Natla: Aftermath
By: Angel.9 Rakou Cobra
*I began this story BEFORE Tomb Raider Underworld was released, so therefore its plot does not affect my plot… this fanfiction takes place directly after Tomb Raider Anniversary.*
CHAPTER ONE (written September 2008):
Never the End
On Lost Island, rubble stirs. A hand with long nails pulls itself free of the rocks. Slowly, a head emerges… and a winged creatures bursts out, flying into the distance with a shriek.
The creature lands on a small island nearby, exhausted already. Scorched from head to toe, it stands and pants. Knowing it must recover, it falls to its knees and shuts its tired eyes. Covering its face with its hands, it growls and hisses, then sits all the way down. Putting its claws down, it reopens it eyes and looks around. Sensing safety, it lays itself down to rest until it can restore itself.
Soon after, the being reawakens and shakes its charred skin away, revealing a much different appearance - that of a tall, thin, pale woman. Shaking her blonde hair around, she looks at her torn black wings.
"Damn her," she mutters.
Natla has risen again.
Uncrowned
A mere few days later, Jacqueline Natla stepped into her office, wings concealed. Acting as if nothing had happened, she sat behind her laptop. However, once she opened a file simply titled "Scion," her face dropped to exhaustion and sorrow.
Closing her eyes, she rested her head in one hand, and readied her other hand to press "Delete."
But she could not bring herself to do it.
Natla opened her eyes and looked hungrily at the image of an ancient artifact on her screen. It is the Scion, an Atlantean object of unimaginable power. It is the symbol of her desire. She knew she must recover it. But how? How, now that it had been destroyed by none other that the world famous tomb raider, Lara Croft?
"And I wanted you beside me," Natla mumbled, with a tinge of both anger and sadness. "The world could've been ours."
Someone knocked on the office door, breaking her thoughts apart.
"Enter," spoke Natla, closing the Scion file quickly.
Her calm face broke into shock as a muscular man with a Texas-shaped belt buckle stepped in.
"Larson?!" gasped Natla.
"None other than," he said, closing the door and walking over to her desk.
Calming herself, Natla continued, "I… had assumed---"
"I died," Larson butted in. With no response, he went on, "Funny about that. We all thought it was Lara Croft who you wanted dead, but no… it was all of us. Funny how much of a traitor and a liar you are, Miss Natla."
Coolly, she replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Larson paced and smirked a little, continuing as if Natla never spoke, "Me, Pierre, Kold, the Kid… we were your pawns. Lara was the queen." He stopped in his tracks and spoke directly in Natla's face, "But it's all come back to bite you now."
"Are you threatening me?" she snapped angrily. "Do you know who you're talking to?!"
He replied darkly, "The ex-Queen of Atlantis… who lost her powers."
Glaring at Larson, Natla stated, "I'm just as powerful as ever and don't you forget it."
"Don't play stupid, Natla," Larson continued. "I know what happened after Lara shot the Scion. Lost Island blew to bits… and took your strength with it. And somehow, all of your minions were brought back. That's a nice little side effect to the Scion being destroyed, huh?"
"You don't know what you're talking about," Natla hissed. "I'm still strong."
"Strong? Yes," Larson agreed. "But immortal? No."
Natla stayed silent.
"And I plan to take advantage of that," he said, pulling out a hidden gun and facing it towards Natla's head. "Not my weapon of choice, but hey, I needed to sneak it in here. Now stand up, Natla."
Reluctantly, Natla stood.
"Hmm, well that proves that," Larson chuckled.
"What do you want with me?" Natla hissed.
"You're going to get what you deserve," Larson growled. "Now move."
Traitors
Natla lay beaten and exhausted behind cold, metal bars. She could not escape; her strength had drained too low and her body was battered. Looking at her nearly destroyed wings, she almost cried. Her own minions… were torturing her for revenge?
They don't know what I've lost, she thought to herself. At least they have their lives back.
