Author's Note: This is the end, the final chapter for The Ashes of Time. Enjoy, my friends. -Foxinstrazt


Chapter 10

-Wounds-

NRV Serenader, Northern Pacific Ocean

April, 2014

The flare of the sun above was the first thing she became aware of, it's light causing her eyelids to glow a bright red instead of providing the darkness she thought they would. Her attempts to move her hands, to push herself to a position she could actually see what was happening around her, were unsuccessful. Pain still lanced through her body, producing an unwilling groan from her lips as she caught the sounds of quiet voices. "How is she?"

"Bad. She needs actual medical care, and soon.." It was all she could manage to hear before the familiar feeling of unconsciousness returned.


When Lara's eyes fluttered open, she was greeted by the sight of walls painted in white, and not the island she had expected. It didn't take long before she realized she was in an infirmary, with the subtle rocking motion telling her it was on a ship. Without putting much thought into what she was doing, she steadied an elbow on the cot and pushed herself up, only to find that her side was attempting to split itself open. It was only after the pain died away and she quit growling that she felt the hand upon her shoulder that had pressed her back into the soft mattress. "Hey, take it easy. We're safe." Looking over while she took several heavy breaths to calm the agony traveling from her lower back, she saw the wide gray eyes that were watching her with no small amount of concern.

It was Olivia, her face washed from the dirt that had clung to it the last time Lara had seen her. Scanning the younger woman's body for any wounds revealed that both of her wrists were wrapped in a bandage, the white cloth stained a light pink. She let her eyes drift past the other, looking over the rest of the room only to find it empty. "Gr.. Graves?"

Her voice was quiet, the weakness she felt throughout her body becoming more than apparent as she spoke. The other woman bit her lip for a moment, her expression changing from concern to something similar and yet, different. "He's alive, don't worry."

"Wh- Where..?" Her attempts to form the question caused Olivia to lay a hand on her arm, silencing her.

"We're on a NATO ship that responded to the emergency beacon. You've been out for a couple days since we found you.. Um, on the beach." Even with her mental state currently impaired by the painkillers that were in her system, she noticed the pause in the woman's speech, and knew what it was, what she would have found just a few feet from where Lara had collapsed.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could do to force the words out before her chest heaved in a fit, each cough bringing a new pang of agony. It faded after a few moments, while she focused on not meeting the gaze of her companion and instead tried to take a long, normal breath.

"He made his choice." It brought her eyes to the woman, who shook her head. "I don't blame you, Lara. I just wish I.. There should have been something I could have seen earlier." She moved to take Olivia's hand, but her right arm wouldn't respond to her request, so she settled on the left. Squeezing gently, she just shook her head, hoping it would convey the words she couldn't find the strength to say. It seemed to calm her, as she cracked a small smile and stood. "I'll go get Ashlee, alright?" Lara was left holding empty air as her hand fell back to the cot, watching her companion leave.


Olivia barely made it out of the infirmary door before collapsing into the wall, feeling the need to cry rising up for what had to be the thousandth time in the last couple of days. The tears didn't come as she fought against it, finding the battle in her favor for the first time. One of the crewmen wandered by, drawing her gaze as he nodded, glancing at her in a pitying way. Oh, fuck you.

She shook her head before pushing off of the wall and moving down the long corridor. The way to where she was going was far too familiar to her after the day or so they had spent aboard the ship, as it was the only route she ever walked, between Lara and where she knew the man she sought would be standing. Stepping out onto the deck after climbing a flight of stairs, she saw him looking down at the waves rolling by, and called out when she drew near. "..Ashlee?" From where she stood, she could see the pistol still held in it's holster across his chest, as well as it's twin. The second weapon was strapped to his hip, looking as if it belonged there. But, no reaction came from the man she was speaking too, so she tried again. "Ashlee."

