship creaking as more people landed on the deck above them.

"Shit", Sully muttered and Dante inwardly echoed the exclamation.

unedited