Author's Note: So, this started out with me just wanting to write Lara being violent. Simple stuff like wiping out a trinity base. Then I thought I'd add some background scenes and thoughts, and of course make sure to bring up how Sam was her motivation for a lot of this as the game forgot she existed. And somehow I ended up with a 10k+ one shot. So please, read, enjoy, and leave some reviews
Animal I Have Become
"Are you sure about this Lara?" Jonah asked, knowing what the answer would be but needing to say it anyways. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do." Lara said shortly, not wanting to get into it again while she looked over her gear. There wasn't a need for the shotgun this time, and she didn't need the glow-sticks either, last thing she wanted was to give her enemies a well lit target to shoot. The pistol was an essential backup, as was her knife, but she could probably make do without her bow this time.
"No, you actually don't." Jonah pointed out, while Lara weighed her bow in her hands, trying to decide whether to bring it or not. After Germany when he had first caught up with her he had understood, and supported her in trying to stop Trinity. But now, after Belize, after Paraguay, after Arizona he was starting to wonder if it was really worth it.
They were currently on a boat off one of the many islands along Chile's southern coast, having located and scouted out a Trinity operation at some previously unknown ruins. Unfortunately the success of Lara's attacks on other operations and the terrain of their current target had added together to allow Trinity to construct what was practically a fortress. A fortress Lara was determined to bring down.
"If I don't, then who will?" Lara countered, strapping her bow to her back along with a quiver of arrows having decided it was worth bringing. Unlike previous bows she had used this one was a custom made, carbon fiber recurve bow with enough strength to drive an arrow clean through a man's skull while being light enough to not weigh her down. Combined with arrows made from similar material and tipped with arrowheads closer in design to a bodkin tip it was possible to pierce through even the helmets many of Trinity's soldiers had taken to wearing.
"Who says anyone has to? Trinity's been around for centuries. World hasn't ended yet." Jonah reasoned, making what he saw as a pretty fair point. Yes they were dangerous, and ruthless and it would be better for everyone if they were gone. But he wasn't sure it was worth the cost of his friend's soul. And if she continued down the path she was on then that would be the price she'd end up paying.
"How can you say that?" Lara said, turning and giving Jonah her full attention. After everything Trinity had done, the people they had hurt. What they had done to her, to Jonah, to her family. To Sam. How could she not try to stop them. "After everything they've done you want me to just pretend they're not out there?!"
"We don't even know what they're after!" Jonah shouted back, finally lashing out with the point that had made him question the whole endeavor. "If we knew what they wanted, what they were searching for and you wanted to stop that then I'm with you. All the way. But this, this hunting we've been doing. You can't keep doing it."
"Then what else am I supposed to do?!" Lara shouted, frustration in her voice as Jonah's point hit home. He was right, she knew that, but what else could she do. Trinity had taken everything from her. Her father had been ruined, and then assassinated. Ana had betrayed every bit of trust and love she'd ever felt for the woman, only to be thrown away when she was no longer useful. And Sam... Sam was in a coma she might never wake from because they had wanted to use her. She couldn't let that go. She wouldn't.
"I... I don't know." Jonah admitted, sitting down on the deck of their small boat with a sigh. That was the fallacy of his argument, that he really didn't know what else Lara could do. He knew she wouldn't stop. Not until Trinity was dead or she was. "I just don't want you to lose yourself."
Lara had taken so many lives since the Endurance had crashed on Yamatai. On the island it had been easy to justify, it was kill to survive and he had shed his fair share of blood there too. He had hoped that'd be the end of it but it was only the beginning. Over and over Lara had been forced to fight, to kill to protect herself and those she cared about.
He couldn't even guess how many lives she had taken by now, hundreds almost certainly. The Remnant had spoken of her in an almost mythical sense, like a wraith that moved without a sound and left entire squads dead in her wake, having never known she was even there. There were reasons of course, his capture having been one of them, but there always was a reason.
"I'm not sure there's anything left to lose." Lara replied dully, not exactly reassuring Jonah. Grabbing her modified Vicar assault rifle she placed it into a waterproof bag, double checking to make sure the rest of her supplies were there.
"Little bird," Jonah started, stepping forward to try to say something.
"Don't." Lara said, stopping his advance. Zipping her wet-suit up the rest of the way she attached the bag to the diver propulsion vehicle, before hoisting the heavy piece of equipment up. Combined with her bag it was heavier than she'd thought it'd be.
"Here, let me help." Jonah said, brushing Lara's complaints aside and taking the bag and submersible from her. Heading to the back of the boat he placed it into the water, giving it one last look over, before turning to Lara. "You've got four hours of charge but it should only take three to get there. I'll take the boat around the cove, set up for fishing. Once I see your flare I'll come in to get you."
Lara just nodded silently, being familiar with the plan, having been the one to make it after all. Take a boat close enough to use the submersible to get to back of the island unnoticed. Then scale the cliff behind Trinity's base and use the cover of night to hide her descent. If everything went right then most of them would be dead before ever knowing she was there.
"And if I don't see a flare after twenty-four hours then I'm coming in to get you." Jonah continued, getting Lara to look over at him. That wasn't part of the plan.
"Jonah, no..."
"No arguing. Twenty-four hours, then I come in like I'm Rambo." Jonah said, a forced smile on his face at the joke. He would do so of course, without hesitation.
"Then I better hurry." Lara said, grasping Jonah's arm and giving it a squeeze before sliding into the water. Fitting the mask from her oxygen tank in place she gave Jonah a nod, before diving under the water. A few seconds later a steady stream of bubbles started up from where she'd been, the submersible quickly moving Lara out of sight.
Letting out a sigh, Jonah plopped down on the deck again. "Stay safe, little bird."
