AN: I'm a lover of flashbacks x.x;; sorry kids. I almost didn't want to continue this fic after reading "Unfinished Business" by Chirugal (BECAUSE IT'S SO FREAKING GOOD!), but I realized that I have to, and since school begins for me very soon (well If I have posted this, then I already am in school), I won't be posting as frequently as I want to x.x;;. Such is life. Okay, here's the chapter that you've been dying to read, so...READ! (Ooh ooh! and finally a little confrontation of some...feelings...heh heh...And finally some baddies! Yaaay!) Oh...and here's some Kurtis angst...lots of it...hugs the Demon hunter ohhh, you poor baby tears.
Midori Akuma: Hee hee hee...I'm glad you liked it, although, unfortunately...this chapter won't be as funny as the previous one...
Selphiefan 89: laughs well that's good! I hope you like this one too! pokes update on your story too!!
Shauniwritesit: Ahh...domo arigato . And yes...they are...and they might get worse shrugs (I dunno...x.x;;)
AcidRush: Yaay! Thank you kindly! (I did want a par three to "Home" but since you're already writing it and doing a HELL OF A GOOD JOB WITH IT!!!!! then...umm...all I can say is YOU KICK ASS, SISTER! WOO HOO....okay, I'm done). And yes...you may use Occult Boy.
argentiumplus: Well you are right...I shall be more careful of it this time round . And thanks for the review. I LOVE your work too!! (Yes...I do have a lot of fun playing with Kurtis winks...) ahem!
L'Ange de Vrai: Ooooh! Wow! Thank you very much! Ano...but I must say that the events that I'm using (e.g the Arc of the Covenant) actually happened in history (yes, the Nazis had the crazy idea that the Arc of the Covenant actually 1) did exist 2) was going to aid them in their quest for world domination and 3) was actually some form of the anti-christ and would work against the "evils" of everyone who was not blond haired/blue eyed/anglo-saxon). The thing that I was "taking" from Indiana Jones (which I adore as well) was the journal that was his fathers. (I don't mean it to be a rant or anything...just wanted to clear things up...GOMEN NASAI!!! bows down and trembles to the greatness of the author.
Also...for the people at the TombRaider4u forum; thanks for helping out guys. If it hadn't been for you, this chapter would have never made it up .
Oh yeah...and I need to give credit to Star Wars (you'll see)
I think it's about time for some baddies, don't you grins.
Chapter Six: Are you a Good Wraith, or a Bad Wraith?
"So...you knew my father" Kurtis was slightly tentative as they headed down the hallway. Marcus nodded "Yes. Even though I was not of Lux Veritatis descent, the Brotherhood of Saturn knew Konstantin quite well. He had done many valorous things in his lifetime, as you know." There was an awkward pause between the two men "I ran away from his death..." Kurtis managed to say without even really comprehending what just came out of his mouth.
Kraine stopped and nodded slightly, as his pale brown eyes met his blue ones. "Yes, Mr. Trent. You did. But what was there you could have done to save them?" Kurtis walked past Marcus. He didn't want to even say it, as the memories of the Foreign Legion consumed his head "I...I didn't tell them what was going to happen..." Marcus stopped him, bearing two hands on the Demon hunters shoulders, enforcing some pressure to keep him still. "Kurtis. You have to realize that they could not have escaped their fate, no matter what you could have done to save them. It was–"
"–Fate that they had to die?" Kurtis finally looked up; bangs slightly obscuring his vision, and it was a good thing too, feeling a warmth at his eyes and the familiar deep tinge of pain at his throat. Kurtis brushed the sadness away, still seeing his father dead in his arms, wondering why he had stood at the threshold of the doorway, doing noting to save him. He remembered his own screams as he felt his world crumble beneath him; his wracking sobs encompassing the depth of the room. And then the ambulance came.
"...Never mind..." Kurtis managed to push out of his dilated throat "Where are we headed?"
Kurtis leafed through his father's book, studying various symbols and different messages, the Lux Veritatis' descent out of the Order of the Knights Templar. The Demon hunter sat splayed in a disheveled arm chair, with a hand supporting his head, trying to keep his wet hair from his face. Surprisingly enough, he did own another set of clothing than the ones he usually wore; a pair of dark jeans with tattered hems and a black short-sleeved shirt that said "Hollywood Vampires" on it. He was rather grateful that Lara was able to get him out of prison, and out of the way of those inspectors. They really tried hard to convince Marcus Kraine for him to stay, but the ploy didn't work, Thank...whoever was up there. The sounds of a showerhead came from the adjoining room and his thoughts momentarily drifted to that room. No...no. Stop. What are you doing, you perverted–. Kurtis heaved a sigh from his body as he deposited the book on the small coffee table. He wearily made his way over to the singular bed and flopped down on it. He slightly smiled as he remembered Lara's reaction of sharing a bed with him and she just headed for the shower, wordless.
