I was reading stuff in the TR forums about Amanda and her control over the Wraith. I believe, in a sense, that the Wraith has more control over Amanda than she does over it, causing her to be irrational and act on impulses. And when it's control over her fades, she feels empty. Almost as if it is a drug and she is addicted. She believes the Wraith will give her everything she wants. It makes her powerful and deadly. It makes her strong, and she doesn't know how to cope without it. Thus slightly explaining her bedraggled, hobo-chique appearance in TRU.
Disclaimer: I disclaim all Tomb Raider characters and places involved.
Oh, and words written in bold and italics are the Wraith speaking to Amanda :P
. . .
"James where the hell is she? She was supposed to be here!" I shouted, clenching my fists angrily.
Yelling at James probably wasn't the best thing I've ever done, or the smartest. But this waiting around for fucking Lara was pushing my breaking point. All I've ever done since college was wait around for that sleaze bag heiress to come looking for me.
"She's here Amanda. Calm the hell down." James waved his hand at me as if to dismiss my statement.
I walked over to hip, putting my hands on my hips and swaying slightly. I swore to whatever fucking deity was up there that if one of James' men looked at me I would punch them in the face.
"How do you know she's here?"
"We've lost contact with the majority of my mercenaries, Amanda. She's here." James assured, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Sighing, I nodded and took a step backwards. I turned around to look at the center of this island thing. There were five pillars, each with its own unique carving, situated around a central circle. There was a separate ring seeming to be made out of metal around the inner circle. There was a stone dais at the base of one of the pillars. I turned my head to look at the sword fragment in James' hand. We already knew that it was a piece of a powerful weapon. The other fragments were scattered across the globe.
I turned around when the sound of stones scraping against each other reached my ears. Well, somebody took her goddamn time. I thought bitterly. Gunfire was opened, but only a few shots were fired before James called them off.
"Should've let them kill her." I mumbled, walking back to the helicopter.
"Lara Croft! I've been hoping to see you!" James said this as if he was greeting an old friend.
I snorted, buckling down for the show. Swinging my feet aimlessly, I tried to her their conversation. There wasn't even a fucking echo in the room. The wooden bridge the two stood on swung back and forth slowly like a pendulum. I caught a few words, especially near the end of their conversation when the tension thickened like milk left out in the sun for too long.
"You should've paid more attention in Paraíso."
"Amanda? Amanda's dead," I couldn't help but laugh softly at this declaration, "what the hell do you know about Paraíso?"
James walked back across the bridge and gave an order to his mercenaries. I pushed myself up slowly, pausing in a crouch as Lara narrowly missed being gunned down by the second helicopter. She leapt from the crumbling bridge. Her fingers clawed at the dirt for a moment in a final attempt to get a good grip. I swore silently as she pulled up onto the island and shot one of our men in the head. I cringed as the man fell onto the ground, his blood staining the stone.
"Get away from the fucking door, Amanda. We're taking off." James announced.
"I won't fall out James." I snapped, before softening, "you should know that."
Despite me not being able to fully look at him, I knew he rolled his eyes at me. I held onto the side as we began to rise into the air. I found myself watching the battle below with bated breath. How can somebody who is supposedly so professional be so… cruel? Lara kicked one man over the edge. His scream echoed in my head until we were well away from the temple. I knew something right then and there- Lara needed to be stopped.
For the good of the world. Lara, the mother fucking Baroness of Abbington. She had to be stopped. What James and I were doing, our intents were right. We were right. What the Wraith whispered to me at night was right. Right. We are right. I stood, slowly at first.
"James, I think there's something I missed." Missed. Missed something. Something.
"Where? What the hell are you talking about?"
"In Paraíso. We need to go back." Back. Go back. Go. Sliding into the seat, I looked out at the horizon. It was actually beautiful. Rainforest was all I could see for miles. Somewhere out there was the truth. And the truth was exactly what I was going to get.
"I'll land outside of Cusco. We can stay there while I bring in more men from the states, alright?"
"Fine. While we're staying there, I need to make a quick trip to visit an old colleague of mine in Desaguadero."
"Okay. Now shut up, I need to concentrate."
. . .
Dirt came up in a cloud around my feet. Anaya's house was close. I spotted the house from the photo I had dug up on the internet and started to run. My boots barely made a sound against the dirt. Luckily, the house was dark. I pulled open the shutters on one of the windows. No glass. Perfect. I pulled myself up and through the window. Trying to be as quiet as I could, I stepped into the room. Through the soft moonlight, I could make out a bed and a sleeping figure. Well, a figure that had been sleeping.
The girl rubbed her eyes, "who's there?"
"Anaya." Get. Get Answers. Answers.
"Amanda?" My old friend rubbed her eyes again, most likely not believing what she was seeing. I'm supposed to be dead anyways, right?
"You know how I died all those years ago? Well now I need answers Anaya. What happened in that tomb… I need to know." The purpose of my journey here had disappeared. The Wraith's thoughts stopped pounding through my head, leaving it cold and empty. Why did I come here? Anaya was on her way back to La Paz to pick up the professor during the incident.
"I do not know what caused your death. I do miss you, though." Good. Anaya thinks this is all a dream. At least she won't go telling Lara.
Something clicked in my mind, "but Lara does know."
On that note, I hopped out of the window, leaving behind a tired Anaya. Lara knew. She would have answers. I pulled my phone from my shorts pocket and called James.
"Rutland." He answered. I could imagine him, sitting in one of the chairs in our hotel room or lying on the bed.
"I'm done. You can come and get me now." I told him softly. A breeze picked up, blowing my blonde hair in my face.
"Alright. I'll be there soon."
"Bye, I-" The other line went dead, and I sighed, "I love you."
