Well, since my other story randomly disappeared into cyberspace lol, I've decided to start with my other one I've written on a notepad. It is a continuation from the end of Legend, and is set one year after the end. Firstly, before I start I'll just explain the end of my other story for those who read it.

When you're just 16 ending

After getting to the other side of the building, Lara enters VCI, becoming confronted by Andrea. They talk about the artefacts and Lara picks up a girder chucking it at her. Andrea dissapears and Lara continues into the building, entering Roberts office. There she meets Andrea again and they fight, Lara gets hit to the floor, and Andrea enters a helicopter, piloted by Harry (The one that helped her at the beginning of the story). Lara flips up runs out onto the helipad and jumps onto the helicopter's 'feet'. They end up at an ancient temple in England where Lara falls to the floor, knocking herself out. Later, she wakes up in a small room. She proceeds through the temple and enters a room covered in vines. Here she meets Andrea and Harry. He stands at the side lines while Andrea and Lara battle. The advantage alternates between them through the fight, but eventually Lara takes her to the floor in a swift meanouver and takes her guns, shooting her multiple times in the temple (She gets extremely angry with her because of an insulting comment about Lara's parents). With a warning to Harry, Lara proceeds to the centre chamber where she finds Robert with the Iris and Isis, (He found the Isis there). Lara is too late and Robert fuses the two, very similar, artefacts together. Unfortunately something goes wrong and and Robert dies because of a complication, where he ends up burning alive, in front of Lara. The artefacts separate again and fall to the floor, in the centre pedastal. Because of her curiosity Lara examins the artefacts and finds that her inside pocket glows. She removes the two sun and moon artefacts fused together and places them onto a pedastal in the centre of the room. Eitherside of the pedestal are two thinner, but larger pedastals. Lara uses the knowledge of the fused sun and moon stones and figures that Isis and Iris need to be fused with the sun and moons stones. She places both Isis and Iris on either pedestal and places the sun/moon stone on the centre pedestal. All 3 Artefacts levitate and fuse together. The correctly fused Isis and Iris turn into one full cylinder and begins to grow arms and legs. Finally a head is formed and Lara comes face to face with the powerful God. It introduces itself as Irisises, pronounced eye-rice-is-ses. They fight and somehow Lara finds a glowing centre in the God's centre. She shoots the centre multiple times and finds the sun/moon stone glowing and spinning, with a well aimed shot, she destroys the stone and the God become vulnerable. To destroy it, she uses the power of the sun and it melts. The temple starts to collapse and Lara finds Von Croy. They vow to make it out together. Isis and Iris drop in front of Lara before she escapes, after much debate about whether to take them or not, Lara grabs Iris, and Von Croy grabs Isis. Lara then takes both of Andrea's pistold and vows to keep them as a memorial 'service' to her. Lara and Von Croy run up a set of stairs. Unfortunately, because of his leg, Von Croy stumbles up the stairs as the temple collapses. As Lara escapes, Von Croy collapses under the stairs and grabs the edge of the exit. Lara goes to help him but says that he must drop the Isis stone so that she can help him escape. After a lengthy argument Lara helps Von Croy out and they reach safety. They use the helicopter to escape and Von Croy takes Lara back to her manor. After a bit of an argument he takes the Iris with him, but Lara vows that she will get it back. After a reunion with her parents, Lara has a conversation with the family butler. He says;

"I see that you've learned your lesson Ms.Croft."

"Yes, I'll never be freeing any Gods ever again!" She finishes laughing. The scene cuts to 10 years later, where Lara is climbing the tomb of Horus, removing the Amulet.

The End

To make it neater, I will start the story in the next post.

Ms. Croft

Tomb Raider: Rivals

Prologue

Egypt

A speeding train zipped across the calming sands of Egypt.
"WHERE IS IT?!"
"What?!"
"YOU HEARD ME!!"
"I didn't; what did you say?"
"WHERE IS THE DAIS?!"
"I..I don't know!"
"DON'T LIE!"
"Lara," Zips voice chimed into the headset. "I don't think he does." Lara's voice grew calm and more welcoming.
"Yes....he does." Lara was clutching a man's robe; hanging him over the edge of the train's roof. "Now," Lara sighed. "You have 3 seconds to tell me where it is or my hand might accidentally spasm and let you go."
"I really don't know!" Lara loosened her grip and let the robe slide slowly through her elegant fingers. "Ok, Ok!! Just don't drop me; I'll tell you where it is."
"That's better!" A smile appeared on Lara's face and she brought the man back onto the roof.

Unbeknownst to Lara, a man was watching her every move, half a mile away; on a mountain top. His eyes followed the train as it sped towards the cliff. At that point, the train tracks separated and connected to another cliff at the other side.
"Yes, that's it! Just a few more seconds....3...2...1!" His fingers pushed the button on the remote he clutched, and immediately the tracks running over the two cliffs exploded in a ball of fire.

"No!" Lara screamed as the front of the train dove gracefully into the giant chasm.
"Lara, get off of there!" Alister screamed. Lara's eyes looked towards her death trap, and suddenly she snapped back to reality.
"Tell me, quickly!" She pressed as the chasm grew closer. But it was too late; the man was struck mute with fear. Lara rolled her eyes. She grabbed his robe again with her right hand, and clutched the end of her magnetic grapple with her left. Calming herself, Lara prepared to jump as the carriage tipped into the chasm. Her stomach was full of butterflies as the two of them plummeted into darkness. As they fell, Lara bent her legs leaping off of the left side of the train. She looked towards the train tracks and catapulted the grapple towards the rusted metal. The grapple connected and they succumbed to the momentum and eventually swung towards the cliff edge.
"Brace yourself!" Her body connected with the rock and the air was snatched from her lungs. She let out a groan but strained to stay awake. Luckily, the robe was still in Lara's hands, but unfortunately, the body, was not.
"DARN IT!!"
"Ow girl, you trying to give me a migraine!"
"Sorry Zip..."
"Lara," Alister said concerned. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, thank you Alister. Zip, prepare the helicopter," She continued with a sigh. "I'm coming home!"
"Will do!" As Lara hung there, she surveyed her surroundings and swore she could see a figure into the distance. Shaking it off, she glanced once more to the darkness and then climbed the cliff edge, towards the top.

