AN: Hello! Welcome to the beginning of the end! This chapter has undergone some work from what I originally had to make Lara's emotions more believeable. I hope you're all entertained. As always, remember my review policy.

Disclaimer: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft belong to Eidos and Crystal Dynamics.

Chapter Thirteen

The Land of Nod

10:15 A.M.

Desert Near Tabriz, Iran

Almost there, thought Lara Croft as she sat in a military helicopter. The cloudless blue sky was contrasted against the harsh yellow of the desert sand. Slowly, the sand had intersected with rock and stone, meaning that the helicopter was nearing the mountains. "Ms. Croft," said an elderly yet imposing man with aviator sunglasses and a Cockney accent, "we're approaching the Sahands. At the next open location we're going to set you down."

"Yes, sir," Lara said.

"Sir," said the pilot, "there's a good spot."

"Alright, set her down," said Sunglasses. He turned back to Lara. "Well Lara, this is where we part ways," he said.

"Thanks Jim," said Lara, "I'll contact you after I'm done."

"Always a pleasure," said the man named Jim. He sat down opposite Lara as the helicopter descended. Jim had earlier asked Lara why they simply couldn't fly her over the mountain-range, searching for whatever she was looking for. She had said that she herself didn't know where exactly her prize was situated, and could've been underground for all she knew. Thus, going on ground was the best choice. Once they had landed, the cargo bay opened, allowing Lara to take her motorcycle out. She mounted it, and then sped off. She heard the sound of the helicopter take off once more, and then only the sound of her motorcycle against rock.

The air was warm against Lara's sunglass wearing face. The pit of her stomach rumbled as before, but instead of waves during a cyclone, they were more like waves upon the beach on the first day of summer, when excitement filled the air, as she began her ascension into the mountainous range of what the ancient Sumerians called Edin. She was heading east into a mountain pass. According to the map, this was the way she had to go to reach the Garden. Then, along this pass, she would have to go through another six gates, or passes, until she made it to Eden. It would take some time, but she figured she should be near or at her destination before tomorrow afternoon.

The motorcycle bounced up and down in the dirt. Lara marveled at the tall mountain walls of Edin, and how ornate carvings and statues were seen every now and again. They resembled the statues she had seen in Jerusalem, but were much, much older, and even seemed as delicately carved as those of Ancient Greece. Eventually, after several hours of driving, Lara decided to take a break. She wiped the sweat off her brow and took a gulp of water. She looked around her current location and saw a large shape in the mountain. It was the Hebrew number one. She went up and lightly touched it.

The ground beneath her shook, causing Lara to almost fall to the ground. She quickly jumped onto her motorcycle and began driving it down the pass. Large boulders fell all around her. Her motorcycle banged against falling stone and debris. A deafening crack of stone passed through the air. A massive gap was forming just ahead of her. She quickly revved the engine and leapt through the air, and onto the other side. Boulders continued to crash around her, the land shaking as if the Earth was having a seizure. She took a sharp turn to her right and drove straight down the pass and onto a large plateau.

The quaking stopped. All was normal again. Lara stopped her motorcycle and took deep breaths. Her heart felt as if it itself were tumbling down with the rocks, jolting and stopping irregularly. The excited rumble in her stomach quickly converted back to waves in a hurricane. Apparently, that was the first pass, she thought to herself. She took several more breaths, then began again down the valleys and ravines.

She drove for an hour, experiencing harsher and rockier land than before, when she came to the second pass. Lara held her breath, expecting another rock fall, and crept her bike forward. Nothing happened for a few moments. Then, a sudden wind picked up and a deafening buzzing filled the sky. A giant shadow covered the mountain pass. Lara looked behind her and saw a giant swarm of locusts bearing down upon her. She again revved the engine of her motorcycle and sped off. She knew the locusts wouldn't hurt her, but they could swarm her, causing a crash. The sound of her motorcycle was drowned out by the sound of the locust's buzzing wings. She felt them crawling onto her body and hair, their tiny legs pricking her skin. Her pulse was quickening until she was almost hyperventilating. Her mind blanked, responding only to the demonic buzz. She floored the engine, and eventually came out of the mountain pass into the fresh air.

When Lara looked behind her, the locusts were gone. She shut off her bike and got off. She reached for her bottle of water and watched as large droplets jumped out of the opening and onto the harsh sand and dust. Her whole body was trembling. She took a small sip of water, feeling her throat trying to resist it, then screwed the cap back on. She retreated over to a secluded spot in the shade and sat down. "What… what…?" was all she could mutter. Lara laid back against the rock and sat in thought for sometime. Did she really need to find the Garden of Eden? She could just let Hightower take the glory. She didn't need it. After all, there would be other treasures, other tombs to explore. There was the Philosopher's Stone Winston had mentioned (it seemed so long ago, when times were much simpler, and the thought of an emerald statue was just interesting enough to get her some pocket-change). She already had an idea that it could be in Rome. The Spear of Destiny was another example. Although I think I'm done with religious artifacts for some time, she thought to herself, smiling.

The Atlantean Scion her father had searched for suddenly sprang into her mind. Her father had been so driven to find it and discover what happened to his beloved. Yet he had never gotten far in his searches. Either he would run out of money and help, or the clues led him to a dead-end. The sight of her father in Egypt still remained with Lara, and the sudden idea of the Scion of Atlantis suddenly brought back memories of her father and herself on expeditions. After her mother had died in Nepal, Richard Croft and his daughter had grown close, going on expeditions to far-off places around the world. It was he who had first suggested going out for herself to be an archaeologist after university.

