TOMB OF LIFE
CHAPTER 6
Lara had already returned to her quarters for a shower when she heard a knock on the door. She wrapped a towel around herself and then ran to open the door. Sephiroth stood there with a slightly surprised expression on his face. Finding her answering the door in her current state of undress seemed to unnerve him.
"General, do come in – I'll just go put some clothes on."
Sephiroth nodded in agreement but said nothing as he entered the room. He gazed at her silently as she walked into the adjoining chamber and vanished from sight. The thought that she was naked beneath that soft white towel caused Sephiroth to harden instantly – he was grateful for the loose folds of his trench coat that would hide all evidence of this. He had to concentrate on the reason he was here – to make Lara see his point of view. If she rejected the idea of Shelke's SND, then the situation could deteriorate rapidly.
Lara returned shortly wearing a long sleeveless blue dress with a scoop neck and moderate tan colored sandal heels. "Sorry about that, I wasn't expecting to see anyone so soon after Zack escorted me back here." Lara smiled at him. "I wanted to thank you for participating in the match. I hope you enjoyed it as I did."
"It was -- most refreshing," Sephiroth began, before closing some of the distance between them. "Miss Croft, there is something I need to discuss with you."
"I sense it's serious," Lara replied.
Sephiroth nodded. "You will be introduced to a woman named Shelke Rui – her specialty is something called a Synaptic Neural Dive, in which she can find and retrieve information within a person's brain. This procedure is performed to help decipher what secrets that person may be hiding."
Lara's brow furrowed after hearing the last of his sentence – she knew where this conversation was leading but she wanted him to hear him spell it out for her. "Go on."
"President ShinRa wishes this procedure to be performed upon you – I am hoping you will comply."
Lara locked eyes with the tall man – his handsome face inscrutable. She wondered how he felt about all this. "Do I have a choice?" her hazel eyes flashed at him daring him to deny or confirm it. He did neither and remained silent, though the unmovable look in his green eyes was all the answer she need. "When is this procedure to be performed?"
"Today, Shelke Rui is already here," Sephiroth eyed her as she began to pace the room. "I am told it will not be painful. In fact you will be unconscious for most of it. There is an upside to this Miss Croft."
"Oh Really?" She asked looking at him incredulously.
"As long as President ShinRa sees what he wants to see, and is convinced that you are trustworthy, you will no longer be a prisoner here but a true guest. This will certainly speed along your return to your world, as you will be trusted to work with our scientists and the portal device." Sephiroth hoped this would be the case and that Rufus would not overrule him, though a lot depended on the type of memories Shelke would reveal to them. He was almost confident that she would be the type of person the president could trust.
"Can you explain to me exactly what is going to happen?" Her voice was calm, though her inner emotions were in turmoil.
"Shelke is going to access some of your memories and display them on a projection panel – there will only be a few people present in the room."
"Will you be there?" she asked her gaze unwavering.
"Yes," Sephiroth replied.
"Then let's get it over with – I trust you." Lara didn't trust easily but she did have a gut feeling about people and right now her gut was telling her that Sephiroth would see to it that she came to no harm. If he was present during the SND then she would be safe.
Her words of trust warmed Sephiroth's heart and he hoped he would be able to live up to her expectations. As he escorted her out of the room to the science lab, he couldn't help thinking about what he would be witness to – the Lara of the past. Perhaps he'd even be privy to certain aspects of her personal life. It was very important for him to know if she had a man waiting for her back home.
Shelke was the only person in the room when Lara arrived with Sephiroth. Lara was a bit taken aback as she observed the short-haired brunette. She looked no more than twelve years old, but was apparently a grown woman of twenty-one.
Hollander was the next person to show up and he proceeded to set Lara up on a medical table and place sensory lapels on her forehead. He also gave her a sedative injection that would induce a sleeplike state. Shelke was set up on a similar medical table, with a computer adjacent to it of which a round helm was attached. The sensory lapels connected to Lara were also connected to the CPU of the computer, and thus to Shelke.