The water wasn't quite as cold as Lara had feared it might be, the wet-suit serving it's purpose of keeping the chill out. Back when she and Sam had dived the Great Barrier Reef she'd never thought that those skills would be put to use like this. How could she have?
'Nice and cheerful, Lara.' She thought to herself, barely fifteen minutes under the water and she was already being melancholy. Then again given what she was heading to do it was only fitting. At least it wasn't as dark as she had thought it might be, the combination of the noonday sun and the rather shallow depth she was at letting a surprising amount of light through. She still couldn't see more than twenty or so feet in front of her, but it was better than the pitch darkness she had been expecting.
As time went on, and with only the steady thrum of the submersible to keep her company her mind began to drift, likely spurred on by Jonah's comments before she had left.
Four-hundred and Thrity-Seven Days Ago
"I understand that you hate me, but you need to keep Sam safe." Lara implored, Sam's mom still glaring daggers at her. She blamed her for everything that had happened to her daughter, Lara knew that. Still she hoped just this once she'd listen to her.
"Samantha would have been safe if it wasn't for you!" The woman spat out, not wanting to listen. It was Lara's fault that Samantha had been on Yamatai, had been put in such danger that her mind had broken. It was her fault that her baby was going crazy.
"I... that's not-" Lara started to protest before shutting up. It wouldn't do any good.
"I believe that's enough." Mr. Nishimura said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder to stop her from launching another tirade. "Why don't you check on our daughter? I'll see Ms. Croft out."
Glaring between the two of them Sam's mother shook her head before stomping off, angrily brushing past Lara as she went to check on her daughter. "I apologize for her, she's always been fiery." Mr. Nishimura said, Lara quirking an eyebrow up in surprise at that.
Fiery? That's what he called that? "It's understandable given the circumstances." Lara demurred, not wanting to get into another argument.
"Perhaps. But I'm not quite so prone to rash judgments. For example I know full well that Samantha wanted to go on that expedition as much as anyone. I don't hold you accountable for that." Mr. Nishimura continued, leaving a rather shocked Lara just in front of him.
"Wha- You don't?" Lara finally got out, unable to deny the relief she felt. Sam was the most important thing in the world to her, she'd prefer if her family didn't hate her. "But, after everything that happened to her..."
"Ms. Croft you should understand that I do not say this based merely on a whim. After your return from the island she was quite adamant to me that the only reason she was alive was because of you." Mr. Nishimura stated, his matter of fact manner of speech helping to calm Lara in an odd way. "And unlike my wife I have seen the footage Samantha collected. So I have no doubt to the validity of her claim."
"There's footage?" Lara asked, wondering why it was the first she was hearing of it. She knew that Sam had been filming on the island, had found some of her recordings herself and seen her filming more but she hadn't known any of it had survived.
"Yes, a surprising amount." Mr. Nishimura confirmed as his eyes took on a harder look. He wasn't aware of everything that had occurred on Yamatai but what he had seen had been enough to confirm what his daughter had told him. "However shortly after I acquired it I received a visitor, one that implied that if that footage were to come to light then it would be my daughter who would suffer. I assume he is connected to the same people you say I must protect her from now?"
Lara's head was reeling, Trinity had gone to Sam's father directly to keep footage from Yamatai getting out? Or had it been those cultists, the fools who had worshiped the Solari? Either way it didn't matter, it would be better if he thought it was the same group, because then he might listen. "I believe so. You have to keep Sam safe, they've already come after her once. They were the reason her, condition, deteriorated so quickly."
"Do they have a name?" Mr. Nishimura asked, eyes narrowing as he saw Lara visibly hesitate to answer. "Ms. Croft I prefer to know the names of my enemies."
"Trinity. They're called Trinity." Lara said, glancing around even as she did. She half expected to see their soldiers burst in as she did.
"Thank you. Rest assured I will keep my daughter safe." Mr. Nishimura said, "Although I must ask for how long I'm expected to do so?"
"Until I end them." Lara responded instantly, her eyes going wide as she realized what she'd said.
"I'll hold you to that Ms. Croft." Mr. Nishimura said, giving Lara a slight nod of approval.
Any further conversation was cut short as screams rang out from Sam's room, "Samantha! Honey wake up. Nurse! NURSE! Samantha wake up!" Lara moved in an instant, running the short distance as if her life depended on it.
There was a loud ringing in her ears as she burst into the room and tried to take stock of what was happening. Sam's mother was leaning over the bed trying to shake her daughter awake while a nurse struggled pulled her off. Another nurse was checking on Sam, even as a doctor and yet another nurse came running into the room. And finally as Sam's mom was pulled away she saw Sam, the girl slumped in her bed, head lolling listlessly to the side. That was when she realized that the ringing she kept hearing wasn't in her ears but rather coming from the life support monitor Sam was connected to. A monitor that kept flashing a continuous flat line.
Wading up to the shore Lara lugged the heavy diver propulsion vehicle to the shore, detaching her bag from it and taking it over to somewhere dry. Unzipping her wet-suit, she shed it, changing into a pair of gray camouflage pants and a long sleeve, tight black and gray shirt with a loose hood, over which she strapped a black tactical vest and heavy climbing harness. Taking the smoke and flash grenades from her bag she clipped them on her belt, along with a second set of clips for her rifle. Making sure her pistol was secure in it's holster on her thigh and her knife strapped to the small of her back she attached her modified Vicar assault rifle to the clip on her vest, taking both her climbing axes in her hands as she prepared to climb.
It wasn't quit a free climb to the top, having made it once already and set up several pitons along the way to give her a places to rest. But last time she hadn't had near as much gear either, Jonah having locked up all her weapons except her pistol to make sure she hadn't turned her reconnaissance mission into an assault.
