Disclaimer: I do not own anything in regards to the Tomb Raider franchise. This story is for the utter amusement and entertainment of the fans who appreciate Lara as being one of the best games in the world! The only thing that gets owned around here is 1,072 hours of my life as I try to get the 1000 point acheivements as I play my tomb raider games LOL.
Author Notes: I like getting into the part of the characters that you do not see. What happens 'in between' Lara's excurions? How does she interact with the people in her life when it is not over her headset? Read on and (hopefully enjoy my imagination). Love it or hate it, I'm still Batman!
Chapter Four: The First Feeding
Zip's heart was thumping strongly in his chest, so hard he could almost hear it due to the deafening silence in the room. Valkyrie was also quiet, she honestly had no idea what was going on, as far as she was concerned this was all part of what she signed up for when she agreed to team up with Lara. She being Lara's copy knew exactly what Lara was feeling, the more she was around her, the more in tuned she was becoming with her. Just as the time she first confronted Lara in Croft Manor after blowing it up, she mimicked Lara's movements with precise attunement. In her own mind she now knew that she could do it for as long as she wanted, if she were facing Lara, she could make every step for step with her, even blink at the same time. She chose not to state this however, after all Lara did tell Valkyrie in private after a few laps in the pool about the mindless doppelganger that was incomplete in the great pyramid as she was on the way to confront Natla for what she thought would be the last time. If she told Lara now, she was sure it would re-open old wounds or a hint of concern. Valkyrie decided that keeping the secret would be the most beneficial thing to do right now. It was now, that she wanted to only focus on Lara.
Zip released a long exasperation of air upwardly as he leaned back. He had seen Lara like this once before when she was in Nepal while searching for the ghalali key. It was right after she found her mother's pendant, and fell into silence just like now. She had asked for a moment upon which he and Alister gave her that time and stopped bombarding her with questions. What in the world was it that Lara went through up until he met her?! There were so many questions, but just like the tombs she 'finds her way into' no one could get into the tomb of her mind, or so he thought.
Valkyrie was rubbing Lara's shoulders as she still stood behind her staring at the info that was still on her screen which Zips had gathered. The screen seemed to stare back at them, the picture of the dragon that was on the Dagger of Xian. She looked at Zip and motioned her head shortly to the left which was a silent request of some girl talk. Without argument he stood up and left, looking over his shoulder once in awhile as he headed to the door that would lead towards the Coliseum arena where he would wait. After she knew he was full out of earshot she looked back to Lara and walked around to her front and crouched down before her. "What is it? You have been there before?" that was obvious enough to gather, but now she wanted to confirm something. Valkyrie then said something unexpected "Right now, I see tigers, a man…his name is Bartoli…and he…" she closed her eyes softly and concentrated "He became a dragon…you killed him… the dagger is used to kill it. Then.." she opened her eyes to see Lara staring at her with obvious disbelief, and a definite loss for words. Valkyrie smiled "You sneaky girl. You still have it." She said with a knowing tilt of her head as she looked up at Lara's surprised face where she was still crouched.
Lara gasped softly and shook her head slowly, she felt like time was stopping, or was it moving too fast? "How did you?..." the question although a prudent one already had an answer, something that the infamous British woman knew the answer to before she even asked. "You are me, with the flaws removed. Even when I asked if you had your freedom, what would you do? You stared back at me then. I knew it in your eyes, even before you said it back to me. 'What would YOU do?' You are able to see my past experiences through what connects us, can't you?" Lara could hardly keep her mouth from staying open.
Valkyrie nodded once "I AM you, with the flaws removed. The more I am with you, the stronger I feel what ties us get stronger. You still have me on a few things, my acrobatics are still much slower than your own. You swim much faster than me, and your weapon mastery exceeds my own. I exceed you in hand to hand and stamina, but in so many ways we are the same. This is only a scratch of the surface I am sure, what is important now is that we find out what the dagger of Xian has in common with Xibalba and also how it ties into our primary mission of finding the two other gods of Atlantis. I am sure you would agree on this?" she took Lara's left hand with her right and squeezed it softly as her left hand patted Lara's left outer thigh comfortingly. "We really do need to get busy, where is that dagger now?"
The entire time Lara listened to Valkyrie, her thoughts flooded with a 100 things. What she could never bring herself to do, open up, was now done for her, and understood fully what was going on within her. Lara was alarmed and strongly concerned of course! What else could Valkyrie do? Was she reading her mind all this time? Or was she gathering the memories that Lara pressed deeply into her mind in an attempt to seal it away. All the things Valkyrie said were true though, the difference in strengths between them was just as impressive as the weakness they had independent of each other. Perhaps what the flaws removed concept could 'truly' be seen as is that each of them had their own set of flaws, but together they had none. "I still have it." Lara gathered herself "As I got home after the destruction of half the great wall, which cost me a damn fortune I might add! Marco Bartoli's men came to my home and tried to reclaim the dagger and end my life. After I secured them a permanent place in a church lot I was able to truly adore my prize. I left it in the air tight vaults underneath my home. Thankfully that was never destroyed." Lara squint her eyes playfully at Valkyrie in a bit of tease about her prior deed.
Valkyrie shrugged before standing up to now look down at Lara "My apologies." She tilted her head up with a bit of feigned arrogance, and defiance. "But you really should have had a better security system. I mean truthfully, I just walked in." she folded her arms under her breasts much like Lara does and extended her right leg forward in a bit of a pose.
Lara's mouth fell agape, "Why you little git!" she then started laughing now crossing her legs and started cracking the knuckles of her right hand. She was pleased that Valkyrie helped cheer her up, she needed it.
Valkyrie now allowed her arms to fall and planted her palms on her own hips, her sanguine braid fell across her shoulder in a most carefree fashion. "We are going to go get the dagger, then you want to go to China again?"
Lara nodded "Getting the dagger will be the easy part. Getting back into China?" here she sighed "After what happened? I think that will prove to be the challenge, but it isn't impossible. I still have a few connections there that I could contact for assistance. I'll arrange for quick air transport. Lucky you." Lara grimaced with a followed wink "You get to go sky diving. Then we go back and make our way to any remains of what was once beneath the great wall to see if we find any glyphs that are out of place like the one Zip found in Xibalba. Then we will go from there." She nodded in finalization of her plan.
Valkyrie nodded once as well. "And if the Chinese find out about your 'unauthorized visit' and come well prepared in accordance of your 'removal'? What would you do?"
Lara stood up from her chair closing the distance between, then placing her hands on her own hips in mimic of Valkyrie and asked "What would YOU do?" Lara wrinkled her nose at her twice.
Valkyrie smiled that wretched knowing grin and nodded. "Make sure they suffer."
End Chapter 4
Time to go to CHINA!!!!!