Once Rufus and Tseng arrived – Shelke announced that she was ready to begin. Zack ran in after the last two and asked if he could sit in. Sephiroth didn't want too many people being privy to Lara's memories but he knew Zack could be trusted, and Rufus didn't care either way. Placing the helm on her head, Shelke began the procedure, and very soon the projection terminal came to life with images of Lara's past.
The first image was of Lara as a young girl on a plane with her Mother, as the scene progressed all present witnessed the tragic crash that both Mother and daughter had walked away from alive. It was short lived however when Lara's mother sacrificed herself for her daughter against something that looked an awful lot like her sword.
Her memories fast forwarded to her reunion with her father and the close relationship she formed with him as her only surviving parent, but then his untimely death when she was in her late teens also flashed across the screen.
She began to go on many archeological adventures some of which gained her infamy in the press and around the world. The reasoning behind this was to find out what happened to her mother and redeem her father's name, which had been tarnished over his belief that his wife was still alive.
The timeline of adventures shown included when Lara met the devious Jacqueline Natla to her demise beneath the Pillars of Atlantis. All present were impressed by Lara's athletic prowess and abilities with her trusty pistols and magnetic grapple.
The mysterious storyline then changed to Bolivia where Lara finally got a lead dealing with the Excalibur sword, and what had happened to her mother. This caused her to embark on another journey across her world where she encountered many different people.
Sephiroth was moved as was everyone present in the last scene where Lara discovered Amanda, a once trust archeological associate had turned against her and was indirectly responsible for her mother's death. It revealed the fury that she was capable of as well as her restraint. Before she knocked Amanda unconscious with the hilt of her gun she had said through clenched teeth. "From this day forth your every breath is a gift from me!"
All in the room were impressed with her wide berth of emotions. She could be cold, deadly and calculating in one memory and completely comical and lightheaded in another memory particularly in images with her staff, Zip, Alistair and Winston.
Zack found himself laughing at the memory of Lara practicing against a training robot Zip had built. After she dragged the bullet ridden remains of it back to Zip's lab, he had a few choice words for her.
"Oh Lara not live rounds again! This is going to be a major remodel you know," Zip complained.
"Was it programmed to stop before it took my head off?" Lara asked matter-of-factly.
Zip looked sheepish. "Well no, but you said make it more challenging!" He whined.
"Hence the live fire," Lara said winking at him before she continued dancing to the techno music that was now blaring from the robot's CD track.
The projection then continued to portray her memories up through her arrival in Gaza to her entrance in Gaia -- they watched as she tried to shoot the creatures with her bullets and as the inexperienced soldier grunts got themselves killed for not reacting quicker. They also witnessed Lara taking out one of the creatures and then laying low after being injured. The last scene portrayed was her fight with Sephiroth before Vincent took her out of commission, then the screen faded black and Shelke removed her helmet.
"Hmm, you never mentioned Vincent Valentine was there," Tseng commented to Sephiroth.
"He has a penchant for following me around it seems," Sephiroth muttered. "Either way, what's the verdict?" He turned towards Rufus.
Rufus ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. In truth he had been extremely impressed with this 'Lady Croft' as many in the memories had addressed her. He would love to have someone like her working for him at ShinRa, and he had absolutely no reason to continue to keep her under lock and key. How would he convince her to stay on Gaia when her will to return to her planet was so strong? "You were right Sephiroth. She will be treated as a proper guest from now on."
"And what about her being able to work with the portal device?" The silver-haired man questioned.
"She will not be denied access to it. Was there anything else Sephiroth?" Rufus would allow no one else but Sephiroth to address him as such – the man was too important to ShinRa.
"In fact there is, Miss Croft has requested to see our world before she departs it. I would like to grant her this personally, as her guide," Sephiroth stated.
Zack bit back a smile at Sephiroth's comment while he awaited Rufus's answer.
"As you wish," Rufus replied.
Sephiroth bowed slightly and turned back to Lara who had begun to stir. "I'll take her back to her quarters." Without further ado he lifted Lara in his arms and left the science lab, Zack followed suit.