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

Thats strange about your thread. :-/

Anyway, I havent read when your jsut 16 so i'll have to catch up, but right now im loving the start to your new one.

Your writing style is really cool.

TR252

Yes, it was odd how it dissapeared, but it's not the end of the world! Thanks for your comment TR252; I like your writing style too!

Chapter 1

Back to Bolivia

"Play it again please."

"Sure thing!" Zip sat at his desk and pressed a few keys. A video of Lara's crash popped up onto the screen, it was from her point of view; from her headset. Lara and Zip's eyes never strayed from the screen as the footage rolled on until the moment she slammed into the cliff edge. "Nope, there isn't any evidence of anyone, just the scenery."

"That's aggravating beyond belief! One whole year Zip, one whole year and not a single piece of evidence, or even a clue. Then, when I think I'm getting a step closer, it's snatched away from me, by some mysterious person; who I can't even see! We were so close...so close." Lara looked down at her feet and sighed and then clenched her right fist and slammed it down on the computer disk. Zip flinched and stared at her, he could swear her eyes were filling with water.

"Well," Lara perked up suddenly and stared into the foyer. "There's always tomorrow, and who knows what might happen then!"

"Sure..."

"Good night Zip; I'm off to bed!" She proceeded towards the stairs; through the glass wall. She walked up the steps and disappeared from Zip's view.

"'Night Lara."

Lara woke up at 7 am sharp to the fresh smell of a cooked breakfast. Smiling, she picked up the knife and fork from her bedside table, and picked up the tray; carrying her breakfast. As the fried egg touched her lips, all of the stress and worry disappeared and flowed out of her body; into the bed sheets. She smiled.

"Oh, Winston you did it again!"

Lara walked down the stairs with the tray in her hands and stepped onto the sun pressure pad.

"Let me take that from you Lady Croft."

"Thank you Winston," She smiled at the gentle man's face. "It was gorgeous!" His face lit up. He received the tray from her and walked into a large door, which led into the kitchen.

"Right then Zip," Lara rubbed her hands together and walked towards the tech centre. "I feel like exploring a little, I need a tomb to go to!" He placed a cupped hand to his lips and yawned.

"You're in luck then!" Lara returned the sentence with an inquisitive look. "Remember Bolivia?"

"Yes, of course I do, why?"

"Remember there being two tombs there?"

"Two... Zip, Bolivia has dozens of Tombs; why is this helpful?" Lara placed her hands onto her hips and tilted her body in question.

"True, very true. But only two have a name, Tiwanaku, and..."

"Beonuk...Zip, you're a genius! If there's any relation to the stone dais in Tiwanaku, then it's bound to be there! Book a flight straight away please and call Alister; his dissertation is just going to have to wait...although if he is busy, tell him not to worry! By the way, Zip," He looked to her in question. "How did you find this?"

"Oh, I've been here all night nearly." He replied yawning. When Lara looked to him in shock he replied instantly. "Don't worry; it's nice just to see you smiling again!" Lara smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Thank you Zip, you do look after me. Winston!" Lara turned towards the kitchen and awaited a response.

"Yes lady Croft?"

"My bags require filling please."

"May I enquire about the destination, so that I know which clothes to pack?"

"An old favourite Winston, I'm going back to Bolivia, and I can't wait!"

~.~

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

Your other story's gone? Well that just sucks. Love this story!

Morpheanne

Thanks for your lovely comment Morph!

~.~

Bolivia

Lara climbed onto the rock surface and surveyed her surroundings. The hot sunlight beamed onto her skin, which was comforted by a slight breeze. Lara sported something different than the outfit she wore in Bolivia the last time. This time, she wore knee length brown shorts that were loose, and not stuck to her skin. Her button top was white to reflect the sunlight, and also flowed freely; swaying in the wind. The bottom two and top two buttons were undone so that she didn't succumb to the Bolivian climate. Her hair was now slightly shorter than before and touched the top of her backpack. Her headset hung from her right ear and the camera was just above it, so that Zip and Alister could see what Lara saw. Her guns and holsters weren't around her waists like usual, but were now strapped to either side of her ribs; beneath her top.

"This time, I forgive you for not bringing your climbing gear. Oh, Alister's here, you know what to do."

Lara's environment was very similar to Tiwanaku's but the foliage was much more apparent than before; it seemed to Lara, like this ruin was much fuller of life than Tiwanaku's, and much more recent. Above Lara, there was a ledge for her to grab onto, which turned around a corner leading to the tomb. Below her, were the rocks she had climbed previously, which disappeared beneath the clouds.

Lara twiddled her fingers, and shook her legs to prepare for the possible lengthy climb. The ledge was higher than usual so Lara stepped backwards for the trick she had performed so few times before. She ran towards the wall, and before she hit it, raised her arms as high as she could. Using her legs, she ran up the wall ever so slightly so that her fingertips connected with the ledge above. Her right hand lost grip suddenly, and Lara dangled like a rope bridge with only one rope. To save herself from a nasty--and possibly fatal-- fall, Lara lunged up with her right hand and grabbed the ledge again--more safely this time. When she was steady, Lara began to traverse along the ledge.

"Climbing ledges again I see! Lara...before I came here I did more research about these Dais and swords. Interestingly enough, there are apparently three, and only three Dais around the Earth."

