Lara Croft climbed slowly up a cliff-side, reaching for a relic just at the top. A few inches was all she needed, and it would be hers. Without warning, her foot slipped and she fell, quickly grabbing hold of the edge. She used all her strength to push herself up, happily snatching the wrench from its place.
"Well done, Ms. Croft." Winston, her butler, had come into the room, turning off her stereo that had been blasting tunes from Black Eyed Peas. Lara smiled and jumped down from the ledge to the inflated blue mat below. Winston walked over to her, carrying an envelope. "This invitation came for you today."
"What is it for?" she asked, taking the envelope and removing the card inside.
"There is a commemorative archeological exhibit in Bristol," he said, "Showing artifacts found by someone people call the greatest treasure hunter to ever live." Lara raised an eyebrow as she read over the card.
"Indiana Jones," she said softly, "You know, I have heard of him before. I can't remember where, though."
"Did you say Indiana Jones?" Bryce had come into the room just in time to hear Lara's comment, "He was amazing back in the day! I heard he found the lost ark, the holy grail –"
"Really?" Lara looked up in surprise, "Do you think they'll have those on display?"
"Well, he didn't actually keep them," Bryce continued, "One of them is in a huge warehouse and the other one got lost."
"Shame," she said, looking down at the card, "Well, it says 'In Memory Of,' so I don't think he'll be there to explain why." Bryce looked disappointed at that fact, but after all, Indiana Jones had been around for quite a long time. Seeing the expression on his face, Lara sighed and said, "Do you want to go?"
"Yeah!" Bryce exclaimed happily, looking over her shoulder at the invitation, "It's tonight! Bristol's about two hours away, so I'm going to go get ready." He left quickly, leaving Lara and Winston staring after him.
Later that evening, Lara and Bryce found themselves walking through the Jones Exhibit, which was displaying many rare and valuable artifacts.
"No wonder I can't find some," Lara commented. She looked over at Bryce, but he had stopped a few yards back, staring at a glass case. "What's there?" Lara asked, walking over.
Inside the case was an old, beat-up fedora, whip, gun and leather holster. The plate beneath it held a description of each item, each of which had been used by the late Indiana Jones. As far as Lara was concerned, they could have been antiques, as well.
"Can you imagine meeting him," Bryce said, "Just think for a moment…if you and Indiana Jones had lived at the same time, how great a team that would be."
"I bet it would be inter-" Lara stopped mid-sentence as her eyes glazed over. It would be interesting, indeed, to see who really would be the better treasure hunter: her, or the infamous Dr. Jones. She looked at Bryce excitedly, saying, "Is your time prototype still up?"
Bryce had been naming off the different languages that the archeologist could speak when Lara interrupted him. "Yeah, it is. Why?"
"I'd like to test that little theory of yours," she said, "I would like to see how Indiana Jones and I would work together." Bryce tried to sputter out different reasons for her to not go back to see him, but Lara waved them off.
"Alright," he said, "We can do it. I'd advise you to go to around 1940 or so, after his major finds. You know, the ark and goblet and what not."
"Sure, whatever." Lara wasn't paying too close attention to what Bryce was talking about. Instead, she was thinking of how amazing it would be to see if she could beat him to something . . . anything. She looked around the hall, trying to find an artifact that would be good for her little test. As soon as Lara turned her head, she found it.
"Lara, what are you looking at?" Bryce questioned as she walked to it. Locked inside a thick glass case was an hourglass with gold supports and encrusted in jewels. Instead of sand inside of it, there were millions of tiny sapphires. Bryce was dumbfounded by the sight of it.
"The Pharaoh's Hourglass," Lara said, "It's one I tried finding…Apparently this Dr. Jones got it long before I was around. It's said to have some magical properties, mainly concerned with time travel. This is what I'll go back to him for." With that decided Lara walked back out to the valet and started home.
"Bryce," she said, driving, "I'd like you to make something so I can talk to you from 1940. Think you could make something quickly?"
Bryce thought it over for a few minutes before answering. "It could take as long as a week, or it could be done by tomorrow evening. Depends on what I still have available to work with."
"That doesn't matter," Lara responded, "I can get you whatever you need, you know that." Bryce agreed to start working on the communication device the minute they got home.
Early the next morning, Lara woke and walked down the stairs to find Winston setting a large breakfast for her. Smiling, she took a banana from the table and headed toward the pool. She swam for three hours before going to the climbing room. Lara was halfway up one of the trickier slopes when Bryce rushed in.
"Oy!" he said, "Get down here." Lara propelled herself down and unhooked herself from the straps. As she walked over, she noticed that there were circles under his eyes and that his hair was more ruffled than usual. He had apparently been up working all night. Bryce led Lara to his small trailer and showed her his newest gadget.
"This," he explained, holding up a small earpiece, "Is made so that you can wear it all the time without anyone knowing what it is. It was really difficult to figure out how to bend all this around space and time and such . . . but there you are." He smiled, feeling accomplished. "Oh," he added, picking up an old watch, "This is also for you."
Lara took the watch and looked at it, examining every inch. "What is it for?" she asked.
"The watch," Bryce said, "Was based on designs from high-fashion watches from the mid-thirties. With this, you can talk to me, but that will probably have to be in private, away from any prying ears."
Lara smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Bryce."
"Be bored out of your bloody mind, I imagine." He was smiling, though, as he went to work on perfecting his prototype.
Lara walked around his small room examining every inch of the traveling prototype. Within half an hour, Bryce announced that it was ready for travel.
"Perfect," Lara said, "Where am I going to?" Bryce had also been at work researching the history of Dr. Jones, and found the perfect time and place for Lara to show up.
"Be careful," Bryce said, "I would like to have you come back in one solid piece, you know." Lara assured him that she would be perfectly fine, and went to change into a more appropriate outfit for the party. She made sure that her weapons were securely fastened to her legs beneath the dress, and put on the watch Bryce had made. Now that she looked at it, there was a certain rustic charm to it, as the gold elegantly played off the colors in her wrist.
"Alright," she said walking back into the room, "So I go, meet Jones, tell him my proposal, and come straight back here, right?" Bryce nodded, making some last-minute checks on the machine. Lara stepped in front of the portal as it hummed to life. Waving a small good-bye to Bryce, she walked forward, hoping that it would actually work.