TOMB RAIDER: Furor Deorum: Wrath of the Gods

Chapter 2: Seeds of Evil

The helicopter with Lara Croft and Tobias Green aboard landed on a small helipad aboard a NTInc building. Lara looked up at the large neon sign to the right. It shone with the word "NTInc". Lara pondered the words, but it was not important now. "Where are we headed to?" Lara inquired as the two approached a door. Green slipped in an authority card and the light on the panel turned green. The door then slid open and the two entered. "We have to meet with my superiors, tell them about Porter, give the wheels of justice a jump start." Green then said.

They continued down the hallway and entered a room with two armed guards to the left. "Commander Green." One troop greeted. "We have been informed that you may not speak with General Hathway." The other then informed. "And why is that?" Green questioned angrily. The two guards drew their weapons and pointed them at Green. "Commander, do not make a scene, we do not want to kill you." One guard said. Green put up his hands in a surrendering motion, and started to back up. "Look!" Green then yelled, pointing to an empty hallway. Lara drew her pistols and dispatched the two guards. Green smirked, "We make a good team." He commented. "That we do." Lara added.

Green started to fiddle with the lock on the door. "Why is a corporation being guarded by military forces?" Lara asked. "The embryo. I told you, NTInc is in charge of researching the embryo. It is somewhere here... we need to destroy it before they clone the bloody thing." Green then said, "Aha!" He triumphantly yelled as the door unlocked.

Green kicked open the door to see Porter and a distinguished older man standing at a desk. The older man got out of his seat. "Commander Green, what is the meaning of th--"

"Shove it General." Green cut him off. "Porter," Lara then said, "Give us the embryo."
"Or else." Green added.

"Oh tah, very much!" Porter exclaimed. "You want the bloody embryo? Have it!" He then pushed a button on the desk and a door to the side slid open. Behind the door was an Atlantean Prime. "You would be bloody amazed at how fast these babies gestate." Porter then accompanyed the General in escaping from the room in a small elevator behind the desk. "Shit." Green solemnly said as the Prime approached them. It raised its arms and screamed. The doors opened again with some guards that heard the noise. "Uh, wrong floor, pardon me..." One guard said, noticing the trouble. The Prime focused its attention on them and charged. Lara and Green took the oppurtunity to hop a ride on the elevator.

They rode the elevator down to the bottom of the chute. The doors slid open and Lara and Green exited, guns drawn. They didn't see or hear anything troublesome. Then the lights flipped on. "Hehehe." Porter's evil laugh echoed throughout the room. Lara caught sight of him, wearing what seemed to be an Atlantean exosuit. His arms and chest were covered by the Atlantean "flesh" and he raised his hands in a shrugging motion. "You blokes got me good," He started, "I surrender... no wait, I don't!" He put his arms forward and launched two fireballs at Green and Lara. Lara fired at him, but the bullets seemed to do nothing. "Lara, look." Green said, pointing to the tanks lining the room. They were filled with Atlantean Primes. Then there was one glass case in front of the room, with a small Atlantean fetus in it. "Ah." Porter started again, "You are admiring my beautiful embryo, the heart of this whole operation. Without it, nothing."

"Then you won't mind me destroying it." Lara said haughtily, pistols pointed at the embryo. "No!" Porter cried out. He didn't notice Green slip behind him, and pick up the embryo. He then dropped it, smashing the glass case. "Oops." Green then said with a grin. Porter's face became filled with horror.

"My baby!" He yelled out. Porter fell to the ground, trying to save the embryo, but it was too late. The embryo melted and fizzled. Porter looked up, eyes blazing. He raised his arms and fired fireball after fireball at the two. A few stray blasts hit the far wall, blowing open a hole. Standing at the opposite end of the hole was the Prime, eyes glared on Lara. It then saw the tanks filled with other Primes, encircling the room. It seemed shocked and confused. It moaned a little, then raised its arms and charged. Lara and Green jumped to the side as the Prime grabbed Porter and lifted him in the air. It skewered Porter and tossed him to the side. Lara pulled out her pistols and fired at the beast. It backed up, and crashed into a tank. Its head turned to the side, and it became evident that the Prime was impaled on a glass shard, right through the "heart". Lara ran to Porter's side. "Damn." He moaned, "I had big plans, big bloody plans. Your ruined them, why, why did you ruin them? I was going to rule the world!" He coughed up some blood. "Al..." he then sarted to mumbled, while on the throes of death, "Alma... Almator..."