He heard the shower turn off and he slightly tensed. Kurtis made a grab for the book and began to mindlessly read a page of no importance. The door clicked open with Lara fully clothed in jeans and a white tank, and also towel drying her obscenely long hair. Kurtis made no attempt to look up; feigning disinterest, despite the fact he was slightly disappointed Damn... "So...what have you found in that little book of yours?" Kurtis nearly jumped at the Tomb Raider's voice. He read a bit more thoroughly of what his father had written "Well, it seems that he's talking about a woman that helped him in his work...Alyssa Kyrmofsky..." Lara smirked and looked up at the ceiling, and Kurtis slammed the book closed and stood up as the familiar burst of anger came over him at the atrocity of her thoughts. Lara let puzzlement cross her features as Kurtis turned round to look at her "Don't play stupid Lara. I know what you were thinking." The Tomb Raider sighed as she let the towel come to rest on her right shoulder "...You must understand, Kurtis that my father is also...well...gone."
Kurtis let a glare assume his usually relaxed features as he began to imitate Lara's voice "'Hmmm...oh they must have had a relationship'. You'd think I'd be sympathetic after that nice little remark, huh?". Lara clenched her jaw shut as she closed herself off from him with her arms "Well, if you hadn't been such an arse in the Strahov–"Kurtis neared her, a mix of confusion and anger overwhelming him "What the hell has that got to do with anything?!" Lara clenched her teeth again, and Kurtis could feel the battle going on inside her head. Her expression managed to soften rather quickly as she managed to look at him. "I'm...I'm sorry..."
Kurtis immediately stood up and turned to her "You think you can easily comfort me after you've insulted the honor of the only person that watched over me?" He could sense Lara's anger building up as well "My father was also taken in a somewhat similar way! You can't just–"Kurtis advanced on her, so much so that their bodies were inches apart. Again, he was glad of his hair shielding his eyes "This isn't just about you..." He said it sharpness, but the emotion shone right through. There was a slight pause between them before Kurtis felt Lara's lips upon his. He was also surprised at himself when he was kissing back, letting his arms envelop her. Everything began to disappear into a bleary whiteness and Kurtis wasn't even sure if the kiss intensified or not.
They broke apart when something heavy fell across the door. Kurtis reached his hand out as his Boran-X shot across the room and connected with the palm of his hand, narrowly missing Lara as she reached for her own pistols "Nice move, Jedi boy" she moved back to the door, slightly glowering at him. It almost had seemed that the kiss had never happened, and the both of them were standing in front of their only way out. "Expecting someone, are we? Or is this someone that I didn't know about?" Lara bore her gaze into the door itself, sounding half embarrassed and annoyed. Kurtis kept his aim steady at the door; closing his eyes. The familiar orange haze filled his visage. Observing the attackers quickly, he winced as he came back "There's about nine of them, three have gattlings and the others...nothing too much to worry about..." Lara quirked an eyebrow "Nothing too much to worry about? What in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Kurtis' azure eyes fell to her umber ones, and with swift urgency he spoke "What it means is open the nearest window–I'll cover you.".
As Lara turned to the window, the door gave way and, as Kurtis had said, nine figures had poured out from the cracked white doorframe. Every inch of their forms were encased in black their heads covered in what looked like to be gas-masks of some sort. Kurtis lifted the table with his telekinesis and sent it into one of the original three holding the gatling guns, knocking to others over as gunfire erupted throughout the small hotel room. Kurtis fired off a few shots.
"Kurtis!"
