Hello folks! Sorry about the hiatus...had family things to deal with which led to me not posting for awhile. Family comes first and with all that's been going on, I haven't been writing for this story but have been working on another story which I'm close to posting very soon! (Apologies :/)
I got the suggestions for the next few games and I've got some idea where I want to go with them. I got to replay the Saints Row games and watch Until Dawn because I don't have a PS4. So far what I've heard about that game is that it's jump-scare galore (haha!) but still a good game! I'll be talking with NightmareWalker on how to approach that one-shot.
So! here is the next chapter! This one is going to be a little different than the previous chapters. It's going to go through some ups and downs because of the spoilers from the R&I summer finale.
I don't own Rizzoli & Isles or Square Enix!
*WARNING* SPOILERS for those who haven't seen the Rizzoli & Isles Summer Finale or haven't played the Tomb Raider reboot which I highly recommend in playing because it's a great game!
Video Game Day at Maura's
Jane plays: Tomb Raider Reboot
Like any other ordinary day, Jane went to work, came home - or, rather, to Maura's, considering what happened to her condo. She still couldn't believe that she had nearly everything ripped from her. When she said nearly everything, Jane meant Maura. Sure some douche could pay an addict a large sum of cash to burn her condo, steal her money, shut down her accounts, hack all he wanted via computer, and threaten her and her family but the man had crossed a line in kidnapping the medical examiner. He had the audacity to trick Jane into thinking he was going to go after her Ma but instead kidnap Maura. The man was currently sitting in the morgue with a toe tag, courtesy of the enraged Italian.
Tommy had gotten her a gift last night after a family dinner because he thought a game would cheer up his big sister; a game he used to play when he was just a hormone raging teenager who hadn't really become attracted to the female anatomy until he started playing the old Tomb Raider games on computer and PlayStation 1.
Well, this game was a complete reboot and prequel to how Lara Croft became Lara Croft, the world renowned archaeologist and video game sex symbol she is known for.
Cavanaugh gave Jane a few days to reset and settle down because she had nearly gone rogue twice just to find Maura's kidnapper. He even considered taking Jane off Maura's kidnapping case; the eldest Rizzoli nearly flipped every table in the squad-room upside down in a vicious rage. Cavanaugh even confessed he became slightly fearful of Jane in those moments. Jane's fellow detectives excluding Frankie, Nina, and Korsak coined Jane, She-Hulk because she almost hulked out that day, Bruce Banner style.
Jane had spent close to two days hunting the son of a bitch down before she finally got him and saved Maura. Now, the homicide detective was sitting at Maura's with the Tomb Raider reboot all set up on her Xbox One. She had taken the liberty of staying with Maura for a few days since the kidnapping. Though Maura tried to refuse and insisted she was fine, Jane's cold, hard, worried stare made the medical examiner think twice of telling Jane that she was fine and didn't need to be watched over. The look in Jane's brown eyes made Maura back down and accept the help Jane was offering.
So here she was in Beacon Hill. Maybe playing some mind-numbing video games would help take the edge off and keep Jane from searching the whole house for the honey blonde. Jane knew that Maura was up doing her normal yoga workout. Maura had suggested to Jane that maybe she should try and meditate as well, but the homicide detective just shook her head no; citing that she needed something that would sooth the anger that was still festering in her veins. What better way to release said anger than on video games? Jane had tried beating a punching bag for a few hours but it only quelled her anger for a short period of time before it came back with a vengeance. She wished instead of shooting the bastard that she could have kicked his face in repetitively.
Jane sighed as she watched opening cinematic of Tomb Raider; Lara Croft was a fresh faced college graduate, determined to make a name for herself instead of living in the shadow of her father, Richard Croft, a famous archaeologist in his own right who would tend to say that Atlantis was real or some bullshit like that. The detective was drawn in at how well the graphics were; it was almost like she was watching a movie.
