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Lara came to with a gasp as water lapped against her face and jerked upright. A sharp sting in her knee told her that she had cut it when she had fallen, along with one shoulder aching from the impact. She looked down. The runes on the floor around the dais were overflowing with the liquid, but she couldn't see where it was coming from. It seemed to be moving towards the place where the circle of rock within which the lights had pulsated and flashed had collapsed. It tasted like the decay-filled water in Odin's halls. Lara spat it out quickly, as if she thought it would contaminate her. Dust was still rising slowly from the fall of the circle - she must have been unconscious only for a few seconds, although it felt like much longer. She had broken the dais once again, failing in her task. The circle lay shattered on the ground. Odin's staff was nowhere to be seen. She sat motionless in the darkness. It was indeed so dim that she could barely see the shape of the dais and the colums around it.

And what was more, whoever had caught hold of her hand at that last moment before everything exploded... was gone.

She balled the hand into a fist, swallowing hard. Had it been Alister's touch she had felt? Or just some other soul straining to get through? How could she be sure that what she had been seeing was even real, that it wasn't just some product of her own desperate, greiving imagination? Maybe she had just been kidding herself this whole time. Maybe she was going as insane as those she had fought against to get this far in the first place.

Oh, Alister.... I'm so, so sorry....

She felt tears forming in her eyes once more and forced back a sob.

Almost as if on cue, a choking gasp broke the silence. Lara flinched in shock, and then scrambled to her knees. Her knee stung in protest but she ignored it. She fumbled with trembling fingers for the light on her shoulder. Of all times to suddenly forget where the button was... but she could hear it now; the shift of something on rock not far away from her; the short, ragged breathing; the supressed moans. Something was in the room with her, and for once that thought did not set her nerves on edge.

What if...

Her hand finally located the button on top of her light and she stopped for a moment. If it wasn't him... she shouldn't get her hopes up. Just in case... just do it. But her hand would not move. She couldn't bear to lose him again, not again... she had to be sure...

"Alister?"

Her voice sounded so small and scared in the darkness that she almost kicked herself. In response, the harsh breathing near her broke off. Then another voice replied, just as hesitant as she was.

"L-Lara?"

Lara's stomach did a huge jerk and she scrambled to press the button. Light flooded out over the dark room, blinding her for a second. She squinted desperately through it. Only about two meters away, Alister rolled onto his back and looked up at her, fear etched over his face. Relief rushed into his gaze as he looked at her, and for a few moments all she could do was stare back.

Oh god, he's alive... I did it... he's ALIVE!

But then her initial joy vanished. Because something was very, very wrong. Alister looked as if he should still be dead: his face was pale and thin, his whole body shuddered with every gasping, tiny breath he drew and his arms were wrapped tightly around his side. As she watched, blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth. Horrified, Lara launched herself forwards to his side and grabbed his arm. Just being able to touch him again sent a wave of giddy happiness over her, but it quickly evaporated. The gunshot wound that had stolen his life was still there, she could see the blood leaking out of him onto the stone floor around them. He had shut his eyes again, his face taught with pain.

"Alister... oh god, what... why..."

But then she understood. Of course Odin's staff had the power to restore life, but it could not repair broken bodies. Despite being ressurected three times, the mysterious legend had still died, hadn't he? Why hadn't she done more research, made certain of what would happen? The bullet that had torn through Alister's flesh was gone... but the wound it had left behind was as real and terrible as the moment he had recieved it.

If she didn't do something - anything - then she was going to lose him again.

Alister chose this moment to open his eyes and look up at her once more. There was a strange kind of innocent life that shone within them that made her want to cry.

"Lara," he forced out, his voice shaking. "Are... are you... o-okay?"

She let out a short laugh. "Am I okay? Alister, how can you ask me if I'm okay when you're lying here bleeding?"

He chuckled and then winced. "St-stupid... question..."

Lara pulled off her rucksack and began to paw through it for her emergency first aid kit. There was no way she could help him in any dramatic way, but she could stem the bleeding a little. Maybe that would keep him alive long enough for her to contact Zip and get help. She pulled out bandages, antiseptic... she had no idea how to stitch a wound, and she wasn't about to cause him that amount of pain. She just couldn't do it.