"Three? That's not many for a paradise." Lara said sarcastically, while turning the corner.

"Maybe staff is pretty tight in paradise!" Zip joked as Lara looked towards her new environment. The ledge Lara was on led up a slight hill, and then turned another corner. Before the corner, there was a platform below about 4 metres in width and length. Lara continued across the ledge, heading for the small cliff platform.

"I am guessing that there are three swords to reciprocate as well?" Lara questioned while continuing across the ledge.

"Interestingly, no," Lara stopped suddenly so that she could hear him clearly. "There are 6. I gather that these swords have a lot more history to them than meets the eye. I'll continue the research, but for now, let's see if there are any clues to them in these ruins." Lara continued across the ledge, and when she was above the platform, dropped.

"Well, let's check out this Tomb then!" Lara said, withdrawing her binoculars from her shoulder strap. As the Tomb came into view, Lara's mouth dropped. "My God; it's huge. She's even more beautiful than Tiwanaku! Alister, it's a shame you can't see this! If only the camera picked up the detail."

"Ahh, my little munch kin, now we can. The Binocs have been fitted with a camera; press the button next to RAD Mod and the pictures will be sent to us via satellite! And in 3 minutes, they will pop up onto the monitor in front of us."

"Why you can't just do it the old fashion way, and describe it to us, I'll never know!" Alister quipped sarcastically.

"I'll do that then!" Lara said sounding aggravated. "The detail on the walls of the ruin is immense," Lara began. "There are patterns like none you've ever seen. There are portions that are duplicated. They all display squares and in the middle there are circles..and in closer inspection, the circles shape a sword! Now, the ruin entrance is similar to Tiwanaku's. There are 2 grand staircases either side that join onto a platform, which then joins onto a large central staircase. The entrance is rather clich?, and comes complete with a large arch. Unlike Tiwanaku though, the ruin is actually whole, and not joined with the cliff, although, this one is surrounded by them." Lara moved the binoculars northward toward the tops of the ruins. "Well the ruin is typically made out of stone and is the usual greys and blacks...Oh my, what do we have here!"

"What, what is it?" Alister's interest suddenly peaked up.

"It..it..I..I don't know what it is, but...it..it's some sort of logo inscribed into the upper wall, just above the entrance. It looks like; well an apple that has been broken in half, if that makes sense."

"No, not really." Zip said sounding disinterested.

"Take a picture please!"

"Ok Alister," Lara zoomed in as far as she could and pressed the button to the right of the binoculars. She continued to press it and took multiple pictures of the ruins. After zooming out she aimed at the steps and pressed the button again. Suddenly, a couple of figures appeared in her view. "Who are they?" Lara whispered to herself. There was one boy who looked about 18 and a man about twice his age. They were followed by multiple henchmen and appeared to be having a conversation. The boy was dressed in loose brown shorts like Lara and wore a short sleeved yellow top. The man wore a fedora hat and looked typically like Indiana Jones.

"Darn, what are they talking about?" Alister asked what she was talking about and Lara explained.

"Well, there's another interesting thing about your binoculars as well. They have an inbuilt voice microwave recorder. So basically, their words will be enhanced. Just press the button to the left, above the little microphone!"

"Thank you Zip, you're a genius!" Lara pressed the button and aimed it at the two figures at the base of the stairs.

"Well, I gather I'll be the one tomb raiding again?" The boy said looking towards the ruin with his hands on his hips.

"Of course you will be. You have to lead me and the henchman there and dispel of any traps that could get in our way. That's why I hired you after all." The man replied looking at the glorious ruin with him. "Alex, it's apparently here and we must find it. From what I've been told, I could get tremendous power from this...sword. Plus, we must beat Lara Croft to it, I wouldn't like her hogging all the swords now would I."

"No," Alex began looking back at the man. "We would not. Besides, the payout will be huge for me Senator, won't it?"

"Yeah, you could retire from this!" The Senator continued waving a wad of American Dollars in the air. The boy smiled and nodded, then he proceeded up the left set of stairs while the Senator waved his henchman on.

As the boy turned Lara could see that he, too, sported many gadgets like hers. He had one gun, a magnetic grapple, binoculars and a personal light source.

"Did you boys hear that?" When Lara got no response she assumed that they did not. "The apparent boy called Alex seems to be English. This...Senator is American!"

"Do you think he's related to James? His father perhaps?" Alister wondered.

"Perhaps," Lara replied and lowered her binoculars re attaching them to the shoulder strap. "But by the sound of it, they are working for a higher source...possibly Amanda. Well, to find out, I guess I'll have to continue!" Lara jumped back onto the ledge and traversed around the second corner. She came to another cliff just opposite her. It, too, had a ledge on it, so Lara looked towards it and used the strength of her legs to leap towards the ledge. She grabbed it and continued to move along the ledge. The ledge ended abruptly and below it there was another ledge, which continued until they reached the floor. Lara followed the pattern and dropped from ledge to ledge until her feet touched the ground.

Lara approached the ruin and stared up at it and smiled; her face was full of wonder and excitement. Eventually, she spoke, and her words sounded as gentle as an Angel's.

"Alister, meet Beonuk, she's also a lovely pre-Incan civilisation, currently not in ruins."

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

Great writing there, MsC. I love that last line.

Morpheanne

As Lara ascended the stairs, a wave of nostalgia filled her nose.

This is fantastic, back to my old ways! She thought as she approached the large arch with the logo above it. The logo sent d?ja vu vibes into Lara's brain, and she felt as if she'd known this logo for a long time; like she'd grown up with it. Shaking it off, she walked underneath the arch into the Tomb.

"Well this is interesting!" The senator said looking around the room.

"Quite." Alex replied looking at the indentations in the wall. His eyes read them, and squinted as he tried to translate them. "Hmmmm, this is interesting!"