The homicide detective watched as a furious storm hit during the opening cinematic, causing the ship Lara and her crew were on to split in half and sink, Titanic style. Jane cringed slightly as Lara got thrown around while underwater and smacked into a rock but washed up on the beach. The detective frowned, wanting to shout at the TV for the stupidity of the crew members. Jane moved the analog sticks and made her way onto the beach shouting for her people only to be punched right in the face, knocking her clean out.
"Well, we are off to a great start." Jane murmured sarcastically before she continued watching. Finally, it came to a part where Lara was hanging upside down somehow.
"How the hell am I supposed to down from here?! Come on, Lara. How could you let some jackass sneak up on you and knock you upside the head?" Jane snorted with a scowl. The homicide detective figured out what she had to do; move the analog stick to make Lara swing from side to side, and ultimately burn away whatever the hell she was wrapped in.
Jane nearly spat out her drink when Lara fell from god knows how high, right onto a piece of rusted re-bar. The homicide detective cringed, looking away from the screen but almost felt as if she were mirroring Lara's pain; screaming in her head and rolling around in hopes of lessening the pain momentarily. It cued a mini game where Jane had to frantically tap the X button. Lara then pulled the piece of re-bar from her side and screamed louder in agony.
"Holy shit!" She exclaimed with wide eyes.
"Did you say something, Jane?" She heard Maura ask from outside the room.
"Started the game Tommy gave me last night. I just watched Lara fall from twenty feet high onto a piece of rusty re-bar. She got impaled the opposite side I shot myself. And then she pulled said re-bar out of her side like it was a thorn. I think I woulda puked from the pain after yanking it out. Holy shit." Jane said, wincing as she sympathized with Lara's pain.
Maura appeared after Jane said that with a skeptic expression on her face. "It is physically impossible to fall from that height and not break any bones! Landing on a piece of rusty re-bar and being impaled through the side of the abdomen? It could have perforated her bowels, ruptured the spleen, or impaled the pancreas. Regardless of this being a video game, a fall like that should have killed the character." Maura said listing it off, exasperated.
The medical examiner hated how quite a few video games that they played defied the laws of physics or were so inaccurate, it made Maura want to pull her hair out in frustration. However, the video games with well written story-lines always grabbed Maura's attention from the start, regardless of their inaccuracies. Like a well written novel, similarly well done games drew her in until they were finished.
"True, but its Lara fucking Croft. She's one of the most kick-ass female video game characters there is and became a sex symbol for horny teenage boys who thought triangle boobs were attractive back in the day." Jane said with a chuckle as she used the controller to navigate through the winding cave Lara was trapped in.
Maura sat down on the couch beside Jane. "Clearly my knowledge on this Lara Croft is severely lacking. Please fill me in and I will research further."
"Depends which Lara we're talkin' about; Triangle Boobs Lara Croft, Angelina Jolie movie Lara Croft, or Reboot Lara Croft featuring the new girl I'm playing as now." Jane offered.
The medical examiner pursed her lips, "How about I watch and do more research on my tablet?" Maura offered.
Jane shrugged, "Suit yourself. I'm going to have fun being an archaeologist for a few hours" Jane said, looking at the honey blonde that still had the remnants of a bruise around her left eye from the kidnapping.
Maura caught the dark eyes of the other woman and she knew Jane still felt guilty for Maura being kidnapped. It wasn't Jane's fault that some guy thought it would be fun to watch her suffer. "I'm fine, Jane. You found me." Maura said.
Jane shook her head, eyes clouding over sadly. "At what cost? I should have stayed that night. You wanted me to stay and I should have. It's my fault you were taken." Jane responded roughly.
The medical examiner shook her head before she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the detective's temple. "You are my knight in shining armor, Jane."
The brunette half smiled; still upset and thinking that she should have stayed that night when Maura asked. "Play your game, Jane. Tommy will want to know how you liked it. If this game has an interesting story, I might enjoy it as well." Maura continued with a warm smile.
"The Tomb Raider games are notorious for well written stories, plot and puzzles. It's right up your alley, Poindexter." Jane teased softly with a grin.
Maura chuckled, "I will retrieve my laptop and be down momentarily. I have to work on an article for that medical journal I told you about." The blonde said, grinning in return.