He looked over after that, and she felt her eyes widen in surprise, as they did most time she saw him now. A scowl was almost permanently set into his features, and the gash the mercenary had placed through his right eye only enhanced it. It had still not been taken care of, despite how many times she had told him to talk to one of the medics aboard. "What?" His voice sounded off to her, not the same charming thief she had once begged to let her join him on his adventures. Then again, everything's different now.

She realized she was staring at him and glanced away, gesturing back the way she had came. "Uh, Lara's awake. You should go see her." She had spent the last decade hearing stories from her father's employees about Ashlee Graves, the man who could do things that any lesser person couldn't. But now, in the way that scowl slipped away and relief showed through, she realized just how vulnerable a legend actually was.


"Graves." The word was spoken softly, barely above the volume of a whisper, as he turned away from the small cot in the infirmary. It brought him back around, finding that Lara was indeed awake, looking up at him with a look in her eyes that he was sure mirrored his own. Sliding down into the chair near the bed, he let out a chuckle brought on by sheer relief as he took her hand gently.

Taking in a deep breath, he raised his gaze to meet her's once again. "You had me scared for a second, Croft. Thought I was going to have to tell Sam and that.. That would've been a nightmare." Her lips twitched upwards for a moment as she tried to laugh at his weak joke, but she couldn't seem to manage more than that as he quickly changed the subject. "So, docs say you're going to be alright. It'll take a bit of recovery, but you'll make it back to her."

"Never doubted it.." It was his turn to grin as she spoke, sounding both out of strength, and out of breath. "You did promise.. After all."

"Yeah, I did." He let out another chuckle, the losses they had suffered in the last week seeming far away in the moment, but the question that had burned in the back of his mind since he had found her face down in the sand made it's move. "Did you find the reason for the voices and all the.. Insane shit?"

Lara gave a slow nod, her lips settling into a frown for a moment as she seemed to think back, but it quickly transformed into a small smile as she looked up as him. "I found the treasure, too."


Marble Cemetery, New York

May, 2014

Ashlee took in a deep breath as he laid the flower upon the raised mound of dirt. It was a bouquet of white lilies, the same kind that his friend had once told him were her favorite. Dragging his eyes up from the blossoms to the granite of the headstone. Alison Terra. There had been no family to call, and no one but him to attend the burial of his three companions. Fang and Tiane's graves flanked the one he crouched by, the last testaments to those he had lost on the island. Laying his hand gently atop the stone, he rose to his feet, closing his eyes. He was never one for religion, or any discussion involving a world past the one he could see before him, but he found himself wishing that there was something, anything else out there. Something better.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the young woman who approached him from behind, only noticing her when her fingers slid over his palm before entwining between his own. She leaned on him, laying her head against his shoulder as she softly posed a question. "Are you going to be okay, Ashlee?"

He let out a short, breathy laugh at the sound of his name, drawing her curious gaze. "Lesley."

Meeting her eyes with a small smile, he saw one of her eyebrows rise up in confusion. "What?"

"That's my name.. My real one; Lesley Raines."

Olivia smiled, nodding after a few seconds. "I like it." The woman rose up on the balls of her feet to press her lips against his for a brief moment, pulling away with a light blush coloring her cheeks. He smirked before returning his gaze to the graves before them, bowing his head. Goodbye.

Turning away from the freshly disturbed patches of earth, he glanced in the direction his companion had come from, seeing the guests from that funeral dispersing quickly. Despite what he had done, Aiden Galeforth was now buried next to his father, both of them laid to rest by the daughter of the man who had been his employer. He made a mental note to visit the grave, but not now, not in a moment like this one. "So, how did it go with the museum yesterday, are they interested?"

"They are willing to pay top dollar for the collection of scrolls, but they'll need to be translated." Olivia looked at him as he let out a quiet laugh, causing him to grin as he met her gaze.

"I think I know just the person for that."


