A/N: I am not ashamed that I wrote this self-insert fic for the Tomb Raider reboot series. Ever since I was young, I have always loved Tomb Raider. The first game I played was TR: Starring Lara Croft on the PS1, thanks to my parents buying it for my sister. With my love of Tomb Raider, imagination, and writing, I have came up with this. It took me about six months but I am finally publishing the first chapter! I hope you all enjoy this because it's been fun to write!

UPDATE: As of 4/1/2020, this first chapter has been edited and updated. If you are a previous fan, welcome back! If you are a new reader, welcome! It's been a year and (almost) a half since I published this and if you are looking for a new update: I am sorry for the long wait. I wanted to publish more (as I have about two chapters complete, and currently writing three), but it got pretty busy/lack of motivation. After almost completing yet another replay of this game, inspiration struck!

As stated before, I am taking no criticisms on this because I am just having fun and I know it's not perfect but I could care less on perfection. It's all about having a good time! If you want to follow me on tumblr, I am at mariaromanovs (main blog) and madsthecreator (writing blog). I also have a playlist for this on Spotify, simply titled as Madison (Tomb Raider). The account is daveejacobs.

Finally, I must put a disclaim Tomb Raider. As much as I adore Lara Croft, I don't own her or her franchise! Now please, enjoy reading this.

Before the story truly begins, let it be known that it wasn't Madison's plan to be a part of the Endurance crew for her summer vacation. Originally, she had planned to take a step back and keep it simple during her time off, maybe getting a job at Kohl's, but fate had other plans for her.

Sometime in March, about a month before term ended, Madison was made aware of an opportunity of a lifetime. There was a research vessel that was looking for helping hands, and a family friend was able to get her connected to the opportunity. Madison had to prove herself to get the job, but luckily enough she had made quite the impression on the captain, Conrad Roth. Roth was an English man in his early fifties with white, thinning hair. He had a rugged look to him, and Madison was sure that he was quite the explorer. He certainly seemed like the type.

Madison's first few weeks on the Endurance went better than she had expected it to be. When she had first begun, the young woman often played gofer; performing tasks that she was told to do. She would help the deckhands or assist Jonah and touch up on her culinary skills. As time went on and she was able to prove herself, she also became one of the researchers. This is where the true opportunity came.

James Whitman was a famed archaeologist, known for his television show called Whitman's World. At the time, Madison didn't know who he was, but she heard a few things about the man. She knew that his show was facing cancellation, and she knew that he had hired the Endurance for the third season. While Madison was at first unsure about being part of a televised program, she slowly found excitement in it...until Whitman's World was cancelled.

When Madison first heard about the setback, she was unsure on what was going to happen next. She figured that the expedition Whitman had envisioned would be cancelled. Then there was also the fact that they needed funding for said expedition. Madison was informed that Whitman and Roth were trying to find funding for the voyage. At first, Madison was not aware of why they were so desperate to continue but as she learned more, she found herself understanding why they wanted to continue.

Whitman's third season was going to be based on finding the Lost Kingdom of Yamatai. When Madison had first discovered that this is what the Endurance was searching for, she admittedly did not know much about it. All she knew was that Yamatai was a small island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and that it was lost. (Hence, the Lost Kingdom.) Madison also knew that some of the crew doubted the existence of the island, and truth be told Madison couldn't blame them. In modern history there was not much proof that the place even existed in the first place.

Madison wouldn't voice her doubts on Yamatai's existence. The main reason was because of Whitman. Like the rest of the crew, Madison couldn't stand the man and his condescending attitude. He was annoying yet here she was: part time gofer for him, and part time colleague with him, along with Lara Croft. Madison liked Lara. The recent ULC graduate was nice to her, and they had quickly become friends. This was Lara's first real expedition post university, and Madison could tell just how bad the young woman wanted to discover Yamatai. Madison would have felt bad if she were to squash Lara's ambition. Besides, there was always the chance of Yamatai existing, right? Madison shouldn't doubt it unless there was cold hard evidence. Besides, there was some evidence: she had discovered that in ancient texts, there was some sort of documentation.