It had been a good idea, the base she was going after being better constructed and well guarded than she had thought. Three guard towers looked over the front of the base, with the back being protected by sheer cliffs. The only way off the island was via the helicopter, and they had clear cut and burned all vegetation within fifty meters of the base, with lights keeping the area lit up like a football field. They had clearly learned from their lessons from her previous attacks.
There were using their own generators to power the base, so she couldn't take down the power lines and leave them in the dark like she had in Paraguay. And every guard tower was manned by at least two guards, on a staggered rotation, so there wasn't an easy way to silence them first as she had at the Sierra Ancha site.
That had left her with the idea to approach the base from above, scaling down the cliff side they trusted to cover their rear under the cover of darkness. Once in the base she could make things work, the guards on the towers were focused outwards after all and if she could take out a good number before alerting the guards then she would have an advantage. It depended on how things unfolded but she did have a few ideas as for how to proceed.
What she didn't have any idea of was why Trinity was here in the first place. In Arizona they had found an ancient temple built by the Anazazi at which she found mention of opening gates into other realms. In Belize it had been Mayan ruins, most previously known, but having located additional chambers within which had contained murals depicting the world being plunged into eternal darkness. Unfortunately the murals that had shown why that was happening had been eroded away by a water leak directly above them.
Paraguay had been just as confusing too her as this site was, Trinity's operation there having nothing to do with the native people like at the other two but instead focused on a long abandoned Jesuit monastery. She had been unable to find anything of significance at that sight, so either there had never been anything there or Trinity had already removed everything of value.
Nothing about this made sense to her, or seemed to align with Trinity's purported aim of creating a new, better world. Just what were they really after?
Four-hundred and Thirty Days Ago
A week after leaving the hospital in Germany and Lara was back at the Croft Manor, trying like hell to find something to take her mind off Sam. Of the best friend that was lying in a coma on the other side of the planet. On the fact that the most important person in her life might never wake up again. That she might never see her again. That she would never be able to tell her-
"Miss Croft, you have a caller." Winston said, knocking at the door to her father's, no, to her study.
Raising her head wearily she glared at the door, wondering who the hell would be coming by. "I'm not really in the mood to receive anyone." That was an understatement, honestly unless it was something she could punch or drink she didn't want to see it right now.
"I'm afraid he insisted." Winston said, opening the door to the study and stepping inside. Behind him was a man dressed in the black of the clergy, with a pistol pointed directly at Winston's head.
Snapping into action Lara grabbed her pistols from where they sat on her desk, leveling both at the priest's head. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Relax Miss Croft, I am merely here to extend an offer." The man said, still not lowering his pistol from beside Winston's head. Working with one hand he removed a satchel from his shoulders and tossed it across the room to Lara. "A gift, from Trinity."
Not trusting the man at all but knowing it was best to accommodate him for now Lara stepped out from behind her desk. Walking cautiously over to the satchel she kicked it open, the contents rolling out. For a moment she thought the head belonged to someone she cared for before recognizing the face. It was that bastard of a doctor who had been responsible for Himiko taking control of Sam. She hadn't bothered to remember his name when his goons had been torturing her but she recognized the face. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she felt a dark wave of satisfaction as she noticed how it was twisted in pain even now.
"I'm listening." Lara said simply, while moving away from the head and closer to the window. The light streaming in from it would make it harder for the man to get a clear shot off on her if it came to that.
"Our offer is simple. Join Trinity and help us remake this broken world." The man said, keeping his attention locked on Lara. If he suspected she was going to fight for even a moment then he would use the old man as a shield. From what he'd heard of her he doubted it'd stop her for long but it might give him time to take her out first.
"That's it? After everything, that's the best offer you make?" Lara asked, actually disappointed with how pathetic it was. An empty promise of remaking the world was the best they had? She could go join any random cult and get the same.
"I had hoped our noble ideals would be enough to attract you. But I see you only only care about yourself." The man sneered, enjoying the way Lara's eyes narrowed at him. "Or perhaps there is someone else you care for. The one that led you to cut such a bloody path across Yamatai."
"You leave Sam out of this." Lara snapped, anger resonating in her voice. If he so much as hinted a threat at Sam then she would tear his limbs from their sockets.
"But of course, I merely wished to offer Trinity's help in resolving her current situation." The priest said, smiling as he saw that he had Croft's interest now. "For Trinity removing the Sun Queen that has taken possession of her is a simple task. Join us and we will do so, once you have proven yourself."
Lara glared at that, letting her anger at Trinity trying to use Sam against her show, while concealing her relief at what he said. They still thought Sam was possessed, which meant they didn't know where she was or that she was in a coma. She was safe. "Why should I trust you?"
"We are a holy order of God. Our word is absolute. Now do we have a deal?" The priest said, giving her a reassuring smile. He had her now he could feel it. They had been right that the Nishimura girl was Croft's weakness. So focused was he on Lara that he missed Winston giving her a slight nod of the head.
"Give me a few days to think it over. And I will require details on how you will save Sam. I won't do anything for empty promises." Lara answered, having seen Winston's nod and taking a guess to what he meant.
"An acceptable proposal. I will be back in two days. Have your answer then." The priest said, slipping out the door and slamming it shut behind him, leaving Winston and Lara on the other side.
"Winston! Are you alright?" Lara asked as she rushed to the elderly butler.
"I'm fine dear, just annoyed that I let that scoundrel into your home." Winston said, glaring back at where the man had fled. He had opened the door to dismiss what he had assumed was a rather rude caller only to have a gun shoved in his face. Not the afternoon he had planned.
"I'm sorry, I should have realized he was here." Lara said, being able to faintly remember hearing someone knocking on the doors earlier.
"It's quite understandable." Winston said dismissing her concerns. As his eyes swept across the room, taking in the many empty bottles, he could understand why she had failed to notice. While he was quite familiar with such things, remembering how Lara's father had been in a similar state after losing her mother, he was a little disappointed. He had always hoped she would do better than the late Lord Croft. He still did.