The detective nodded, turning her attention back to the game, blowing up a bunch of barrels with her torch and snickering when Lara made a sarcastic comment about it not being loud enough.
Maura headed to her home office to retrieve her laptop and notes before coming back to sit beside Jane, who was already yelling at the TV.
The honey blonde chuckled softly, 'Some things never change. Don't ever change, Jane.' Maura thought.
"Dammit, Lara! You are the frigging genius here! You figure it out!" Jane yelled, annoyed.
Maura shook her head, still smiling with her laptop booting up, notes sitting to her right as she proceeded to finish writing her article.
*Hour later*
Jane casually played through until it got to the part where Lara's friend Sam was introduced. "Here I thought Sam was a dude. I was not expecting a Japanese girl." Jane commented.
"I could have told you that. Were you not paying attention to the cut-scene where Lara watched the video from the camera while she was sitting by that campfire?" Maura asked, not looking up from her laptop screen.
"No, because I got up to go to the bathroom and see what Frankie wanted when he called," Jane said.
"Well, Sam Nishimura is Lara's best friend from the university and they were roommates. Sam is the camera woman for the expedition they are on." Maura replied.
"Uh huh…Whelp, either Lara and Sam are banging or they are just really, really close friends. But then again, the Tomb Raider games are adventure games and not romance games. But subtext is a helluva thing. People can take it whatever way they want I suppose. If fans want Lara and Sam together, then by all means go for it!" Jane said, shrugging her shoulders as she contently snacked away on a bowl of grapes.
"I believe the people loyal to the fan base call it shipping." The honey blonde replied.
"What the blue hell is shipping?" The detective asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"It is the colloquial term for an imaginary relationship. Say, for example, your favorite show has two characters that have so much chemistry you automatically 'ship' them, even if they are not in a relationship. Fans of shows do that; ship two characters that have chemistry together in hopes they will get together in the end or sometime in future seasons." Maura explained.
"Yeah, not gunna touch that. How the hell did you find that out?" Jane asked.
"The internet." The honey blonde said as if it were nothing.
Jane shook her head, "Kids these days. Shipping? The fucking hell? Whatever." The detective said shaking her head.
Maura chuckled softly, "They remind me a lot of us in ways. Lara and Sam, I mean." Maura said.
Jane paused the game to look quizzically to the medical examiner sitting beside her. "How so?" She asked curiously.
Maura tapped her chin and thought about it, "Judging by the way the game is progressing, I am assuming there will be some sort of transformation that will happen to Lara or Sam; perhaps both but only time will tell. As of right now, Sam and Lara are the best of friends. Ask me again in a few hours to give you a full opinion once we are fully introduced to Sam and Lara." She said smiling.
Jane huffed anyway, "Your opinion on Sam and Lara's relationship or whatever?" Jane asked.
"Sure, ask me again in a few hours if Lara and Sam remind us of each other." The honey blonde responded;.
"Whatever, I'm totally Lara Croft though. I like shooting things that piss me off. But I'll ask your opinion in a few hours after we've gotten fully introduced to Lara and Sam." The detective said. Maura laughed before the two women watched as Lara was about to fall asleep to Sam telling this sketchy guy about Himiko, the Sun Queen and the lost city of Yamatai.
"Something about that Mathias dude, it doesn't sit well with me. He's lying about being a teacher I bet." Jane grumbled with a scowl at the TV.
"You picked up on that, too? I am not the only one then. I have been doing research on the Sun Queen and the Lost City of Yamatai, it's actually quite fascinating. All the myths about the island and Himiko are true. Himiko and Yamatai did really exist." Maura said. *Google it! It does exist and so did Queen Himiko lol!*
"Neat." Jane said before she turned her attention back to the game, when Lara woke up and found herself sitting beside the campfire alone. "That dirty lying, twisted mother fucker! I fucking knew it! Mathias is nothing but a dirt-bag and he took Sam!" Jane hollered at the TV, furious.