Once Hollander and Tseng were the only ones left in the room the president said, "Hollander, I need you to make sure something unfortunate happens to the portal device. The lovely Lady Croft, will be spending a very long time with us."
"Yes sir," Hollander said with a smirk on his face.
Tseng looked on in silence. He had learned a long time ago not to react to some of the dirty deeds he performed for ShinRa, though it bothered him that they would in essence betray this woman whom he had come to respect. The ruthlessness passed down by his father was a trait Rufus seemed to have in spades.
--
The following day, Lara stood in one of the busy Midgar marketplaces with Sephiroth by her side. Her weapons had been returned to her, and she was wearing her pistols proudly strapped to her thighs with her tanned colored shorts and matching top. Excalibur was detached and hidden inside her backpack.
Sephiroth was in his usual black trench coat attire with the Masamune strapped to his back. Taking weapons for a simple shopping trip would be considered ludicrous on Earth, but apparently Gaia was still held quite a bit of danger even in civilized towns like Midgar. Unsavory characters were abundant, and there were wild animals that could sneak into the city.
Lara had already purchased several outfits she felt were more appropriate to her style and was slightly surprised that Sephiroth had offered to hold the bags for her. She didn't question his pleasant demeanor and continued shopping – now they stood at a booth which sold jewelry. She was glancing at a particular blue pendant with aquamarine stones – it reminded her of a pendant that once belonged to her mother. "It's beautiful," She commented.
"You should have it," Sephiroth suggested.
"No it's not necessary, I've finally got something other than dresses and that is what I really needed," Lara said.
Sephiroth didn't push her but did make a mental note of the pendant she had found so interesting. He was distracted from this when he felt a peculiar presence and knew someone was watching him. It was not unusual to be subject to countless stares when he ventured out in public – he was a famous ShinRa General after all, but this uneasy feeling made him realize he was being observed by someone other than a fan. He glanced at the bustling street to take note that the traffic had come to a stop due to a red light. Sitting there on his motorbike was Cloud Strife. Even though Sephiroth could not see his blue eyes covered by his biker goggles, he was certain the man was glaring daggers at him if the scowl on his lips was any indication.
"Friend of yours?" Lara asked, she had followed Sephiroth's gaze to see what had his attention.
"Hardly," Sephiroth replied and watched as the light turned green and Cloud drove away.
"You know – you still haven't told me very much about you and, seeing that now you know all about me, it's only fair."
"When the time is right, I will tell you all you wish to know." Sephiroth locked emerald eyes with hazel ones. "We should go, unless there is something else you need to purchase?"
"No I'm good," Lara replied, she wondered if he would keep his promise – only time would tell.
That night Sephiroth had offered to take Lara to dinner, but before he had promised to help a Soldier cadet with his practice rounds, and was in the gym at the moment fulfilling that promise. Lara had noticed during her previous trips to the gym that there was a glass dome overlooking it. She decided it was the perfect way to observe Sephiroth unguarded while he mentored a student, plus she could also take in the view of the surrounding areas. She stood above the glass looking down at them now as they sparred and then paused so Sephiroth could give directions to the cadet.
Lara hadn't been observing them long before she felt a presence behind her. Turning immediately, she found a tall man standing on the roof, with only a couple of yards separating them. Something told her he hadn't come from the door leading to the stairwell that was the only entrance to the roof – this fact put her on edge. He had long flowing black hair and wore a red headband that did very little to keep the hair out of his face. The red cloak he wore had a high mantle that obscured half of his face, but it fanned out behind him in an eerie fashion. Her eyes were drawn to the golden claw gauntlet that was attached to his left arm and she idly wondered what he would need that for. She also couldn't help but take note of the large revolver strapped to his leather clad leg.
The man walked forward ignoring her and once he was close enough, he turned his entire attention to the sparring scene in the gym below. Lara stared at him for a few more seconds before finally breaking the silence. "Who are you?"
It took several moments before the man finally raised his head and looked directly at her. His eyes were an intense ruby red, she had never seen iris's that color before. They might have been inhuman, but they were beautiful. "I am Vincent Valentine."