"I need to go after him," Lara said after guiding Winston over to a couch to sit down. If she was able to follow him then maybe she could find some information on Trinity, information she could use to go after them.
"No you don't." Winston said, grabbing Lara's arm to stop her. "I slipped my phone into the pocket of his robes. All you need to do is track it." It had been easy enough do so while the man had been rudely pushing him around the foyer. And his phone was small and light enough that he doubted the man would notice.
"Winston, you absolute genius." Lara said, giving her old butler a tight hug. Pulling out her own phone she pulled up the right app, Winston having asked her to install a tracker on his phone after having misplaced it one to many times. Which granted had actually been her fault, she had a bad habit of placing documents or materials on whatever the nearest surface was while researching and had buried it more than once.
"I take it you'll be going out tonight then?" Winston asked, receiving a nod in return as Lara watched the dot representing his phone speed away. "Very well I'll lay out some clothes for you. Dark colors of course. And will you be needing anything from the armory?"
"No, I should be alright with just my bow." Lara responded. She'd have her pistol as well of course, but other than that it depended on how many there ended up being. Still it would be best to do this quietly, having a full on gunfight in the English countryside would only lead to trouble. "Actually Winston, there is one thing you could bring me."
Reaching the top of the climb Lara poked her head over the tip, making sure she was in the clear before climbing up. The sun was likely an hour away from setting fully so she had time to get everything set up. It wouldn't quite be moonless night tonight but she had been unwilling to delay the extra two days it would take for that, with some luck from the clouds it would be just as dark regardless.
Laying along the edge of the cliff she pulled the hood of her shirt up, helping conceal her much darker hair from view along the sparse clifftop while using a pair of binoculars to observe the camp. It was the same as before, guards up on the towers, two more standing near the shed which housed the generators for the base. Apart from that there were only three other buildings in the base, a building she had decided was the barracks for the soldiers, another that she guessed was the communications center judging by the antenna's and satellite dishes on the roof. And the third she wasn't too sure what was, it being a small building, barely three meters across, that was built right against the base of the cliff. It was unguarded, the entire base serving as it's guard in a way, and if she had to guess that was where whatever Trinity was looking into lay.
The base was rather spartan, and she started looking for anything that she might have missed before on her reconnaissance. Fortunately there didn't appear to be much, she had feared that Trinity might have added a camera system to the base but they apparently feared the thought of such tapes getting out even more than they did her. Hopefully they'd all be dead before they realized the folly of such a decision.
There was a pair of motorcycles alongside the main gate that she hadn't noticed the first time. It was possible they had been out scouting the island last time, or parked somewhere else. Focusing the binoculars on the bike she noticed with some amusement that they were the same model as the one she owned just a newer version. Sam had always told her that she needed to update her bike but she preferred the classic look of the one she had. And remembering how stunned Sam had been the first time she had seen her on it she thought it was worth it.
The image of Sam's face at that time popped into her head, Lara able to clearly remember the way her friend had been looking her over, before biting down on her lip hard enough that she'd been afraid she'd draw blood. Normally she pushed away all thoughts of her friend but right now, laying on a clifftop near the bottom of the world while she waited for the sun to set so she could attack she just didn't feel like putting in the effort to do so.
She missed her so much. So much that she didn't even allow herself to think about her, for fear that she wouldn't be able to keep moving forward. Any time Jonah tried to bring her up she shut down the conversation or simply left. She couldn't let herself dwell on it. Still she always hoped that one day she'd get a call saying that Sam had woken up, or that she'd find something she could use to do so. What was it Trinity kept promising, that they'd remake the world? If she ever managed to find something that was actually capable of that she'd settle for just being able to see Sam smile again.
Noticing that it had suddenly got quite a bit darker, Lara turned her attention upwards, noticing that the sun was starting to set and passing below the line of the taller snow-capped peaks of some of the other islands. She had got lucky with that at least, this one not being high enough for snow to accumulate. After Kitezh she could do without snow for a good long while.
Shaking her head to clear it of her thoughts Lara prepared to make her decent. Driving a heavy piton deep into the top of the cliff she attached a steel wire to it, intending to repel down the cliff face. It was rated for nearly four times the weight she was actually carrying and she had probably fifty more meters than was needed spooled into the box on her belt. Double checking everything one last time she lowered herself onto the cliff-face, starting her descent as the sun vanished below the horizon.
Reaching the ground far below, directly behind the barracks, Lara removed the repelling belt from around her waist. Removing the harness from the actual box she tapped a button on it's side, the repealing kit reeling itself in, all the way back to the top of the cliff were it would be out of sight. It was a bit of waste but it wasn't like she lacked the money to buy another and right now avoiding detection was the priority. Tossing the now unneeded harness behind some rocks she made ready to make her next move, having already decided to take out those in the barracks first.
"If you're going to smoke get away from me." She heard someone say suddenly, getting her to focus her hearing on the direction. With the time it had taken to get do the cliff it was already pretty late, the only people that should still be up were the night guards, Trinity having rigidly forced their soldiers to follow a schedule at all the bases she had seen.
"Come on man, what's the harm?"Another man said, sounding like he was from East Europe by his accent.
"The harm is what happens if you set one of the generators off." The first man replied, Lara placing his accent as belonging to America Northeast. Trinity was truly was a global organization. "Go behind the barracks if you want to smoke."
"Tch, whatever. Not like I could set them off anyways." The smoker said, grumbling as he stomped behind the barracks. Like a few cigarettes could blow up generators that were inside a separate building.
