Disclaimer - I own no one in this story
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Chapter One
- you -
It was a cold evening when chance found Lara, sitting at her desk, a huge book open in front of her. She never normally stayed awake all night reading, but Alister, who usually took care of the books, was in the Cavendish Laboratory on Lara's orders, researching, like her, the Avalon 'Myth'. So Lara turned to books, to find a way to find her mother, who, if Amanda was to be believed, was trapped in Avalon.
Lara sighed and rubbed at her eyes, groaning as another candle gutted out. She quickly lit a new one and placed it in a sixth holder, one that she had forgotten about. She was just taking the remains of the last candle from a different holder when her desk gave a slight jump.
Pausing in her fiddling, she gave the desk a highly quizzical look, when it remained still; she put it down to fatigue and resumed picking at candle wax.
The desk leapt again. Lara threw down the silver candleholder onto the floor and jumped to her feet, wishing that she had the common sense to equip her guns. What pistols were supposed to do against an unknown desk-dwelling force, she didn't know but she always felt more secure with them.
The desk gave a particularly violent jolt, bringing with it the sound of splintering wood. Some suppressed memory stirred in Lara's mind and she frowned. Something was in that drawer, but what?
Before she could make sense of it all, a glowing golden disc ripped itself from the mahogany drawer, embedding itself into the wall, the nearest of the blades two inches from her eye. Lara gasped as she recognised it, placed her fingers into the finger holes and gave a sharp tug.
The disc came free and the blades retracted as Lara looked upon it, a wave of melancholy thoughtfulness covering her. Kurtis.
With an awfully loud bang, the library door crashed open and Lara jerked her head up, hardly daring to believe it, but then her heart fell.
"Lara?" It was Zip, the poor fellow was still in his pyjamas and was holding the end of a broomstick. He looked around the room, puzzled and his eyes from the Chirugai Lara held in her hand, causing his frown to deepen. "That's something I haven't seen in a while," He looked at the ruined desk. "You mauled the desk to get to that thing? You could've used the handle, was a nice desk."
"This ruined the desk," Lara lifted the disc up. "Not I," She looked pensive. "I haven't seen it react in over a year,"
"What can it mean?" Zip lowered the broom-handle. "That belonged to… oh whatshisface… the Lux dude..."
"His name was Kurtis Trent," Lara sighed turning the disc over in her hands. The metal was cool.
"was?"
"He died," Lara shrugged and retrieved the book she had been reading, placing the Chirugai on top of it, making it easier to carry both objects, she went to leave the room. "I'm going to retire for the evening, if Alister returns, tell him not to disturb me." And she left.
Zip sighed and leant against the doorframe.
He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't see Winston rushing past him, a tray held threateningly in his shaking hands, grumbling something about "yanks".
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The next morning after a somewhat sleepless night, Lara sat in the dining room, silently chewing on a piece of toast. For the moment she was alone, Winston making coffee, Zip still in bed and Alister was due back any second.
Her mind was stirring, overactive since last night. She felt confused and for some reason frightened, not knowing what was going on, even inside her own home. "What have you done to me?" she said to no one in particular. She still had the Chirugai, on the table next to her, reflecting the flickering candles. It wasn't moving, but she could feel the power surrounding it, as if someone or something was trying to move it. Lara frowned and put down her toast, picking it up with one hand and running the other along the surface. It was still cool, not warm but not cold either.
"Where are you?" She whispered as an unwanted tear slid from her eye. She hastily wiped it away with her hand, refusing to cry over a stupid conceited American.
"Lady Croft," Winston said as he re-entered the room with a mug of coffee. "You received a phone call at some unearthly time last night, from a man,"
"Did he say his name?"
"No ma'am, but he requested you call him on this number –" He passed her a post-it note with a mobile telephone number written on it. "- at your earliest convenience."
"Thank you Winston," Lara looked at the number. "Did he say anything else?"
"Only things too unpleasant for me to repeat Ms Croft." Winston sniffed haughtily. "Haven't been so insulted in my life."
Despite herself, Lara chuckled. "Don't take it to heart Winston, darling. Can you get me my phone please?"
"You're not actually going to call him are you?" Winston looked appalled. "For heaven's sake Lara, why?"
"Curiosity," Lara smiled as Winston retrieved her phone, somewhat reluctantly. Lara took the phone from the butler and dialled the number into the phone and pressed call, lifting the phone to her ear. It rang three times before it was picked up.
"Hello?" A familiar voice answered.
"Hello," Lara repeated, looking at the Chirugai as it twitched.
"Who's this?"
"Who's that?"
"Lara, don't play games,"
"I'm not playing games," Lara answered. "I just want to know who you are."
"I haven't got time for this, I'm coming round later. We need to talk," and with that he switched the phone off. Lara stared at the phone for a moment before giving it back to Winston.
"We'll be having a visitor shortly." Lara said. "And it is quite likely he will be just as rude as I imagine he was to you on the phone,"
"That cretin is coming here?" Winston scowled. "Did he say what his name was?"
"No," Lara shook her head. "But I have an inkling, if it is who I think… I shall kick his arse to next Sunday,"
"Alex then?"
Lara sighed. It did sound like Alex, and it was more likely him that who she'd hoped it was. Her heart fell again. She silently swore at herself for getting her hopes up.
"Yes, Alex…" She looked at the Chirugai, which had ceased its twitching.
"I shall sort out a room in case he decides to stay." Winston said and he left her to her thoughts.
