Holt, Section and Lara get to the entrance to the monastery where they see Whitman taking Sam to Mathias.

"Sam! She's still alive… and the good doctor. What the hell are you doing, Whitman?"

"Who are these… People?" James asked Mathias.

"The Stormguard."

"Stormwhat?" Holt said.

"They guard the monastery. They wait only to be introduced to their new Queen, by the one who brought her back to us." Mathias explained

"Ah, of course, of course. I have encountered these archaic tribes before. Let's get some awards, James!"

"That prick is gonna get himself killed!" Section said as he began to stand up in a rush.

"Come here! You'll get killed too!"

"He's still a civilian, can't let that happen." Section fell onto the stone, grunting, and with a somersault, he got up.

"My name is Dr. James Whitman. I come to you in peace. I bring you your new queen."

"Oh no!" Lara exclaimed.

"Your Queen. What is it in Japanese… Your… Joou."

The stormguard attack Whitman, but Section shoot first: *full-auto shooting*

"No!" Mathias yelled, running away with Sam.

At that point, Lara and Holt got down there too.

As Section reloaded, the stormguards got closer to him, but luckily, there were his 2 partners to cover him.

As they were shooting, their armor soon fell off, leaving them exposed. It was now easy killing them, infact, they did.

"Sam!"

"LARA!"

As Whitman got closer to them too, he was panting, then he said: "I thought I was done for...thanks..!"

"Next time we won't be there." Section said as he walked past them, facing the two dead stormguards.

"What..the fuck are these things..?" He asked himself, disgusted.

Soon after, the 4 of them were in a hallway that had a hole in one of its walls, and they got through that, finding themselves in a bigger hallway where all the samurais were walking.

"The Stormguard… Still protecting their queen after all these years? Oh shit… don't make a sound, Lara. I'm going to get through this." She said to herself.

*roars*

*speaking Japanese*

"How can they be alive after all this time?"

"You tell me.." Section said as he was right behind her, followed by Dr.Whitman, who was looking around, and Holt, who was doing the same.

They eventually find a camp.

{Lara's Journal} 'The prayer I found on that General talked about a soul in a decaying body being the cause of the storms. I know he must be talking about the last Sun Queen, but I don't understand what Himiko has to do with this. She was the first Queen. Somehow Mathias thinks Sam's connected. And that can't be good. Damn you Whitman! You'll do anything for a story. I know the answer is inside that ritual chamber, but getting to it won't be easy. The Stormguard are devoted to guarding it. I know I have to do this, but I'm so scared of what I'm going to find in there.'

They walk through a big door, leading to an open space full of samurais and..it was pretty windy.

Lara, seeing how Sam was being dragged to the monastery, yelled: "No! Sam! SAM!"

(Reyes - Via Radio) "Alright Jonah, here they came! Get that gun!"

(Jonah - Via Radio) "I got this side… call out targets!"

"Come on, you bastards!"

"Watch out, on your right! Keep shooting! Hold them off!"

Lara, Holt and Section prepared to fight the Samurais, while Dr.Whitman hid in a spot behind them.

"If I don't find you when we're done, you're dead!" Lara yelled at him.

Then she turned around, saying to herself: "Alright you bastards, let's see what you got."

The fight with them goes on for half an hour, infact Dr.Whitman contacts them on the radio:

(Dr.Whitman- Via Radio) "L-Lara?" He asks, scared.

(Lara- Via Radio) "Yes?" *fight sounds*

"Nothing, I..I just wanted to check.)

After that, he turns his radio off.

"...take that!" Holt yelled as his Desert Eagle smashed a samurai's head through his helmet.

Meanwhile, Lara was fighting against a big ass samurai, so she risked a lot.

*panting* "Will you just die?!"

Suddenly, a yelling Section jumped from an upper platform with his machete, landing on the stormguard, who fell roaring.

"Fuck...you!" He said with a pretty scared voice as his blade killed the samurai, entering in his face.

The fight was over when Holt shot another Stormguard, causing it to fall backwards while it was running. "Too easy." He said, brushing his shoulder with his fingers.

(Lara- Via Radio) "Dr.Whitman?"

James showed himself, slowly getting out of his cover.

Eventually, he got to them.

Lara finds a place just above them, and she decides to climb up there.

"Hmm, we need to get up there somehow. I can make this jump!"

They climb into the monastery, finding several statues in a circle.

*sigh of surprise* "The Sun Queens… The fire ritual where the Queen chooses her successor. The chosen priestess enters the monastery. She's given your power and becomes the new queen. Wait a minute…"

She recalls the words of Mathias and the general.

[Mathias] Many have given up their souls willingly for this gift.

[Starmguard General] Now the first and last Queen lives a half-life, a soul in a decaying body.

