Disclaimer: The OC's are mine, and nothing more. Everything else belongs to someone else.
A/N: Okay, so I accepted a challenge KittenKez had posted on her profile page and this is what I wrote. Thanks go out to KittenKez. Enjoy!
Secret Base…
Several armed guards marched down a dimly-lit hallway as a dark figure watched from the shadows. He waited until they were gone before dashing down the hall from which they had come from and hurrying into a forgotten lab.
Firing a computer up, the figure began searching for something before smiling and whispering, "Excellent".
He typed in a command before hurrying into an airlock.
While the door slid shut behind him, he removed the hood from his coat.
Genesis smiled evilly as the door in front of him opened and he walked into the giant freezer.
He searched row upon row for something before reaching a large sheet-covered object.
"Finally, after all this time, I can start everything over." He said as he pulled the sheet down.
The clear, smooth slab of rock shined as he reached out to touch it.
Suddenly it began to glow and he backed away as the stone shimmered before releasing a whirling vortex of light.
"NO!" He screamed.
A loud screech filled the room, shattering vials around Genesis as he covered his ears.
In the light, he could see many events play out, but one made him freeze.
Sephiroth… Marching into the lab he had been standing in moments ago… Then going into the freezer… And using the stone.
He watched his old friend be engulfed by the light before reappearing in another realm.
Suddenly the portal snapped shut and Genesis stared at the rock, saddened to see that it had a large crack running through it, but he was also glad he wasn't still seeing those images.
"Well done…" He heard an ethereal voice say as he looked around before putting the sheet back on the rock and hurrying out of the freezer. He didn't want to find out who had been talking right then.
South Africa...
Outside a café, Karel sat, drinking Chai tea and eating a cookie. He was waiting for a phone call…
RING... Karel answered his phone without checking the caller ID. "I see you found your way out of the Lifestream." Karel stated.
Sephiroth chuckled. "It was not that much of a challenge." Sephiroth said.
Karel hummed. "Then we will have more work to do. Has ShinRa discovered the location of the stone yet?"
"No," Sephiroth said. "They will wait until someone else does."
"Hmm… Yes, I see their logic. Now, I must ask a favor of you." Karel said this as he watched a couple with their dog walk by him.
Sephiroth hummed in thought. "Go on."
"I need you to bring an old acquaintance of mine to a small town out in the middle of the desert." Karel explained, watching another couple walk by.
"Here?" Sephiroth asked him.
"No. On Gaia."
The Base
The guards marched back down the hall just as a small item was tossed into the hallway.
Smoke filled the hallway and soon the soldiers passed out.
Genesis sighed in relief. Releasing a small amount of sleeping gas, mixed with Mako so that it wouldn't affect him, was an easy escape plan.
He calmly marched down the hall, pondering how to remove the stone from the building. He needed to contact the one Mr. Zachary Fair looked after…
London, England
The roar of a motorcycle sounded before a familiar black motorcycle shot up the streets of London.
"ZIP!" Lara yelled under her helmet. "Call the hangar! Tell them to get the jet ready!"
"Trouble?" Zip asked.
"Who knew that buying Winston the gold-plated tea tray he's wanted for a while for his birthday would result in a gaggle of old women chasing after me?"
"It's not that hard to fathom." Patricia Saes, a fellow tomb raider, said as Zip muttered something in the background that sounded like, "Probably 'cuz your aunt was one of them!" before she heard what sounded like a newspaper hitting Zip. "Bad Zip!" Trish scolded.
She was right.
"This is not the time for games you two!" She snapped, going even faster. "Zip- The jet?"
"Fueled and ready to go, Lara. Just waiting on you." Zip explained.
"Wonderful. Tell them to start the engines and leave the cargo door open." Lara said as Zip groaned.
"Lara, you know that normal people don't do that sort of thing, right?" Zip asked her.
"Actually, my brother-" Trish started to say.
"Your family isn't normal, Trish." Zip reminded her.
Croft Manor… One Of The Other Ones… Not The Damaged One…
Zip, Lara's faithful and amused tech expert, called the airport while Trish went into the kitchen.
Trish was partially Lara's apprentice, but was more of an employee. Though Lara didn't have a crystal ball to see what was coming up during her missions, between Zip, Trish, and other contacts, she was as prepared as she could be.
"Winston, Lara should be on her way back within a little while. Got anything that you really need Zip or I to get for your dinner plans?" Trish asked as she leaned in the doorway.