It was over a year ago since she had seen Kurtis Trent, and three years since she had seen Alex. The last time she had seen Kurtis, he had helped her by allowing her to go after Eckhardt, while he faced the mutant Boaz. Lara had searched for him, after finishing of Eckhardt and Karel, but had found nothing but his Chirugai, lying in a pool of blood, Boaz's headless corpse nearby. Thinking the worst, Lara had checked all the hospitals in Prague for any mention of his name but to no avail.
Six months later she had given up on the search, almost a year after that, her old friend, Anaya, who was visiting from Le Paz, set her on course finding the stone daises to find out what happened to Amelia Croft.
Six months searching, without even a whisper of if he was dead or alive and now, almost a year and a half past… the Chirguai was active again.
"Bloody hell," Lara groaned. She finished her toast and began sipping her coffee when Zip came in, rubbing his eyes.
"Hey Lara," He yawned. He sat down and helped himself to toast from the stack in the centre of the table. "you alright?"
"Didn't sleep much," Lara replied with a wan smile. "You?"
"Slept like a baby," Zip grinned. "but still feeling crap."
Lara smiled. "We'll be having a visitor later on. I think it's Alex but I am not sure."
Zip rolled his eyes. "Fun, spending time with that prick, didn't Bryce start working for him?"
"After he quit from me, yeah," Lara shrugged. "Apparently, it was safer working for Alex."
"Pfft," Zip scoffed. "More likely Alex was offering more money."
"Whatever," Lara sighed. "You won't run off will you? Or Alister?"
"Nah," Zip grinned. "We both know you'll hunt us down and castrate us for even contemplating that,"
Lara laughed, "Oh Zip," She shook her head. "I wouldn't even dream of harming you, or Alister that way… unless you do something really awful."
"Like betray you?"
Lara smiled. "Like betray me." She agreed.
Zip was going to say something more when the doorbell went and they both looked at the dining room door, listening intently for the familiar voice of Alister as he asks Winston to help him with his bags. But it never came. Lara frowned at Zip and got to her feet, running out the dining room door and into the hallway. The front door was open and Winston was stood there talking to the visitor.
Lara approached and looked over Winston's shoulder, seeing the shock of blond hair , bright blue eyes and familiar scowl.
"Amanda!" Lara gasped. Winston looked at Lara, rolled his eyes and turned back into the house. Lara waited until he had gone into the dining room before talking. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you." Amanda hesitated, a huge bruise was just beginning to fade under her right eye and she looked haggard.
"What about?"
Amanda sighed. "Can I come in?"
"Whatever you can say, you can say it out here" Lara snapped. "I don't think that anything you have to say is worth my attention."
"I want to help you find Avalon," Amanda said.
"Come in," Lara stepped backwards.
"I won't stay long," Amanda entered and looked around the hall. Like you haven't seen this before, Lara thought scathingly, glaring at Amanda. "Just wanted to say that and that I've done my research. I think we should talk later in the week when I have my facts straight."
"Why should I trust you?" Lara raised the infamous eyebrow.
"You have my Summon Stone," Amanda replied. "I'm no threat to you,"
"I suppose," Lara crossed her arms. "Is that all you're going to say?"
"Yes,"
"Then leave,"
Amanda sighed. "Thank you Lara for letting me speak, I'll call before I return," And she left without a backwards glance. Lara watched her close the heavy door behind her and looked at the floor. Would these surprises never end? The Chirugai, the call from Alex and Amanda's visit, all within twelve hours.
Lara sat against the wall next to the door and out her head in her hands, suppressing the urge to weep like a child. Her head was sore over thoughts of Kurtis, Alex and now Amanda and she needed a break, somewhere to go to forget everything that was happening to her. But she couldn't leave, she couldn't run away. Plus she had to wait for Alex.
Unwillingly, Lara found herself thinking about a certain dark-haired cocky American demon-hunter and she smiled a little at her memories of over at the Louvre, at the Strahov… even when she had first seen him in the Café Metro.
When he hadn't returned, she could've sworn she had felt her heart break. Even if it was only a little crack, but it was still extremely fragile. Lara shut her eyes and shook her head, she wasn't helping herself and she stood up. Looking at the clock, she estimated that, if all went well, Alister would be back within the hour. Good, she thought. Had enough of bloody Americans.
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The Chirugai was twitching again, the blades shooting out but retracting again almost immediately. It lay on her table next to the armchair she was sat on.
"You're dead," She told it. "Dead. You can't come back," She choked on her own voice and found herself shaking. "Why didn't you come back?"
"Talking to yourself again I see," Alister said from the doorway of Lara's trophy room. Lara gasped and stood up, running and throwing herself into his arms.
Before she realised what was happening, she was crying into his shoulder, sobbing and choking, thumping him in the chest, trying to find a way to let go of her grief.
"Lara?" Alister frowned. "what is it?" He held her gingerly, as if she were made of porcelain and he was afraid she may shatter.
"I WANT HIM BACK!" She wailed before being totally overcome.
Awkward, Alister allowed himself to hold her tighter and he rested his chin on her bowed head. Frowning something caught his eye, "Err… Lara?"
"What?" She turned around to what he was looking at. She gasped. The Chirugai was fully active, resting suspended in the air, the blades out, spinning ominously. It was glowing with that familiar orange light.
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I've made some changes to this. Some spelling mistakes were corrected and I've redone it all up. :D like it?