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.
4/
We sat on the plane examining the ring, the same question going through both of our minds. "What could the scion be doing in England?", I finally said, bringing the shared question to the surface.
"I don't know.", Amanda began, "But it does make sense, considering that Avalon is near England, right?"
"I believe so.", I replied, nodding. I thought about what Alexander said and remembered something. "Wait. Alexander said 'if we find the ring, we find the scion'. So the scion is in the same location where we activate the ring."
"Keeps things simple, doesn't it?", Amanda asked, happily.
"Indeed."
Examining the ring further, I smiled at it's ancient design. It was a smidge smaller than a doughnut, and about as thick as a bar of gold. Surprisingly, it was rather light. I'd say, perhaps 4.24lbs total.
I slipped it into my backpack and turned the television on. Flipping through the channels, I found a familiar show on BBC3 - Lily and Friends. Lily Allen was a good musician, in my opinion. Her songs are pretty interesting, especially 'Alfie'. That song was simply humorous.
When we left the airfield, Amanda and I headed to the location straightaway. The coordinates narrowed down to 137 Remington Way, an abandoned warehouse. The main doors were secured with a lock and chain, in which a few bullets broke.
The warehouse held some old furniture and dusty books. We looked around, and the closest thing we found to ancient were the cobwebs and encyclopedias scattered about.
"There has to be some mistake", I said, tossing aside a dirty book, "Maybe we read the coordinates incorrectly."
Amanda felt a nearby wall and pressed a loose fragment in. The wall slid open, revealing a stone staircase. "No, I think we've got it."
I smiled and followed her down into the underground temple. We followed a corroded path and reached what looked like a throne room. A marble display case was in the center, and on top of it was the scion.
Amanda picked it up and examined it. It looked a bit like the Scion of Atlantis, but it was clearly different. On the top of it, there was a piece that looked like a small pedestal with a hook, used to attach the ring to the second artifact.
We hooked them together and looked around for an activation piece. In the center of the display case, where the scion was, there was a small golden switch. Amanda pressed it, and the display case went back into the floor.
The ground began to shake and we stepped back as the center of the floor opened, revealing a portal similar to the stone dais. The portal raised, and beneath it was a section of it that held the two artifacts. Amanda and I placed the joined artifacts together and jumped back as the similar green light consumed the portal.
Amanda and I both exchanged looks before Amanda picked up a stone and threw it into the portal. The rock spun and disappeared inside. We exhaled and grabbed hands. On the count of three, we jumped through and prayed for the best.
-Tomb Raider-
I woke up coughing, picking myself up from the ground. Amanda jumped awake and looked around. We were actually in Avalon, and neither one of us could believe it. It looked like a village with vast mountain ranges.
On the top of the highest mountain laid a castle, perhaps were King Arthur rested. Amanda helped me up and we both examined our surroundings. Ahead was a village, busy with people.
We headed to the village, still in minor wonder. The people seemed normal humans living in a normal world, but they didn't seem to notice us. I tapped one man on the shoulder, in which he turned around and smiled.
"Hello, have you seen Amelia Croft?"
He shook his head, "I've never heard of her", he replied in a thick, British accent.
Amanda smiled warmly. "She has black hair, brown eyes. About 5' 11" or 6 feet tall. Her hair is usually in a bun."
"Oh, yes, I remember now. She's being held prisoner at King Arthur's castle", he replied, shaking his head in shame.
"What?!", I nearly screamed, clenching my fists. "What did she do to deserve being held prisoner?!"
The man shrugged his shoulders and apologized before walking away. I turned to Amanda, flames in my eyes. I had to get to that castle immediately. We headed up there, only to find that it was heavily guarded by knights with swords and armor.
I walked up to the front gate, only to find myself being blocked from entry. The two knights crossed their swords, blocking the door. "No one gets in to see the King.", they said simultaneously.
I raised an eyebrow. "The King? King Arthur?"
"Yes, King Arthur. Who else? He owns this castle", one of the knights said. "No entry, though. Sorry."
Amanda and I began to walk away, and the minute we were out of sight, we darted for the rear of the castle. There were four knights on patrol, as we gathered. We examined the walls, and they were perfect for free climbing.