Winston shook his head. "No, I have everything I need. Is Lara all right?" He asked her with concern.
Trish smiled. "Of course she is. She's just… Hit a problem in her schedule. That's all." She said with a small shrug.
"The tea tray was that hard to find?" Winston asked with a raised eyebrow.
Trish's eyes widened. "Em… Erm… I'm not at liberty to say…" Trish said, chuckling nervously as she backed away.
Winston sighed. "I'll take that as a yes. Oh well, there's always Christmas…" He said, disappointed, as he returned to preparing dinner.
"Hey! Trish, you gotta see this! I've got satellite images of Lara heading for the airport!" Zip shouted, giving Trish a reason to leave the kitchen.
"Sorry Winston." Trish apologized, and lied, before turning and running back for the tech room. "What's happening now?" Trish shouted while Winston grinned evilly. He replaced the earpiece in his ear and continued listening in on the tech room.
London…
Soon Lara reached the airport as the plane started down the runway. Lara gunned the engine, speeding towards the back of the plane, before zipping in.
Someone closed the door as Lara sighed and removed her helmet. "Well, I should do that more often." Lara said as she got off the bike.
"Please, no." Zip groaned.
Lara fastened her bike down onto its designated spot before removing her backpack, not her usual backpack either. This backpack was larger and padded to keep the item inside of it safe. Inside was a gold-plated tea tray for Winston's birthday, and it was in perfect condition.
"Winston is going to love this." Lara said, inspecting the monogrammed tray. To Winston: Dearest Friend.
"Lara, remember that little screen I included on your headset?" Zip asked her.
"Yes." Lara said, now a little suspicious.
"Put it up. Something you should see."
Croft Manor…
"Joachim Karel," Zip said, pressing a button on the computer before the screen filled up with a picture of Karel on vacation in Hawaii... Wearing his normal suit.
Lara's breath grew silent as Zip stood next to Trish. Right then, Lara should be able to see only the computer screen.
"Why are we dealing with him?" Trish asked him as she viewed the file on him. "Is it his fashion sense for on the beach? Are we the fashion police now?"
Zip pointed at something in the file. MISSING, it stated at the top of the page. "He disappeared a number of years ago before popping up yesterday in South Africa. He was asking around, mostly asking questions about how often Lara visited the area."
As Winston entered the room, carrying a tray of cookies and tea, Lara's breathing resumed.
Winston frowned. "Why does he look so familiar?" He muttered, putting the tray down as Zip and Trish thought it over too.
"Hmm… Why am I thinking of turkey sandwiches right now?" Trish wondered.
London
They never saw him! Lara thought in alarm. Trish, Winston, Zip- They have no idea what I saw while in Prague! Dear Lord, what does he want?
"Hey," Zip asked the silent Lara. "You okay?"
Lara exhaled. "I'm fine, just trying to remember if I have seen him before." She lied.
Zip hummed. "If you think of anything…"
"I will tell you." Lara said.
Lara said her goodbye's before severing the link, covering her face with her hands.
"Karel. Joachim Karel is still alive. No, God, why?" Lara said to herself, glumly seated in the back of the plane.
Croft Manor
"Is Lara okay?" Trish asked Zip.
Zip sighed before crossing his arms. "Ever since Alister died it's like she's been living in a bubble. I swear, if she gets any worse, I'm calling a therapist for her." Zip warned, looking at the screen again. "Where has she seen him before…" He wondered as Winston left the tech room.
"HI-YAH!" Winston started doing kung fu near the dormant fireplace, moving like an older ninja would. The other two looked at him in alarm, worried about him.
"Coffee." Trish muttered.
"Maybe we need to start off with Winston having some therapy… " Zip said wryly as Trish watched, wincing when Winston hurt his back.
"Looks like it." Trish said.
Seventh Heaven…
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
4 PM. That was the time it was in Edge.
Many people milled about the bar, but only one knocked his knuckles on it and waited until the black-haired woman came over.
"Can I help you?" Tifa asked him.
Genesis smiled at her. "Yes, I believe so. You see, I am looking for a Cloud Strife. Do you know him?"
Tifa grew tense before giving him a nervous smile. "Is everything okay? Did a relative of his get hurt or something?"
Genesis shook his head. "No, not at all. I just have a business proposition for Mr. Strife."
She nodded. "Okay, I'll call him. I have to warn you; he'll probably say no." She said.
Genesis laughed. "I know, but I think he will find this offer most interesting."
Review, please. I would love to know what you thought of it. Flamers will be ignored.