Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Tomb Raider, Lara Croft nor anything else in this fic.

An Uncomfortable Reunion

Hey! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I found them all really useful. Here is the next chapter in the story! (p.s. Hopefully there might be some action in the next chapter!)

Croft Manor, England

Lara was awake at 5 o'clock the next morning. She always was, and could never see the point in staying asleep late into the morning when there was plenty to do. And there was still plenty to do. After the failed attempt to restore her father's reputation the day before, Lara had been working extremely hard, trying to discover more about Excalibur, and to see if there were any other daises to be found. So far her search had found nothing, but Lara was sure that her Internet search, or indeed her many contacts would turn something up.

Excalibur was locked away in Lara's secret treasure room, along with the many other artefacts that Lara had collected over her many years of Tomb Raiding. It was virtually impossible to enter the room unless you knew exactly what to do, and Lara constantly checked that she had the most up to date security guarding everything in there. Excalibur was safe … for the moment at least.

A large thud from the room next door to hers awoke Lara from her thoughts, and also told her at the same time that Alistair was awake, and had once again fallen out with the lovely silk curtains that surrounded his canopy bed. Lara smiled to herself. She should really get up, and see if anything had turned up about Avalon. She was worried, however. What if she finds another dais, and transports herself to Avalon? Would she find her mother there? Would it even work? And what about Alistair, Winston and Zip? Could she leave them; everyone she had ever known and loved back in this world? If she got to Avalon, would she be able to return home? Would she want to return home?

With all of these thoughts running through her head, she climbed out of bed, and slipped on a loose t-shirt and walking trousers. Exiting her room, she made her way downstairs, through the grand ballroom, and into the large, spacious kitchen that she owned. Winston, who had long known of Lara's waking times, was just pouring some tea into a very delicate china teacup. He looked at the clock. It read ten past five.

"You are up earlier this morning, Lara." He said with a smile, offering her the freshly made tea. She took a delicate sip before answering.

"The alarm clock was not working properly." Winston smile broadened. Alistair was constantly complaining about his bed's curtains, and so always awoke at five fifteen, usually followed by him falling out of bed. This morning, he had been early.

A large crash above them told them that Alistair was making his way clumsily down the stairs. He came into the kitchen in his usual mood.

"We have got to get rid of those bed curtains!" Winston smiled and passed him a cup. Alistair nodded in thanks, and gulped the tea down thirstily.

"You can have a new bed if you want to," replied Lara. "But I cannot allow you to remove the curtains. That bed is very old and valuable. It would be worth nothing if you removed them."

Alistair smiled worriedly. He still had not told Lara the main problem. Just then Zip came down the stairs.

"Hey, Lara, you do know that there's a rip in the curtains of Alistair's bed, don't you?" Alistair threw his head into his hands, before quickly standing up, and started making towards the door.

"I think I'll just go and get dressed," he said hopefully. The other three nodded slowly and watched him walk out. After he left, Zip turned to Lara.

"You didn't tell him that the bed is actually worthless, did you?" Lara shook her head, before starting to laugh.

Washington D.C., USA

Amanda looked at the blueprints for the treasure room. It was too dangerous, too difficult. With the lack of support that she had now, she would barely get through the front doorof Croft Manor before she would be found. No, she could not get the sword directly from the treasure room. She would have to encourage Lara to take the sword away … but where? Amanda sat back in the office chair before an idea dawned on her … she would have to go and visit an old friend. Slowly she got off the chair, and walked towards another computer in the room. She would have to find her first though.

Arequipa, Peru

Anaya sat at a small café in the centre of the town, looking at the designs for a new building. She sighed. It had not been very long since she had last heard from Lara, barely a week, but Paraíso had got her concerned for her friend. They had both decided to leave it as it was, but she had decided to go back there. Then Lara had discovered that Amanda was still alive. But why had Amanda not come to find them afterwards? Why had Lara seemed so secretive about everything? Anaya shook her head, it would probably just be temporary, and whatever happened to Amanda unimportant. But her conscience would not believe this. Nothing that Lara did was ever unimportant, and why would those men have tried to kill them for trying to find Amanda? Surely Amanda did not want them dead?

Anaya settled herself back into her seat and concentrated on her designs. But her mind would not settle. Perhaps that was why she heard a familiar voice speaking quietly behind her to the waiter, and was not surprised when she saw that same person sit down opposite her. The person smiled.

"You don't look surprised to see me."

"Why should I be?" asked Anaya. "I knew that you were alive." Amanda smiled and settled herself down in her seat.

"So it was you that tried to kill us then?" said Anaya. Amanda sighed.

"Believe me, Anaya, if I had wanted you dead, I would have found a much more effective way than sending all of those mercenaries after you. It was more of a … preventative measure, to try and stop you from understanding what really happened. Not that you would ever really understand what happened."

"I don't think I want to know anyway." Anaya was surprised at how cold her voice was, and how little she actually cared about what happened to Amanda.

"No, I don't imagine you do," Amanda smiled again, before getting up. "Anyway, I've got to go, I found a little something just north of here. A nice little place. Looks very much like those in Bolivia. Ta ta for now." She said, before making her way out onto the street. The next time Anaya looked, Amanda was gone.

Anaya picked up the phone. Lara would want to hear about this.

T.B.C …

Thanks to everyone who read this chapter, please R&R!