To Helheim and Back
Summary: Moonstar has never been an ordinary Narnian unicorn, but when he gets thrown into the events of Underworld, he finds out just what true love is.
A/N: I hated that Alister got killed in Underworld, and I haven't even played the whole game yet. So I started playing with the idea of someone who could come in and help Lara in her darkest hour. So: Moonstar is mine, all mine, but nothing else is. This is a crossover between Tomb Raider and Chronicles of Narnia, but the Narnia part is rather small.
Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn
The black unicorn whickered as he frisked with the other yearlings. The snorts and laughter seemed to bubble up around the young stallions. Flisk tapped Moonstar with his horn and darted away with a yell of, "Tag your it!" Moonstar charged after his friend, hooves flashing, but the roan was far too agile for the midnight stallion. Abruptly, Moonstar changed direction and flew at Toby, a chestnut with more hair than wit. Toby squealed and ran, but Moonstar glided past with a tap of his horn on the other's flank.
"Boys!"
The young stallions turned and whinnied at the sight of the mares. Playtime was over. The yearlings separated and trotted back to their dams. Moonstar whickered a greeting as Snowfall, his dam, nudged him into his place by her side.
"How have you been, my little Star?" Snowfall asked.
"Mom…." Moonstar whined. Snowfall snorted and nipped him. Moonstar danced to the side, then sighed, "That's such a baby name."
"You were born under Aslan's star little one," Snowfall replied as Moonstar rolled his eyes. "Coat already as dark as the new moon," the mare continued, ignoring her foal's response. "One day my little Star, you'll do great deeds."
"But Mom, Narnia isn't at war or anything," the colt pointed out.
Snowfall whinnied. "Moonstar, don't ever forget that love is the greatest of all."
"Yeah, yeah, greater love and all that."
Snowfall slapped her son's shoulder with her horn. "One day little Star, you will see."
The midnight unicorn picked up the pace. "Race you home Ma!"
Moonstar ducked into the woods, running with all his might. The Calormenes had seen him and the dark unicorn remembered vividly what had happened when his herd had refused to work for the invaders. The older herd members had held off the soldiers while the mares and yearlings fled. More than a month later, Moonstar was the only one who had evaded capture. The last he had seen of his dam, Snowfall, was her being beaten by a Calormene overseerer.
The dark unicorn plunged into the river, praying that it would hide his scent long enough for him to get away. The baying and howling of the hunting hounds fueled the stallion's desperate flight. The last time hounds had caught up with him had nearly been his end as one hound bit his ankle. Flisk had kicked the offending hound away but in his haste had missed the cruel trap. Ropes had sprung up, seemingly from the ground itself and bound the roan. The older unicorn had yelled to Moonstar to keep going and find help. Moonstar blinked away the tears and kept running. Miles fell away as the unicorn galloped.
The unicorn slid to a halt, exhausted. His neck hung low and his breath steamed the air as his flanks heaved. He had galloped all day to outrun his would-be captors. Slowly, the unicorn's breathing eased and at length, he looked around. The trees rustled quietly as the unicorn paced forward, searching for a pond or a stream to quench his thirst. After several minutes, he found an ancient beaver's dam. Gratefully, Moonstar lowered his head and drank.
When his thirst was quenched, he looked around and spotted a path through the trees. Curious, the unicorn ambled toward it. He passed an old home, long abandoned with the remnants of a door hanging off a hinge. In the center of a clearing just beyond, he found a curious object. A metal tree stood upright, its one solitary arm holding some kind of box. The unicorn paced around the tree and reared up to examine the box. It was old and rusted, long past its prime. The unicorn's ears pricked up as a whisper seemed to snake through the clearing. Wind blew past, curling around and blowing the stallion's mane back. The box shifted and the rust flaked away, revealing fresh metal beneath. The unicorn yelped as he accidently reared higher and pressed his forelock against hot metal. Moonstar dropped to the ground and backed away, snorting in fear. After a moment, the burning sensation faded. The wind blew again, more insistently, tugging at the dark figure. Moonstar snorted again but moved toward the opening.
Baying brought the stallion around. A shout echoed through the woods. "The hounds, they have his scent." Howling sent chills through the hoofed listener. Without any further pauses, Moonstar plunged through the clearing, galloping up the short incline into the evergreens beyond. Had he been slower, he would have seen the portal yawning open before him. Had he looked around, he would have seen the sealed doors of a wardrobe. And had he known more of Narnia's history, he would have known that the mysterious tree was the famous Lamppost of the Western Woods. But Moonstar neither knew or saw any of these things. He plunged straight into the portal and felt his hooves go out from under him. He hit the ground and squealed in pure terror. The squeal echoed around him and it took the unicorn several seconds to realize that the howling had cut off and the trees had vanished. He was lying on a broad field of perfectly cut grass and staring at a massive stone building that stood right where the clearing had been.
Most of all, the midnight unicorn was staring straight at a human woman, with long brunette hair, rather revealing clothing, and curious metal things strapped to her legs. And she was staring back, utterly bewildered at the huge black stallion that had fallen out of thin air onto her lawn.
A/N: And so the adventure begins! Note for Narnia fans: Moonstar comes from an unspecified time in Narnian history, however, he most certainly comes from Narnia's tail end, as the Calormenes take over Narnia in The Last Battle. It seems perfectly reasonable to assume that not all animals simply kowtowed to their ancient enemies. Also Moonstar's herd seems to have missed Shift's little deception with poor Puzzle. For you Tomb Raider fans: The majority of my story takes place in Lara's world, so patience young grasshoppers. Please, please read and review.