Realizing which way he was coming from Lara moved to the opposite side, checking around the corner to make sure that no one was there before rounding the corner herself. Now all she needed to do was wait. Soon the smoker was behind the barracks, nice and isolated from view. The second he turned away from her direction she moved, not making a sound as she reached his back, one hand grabbing his head and pulling it to the side while the other plunged her knife through the side of his neck. Keeping her hold on him she lowered him carefully to the ground. One down, seven outside still to go.
With one of the generator guards down it made sense to take out the second next, before he could get suspicious of where his partner had gone. Luckily the shed didn't directly face the three guard towers, so if she was quick and silent then she should avoid detection. Taking her bow up she peered around the corner of the barracks, quickly lining up her shot and sending an arrow through the remaining guard's ear.
Moving to him quickly she checked the door to the shed, pleased to find it unlocked, before opening it and pulling the dead guard inside. Trinity were the only ones on the island so it made sense for them to leave it unlocked she supposed. Pulling a block of C4 from the kit on her belt she attached it to the middle generator, setting it up for remote detonation should she need it.
Turning her attention back to the barracks she checked outside once more to make sure the coast was clear, thankful that the temporary structures Trinity used for such bases tended to lack windows. Assured that no one had noticed her presence she made for the barracks, pausing outside the door to take her pistol into her hands. If there was anyone still up inside she'd need it more than her bow.
Pushing the door open a little she noted the lack of light from inside, hopefully that meant everyone was already asleep. Sliding inside she held her breath, listening for any sign that someone had noticed her entrance. Several seconds passed before she was safe to move and she turned her attention to the other thing she noticed when she'd entered, that the lights were on in the bathroom and she could hear water running. Right, that one first.
Holstering her pistol she made her way quietly across the room, holding her bow at the ready. Even suppressed her pistol would echo too much in such a confined space and was likely to alert someone. Stepping cautiously into the bathroom she located a the source of the noise, someone taking a shower near the far end. Walking closer Lara suddenly stopped as the water cut off, drawing her arrow back as she waited for whoever was in there to exit.
The shower opened and for a moment Lara and Trinity soldier stared at each other, the soldier obviously surprised at her being there while Lara was surprised to find that it was a woman. She could count on one hand the number of female Trinity operatives she had seen. For a second neither moved, then the woman's mouth opened, intending to alert her comrades and Lara loosed an arrow into her lungs cutting off her ability to do so. As the woman collapsed Lara nocked another arrow and stepped closer, seeing the way the woman's eyes had gone wide with terror as her blood mingled with the water from the shower across the floor. A second arrow and her eyes went blank, a sight that had Lara had grown hauntingly familiar with ever since Yamatai.
Four-hundred and Nineteen Days Ago
There was only one guard on the perimeter. Did they really underestimate her that much? They weren't even that far from her home, hiding out at an abandoned church barely twenty kilometers from the manor. The church had seen better days, clearly having fallen out of disuse judging from the overgrown vegetation and boarded up windows.
Taking her time she observed the building, searching for alternative entrances, of which there appeared to be a depressing lack of. Through the front door it was then. Making her way closer she stopped roughly fifteen meters from the main doors, the lone guard leaning against the archway as he smoked a cigarette. She could circle around the church and get behind the man, or use something to distract him and lure him within range of her knife. But the first would take too long, and there was a chance that he might immediately alert the others if she did the second.
Taking her bow in her hands she made certain she was still hidden from view as she rose to one knee, the overgrown shrubbery providing her with concealment. Taking aim at the man's head, she breathed in, before letting the arrow fly as she released the held breath. It went right through the man's eye, and for a moment she thought he'd fall into the partially open door before he fell to his left, collapsing silently just outside the door.
Moving quickly she reached the door, cautiously peering inside to make sure no one had noticed. Appearing to be in the clear she pulled the slain man's body into the bushes, just as a precaution. Taking another look through the door she took stock of what lay inside. There were only three men inside as far as she could, the priest from earlier and two more guards, all three being near the far end of the church sitting around a table with a couple of laptops and several papers on it.
They were far enough away that she didn't trust that she could down all three with her bow before they noticed her. And while she was confident in her ability to take them in a straight fight, gunfire would attract attention she didn't want. Fortunately she had remembered to have Winston bring her some extra munitions from her new armory, in particular a pair of flashbang grenades. Setting the timer on one down to just half a second she slid through the open door and into the church.
Tossing the grenade toward the men Lara took off in a sprint, the Trinity soldiers and priest turning as they heard the grenade land. Unfortunate for them. The sudden bang and flash of light hit all three of them with full force, stunning them for a few seconds and robbing them of both vision and hearing. And that was all the time Lara needed.
She had obviously been prepared for the blast, and kept her eyes shut and turned away from the grenade. And while it was still deafening she had been ready for it where as they had not. The result was that she was to the left most Trinity guard before he had even realized what was going on. Leaping she planted a foot into the backrest of a pew and used it as a focal point to jump higher, coming down on the guard with her knife and driving it down through the side of his neck, angling it to slice through his arteries.
Ripping it free with a spray of blood she moved for the next guard, the man fumbling around for his gun still as it had been resting against a pew instead of actually on his person. Twisting her wrist to limber it up she brought her trusty climbing ax down in a lethal overhand blow to the top of his head, caving his skull in and splattering the church floor with brains and blood.
That just left one and as she turned for the priest she could see him starting to recover his senses, fumbling for the pistol he had strapped to his side. Stepping to him she swung low with her ax as she saw him grab his pistol, driving her ax through the back of his knee and sending him to the floor screaming, his hands coming free of his pistol in the process.
The shot of adrenaline that surged through his body at that was enough to clear his senses somewhat, letting him realize just who was attacking them. Eyes widening in terror he tried to think of something that would get her to stop, "Wai-glgh"
The words died in his throat as Lara drove her knife through it, ripping it out through the side in a motion that left his neck partially severed. Panting at the sudden burst of exertion as the last man fell to the floor Lara looked around to see if there was anyone else coming, the noise having been enough to draw anyone else in the building. Luckily it appeared that wasn't the case and with any luck they were far enough away from town that no one had heard the flashbang and would come investigating.
