Hi everybody..! Thank you for reading so far and thank you Metalgirl3135 and en-lumine for reviewing 'till the most recent chapter!

I would also like to thank Angy1996 and gyikhu for reviewing the first chapters, I wouldn't be encouraged to update without them! ;) I was a bit later than the usual but here's the next chapter... I hope you guys like it! =)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Eidos and are not mine. (but the monks are!)

Note: The definition of 'Telepathy' was found on wikipedia!

Chapter 9: The Monastery of Secrets

The symbol is still there. The Crystal Shard has still some power left. It's not as powerful as it used to be but the power it holds is good enough to stop the Cabal and the Nephilim from ruling the world. The Monastery will give us what we need. At least I'm not alone anymore. I was lost and hopeless. I had given up and I even let them fuck up with my mind, without any resistance, believing that this was the right thing to do. Until I found her…

Kurtis Trent

Thick mist was covering the top of the mountains. The Monastery was hardly visible on the crest of the Cursed Mount. It was so steep that it made climbing really hard. A large bell was constantly clanging, the only thing that could be heard in those godforsaken lands. The sound of the bell was echoing through the region. A large full moon was right above the abandoned Monastery as it was reflecting the shadows of the damaged building.

Kurtis Trent was climbing up the mountain and Lara Croft was following him, right behind him. She was wearing her hood. They had been climbing for quite some time when they finally reached their destination.

"This is it" said Kurtis after he had managed to catch his breath.

Lara was panting. It was obvious that rockclimbing had somewhat exhausted her. I've become really rusty, she thought. "I never knew that a Tomb Raider could become consumed that easily" he teased her. "I'm just-" she paused to catch her breath. "-fine" she completed.

He just smiled. "Bloody American" she said teasingly.

After that short interruption, they approached the giant door. Kurtis knocked on the door. They both waited for a response impatiently.

A black figure opened the door. Not very widely though. Just as much as needed to be able two face the visitors.

"Who are you?" The figure said demandingly.

"Look, we really need your help. You happen to know about the Crystal Shard, am I right?" Lara said with a stable tone.

"Yes, we have its pieces" the man said, immediately regretting that he had disclosed so much information to the strangers.

"What do you know about that? Who are you?" said the man. "It doesn't really matter. We just need those pieces, if you don't mind" Lara said, more threateningly this time.

The man didn't reply. She continued "I'm losing my patience. If you don't let us come in, you will-"

"We are the Union of Light, which means you don't have another choice but to let us come in" said Kurtis, interrupting Lara. Kurtis' statement was confirmed when the monk saw the ring that Kurtis was wearing; proof that he indeed belonged to the sacred Order of the Lux Veriatis.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Please, please come in" the man said regretting his previous hostile attitude. Then the door got wide open.

"Union of Light?" asked Lara.

"Yeah, that's how some prophecies call us. And those guys are stick to the prophecies, trust me" he told her and they both got into the monastery.

The sound of the large bell wasn't heard so clearly now. It was still cold but not as much as outside. The ceiling was very lofty and the coloured panes of the windows reflected a dark but colourful light inside the whole place. Lara and Kurtis walked through the large corridors, following the monk. He was wearing a long black cassock and his hair was white.

Kurtis and Lara were led to a large room which was darker than the main hall. There was a window right opposite the door. A cemetery could be seen through it. Inside the room were some more monks dressed just like the man they first saw. The monk closed the door behind him after Lara and Kurtis had entered the room.

"And you are?" Lara asked. "We support the first form of the Lux Veritatis Order. We are just like the very first ones" the monk said.

"You mean you are Lux Veritatis?" Kurtis said impatiently.

"We actually support the Order's traditions but our bloodline has nothing to do with the Order" the monk replied.

"But you…" the monk continued. "You are the last living link to the Order. The last active member of the Lux Veritatis" the man completed.

"Who are you, young girl?" another monk asked. Lara took off her hood with hesitation. "My name is Lara Croft" she replied with confidence.

"Richard's daughter?" said the same man who had asked her the question.

"You knew my father?" she said immediately.

"Better than you can imagine. We all did. He helped Konstantin Heissturm very much" one of the monks said.

"Lara's father knew… my father?" Kurtis asked confused. "Yes. They were very good friends"

Lara and Kurtis looked each other with confusion.

"Then they…" said Lara.

"…may have planned out the whole thing with…"

"…us. Maybe they did want us to become partners" said Lara completing Kurtis' sentence.

There was a long pause for a while. That theory sounded a bit unconceivable to both of them. They needed more answers.

"What did my father have to do with the Shadow War?" Lara asked after a while.

"Your fathers were partners, both fighting against the Nephilim and the Black Alchemist" said one of the monks. "How did he get involved in all this?" Kurtis questioned."We do not know that" one of the monks replied.

Kurtis felt like there was a burden on his shoulders after all the things he had heard. Could his and Lara's partnership had been planned out by his father? Would they meet each other anyway if they had never met in Paris? And how did Richard Croft find out about the Shadow War? Despite his unanswered questions, he decided to get to the point and find out about the thing they came for in the first place.