"Well, that is stupid of them!"

"What's that Lara?" Zip replied looking at what Lara could see. There was a body on the floor, near a wall.

"Well, for one, they've told me where a trap is, because a body is there! Number two, he's got three large hole wounds, telling me the trap is probably spike or dart related!"

"Ok then number one scientist, press on!" Zip said through Lara's headset. His voice sounded excited but was soon followed by a voice of worry.

"A..Are you sure about this Lara; I mean, maybe they killed him?"

"Not likely Alister, they wouldn't be stupid enough to kill a man at the expense to trick me. Besides, how did they know I was looking at them?" There was no response, and Lara knew she was right. Without pursuing an answer, Lara surveyed the surrounding for any sign of a trap.

The room was very bland and was the perfect place to surprise someone. The walls all matched each other as the hall continued, and the floor was identical. The floor was a bland black-grey colour and the floor was a grey-sand colour. The only thing that worried Lara was that at one point, all of the foliage; peeping through cracks, disappeared suddenly. This led Lara to think that the men in front of her had done this purposely, either to trick Lara, or to help themselves. Sighing, Lara stepped forward and prepared for the worse. Surprisingly, nothing happened, so Lara walked through casually, and into the next room.

The room she stepped into was larger, and more dome shaped. This time the wall was full of pictures, text, and images. Lara's eyes grew as wide as an elastic band being flung by a child in the schoolyard. The room appeared to end here, and there was no way out. A few pillars were holding the walls up and they, too, had writing on them. Lara walked up to the dome wall, and flowed her hand upon it

"That's interesting...." Lara said with a confused expression.

"What is?" Alister asked intrigued.

"The text it.."

"Unreadable," Lara spun around and withdrew her left gun at the voice. She was aiming at the boy called Alex. He had his arms crossed and was leaning on one of the pillars with his eyes closed. He opened the left eye to look at Lara and continued. "I noticed that too. Strange isn't it?"

"I wouldn't call it unreadable; someone had to read it to write it!" Lara replied staring down the barrel of her gun. The boy kicked off the wall and walked around.

"True, but they're not alive today, thus it's unreadable. But I guess it's got clues to Avalon, or another Dais....or sword. You knew about the third sword didn't you?"

"Of course I did!" Lara's face became contorted. "I also know about the fourth one!"

"Fourth?"

"Where are your henchmen Alex...and the Senator? Hiding behind more pillars I assume?"

"They were, but I just bought them some time to escape through the exit," Lara turned to see them but they had already gone. She turned back and came face to face with the boy who was now a foot in front of her. Lara gasped and stepped back. "Ah well Lara, I guess I'll meet you at the next historical venue!" He walked away and disappeared around the corner.

"I can't wait!"

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

England

Croft Manor

Lara was standing 10 feet above her pool; on her diving board. She was dressed in a black bikini, with a transparent flowing purple kaftan over the top. Her pool had stayed similar over the past year, but Lara had ordered an easier, more convenient way to get to her diving board; stairs.

Lara raised her arms, straight above her head, and arched her back 90 degrees. She leant forward and flowed freely into gravity. Her legs straightened to slipstream herself, and the tips of her hands neared the water's surface. As her face passed into the channel created by her hands, all of her worries were wiped from her skin.

As she swam through the 9 foot pool, the kaftan fell from her body; like a ghost portrayed in films. Lara's mind raced with question after question.

What does that writing say? Who is that boy? Four swords, but was Mother's the first? Is Amanda still active? Is the stone I took from her still active?

Lara wrapped the towel around her waist, and walked through the archway into the hallway. As she entered the hallway, the questions reappeared as if they were taunting her for an answer. She thought of anything to take her mind away from it all, like doing some exercise, or listening to the rain 'pitter patter' on the surface of the masonry above her. As she opened the door to the foyer, she met a very familiar face.

"Alister!" Alister looked at her for a second and then became suddenly startled. He gasped and stepped back. "You know, I'm glad you don't travel the field with me Alister, your reactions are abysmal!" Alister's eyes followed Lara's body as she walked past him, and towards the stairs. As Lara walked up the stairs, Zip interrupted Alister's stares with a very quick high pitched 'hiss'. Alister shook his head and snapped back to reality.

"Oh, right! Lara!" He ran towards the stairs, and stepped on the first step. Lara turned in question, still holding the towel between her fingers. "I managed to find some interesting text about that....er...text!" He handed Lara a small slip of paper, which she gripped with her left hand. As her eyes followed the lines, Alister couldn't resist looking away as the water reflected like beads of crystals in the light from the glass behind her. Her face looked truly beautiful in those moments, Alister thought. He was again, snapped back to reality as Lara gave him a firm pat on the back.

"Alister! Thanks, I know exactly where to go! Book me a ticket to America Zip; I'm meeting an old friend! Thanks Alister, I owe you something!" Lara ran up the stairs, dropping the towel as she went.

"You're welcome."

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

Brilliant work MsCroft! i've really enjoyed your story! well done!

if i had one small critiism, it would be simply, i think it's Kaftan, but i may be wrong, and if i am, may the hounds of hell tear me limb from limb and spread my remains in a godforsaken place!

larsonsmother

You are correct LM, thanks...can you believe I've been told it was spelt like that for like 10 years...and no one has corrected me lol. Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.