Lara's hands instantly went to her pistols. She then raised both barrels at him -- the man did not even flinch. "You, you're Chaos."
"Hmm," Vincent turned his gaze back to the gym below.
"What are you doing here? I know you're not a part of ShinRa," Lara stated, she was a bit perturbed by the nonchalance this man displayed.
"I'm not here to cause trouble," Vincent replied without looking at her.
Lara glanced down at Sephiroth and the unknown trainee then said. "Do you know them?" Her hazel gaze returned to the red cloaked man.
"Perhaps,"
Lara holstered her guns realizing the man was not a threat. "What do you want?"
"Does it matter?" He asked looking up at the darkening sky.
"Perhaps," Lara replied, turning his cryptic answers back on him.
He issued a quiet "Humph," As his ruby gaze once again locked with hers. "So you're on their side now – that didn't take very long at all."
"Is there something you think I should know?" Lara asked.
"What has Sephiroth told you?"
"Where you are concerned? Not much of anything."
"Then that is the way it should be." Vincent held her gaze for a brief moment before he ran to the edge of the building and jumped off.
Lara quickly ran to the edge and witnessed as he transformed into an ethereal red mist that sailed off in the distance. She was transfixed by his shape shifting abilities and the man himself. To describe him as enigmatic was an understatement. She only wished that people would open up about him, but his topic seemed to be off limits. She was certain Zack new something, the next time she saw the upbeat SOLDIER, she'd be sure to see what she could pry out of him.
That night, Lara and Sephiroth opted for a quiet dinner in her quarters provided that he brought the food, which he did by stopping in the ShinRa dinning room and filling two trays before heading out. As they sat at the small table in the living area, Lara wondered if she should broach the subject about Vincent once more but decided to ask about his sister instead. "So are you an Aeris very close?"
"Perhaps not as close as she would like us to be," Sephiroth replied before taking a sip of his wine.
"Tell me about your parents," Lara urged.
"My father was Professor Gast. He was head of the ShinRa science department before he died a couple of years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that, and your mother?"
"I never knew my mother. She died shortly after I was born."
"I see – you have my condolences."
"It's okay, can't really miss someone you never knew."
Lara didn't know how true his last statement was – family was family and there were unbreakable bonds no matter the state of the relationship. She had no doubt he was putting up a brave front for her benefit and wished he didn't feel the need to. She thought it best to change the subject. "Is President ShinRa a good man in your opinion?"
"Define good," Sephiroth replied.
"Is he a man of his word?"
"President ShinRa is a leader and sometimes leaders have to make difficult choices for the good of the people," Sephiroth stated.
"That's all well and good but you didn't answer the question." Lara raised an eyebrow at him.
"He has made some decisions that many have not agreed with at times, myself included. However I have never wavered in my belief that he has always tried to do the right thing, even though his methods are sometimes suspect."
"I see," Lara said, realizing that she had put the silver-haired man in a difficult position. Rufus was his boss, so there should have been a certain unspoken respect for him, but Lara understood the type of man that Sephiroth was and knew that he would not mince words if his feelings were so inclined.
"What would you like to do tomorrow?" Sephiroth asked.
"Actually before I go traveling the world with you I would like to check in on the science department and see how the work with the portal device is coming," Lara explained.
"That can be arranged," Sephiroth replied. As they finished their dinner the topic turned to the ShinRa Company and Mako energy. Lara found the subject quite fascinating, the life and death of the planet all tied into this Lifestream. She didn't know what to make of the company's use of the Lifestream to further advances in their society, but she realized she had no right to judge these people on their practices.
Once the dinner was over, Sephiroth lingered a bit and Lara felt there was something else he wanted to discuss with her, but didn't know how to broach the subject. She figured she'd let him sleep on it since she was pretty exhausted herself. "Well thank you for dinner," She smiled.
Sephiroth gazed at her silently – emerald green eyes holding her hazel gaze for almost a minute. "It was my pleasure – good night." He bowed slightly before letting himself out.