"Where do you keep the pieces of the Crystal Shard?" he asked.

"Well, we considered that the Shard would be useful even though it had been destroyed. This weapon is so powerful that we thought it couldn't totally lose its power, even when it's in pieces. So we kept the pieces in our Monastery, inside a secret chamber" the monk who had opened the door to them said.

"Can we have a look at them?" Lara asked. "Sure. They were guarded for you two" the monk said. "Follow me"

And the monk opened a door which was concealed as it was painted in the same colour of the walls. Afterwards, he nodded to Kurtis and Lara to follow him. So they did.

The monk led the couple to the hidden chamber, through a long corridor. Once the next door was open, Lara and Kurtis saw the Crystal Shard, broken in many pieces. The sight of it brought back painful memories. Lara was the first one who got inside and touched the pieces. As soon as she touched it, the Lux Veritatis symbol on her hand became more apparent. So did Kurtis' symbol. The monk had a look on his face as if he knew what was happening.

"Ah, it connects you" he said. "What…?" said Lara confused.

"There is a strong connection between you two. I can sense it. Not only due to the Shard. There is a natural connection, something very strong between you two. Telepathy, if you like"

Telepathy is the ostensible transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five senses.

Lara and Kurtis could most of the times sense their connection each time they were together. Maybe it was because of the Shard. But they were sure that this was also Destiny…

They looked at each other, thinking that Destiny was playing with them. Kurtis Trent was the other half of Lara Croft. Lara Croft was the other half of Kurtis Trent. They were both incomplete without each other.

Those thoughts were interrupted by the monk. "You have to go back and fix this" he said. "Back…?" said Kurtis.

"There is something you should know" said the monk. "Go on" Lara encouraged him.

"This isn't the Real World. We are lost into another dimension. Lost in time if you like. This is a perfectly hidden world which is directly connected with the Real one. When things are fine here, the Outside world is balanced. When there is chaos here, it's much more chaotic there. And now, we do live in complete havoc" the monk took a deep breath to continue.

"You can still go back. There is a way. It is risky though but it's worth a try" he finished. Lara and Kurtis stood in shock. All this time they thought that every single human being had long since died and that this was the real world now. They never knew they where in another dimension all along.

"You mean… This isn't the Real World. Human race hasn't become extinct?" Kurtis asked in disbelief.

"No. Humans are still alive, facing their fate after the Great Battle" the monk expounded. "How can we go back there?" Lara managed to ask although she was shocked.

"There are some catacombs, just beneath the Castle Of Obscurity" said the monk. "There is a woman there. A hermit. She is said to be a witch too. Go find her, she will be able to help you. Here, take the pieces. You'll need them" he said and gave the pieces to Lara. She put them inside her backpack, underneath her cloak.

There was a bang. A strong bang. The three people got down to protect themselves.

"Go! Quickly! Don't waste time" screamed the monk. Lara and Kurtis ran out of the hidden room. The corridors were empty. With a nod ,they decided to follow the direction the corridors were leading to. They kept running until they found a T junction. "Where to now?" Lara asked.

Kurtis knew what he had to do. He raised his arms with palms facing the ceiling. After a couple of seconds, he was out of his body. Lara stood there, waiting. She knew what was happening. After roaming through the corridors, Kurtis' spirit violently returned to his body. He felt a strong jolt and Lara helped him keep his balance.

"So?" she said. "Follow me" he ordered and moved forward. She did so.

They kept walking through the corridors. Kurtis was leading the way. They finally found a door that was leading to an exit. They got out of the monastery but they could go nowhere. This side of the mountain was too steep. Suddenly, they heard familiar creepy screams. They simultaneously turned to look from where the screams were coming from. There were monstrous creatures behind them. And they didn't seem like the Lux Veritatis symbols on their hands would stop the creatures from attacking. With a determined glance to each other, they took their guns out of their holsters and fired at the creatures. Kurtis' gun could be heard but not Lara's.

"Out of bullets. Damnit!" she cursed as she had forgotten that there were no bullets into her guns. Unfortunately, the creatures were invulnerable. Kurtis kept shooting though. It was apparent that the beasts had trapped them; they could go nowhere.

"What do we do now?" Lara asked nervously. Kurtis looked to the steep slope after he had stopped shooting. "We jump" he said. "What? Are you mad? We're going to get killed, it's too steep" she told him. "There is no other way" he said loudly.

"No, no, no! Maybe you can survive such a fall like the way you did when you tried to impress me by falling from the stair rails in the Louvre but let me remind you that I am NOT a Lux-"

"JUMP!" Kurtis screamed and pushed her to the steep slope. They both jumped and fell abruptly. After they hit the ground, they kept rolling until they reached the level ground. They were both full of bruises and wounds after such a fall. They were extremely lucky they didn't break any bones.

"Great. Incredible idea, Trent. Next time, I come up with the escape plans" said Lara while they were both lying on the ground.

"Deal"