Finished this pretty quick since it took SOOOO long to get from Temple of Khamoon to Obelisk of Khamoon. And look, its actually not a short chapter to! Please enjoy!

Chapter 12

Sanctuary of the Scion

Just as she would have figured, the large elegant double doors closed soon after she had started up the grand staircase. The walls were covered in all sorts of chants and warnings of vengeance on those who remove any of the contents from this sanctuary. She heard a shuffling as she neared the top of the steps, and was instantly in combat mode.

A mummy suddenly sprang from the shadows, Lara backflipping down several steps, weapons ready. A second creature dropped from a square opening in the middle of the ceiling, beginning to summon a fireball. The closest one let out an unearthly, deep snarl, a clear, sticky drool pooling from its fang filled mouth. She opened fired, keeping a steady stride backward.

"Oh god, no where to hide…"

She ran back out into the main chamber, looking between the sphinx and the pool of water. Another howl forced her around the sphinx statue, climbing as hastily as she could up to the shoulder of the massive statue. The two creatures came running out, looking around the vast area.

"Jump…or fire from here…?"

She holstered her pistols and took a firm grip on the shotgun, getting as low to the ground as possible. Several pebbles chipped away from the old stone, causing both monsters to turn in her direction. She sprang off the statue and landed on top of the closest, and bigger of the monsters. She kicked it to the ground, quickly firing several blasts into its abdomen.

It screamed out in pain, a sort of demonic wail you'd imagine to hear in hell. She quickly focused her attention on the next one, already infuriated at the death of its comrade. The bandaged whelp of rotten muscle lunged toward her with lightning quickness-

-and was on top of Lara in a second. The shotgun slipped from her grasp, sliding several feet away. She reached up and grabbed underneath the chin of the thing, quickly un-holstering a pistol with her other hand. She pressed it against its temple and squeezed her eyes closed, turning her head away before she pulled the trigger.

The thing screamed for a brief moment, then slowly squirmed to a stop before settling down dead. She kicked it off, walking over and cupping some water from the small oasis. She wiped off her face and neck, then her thighs and calves. She took several sips, then walked over and retrieved the shotgun.

"Now, back to business…"

She walked back over and continued up the staircase, examining the four pillars at the top. They each had handholds, and the stone around the base looked as if the pillars could rotate. She grabbed hold of the one to her left, the pillar requiring two hands and a bit more effort than Lara thought to start the column moving. As it did all of the others rotated as well-

-and a stone square pillar rose up from the center of the room, extending up into the square opening in the ceiling. She walked over and looked up, seeing a ladder and a passageway going further in. She jumped up and grabbed a stone lip the went around the length of the column, pulling herself up until she could anchor her feet onto the lip and pull herself up onto the top of the pillar. She reached over and latched onto the ladder, climbing up it. The corridor turned left, sharply, and the distinct sound of the deafening walls slamming could be heard.

Realizing that this was her only choice, she continued on bravely, taking in her full surrounding when she turned the corner. The floor basically stopped, an endless void extending down the length of the hall. She could see remnants of a ledge at the end-her destination. There were two slamming walls here, spaced evenly down the hall. There were numerous cracks along the walls, signaling some sort of huge tremor must have rocked this section of Egypt sometime ago.

Also on the wall were two scarab weights, each one designed to slide down when weight was applied. Which meant she could only hang on to them for about five seconds, max. She waited until the first wall was retracting, and jumped to the remnant of the floor still clinging to the stone wall.

It immediately started to crumble, and she latched on to some of the cracks on the wall. She started moving to the right, the first scarab weight needing to be used. She quickly reached over and grabbed on to it, looking behind her. She jumped off from the wall and pivoted 180 degrees, grabbing on to the second weight. It immediately started to slide downward, causing her to jump upward to grab a small, rigged crack above the weight.

Here, she could jump through the second slamming walls behind her to the ledge, leading to another corridor. She waited until it was clear, the slamming causing her ears to ring. She jumped, the trap nicking the end of her braid. Here the passageway was short, the cave opening up very expansively, but with something hugeblocking her view.