"Vessels… It's not transferring power. It's transferring… a soul. All these Queens. They were all… You. Himiko. First and last. Oh god, and now you want Sam. Well, you're not getting her. Sam… a vessel for the queen's soul. I've got to stop this madness."

They get out of that room, finding themselves and Mathias on a bridge.

"No, no, please… Lara!"

Lara grabs her bow and aims it at Mathias: "Why are you doing this, Mathias?"

"Do you think that you're the hero, Lara? Everything I've done I did to survive. How many lives have you taken to do the same? There are no heroes here, only survivors."

"Himiko's dangerous, Mathias. She's angry, she's vengeful and she has real power."

"A mere mortal or a queen? A good trade for our freedom I'd say."

"I'm not going in there.." Dr.Whitman suddenly said.

"Who's gonna tell us you'll not run away on us?" Lara asks him.

"H-hey look, he already has Sam, I can't do anything now.."

"He has her thanks to you!" Section says as he starts to enter the building.

"Go, I got him." Holt nodded towards Lara, who thanked him.

Lara catches up with Section to pursue Mathias over the monastery that has collapsed from the stormy wind.

"Maybe we can use the wind."

(Reyes - via radio) "Lara, watch out! Those bastards are heading your way! We did everything we could to slow them down…"

"Thanks. Reyes. Get to the boat…"

"…If I'm not back…"

"We're not leaving without you! We'll be waiting…"

Finally the two of them find the place of the ritual.

"Oh, great Queen. Through the trials I have brought you the vessel. Pour forth, and return to this mortal coil. Pour forth and be reborn. Pour forth and awaken!" Mathias says to the dead body of the Queen in front of him.

"Sam! Oh god, I have to get to her!"

"Pour forth now, fill up this mortal coil!"

Mercenary 1: "The ritual has begun! Defend Mathias!"

Mercenary 2: "Just keep her back, keep her back!

"Pour forth, fill up this mortal coil!" He went in with the ritual.

Mercenary 2: "For the Queen!"

"Pour forth, fill up this mortal coil!"

Mercenary 3: "The Queen rises, protect her! Protect the ritual!"

Mercenary 1 : "For the Sun Queen!"

"Here now, your vessel awaits. Rise, great Queen. Fill this vessel with your spirit! Awaken, my Queen… Awaken! Himiko, from the storms… I bring you life… May the winds carry your essence."

A wounded Section stood there watching the nonsense be was saying, with his rifle in hands, he had lost any hope to leave the island alive.

"Upon these winds, RISE! RISE!"

But Lara kept running motivated.

"With the rain, may your soul seep in, filling the vessel."

Mercenary 5: "Stop her, the ritual is almost complete! Goddamn it, keep her back!"

As Section heard more mercs on their way, he ran as fast as he could to cover Lara while she interrupted the ritual.

"You won't stop me, you bastards! Get the hell out of my way!"

"...may the winds carry your essence."

Mercenary 2: "Protect the ritual!"

"Upon these winds, RISE! RISE! Himiko, from the storms… I bring you life… Awaken, my Queen…"

Mercenary 1: "The guardians are here! Ahh no, the Guardians!"

Mercenary 2: "Guardians. Look out!"

Mercenary 1: "Keep them back!"

"No, Mathias! Stop! Don't hurt her!" Lara yelled at him.

"Through the storm, RISE! RISE! Pour forth, fill up this mortal coil! Rise, great Queen. Fill this vessel with your spirit! Awaken, my Queen… Awaken! With the rain, may your soul seep in, filling the vessel. May the winds carry your essence. Upon these winds, through the storm, RISE! RISE!"

As Lara and Section kept going, an enormous samurai climbed up, clearly wanting to protect his queen.

*japanese samurai inhuman roars*

"Not him again!" Section shouted while killing other threats around him and Lara.

As only the 3 of them remained on the platform, Lara and Section began to blast on the samurai with every firearm they had.

"He won't go down!" Lara said, panicking.

Section noticed how Sam was getting the power from the Sun Queen, and noticing how she was in pain too, he yelled at Lara: "Go! I'll handle this!"

"Thanks!" She said, running up to Mathias.

"NO! Those ends now!"

They have a short fight.

Eventually, Lara kills Mathias with her 2 guns, causing his body to fall from a cliff.

Then she pierces the Sun Queen with a torch, killing her.

Meanwhile, Section ran out of ammo.

He decided to stick a grenade in the fat guy's armor, but he had no left!

"Sam! Oh Sam, thank god!"

"Urgg… wha? Lara… what's happening?"

"Shhh… shhh… I'm here. You're safe now. It's okay… it's okay." The quiet scene got interrupted by Section running towards the 2 girls empty handed, chased by the big Samurai.

"GIMME A GUN!" He shouted as loud as he could.

"Oh no!" Lara sighed, then she threw one of the first guns she could think of to Section. Luckily it was her shotgun.

