- The Element Of Surprise
"Sam!" An enraged Lara shouted at her new adversary, very tempted to draw her dual signature pistols and shoot her then and there...But first there were some questions that needed answering.
"Ah Lara, I've found you at last!" Sam replied, which confused Lara greatly.
"Huh, what do you mean? What on earth are you doing here!?"
"Haha, so you haven't figured it out yet! How disappointing, I expected better from you!" Sam sneered at her former friend.
"Figured out what yet...You mean V.K.T?"
"Exactly, the three initials that got you out here."
"Let me guess, you were the one who sent that postcard to my home."
"Correct! I had to set the breadcrumbs for you to follow where I wanted you to go...Ha, and indeed here you are, so predictable!"
Lara ignored the insulting remark, however just seeing Sam there, Kurtis's killer was slowly but surely fuelling the rage inside of her.
"Tell me then Sam, what am I doing here? What is V.K.T?"
"Glad you asked, I need your help Lara. A few weeks ago I had the strangest of dreams, no...more like a vision. I was shown magnificent wonders Lara, it was incredible...Riches beyond imagination, sunset paradises, landscapes, the stars, planets and galaxies of outer space. Finally I saw a glimpse of the future...But it all suddenly came to an abrupt end. I then saw a message after which said if I wanted to see more to seek out the Visionary Keepers Tomb in the Himalayas. The dream ended, and from that I knew in my heart that this was real, and I would need help of an expert. As much as I didn't want to, you are the only person I know who dared going on such quests. So I had to plot and plan on how I was going to get you involved in this discreetly, and here you are." Sam happily explained, Lara had one thing on her mind after that.
"Why did you kill Kurtis?" She wondered, ready for Sam to bring up her father as an excuse for revenge, but on the contrary it was more of a sinister reason.
"Because he was a distraction that needed to be dealt with. If you had married him no doubt you would have retired from adventuring and started a family with him. No...I couldn't let that happen, so when I eventually found out when and where your wedding was taking place, I hired some mercenaries to assist me removing Kurtis out of the picture. Not only it was nice for me to at last avenge my father and balance the scales, but to be honest you should be thanking me… I saved you from yourself...you are better off a lone adventurer, you're definitely not a family person." Sam summed up.
Lara couldn't believe what she was hearing, at this point her anger and rage had reached an uncontrollable stage…
"You...killed Kurtis because of your own delusions...I haven't heard anything more ridiculous...You are crazy!"
"No! I am a visionary!" Sam answered back angrily.
Lara had enough of listening to the rubbish Sam was spewing out of her mouth. She unleashed all of the bottled up rage and charged at her new nemesis.
The two tomb raiders fought upon equal footing, leaving their guns on the icy ground as they knew they could kill each other within a blink of an eye. No, they took a more honourable approach...The survivor would be able to carry on the quest of voyaging through the mysteries of the Visionary Keepers Tomb. In the mist of the fight it quickly became apparent to Lara that Sam had been preparing for this moment. Her mind and body were trained for this, but lucky Lara had experience to back her up. Sam was fierce in the delivery of her attacks, but Lara managed to thwart and block each move. As much as it hurt Lara to witness this, Sam had also done something to her in the not so distant past that was unforgivable...
Seeing Sam starting to tire out from her jabs and looking a bit frustrated with herself, Lara took this opportunity to go on the offensive. Sam was blown away by the sheer power and anger exerted by Lara, as within a matter of a minute or two Sam was knocked aback. It was payback for the pain and misery that Sam caused, that was all on Lara's mind. With gritted teeth she raged towards Sam ready to deliver the final blow. However overwhelmed in the heat of the moment, Lara was instantly taken off guard by Sam, whom regained her stance and saw a weak point in Lara's footing.
"OMPF!" Lara grunted out as she fell on the cold ground having been tripped up by her opponent. Just as she was about to recompose herself, the next object she saw was a gun pointing directly at her forehead.
"So it has come to this..." Sam stated confidently now that she had the upper hand. She had Lara right where she wanted her.
Lara was defenceless. The situation had turned upon it's head and Sam was no doubt going to finish her off without remorse.
"Sam...Think about what you're about to do!" Lara warned her, feeling the harsh coldness of the snow hitting the side of her temple due to the swift blowing wind. She looked into Sam's eyes and judged whether she could see if she was having second thoughts.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time Lara, there is nothing you can say that is going to stop me!" A determined Sam retorted back. This was it, after all they've been through it was going to end here and now. Lara had to think of something before she pulled on that trigger.
"WAIT!" Lara called out to her, hoping to reach out to Sam's sensitive side...If there was any left that is. Unexpectedly Sam lowered her weapon.
"No I'm not going to kill you just yet Lara, I still need you. But when your usefulness has come to an end, that will be the time. So are you going to help me find the tomb, or face your untimely death now!?"
Lara still couldn't believe how twisted Sam had become after all these years. She was definitely driven beyond redemption, and Lara had no choice but to comply.
"Yes, I will help you find the tomb."