We scaled the walls and finally reached the top of the castle, in which two knights kept a lookout. We managed to sneak behind them and get to an open grate. Dropping through, we landed in the King's Quarters.
After moments of stealth and timed runs, we made it to the dungeon and looked around. There were five doors, leading to different rooms. The third room was locked, forcing us to shoot the lock and kick the door down.
We aimed our guns inside, ready to take out any enemies. I lowered them, however when I saw a familiar face. Amanda covered the door as I approached the woman who was staring at me in wonder.
"Mother?"
I reached for her hand, in which she took mine as well. She stood up and looked me in the eyes. I wasn't sure if she was about to cry. I couldn't believe my eyes either. The mother I knew and thought I had lost thirty one years ago had still looked the same.
"Lara?", she asked, "Could it possibly be you?"
Tears streamed from my eyes as I hugged my mother for the first time in over three decades. "Yes, Mother. It's me. I can't believe I'm seeing you again!"
She cried with me and held me tight. "Lara, I feared I'd never see you again. How ever did you find me?"
"It's a long story. I'll explain everything when we get back home."
Mother smiled and breathed lightly, still overwhelmed with happiness. "How's Richard?", she asked.
I sighed, hugging her again. "Mother…he passed away. He went missing in the field on May 15, some time ago."
"The date of the planetary alignment", she stated, nodding. A tear ran from her eye, and wiped it away before looking up at Amanda.
"Amanda? Amanda Evert?", Mother asked, making her way over. She gave Amanda a quick hug and talked about how she hasn't seen her in ages. It was pretty much a family reunion.
After the formalities, we stealthily snuck through the castle. I held Mother close, strong intentions to protect her. I wasn't going to lose her again. The same thought must have occurred to both Amanda and I; 'how are we going to get back?'.
We found our way to the throne room, where a man in a red robe stood by the window. I readied my guns, looking around. Inside the room was the same portal as the one in Bolivia. Luckily, Excalibur rested in the holster on my backpack and I was prepared to use it.
The man turned around and spotted us, but didn't speak a word. I holstered my weapons and removed Excalibur from the holster and readied it. The man raised an eyebrow at the sword and pointed to it.
"Excalibur?", he asked, switching between looking at the sword and myself.
I nodded. "Are you King Arthur?", I asked, a bit confused by all of this.
He nodded and stepped toward us. I stood in a defensive position, ready to use the sword's powers against him. Amanda stood close to my mother as to protect her. Seeing this, he stopped and looked at me.
"I know who you are, and I know what you want. Hand me the sword, and I'll let you out of here."
I was hesitant, but began walking toward him. I handed him Excalibur and stepped back as he swung it toward the portal. The green light showed as the portal was activated. He bowed his head to us.
"Thank you, Lady Croft. Now, the three of you; into the portal."
I nodded and waited as Amanda and my mother stepped toward the portal. We held hands and jumped through together.
-Tomb Raider-
Amanda helped me to my feet as I gathered myself. We were back in the temple in England, under the warehouse. After some travel, we made it back to the manor. Amanda shut the doors behind us, and followed us into the foyer.
"Hillary! Bryce!", I yelled through the house.
The two descended the staircase and stopped in mid-step when they saw my mother. They couldn't believe I had found her after all these years. The five of us sat in the living room and talked for hours.
I couldn't believe I was reunited with my mother - I will never lose her again. Come to find out, she told me that when you're in Avalon, you don't age. She still remained the age she was when she disappeared. Once back in the normal world, everything was back to how it should be, so mother was really 62 years old, and it showed.
Regardless, I had my mother back, and I was insanely happy. Hillary and Bryce told me about an issue that came up whilst we were away - Alexander is after another artifact, but it's a harmless one. Just an Egyptian obelisk. Egypt again. Nothing but pyramids and sand.
Time for another adventure.
Story complete. Sorry for having to end it this way - I had no ideas on how to continue it once Lara found her mother. Also, since Avalon is fictional, and Tomb Raider Underworld hasn't been released yet, I had to think of my own backdrop for the location. Expect a new Tomb Raider story from me to make up for this short one! Please review!