Section jumped, grabbing it mid-air with his right hand, pulling the slide-cocking part down, loading it, then he turned around and shot towards the stormguard's face, not killing it, but heavily injuring its eyes, causing it to fall off one of the cliffs.

"You saved me… I knew you would." Sam said to Lara with a low voice.

"I made you a promise. Let's get you home."

Soon after, Section grabs Sam, carrying her to the boat, along with Lara, Holt and Dr.Whitman.

"There they are! And there's Dr.Whitman too!..?"

As soon as they got on the boat, Dr.Whitman got a punch from Reyes.

"I think she is going to be okay."

"What happened up there?" Jonah asked.

"It's over. We can go now…"

"Alright… let's get to Roth and Alex, they must be still at camp."

They return for the other 2 survivors, finding them hiding in a nearby cave. Then, they all got away from the island.

(Section- Via Radio) "Bowman, we succeeded in getting the 'hostages' away from the island. We're coming back."

"Nicely done, Section. Our chopper it's fueling up, it'll be ready to come pick you up soon."

"We found a boat and repaired it, so we're already off the island. Is there any ship nearby we can hop on?" He asked.

"Mh.. let's see…Actually yeah, there's a ship at about 7 miles from you. Think you can get to it?"

He glanced at Reyes', who looked at the fuel tank indicator. Noticing that the fuel tank was full, she nodded yes.

"Sure." Section said.

"Then ask them to get to the nearest port, we'll send a chopper later on."

"Section out."

[Lara's Thoughts] 'I've been so blind… so naive. For years I resented my father, doubted him like the rest. But he was right about so much. I just wish I could tell him that now. There are so many mysteries that I once dismissed as mere stories. But the line between our myths and truth is fragile and blurry. I need to find answers… I must understand.'

Dragon's Triangle, South of Japan

Day Unknown

6:15 AM

"Nice cold mango smoothies."

"Alisha making me waffles before her ballet class."

Sailor to Lara: "Need anything?"

Lara shakes her head: "Mh."

"Don't rightly know what happened to you on that island. And judging from those wounds and that look in your eyes, I'm guessin' I don't wanna know. Anyway, we'll be home soon.

"I'm not going home."

Japan

Day unknown

4:55 A.M

"Alright people. There's the port, good luck to you." The sailor said to the group.

"Wake up." Reyes' pushed Alex off a crate, letting him fall off.

"I'm glad you're safe, girl." Roth approached Lara as a black stealth chopper was landing.

She smiled at him.

"Ladies first!" Holt yelled, letting the group know that they could hop on.

"Reyes and Lara got on the chopper, followed by Sam.

Jonah and Alex went shortly after, followed by Roth.

When the middle seats were taken, Holt sat in the passenger seat.

"Section." He warned through his radio.

Section was standing there, arm crossed, looking at the sea, but then he went too.

He sat on one of the outer seats, astride the void, then the chopper gained height, taking off in the sky.

The Heli eventually reached the U.S.A

When it landed, it landed on a hospital' roof.

Everyone was in bad shape, and they had to take care of their wounds.

They didn't need a shower though, since they had it on the ship from earlier.

"Thanks Vic." Section said in his headset, then he got off, leaving the headset inside of the chopper; after that, people started to get off the helicopter.

Section came out of the room where the doctor that visited some of the others was, with a little bandage on his nose, that was pretty in bad shape.

As Holt noticed the bandage, he teased him: "Cute."

"Shut up." Followed by Jonah's smirk.

Then, Section pumped adrenaline in his arm, with a green and white syringe, and when he did that, his hand fully opened up.

"And what was that for?" Alex asked when he did it.

"Adrenaline. Apparently I need it." He simply said.

However, Dr.Whitman and Sam were the only ones not injured, so they waited patiently for everyone to get treated.

When Lara came out of the room, she had bandages all over.

"Lara!" Said Sam, worried.

"You ok little bird?" Jonah asked.

She just nodded.

When everyone was ready to leave, they went back on the roof, got on the heli, and it took off again.

"Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah man." Alex said through his khaki headset.

The pilot's voice echoed in everyone's headset again.

"UH-L 60 BLACK HAWK STEALTH to JFK Airport, requesting permission to land, 3 members and a few hostages on board, over."

"JFK to UH-L, permission to land granted, over."

The helicopter landed, when everyone had to take a plane to get back home, aside from the Ghosts' who stayed on the chopper.

The pilot spoke again in their headset, before they got off.

"You're safe from now on, take this paper real quick and show it at the terminal, they'll give you whatever ticket you need." Giving them a paper with several sentences on it about emergencies and stuff like that.

"Thanks, truly." Roth said.

So did the others, getting in response an hand gesture from Holt, as to say 'Goodbye!'

THE END

(From next chapter on, epilogue. I said it's LaraxOC, so it must continue)