The following events happen after Tomb Raider 2 and before Tomb Raider 3. Therefore evertyhing that happens in the present time in Tomb Raider 4 didn't happen yet.
The mystery of the Iris
Chapter 1 – The Power of influence
Lara Croft was reading "Othello" by Shakespeare in her bedroom when she was interrupted by Winston, who slammed the bedroom door calling out her name.
- Come in! – Lara said, placing the book on the bed slowly.
- Lady Croft, I'm afraid that you have an unexpected guest.
Lara looked at the clock that was on her bedroom wall. 20:00h
- And who is it? – she asked.
- Werner Von Croy, Milady. And I believe he's not very happy. He brought some company.
Lara looked away to the ground. Sighed. While Lara was thinking about that situation, Winston broke the silence asking if she would meet Werner or not. Before Lara's answer, she pulled some pillow from her bed and pulled out one of the guns and left the other hidden beneath the other pillow. Winston was surprised a bit with that scene.
- You're right, Winston. Werner is not very happy. Probably, he is here because of the Iris.
- Did he discover that you stole it?
- Most likely.
She hid her gun in her back, stuck between her waist and her pants. She decided she would talk to Werner the way she was dressed at the time, no changing clothes.
- Let's go – she said to Winston.
Lara's hair was tied in a ponytail but it was half loose, falling on her back. She went downstairs and opened the front door. She noticed a limousine parked in front of the main gate. She triggered the button of the security panel of the main gate. Soon after that the black limousine was entering and parking near the main entrance.
Lara waited almost at the entrance. Suddenly she had a flashback of what happened when she brought home the dagger of Xian. Men of Marco Bartolli had invaded her home in an attempt to recover the dagger of Xian. It was at night, Lara was using her robe… Suddenly she felt a slight fear of something like that could happen again.
Werner got out of the car with a man wearing a black suit who looked like to be his bodyguard. When Winston was about to say hello to Von Croy, Lara said:
- It's a little late for a visit, don't you think, Von Croy? The tea time is 17h.
- Certainly. But I'm not here for tea, Miss Croft. I'm here to talk about business. If you don't mind, I want to discuss this sitting on a sofa. – Von Croy said with his german accent.
Lara turned her back on Von Croy and walked toward the living room of the manor, leaving Winston near of Von Croy, with the front door open. Winston quickly told Von Croy to follow him, and so his bodyguard followed too like a shadow. When Von Croy arrived accompanied by Winston, he noticed Lara sitted on a sofa with a very serious face. Winston stood still in the doorway along with Von Croy's bodyguard.
Werner sat on the sofa and rested his both hands on his cane that he carries everywhere.
- What do you want, Werner? – Lara asked, though she knew the answer.
- Well, you certainly should be aware about the theft in the Von Croy Industries, right? My Iris was stolen – he paused – by a woman. The only person who could steal would be someone who knew it, I guess. And as if it was a woman… - Von Croy was looking around as if he was telling some useless gossip – It's not difficult to guess it was you, Lara – there was a pause – You know you can be arrested for it? I want my Iris back!
- And I wanted the Iris was forever yours, if you weren't so reckless, Werner.
Von Croy laughed.
- Reckless?
- You and I know that you have a tendency to break the rules and fall in the traps of the artifacts that you explore around. For example, you ignored the inscriptions that was near to the near the lever that opened the place where the Iris was in Angkor Wat. And you almost killed us.
- Oh, don't remember me Angkor Wat, Miss Croft! – he said putting emphasis on the end – That day, you abandoned me there to have a claustrophobic and dark death, "ja"? (ja = yes in german)
- I already told you I didn't leave you there to die! I tried to seek help at the same time the place was crumbling. How would I approach you with rocks falling from the ceiling?
Lara felt a momentaneous exhaustion with that conversation. It was not the first time she was discussing about Angkor Wat with Von Croy. In that time, Lara was 16 years old and they traveled to Cambodia, where Lara would learn a lot about archeology with the famous Werner Von Croy. Unfortunately, Von Croy ignored any warning of the place and tried to steal the Iris, a very peculiar artifact. With two-plates-and-a-ball shaped where everything uses to spin next to each other at the same time ignoring gravity, standing still in the air anywhere someone would just "put it". If it wasn't the fact it floats in the air, the Iris wouldn't have any traces of a powerful artifact. And when Von Croy survived the enclousure of the Iris' vault and the crumbling of the place, Lara had to hear him complaining about it for years. Years of grudge. And, as always, Lara denied she abandoned Von Croy to die, but it was always useless to claim her innocence.
- There were not so many rocks like that – Von Croy mocked – The Iris ended up saving my life faster.