Ms. Croft

Chapter 2

Mr Hatfield

Lara stepped onto the runway and into the hot American air. For a moment, her breath was taken away from the immense Floridian heat. It was such a welcoming change to the uncomfortable English heat. She smiled, and proceeded towards the arrivals foyer.
Surprisingly, Lara was wearing normal clothing, and for once blended into the crowd. Her shirt was a light cotton cami, with back button closure, which was of a loose fitting. Her skirt was striped, with metallic fibre. It had an attached sash and was fully lined. There was also a concealed side zip. This skirt was called a 'heat wave' skirt, and was very appropriate--thought Lara--considering the surroundings. She had a daisy bangle on her left arm, which was blue in colour, and hung loosely from Lara's smooth arms. Her hair was also hanging loosely and covered the back buttons of her white shirt. Finally she wore white sandals; joined by a thin white strap that slipped between her large toe and second toe. She was not wearing her headset, but had a black Motorola razor concealed in the red bag that hung from her shoulder--in case of emergencies.

As Lara walked through the airports various white halls and kiosks, a faint but noticeable ringing was heard from her bag. Still walking, Lara opened the zipper and withdrew her phone, and placed it to her ear; brushing her hair away.
"Hello.....why Zip, my old friend Mister Hatfield......Alan Hatfield..Yes.....No, Alister gave me a lot of information regarding the texts, and I just feel that Alan will have the right information to quench my many questions....Yes, Alex did say that they were un-translatable, but that doesn't mean that I can't find a way to get at least a little clue to what they mean....yes, take a break...oh, Zip before you go, don't go using the internet to talk to your girlfriends now, will you. Bye!"
Lara smiled and hung up; replacing the phone back into the bag. She approached a man sporting a very posh red suit, with black trousers, which reminded Lara of the guards to Buckingham palace.
"Hello, taxi please, and here's your summer tip!" She handed him a $100 note and smiled. "I would like to go to Miami!"

Lara pulled up to the very luxurious--almost 60's--looking beach house. She tipped the taxi driver $40 and stepped out of the cab. She shut the door behind her and examined the beautiful house in front of her. There were various palm trees surrounding the house. The house itself was built a top a foundation and had pink masonry walls. The roof was flat and had a black tar roof. There was a helicopter on top of the roof, which Lara had given to Alan as a gift 3 years ago.
He had saved her life by removing a curse placed upon her, which she got from a vicious artefact. This artefact gave Lara the curse by scratching her. The curse itself doomed her to a life of slow and painful misery, until she finally died at 100 years of age. Alan had removed the curse by researching for 2 straight weeks, and finally discovered that all Lara needed to do was scratch herself again, in the exact same place with the same artefact.
Lara approached the door and walked up a small flight of steps. She knocked, and waited. After waiting for a couple of minutes, Lara knocked again, but there was still no response.
"Alan, it's me, Lara! I have a favour to ask of you, and it's rather important. It's in reference to the whereabouts of my mother!" After another long wait without silence, Lara placed her hand firmly onto the latch and turned it. The door slowly creaked open, and Lara stepped inside.

The foyer was the complete opposite to the outside of the house. That's what Lara liked about Alan--he was such a surprising, unpredictable person. The floor was made of reflective stone, and was in the pattern of two large brown and cream circles, which lapped over each other. There were two arches on both walls either side of the large stairs that looked extremely similar to Lara's. The stairs were wide, and had a cream carpet--with a red streak through the middle--running up the steps. Lara remembered the basement, which was only accessed through the back of the stairs. It occured to Lara that maybe Alan was there because it was sound proof. Lara ran to the back of the stairs and faced a bookcase.
"Now, which book was it?......oh yes! The dummy?s guide to secret entrances!" Lara pulled the book, and the bookcase rose into the stairs above. "Alan! It's Lara! I'm coming down if you can hear me!" With steady fingers, Lara walked down into the basement.

The basement was decorated with thousands upon thousands of bookcases, which all stacked a huge amount of information on each and every artefact and language ever discovered.
"Alan!! Oh, I bet he's in the tech centre." Lara walked around the passage of bookcases and turned to the corner to the tech centre. Sure enough, Alan was there, surrounded by a pool of blood.

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

“Oh my God!” Lara muttered to herself, staring at her old friend. Alan had been stabbed three times in the heart, and shot once in the head. Upon closer inspection, Lara noticed that the stab wounds seemed to be directly in front of the three main arteries of the heart. Apparently, whoever had tried to cut off his blood supply, had failed, and shot him in the head for good measure.

“Alan,” Lara whispered through gritted teeth, “I will kill the…I will kill whoever did this to you!” Suddenly, a vibration shot through the whole manor. Someone was leaving the roof via helicopter.

“Alan’s helicopter, the one I bought him! Oh no you don’t!” Lara turned a sharp 180 degrees, and ran straight for the stairs leading back towards the foyer.

“Well, I’d say that went rather well, don’t you?” Alex said, smiling at the Senator. They were in a helicopter hovering above the concrete roof below them. Next to them was the helicopter, belonging to the man they had just murdered. A few of the Senator’s henchman were piloting the helicopter, which carried all the information the Senator required to find the next sword, and dais.

“Come on, you lazy S.O.Bs!” The senator said, pointing at the henchman boarding the helicopter. “Huh, money can’t get you good work these days!” The men all quickly clambered into the helicopter, and started the engine. The Senator smiled, and motioned to Alex for him to lift off. Alex pulled the stick backwards, and the expensive helicopter rose gracefully, cutting through the Floridian air. The other pilot soon followed, and began to rise off the floor.

“Stop right there!” Lara said, pointing to the helicopter as it lifted off the ground. Taking an intake of breath, Lara sprinted towards the helicopter, and leapt at the helicopter’s struts. She connected with the left strut, which sent the whole helicopter tumbling sideways over the edge of the roof. Lara hung precariously over the 3 story drop, leading to the fresh concrete below. A henchman above her, had noticed the extra weight quickly, and went to inspect the trouble below. Lara noticed him approaching, and had to act quickly to avoid instant death. The strut acted as Lara’s pole, so she began to build momentum by moving backwards, and forwards. When she had built enough momentum, Lara let go spinning mid-air, grabbing onto the other strut. With the momentum she had built previously, she swung nearly 360 degrees, and entered the passenger door of the helicopter. As she landed on her feet, Lara twisted her hands backward, and performed a back flip. Her feet connected to the Henchman’s back--who was looking for something on the strut. He fell out of the other passenger door towards the street below. The other two henchmen withdrew their guns, and pointed them towards Lara. She raised her hands.

