Author's note: This fanfic follows the videogame storyline only and takes place a little after Tomb Raider: Chronicles, then totally disregards the storyline afterwards. I don't own Tomb Raider at all…okay I own all the games and Lance, Mark, and Maru…they are my original characters.
Chapter 1- Who Am I?
Lara Croft opened the solid wood doors in front of her mansion, stepping in and taking a good look around. She did not feel the same anymore. The bold, fearless woman she used to be seemed like a mere distant memory ever since she had returned from Egypt a little under a month ago. "Lara, good to see you, I didn't hear you come in." Winston, her butler and friend, greeted her at the door. "So how was your trip?" Lara scuffed her brown boots against the black and white tiled floor.
"Just fine." The woman responded in somewhat of a preoccupied manner as she took off her holsters and threw them gently onto a nearby chair.
BANG! A shot rang out from her .45s and smashed a vase, shards of decorated glass scattered everywhere. Winston ducked in an attempt to avoid the incoming projectiles as Lara snapped out of whatever trance she had been in and shook her head. "Bloody hell." She grumbled irately under her breath. "Forgot the safety." Winston had noticed a drastic change in the tomb raider lately and was honestly becoming worried about her. She's never this reckless…and she usually has some story to tell me or an artifact to show me whenever she comes back from a trip, he thought. Lara had been on a few minor expeditions since coming back from Egypt, but nothing like she used to take on.
"I'll take care of this mess. You should go on and rest for a bit." Lara smiled at the old man and thanked him. "Oh! And Lara—" Winston began, but caught the woman sauntering off to the attic. She'll come around, he thought, after all she's been through Lara just needs some time to herself. Lara jogged up the long staircase, wandering around until she came across the door that led to the attic. She pressed a button and walked in, traveling the long and dimly lit corridor until she came to a room with boxes piled everywhere. Lara had told herself that one day she would finally get around to unpacking everything.
Grabbing the nearest blue box on the left, she pulled it out a considerable distance. Don't remember it being this heavy before, the tomb raider noted idly as she stood up straight and walked through to the room the large object had blocked off. The room was plain, a few more storage containers lingered in the area and a lone button decorated the wall to the left. Lara trotted over to the button and pressed it, turning around quickly and running into the attic, then back down the hall. I'm not gonna make it… she thought as she hesitated for a second before jumping over the first set of gold railing, followed by the second set as she twisted in midair, landing on one knee on the ground.
"Perfect!" Lara said softly as she swiftly recovered from her landing and dashd into the hall just as the door shut behind her. This room was Lara's favorite, it had a large aquarium that took up three quarters of the wall and was filled with beautiful blue and yellow angelfish. The tomb raider sat down on a white leopard print couch with a heavy sigh. She needed some time to think and figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life. "My last trip to Egypt changed me somehow. Being buried under those rocks when the tomb collapsed…it was one of the few times I was actually afraid." Lara Croft got up and peered out of the window, staring at the memorial in the front yard that had been put there when she was thought to be dead.
"It was the first time in my life I thought my luck had run out and that I wouldn't make it out alive. This time I cheated death, but next time…next time I might not be so lucky." A cold wave of realization washed over her as she thought of the implications of that last sentence. "Maybe it would be best if I quit while I was ahead…maybe it was a sign that if I don't give up now, I'll have a lot more to lose next time." The auburn haired woman paced around a bit before lying down on the couch and closing her eyes.
Tripping and falling, Lara stumbled down a slope and landed hard in a blinding white room. "Lara…you can do it…don't give up." A deep male voice, one she thought she had heard many times before, resonated through the room. The woman stood up and looked around to see who was talking to her.
"No, I can't! I…I…I just can't!" She responded adamantly as she fell to her knees on the ground, a single tear trickled down her cheek. "I'm afraid." Lara cringed as she said this. Fear. Afraid. She was usually a very strong person and always seemed to be able to block out any semblance of fear in even the most life threatening of situations.
"You are a survivor and I believe in you." The room began to shake and the floor crumbled and began to disappear, sending Lara falling into the black abyss.
"No!" Lara awoke with a start, heart pounding and almost stumbling off the couch in the process. I can't even get some peace from my dreams, she thought wearily as she traveled down the hall and exited out of the room. "Winston?" She called his name hesitantly as he craned his neck out the doorway of the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
Winston smiled and nodded his head. "Of course Lara, you know I always have time for you. Let's discuss it over lunch."
AN: So what do you guys think so far? This chapter was short but the next one will be longer, I promise. Thanks for reading!