How many days had it been? She could not tell. She had not seen sunlight since she entered this hell of a prison. Natla was reaching her limits, and she knew it. Larson, Pierre, Kold, the Kid… they knew it too. Soon Jacqueline Natla would be no more.
Resting herself on the damp floor, she thought desperately of a way to escape.
Suddenly gunshots tore through her silence. There were many gunshots, from many different guns. Were they fighting amongst themselves? Would Natla be able to use that as a diversion?
She heard hurried footsteps. Soon, the gunfire ended and the footsteps seemed to be scrambling far away. Eventually there was only one set of feet moving. It was calm, and stepping into Natla's prison room.
Natla feared the worst.
They were fighting over who gets to kill me, she thought. And here comes the lucky winner.
Natla's eyes fixated on the door. Instead of a former minion, in stepped… Lara Croft.
Lara pointed her pistols at Natla, but then lowered them again.
Lara studied Natla through the metal bars of her cell. Natla's terrified eyes stared back. Abruptly, Lara walked over and pulled a key from her backpack. Much to Natla's surprise, Lara opened the cell and extended a hand. Natla's expression turned to shock.
"Well, don't just sit there," said Lara, without an ounce of cruelty to her voice. "Or can you not stand at all?"
Natla did not respond and suddenly became wary.
Noticing the change of expression on Natla, Lara asked, "Now what's that face? Don't you want to leave before they come back?" She smirked. "Don't tell me you like being tortured."
"Why are you saving me?" hissed Natla.
"Because I know what happened," replied Lara, putting her hand down. "I also know the effects of the Scion breaking didn't end with you losing power and all of your idiots coming back to life."
"What do you know?" questioned Natla, carefully.
"That the broken Scion could potentially destroy the world," Lara answered quietly. "And only you can stop it."
"Why should I?" growled Natla. "Why shouldn't I just let all of you die?"
Lara angrily stated, "Natla, you know as well as I do that you'll go down with us. This isn't your 'Seventh Age.' This is a self-destruct switch."
"At least I can watch you burn in hell," Natla snarled.
"This isn't what you waited thousands of years for," muttered Lara.
Natla sat silently, and then admitted, "I don't think I can stop it."
"It says you can," started Lara. "I read in some files that---"
"Your stupid files mean nothing!" Natla shouted, cutting off Lara. "It's already too late!"
"It's never too late!" Lara yelled back. Calming herself, she continued, "We'll recover the Scion and you'll stop this from happening." Putting her hand back out to Natla, Lara said quietly, "And I already know you'll regain your full strength from the Scion. But right now, I need to save the world again."
Natla still did not move an inch. Lara didn't either. Finally, Natla reached up and held the wall, pulling herself to her feet slowly. Lara tried to help her up, but got swatted away. Eventually, Natla steadied herself against the wall.
"Are we ready to go?" asked Lara gently.
Strange Alliance
Natla sat quietly on Lara's couch, out of her torn business attire and in some comfortable clothes. She watched the flames in the fireplace lick the air, scorching… scorching everything. She shook the memory of the lava pit from her head. Thousands of years, she had survived… only recently to be burnt, shot, and crushed, then battered by her own hired henchmen. Her will never weakened, but the thought of now being mortal had brought out a more cautious side of Natla.
Lara stepped into the room with two teacups and a teapot on a tray. She asked, "A bit more relaxed?"
Natla scowled and muttered, "Just give me my tea."
"I guess that means 'Thank you,'" laughed Lara, handing Natla a tea cup, then filling it with hot tea.
Scorching tea. The lava pit… that's where her pain had begun.
Lara poured herself some tea, and then placed the teapot on a table. Seating herself on a couch opposite Natla's, she noticed Natla staring blankly at her tea.
"What's wrong, Natla? Don't like tea?" she asked, watching Natla's face.
"Shut up, Lara," Natla muttered, almost inaudibly, sipping some tea.
Concerned, Lara asked, "What's really wrong? Is this about the Scion?"