“I give up!” The henchmen looked at her, and laughed.

“Yeah right, and I’m going to lower my gun!” One of them replied.

“Yeah,” The other began, “You’ll probably say that, then pull both of our machine guns out of our hands, swing them towards our heads, and then kick us out of the door!” He finished laughing.

“Good idea!” Lara quipped. The men’s face dropped, as she pulled their guns away from them, smacking them over their heads, so that they grabbed them dazed. She then kicked both of their butts out of the door, sending them to join their old friend. Lara looked around proudly at her work, and then proceeded towards the passenger seat.

“Hello Mr Henchman driver, I would like you to follow that helicopter!” Lara didn’t need to threaten him, as the wet patch that was spreading through the man’s jeans told her otherwise.

Ms. Croft

Edited May 28, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

Good Story.

When it says she turned a sharp 360degrees... wouldnt that mean she would end up in the same place? So shouldn't it be 180 degree?

TR252

Good Story.

When it says she turned a sharp 360degrees... wouldnt that mean she would end up in the same place? So shouldn't it be 180 degree?

LOL! Yup, you are quite right, me and my odd brain!

Thanks for the comment/help 252 ;D

MsC

Ms. Croft

Good Story.

When it says she turned a sharp 360degrees... wouldnt that mean she would end up in the same place? So shouldn't it be 180 degree?

LOL! Yup, you are quite right, me and my odd brain!

Thanks for the comment/help 252 ;D

MsC

Your very welcome. ;D

TR252

*Phew*

I finally have finished reading it all lol, GREAT! WORK! I liked it alot!

Purple

Chapter 3

The Square Off

The helicopter landed just outside of the park the other helicopter had landed in. Lara thanked the pilot with a wink, and handed him $50.
“That's for the underwear, and trousers. Please don't go spending it on anything worthless, OK? The man nodded, with a look that reminded Lara of one of those odd looking faces on pottery vases. She smiled, and hopped out of the helicopter. The phone inside her purse started to ring.
“Hello, Kentucky Fried Lara, where your eating needs, are our business!"
“Uhh yes, 3 orders of fries, and a side of what the hell is going on!"
"Zip," Lara replied gleefully, “Well where do I begin?" She began to walk into the park, keeping hidden by various trees, while telling Zip her account of what had just happened.
“I see," Zip said, as Lara darted to another tree, so that Alex and the Senator couldn't see her. “So where are you now?"
“Just outside Kissimmee. I have no idea what those chaps are doing here, but I'll soon find out!

~.~

“Where is she then!?" The senator asked, as Alex stared through the scope of a Sniper Rifle.
“I am trying to find her, but there are about one thousand people here." He replied, trying to keep the rifle steady.
“Well, fire a shot! That will scatter them!"
“And her! I would rather keep her steady, and still!" Alex's voice was beginning to show signs of aggravation. “Now please hush, I am trying to concentrate!" The Senator made a move to fight back, but stopped suddenly, and moved back towards the helicopter. He mumbled something towards the pilot, and looked back.
“Found her yet?" Alex's body twitched slightly, but became calm shortly after.
“Actually yes, I have!" His finger slowly pressured the trigger.

~.~

“So what are you going to do here then?"
“Well Zip," Lara stood still trying to collect her thoughts. “I was thinking about moving between these various trees, to get to the back of the helicopter. Then I was going to launch a surprise attack, and interrogate the Senator, and his little associate!"
“Sounds good to me!"
“Yes, I'm rather proud of it myself!"
"You should be!" Zip replied.
“I am Zip, and I could do without the Sarcasm thank you. You should know by now that I am always the one who..." Lara's phone was suddenly shattered into a hundred little pieces, and her left ear rapidly felt like hot lava. In a split second, Lara had her pistols withdrawn, and had hid behind a large Oak tree. Peering out from behind of the tree, Lara could see the helicopter leaving the ground. To the left of the helicopter there was a very distraught Alex shouting at the Senator.
“It seems our little friend has been left behind!" Lara said to herself, through the screams of the hundreds of people around her. He was distracted, and Lara saw this as a perfect opportunity.

“Alex, oh what a shame! You've been left by yourself, with no way back!" Lara said teasingly to the young boy. He turned around, and became narrow eyed.
“ALEX!!" The senator called from the plane, “FINISH HER OFF!" The helicopter flew away into the crystal blue sky.
“So Ms.Croft, any questions before I finish you off?" Alex said, turning back to her.
“One," Lara replied, aiming her pistols at him. “Why did you kill my friend, and what did you find there!?"
“Ohhh, Mr Hatfield! We found what you were looking for Lara, that's all." He got into a fighting stance, ready to pounce.
“And what's that?"
“You know very well what he has; he has the information to the next Sword."
Darn, Lara thought. They know where to go, and I have no idea where to start.
“I'll make you pay for murdering my friend!!" Lara pulled both triggers, and sent two bronze bullets to her rival's body. Alex dodged them with ease, and ran towards Lara with tremendous speed. “Oh, this can't be good!" Lara shot wildly at him, but none of the bullets seemed to connect. He punched her square in the stomach, and she keeled over in pain, dropping her pistols. Lara's body felt like giving up, because the force was so strong, but she wouldn't stop. Quickly rolling as far left as she could go, Lara used her hands to flip herself, so that she could stand. Alex had disappeared, and Lara could see no sign of him.
“Behind you." Lara turned suddenly, but he wasn't there.
“Stop being a coward!!" Lara turned and swung her arm forcefully with her, anticipating Alex's next move. Her arm connected with his neck, and he was sent crashing to the floor. Alex winced, while Lara forward rolled towards her gun. She aimed them at both of his shoulders, and pulled the triggers again. This time, the bullets connected. Alex screamed in pain, and slowly stood up. His body turned gradually turned to face Lara's. He released both of his arms, and outstretched his hands. A swift breeze flew past Lara's ears, and zipped towards Alex. The wind seemed to collect under his feet, as if he was inside a tornado.
Lara opened her eyes in disbelief as she watched the young boy hover slightly above ground. His hands began to glow sapphire, and without warning his body shot up into the air, and through a cloud.
“Well," Lara began, “That's new!"