Still it didn't hurt to be cautious. Heading back out she pulled the body of the first guard she had killed inside, shutting the door behind her and rigging a simple trap to trigger if opened, one that would set off her remaining flashbang. That way if anyone from Trinity showed up she'd have warning and an advantage but if it was simply a cop or local then it wouldn't be lethal. And she would take it down once she was done here.
Pausing she fished Winston's phone out of the priests pocket, before finally turning her attention to the table Trinity had set up in the church center. One of the laptops was logged out, so there wasn't much she could do with it but the other was still logged in and even had the email pulled up. Jackpot.
Leaning over the table she poured over the emails, trying to learn everything she could. It seemed like they regularly deleted emails after sending or receiving them, which was honestly to be expected, but the priest had been in the process of sending a reply so there was a little available. Most of it was useless gloating about having succeeded in recruiting her but there were a few notes of interest.
One was that he asked that Trinity allow use of the Yata no Kagami to remove Himiko from Sam, provided that she proved valuable to Trinity. As far she knew the three sacred treasures were all in possession of the Japanese Imperial family still, so had Trinity taken them at some point and replaced them with fakes or was it just a ruse? She had to admit that the offer would have been appealing if she hadn't been able to use the Wei Mirror to remove Himeko from Sam already. She liked to think that she wouldn't have taken it but if meant saving Sam...
Pushing the thought from her mind she focused on the rest of the email, which included two possible locations that the priest thought she should be sent. He must have been higher up in Trinity's command than she had initially thought, if he was able to make such recommendations. He recommended sending her to either Sierra Ancha, which she believed was somewhere in the American Southwest, or to Xunantunich which she knew was the location of Mayan ruins in Belize.
Smiling she closed the email, checking to see make sure if there was nothing else of use on the laptop before closing it. There wasn't anything but she hadn't expected there to be, and the leads she had were plenty to start with. Gathering up the papers scattered across the table she slipped them inside her jacket, planning on reviewing them back at the manor. Most of them looked to be bureaucratic in nature, receipts of orders for supplies or records of bribes paid to officials but there might be something useful in there.
Disarming her trap she walked the mile or so to where she had parked her motorcycle, kick starting it into gear as she drove back to the church. Arriving back much quicker she detached a can of gasoline from the side of the off-road bike, lugging it inside and dousing the interior of the old church, taking care to make sure each of the bodies was good and soaked.
Leaving the door open just enough as she exited she took a flare from her pocket, igniting it and tossing it inside. Flames roared inside the church in an instant, the gasoline catching as soon as a spark made contact, and the old church providing plenty of fuel for the fire to feed on. Within minutes the entire building was ablaze, lighting the surrounding area up like day.
Lara was already long gone though, nearly back to her manor where Winston would attest that she had spent the entire night sleeping off a hangover if anyone came to ask. And come the next day she would be leaving, on board a flight to New York and then to Arizona. Trinity had been hunting her and those she loved for too long, it was time they felt what it was like to be the hunted.
Returning to the main room Lara went bed to bed, firing an arrow into the head of each soldier she found. Using her knife carried too much risk of one of them being able to struggle and alert the others. She couldn't even pretend to feel guilty about it, these were Trinity soldiers, they'd happily do the same to her or worse if given half a chance. And after Belize she had learned that Trinity was finding it near impossible to hire mercenaries anymore, the majority of them having gotten skittish after so many had just vanished in Siberia. So even that tiny shred of guilt she might have felt at killing someone who didn't know what they were part of was gone.
There looked to be only two men left, one near the door and another in the opposite corner of the room. Going to the one closest to the door she buried an arrow into his head, loosing it just as the door to the barracks swung open. Three men came walking in, taking their helmets off as they entered the room, clearly not having been expecting her.
Dropping her bow Lara swung her assault rifle up and into position, even as she wondered why they were here. She knew they staggered the guard rotation but surely it wasn't time to do so yet? Unless it had been a staggered time slot as well she realized, intentionally rotating around when the guards changed to counter anyone trying to time their rotations. The woman in the shower hadn't been taking one at the end of the day, she had taken one to get started.
Even as the thoughts raced through her head she brought her rifle level, firing two rounds into the head of the first man to enter. It was suppressed, a built-in barrel modification that reduced noise and muzzle flash but it would take a miracle for the remaining guards outside not to notice this. Adjusting her aim she squeezed off two more shots, taking the second man out before dropping to a knee as she saw the third start to bring his gun up.
Two more shots rang out, dropping him just before he managed to fire, Lara already rotating to take aim at the last sleeping soldier she hadn't killed. He had rolled off the bed when the shots had fired but had mistakenly rolled away from the doorway, assuming the shots had come from outside. That left her with a clear line of sight and she put two rounds into his chest as he tried to turn and face her with a shotgun.
Knowing she needed to move fast lest she get trapped in the building Lara moved to the doorway while pulling a pair of smoke grenades off her belt. There wasn't time to adjust the timers on them so she'd have to make do with the three second delay but they were each capable of blanketing thirty square meters in smoke, enough to cover all three guard towers. Opening the door just enough she tossed them out, one for each outside tower, trusting the overlap to cover the middle. Then she pulled out her detonator and blew the generators.
The blast was deafening, sending an enormous fireball into the air and pelting the side of the barracks with shrapnel. Feeling a sudden pain in her leg, Lara looked down, wondering if some had penetrated the building before realizing it was on the wrong side.
Instinct took over and she dove out of the way as a second shotgun blast tore through where she had been. Yanking her pistol free of her holster Lara found the man responsible and put three more rounds into his chest and a fourth into his head from good measure.