Porter's head turned to the side and he died. "Almator." Lara then said. She thought about what the name of that ship that crashed could possibly be. Perhaps it was the next clue in her quest. Lara walked over to a turned-on computer. A file marked "Embryos" was open. Lara typed in a few words and an animation showed of the three Atlantean embryos. One in the NTInc building, one in an australian compund, and one in the possession of Doctor James Panaka, a name Lara recognized. Panaka was a passenger of the Almator. "Our next clue indeed."

"Lass." Green then said, "I just got a call from the London police... bad news."

"Tidal wave?" Lara inquired as the two stood on the roof of the NTInc Building, looking below to the streets of London. It was flooded, cars were floating around, and the lights were out. The city was thrown into chaos. "How the hell could the Thames make a tidal wave?" Lara then said. "It's impossible!"

"I don't know," Green started to explain, "It's just nutty. And almost as bad as that earthquake in Germany, the volcano in DC, and well, all that other junk that's going on." He just stood there as Lara turned to him in disbelief. "Volcano, earthquake, floods..." She then said.

"Yep, the gods are pissed." Green replied solemnly.

Lara had said her goodbyes to Green, who in turn had headed for the Embryo in Australia. Respectively, at the O.U.T.B.A.C.K. mercanary compound HQ. Lara on the other hand had to dive to the wreck of the Almator, to retrieve the lost Embryo that was there. Unfortunately, the volcano at Costa Porta had erupted, making sure that Lara could get no reinforcements from the mainland.

-=-

Lara stood at the edge of her small raft, clothed in full diving suit and sporting a sleek Harpoon Gun. Lara grabbed the onboard UPV and tossed it in the water. Lara followed and grabbed onto the UPV. She flipped the start switch and steered the machine underwater. It propelled her toward the wreck, over 500 feet below the water level. Lara entered the wreck, in a small aclove too the port side of the ship. She pressed a button on the UPV, releasing a mouthpiece. Lara put it on and hooked the mouth piece into the oxygen tank on the UPV. She breathed a little then returned to her task at hand.

Lara swam around to the starboard side of the ship and into a small crack in the hull. She found an air rich room and took a deep breath. Lara then climbed out of the water, abandoning the UPV, and onto a small platform by a door on the wall. Lara entered the door and stumbled around, still dazed from the loss of equilibrium, pressure wise.

Lara made sure her pistols were holstered and she drew a flare. Lara walked into a new room and lit the flare, revealing a large main hall. The stairway was to the right and there were crahed chandeliers on the ground. Lara walked toward the stairs and heard a creak above. Lara turned and drew her guns, but felt a shock from a tazer hit her back. Lara fell face first to the ground and rolled around. She saw a tall, unshaved man standing in front of her, with a rifle pointing at her head. "You got some nerve comin' here Lassie!" He then said with a strong Australian accent.