- Don't talk as if I never had helped you! You almost died in Africa and I saved your life.
- Lara, please. Enough about the past. I found the Iris, he's mine. You stole something mine and I came here asking peacefully it back.
- Werner, I stole the Iris right after I knew that you finally had discovered a way to give energy to the Iris. Sorry, but if it was anyone trying to discover the teleportation through science is one thing, but you using an artifact like the Iris to cause teleportation through all that high technology is warning of danger. You are a very unluck person.
- Okay – Von Croy sighed – so you are being careful, avoiding me to do something bad. And what is your plan after that? You steal something that is mine and interrupts my research and everything stays well? If you don't want to give the Iris back, you will have to give me something as valuable as him.
It came to Lara's mind the Dagger of Xian, which she kept in her safe room. But it would be foolish to trade the Iris with the dagger. Between Von Croy using teleportation and stabbing the dagger in someone, it would be worse see him transforming someone into a huge Chinese dragon because of the dagger. She thought of a lot of things. Unfortunately, only the dagger and the Scion would be considered powerful in the same category as the Iris, but she wouldn't give any of them to him.
- Seriously? – You accept to trade the Iris for another artifact?
- For another powerful artifact – he corrected.
- Werner – now Lara had a preoccupied and calm voice – we found the Iris in that place accidentally. We didn't go there to find the Iris exactly. We don't know much about it. More than 10 years passed and the only thing you found out about the Iris is that it needs an specific energy to work. You really are not afraid of the side effects it can cause? Don't you fear a worse power inside it? Your curiosity can make all the people who works in that building die because of that.
- Ok, you're right. And what do you suggest? Let's go unravel the mystery of the Iris. And then what? Will you give it back to me at any cost?
- Would you want the Iris at any cost even though it can kill you?
- He's mine, Lara. I just wouldn't use for example. And don't be hypocrite. You have dangerous artifacts kept that you don't use, why wouldn't I have one too? Are you jealous of the teleportation because it's something simpler than your artifact? – Von Croy laughed.
- I propose a deal – Lara said – I give the Iris back to you if we know more about it. If I decided to stay with the Iris, you can have a rare bestiary. It has no powers as the Iris, but if you read it, you will see how important it is.
Lara and Von Croy ended the conversation about the Iris and Von Croy said he would pay the tickets to Cambodia. However when Von Croy was leaving the manor, he said:
- Miss Croft, allow me to say that I had to have a guarantee for this new deal. I almost forgot it. I thought it would be fair to steal something yours, since you stole something mine. Fortunately, what I stole is more sentimental valuable than my Iris. – then he took out of his pocket a pocket watch that had a C carved in the back. Lara got completely furious to see her father's watch in the hands of Von Croy.
- How did you get that? – she asked furious, almost going to pull it from Von Croy's hand and attack him.
- I believe you sent it to be repaired, right? – he laughed and looked at the clock quickly – But don't worry. Now there's a guarantee that you won't throw the Iris inside of a volcano or anything like that. Don't worry, when this is over, I'll give back the pocket watch of Richard Croft, "ja".
Von Croy turned and entered the car. The bodyguard stared Lara intensely as if he was anticipating that she would attack Von Croy physically. Not long after that they both were inside the limousine, ready to go out of the grounds of the Croft Manor. Von Croy opened the car window by pressing a button on the door, in the inside part of the car. He was leaning on his cane. He approached his face a little bit to the outside and said:
- If you know how to steal, I know how to steal too – he laughed by seeing her angry face. He closed the window of the limousine and the car went away.
Winston was in affliction with that whole situation. He saw Lara going to the kitchen and he followed her.
- Milady? Milady?
- You know what, Winston? Sometimes I really wished Von Croy had died in that shit place in Angkor Wat – she said angrily, while she was taking a bottle of water inside the fridge and putting on the table. She took a glass and filled it with water.
- Milady, calm down. But how did he manage to steal that watch in the Willbury's shop? It has a great security there…
- Winston, Von Croy is competitive, vindictive, rancorous and pretentious. I don't know how he knew the watch was there, but he did it to prove he can steal too. – Lara drank some water – but I'll fix everything. I will know anything about the Iris and get my father's watch back.
Winston was silent for a few seconds.
- I remember when Lord Croft had polished once and told me the watch would be yours one day, but only after the watch had passed by at least one country of each continent. – Winston was sad, mourning silent the absence of Richard Croft in that moment.
- Exactly – Lara said.
Lara walked slowly to Winston. She saw in him one of the few people who saw her growing up, growing old. She hugged him.
- Take care of Von Croy, milady.
- I'll – she said while she was walking away from Winston. – Now I have to prepare my things. I will have to travel to Cambodia.