Chapter 13: Paint It Black
It's over for them, how the hell they gonna fight an army with only 3 people?
"Nathan, I still remember about the Thermopylae battle. I hope we all graced by Leonidas rage, Nate." Lara looks like about to give up with the condition, she only can hope that God could gave them massive power to fight these people. But when they ready to fight, Nathan satellite phone then rang. Someone call him, it was Eddy who called.
"What now Eddy?" Nathan answer Eddy full of exhales, ready to fight, wheter want it or not.
"Nathan, I hope you see what I'm do for you." 'What I'm do for you' the hell just Eddy plan for us? Nathan keep thinking what just Eddy told.
Now Nathan know what Eddy refers on the phone. Suddenly, a mortar rounds fired through the sky and hit Locke's men. So the trio know they have some help from Eddy, by shooting the mortar to Locke's men.
"Alright, it's Eddy, let's go!" Nathan told the team to step up to the stairway and go to the shrine. When they go to the shrine, Nathan satellite phone once again rang, the caller was Eddy once again.
"Nathan, we'll do what we can do from here. It's impossible for us to go to the palace. I want you to make sure that Locke realized his fault and learn from it."
"Okay Eddy, thanks." The team then fight Locke's men on the stairway. Most of them are elite soldier, with advance war gear and thickened armor. They managed to kill those elite, but it's impossible to kill heavy elite. A heavy machinegunner and flammer then task out to finish Lara, Nathan and Sam.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY! The girls mine!" The flammer then shoot up his flamethrower, he try to burn Lara and Sam alive. Its hard to kill this flammer, however it is, Sam get burned but she managed to extinguish the fire. Leaving her skin turns into brown-roughy skin, seeing what happened to her friend, Lara rage out and tried to kill the flammer. She know that gun fire won't do any damage to him, so she fight the flammer with fire, using her fire arrow. Several arrow has been shot, some of them penetrate the fuel tank on the back of the flammer, leaving the flammer vulnerable to be attacked, until the timing's right, Lara pull out her ice axe and finish the flammer with one hit on the head until the flammer helmet destroyed. Knowing that the flammer is done, the girls then advance to the shrine.
While Nathan still got a business to be taken care, he must deal eith the machine gunner.
"Arrggghh, stop moving you plastic pole! I kill you!" The machine gunner then rage out his anger and shoot Nathan wildly with his machine gun.
"Better become a plastic pole than a fat steel! Come and get me you chunk of steel!" Nathan know the best way to defeat this guy is by evading the fire, and try to stun him, then take him down while he can. So Nathan just evade the gunner fire as fast as possible, but sure bullets are much faster then Nathan movement. One of the bullets hit Nathan shoulder, luckily, it just a scratch to his shoulder. Nthan realized that his trick won't worked, he try to find out another trick. Then he have his one only shot to kill the gunner. The gunner was reloading his weapon, it's a belt machine gun, and it takes time to reload. Nathan quickly wield his pistol and aim for the head, he's the master of pistol shooting, he remembered everything that Sully taught to him, he remembered when the first time for him shooting at the shooting range with Sully, so he got so many experince with pistol. Just with a single aim, Nathan shot was succesful hitting the gunner head, but the bullet just knock-off his helmet. "Aughh come one." Nathan rants and regret why he's chosing 9mm Browning HP MK3 pistol, not a Desert Eagle or a Taurus revolver. The gunner then rage out and took out his pistol, Nathan realized he was right, the guy pistol is a Taurus Magnum revolver. They guy then once again shot wildly at Nathan without aiming. Considering that the revolver just hold six bullets, the guy then have to reload it. And in this time, Nathan then pull out his pistol again and shoot it right in the head, BOOM! The shot was a succesful, guy then just hold his head, like get stunned then slowly collapse and dead. Nathan then realized that the Magnum nor the Desert Eagle was a worse weapon, he thank to his choice. Because his choice save him from the death, after the machine gunner done, Nathan the proceed to the inner shrine. When he arrived at the top of the stairway, he met with Lara and Sam.
"Nathan! You made it!" Lara and Sam the run to Nathan. Both of them gave Nathan a friendly hug, but Lara felt something wrong with Nathan, when he touched his left shoulder. Of course Lara confused about what happened to him, then Nathan tell everything that happened to his shoulder when he fight with the machine gunner. But Nathan was confused too with what happened on Sam, when he saw Sam skin, all brown and rough-textured.
"Sam, what happened with you? Your skin looked like...burned alive..." Nathan asked to Sam as Sam then start to stroke her burned skin. Nathan then know what happened to her skin, and he remembered too, about the flammer and the machine gunner that they fought before.