She walked over to the left of it, a ladder leading all the way down to the ground. She straightened her belt and holsters and started the descent down, the trip down much longer than she would have imagined. At the bottom, she was breathing harder, a few beads of perspiration trickling down the side of her cheek. She wiped them away, eager to see what exactly she had been standing on. She could soon see a paw, then an arm and shoulder, then head. She came around to the front, the underground cave illuminated by a giant, jagged hole in the rock way above.

Sunlight was coming through and making the monument, which she could now see was an enormous sphinx statue, almost sort of glow. There was another grand staircase leading up to the chest of the sphinx, where a door covered in gold and decorative hieroglyphics was at. On each side was a decorate opening, where an Ankh shaped opening was set into.

She looked on the far left and right walls, seeing remains of old Egyptian architecture. There were several large columns, and two small buildings, each sealed off. Next to each shrine was a switch, presumably to open the corresponding passageway. Directly across from the sphinx was a ladder, giving her access to go either to the left or right. Seeing as there were two Ankh's to be found, she'd have to go both ways anyway.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…"

"Left it is then…" She started toward the ladder, the sheer size of the room mind boggling to her. To that sphinx, she must look like an ant, or a flea. The entire cave and remaining structures were unstable, creating several hazards and holes for her to dodge, but she made it to the first switch, pulling it with triumph. The door slid open, a cold breeze quickly flowing from inside. She rubbed her arms, taking the short steps up to the shrine two at a time.

She walked briskly down the corridor, turning left then right, before opening up into a magnificent puzzle room. She was at the very top, near the sun soaked opening in the ceiling, looking down at the entire room. There were four sandy stone colored obelisks, one at each corner of the room. The tips of each were huge, shimmering white diamonds, creating dazzling light effects on the wall.

Protruding from the opening was another obelisk, this time with the diamond pointing downward. A switch was set into the wall beside her, and in an adventurous high pulled it, being thrilled at exploring all of these beautiful catacombs.

The ornate obelisk in the ceiling slowly slid downward, the tip catching the sun at an angle to where it reflected in beautiful rainbow beams four ways, each glowing ray striking a tip of all the other obelisks. This started something moving, and she saw a doorway open in the wall, followed by a bridge coming from one side of the chamber to the other, creating a bridge to the door.

Inside, she saw a golden Ankh set on a beautiful pedestal. She hung herself down over the ledge, dropping onto the newly created bridge. The light show the obelisks now created was something wonderful to behold, truly a once in a lifetime sight. She entered the chamber confidently, her brown eyes set on the relic. She reached out and snatched it from its resting place on the pedestal-

-and the door behind her started to close, the ceiling now covered in spikes and quickly advancing toward her. She dropped to the ground and log rolled, getting clear of the door just in time. It was impossible to reach the upper ledge again, but a path had opened below, where there was about seven feet of water. She dived in, the water warm and relaxing from the sun above.

She paddled over to the opening, where she followed the connecting corridor back out into the Sphinx' Chamber. As she rounded the edge of the statues, she heard a sound distinctly familiar yet incredibly out of place.

Hooves?"

Suddenly, a giant blur jumped over top of her, sending her colliding to the ground. She scrambled up, turning to see what the huge animal was. She was stunned, the mystical creature rearing up and screaming, and animalistic hungry sound. It was like the Centaur creatures she had fought in Tihocan's tomb, only slightly smaller and not wearing the ancient armor. It's lower half, which looked like a skinned horse, was only topped by something more disturbing, the mysterious creature the mummies had been. But this one didn't look dried and rotten, but stronger and…juicier.

She instantly had the shotgun in hand, firing at the beast that was already galloping toward her. She dived out of the way, the thing swiping at her with a claw-filled hand. She stood back up, counting each shot mentally to keep track.

"Five, six, seven, eight…"

Click!

Click!

She pumped the shotgun again, the eighth and final casing flying out.

"Not enough time to reload…"

She tossed the shotgun to the side, drawing her pistols. The centaur tried delivering a

powerful kick from its hind legs, Lara spinning to avoid the blow.

"That could have been me…!"

She kept firing simultaneously, the bullets starting to take effect. It howled again, its front legs falling to the ground. Her mind was spinning, but she seized this opportunity and used its body as a ramp, running up its lowered heard and springing forward from the rear, pivoting in the air and firing, the monster falling down dead. She holstered the pistols and removed her backpack, checking to see how many shotgun shells were left. She counted a total of fourteen, which wasn't too bad. It would reload the weapon once fully, leaving six powerful shots left.

