A/N: The showdown begins… I can't believe I'm almost done! Sorry for the update delays – I'm busy working on a portfolio to take to an interview which will determine if I get into university or not… :fingers crossed: Anyway, come Friday I'll be back to writing like a maniac, and the story'll be over before you know it! Thank god for that, huh?
Revised 01/10/05
"Ten minutes, boys." A mixture of nerves and anticipation forced every one of Lara's muscles into almost painful tension. She glanced at Kurtis, who seemed surprisingly relaxed – apart from the fact that he had chain-smoked out of the window for just about the entire journey and muttered string after string of unrepeatable curses upon running out of cigarettes.
For herself, Lara couldn't wait to get this over with. For over a month, she'd lived and breathed Eckhardt, Karel, and these damned boxes. Once this was over, she was going somewhere with a freezing climate and staying there until the memories of Turkey had faded. Freezing climate? Back to England it is, then, she told herself satirically.
Crowds had gathered in the streets; eager experts and amateurs alike all waited to witness the eclipse that would be more spectacular than they imagined. "Are you sure you timed the explosives right, André?" Bryce fretted as they took up inconspicuous positions at his calculated 'minimum safe distance'.
"For the fifth time, Bryce, yes!" Lara cut in before André could answer. I hope, she added mentally, fingers brushing over the trigger of one of her twin Uzis as she directed a critical eye at the sky. The eclipse was beginning – however, the boxes could not be activated until the sun was completely dominated by the moon's shadow. The light was weakening, casting a bluish tinge of dusk over everything, and Lara shivered despite herself at the sudden eeriness of familiar surroundings.
"Twenty seconds." It was the first time Kurtis had spoken in a long while. Lara had the feeling that any gesture of support she made would not be appreciated, but she sent him silent wishes of good luck anyway.
"See you on the other side," Bryce muttered.
Although the well-known rule with eclipses is to never look directly at one, they all knew when the moment of total eclipse arrived. Firstly, the light changed once more, plunging the surrounding temples into darkness. Secondly, the air and ground shuddered with an explosion that sent tongues of fire into the air, and shards of rubble were thrown outwards with impressive force.
"Now!" André called over the blast and the confused, terrified chatter of bystanders.
Quickly, Lara flicked the catch that held Rosha shut, and threw open the lid. Immediately, it scalded her flesh and emitted such an intense beam of light that she was forced to drop it, turning her head from the glare and massaging stinging fingers. Beside her, Kurtis released Rahil's spirit, with similar results. Through eyes slitted as protection from the bright display, all four watched as a ghostly human form rose from each tiny container. As the spirits of Rosha and Rahil were freed at last, the light dimmed to a tolerable level, and the phantom figures could be seen more clearly.
Both wore simple attire, ceremonial robes without the elaborate design of more recent centuries. Rosha was petite, yet her face bore a determined streak, and Lara was fleetingly reminded of her own reflection in the mirror until she branded the notion as romantic and ridiculous. Rahil, on the other hand, seemed Rosha's antithesis – very tall and clearly possessing great physical strength, he appeared a little more lacking in attitude.
From the moment of their release, the spirits had had eyes only for each other, and now they moved as one into a heated embrace. As their lips met, the images faded, and suddenly exploded into nothing in a shower of white-hot sparks that fell to earth as agonising rain.
"And they all lived happily ever after," Bryce muttered, rubbing a welt that had risen on his cheek as a result of the pyrotechnics. Lara smiled, but the expression held a bittersweet tinge. "Not to yell, 'Down with love!' too soon, but wasn't there supposed to be this angel?" the Londoner continued, casting an anxious gaze around him.
"Good question," Kurtis replied, hand at his Chirugai, muscles still tensed in readiness.
An icy cold breeze swept the air, which was already chilly from the eclipse. The light wind blew with more and more force until it became an effort to keep balance. Between the two boxes, there began to materialise a shape, vaguely human, naked, androgynous, with clawed fingers and feet and markings all over it that seemed to be more natural imprints than brands or tattoos. There was no hint of facial features to this translucent, flesh-coloured apparition that hung in mid-air before them, and horns, rather than the mythical wings, sprouted from each shoulder blade and further down its back.
Lara's eyes widened in shock – she had glimpsed the fully Nephilim Sleeper back in Prague, but that was nothing compared to this creature. She understood clearly for the first time why the Bible told of fallen angels – to give these things permanent, positive spiritual domain would be a huge stretch of the imagination.
Simultaneously, two things registered in her amazed mind. One was Kurtis' consciousness leaving his body, which she more felt than saw. The other was André's voice. "Lara."
With a sharp glance at Kurtis to check he was coping – at least for now – Lara followed André's gaze, and sighed. "Bloody wonderful."
From the ruins of the Nephilia Veritas, the entity she least needed to see was advancing, hair smouldering, clothes ripped and hanging in tatters from the body, murderous expression evident – Joachim Karel. The green fire of Lara's nightmares began to build around him once more, and she felt a surge of adrenaline born of fear as much as determination as she turned to Bryce and André. "Boys, get Kurtis out of here. I'll hold him off." At Bryce's protest, she levelled a threatening look at him. It was all he needed.