"Me coming here? What about you?" Lara replied.
"Ay mate, I gots me a reason. I'm working I am!" He yelled back.
"May I ask for whom?" Lara inquired.
"The O.U.T.B.A.C.K. mercanary group." The merc replied.
"O.U.T.B.A.C.K.?" Lara then asked.
"You never heard of us, oh my, that's a shame it is." The merc said.
"I'm guessing by your accent, you would be a member... of this O.U.T.B.A.C.K. hmmm?" Lara guessed.
"Ay Lassie, I not just be a member, hell I'm one of the damned founders! You never done hear of Lt. Walker of the O.U.T.B.A.C.K. mercanary corp?" He then replied.
"But the real question is, why are you here?" Lara asked.
"I led a squad here to find some alien embry-whats-it-called." Walked began to explain.
"The Atlantean Embryo... what's that worth to you?" Lara then asked. She got up off the floor, but Walker kept his rifle pointed.
"Dem Alien stuff, be worth lots o' cash to the 'conspiracy crowd', ya know, them X-Files watchers and such. Of course, finding that bloody embryo is more trouble than its worth. My men, my men, they done disapeared without a trace and all, and then there's those bloody red fish that keep swimming around the ship." Walker turned to the side, and pointed to a window. A red creature swum by.
"A red fish?" Lara then asked, curious.
"Ay, one them scientists on board, Panaka I think, been experimenting with some sharks. Mixing alien DNA with the buggers. Made quite a mess now huh?" He laughed nervously. Lara heard a smashing sound outside the window. "Get back Lassie." Walker then said as he pointed his gun to the window.
"You'll find I can defend myself." Lara said haughtily. She pointed her pistols at the window.

Red tentacles smashed through the window and grabbed Walker. Walker tried to fire at it, but was having the life squeezed out of him. Lara fired at the tentacles, but without success. Then, the "fish" crashed through the window into the main hall. It looked like a shark, but had that trademark Altantean grin and tentacles growing out if its side. Lara fired at the beast, but it still was killing Walker. Walker, with his last breaths of life, pulled a grenade from his vest and tossed it to Lara. Lara pulled the pin from the grenade and tossed it at the beast. It groaned with surprise as it dropped Walker's lifeless body, and picked up the grenade.

The grenade exploded, releasing gallons of more water into the room. The beast exploded with a hideous scream as it blew into chunks. Lara swam to the top of the stairs and opened a door to a dining hall. She shut the door, and barricaded it behind her.

The door was being hit with the tentacles of two new sharks that entered the main hall. On the other side of the door, Lara caught her breath and drew her pistols. She backed up and put her gaze on the door. A tentacle smashed through the door and swung at Lara. She fell back and fired at it. She could hear the screeching of the shark.

Spotting a oil spill on the other side of the room, Lara drew a flare and ran to the spill. A tentacle swung at her, and Lara grabbed it, lighting it on fire and throwing it towards the slick. Wasting no time she sprinted for a door on the opposite side of the room as the slick exploded filling the chamber with fire. Lara dove into a pool to escape the flame.

Finding the ledge too high climb out, Lara swam through the adjacent tunnel and into a open room. There was about an inch of water on the floor, and it was dark. Lara lit a flare and placed it on a dresser in the room. The room lit up, revealing a bedroom. Lara examined the premesis. The medicine cabinet was smashed, with a few contraception pills inside. "My my," Lara said to herself, "How naughty." She searched the room for a way out, finding the door out of the room locked. Taking a step back, Lara drew her pistol and shot out the lock. As she did so, a tentacle slid out of the toilet in the adjacent bathroom and flew at Lara. Lara dove to the side and shot it. Hearing an echoing screech from the porthole in the room, Lara ran into the hallway she just opened. Breaking into a mad-dash, she reached the kitchen at the far end of the hall, several tentacles following her.

Lara rolled to the side of the large kitchen door and shut it, using a chair to keep it shut. The tentacles banged on the other side of the door. Lara looked around the room seeing several armed men sitting at a table, enjoying spoiled hot dogs. "What the hell?" One man asked. "Where the bloody hell is Lieuteniant Walker?" Another inquired. "He's dead," lara coldly replied, "That thing got him."

Another tentacle banged against the door. "Holy shit!" One of the men replied. He got up and explained to Lara, "Listen lady, Walker brought us here to help him find the embryo, but we couldn't, so we all split up and rendevoused here... but Walker didn't come back!"