Sam and Lara's Flat, London

May, 2014

Sam shook her hips in tune to the music, moving the sizzling pan from the stove to a hot pad set on the counter top. It had been almost three weeks since Lara had walked out the door, promising her that she would be back, and it had been torture since then. Her trip to see Reyes had done nothing to dissuade her from thinking that something horrible had happened every moment she let her mind wander. Sometimes she found herself imagining what the homecoming would be like. Would it be awkward, after the way they had left it, or would she be greeted with a kiss as passionate as the one she had been left with?

Biting her lip against the blush that heated her face as she fell into the memory, she didn't hear the door close as she scraped a spatula across the pan, and she wasn't aware that someone else was in the apartment before she turned around. The plate in her hands, holding the eggs she had just scrambled, fell to the floor and shattered, spilling the food in every direction as her jaw dropped. With her brown hair done up in the same ponytail she always wore, the woman in the doorway to their living room was staring at her as if searching for what to say.

Lara was wearing her leather jacket, although it now displayed more wear and tear than Sam remembered. There were stitches present above the woman's right eye, closing a gash that extended from the woman's temple to the end of her eyebrow. She was breathing strangely, too, as if each inhale caused her pain. "..Hey." The soft-spoken word assured Sam of the only thing that truly mattered in the moment: Lara was alive, and she was home. Rushing forward, she was caught in the other woman's arms as she wrapped her own about the slim neck, embracing her warmly. "Ow."

Despite being said in an almost sarcastic tone, it made her pull back from the other, blinking away the happy tears that were beginning to form on her lashes. "Sorry! I'm-" She didn't get a chance to apologize further as Lara's lips met her's in a way that banished away all doubts of what was left for them and their relationship. Her girlfriend had dropped the duffel bag, and was now firmly caught in her grasp as she pulled her back towards the bedroom. Her knees collided with the edge of the bed, and she took Lara down with her, leaving them both giggling as their lips separated.


With her chest rising and falling rapidly in an attempt to resupply her body with the oxygen it had lost in the fiery exchange, Lara grinned down at the other woman, trying to think of the perfect phrase to fill the moment. Something teasing, but seductive enough it would lead to the homecoming they both clearly wanted. The train of thought was interrupted as a pop song rang out from a pocket she was straddling, bringing a sigh as Sam pulled the cellphone free from it's enclosure. Pressing the button to answer the call, the other woman tried to quiet her panting before she answered. "..Hello?"

The look Lara gave the girl beneath her brought on a blush so cute it should have been illegal as she placed both hands on either side of the woman's head. Her attempts at teasing faded away as soon as Sam blinked and held the phone out to her, causing her to don an incredulous expression before the other woman informed her who it was on the other line by mouthing the words. It's Ashlee.

Sighing, Lara took it from her, pressing it to her ear as she felt Sam reach down and hook her fingers on the waist of her pants. With a groan of utter frustration, she closed her eyes and attempted to concentrate. "This had better be damn good, Graves."


Author's Note: I hope I ended it in a way that doesn't leave you guys dissatisfied. I'd like to thank all of you who followed and favorited, and a special thanks to those of you who deigned to leave a review. You guys are all awesome, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading through this story. I might return to do a one-shot or something if there is enough interest(Because Lara and Ashlee make a fun team to write), but as it stands my attention will be spent on other stories. Anywho, leave a review with your thoughts on the story if the mood so strikes. -Fox Update(4/27): Fixed a part near the end.


I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead you're sleeping
I believe in anything that brings you back
Home to me

- "Signs" by Bloc Party

-Epitaph to the Fallen-

Liu Fang – Aged 27 – 1987 - 2014

Quinn Galeforth – Aged 53 – 1961 - 2014

Tiane – Aged 35 – 1979 - 2014

Atlantian Commander – Aged ? – ? - 2014

Alison Terra – Aged 32 – 1982 - 2014

Jacob Corin – Aged 59 – 1955 - 2014

Aiden Galeforth – Aged 26 – 1988 - 2014

A tribute to the seriously huge amounts of unnamed mercenaries, Atlantians, and Relentless Gale crew members that were harmed in the writing of this story.