Mystique, I'm glad ur glued to the story and this time you didn't have to wait too long for the next installment and the end is very close, just one or two chapters and then I'm finished. Anyway enjoy the next chapter and thanks again for ur review!

Samara, thank you for ur review. This time it wasn't as long waiting as the last…right? Now enjoy the next chapter, hope you like it.

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Chapter 9, Into the belly of the beast.

With arrows flying over their heads they had reached the valley. A hand reached for Lara's shoulder. Lara looked up and saw Legolas standing in front of her.

"Lara you have to go." He said.

"I know, don't get yourself killed Legolas." The tomb raider replied as she removed his hand from her shoulder.

And off course just as she said this an arrow flew by his head and missed him for only an inch.

"Don't worry Lara, you know me." The elf replied sarcastic.

Aragorn joined them "Lara you must go now…"

Another arrow missed them by an inch

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

She gave the battlefield one final look and then she hurried in to the valley. With the cries of the falling men from Kosa's tribe echoing in her ears she left what was behind her and entered the valley to get to the Cradle of Life.

She could still remember like it happened yesterday. Shaun who kept pushing and nagging at her to keep walking and Reiss getting more nervous with every step they got closer to the box. Lara was glad it all ended in her advantage, except that she had to kill Terry. It was not something she had enjoyed. Why did he had to be so selfish, why was he insisting in taking that bloody box with him. If he'd just put the box back he would have been alive and who knows what else might have happened between them.

After two hours traveling Lara had reached the open surface that leads to the cradle of life. She wondered what happened to Kosa and all her other friends, had they already won, or where they still fighting? What she wanted to do most is go back and help, Lara knew that was not an option right now. She had to focus on destroying the ring. But it seemed that with every step she came closer to the Cradle of Life the ring sucked all of her energy away. The tomb raider was getting tired and a splitting head had been bothering her from the moment they left Kosa's tribe.

Suddenly Lara stopped walking, she saw someone standing at the entrance of the Cradle. The tomb raider flickered with her eyes, she looked again but this time there was no one standing there.

"Now I'm already seeing things." Lara muttered in herself.

She continued her path to the entrance. Fortunately the shadow guardians won't bother her this time. All she had to do was walk inside the Cradle of Life, find her way to the acid and toss the ring inside. It almost sounded too easy and actually it had been too easy.

"Lara…"

At the sound of her name Lara turned around. There was no one there.

"Bugger…I'm getting nuts…"

For a moment she closed her eyes, something she immediately regretted as the eye of Sauron came in her sight. It scared her and immediately she opened her eyes again. But that scared her even more when a man stood in front of her. Lara couldn't hold back a scream from surprise when she recognized the man that was standing in front of her.

"Terry…?" she said confused.

"In real flesh and blood Croft…"

Lara found it hard to believe, she wanted to touch him and find out for herself, but something stopped her from doing just that. Actually she didn't know what to do, Lara just stood there, her eyes locked on the Scot in front of her. She killed him, a bullet right in his heart, but now he was standing in front of her smiling on a way that brought shivers down her spine.

"What's the matter Croft, did you loose your tongue?" he asked as he started pacing around her. "Such a coincidence that I happen to walk into you."

"Something tells me that isn't a good thing." Lara replied.

Terry kept circling around her "Oh but it is, for me then." Suddenly he lashed out at Lara.

As it was too late for her to react on it, Lara felt Terry's fist connect with her cheek. The strong force threw her on the cold ground. In a reflex Lara wanted to reach for her guns but when her hands reached for the holsters, she found out that they were not on their place. She looked up and saw Terry holding one of her guns while the other one was tugged behind his belt. How was that possible, when had he managed to steal them from her? Was it when he kept circling around her, she didn't know, she was too tired to know and that was probably it. The ring was taking so much of her energy that she can hardly notice all the other things that's happening around her.

Terry fired a few shots, Lara crawled back as the bullets landed inches from her feet. She knew he missed her on purpose, even worse she knew he was playing with her. Terry noticed that Lara's mind is broken, torn apart, he knows that the Lara that's lying in front of him is not the same Lara when they kept Pandora's box away from Reiss. But there was still a question unanswered, how on earth is it possible for Terry to be alive. It had to be Sauron's doing, what it is that he had done she does not know, but she knew he had something to do with the man that's standing in front of her.