Sitting up she checked her leg, relieved to see that only a few pellets had connected. The explosion of the generators must have thrown off his aim, otherwise she'd likely need a new leg or worse. Pulling herself to her feet she ignored it for now, she could bandage it once the rest of the soldiers were taken care of.
Picking her rifle up off the floor from where she had dropped it, she made her way to the door, pulling it open and taking aim at where she knew the guard towers to be. They likely had thermal goggles but the fire from the generators would help conceal her, and her smoke grenades would inhibit using standard lights to find her. Meanwhile the scope on her rifle was a special forces grade night vision scope, and with the base having lost power the only light was the fire from the generators. Fire that was out of view of the scope thanks to still being inside barracks but clearly reflecting off the men in the towers.
The first one fell before even realizing they were in danger but the second moved as she fired and she only winged him. A follow up burst ended his life but not before he managed to squeeze the trigger on his own rifle, succeeding in alerting his remaining comrade that they were being targeted. Guessing that she must be in the barracks the last guard sprayed the area with bullets, hoping to get a hit.
Retreating from the doorway as soon as the man returned fire Lara brought her rifle up, aiming at the base of the tower where the last guard was. She had deliberately left the closest tower for last just so that this would be an option. Firing a grenade shell from the under-barrel launcher she targeted the base of the tower, bringing it toppling down with the explosion, and throwing the last guard from it as it did. A burst of gunfire greeted him on the ground, Lara emptying the little that was left in her clip before ejecting it and inverting it to inject the other side of the taped magazine. Her source had offered the gun to her originally with a drum magazine but she proffered using taped double mags, finding them simpler to reload and at worse being able to scrounge up replacements in the field much easier.
With the last guard down she waited, all that should be left was whoever was in the communication building. The barracks had three rows with six beds each, so assuming no one was sharing there were likely eighteen people here at most. There had been eight outside, the one in the shower, seven in the barracks including the one that had tagged her with a shotgun. That left two more likely to be out there.
The familiar sound of a motorcycle starting up reached her ears, Lara almost shaking her head at the sound. She hadn't actually thought that they would try to run. Stepping out of the barracks she aimed her rifle at where she had spotted the bikes earlier, firing off a steady burst when motion flashed in front of her. A woman went spilling off the bike, bleeding from multiple wounds to her midsection before another burst from Lara ended her suffering.
"Fuck this!" She heard someone shout, a man coming running from behind the communication building, giving up on getting to one of the motorcycles and firing his pistol at Lara. The running threw his aim off though and she was able to put for rounds in his chest and send him tumbling to the ground, before firing another round into his head to be certain. Remembering the man from inside Lara located each of guards from the towers, putting a round into their heads to make certain they were truly dead before doing a quick sweep of the communications building to make sure she hadn't missed anyone.
Satisfied they were all dead Lara set her rifle against the communications building, before using a first aid kit she had found in side to wrap her leg. She would get Jonah to look it over later but for now it would be fine. Pulling out a flare she fired it into the sky, the bright pink of the flare getting her to shake her head. "Really, Jonah?" She said to herself, it was the type of thing Sam would have done.
Looking over at the lone building she hadn't entered she debated on whether or not she should wait for Jonah before entering. Her curiosity and desire to know why Trinity had been here won out, Lara making her way over to it. She was less surprised than she probably should have been when she saw a tunnel cut into the cliff-side leading further down. Sighing she took a seat in the doorway, she'd have to wait for Jonah after all. She hadn't brought any lights for her raid and with the generators blown she'd have to wait for Jonah to get here so she could get her own from the boat and see what was down there.
"Lara!" Jonah called, waving at the her as he pulled the boat as far into shore as he dared. She was waiting on the shore for him, seated on a motorcycle, having got tired of waiting at the base.
"Jonah! Come on ashore. And bring the lights." Lara shouted back, waving at him in the light of the floodlight from the boat. It was still very dark, only around three in the morning so he had to be careful bringing the boat in.
"I take it you found something?" Jonah called back, setting the anchor in place while leaving the boat idling. Regardless of what she found he didn't intend to stay here too long. Trinity only ran supplies out once a week but if they had found out about her attack they could be here sooner.
Grabbing his shotgun he slung it across his back before grabbing another bag, this one with full off supplies. Hoping over the side of the boar he made his way to shore, giving Lara a hug that she squirmed out of. "We need to go. I want to know what they found."
"Right, right. I take it you're driving?" Jonah asked, securing the bag across his back as he made his way over to the bike. It would be a tight fight but they could manage and it sure as hell beat walking.
"Of course. Make sure you stay steady so we don't tip over." Lara said, swinging her leg over the bike before wincing at the pressure it put on her wound.
"How's the leg?" Jonah asked as they made their way up to the base. He hadn't missed the bandages wrapped around it.
"It's fine. Just a graze. I won't be making that mistake again." Lara said, keeping her eyes on the barely visible trail. It wasn't too far from where Jonah had come ashore and the base but it wasn't like there was even dirt road anywhere on this island. The best she had was rough trails from previous times the bike had been used.
Arriving at the base Jonah let out a low whistle, taking in the damage Lara had wrought. He had seen the first explosion but hadn't expected for one of the guard towers to be brought down. Dismounting off the bike he dug into his pack and passed Lara a flashlight and a glow stick to put on her belt. Following her through the ruined base he let his light sweep across the few bodies he could see. Part of him admired the way Lara was able to take out such a base so quickly. And another part was terrified that she was able too. Mostly though he just felt sorrow that she was kept forcing herself to do so.
Making their way to the back of the base and down the tunnel Jonah could feel Lara's excitement building. This was what reminded him that she was still Lara, that sense of excitement she would get whenever they came across something new. Soon the tunnel exited out into a cavern, a surprisingly spacious one that Lara fired a flare into to provide some extra light.