Give the benefit of the doubt, Madison told herself. Think outside of the box.

Of course, there was the issue of funding, which was hard to get. They were so close yet so far; very far. Madison had thought that the expedition would be a bust until Samantha Nishimura came into the picture.

Samantha, or Sam, was Lara's best friend from college who was a film major and came from a very wealthy family. Lara had contacted her friend, asking for help in funding the trip. In the end Sam's uncle helped cover the expenses in exchange for a rather large cut. That, and Sam was to be the director, film-maker, and editor of the documentary of the expedition. (Which is how Madison found another task: assist Sam with her documentary.) The deal was sealed, and the Endurance sailed off to find the Lost Kingdom of Yamatai.

Hopefully, they would be able to find Yamatai. This expedition was racking up the bill and as the Endurance went into the next month, the crew became antsier by the day. Even if Sam's family was helping fund the expenses, they all knew that the money would no longer be in their hands.

While Madison was keeping her cool and working hard Lara had been busting her ass off, especially with the looming reminder about the cost of this expedition. Since the beginning of this expedition, Madison knew that the graduate was onto something; it was just at the tip of her tongue. While Whitman was no help, Madison tried her best in relieving Lara of her stress. She was able to help Lara make bridges in her thought process. After brainstorming back and forth with each other, a theory was finally reached: What if they travelled east, not west? As much as Japan was westernized, it still wasn't in the west.

Whitman didn't agree.

Madison remembers that day in the Endurance kitchen quite well. She was sitting at the table, writing in her personal journal while the mechanic, Joslin Reyes, sat next to her, toying with something in her hands. Alex, the technician, was busy on his laptop. Sam was at the other end of the table, reading a book. Jonah, the ship's chef, was busy cooking something in a rather large pot (which Madison had no doubt that he was going to ask for her help soon) while Roth and Grim, the helmsman, were busy listening to the radio. Whitman was standing right behind her, which she did not like, with Lara as they argued about Lara's theory.

(A disclaimer: Madison was not going to take credit for the theory. Lara was the one who came up with it, really. Madison just helped her come to the conclusion.)

"How can you suggest that I'm not serious about this expedition, Lara?" Whitman had fumed. "It's not just Sam's family funding us, I've put my savings on the line too."

"We've all got some kind of stake in this," Reyes piped up, looking up to the lead archaeologist. "The funding won't last forever, Whitman."

"That's precisely why we should push east, not west!" Lara continued her argument.

"It makes sense," Madison pointed out, neck craning to look at the two archaeologists behind her.

Whitman scoffed. "No one believes Yamatai's that far east. The books simply don't support it!"

Madison was about to refute, but Sam had beat her to it.

"Well, whoever wrote those books never found Yamatai."

"Thank you!" Madison said, acknowledging Sam with a grateful gesture. Sam gave her a smile of acknowledgement in return. Madison liked Sam, she was sweet and supportive.

"I've talked to Roth about this," Lara continued with Whitman, as she made the older man look at the map she had marked out. "There's no point in following other people's steps, Doctor Whitman."

It was silent. Then….

"I refuse to bet my reputation on your hunch!"

Madison rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure how long she could hold back until she snapped at the man.

"I'm the lead archaeologist here."

That's i—

"And when were you last in the field without a TV crew behind you?" Grim snipped. Madison had to cover her mouth with her hand as she fought the urge to laugh out loud at the helmsman's remark. She saw Reyes give her a look from the corner of her eye.

"I've got thirty years' experience, two PhDs, one in East Asian history. So why don't you stick to boats, Mr. Grim?"

"Ship, Doctor Whitman. It's a ship. Don't need a PhD to know that." Grim grumbled heavily in his Scottish accent.

