Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'

Chapter Eight: The Test of Purity

"Ah, Lara-" Before Squires could speak again, she rammed the Tile into its holder and sped past, Alex in tow. "Gah!" However, they were halted when about six human-sized idols stood in front of them, all holding..... fire spears. "Sure could use that robot right now," Alex muttered. "Time for a little firing practice, Alex!" Lara laughed, like a schoolgirl playing a game. She took out the handguns from her holsters and threw one at Alex. "Ready... go!" She leapt up against the wall and shot one as she flipped over in mid air, which simulataneously crushed one between hers and one which Alex had just shot. "Three down!" she chirped, landing on the pile of rubble. "Get a sense of déja vu, don't you?" she called to Alex, who was busy filling an idol full of lead. "Cambodia '01, I remember it well!" She raised an eyebrow as she dodged a blast of fire. "You would, West - hm, just remember you owe me." So very true, she thought, suddenly noticing Squires trying to sneak past. I gave up my only chance to save what little family I had to save you. "Hey, stop right there, mister!" Alex barked over the flames, and picked up one of the flamethrower staffs from the death cairn, torching what little hair Squires had left. "Enough's enough, Squires. Time to take you out of commission."

The rooms were surprisingly all empty after that. They followed Squires higher and higher, until they reached the very top of the temple, which overlooked the entire city. Squires was grinning broadly. "My empire... my power... I did all this... it will all be mine now!" he cackled, "and I even have the Warrior! The Warrior of Light! She will get the Blade of Knowledge for me! It is PERFECT!" Alex and Lara looked at each other puzzled. "Must be like that Chinese knife... the Blade of Immortality..." The now bald fat man laughed. "Very clever, very clever," he continued. "Now! Through the door with you! Or I'll simply get every idol in this place to come and kill your little friend." Alex and Lara stared at each other deeply. "Time is ticking, Lady Lara!" he roared like a very drunk yob. "Lara, don't do anything stupid-" His sentence was finished by her lips meeting his. She reached for the back of his head and tugged gently at his hair, before breaking away, half breathless. "You're not going to die this time," she whispered, still staring right into his eyes, right into his soul. "I promise." And with that, she ran through the door behind her. "Lara!"

The room was small and dark, and at the back, centered by a pale glow, there was a knife on a stone podium. "There has to be a catch to this," she muttered to herself. She stepped forwards and found herself feeling surrounded, claustrophobic. People, places, everything rushing past her at once. Her father, when she was a child, when she used the Triangle of Light - and her mother, tall, pale and beautiful, so much like herself she didn't recognise her until she called her name. "Lara darling... you've grown, grown so much, my little angel..." Angkor Wat felt like nothing as everything tried to drown her out. No, no, I'm stronger, much stronger, the past won't take me out. I must take the knife. For Alex, she thought, over and over as she reached out for the knife, which felt like pure fire and coldest ice as she took it from the podium, trying to focus as hard as she could. "My little angel..." The words burned in her head, over and over. No, I won't fall, I won't fall, I- Flashes of light and then darkness. She had completed the task. Stumbling back through into the light, she fell to her knees, clutching the knife tightly to her chest. "Well, we were starting to wonder whether you'd ever make it out, my dear," Squires extolled cruelly. "What?" Lara didn;t understand - she'd only been in there a minute or so, right? "Lara, you were gone for hours, I thought..." He knelt down and put his arm round her shoulders. "Now. The knife, Lara. It's your only weapon, use it. You know you want to." She looked up, eyes blank.

"Why, you know that the only way that the knife will work, the way to grant all knowledge, is to kill me with it. Then my soul will rise, and I'll possess all souls and power of the Uzubek!" He cackled with glee. "And I know you'll find the energy to kill me. It's in every Illuminated One's blood." Lara glared up coldly. "Why, of course. It's natural for a daughter of one of the highest Illuminati to want to kill. It was such an intriguing story, that young Manfred Powell was quite the bard of you, Lara. No matter how you try to run from it, you'll always have that terrible mark, deep under your skin, engraved in your soul." He tore the arm off his bulging shirt and revealed a flabby arm, with a simple, single tattoo at the shoulder joint - the Mason's Cross, surrounding the All-Seeing Eye. "You bastard," Lara hissed, clutching the knife tighter. "Lara... keep calm," Alex whispered, holding the hand with the knife firmly. "Yes, yes, for a short while I had no idea it was you who was the only descendent of the Lord Master Croft, though I was blind not to have guessed. Legendary Lara and her trophy hero boyfriend at my knees. Just another thrill of the job. With this new power, Solaris will rule the world!" The young woman stood up and stared right into Squires' piglike blue eyes. Suddenly, he took hold of her wrists and went to plunge the knife in, but was interrupted by a yell from down on the ground. "FINISH HIM!"

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Yep, more Bryce action ;)