Disclaimer: I do not own Tomb Raider or Lara Croft, nor am I affiliated with Eidos or Crystal Dynamics in any way. I do own the original characters featured in this story.

Author's Note: Continuation to the OneShot 'Let the Rain Fall'. Rated T for violence and language.

2/

When Alexander came to, he was tied to a wooden dining chair, his arms behind the chair, tied with rope. I leaned against the wall, waiting. He shook his head as he woke up and looked around. I walked over to him and slammed my fist into his face, making him groan and whine.

He winced, enduring the pain in his nasal region.

"Aww, I think I broke it.", I mocked, "Now, tell me what I want to know."

He nodded without hesitation. "Okay, okay!". He shook his head again, trying to wash away the pain. "I wanted to prevent you from getting to Avalon."

"Why?", I asked blankly.

"Because. The…". He hesitated for a moment. "The ring not only when used opens a portal to Avalon…it…can destroy civilization as we know it."

I nodded, "And you wanted to use it to destroy the world."

He didn't say anything. Strumming my fingers along my arm, I thought about something. "Is there a way to open the portal without destroying the world?"

No response. I slapped him hard in the face. "Answer me!"

He breathed heavily, "Yes. There is. If you can find the ancient scion of Kathmandu, and use it with the ring…it'll activate the portal only, preserving the world as it is."

"How do I know you're being truthful?", I asked cautiously.

"What have I to gain by lying?", he replied.

"Your wish to destroy the world."

"I didn't want to destroy the world. I simply just didn't want you to get to Avalon."

I shook my head in disappointment, "Where's the scion?"

Yet again, no response. I slapped him again, "Do you have a short attention span, or something? Pay attention."

"Find the Mayan Halo Ring, then you'll find the scion."

"And where's the ring?"

"Check my computer."

I did as he suggested and accessed the files to the ring. I read them over with pleasure and removed the hard drive from his computer and put it in my backpack. I headed for the door, leaving him tied.

"Don't do anything you'll regret. I don't think you'll enjoy seeing me again."

I headed outside, the sun shining brightly outside. It was a lovely day in Prague, I must say. I walked back to the airport and booked a flight back to London - the next flight was in four hours.

I decided to try some of the local cuisine at a restaurant a few blocks over. The Lvi Dvur Restaurant looked a promising home to Czech taste. My order was pretty good, I might add. I left the restaurant with three hours to go.

Walking down the street to the bookstore, it didn't take me long to realize I was being followed. I removed my cell phone from my backpack and held it down by my side. A click later, I had a picture of my pursuer.

Male, Caucasian. Approximately in his early 30's. I smirked to myself and looked up at the alleyway closing in on my right. I stopped in front of it and peered to my right, to see that it was a direct route to the next street.

A moment later, I was sprinting down the alley. I heard the footsteps of my boots being complimented by the footsteps of dress shoes and knew he was coming after me. Darting left onto the next street, I dodged pedestrians and headed to the next.

The next street was somewhat deserted, except for a few parked cars. I heard him closing in, so I ran towards a telephone pole. Leaping forward, I kicked off the pole and spun 180 degrees, extending my opposite leg, kicking my adversary down.

I jumped on top of him and pressed the CZ-G 2000 to his temple. "Who are you?", I demanded an answer.

"I'm a hired gun. Orders from James West to kill you if he couldn't."

I smirked, "Well, that sucks, because you just failed your mission."

I pulled the trigger and quickly put the gun back in my backpack and evacuated the area. Turning the corner, I noticed pedestrians running from the sound of the gunshot, and a woman telephoning the authorities from the front porch of her apartment.

-Tomb Raider-

When I arrived back home, I had Bryce upload the contents of Alexander's hard drive to our computer systems. He deciphered the firewalls and accessed the information, uploading it to our system.

I found the approximated coordinates to the temple of the Mayan Ring. The coordinates lead to Chichen Itza in Mexico. Made sense to me. I typed some notes into my cell phone (the benefits of having a Blackberry) and headed upstairs. I needed some rest after a long day.

Running the bath water, I quickly made my way back to my room to set down my backpack and gear. I went back to the bathroom just in time to turn the water off. After a few minutes of silence, I reached for the remote on top of the end-table in the bathroom and turned the radio on.

I browsed through the channels; talk shows, easy listening, heavy metal, and hip hop, until I finally settled on easy listening. I leaned back and relaxed, enjoying the sounds of music, until the telephone rang.

I pressed a button on the remote, in which it sent an electronic notification on the 3D map of my home, telling Hillary which room I was in. Most of the rooms in the house have them, either on the walls, on the telephone, or in this case, on the remote control.

Hillary spoke on the intercom, that sent the voice throughout the whole house. "Lady Croft, you've a telephone call."

"Who is it?", I replied, pressing the appropriate button to speak.

A pause. "They'd rather not say. Shall I ask again?"

I sighed, "No, that's all right. I'll get it in a minute."

Getting out of the bathtub, leaving the water in it, I grabbed a towel and quickly dried myself. Wrapping the towel around me, I went to my bedroom and picked up the phone.

"Hello?", I answered, putting the receiver to my ear.

"Hello, Lara."

My head turned straight up as I recognized the voice. I felt flames in my eyes as I heard the familiar voice and remembered the past I had shared with it's owner. "Amanda. You bitch. If I ever find you, I swear I'll--"

"Whoa, whoa", she interrupted, "Is that any way to speak to someone willing to help you get to Avalon?"

I raised an eyebrow, too angry to use logical thinking. "What are you talking about?"

She sighed on the other line, "Didn't that West guy tell you? I've been looking for clues to open the portal to Avalon. I was going to surprise you and tell you I've reached a breakthrough when I'd found it."

I was seriously confused. Hadn't she been trying to prevent me from getting to Avalon? A flashback occurred through my mind as I tried to think of why she'd be willing to help. Was this just a façade?

I had my gun pointed at Amanda on the mountain top in Bolivia. The destroyed stone dais stood behind us, and Excalibur sat thrust into the ground off to the side.

"She's not dead! She went were I was supposed to go - where you could have gone!"

I tightened my grip on the pistol, my finger dancing with the trigger. "Make sense right this second or I swear, I'll execute you where you stand". My eyes narrowed in anger.

"I told you to pull out the sword, I told you!"

I had enough. I aimed the gun off to the side of Amanda's head, switching to the other side as I pulled the trigger. "Where…is…my…mother!"

"Avalon!", she finally screamed, her arm covering her face in an attempt to defend herself, "It's not a myth! Don't you get it?". She breathed heavily, trying her hardest. "You'll never understand. I'm wasting my breath."

I stood down, my aim on her disappeared. I turned to walk away, but quickly turned back around, whacking her in the face with the pistol. I leaned over her and breathed heavily in fury.

"From this moment, your every breath is a gift from me."

I shook my head as the flashback faded. "Why are you trying to help me? What were your intentions when you got to Avalon?"

"Lara", she began, "I know I was angry at you for leaving me in Le Paz. I know I didn't accept your apology. All of this negative energy surging between us needs to end. I was a villain on my part, trying to prevent you from getting to your mother, in an attempt to exact my revenge. But I realized that what I was doing was terrible. I already lost my mother…I don't think you need to either."

I still didn't quite understand her sudden change of heart, but I wasn't going to turn down professional help. Amanda was…is quite the archaeologist. One might even say she's my counterpart. I wasn't about to turn her down. If she was willing to help, I was willing to accept.

"All right. What've you got?"

Chapter Two complete. Wasn't that an interesting read? Please review!