The Demon Hunter heard Lara scream his name out as he began to walk backwards to the cold whipping air. He had managed to hit one, which gave him enough time to jump onto the window sill, grab onto the opposing frozen wall, and get a five seconds view of Prague. Kurtis winced at the height, remembering quickly that their room was, at least, on the twelfth floor. The wind rippled his thin shirt and the air froze his blood, making him gasp and turn. He managed to catch sight of Lara on a balcony of the next room. "Kurtis! Get your god forsaken ass over here!" He caught sight of Lara before he felt something force him into the wrought iron of the balcony, the small of his back straining across the metal railing. Kurtis' breath came in sharply as he looked into the masked face of his attacker. Muffled grunts came from behind the gas mask and the Demon hunter struggled against him being forced over. Kurtis then felt a fist punch his face numerous times, and force him over more. He winced again at the metal giving under them both. Suddenly, his attacker gave out a pained grunt and he fell limp after the gunshot. Kurtis flung him off with some difficulty and faintly smiled to Lara before jumping. He nearly lost his holding but gingerly made it over as bullets ricocheted off of the wrought metal. The Tomb Raider fired some return shots, as she hid in the door frame "Now where to? If we stay here any longer–"
"-- We'll be Swiss cheese, yeah, yeah I know" Kurtis yelled over the din of far away cars and gunfire. He looked over to his right and saw a frozen entity of a silvered pipe running to the roof. They couldn't manage to hold out here for much longer anyway. Kurtis nodded, finally getting everything under control in his head. "You follow me, I have something that'll cover for us." He holstered his pistol as he reached for the chirugai. Like an awakening animal, it began to twitch in his hand, and finally he let it loose as it swerved through the snow congested air. Metallic cuts and screams were the only thing to be heard. The both of them didn't look back as Lara made the jump for the pipe, slipping momentarily before grabbing hold again. When she was nearly up the pipe, Kurtis followed, maticiously calculating his jump. He grabbed hold and pulled to the top of the building. The hotel roof was placid, save for the sharp wind and snow cutting into their bare skin. The roof itself was quite slippery, as some patches of ice had formed along the way. There was a opening for a stairwell at the far right corner of the roof. The both of them looked to each other in silent relief.
Until the door of the stairwell burst open to reveal some original five of the fighters that had initially attacked them, now accompanied with eight new "friends". Their dark forms stood out like deeply angular wraiths against the pale foreboding sky. Kurtis had clenched his jaw shut, and he knew that neither of them had much ammunition left. Kurtis still stared at all of them, but slightly turned his head to Lara "Do you have a plan?"
Before Lara could make any answer, one of the gas masked figures advanced to them "Drop your weapons. They will be of no service to you." Both of them grimaced and looked at the multitude of their assaulters before letting their guns clatter to the ground as they put their hands over their heads. Kurtis now noticed Lara was somewhat visibly shaking now, even though she was desperately trying to hold it in. The newly identified leader turned his attention to the Demon Hunter "So...you are the one who now has managed to get us into a slight bit of a mess, Herr Trent." Kurtis rolled his eyes, not making any effort to conceal how he was really feeling "Yeah? So what does it matter to you?"
The leader now stiffened a bit more, somewhat sighing "Despite the fact that you have been making our lives a living hell, there is something that you have that we need." Kurtis nearly laughed at the manner that all of this was said in, but he kept a straight face. "What...thing?"
He now noticed that the leader of their attackers had a thick German accent "A book of yours, that is all we ask for." Lara, irritable as ever, joined in the fray "Well, you won't be getting anything from us, so why don't you just shove off?" The leader sighed and began to pace. "I had imagined as much. Yet, if you accomplish this task, we will give you great power in our brotherhood."
"And if we refuse?" Lara asked back coldly
"Something resulting along the lines of death."
"I had imagined as much." Kurtis cocked his head and replied in a mocking tone. "We'd rather die than aid you in your cause."Kurtis inwardly smirked as he heard Lara's We?! resound throughout the space. Rather irked, their leader, though his face could not be seen, was obviously working hard on something. "Then," he began in a somewhat wistful voice "I'm afraid we'll have to kill you..." Both Lara and Kurtis gave each other a glance that seemed to speak numerous regrets.
A gunshot rang out and the both of them winced, suddenly surprised to feel nothing. The leader of their captors' arms fell limp to his sides as he fell into a crumpled heap. Blood began to seep from his blackened shape that stained the snow around him. In his place, stood a figure clad in a light blue cloak, a scarf covering it's face with blue goggles for eyes. It was still posed for the shot it had just made with a pistol. Other figures appeared in the same garb, clearly outnumbering the ones that Lara and Kurtis had just fought. The figure pulled the cloak hood from its head, the goggles from it's eyes and scarf from its face. She had deep violets for eyes and short black hair. She looked about her to her comrades "Take them down and dispose of them if you wish. Leave some for questioning."
They assented silently before clearing out down the stairwell. Both Lara and Kurtis were somewhat shocked, not too sure if it was the cold or the fact that some random woman had managed to save their lives. The woman stood at the doorway holding it open, and her purpled eyes fell on their forms "Why don't you come in?" She had an accent that wasn't easy to place, despite the fact it sounded somewhat Russian. She also sounded distant with a slightly icy disposition "It's rather cold out. You'll catch cold. "
AN: I promise I'll update more frequently! I promise! Wha'd ya think? See! see! My last chapter before turning seventeen! Hah! I knewI could do it! holds out alms basket aww c'mon...a penny for my thoughts?