That thought scared her a little. A month ago, there was nothing she wasn't prepared to do. She would have leapt from a burning building without a second thought. But now... now things were different.

Alister struggled to supress a scream of pain as Lara cleaned out his wound with antiseptic and then applied as much pressure as she could. She had a terrible flashback to the night he had died - things were going down in exactly the same way.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she gabbled out. "I'll get it over with as quickly as possibly, I promise."

He tried to reply, but ended up moaning in agony instead. Lara's heart wrenched in her chest, and she felt tears stinging behind her eyes. This was causing him more pain than his death ever had. Lara let go with one hand and placed it against the side of his face, forgetting about being embarressed or hesitant in the fear that swallowed up everything else.

"Alister? Alister, please stay with me."

"I... 'kay..." he breathed.

The bleeding was beginning to slow. The wound wasn't as big all the blood had made it appear to be. As carefully as she could, she taped some gauze over the wound and then reached for the bandages.

"Alister, I need you to sit up," she said.

His forehead creased as he screwed his eyes shut. "Lara... I-I... can't..."

"Yes, you can." She was begging more than assuring him. She gently pulled him into a sitting position and leant him back against the nearest of the pillars around the dias. He let out a shout of pain, and she cringed.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!"

"S'f-f-fine," he gasped.

She wrapped the bandages around his midsection as quickly as she could before pinning them in place and then sitting back. Alister had gone quiet, his eyes shut. Panicking, Lara took him by the shoulders.

"Alister!"

His eyes flickered open and blearily focused on her. Relief leapt through her and she relaxed, sitting down on the floor beside him. She took his hand, needing to reassure herself that he was still there.

"Does it hurt badly?" she asked softly.

"I'll live," he muttered. "Probably."

He tried to smile but it turned into a grimace. "Lara... did you do this?"

She didn't trust herself to answer for a few moments. She had never admitted relying on anyone in her whole life, apart from maybe her father when she was little. But how could she deny what she felt now, when it must be so obvious?

She took a deep breath.

"Yes, I did. After you... after it happened, I found that I was thinking about you with new... new feelings. I just couldn't bear to lose you. Without you everything just seemed to stop, I couldn't focus. I..."

She glanced up at him, and met his eyes. He was watching her silently. She swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry. I was so selfish. But I just... I..."

Tears were brimming in her eyes. She wiped at them furiously, but they broke free and trailed down her cheeks. She turned her face away. She had yanked him back into the world, caused him the most pain he had probably ever felt, and now was crying in front of him. She felt so stupid, so pathetic....

Alister's hand reached out and cupped her face, turning it so that she was facing him again. He wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"I was... so scared. I thought you... were going to get pulled in too." He shut his eyes for a few seconds, and then looked at her again. "You... saved my life... th-thank you..."

Lara squeezed his hand. She would search for any painkillers she might have packed by chance in her bag in a moment - for now she just wanted to be with him. Alister clenched his jaw, blinking hard, and then nodded.

"H-How?"

"I found Odin's staff."

His eyebrows shot upwards. "C-Can I s-see?"

She turned, but it wasn't anywhere around the dais. In face, it was nowhere. It must have been sucked through into the lights. "Its gone. I'm sorry..."

"W-what did it look like?"

"It had this diamond set into the top. It changed colours." She wished she could think of better words to describe it to him, but he smiled anyway.

"The magic... of Odin..."

He seemed to be finding it hard to breathe. Lara reached for her bag, searching for anything that might help. She found a small packet of low-key painkillers - better than nothing. She took up her flask and put it into Alister's hand. He finched slightly in surprise.

"Can you swallow these? They'll help with the pain."

He nodded, squinting down at the pills she handed him. She reached for her bag once more, but could not find her mobile. Frowning, she looked around. She caught sight of it across the room, lying on the floor. Sighing, she rose to her feet and walked over to it. As she had feared, the screen was smashed and the back shattered. It would be of no use to her. She returned to Alister and searched through her bag for her second emergency mobile. But, when she turned it on, she had no signal. They would have to walk until they found one.

"Bad news?"

She looked up at Alister, who was watching her, and nodded.

"I'm afraid so. We're going to have to get out of this place on our own."

So, will Alister survive on the trek back up the mountain to find a phone signal? Will Lara lose him again? Dun-dun-dah! Please review!

SUPRNTRAL LVR.