"Sure," replied Natla.
"I don't like that answer," said Lara blankly.
Natla only glared.
"Is this about Larson and the others? How they turned against you?" Lara pried.
"Don't talk to me," spat Natla.
"So it is about that," Lara said quietly.
"It isn't," growled Natla.
"Then what's it about?" asked Lara skeptically.
Natla's rage built. She repeated angrily, "DON'T talk to me!"
Lara put aside her tea and stated sharply, "Look, Natla, whether you like it or not, we're a team for now. So I think you should talk to me."
Natla pushed herself forward in her seat, extending her tattered wings and shouting, "Well, I DON'T like it, and I'm NOT talking to you!"
"Fine," hissed Lara, picking her tea back up and flipping the pages of a nearby book.
Natla glared, considering getting up and leaving now, but Lara was paying her no heed. Shortly, Natla settled herself back into her seat, resolving that she was too weak to stay anywhere else. She sipped her tea angrily.
"You're a baby now that you're mortal," said Lara blankly, never looking at Natla.
"I'd like to see you live through everything I did," growled Natla, once again glaring at Lara.
"You don't know what I've been through either," said Lara, finally looking up. "But that's not the problem at hand. The world is in jeopardy, and you're moping like a little child."
"To hell with this damn world," spat Natla.
"To hell with your life too?" Lara said, anger rising. "I thought you were more determined than that."
Natla sat and thought a moment, then replied annoyed, "You're only pep-talking me to save your stupid race."
"Oh shut up!" Lara spat. "Are you going to give up everything now? Should I just put you out of your misery?"
"You need me to stop the Scion from destroying the planet!" yelled Natla, fully enraged.
"Oh, funny," said Lara sarcastically. "You said you couldn't do it."
"I CAN do it!" shouted Natla, rising from her couch. "What do you take me for?! I was the Queen of Atlantis! And I'll be queen of this putrid planet again!"
Silence.
Lara's irritated frown turned to a smile, and she said calmly, "So you are with me."
Natla took a step forward, prepared to knock that grin off Lara's face…
But then she stopped and her anger melted away. Her new feelings of fear and pain pushed to the back of her mind, and suddenly the determination and dreams of the old Natla rushed forward.
"I'm with you," Natla said quietly.
Return to Lost Island
Natla and Lara stepped off a small ship onto the remains of Lost Island. After the explosion, only rubble remained. Natla looked over the island, pain streaking the back of her mind.
"Are you okay?" asked Lara.
Natla turned to her and glared, hissing, "Why the hell wouldn't I be?"
Lara went to say something else, but decided it was pointless to try to talk to Natla. Instead, she began making her way across the ruins of the island. Natla only stared over the destroyed land.
"I wonder where we should start looking," Lara called back to Natla. "Do you think the Scion is under the rocks or has been blasted away?"
"I know where it is," said a voice.
Natla and Lara spun around in the direction the voice had come from. From behind a large boulder, emerged…
"Larson again," hissed Natla.
"Nice to see you too," Larson replied with a dark smile.
Lara instantly aimed her pistols at him.
"I think you should put those away," said another voice.
Stepping out from a pile of rock, Pierre pointed his pistols at Lara. Lara shifted her aim over to Pierre as Larson drew out his shotgun. Unsure of who to point her guns at, Lara darted her eyes and aim back and forth between the two former henchmen.
"Lara, behind you!" called Natla.
Glancing over her shoulder, Lara spied the Kid, sporting his mini-submachine guns, and Kold, admiring his favorite knife.
"Don't sweat it," said Kold, in a low, cruel voice. "We're here for Natla. Hand her over."
"Never," growled Lara, watching everyone at once. "You hand over the Scion!"
"Girl, you think we're stupid enough to bring it?" laughed the Kid.
Lara smiled and said, "As matter of fact---"
"Why you---!" the Kid said, cutting Lara off.
"Alright, enough!" shouted Larson, stopping them both. "No time for small talk." He pointed his gun straight at Natla, and continued, "If we can't scare Lara, we'll go right after Natla."
