Rated PG-13 - Violence, language & adult situations
Action/Adventure • Drama
This story takes place before Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness and after Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.
CHAPTER ONE: FIRST ENCOUNTERS
She looked out the windows of the high rise as she waited for the mystery man who had hired her the day before. She hated waiting and she had been waiting for a half hour already. Her blood was beginning to boil. Was this a joke? The man had already deposited ten million dollars in United States currency to her Swiss bank account so it couldn't have been a joke. She continued to look out the window down to the people far below her. Something didn't feel right but she wasn't sure what it was.
"Miss Tsukino?" A man's voice broke into her train of thought.
She looked into the window, using it as if it were a mirror before turning around to meet the mystery man's gaze. He was handsome, very handsome. With short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes and a well-built body, he was the type that Serena usually dated.
"Yes? I take it you are Mr. Knight?" The slender blonde replied as she scrutinized the man before her.
"Please, call me Jed," the man said as he reached out to shake her hand.
She took his hand and instantly felt a cold chill go up her spine. She managed to suppress the urge to shake off the cold feeling she got from him and smiled warmly to him.
Hesitantly she said, "Alright.... Jed. You hired me for a reason and per request, I'm here to find out what."
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No thank-you."
He nodded before walking past her and sat down at his desk, motioning her to sit down in the leather chair in front of him. She sat down in the leather chair and intently looked at him. She hated this and she hated the intense feeling she had that things weren't as they appeared.
"I was told you are a woman of considerable...talents, Serena." He said, as he looked the beauty over. "May I call you Serena?"
She hesitated before nodding.
"I need you to retrieve a necklace for me, Serena. It is a very old necklace."
"A necklace? I'm not in the cat burglar business Mr. Knight."
"Nor did I think you were. This necklace was among the legendary Tora gems. It is a lost artifact."
"Yes, I'm familiar with the Tora legend. It is said that in the time of Troy there was a kingdom on an island south of modern day Crete Island. If I'm not mistaken the island is present day Gavdos Island. The queen of that kingdom had the most magnificent gemstones of the known world and had a necklace created with her favorite gems. It is also rumored that it was where Calypso, the sea nymph, held Odysseus captive on his way home from the Trojan War. It's a legend of course considering that the temples and other structures are long gone that's if they ever existed."
"Good, I'm glad you know your mythology Serena," Jed said with a coy smile. "Oh the Tora Kingdom existed alright and there are ruins to prove that they did," Jed said as he pushed a button on his desk. A screen came down from the ceiling and the blinds came down before closing. On the screen the island of Gavdos popped up along with a detailed topographic map.
The image zoomed in the island to a southern tip of the island. Jed stood and walked over to the image of the map before pointing out a beach. "This is where you will land, Cape Tripiti. A private boat will take you and the necessary supplies to this point. After that you will be on your own."
Serena nodded to Jed as he continued.
"The island is located 23 nautical miles from the island of Crete. It is a fairly small island, only 27 square kilometers and few permanent inhabitants. At last count there were only 40 inhabitants of the island and only three villages. There are no hotels and no place for tourists to stay. Outsiders are rarely seen. So if anything happens to you, you are on your own. I will warn you about one thing. The island was a pirates haven and as such there maybe traps set by the pirates."
Serena nodded as she studied the map. "When do I leave?" «This will be a challenge,» she thought to herself.
Jed smiled to her as he walked over to his desk and pressed a button on his intercom. "Miss Hino, please make the arrangements for Miss Tsukino's departure."
"Yes, Mr. Knight," came the reply from an unseen woman before the intercom clicked as it turned off.
"How is tomorrow morning?"
"Fine," Serena said to her employer.
"Then will you join me for dinner?"
Serena smiled to the man who made feel uncomfortable and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I think it'd be best if I study the map of Gavdos and any other information you can provide to me of the island."
"I understand. Miss Hino will provide you with all the information you will need." The man said somewhat annoyed. Jed Knight was displeased that the beautiful blonde in front of him would not share a meal with him. He always got what he wanted and he not only wanted the Tora Necklace but also Serena Tsukino.
Raye Hino, Jed's secretary and personal assistant, knocked on the door before entering Jed's office. She eyed the blonde before smiling to Jed. "As requested sir, arrangements have been made for Miss Tsukino." The raven-haired beauty with fiery violet eyes smiled to the blonde, "Miss Tsukino please follow me. I will fill you in on any remaining information you may need."
Serena stood up and extended her hand to Jed, "I hope to see you again soon Serena," Jed said as he shook her hand. "Of course, I hope the next time we meet you will have found the Tora Necklace."
Serena smiled, "I'm sure I will Jed."
To be continued....
DISCLAIMER: SAILOR V, SAILOR MOON & all related material are © 1992 - 2000 NAOKO TAKEUCHI, KODANSHA LTD, TOEI ANIMATION, DiC ENTERTAINMENT, PIONEER ANIMATION & CLOVERWAY. SAILOR MOON, the SAILOR MOON characters their respective names & likenesses are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION. All rights reserved. LARA CROFT and TOMB RAIDER are copyrights and trademarks of Core Design and EIDOS Interactive.
Author's Note:
When I began this story it was shortly after the release of Tomb Raider: Chronicles (the game after The Last Revelation and before Angel of Darkness). I stopped working on this story shortly after publishing Chapter Three: Outer Sanctum on Fanfiction.net. I'm currently rewriting this story and will be expanding the story incorporating some elements seen in AOD.
Story currently published at:
A Sailormoon Romance (www.moonromance.net)
Legends From The Moon (legends.cjb.net)