Edited October 5, 200619 yr by Ms.Croft

i love your story its so mesmorizing if only i could write like you but the only thing im good at is drawing any way please you should right a book or submit that to Core Design and Crystal Dynamics i think i got those names right

Thanks AOD, although you seem to be unregistered now, hope you're still here! Sorry this has taken a long time!

Chapter 4

The Legend of Pegasus

Croft Manor, England

“Ok, what the hell was that?” Zip asked swinging around in his chair to face Lara and Alister. His hand pointed to the small monitor displaying the boy shooting into the air.

“The power of Pegasus,”

“The power of Pegasus,” Lara and Alister said in unison.

“Ok. Great, I know who that is…care to explain a bit though?” Lara’s eyes rolled, and she made a ‘You or me?’ notion towards Alister.

“After you Lara, I have to finish my dissertation--I hope!” Alister left the room, and walked towards the stairs. He was heading towards the office.

“Pegasus is or was,” Lara began walking towards Zip’s computer. “A mythical horse that was born in one of two ways.” Lara typed ‘Medusa’ into her database. A picture of Medusa flashed onto the screen. “Some say that he was born of the Earth after Medusa’s blood was spilt onto it. Others say that he flew out of Medusa’s head after it was cut off, and finally, others believe that he was formed from Medusa’s blood and the sea foam. The latter supports the fact that Pegasus was the son of Poseidon---The God of water and horses---which leads me to my next point. Pegasus was a winged horse like creature that could obviously fly. He was tamed by Athena, and was brought to The Muses--at Parnassus.”

“Parna-who?” Zip said looking at his monitor.

“Just listen, please. Pegasus had—as far as history recalls—two powers. He had the power of flight, control over the weather and free transport to the God’s above. He was often noted to carry Zeus’ lightning bolts to him when needed, which provides evidence for his power over the weather.” Lara typed in “Pegasus’ feather”. “Soon after he was old and had a family, the great winged horse was turned into a constellation…but not before one of his feathers fell to the Earth—near the city of Tarsus.”

“Ok,” Zip began looking at the beautifully detailed feather on the monitor. “But what’s that got to do with ‘Superman’ Alex yesterday?” Lara made an ‘ah’ sound, which to Zip meant ‘Thank God it’s about to be over’.

“It’s said, that whoever held the power of Pegasus’—his feather if you didn’t already know—in his or her hands had claim over all of the mighty horses powers. For example, power over weather, and finally,” Lara pointing to the monitor replaying Alex, “Flight.”

“Ok, I got it now.” Lara smiled, and began to walk away. “But,” She turned around. “Where does that lead us?” Zip asked before the answer popped into his mind.

“It means that I’m off to Tarsus!”

~.~

Tarsus, Cilicia, Mersin Province, Turkey

Lara’s bare feet swayed gently in Lake Berden. She was sitting on the centre island of the lake. She was dressed very similarly to how she was dress in Florida, but Lara had tied her shirt around itself creating a ‘bikini’. She had her headset on and was communicating to Zip.

“So, just gonna sit there all day relaxing in the water, are we?”

“Oh, but you know how much I love to relax in a beautiful country.”

“Yeah, but I know how much you love to roam tombs as well!” Lara smiled and stood up, placing her feet inside her shoes.

“You’re right, Zip. Now, where are the ruins these days?” Her eyes scanned the lake, and then the land.

“Why not tell me about the feather story. That might jog that memory of yours.”

“I’ll jog your memory in a minute,” Lara replied, “The feather was picked up by Anchiale—daughter of Iapetus. Anchiale’s non-greedy nature permitted her to keep the feather in a sacred place, the ‘Tomb of Sardanapalus'. Of course, this was thousands of years ago, and by now the ruins of the town that Anchiale lived in have been covered by the city I see before me. Now, finding the entrance to that oh so beautiful Tomb shall be fun…Zip? Are you there?” A sound hit her ears that made the speaker vibrate. Zip was asleep. “Ah well, time difference can be annoying.”

Lara wondered through the beautiful city with her backpack on. The buildings were covered in foliage of different nature. Some people had roses in pots and plants on balconies, and others had mini flower bushes hanging from walls. The streets were made of cobble and were thin. Along the sides of houses, people had set up shop with various maps, antiquities, jewelry and clothes. Lara was more interested in the maps and antiques. She approached a lone woman selling both maps and antiques. The woman was old and had a hunch. Her hair was tied with a white cloth, and her black t-shirt was covered with a woolen jumper. Lara couldn’t see her lower-half as it was covered by the mass of items the woman had for sell.

“Ahh, my dear,” She was speaking Greek. Her voice was cracked like a smoker’s, “You are a wise girl…and oh so pretty.” Lara smiled at her, but made no move to reply. “Can I interest you in anything? Perhaps a map of our city or maybe one of the many artefacts we have worked so hard to get.”