Just as Larson suspected, Natla's calm behavior broke away to fear. Her eyes started to widen, her body started to freeze…
"Natla!" screamed Lara. "Don't let them win!"
Suddenly, Natla's thoughts cleared back up. She was a ruler, a survivor… she was immortal. And she would be again! She was positive!
Straightening her back and putting up nose arrogantly, she stated with some viciousness, "You can't kill me. You need me to save your useless planet. Don't you know that?"
Larson laughed. "Like you're not just trying to save your hide!" he grunted.
"She's not," replied Lara. "She's the only one who can reverse the effects of the Scion."
"Kill us all again?" asked Pierre. "I think not."
"The world will be destroyed!" shouted Lara. "The Scion will self-destruct and take everyone out!"
"Why are you on her side?" Larson questioned, eyeing Lara carefully.
"Because she's telling the truth," Lara answered. "I found some of my father's old notes… and realized I shouldn't have damaged the Scion."
All eyes were on Lara; the four men had paced in closer to her. Luckily, Lara noticed the attention, and glanced at Natla. Natla grinned cruelly, realizing her chance to take them all out. Lara just had to hold their attention.
"It's true," continued Lara, trying to drag out her story. "My father found out that that was the Scion's self-defense mechanism. It kept the Atlanteans from getting rid of it and overthrowing their rulers…"
Lara trailed on as Natla crept over behind Larson.
BAM!
Swift as a snake, Natla punched the back of Larson's head, startling him into dropping his gun and his guard. Lara reacted on adrenaline, kicking the guns from the Kid's hands and facing her own pistols at Pierre. Only Kold remained free, but Natla was already on that.
"Don't touch her," growled Natla, grabbing Larson's shotgun and pointing it at Kold.
Kold smiled his ruthless smile. He said laughingly, "You don't scare me."
"Oh?" snickered Lara as she knocked away Pierre's guns as well. Noticing his shocked face, she laughed and said, "What's wrong Pierre? Too distracted with allies to watch your enemies?"
Natla strutted over to Kold as Lara collected the various dropped weapons, still laughing quietly. Calmly, Natla kept her aim on Kold. She said darkly, "How about now?"
"Still nothin'," replied Kold.
She pointed her gun directly at his head. "And now?"
"Natla, cut it out," interrupted Lara.
Without taking her eyes off Kold, Natla hissed, "Why should I? Nobody tortures me and lives to tell about it!"
"Looks like I did," taunted Kold, still toying with his knife.
Noticing Natla's temper rising, Lara called more sternly, "Natla! DON'T DO IT. All we need is the location of the Scion. They'll be gone once you get it anyway!"
"Revenge is sweeter this way, Lara," said Natla lowly, readying her shot.
"Natla!" shouted Lara.
Knowing it was no use, Lara had to act on her feet. She jumped at Natla as the shotgun's trigger was pulled and knocked away her aim. The bullet went flying into the air, launching itself into the distance with a boom.
"What are you doing?!" shrieked Natla.
"What are YOU doing?!" shouted Lara. "Don't be stupid!"
"Stupid?!" Natla hissed. "I'm angry!"
"So what?!" yelled Lara. "I am too, but we need the Scion right now, not revenge!"
"Meow!" teased Pierre. "Catfight!"
Natla and Lara turned to Pierre and said in unison, "Oh shut up, Pierre."
With the tension broken, Natla cooled off and loosened her grip on Larson's shotgun. Lara snatched it away instantly. Natla only looked away angrily.
"Now, stop that," scolded Lara.
Turning from Natla, Lara walked over to Larson and raised her pistols.
"And you! Tell me where the Scion is NOW," she warned, "or so help me God, I'LL kill you all."
Larson looked worried.
"It's…," he murmured. "It's where we had Natla locked up."
He stared away.
"It had better be," growled Lara, "because you're going to bring us there."
To Be Continued…