"Which reminds me, that thing took eight blasts and still didn't fall!"

She retrieved the shotgun and walked over to examine the fall centaur, a putrid smell wafting up from the dead carcass. Once again, its face, although odd and alien, was still a horrifying sight. Its mouth was agape, revealing two full rows of razor sharp teeth. The creature lacked any skin, the thick, meaty red muscle on the outside tough and durable.

She shook her head, just hoping she wouldn't see any more of them. She ascended the ladder for the second time, this time choosing the right path instead of the left.

She pulled the switch, and like before the stone door slid open, allowing access to the small shrine. This corridor was thankfully free of traps, and she entered the next puzzle room with ease. It was an exact replica, with four diamond tipped obelisks in each corner of the water fill chamber, with a fifth one coming from the ceiling.

There was also another switch, which she pulled for the same reaction as the first room. The bridge slid smoothly over to the now opening door, and she saw the second golden Ankh sitting on the pedestal. She lowered herself down, this time approaching the room with more caution.

She heard slight shuffling, and didn't have time to react as a mummy jumped from the back of the room, leaping over the pedestal easily. She slid to the left, delivering two fatal blows from the shotgun to kill it. She took the second Ankh, hearing another door open from the next room.

She placed the trinket in her backpack with the other, the items inside slowly making the brown leather bag heavier. The weight was reassuring somehow, and she smiled as she slipped it on. Now with the two Ankh's in possession, she made her way back from the puzzle room all the way to the main cavern; a feeling of triumph flowing through her veins.

"Tomb raiding at its finest…"

She ascended the grand staircase leading up to the monument, removing both Ankh's and placing them in each corresponding place. The large stone door slid open smoothly, the passageway deep and dark. She lit a flare, seeing that the floor slowly slanted downward, meaning that she might possibly be going deeper underneath the mountain now. With her stomach quivering, she began the long descent down through the sphinx' tunnels, finally coming to a long stretch with light at the end, apparently coming in from an opening in the cave above. She jogged the rest of the way, slowing as she reached the several steps down to a platform, overlooking a magnificent find.

"…My god…"

Here eyes fell first on the two absolutely enormous statues situated beside each other, facing in her direction. The one on the left was of the Egyptian god Anubis, while the other was of the Egyptian god Horus, each sitting in a stone throne. The next thing she realized was that each statue was completely submerged under crystal blue water, at least a couple hundred gallons of water to be exact. She blinked several times, a slight sound coming from her throat. It was positively beautiful, wishing now that she had brought some sort of camera along.

"Wow…" She whispered, wishing Winston could see this.

Carved into the stone above each statue were their names, outlined wonderfully in jade and gold. There was a platform and a passageway above the statue, but unfortunately it was too high for her to reach.

"Unless I can manipulate the water level somehow…"

She looked around, the only thing of interest that she could see being a large golden ring above Horus' head.

"Maybe."

She dived into the crisp water below, the rushing sound of the liquid tingling her senses as it surrounded her. She surfaced near the statue, finding a good, solid place near his shoulder to hoist herself up on. Here she pulled down on the golden ring weight, the sound of running water coming from somewhere deep within the cavern.

She eyed the water level, seeing it slowly rise up to a more desirable level. Looking over, she now saw that the passageway was reachable, and she did so, diving back into the water and swimming over to it. The path was short, turning to a much longer stretch of hallway. Here she could spy a grand-looking room, covered in crimson and turquoise royal pillars, rising up high to the ceiling of the room. At the far end she saw a blocked off doorway, massive in both size and length. She picked up her pace, feeling more excited as she approached.

"Now we're getting somewhere Ms. Croft…"

She chuckled to herself, hearing an old mentor's accent in her head as she said the name Ms. Croft. It wasn't long, however, until her smile faltered. She heard the sound of many different things running from the shadows, from clawed feet to hooves, each coming with speed and agility. She drew the shotgun, preparing herself for a rocking gunfight.

Then, coming from both sides were two of the mummy monsters, two centaurs, and oddly enough two bat like creatures, looking just as skinned, huge and just terrifying as its land crawling comrades. With no particular target in mind, she opened fired, sending a spray of bullets across the enemies.

They didn't stop.