Maura and Jane watched Lara shout for Sam until she stepped on a toothless bear-trap, "Mother fucker! That's got to hurt. What else is going to happen?" Jane asked, practically yelling at the TV.
Maura was about to say something until there were numerous howls, thunder booming and then the wind picking up. "Well, fuck me running sideways down a mountain doing barrel rolls! Of course it had to be a pack of hungry wolves! Always the fucking pack of rabid wolves! Why can't it be oh, I don't know, rabbits?!" Jane commented, clearly frustrated now.
The honey blonde burst into hysterical laughter because she had never heard Jane say that before.
"You had to say something, Jane. I guess you have never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Maura said. Maura's statement made Jane literally stop and pause the game.
"What? You've watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail before?" Jane asked very surprised.
"Yes, who hasn't?" The medical examiner asked as if it were a nationally known fact.
"People who hate good slapstick British comedy or people with absolutely no sense of humor? Who didn't laugh at the French soldiers insulting King Arthur?" Jane asked. Maura grinned.
"If they were rabbits that were attacking Lara Croft on the game instead of wolves, then this statement is appropriate; 'Tis but a scratch'." Maura said proudly with a slight British accent.
Jane snorted in laughter at both the honey blonde and her British accent, "Yeah, we are gunna watch that very soon. I need to see it again." Jane said with a snort of laughter before she un-paused her game, flailing as she tried to shoot the wolf that jumped out at Lara. A string of curse words followed shortly after the slight flailing moment. It only made Maura laugh even more.
*Few hours later* (After Dinner and a visit from Angela)
The homicide detective growled slightly. This Tomb Raider game had her hooked but it also dredged up some memories about Maura being kidnapped that Jane had trouble trying to shake off, seeing as Maura's kidnapping was very recent. This game was meant to keep her from getting angry about Maura's kidnapper but right now, it wasn't doing so well.
Jane sat beside Maura shortly after Lara escaped the mountainside tomb and landed in a pool of water, then the walkie crackled to life and Sam said she was scared. Jane flashed back immediately to herself talking on the phone with Maura when she managed to call Jane, only for the call to be cut off with a scream, a grunt from the kidnapper, and scuffling sounds as Maura was dragged away. Jane could still hear Maura struggling in the background and screaming for her to find her. The kidnapper hadn't even bothered to pick it up. He wanted Jane to suffer, hearing the honey blonde yelling and screaming her name as he dragged Maura away.
Jane clutched the game controller tighter as she stared ahead at the TV screen. Maura saw this, and saw the thousand yard stare on Jane's face and the homicide detective's knuckles going white, gripping the controller too hard.
"Jane." Maura said softly in hopes of bringing Jane out of whatever stupor she was in.
The homicide detective shook her head before she paused the game, set the controller on the table and silently headed into the kitchen. The medical examiner watched with a concerned gaze as the brunette opened the refrigerator and grabbed another cold drink before heading back to sit on the couch in a trance.
"Jane." Maura stated a little firmer, in hopes of getting her point across.
Jane shook her head free of the nightmare she lived through days ago. It was all still fresh and the wounds weren't even close to scarring over. The brunette leaned over and pulled Maura into a tight hug, not even saying a word.
Maura let Jane tuck her head under her chin and silently held the detective for a few moments. She knew Jane needed this; needed to know that she was still there beside her and not in that dank cell her kidnapper kept her in after she had gotten loose of her binds.
Jane could hear Maura's heartbeat beneath her ear. The homicide detective stayed there for a few moments and sighed in relief. She needed to know that the honey blonde was still there.
"I'm here, Jane. I'm safe." Maura said softly.
"I know…I just didn't think a fucking video game of all things would parallel our lives recently. Tommy meant well, I know he did, but seriously. This is almost exactly how you were kidnapped, except the ass-hat that kidnapped you didn't lure yo…wait, yes he did. Staging a crime-scene is basically like luring, sort of." Jane said with a growl.
