"We keep the sun, but you remove the shadow."
Those words Etzli told her, were still ringing in her ears. She didn't truly understand what it meant until now. This wasn't just about removing the Shadow, it was about removing Trinity from Paititi, forever. So, that the Paititians could be truly independent.
But as Lara watched the sun slowly becoming covered in darkness, she only wished Unaratu was here. Unaratu had been so strong, much stronger than she was. This was supposed to be her destiny, not Lara's. She almost thought of the woman as her own mother. She didn't want to do this without her, but there wasn't really a choice. She was going to have to.
Lara tucked away the serpent mask that had rested in her hand. In Kitesh, she had once had the advantage. Trinity had been following in her footsteps. But now, this was Trinity's kingdom. Even with the Paititians by her side, this would still be a challenge.
Dominguez had managed to slip through the rolling door. She would have to find another way around. There were Trinity soldiers in front of her. She would have to go through them first. She dove behind cover.
Bullets reigned down around her. Everything else began to catch on fire. The Yaaxil began to attack Trinity.
A voice came over the radio.
"This is Commander Rourke. All remaining units hold the perimeter. Repeat, it is imperative that you hold the… They've breached the gate!" He yelled.
Oh no. Rourke was already here. He'd only tried to contact her once more after what happened in San Jaun. An offer that she had completely ignored. At the time, he had distracted her while she was taking on the Nahual.
Now, she couldn't let her focus slip again. She drew her VICAR off her back and quickly dispatched two men that came her way. Another man charged for her but a Yaaxil stabbed him in the throat before he could get to her. It seemed that they thought she was Ix Chel after all. In hindsight, she felt bad for killing all of those in the cenote and in the tombs.
"Gentleman. Do not let the enemy through. Hold them at all costs!" Rourke said.
Lara rounded the corner and a chopper flew overhead. It shot at her and she ducked behind a wooden border along with a few of the Yaaxil. Once it flew away, she kept going forward. Only to find Rourke… in a tank. He manned a turret, blasting everything in sight.
She took cover once again. Rourke took fire at her. Shit. She needed to put a stop to this. Something else came over the radio, not from Rourke. It took her by surprise.
"This is Zeta team; the high council is being overrun! We need backup…" The man's voice faded into loud gurgling noises. He probably caught the sharp end of a Yaaxil. Another voice came on. "The High Council's been slaughtered. Dr. Dominguez we need your orders!"
"Dominguez betrayed the High Council! We can't get in contact with Rourke!"
Lara continued to shield herself from the reign of bullets.
"What? Then who the fuck is in charge?"
"I don't care. Everyone's dead! Just get the fuck out of here!" The soldier's voice pierced even through the radio.
Lara took her own radio off her belt. This was worth a shot. She might not get past that tank if she didn't.
"Just give it up Rourke! Trinity is crippled. Leave and I'll let you live!" She shouted.
The shooting faltered for just a moment, at least off her position. It quickly resumed when more Yaaxil moved towards him.
"Not gonna happen Croft! I gave you a chance to team up, it's too late for that now."
Lara gripped her radio tighter. She should just kill him. He was an obstacle in her way of stopping Dominguez. But something continued to stop her.
She heard a large growl and turned to see the Crimson Fire crawling over the wall. At least ten Yaaxil followed behind her. She bounded forward towards the tank. With another leap, she was up onto the tank.
The shooting stopped. Lara jumped up from behind cover. "Shit." She whispered.
She heard Rourke scream. That wasn't good. She needed to stop this. Rourke still might be useful to her. The Crimson Fire was about to kill him when Lara drew her pistol. She fired a flare round over the wall. It covered the whole area in a bright red glow. All of the Yaaxil became entranced and ran off after it. The Crimson Fire nicked Rourke on the throat before running away.
"Great." Lara cursed.
Rourke collapsed into the tank. With the threat gone, she sprinted over and climbed on top of the tank. She aimed her pistol down at him. Rourke was sitting the floor of the tank, clutching his throat.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't blow your head off right now." Lara said.