"Think about it: leading a dig team into underground tombs, finding gold and jewels, becoming famous for your discoveries," he had said.

"But what about mummies coming to life?" Lara had asked.

"Bah, you can take care of them!" Richard joked. He had then put on a very serious face. "Never let anything stand in your way. Ever. No matter who may put you down, who may call your ideas and techniques ludicrous, don't let them get you down. Never let that happen. Promise me Lara."

"I promise, daddy."

The recollection of that conversation gave Lara renewed energy. That old, familiar spirit that had awakened in Egypt began to course through her body. She got back onto her motorcycle and started off again. White clouds had now formed, giving her occasional shade from the blistering sun. She kept her mind on the goal of reaching Eden, which gave her the adrenaline boost she needed. Yet that stopped when she reached the third pass. Lara took a few deep breaths, then quickly drove forward.

In seconds there was pitch blackness. Even with the headlight on, Lara found it difficult to drive. Loud, terrifying sounds would screech from the darkness, along with the occasional scream, as if she had driven over something and killed it. A high-pitched laughter would echo around her, taunting her. It was if she had descended into the underworld. Panic clawed at her brain. Her whole body twitched and began spasm. Something here? No, over here! Something was tickling the inside of her ear, like a bug or long fingernail. She swatted it away, ridding her ear of only air. The voices laughed loudly. The claw of panic was making her way through her innards, infecting each cell with its plague. Lara was reaching the end of her nerve. She took out her pistol and fired blindly into the darkness. This only caused the laughter to grow louder. "STOP IT! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP!" she cried out. She was on the verge of tears and hysterics when the light suddenly hit her. She blinked, blinded for a few moments, then gently pressed on the pass. "The Ten Plagues of Egypt," Lara suddenly realized. Yet there were only four more passes; what other plague could be thrown at her next? Her body involuntarily convulsed.

Lara continued driving for the rest of the day. Near sunset, she came to the fourth pass. There was a menacing red hue the pass gave off, yet Lara, despite her mind begging with her not to, continued down it.

There was the sound of a gigantic wave, like a tsunami. Lara looked high above her and saw droplets land on her sunglasses. They were thick and red. Blood, she thought as more liquid came down. The pass began to shake, and as if a dam had been opened, torrents of bloody waves came down from each side of the pass. Lara quickly revved the engine, escaping the flood. She could feel the warm dampness of the blood splashing against her motorcycle. Her legs and socks felt heavy and thick, covered with blood. Lara let out a small scream, and lunged her motorcycle forward. She tasted copper. She spat out the blood, almost vomiting into the rapidly reddening sand.

The sound of waves cut off abruptly. Lara looked behind her and saw the pass as dry as ever, yet still emitting the red hue. She panted loudly, feeling the thick fluid still clinging to her legs. She took out her water and tore off her boots. She doused her legs and boots with water, frantically cleaning off the blood. She scrubbed against their seams until they were almost shredded to pieces, yet the quickly coagulating blood remained. It dried under her fingernails until they felt clogged with cloth and the brown crusts. She picked under her fingernails hysterically, heaving in tiny breaths, until her own blood was now mixed with the old. Her whole body tensed, and she collapsed.

Lara awoke to the sound of the wind whistling in the valley. It gave her goose bumps. She quickly jumped onto her motorcycle and grasped the handlebars. She noticed her fingertips were pink and puffy. She took a shuttering breath, and then pressed on into the unknown.

She had only driven for about fifteen minutes when she came to the fifth pass. Forsaking the long wait of what was to come, she revved the engine forward and into the valley pass. There was a sudden sound of thunder. The sky turned to a dark gray, almost black. Lara looked up and saw red flashes in storm clouds above her. Then, she watched as massive, fiery stones began to fall from the sky. She floored the engine as hard as she could and weaved in between the falling stones, having several close misses. A terrible burning, more painful than anything she had faced so far, seared across her right arm. She looked and saw a small cut of skin turn black and bloody, right next to the scar from the bullet wound she had sustained in Tanis. She grabbed her arm and applied pressure. Her glasses leaned forward on the bridge of her nose as she suddenly jerked around. The panic claw returned, slashing at her stomach. She screamed in a mixture of frustration, anger, and pain and finally made it through he pass.

Only a few feet ahead was a large hill, and the sixth pass. Lara got off her bike and sat on the ground. The panic claw drew one final slash against her stomach, and Lara turned over and vomited into the sand. She coughed loudly and heaved spasmodically. She wiped the bile from her mouth and leaned against the harsh rock. The clouds in the sky were no more, and there was no protection from the sun. She took a final drink from her water and splashed some on her wound before it was finally empty. She closed her eyes for what seemed to be a long time, then gingerly wrapped her wound in some gauze from her pack. Her feet were lead-like as she dragged herself forward. With all her will, Lara begged for a cloud of a shadow to relieve her from the heat, but none came. She mounted her bike and began to ascend the hill.

She carefully drove up it, and then, to her horror, she was met with a sharp incline. She tried stopping the motorcycle, but gravity was too strong. She tumbled off the motorcycle and towards the end of the pass. Yet this end was a massive cliff side. She would fall off and die! Lara frantically grasped anything solid, but nothing could hold her. She screamed and flew off the cliff.

The motorcycle passed her in the air. Her red sunglasses flew off her face. She watched, helplessly, as the ground flew up to her. She screamed loudly as it came closer, closer, closer, and then….