"Just like Mathias did with Sam. He wanted to hear Sam's story about Himiko and how she was a descendant of the Sun Queen. He used Sam's naivete to his advantage; just like my kidnapper did in luring me to a staged crime scene. I do believe he also played on the fact that we were exhausted and worried something was going to happen to you too." Maura said, shaking her head at her own stupidity of going alone to a crime scene. In her defense, she thought the others were called out at the same time. She did think it peculiar that there were no uniformed officers on scene, but she had been exhausted; the lack of security had been the last thing on her mind.
"I hope Mathias gets his just fuckin' desserts like the asshole that kidnapped you did. I hope Lara fills Mathias' chest with arrows, bullets, or stabs the shit outta him with her pick axe. The fucker deserves it." Jane growled out with a scowl, turning back to the TV.
"And Lara will save Sam, just like you saved me." Maura said.
"Without the religious cult, possible demons, and mythological Sun Queen who blew a rescue plane out of the sky with a lightning bolt." Jane said.
"I believe the demons in Japanese folklore are called Oni, Jane, but yes; without the religious cult, Oni, and mythological Sun Queen." The honey blonde replied.
Jane nodded before she picked the controller back up and proceeded to soldier on; taking her anger out on every Solarii dirt-bag she came across, all while learning tidbits of Japanese folklore from Maura sitting beside her, who was suddenly enthusiastic about Ancient Japanese culture.
Close to the ending of the game *Few days later, Day before Jane and Maura are off leave*
Jane played through Tomb Raider in a few days with Maura by her side who became entranced with the story-line of the actual game. The honey blonde even had knowledge of Lara Croft as a video game sex symbol and as one of the most bad ass female characters in video game history. The reboot sealed it for the medical examiner, Maura wanted to play all the incarnations of the character. The added bonus was Maura loved the puzzle challenges. Jane didn't care too much for them; that's why she let the honey blonde do those for her. This game allowed the player to go through the ups and downs of the beginning for Lara Croft even while staying true to the previous games with the puzzles.
Jane currently hated the climb up a huge ass tower to save Sam, avoiding falling rocks, huge chunks of ice and violent gales of wind with Lara. Most of the characters except for Lara, Sam, Jonah, and Reyes were dead. Alex was killed on the S.S. Endurance, Roth was killed with a hatchet to the back…thanks to fucking Mathias, and Grimm was killed after telling Lara to keep fighting as he pushed a bad-guy over the ledge on the floating gondola/shanty town level.
The one death Jane didn't feel one bit sorry for was Doctor Whitman's. Maura hated the character the instant he was introduced and she instantly distrusted him, and Jane was inclined to agree. They both watched Doctor Whitman surrender to the Solarii in the beginning, which started the whole mess of Sam and the others getting taken in the first place, though Lara escaped the Solarii's clutches.
The homicide detective scoffed, 'The game developers did something right if the both of us agree that Doctor Whitman is a cowardly man.' Maura said right after the scene when Whitman laid down the gun to surrender to the Solarii towards when Jane started the game. However, that didn't top Maura's reaction when Doctor Whitman took Sam while Lara was coming back from the S.S Endurance after Alex died.
'That bastard! I agree with you, Jane. Lara should have put an arrow through his eye when he came running into their camp, when he pretended he was being chased by the Solarii. I bet you that Doctor Whitman ran off to get Mathias when Lara was trying to save Sam in the throne room after the fire ceremony! I can't even!' Maura had ranted last night after Jane had played through that part. Sure, Maura may be on the dramatic side, but only if she really felt passionate about something. If Maura was passionate about the story-line, then so be it. Jane wasn't going to tell her no.
Jane growled audibly as she fought her way through throngs of Solarii, Oni, whipping winds and snow trying to save Sam. Even Jane was compelled to get to Sam as quickly as possible; decimating everything in the way, just to save her. Just like Jane would do for Maura. Hell, Jane would even shoot Maura's relatives if Maura asked her to and Jane wouldn't even blink at the request.
"If this game ever gets made into a movie, I'll audition for Lara fuckin' Croft myself! Man, this game is seriously toying with my emotions! Stop toying with my emotions, game!" Jane shouted at the TV as she finally took down the Big Ass Oni and then proceeded to roll into the glowing circle only to have a mini game begin.