“No…thank you, I have,” Lara’s eyes were drawn to a map that was disguised behind a large elephant’s tusk. In the top right corner of the map lay a beautifully drawn feather surrounded by a semi-circular sun. The rest of it was littered with paths and notes. The top of the note interested Lara most. There was small brown writing just to the left of the feather. “O συναξάρι πήγασοσ”.

“The Legendary Pegasus,” Lara muttered. The woman’s eyes widened and she smiled.

“Ah yes, the fabled tomb that holds Pegasus’ feather. Some young boy was looking for it too, although he knew that this map was a fake. I saw him the next day. He was near the flower orchard on top of the great hill, where I pick my flowers everyday. When he saw me he said the weirdest thing. He said, ‘One day you may have the chance to get there too.’ I smiled and left quickly.” Lara’s eyes widened.

“Thank you. May you tell me where this great hill is?” She laughed and looked at Lara.

“My dear, you’re on the path to it!”

15 minutes later, Lara was standing in a vastly different surrounding. The street before her cut off and immediately it was followed with flowers of all different species.

“Where is it?” Lara asked no-one as she studied the land. At the peak of the hill there was a large old tree, which bore no fruit or leaves. Lara approached it. There was a sign at its base.

“Caution: The tree shall not be climbed in any circumstances. If anyone is caught climbing the tree they shall be severely punished…well, so much for…”

“Hey!” Lara fell backwards with fright and clutched her left ear.

“Zip, give me warning next time please!”

“Whoa,” Zip said, ignoring Lara’s previous sentence. “That tree is cool!”

“What tree?” Alister had joined the conversation. “Oh my, Lara that’s the sacred tree of Tarsus. Some say it’s haunted!”

“Haunted, how?”

“Well, tourists and locals always say that sometimes the tree has the ghosts of Tarsos on it.”

“Tarsos? That’s the Greek name for this city.”

“Exactly. They say that the villagers of that time appear on the tree to scare the new residents of their city. Some say it’s people, but there’s a video of one man who was there one second, and gone the next. It’s in the database.”

“Zip, please send it to me.” Lara pressed the button next to her headset and a blue LCD TV visor stretched across both eyes. Seconds later, a video showed a man climbing the tree. When he reached the top, he sat on the centre where the branches split off. The man was looking at something on one of the larger branches. His right hand reached for something, and then he simply disappeared. “Right, let’s do some climbing!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to come back at night?” Zip said, with a hint of worry.

“Nonsense,” Lara replied, pressing the button again, “Life needs to be dangerous to be fun!”

“If you say so.” Lara smiled, and approached the tree. She surrounded her arms around it, and placed her right leg at the arch near the base of the tree. She bent her right leg, and leapt upwards quickly setting her left foot onto the tree creating a split in the bark. This created some grip for her to manoeuvre on. She repeatedly did this for 15 feet until her right hand found some grip on the lower part of the large branch. With her left hand now free, Lara swung towards the next smaller branch. With both hands now firmly planted, she was free to dangle her feet—but not for long. She firmly placed both feet onto the top of the tree trunk. Lara allowed her hands to become flaccid and then with all her strength pulled them forward and let go. Her body arched towards the roof of the tree trunk, but gravity soon won. Her hands though, found the top of the two previous branches. With her body now firmly in place, Lara moved her feet onto the tree trunk’s roof and stood upright. She turned to face the large branch and sat down.

“And there it is!” Lara’s eyes diluted as she looked at the most beautiful flower in her life. It was deep purple, but had no stalk. The petals were layered like that of an onion, and became a deeper purple near the centre. The centre was so black that Lara could not see what was there. Lara’s finger un-willingly outstretched. Without realising it, her finger approached the flower’s centre.

“Hey! Get of there, can’t you read?” Lara was startled into reality. She looked towards the source of the voice. It was a local policeman.

“I don’t know,” She smiled, “Let’s see!” Her finger touched the centre of the flower.

“Hey, where did she go?!” Lara looked around, and her face was that of pure disbelief. The tree had suddenly become full of life. Leaves were flowing from every branch the tree had. Millions of apples covered the tree completely, and it looked to Lara like a rose bush. The man beneath her was still dumbfounded. He was shouting to other tourists about the mysterious Tarsos woman back for revenge. That didn’t matter to Lara anymore. Her eyes were still fixed on the beauty that lay before her.

“Wow…boys are you getting this? Boys…are…you….” Lara looked at the furthest branches. A lot of the leaves and fruit were beginning to drop lifelessly. They sent off a chain reaction towards the inner branches, and their leaves and fruit fell too. The tree was becoming dead again, and it was happening all too fast for Lara. Before she knew it the last centre leaf had fallen and with it, so had Lara. Her body fell through the solid grass and into darkness. The leaves beneath her were combining, their stalks linking like a daisy chain. They slowed rapidly and connected with Lara’s feet until she slowed with them. Her mind was drifting to a far off place, but the sudden pain of her feet snapped her back to reality. She had hit land.

Edited June 4, 200719 yr by Ms.Croft

Good story so far Ms. C. Can't wait to read what happens next.

Since i am writing a ten volume set that is going to be as big as Lord of The Rings, I must say that your writing Catches my gaze. great work

(Thank you both for your lovely comments, it's nice to see that I have interested you in some way. Demon Knight I'm glad that my writing is aiding you in some way, it's nice when other writers learn off of each other, but also develop their own style! PLease give me a link to some of your stories, I'd love to read them!)

hey nice work on the story.. if i were simon west i'd hire u 4 script writing.. (btw hes still the director right???)

(Thank you both for your lovely comments, it's nice to see that I have interested you in some way. Demon Knight I'm glad that my writing is aiding you in some way, it's nice when other writers learn off of each other, but also develop their own style! PLease give me a link to some of your stories, I'd love to read them!)

When i can get some more down, i will either pm you or send you an email, I really don't have any site to link it from.