"Were frigging scared!" Another piped in. The first mercanary gave the frightened merc a cold stare and turned to Lasa again, "I'm Private Jones, and as long as we're all on this ship, we're allies." Jones turned to the men, "These are my buddies, Privates Marshall, Reilly, Simms, and Garfield. Four other are unaccounted for." Lara nodded to the men, "And the embryo?" "Lost it," Jones explained, "We were in the main hall when one of them buggers broke through a window and attacked, ate another three of the men it did. The embryo rolled down an open heating vent, to the boiler room I reckon'."

"Only one way to make sure." Lara then said, drawing three grenades. "We need to destroy that thing." "No way!" Jones exclaimed, "Those things are worth a shit load of money, no way I'm giving that up!" Lara juggled the three grenades, "From what I understand, your group already has one in Australia, and if we don't destroy the embryo, it'll gestate, into an Atlantean Prime."

"Atlantean Prime?" Simms then asked in a frightened tone, "W-what's that?" "None of your damn concern," Garfield kicked in, "Goddamn sissy!" Simms drew his pistol and pointed it at Garfield, "Shut the fuck up!" He fired. Garfield fell to the ground, his shoulder bleeding wildly. "You fucking idiot!" Reilly exclaimed. Marshall restrained Simms, "Get a hold of yourselves, we all need to work together to get the fuck out of here." Lara nodded agreeably, "Right. Someone get Garfield a turnicet. I'm gonna need two people- Reilly and Jones, to accompany me to the boiler room. We're going to blow the thing sky high."

"And how the hell are we supposed to get off this sinking shit?!" Garfield yelled. Lara smirked, "I'm guessing that if we time this right and use the grenades in the furnace, the beasts will get caught in the blast." "And how the fuck are they going to get near the blast?" Garfield sneered as Lara turned to the fire exit of the kitchen. "I'm glad you asked, we're gonna take some bait." Garfield got up and waved his arm at Lara, "Fuck no man, fuck no! I ain't no bait!" "Calm down," Lara explained, "We're going to use the blood you kindly donated. If those things share any of the characteristics of their cold-blooded forefathers, they're attracted to blood." Lara pointed to the bloody turnicet on Garfield's arm. "Take that," she then instructed to Jones, "We're going to use it in the hall to get their attention." As instructed, Jones grabbed the turnicet off Garfield's arm and held it in the air, trying to keep the blood dripping away from him.

"Let's go." Lara instructed opening the back door. Reilly pointed to a hallway, "That leads to the boiler room," He then said. "Right." Lara replied. The three headed off for the boiler room while the red fish could be seen swimming alongside the boat, following them.

Meanwhile, the remaining Mercs were struggling to get themselves composed and toward their submarine. "Fucking hell." Garfield sighed. "We're all gonna die." Simms then said, disturbingly calm. Marshall turned to the window and pointed out to the shadows, almost 20 of them, circling the sunken ship. "Look at it this way, you fucking cowards," Marshall announced, "If we can destroy those frigging, what ever the hell they are, we will be heroes, fucking heroes. I'd hate to make a speech, but you two sons-of-bitches need to get your balls off the floor, and help me."

Marshall started to walk out the room, his assault rifle at his side, when Simms put his hand on Marshall's shoulder. "I'm with you god-almighty-bastard." Marshall smiled. The two turned to Garfiled, wallowing in his own pool of blood. "Fuck you!" Garfield yelled, "I'm gonna fucking die here, my way, not theirs!" In response, Marshall and Simms grabbed his arms and dragged Garfield out into the hall. They tossed Garfield in the direction they weren't heading and ran for the submarine. Garfield started to yell and scream, "What the fuck?! You can't leave me here! Help! Help!!"

His yells were soon silenced by bangings and the sound of the beast ripping him to shreds. With their headstart, Simms and Marshall dashed down the stairwell towards the Submarine Bay. They had to jump across a crevice, where the stairway was twisted from a waterflow. Heading towards the the Bay, a tentacle burst through the wall, and the two were forced to flip over it, rolling for the Bay. Both groups were on their way to getting of the ship, but one obstacle was still in their way.