"I don't think you can play the role of Lara Croft unless you work with a voice coach in order to gain a British accent." Maura said.
"Psh…Prolly too old to play early twenties Lara anyway but still! If this game ever gets made into a movie and they follow the same plot-line as this game did, I'd go see it." Jane said as she mashed buttons viciously to fight off Mathias until Lara picked up both handguns, making Jane's eyes widen and then a grin spread across her face.
"Are the dual hand-guns Lara Croft's signature, along with the short shorts, large breasts and tank top?" Maura asked.
Jane nodded, "Yes they are and Mathias is about to find out in three, two, one." Jane said with a smirk as she alternated back and forth between the right and left triggers on her Xbox controller. Both of them watched Mathias fall over the ledge and plunge into the foggy abyss below, screaming.
"Good fuckin' riddance, you piece of shit." Jane said before she smirked victoriously.
"You said the same thing when Doctor Whitman got his 'just desserts,' as you called them, at the hands of the Storm-guards." Maura said.
"No, I didn't. It was you who said it, but it was more like, 'Good riddance, you sorry excuse of a man' after he got one of those swords plunged into his gut after saying something in Japanese to offend the Storm-guards." The homicide detective said, snickering at Maura's blush.
"In my defense Jane, I love really good storytelling and this game told a very great story from beginning to end; with Sam's video diaries, you collecting artifacts, journals and clues about the island throughout the game. You know that I like a good book that draws me in from the start." The medical examiner said defensively.
"I know that, jeez Maur. I was only teasin'. Hold that thought! Aw, look at the corpse of a two thousand year old mythical Sun Queen die because of a little ol' fire! You won't be stealin' Lara Croft's best friend's body for your soul…Take that!" Jane said throwing the controller down on the coffee table victoriously with a smirk.
The honey blonde had to roll her eyes at Jane's antics as they watched the ending cinematic where Lara was there for Sam as she awoke.
'You saved me…I knew you would.' Sam said.
'I made you a promise.' Lara said firmly.
"You know what? I ship it." Jane said as the game showed Lara carrying Sam down still in the ceremonial dress, bridal style.
"Even with Lara's numerous injuries, she still managed to carry Sam down the mountainside." Maura said.
"So, I still ship it." Jane said with a shrug.
"It is rather adorable though; Lara and Sam's friendship. A very good introduction story to the beginning of a survivor who will have numerous games spawned just for the character of Lara Croft." The medical examiner said as the words 'A Survivor is Born' appeared as soon as the screen went dark.
"There has got to be a sequel to this game! It would be awesome. I mean, Tommy said the other games were good when he used to play them growing up. People like the games and Lara Croft as a character. This game toyed with my emotions…too much, but it was still good." The detective said with a shake of her head.
The honey blonde got up from the couch smiling, "Jane." She said.
The detective hummed in response, "Yeah Maur?" She asked.
"You saved me. I knew you would." Maura murmured softly.
Jane half smiled, "I made you a promise that I would." The detective said as she stood up to look at the honey blonde.
"Just don't expect me to carry you down a mountain while half of my body is broken, concussed, and possibly on the verge of passing out, bridal style when you can walk just fine." Jane continued giving Maura that signature dimpled Rizzoli grin.
"Jane!" Maura exclaimed with laughter as she embraced the dark haired woman who was also laughing.
And there you all go! Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry again about it being so long since I last posted too.
I am going to post my other story very soon! It's a Rizzoli & Isles Assassins' Creed inspired multi-chapter. I got the idea when NightmareWalker wrote the AC chapter for this story and I thought it would be a great idea for a story, so be on the look out for it soon!
Anyway, the next chapter will be Until Dawn seeing as I might have to replay Saints Row 2 and 3 for the Saints Row chapters. I have Saints Row 2 and Saints Row 3. Saints Row 4 doesn't like to work on my Xbox for some reason. I have the old white Xbox 360s...Yeah, it's like six years old so.
Up next: Until Dawn!