"Look, going east will take us directly into the Dragon's Triangle. That's where we need to go," Lara started up once more. Madison couldn't help but feel sorry for Lara, because Whitman was never going to listen to her.

"After all, it's East Asian history," Madison snarked. Whitman did not look very appreciative at her remark, but Madison could hear Sam and Alex snicker at her sass. Reyes shot her disapproving look, this time more apparent. While this happened, Jonah had appeared at the table, telling Lara that the Dragon's Triangle had a bad energy to it.

"Bad storms more like; makes the Bermuda Triangle look like Disney World. Sign me up." Alex finally spoke. Everyone looked towards him. Madison physically grimaced. She trusted Alex, and if what he said was true….

"The stories about Queen Himiko say she could summon storms. Myths are usually based on some version of the truth. What if Yamatai was somewhere in the Triangle itself?"

By the time Lara had finished, Alex had successfully hacked into the satellites and showed the table what the screen was showing him.

"Look, this is the satellite imagery from inside the Dragon's Triangle."

Both Reyes and Madison leaned in closer to look at the footage. Madison had to adjust her glasses to make sure she was seeing correctly. This was when Madison, along with the rest of the crew, realized that Alex wasn't being dramatic about how bad the storms were.

"Oh shit," Madison swore. They were thinking about sailing into that? Listen, she was all in supporting Lara but if she died, she was going to haunt everyone on this expedition, and then herself.

"That doesn't look good," Sam eventually broke the brief tension.

"If it's wet, I can sail on it," Grim stated lowly. Madison almost jumped at the sound of his voice, not realizing how close he was to her now.

"Oh, don't tell me you're seriously cons—" Whitman began, but Roth cut him off.

"Enough!" the captain had snapped, getting up from his seat. "Reyes is right, we don't have enough funds to piss about. It's now or never. Lara's offering fresh ideas and a plan. I'm the captain here, it's my decision. We're going into the Dragon's Triangle."

"Why am I even here?" Whitman huffed, leaving the table.

Madison smiled, satisfied in knowing that Whitman had lost this argument.

While at first Madison internally celebrated the success of Whitman losing, the feeling of jubilation quickly died down. The closer they were to the Dragon's Triangle, the more Madison felt apprehension seep into her body. She couldn't help but think that Jonah was on to something: the location was giving off bad vibes.

Madison had gone to her room early that night. They were in the Dragon's Triangle now and she felt such a heavy weight on her chest, but she did not know why. It was as if her Spidey senses were tingling. She drank with some of the crewmembers in hopes to calm her nerves down, but it did not really help her.

After the little social event, Madison retired to her room. She noted that her roommate was not in the room, and Madison couldn't help but feel relief at that. She liked Steph, but she needed some alone time.

Deciding not to put on her pajamas yet, Madison climbed up to the top bunk (as Steph did not like heights) and reclined against the wall. She shut her eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

"Everything is fine, you're just on edge for no reason," Madison whispered to herself. Fortunately for her, she was able to fall asleep quickly. It was a short, dreamless sleep, because Jonah's speculation and Madison's anxiety were right: the Dragon's Triangle was a bad place.

At around 11:30 PM, Madison was suddenly awakened by a loud crash and the sound of thunder. She did not have time to register what was happening as for the next thing she knew, she was thrown off the top of her bunk and onto the floor of her cabin.

Madison let out a hiss of pain as her hand immediately went to the shoulder that took the brunt of the fall. Fuck, that hurt! The young woman did not have much time to figure out what was going on, because someone was helping her up. Madison was able to recognize that it was Steph, her roommate.

"Maddie! Maddie, get up! Come on!"

"Wha…?" Madison mumbled, pushing Steph's away, as she balanced herself. Slowly but surely, Madison recognized the distress and the blaring sounds of the ship's alarms. "What's happening?"

"I don't know but something is happening. I think we're evacuating!"

