Here we go, a new experiment. What can two people make out of the same idea? Starting with the same scene, where do we get at the end?

My version of the story plays after Underworld and Alistair's death. I hope you will like it, and reviews are welcome as always!

I do not find my place. After all this time, I dare not think about what I should have done. Watching him die was like tearing out a part of my soul, losing a best friend and still having no choice, but to stay strong, hold my head high and go after his killer. It killed me from inside. It killed me to see that my friends, the only two people left on my side, thought me to be a cold, emotionless woman, who didn't even take a minute to mourn him. It was my fault, but I knew that if I had stopped to think about it, I would have broken down and never come back to my feet again. Three months have passed and it didn't get better…. There is not a single day I don't blame myself for not having done something to save him… no matter what. Alistair… my friend…

Her vision blurred when she wrote down the last words. Her eyes filled with tears, one spilled over and fell onto the paper in front of her. The place where it landed became wet, the fine-lined letters smudged. The pen stopped in her hand, a deep sigh left her full lips.

Lara shook her head. She didn't want to cry anymore. In the last three months, there had been no day when she didn't cry. Secretly, hiding in her room, keeping her tears to herself. Would it ever get better? No matter how much Zip and Winston tried to convince her that she could have done nothing for him, Lara couldn't give in, couldn't get over it and forget about him.

Taking a deep breath, she released the pen, taking care that it was lying exactly parallel to the sheet of paper she had been writing on. Someone had told her that writing would help. It didn't.

Lara swallowed, stood and walked over to the window. Outside it was dark, windy, heavy raindrops were drumming on the windowsill. As if heavens were mourning him, too. She knew Zip was worried about her, so Lara hid her sadness and pretended to feel better whenever she met him. A forced smile, a light voice, a happy face. It took her incredible efforts. So she stayed in her room and avoided meeting anyone.

When she closed her eyes, she still saw Alistair's painful face in front of her, she still heard his last, hardly audible words…. 'see you in Avalon'. Damn it, she cursed inwardly, hating herself for thinking about it again.

Maybe Zip was right. She needed something to distract her attention. A new adventure, a challenge, anything to bring her out of this dark mood before she got locked inside her gloomy state of mind. She watched a lightning flash across the black night sky. A fraction of a second. Just as much as she would have needed to save him. If she had been faster.

She turned her head, trying to force her mind to other thoughts before she drove herself crazy. Why did that happen? Why did all she loved die? Her parents, Werner, Kurtis, Alistair… Was it a curse or a blessing that she was still alive? She walked back to her desk, stopped in front of the mirror for a moment. There she was, young, trained, pretty. And still there was such sadness in her eyes… impossible to hide. People found her mysterious. All she felt was loneliness.

The feeling chased her, haunted her and it was getting worse at night when sleep avoided her. Lara walked through the empty manor, listening to the sounds of the silence. Her boots made no noise when she descended the stairs. A lightning flashed again, white light filled the dark rooms for a moment. She shut her eyes when she saw his dead body lying in front of the glass wall. Pressing two fingers in the bridge of her nose, she tried to get rid of the nightmare. A nightmare that obsessed her even when she was awake.

She kept walking, without knowing where she was going. After a while she found herself standing at the side of the pool, watching the motionless water. The few small lights at the bottom of the pool were turned on, filling the room with an eerie, bluish glow.

There was only one, quiet click in the silent night. Lara heard it, but didn't make a move. When she raised her head, a dark figure was standing only a few meters away from her. Tilting her head to the side, she fixed her gaze on him.

"Who are you?" Her voice was low, not more than a whisper.

"That's not important at the moment," the man answered calmly, coming closer, but keeping a safe distance. "My employer has a job for you."

"I'm not interested." Lara turned to walk away. "Leave my house."

"I think you don't understand me." He didn't attempt to stop her, but something in his voice kept her in place. His deep voice echoed in the empty poolroom, his words reverberating between the walls.

Lara raised a brow in surprise. Her slim figure moved closer again, trying to make out whom she was talking to. "What makes you think you can break into my house at night and convince me?" She talked evenly, not really caring what would happen next.

"As I said you don't understand me. I'm not trying to convince you." When he said that two more shadows appeared behind Lara and before she could make a move, they grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her back. She groaned out in pain and surprise. The man stepped closer, the blue light fell on his face, revealing an awkward plastic mask he was wearing. It made his face look like a grotesque grin.

"What do you want from me?" Lara hissed in pain as the two men forced her down to her knees when the guy in the mask stopped in front of her.

"It's not me, Lady Croft. My employer wishes to see you and he doesn't like being refused."

"And I don't like being forced," she retorted. The man laughed out coldly.

"I'm really sorry for this, but we knew you would leave us no other choice." He reached out, raising her face to look into his eyes. "Don't look so sad, it won't hurt."

He spun on his heels, walked towards to exit. "Take her to the car!" he ordered his men. "And Lady Croft." He turned back to her when he heard her struggle to break free. "If I was you, I wouldn't make any trouble. It would be too bad to lose more of your friends."

His menacing laughter filled the room, leaving no doubt he meant what he'd said. When the two men dragged her towards the door, Lara made no attempt to resist.