As each of the men slung one of Kurtis' arms around their shoulders, the Lux Veritatis warrior slumped, the colour draining from his face. Lara winced, fearing that the battle for control of the Screamer was leeching too much of his strength, but squared her shoulders nonetheless and turned back to the enemy as the Angel before them writhed and shook as if attempting to hold off possession.
As Karel drew nearer, Lara could see his distraction – with no backup, he was torn between the imminent corporeal battle with Lara and the ethereal war he was waging with Kurtis for control of the weapon that could make or break his future. Shooing Bryce and André back to the van, Lara opened fire on the Nephilim, hoping to shatter his concentration.
It worked. Unfortunately, it also meant his attention was brought completely back to Lara, and his green fire swelled. Lara dove to the side to dodge his first attack, and rolled to avoid the anticipated second, the screams of fleeing innocents reverberating in her ears. Strangely, the second attack didn't come, and Lara pulled herself to her feet, eyes widening, as Karel sprinted away under a barrage of orange fire.
The Angel of Darkness glided over, none too gracefully. "You okay?"
This has to be the most bizarre moment of my entire life, Lara decided, grinning at the faceless Angel with an American accent. "Never better. I thought your aim would be better, though."
"You try getting the hang of this thing," Kurtis answered, a little defensively. "Oh, and where's my body going?"
Lara suppressed a million lascivious comments with an effort. "The van, unless you have a better idea."
"I do."
"You sure this is a good idea?" Bryce asked, casting a doubtful eye over the hatch above as it slid closed.
"Positive," Lara replied, checking her Uzi's magazine to quash the concern she felt for Kurtis, who seemed to be struggling to fend off a mental attack from Karel. "This hatch only opens from the inside – unless you're a Biblical being, anyway – and it's a dead end. You won't have to worry about watching all four sides."
"Are we ready?" Kurtis cut in irritably, the featureless Angel back under his control. Lara guessed his annoyance stemmed from the strain of the internal battle.
Lara issued her final instructions to Bryce and André. "Protect his body. Shoot to kill – no risk-taking." Without waiting for a response, she started down the sloping tunnel after Kurtis, keeping a wary eye on his ethereal body in case it was overtaken by a less benign force.
They traversed the length of the winding corridor in silence and without human interruption. A couple of times, Kurtis faltered, and Lara felt an ominous prickle at the back of her neck as she contemplated the results of a hostile attack from the Angel. She was confident of Kurtis' mental strength, despite his failed training attempts at prolonging his Farsee jaunts, but long experience had taught her to stay on guard.
Finally, they reached the room Karel had chosen to show them Lara's traumatic past, and, unnerved by the memory, Lara whirled to pinpoint a metallic skittering just as something tapped against her foot.
Kurtis' Boran X. She grinned and pocketed the weapon. "I knew we'd forgotten something," she said, catching one pistol in her Uzi-free hand and dodging the other as the guns they'd had to abandon flew through the air towards her. Telekinesis does have its benefits…
Lara had thought to use the map they'd found in one of Amara's books to lead them to the Nephilim city, but Kurtis seemed to know the way. He kept his silence for so long Lara could easily envisage Karel leading her into a trap, using her belief in Kurtis to ensnare her in his fatal plot. "What about Karel?" she asked, firing a burst of bullets at a fleeing group of cult members up ahead. This is just too easy. For me, anyway.
"He's hiding out behind powerful spells. I guess when he couldn't find us he prepared to defend himself – he's fuelling his strength from the Nephilim themselves. If I destroy enough of them, he'll be defenceless, and I can finish him off." Kurtis sounded distracted. Lara shot a sideways glance at him, remembering the pallor of his face as he'd collapsed.
"Are you alright?" she began, but fell silent as the answer became plain. The Angel flickered like a faulty Christmas light, as though the disturbance within it was causing it to short out.
"Hide!" Kurtis' voice was faint, sounding not weak, but very far away, as if he stood at the opposite end of a long tunnel. The meaning of the statement wasn't too hard to grasp. Karel was wresting control. Lovely, Lara thought wearily, hefting her woefully ineffectual Uzi and taking stock of prospective cover and escape routes in the area.
The Angel's blinking ceased, and it turned this way and that, seeming disorientated and somehow more sinister than when Kurtis had inhabited it. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Lara sensed an aura of chaos infusing through the air.
The blank face turned in her direction, and a familiar chuckle escaped the being. "Lara Croft, we meet again." In response, Lara fired a staccato burst straight through Karel – literally. The slugs embedded themselves into the wall behind the creature, passing through him as they might a ghost.
In return, Karel shot a torrent of firebolts in her direction – the usual, putrid green Lara had grown to loathe. Just in time, she flung herself out of the way – with about as much grace as a ballet dancing hippopotamus – and hit the floor hard, the impact painfully absorbed by her left shoulder. When she looked up, the Angel was standing over her, triumphant – with an all-too-solid ornamental trident, plucked from the wall, aimed at her head.
How am I doing? Honesty, please… if I don't get told where I'm going wrong, I can't fix it for the next chappie. And, as a tiny spoiler… next week, Lara has a rather disconcerting experience…