He tried to take a deep breath and clutched at his throat tighter. Blood seeped down onto his hand. "I can order Trinity to leave Paititi."
"Trinity has already fallen. Your men are fleeing left and right. If you have nothing else to offer me, I guess we're done here." Her finger curled around the trigger.
Rourke threw a hand up in self-defense. "Wait! Lara… Some of my men will stay no matter what. I can give the order to disband them. You'll be able to reach Dominguez."
Lara weighed her options. It wouldn't hurt to have a guarantee that Trinity was gone. But it would also be nice to see Rourke's brain splatter all over the tank. Despite her anger, she chose the former.
"Fine. Then do it. Call off Trinity." She unhooked her radio and tossed it down to him. He picked it up and looked up at her one more time. Lara raised the gun at him again in response.
She saw him sigh. It was probably difficult for him to watch his world crumble. But Rourke was a coward, he would always save himself. Lara reveled at the scene.
"All teams, this is Paladin One. I'm out of ammo and pinned down. The high council is dead. You all are relieved of duty. I repeat, you are relieved of duty. Trinity is no more."
Rourke slumped down further into the tank. The color drained from his face. His had just threw his life's work away. Even though Trinity was a sick group, Lara could understand how it felt to lose your obsession. It was always hard to let go, no matter how terrible that obsession was.
He looked at her. "Get me out of here, Croft."
"The radio first." She extended her hand. Rourke placed it in her hand. She wiped the blood off it and placed it back on her belt.
Lara looked down at him for a moment more. She couldn't decide what to do with him. She had gotten the thing she needed from him. She could kill Rourke right now and no one would ever know. But Rourke did help her. If she killed him right now, Lara wouldn't be any better than Trinity. She also thought back to Siberia. Jacob could have easily let his people kill her. He had every reason to. But he had showed compassion to her. Now, she could honor Jacob by paying that kindness forward. Even if it was to her worst enemy. She could always kill him later.
Lara offered her hand to Rourke. "Come on you bastard."
He latched on her hand and let out a groan. Lara was able to pull him out of the tank and onto the ground. He propped up against one of the tires. Blood continued to spill from his neck. The Crimson Fire had clipped him pretty good, but it didn't look fatal. She hiked her Blue Heron Tunic up her leg and ripped off a piece of her leggings.
She looked up to see Rourke staring at her. "Nice dress." He said.
"Shut up, Rourke." She twisted the cloth and stretched it out. She held it up to his neck. "Move your hands."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He asked.
"I've killed half of your army. Are you really in a position to be questioning my competence?"
He sighed. "Yeah… you're right."
Lara pushed his hands down and wrapped the cloth around his neck. She pulled it tight and tied it in a knot. Rourke grunted at the force. It wasn't the best bandage, but it should work for now.
"I saved your life, now get out of here!"
Rourke grabbed her arm. "Wait, Lara. You're going to need my help to get to Dominguez."
She snatched her arm away. "No. I don't need your help. Just run away, Rourke! It's the only thing you're good at."
Lara turned from him. She jogged past the tank and climbed up onto a ledge. The gunfire had halted but everything was still on fire. The sun had almost disappeared. She needed to get to Amaru.
"Lara! Come on, don't leave me here. Let me help you." Rourke hobbled over to her position.
Damn, he was persistent. This could be just a ploy to kill her. But when she looked in his eyes, she saw fear. And there was also a sense of loss. If letting him help her would clear his conscience, then so be it. It was that kindness that she might need to practice going forward. Once this was all over, of course. But then again, she might not live to see it.
She nodded. "Come on."
Rourke climbed up on the ledge. He drew his sidearm. For a moment, she was expecting him to try and shoot her. But he didn't. They weren't necessarily enemies anymore. And it seemed that they were both good at one thing: survival.
Lara drew her bow off her back. "Let's go."