"Oh shit!" Madison swore, as she made sure her converse were secured (double-knotted) on her feet. She sprang into action, grabbing her satchel-like purse before throwing her phone and a few other things in it. As soon as she was finished, Madison ran out into the hallways Steph. They weren't together for long, though, as they soon got separated by the chaos happening on the Endurance.

Now, Madison wasn't exactly sure what was going on but by the loud crashing sounds of the sky and sea, and the blaring of the sounds and how the emergency lights were on, she was pretty sure that they needed to abandon ship…and fast.

Madison began running up to deck, and that's where Jonah found her.

"Maddie! We need to get out of here! Have you seen Lara or Sam?" Jonah had to scream due to how loud the storms were. Jesus, Alex wasn't lying when he said the storms were massive on the radar map!

"No, I haven't!" Madison shouted back. "Where are the—?"

Suddenly, there was a rather large and bright lightning bolt appearing out of nowhere and before Madison could register what was even happening, the Endurance broke in half with a loud, disturbing crack. Suddenly, the deck below her was very wobbly and cavey and before she could level herself, she practically flew backwards as another strike of lightning hit the ship and sunk right into the dark sea.

Madison would never forget this moment for as long as she lived. The waters were rough and cold. She could barely swim due to how harsh the currents were. She was freezing to the bone. She could feel it all in that moment and she knew it would be a thousand times worse if she could get above surface.

Eventually, somehow, Madison was able to get above the surface. She had a difficult time breathing and her long, thick hair was soaking wet and clinging to her, but she was able to kick her way to the surface. It was in good timing, too, because she spotted one of the lifeboats just mere feet away from her. She saw Reyes first, standing and taking command.

"Reyes!" Madison yelled as loud as she could, as she began swimming over to the lifeboat. (Well, it was more like being pushed by the waves.) She began coughing as she made her way over. She saw some of the people in the boat, but she couldn't quite make them out, as she didn't have her contacts in or glasses on. Hopefully, her glasses were in her purse.

"Holy shit, is that Madison?" Alex yelled out. That had caught Reyes' attention and she looked in the direction where the technician and a few others were looking in. She had spotted the young girl almost immediately.

"Madison!" Reyes shouted in what sounded like a panic. "Get over here! Hurry!"

Madison complied, kicking and swimming as fast as she could. It was hard getting to the lifeboat, as the waves knocked into her and she felt heavy due to her wet clothes. Fortunately, Madison was able to make it to the boat and Alex and a deckhand pulled her to safety. Madison was coughing and spluttering at this point, water exiting her lungs. Someone was patting their hand on her back, as if they were supporting her or helping get the water to leave her system. Either way, the sentiment was appreciated.

It was sooner rather than later when the lifeboat finally reached to shore. Practically everyone jumped out, not caring if they got wet. Poor Madison, though. She was tired of that cold, drenched feeling already. One of the deckhands had to practically carry her out.

The Endurance crew found themselves on the shore. Save for the occasional yet frequent flashes of lighting, it was so dark Madison couldn't make out much of the shadowy structures.

Madison couldn't afford to think much right now, save for the goal on getting herself stabilized. The deckhand that was kind enough to drag her out of the lifeboat and place her by the fi—wait, fire? How long had it been since they reached this makeshift campsite? And when did Madison take off her shirt, leaving her in just her camisole? The young woman found it frustrating as she could not remember. It was as if she zoned out—blocked out? Yeah, she had no idea. It was terrifying.

As Madison looked out onto the shore, she couldn't help but think of how chaotic the storm was, as it continued to be brash and unforgiving. The dark waters of the sea were wild, illuminated every few seconds from the lighting. Madison was also able to see how there seemed to be a lot of wreckage and salvage on the shores of the beach they were on. She could vaguely remember yelling and Reyes being pissed, but no details followed. The best Madison could do was sit, watch, and wait.

Eventually, the storms did stop, and all appeared calm...except that it wasn't. The Endurance crew did not know just how much trouble they were yet to be in.