She broke into a sprint, curving sharply to the right as she continued to fire at the ravenous creatures. A centaur leaped at her, a mummy sending a red hot fireball spiraling in her direction. She spun around to take cover behind a pillar, pumping the shotgun and counting quickly in her head.

"Two shots left…better load the last six…"

She did so, breaking into another sprint across the massive chamber, the creatures focusing back in on her. She turned and started firing, doing a quickly backflip to avoid a dangerous swipe from the bat monster.

She drew a pistol with her free hand and opened fired, emptying her clip on both of the flying abominations. They spun to the ground, crashing into one of the mummies, killing it and finishing off the bat-things.

She then returned to the remaining mummies and the two centaurs, which were now howling in anger and drooling with cannibalistic hunger. The closest centaur tried to back kick her, missing her and instead colliding with one of the pillars.

She ducked down, finished the rounds of the shotgun into the three monsters. The mummy was obliterated, disappearing in a cloud of coagulated blood and severed limbs. She holstered the weapon, now realizing her pistols wouldn't be enough to take down the two centaurs.

She began running toward the blocked off chamber, looking around for anything that she could use. She stumbled, falling hard to the hard ground below, he shoulder scraping against the rough stone painfully. She heard something slid along the ground, and looked up to see that the two pieces of the Scion had slid from their pouch in her backpack.

She went to reach for them, but was halted and taken by surprise when the centaurs suddenly knelt down to the ground, stopping their thunderous run toward her. Lara was frozen at first, mystified at the creature's strange behavior. The took the moment to quickly draw both pistols and fire point blank into each of their heads, both instantly falling to the ground.

"The Scion…they had no choice but to bow to it…Is it really that powerful…?"

She saw that on each side of the gate was a circular indention, with a name above each one carved in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Wait…Qualopec and Tihocan…?"

Surely enough, the name of each of the rulers was above each indention, and then it hit her.

"I can use the corresponding piece of the Scion…!"

She did so, the Scion pieces activating something deep within the wall. The iron bars were quickly removed, now allowing Lara access to the tomb ahead. On a pedestal risen high in the middle of the room was the third and final piece of the Scion. She reached out to grab it, stopping so close she could almost feel the smooth, cool metal.

"Is this a good idea…?"

She remembered Natla, and her cruel cold tone.

"Lara would never part with the Scion, she's far to obsessed with it…"

And even though Natla hired her, she already had Larson and probably more goons coming to look for her. Risking the odds, she grabbed the piece, everything quiet at first-

-then suddenly the whole room began to quake, a door opening in the far corner. She jumped down from the raising platform and sprinting toward the door, dark caves and tunnels going by in a hastened blur as she fled from the Sanctuary of the Scion.

Lara skidded to a halt, coming out on a cliffside deep in the Egyptian terrain. Down at the bottom of the canyon was a river, flowing out into the ocean. she removed Tihocan and Qualopec's pieces of the Scion from her backpack, and took the piece she had taken from the Sanctuary and locked it in together with the rest.

A bright light burst forth from the artifact, and suddenly Lara felt weightless again as she was transported to another place in time and history. She heard people talking in the distance as solid ground hit her feet, and the foggy haze cleared. She saw she was on top of a giant pyramid that was the center of an ancient civilization.

"You have tainted the powers of the Scion, broken the sacred order of the Three, and used the pyramid, the powers, for your own mindless destruction!" Barked a deep, male voice.

"Mindless?! Look at you! The Gods favor action, not council. Atlantis is in ruin. Nothing can change that. Everything must burn, only then can the Seventh Age be complete." Lara looked at the person crouched at the feet of the two men. The voice was female, and extremely familiar.

"Tihocan is right," started a second man who was no doubt Qualopec, "I expel you from the Triumvirate, and as for you punishment, we're going to lock you in limbo. Make your heart, soul, and that diseased brain stick solid with frozen blood. Greet your eternal unrest Natla!"

Lara's eyes widened as the woman lifted her head.

"You wont rest either or your damn continent Atlantis! I will rise above the dust of your bones to finish what I started!" And as she said that, an ice capsule locked up Natla forever.

Lara again felt weightless and the gray haze returned. Finally, life around her began to shape up. It felt like the Scion began to float from her hands. She blinked several times and saw Natla in front of her, and in her hands the glowing Scion. Lara quickly threw her hands down to draw her pistols, but found her holsters to be empty.