He fired a few more rounds until the gun was empty then he tossed the gun aside and reached for the other one. By doing this he gave Lara just enough time to stand up and lunge at him before he could reach for the other gun. Before he knew Lara landed on top of him and threw him down into the Cradle of Life. When they connected with the rocky surface it was Lara who landed on her back with Terry on top of her. He grabbed Lara by her throat and moved his head closer.

"Not a very wise thing to do…Croft."

His hand was pressing hard on her windpipe but he held back and made sure Lara wouldn't choke. And because he held back he gave Lara the opportunity to place her knee in his groin. Terry cried out in pain while Lara pushed him of her. She looked around for her gun and was happy to find it a few meters away from her. While Terry still recovered from Lara's last attack she crawled to the gun, once she had it she turned around ready to shoot the Scot once more. But when the gun moved up Terry already stood in front of her and smashed the gun out of her hand. Now the gun was out of range and she has to fight the former marine without any weapons. Something that always had been difficult for her. Lara seldom managed to win from Terry in a normal fight and now that she's physically broken it made her odds to win even smaller.

And by the look of the smile that was resting on his face Terry knew that as well. He walked towards her, which forced Lara to step back. She almost tripped over the rocks and was forced to a halt when Lara's back connected with cold rocks from the wall behind her.

"Oops…" Terry said sarcastic.

Immediately his hand reached for her throat and this time he did cut of the air from her windpipe. Lara gauged for air.

"Terry…please…"

"Yes beg, beg!" he was only enjoying this.

Lara moved her hands to his hand, the hand that was preventing her from breathing. She didn't know what to do. For the first time of her life Lara was out of ideas. There was no strength left to break free from Terry's strong grip, her mind was too much poisoned to come up with an escape plan. She could do nothing but wait for darkness to fall. No Lara don't give up, she told herself. The ring has to be destroyed no matter what, but how could she break free…how…her eyes closed and Lara saw Sauron's eye nearing, ready to take her life away and she was just about to accept it when suddenly air was running back into her lungs. Immediately Lara shot her eyes open.

Terry had removed his hand from her throat. Lara looked at him and was a little confused. He just stood there, his lips where slightly trembling. He was gauging, ready to speak the words he wanted to say, but it couldn't come out, something stopped him and blood started to drip from his mouth. Lara's eyes fell down and landed on his stomach. The bloody tip of a sword was coming out of his stomach. Now it all made sense to Lara. Someone had killed Terry before he could kill her and when Terry collapsed on his knees Lara saw who.

"Aragorn…" she said softly.

Aragorn smiled at her as he ripped his sword out of Terry's body. Lara threw herself into his arms. She'd never been so happy to see him. Aragorn drew her back.

"Are you alright?" he asked Lara as he looked at her to see if she has any injuries.

"I am now." She said, again showing him how glad she is that he showed up. "What happened? Did we win?" she asked.

"No, not yet. They are still fighting. Gandalf told me to watch your back and obviously it was a wise decision."

Lara let out a sigh and seated herself on the cold rocks.

"Aragorn, I'm so tired, the ring is killing me."

The strider immediately pulled her up.

"You must not give up Lara, here, wear this it will protect you." The necklace that was given to him by Arwen was placed around her neck. "Now come and find the acid before we have anymore unexpected visits.

The tomb raider moved her hand over the necklace. For a moment in started shining but soon the light faded.

"Thank you Aragorn, for having so much faith in me."

Aragorn smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You are most welcome Tomb raider, now come."

After about fifteen minutes they stood on the bridge above the acid.

"There it is Aragorn." Lara said.

And when she reached for her pocket to get the ring two men emerged in front of them. Russel accompanied with Lucien. But Lara hadn't even time to notice that as Lucien forcefully jammed his sword right into Lara's stomach.

The tomb raider dropped on her knees and felt coldness and darkness dragging her out of reality.

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Wow I updated quick this time didn't I? Well please keep reviewing cause maybe the next chapter can be the last one…