CHAPTER FOUR

From here on out, I will be referring to the older Lara Croft as Core Lara. And the younger Lara Croft as Survivor Lara, in order to avoid confusion surrounding which one is talking at any one time. With that out of the way, let's begin the next chapter!

Core Lara groaned, as she struggled to open her eyes. She hadn't felt this groggy since being trapped in the Great Pyramid over the course of the new millennium, after sealing away a reincarnated god of chaos from ruling the world once more.

Finding the strength to awaken proper and get up off what was revealed to be a bed, she found herself immediately stopped by a strong-looking man, who seemed to originate from somewhere Polynesian in origin. Perhaps New Zealand, she thought to herself.

'Woah, woah, woah, woah... easy there, easy. You've been out for three days. Do you want something to eat or drink?' the man said to her.

Groaning a bit, Core Lara said, 'Yes. A coffee and some eggs on toast would be lovely, thank you.'

The man gave a silent nod and walked towards the kitchen in the next room. Before she could find the time to stop and think about her current situation however, she was interrupted by a young female voice that had just come into the hotel room. This girl looked to be in her early 20s, wearing a closed-off brown shirt, pants and boots, with a single weapon holster hanging from her lower waist and a small ponytail hanging on the back of her head. Something about her, reminded Core Lara of herself. But she couldn't quite place why.

'So, you're finally awake,' the young girl said to Core Lara. 'Care to explain who you are and how you came to be in the Temple of Jeint?'

'I... don't know,' Core Lara said. 'Last thing I remember, I was in the Amazon jungle at the Temple of Janos, collecting a strange mirror artifact through a reliable lead. Just as I was about to package it, a bright light blasted my face from the mirror and than... nothing.'

'OK,' the young girl said in a calm tone. 'Do you have a name?'

Core Lara gave an incredibly confused look, before stating to this strange girl, 'You are kidding, right? Everyone in the world knows who I am. It's Lara... Lara Croft.'

Shattered dishes could be heard in the kitchen, as the man seemed to react in shock to this revelation.

'But that's impossible,' the man said. 'Lara Croft is... well, you're looking at her.'

Survivor Lara gave a much more severe look towards this lady of presumed mistaken identity, while Core Lara was starting to quickly lose her patience.

'Look, I don't know what this is about,' Core Lara said. 'But I have no time for practical jokes, least of all in my line of work. If I could just phone up Kurtis Trent back in Paris, I'm sure this could all be sorted out.'

'Who's Kurtis Trent?' the Polynesian man said to her.

'Not important right now.' Survivor Lara said to the man. 'Look, I hate to break it to you lady. But there's only one Lara Croft and you're staring at her.' She grabbed a clipped newspaper article from the nearby drawers and threw it at Core Lara's face. 'See, I'm the genuine article.'

Core Lara didn't even pay attention to her younger imposter, as her face was left entirely in shock from reading the paper.

'Lady Lara Croft...born in 1992...Mother died in a plane crash in the mountains, disgraced archaeologist father shot himself...Lara Croft survived a few weeks in Japan on the island of Yamatai at 21 years old... No, this is all wrong!' Core Lara said. 'But how can this be? I'm definitely not dreaming all this right now, so that means... of course!' she finished excitedly.

'What?' Survivor Lara and the man said in response.

'The Mirror... It must have transported me to an alternate realm, like the inscriptions in the temple said. But that doesn't explain the warnings of 'demons'. Core Lara questioned more to herself, than the two other people in the room with her.

'I'm sorry. I can't follow any of this right now.' the man said.

'You're not the only one Jonah.' Survivor Lara said in response to her best friend's confusion.

'My backpack? Where is it?' Core Lara said desperately. 'Have to make sure the mirror is safe.'

'It's over there on the table.' Jonah said. 'But I don't see how a mirror is going to...' Jonah didn't get to finish his sentence, before Core Lara said in utter horror, 'Oh no. It's gone. And it's obvious none of you two took it, as you'd have probably killed me afterward.' Core Lara pressed a foot against the nearby wall and stood there, pondering away about her dilemma.

'I assume you don't mean the Mirror of Perception, umm... Lara,' Survivor Lara said. 'Because a mercenary named Eliza Muti has it and is planning on giving it to his employer at an undetermined date, here in South America.'

'Well then, what are we waiting for?' Core Lara said. 'That artifact is my only way home to the realm I come from. Without it, I'm essentially stuck here. And I don't think your world would react too well to the news of two different archaeologists named Lara Croft running around.'

Survivor Lara tried her best to calm her older counterpart down. 'Look, I understand the importance of getting this artifact back. But we simply have no idea of where to start and... Wait! Where are you going?'

'Are mercenaries still an easily bought-out and cowardly lot around here?' Core Lara said.

'Yes, but I don't see how that's important...' Survivor Lara managed to get out, before being interrupted.

'Good enough for me.' Core Lara said, as she opened the hotel room door and went out into the pitch-black darkness of the cool jungle night.

Jonah and Survivor Lara stopped to stare at each other for a moment, before Jonah broke the silence and said, 'You know you've got to catch up with her right?'

'Yes, I know,' Survivor Lara said, in a defeatist voice. 'If you hear anything around town about Eliza, make sure to contact me through radio.'

'Will do.' Jonah said, as Survivor Lara made for the door left opened, by her alternate reality counterpart. 'And Lara.'

'Hmm?' Survivor Lara said.

'Be careful.' said Jonah.

'Don't worry Jonah. I always am.' stated Survivor Lara as she closed the hotel door on the way out.