As soon as she realized this, two strong hands grabbed her roughly around the arms, preventing her from running away. Lara cried out, struggling against her captor. He was black, and extremely strong. Larson was standing next to some punk kid who was holding her pistols, smiling. He wasn't a day over 19. She turned to face Natla.

"It was you! You were the Queen of Atlantis!"

Natla stood for a moment with her back facing the henchmen and Lara.

"…Once" She replied casually. Larson and the kid looked at each other in disbelief. If they didn't know her true identity now, they soon will.

"…And the Scion can show you its history…" Lara said slowly.

"Oh it shows far more than that. All the knowledge of the ancients, things none of you could even comprehend."

Lara stood for a moment, stunned, then asked. "What is the Seventh Age…?"

There was a short silence, Lara again trying to struggle, then Natla turned and brought her face inches from hers.

"Just how far are you willing to go to find out, Lara?" Natla hissed.

She stood for a moment, her eyes drifting off to think.

"Not far enough I'm afraid." She finished. "Kill her quickly, we have work to do." Natla said, then strode off toward a white limo. Lara's eyes narrowed, feeling a hatred burn up inside her as she watched the woman stroll away.

"I'm gonna enjoy this…" The kid said, raising a pair of Uzi's.

"Enjoy watchin', I'm cuttin' her…" The man behind her said, pulling out a huge army combat knife. One of his arms let go of her for a brief second, and Lara quickly shot a hard elbow to his gut, before quickly uppercutting his chin. She took off sprinting, the kid peppering the ground around her feet with sub-machine gun fire. She jumped up, a boot connecting solidly with the side of his head. She turned-

-then ducked as Larson came at her, intending to slam her head with the butt of the shotgun. She looked, seeing her only escape to be diving from the cliff.

"Risky…but what else…?!"

She broke into a run, hearing them chase after her; already they were to late. She was only in midair for a moment, sliding smoothly into the water hundreds of feet below. Once again, she had narrowly escaped death. She saw the white limo speed off down the mountainside, Lara quickly forming a plan.

No way to catch up by running. Swimming-no. My motorcycle! I left it near the entrance to Khamoon's temple!"

She saw over to a sandbank, running around the corner of the mountainside. Sure enough, her bike was still where she had left it, glistening in the sun like a savior. She hopped on, quickly revving in engine and beginning pursuit. As she sped through the hot Egyptian desert, anger flooded her veins again, trying to keep a mental block on Natla's image and voice.

"If I don't I might bloody explode…"

She was royally pissed, and already vowed to make Natla pay, and even trying requiring the Scion in the process. She stuck close to a path that followed near the river, looking up ahead to see the road broken a good ten feet.

"No choice…gotta do something…"

She hit the engine full throttle and hit the mountainside at an angle, the bike wobbling dangerously as she cleared the gap. She hit solid ground again, flying into the air as she hit a sand ramp. The mountain curved, and as she rounded it she saw the river widen into the ocean, then spotted a white luxury yacht speeding away from the mountain.

Ditched to the side she also spotted Natla's limo-she'd made it. Almost. The road dead-ended up ahead, and she decided to gun the engine as hard as it would go. She hit with such intensity that she rocked forward, then stood up and swan dived off the bike, propelling herself forward. In midair she reached back and grabbed her grappling hook, throwing it forward. It hooked a railing on the yacht, barely.

"Bingo!"

She pulled herself up onto the back of the speeding boat, looking around before spying a hatch on the floor. She quickly and quietly walked over and opened it, seeing a bed and some sheets, as well as a tiny circular window. She heard footsteps approaching, and jumped down into the hole, closing the door behind her. A door opened, and she heard the voice of the black man and the kid, with the man who had captured her speaking first.

"Did you see that?"

"What…?" The kid replied.

"That, over there. I saw something splash."

The kid laughed.

"Probably just a fish."

"That was some fish…" He said sarcastically.

"Man, you have got to learn to chill. I'm going back inside, you comin…?"

"Yeah…"

She heard them walk overheard then return back into the boat. Feeling incredibly fatigued, she lay down on the bundle of sheets, figuring a good nap might be good for what was ahead. Boy was she right.