The Yaaxil continued to climb the walls around them. They didn't attack though. The path ahead had crumbled. There was only a small ledge to walk on. There was no place she could climb either. Lara lead them along the ledge. It continued to crumble with each step.
A rock gave way below her. One of Lara's feet slipped. "Oh shit!"
Rourke caught her arm before she could fall. He pulled her back up to the wall. She took a deep breath. She looked over at him and nodded.
"Thanks…"
Lara didn't have time to overthink it right now. With a few more steps, they were off the ledge. Another shout came from the other direction.
"Kukulkan!"
Two cultists appeared. Lara notched an arrow and took down the first one. A gunshot went off and the second man went down. Rourke had shot him. He really did have her back. He was full of surprises today.
More cultists attacked. One went after Rourke. She drew her axe and knife. She snatched the man with the axe and then plunged the knife into his throat. Blood splattered onto Rourke and the man collapsed to the ground. She lunged after the second cultist. She stabbed him twice for good measure.
Lara stood and put away her weapons. She offered Rourke help to stand. He took it. Even though he was covered in blood, he looked impressed with what she had just done. Almost smitten.
"If only you had been part of Trinity all this time. I think we would have worked well together in Siberia."
As much as she hated to hear it, Rourke wasn't wrong. They were probably the two most skilled people in Paititi right now. He was an ex black ops soldier, and she was well- Lara Croft. There's no telling what they could have done if they had teamed up.
She scoffed. "You weren't in Siberia."
"Damn right I wasn't. I wasn't going to go freeze my ass off." Rourke laughed. She gave him a puzzled look. It was so strange to see someone like that actually showing some semblance of happiness. "That's why I sent Konstantin. I hated that asshole and his 'religiosity'. You killed him, didn't you?"
Lara found herself smiling for just a moment. "Damn right I did. You were almost next."
He slowly exhaled. "Oh, I'm fucking aware."
"You still might be. So, watch yourself." She shrugged. She really could kill him later if she wanted. "Let's keep moving."
They continued along the path. Lara managed to take down two more cultists. Rourke had taken down another one before the man had fired at her. They came to a stop close to the pyramid. The wall in front of her was broken, and it looked climbable. She had to go it alone from here. She turned back to Rourke.
"I guess this is where I leave you." She said.
"I suppose so. Thanks for getting me out of there."
She nodded. "It was a one-time thing. But… thanks for your help as well."
Rourke's eyes lingered on her for far too long. "Look, about the Queen…"
Unaratu's face flashed through her mind and something inside Lara snapped. No, she couldn't handle it right now. She didn't need his apology. She knew what he had done. The smile faded from her face. She grabbed the front of Rourke's vest and yanked him forward. She drew her gun to show him that she meant business.
"Don't... Don't talk about her. Our deal is done. Now you're going to leave Paititi and never come back. You're not going to tell anyone about this place. And if you do, or you ever come after Jonah or I again; you're dead. You understand?" She asked.
Rourke didn't look afraid of her this time, despite the gun in his face. "I know when it's time to cut and run, Lara. Trinity is over, I know that now."
"You better not tell anyone about this place! If you-"
He interrupted. "I won't. I have nothing to gain from hurting Paititi, or either of you. My only goal is to get the hell out of here in one piece."
Satisfied with his answer, she lowered her gun and shoved him away. "Good."
"I'll head back and make sure no Kukulkan assholes get to you."
"Even better." She said.
Rourke drew his own gun and took off the other way. After a few steps, he turned back to her. "And Lara? Can you just make sure Dominguez doesn't wipe us out of existence?"
She nodded. "I think I can handle it."
Rourke smiled and gave her a small salute. "See you around, Lara."
He turned the corner and disappeared from her sight. He had actually kept his word the entire time. That might be the most surprising thing she had seen all day. And technically she was the Goddess Ix Chel. What a fun day it had been.
Lara took a deep breath. Hopefully that was the last she would see of that man.
"Good riddance, Rourke."