Madison was able to recover quickly. Her clothes were still a little damp, but she was sure that once the sun was up and she was moving she would be dry in no time.

The night was rough, to say the least. The crew of Endurance were scattered about. Madison found that she was in the company of Reyes, who acted as leader. Alex was with them too, the same with Jonah and eventually, Grim. Whitman was also part of the little group as well, which Madison wasn't too keen on. There were a few other crew members but some of them died. She could vaguely remember watching Alex perform CPR on one of the deckhands as she sat by the fire.

Some people, however, were unaccounted. Sam was missing and so was Lara. Madison worried for them. They were her friends and she hoped they were alive and safe. Madison couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in her stomach. Something was definitely off about this place, and it wasn't just because their ship had been destroyed, leaving them stranded. The place seemed...eerie and far too quiet.

While Sam, Lara, and a few others were unaccounted for, Roth was not. He had contacted the group via radio. After a small chat with the captain, it was decided that the group was going to meet up with him and try to figure out what the hell was going on.

Reyes had ordered for them be prepared for anything, which Madison took to heart. Joslin Reyes was a woman who took no nonsense and even in the unknown, seemed to know what she was doing. Whitman acted as second in command, but Madison didn't trust nor want his judgement. If she had to rank the people she was in on how she trusted them, Whitman would be on the bottom of the list. In her opinion, he was that dumb when it came to safety and survival.

As the small group ventured out on the island, Madison had found that her clothes did in fact dry out perfectly. Her hair was still a bit damp but that came as no surprise to her, seeing she had thick hair. (The humidity did not help, either.) The group stayed close, occasionally hiding in the bushes when they heard someone come near. In their short time on the island, they figured out there were others among them and judging by their looks and conversation, they were not too friendly. Madison made sure that she was with the group as much as she could.

The sun was beginning to set when the radio on Alex sparked to life.

"Reyes? Are you there?"

"Madison, answer him," Reyes ordered the petite girl.

"Okay," Madison nodded as Alex handed her the radio. Madison took it, pressing down on a button in order to reply to Roth.

"Roth? It's me, it's Madison," Madison said. "Reyes is busy. Do you need something?"

"Tell her that I had to move location, though not too far from where I was," Roth said. "Lara is alive, too. She'll be regrouping with us as well. Have you run into any trouble?"

"Uh, not yet. We've been close a few times," Madison answered. "Have you encountered anyone?"

"No, but I've been listening. We've got to get off this island, fast. Something's not right about this place."

No kidding, Madison thought. If Roth was concerned, then they all should be.

"I agree with that. Tell us where you're at, and we'll see you soon."

Roth told her the new location and signed off the channel. When Madison was about to inform the group what was happening, a new voice came through.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

Madison answered immediately, stopping in her tracks. "Sam? Is that you?"

"Yes!" Sam replied, relieved. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm with some of the others but everyone else is scattered around. Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I sprained my ankle, but Mathias patched me up."

Madison paused, somewhat taken aback. Who was Mathias? She didn't know anyone by that name who was on the Endurance. Glancing around, she saw that the others were just as perplexed.

"Mathias?" Madison asked.

"He found me straggling. He's stranded here too, like us."

Madison looked to Reyes, not knowing what to say next.

"Hand it to me," Reyes said. Madison nodded.

"Hey, Sam, Reyes wants to talk to you, I'm handing the radio over to her," Madison informed her friend, before passing the radio to Reyes. She didn't hear what Sam and Reyes were talking about but as soon as Reyes signed off she informed the group that they were going to get Sam.

"Look out for the smoke, that's where we'll find Sam and Mathias," Reyes informed. Madison looked up to the sky, eyesight adjusting until she saw the symbol they needed.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Madison muttered, loud enough for Alex to hear.

"You and me both," Alex agreed.

As the group ventured farther in the woods, Madison couldn't help but wonder: What the hell were they getting themselves into?