"It's a city." Lara said, voice hushed in awe. Spread out over the cavern floor was a the remains of a primitive city, likely a hundred or so buildings that she could see.
"Why would they build a city underground? And who built it for that matter?" Jonah asked, looking over the place in wonder. As far as he knew there weren't any tribes like the Maya or Inca this far south that could have built something like this.
"I don't know but see back there?" Lara said, pointing to the back of the cave where he could see light reflecting off water and a wall of boulders. "I don't think it was sealed originally, it looks like it was a massive cave under the cliff and part of it collapsed." There were the remains of a few buildings buried under the far edge that she could see, but it looked like they had started to fuse with the rocks that had collapsed on them. It must have happened ages ago.
"Jonah, I think this might actually pre-date the Mayans, or at least the rise of the Mayan civilization as we know it." Lara continued, guessing that the city was likely thousands of years old.
"Hey look at this," Jonah said, getting her attention to a couple of power cables running from out of the tunnel. "Want to bet this lead somewhere important?"
"Lead the way," Lara said, following after him. The city was more primitive than she had first thought, the buildings being little more than mud huts that had hardened due to the environment. It was odd, why would such a civilization build this much underground?
"Lara," Jonah said, getting her to look up. The cables had led them to a temple, carved out of the actual stone of the cave wall. The entrance was massive likely twenty meters high and around the edges she could see the remains of paints, making the doorway look as if it was on fire. Or perhaps a sun?
Stepping inside they found a single room, a large rotunda decorated with murals and a few tables inside with a couple of laptops set. There were lights all around the room, powered off due to her blowing the generators, and at the back of the room was a tent with a what appeared to be a calcified body inside.
"You see if you can get anything off the laptops, I'll look at the murals." Lara said, moving to one that had a tag in front of it marking it as one. It showed what looked to be a battle, a small army being overwhelmed by a much more numerous force. The next one then showed a mass migration, the people fleeing as their enemy chased them. The next two showed the journey, across an empty desert then into forests once more, being a chased all the while.
The next two confused her, it showed the chasing army suddenly stopping, surrounding them on the coast with what looked to be a small box in between them. The next showed the army leaving, the people still trapped along the coast and box from before was gone. Had they offered them some sort of treasure so they would leave? Had that been why they were chased so far to begin with?
The next mural showed them crossing the sea, coming to what she assumed was this island. They had built a village on the surface and seemed to start a life. "Jonah look at this," Lara said, focusing on the next mural.
"In a minute," he replied having gotten the laptop to boot up and trying to guess the password.
The mural she wanted him to see showed the sun bright and full above the village, before it faded into an eclipse, the village being hidden by shadow, and when it passed the sun was restored but it was drawn different. It seemed to be angry, furious even and the village from before was gone. The next one showed the village being constructed in the cave, and then the final mural was two images, one of the surface of the island being empty during the day, and the other of the people going out onto it at night.
"I think these people might have actually feared the sun." Lara said, Jonah giving a grunt of acknowledgment as he tried another password. "I think they lost a war and fled, only to be pursued by their enemies. For some reason they stopped, I think they might've taken something from them as payment. They then came here and started a life, on the surface. But there was an eclipse and afterwards they fled below ground. I think they thought the sun was angry with them, maybe an intense heatwave or drought?"
Something bothered her about it, the way the sun was drawn it was almost like it was something new. Maybe it was? Had they been showing that it was new sun? But that didn't even make sense, how could the sun be new? Even as she thought it her mind remembered something from her Dad's journals, talking about the rebirth of the sun. Could that be what they were trying to show?
"Jonah, I think-"
"Got it!" Jonah said excitedly, the laptop starting up as the correct password was entered.
"You got it?" Lara said, moving over to his side.
"Yep, Deuteronomy72." Jonah replied, turning the laptop so she could see it better.
"Isn't that one of the verses about smiting all god's enemies?" Lara said, struggling to remember the exact wording but believing that to be the general idea.
"Honestly? No idea. I found it on a post-it note stuck under the table." Jonah said with a shrug getting Lara to laugh.
Looking through the files it appeared that they had been communicating with someone outside about the site, apparently using cameras to let their experts operate remotely without ever needing to come here. The notes about the site itself seemed to confirm what Lara had said, although he couldn't help but notice it had taken them several days to reach that conclusion going by the time stamp.
"Oh, that's what happened here." Jonah said, reading a file from the autopsy. Apparently a subterranean event had released a large pocket of carbon monoxide into the cave, killing everyone inside near instantly. According to their reports the landslide that had sealed it off hadn't even occurred until much later.
"At least it was peaceful?" Lara said with a shrug. Seeing something that caught her eyes, she got Jonah to click on it. "Look, they believed this city to be close to four thousand years old. That pre-dates the rise of civilizations like the Maya or Inca."
"I've seen something like this in my Dad's notes, I'm sure of it." Lara said, walking back over to the mural of the eclipse. "I think it was something to do with the birth of a god that he found in Mexico."
"Birth of a god, huh? Well that does sound like something Trinity would want." Jonah said, powering down the laptop and sliding it into his bag to look into more later. "So, Mexico then?"
"London first," Lara said with a slight laugh. "I'd like to double check the notes and narrow down where in Mexico."
"Sounds like a plan." Jonah said, getting ready to leave. It wouldn't be safe for them to stay here too long, and they were already pushing it by his estimate. "Any chance it'll be somewhere with a beach? Or at least some good drinks?"
"No idea. But knowing our luck, probably not." Lara said, giving a soft laugh as Jonah shook his head. It would probably be better if that was the case anyways, the last thing she wanted was to have innocents get caught up in her war with Trinity. She already had enough blood on her hands without that.