"Lara, I'll need some dermatology doctor to take care my skin." Sam then feel her burned skin become so painful, because the outer skin didn't cover her inner flesh. Seeing what happened to Sam, Nathan the search his satchel for some medkit. He didn't found any medkit, but he did have some sterilized bandages, clean cloth, and 70% alcohol to clean her skin.
"Sam, let me help you. Lara, wet up the cloth with the alcohol. We need her skin cleaned first, she could get infection if her skin didn't get cleaned." Lara the wet up the cloth with the alcohol. After the alcohol wet up the cloth, Lara stroke the cloth slowly to Sam burned skin. She cleaned Sam skin slowly, until her burned skin peeled up and left only the inner flesh opened up. Nathan then cover her inner flesh with sterilized bandages, and strap up the bandages using the medical tape. To maximize the protection, Lara then release her rebel jacket from Eddy then give it to Sam for her to wear it. Now Sam skin is safe, they don't need to worry anything about her.
"How do you feel Sam?" Lara to Sam about her skin condition.
"It's better, it doesn't feel so painful now. Thank you, Dr. Croft." Lara then laugh about what just Sam mention. But when they laugh about Sam, suddenly they saw that the whole island feels like try to going up. They realized that Jonggrang will summon her greater power to bring order to the mortal worlds. Seeing what they just saw, they got no time to laugh and relaxing. The team the proceed to the shrine and then they're saw 2 way that leading to unknown room. The team then deal to split up Nathan will take the left room alone then Lara and Sam will go to the right room. The team the going to face their real battle, alone. Let's go to Nathan first.
Nathan wield his pistol and scanning his sector for enemy jeopardize. It was so lonely. No one inside that room, suddenly, Nathan satellite phone rang. He though that was Eddy who called. Turns out it wasn't Eddy. It was someone else.
"Who is this?" Nathan ask to the caller on low voices. But the caller didn't answer Nathan question. Instead, he asked Nathan about what have they did previously.
"Nathan, you haven't tell your story with me. Turn around." Nathan the turned around then he surprised he saw Locke wielding his gun to Nathan. Too late, for Nathan. Locke pull the trigger too early and hit on Nathan's chest. Nathan exclaim and hold his chest, fresh blood then flowed through Nathan's chest. Locke then come closer to Nathan. He threw away his pistol, then he beat up Nathan on the floor. Nathan was unable to fight Locke, his chest is very painful. He feel his heartbeat very low, he couldn't stand anymore for what Locke do to him.
"Locke, please! Stop it, it's no use to do this..." Nathan try to endure everything that Locke do to him, but it didn't make Locke stop beating him, instead Locke pull out his combat knife and stab it on Nathan's tight. Leaving Nathan in great painful and scream hyteritacly for waht Locke do to him.
"I offer you something that everyone can do. Turns out you just want to dead in this island. You bring your death by yourself. I told you before, Drake." Locke then grab Nathan's head. He try to behead Nathan's head off his neck.
"You should be thankful Nathan, because you're my only enemy that I most respect. I promise I will keep your head forever." Locke then place his combat knife on Nathan's front neck, but before he slice his neck, Nathan hit Locke's cork using his foot until Locke incapacitated, grabing on his cork. Nathan then beat up Locke just like what Locke do to Nathan, but Nathan's chest was so firmly. He hold his chest, leaving Locke could attack him. Nathan then saw Locke pistol on the ground, he try to get it by proning but Locke grab his foot. Nathan managed to struggle and kick Locke, then he's getting Locke pistol and shoot at Locke liver. Locke then collapse, unable to fight back and hold his liver.
"Nathan, perhaps...you and me, can negotiate..huh? Americans to Americans." Hearing Locke final word, Nathan then shot his face using Locke pistol.
"Killing is negotiate, Locke." Nathan then throw Locke pistol and he tried to find Lara and Sam.
Let's get back to Lara and Sam. Both of them still try to find Jonggrang, finally, they found her. She was meditating on some kind of an altar, in top of her head, some kind of ball of light shone on the whole room. Looks like that ball is the source thet they need to destroy if they want to escape from the island.
"Lara, your bow, you can destroy the ball using you bow." Sam whisper to Lara because they didn't want to wake the pure one. Lara agree with Sam. She wield her compound bow from Eddy, then she equip the armor piercing arrown to destroy the ball. Slowly, Lara take aim and hold her breath, she pull the bow string slowly and release the arrow to the ball. The ball the explode into pieces and leaving the princess becoming tripped from her levitating meditation. The princess then see her true enemy that once want to know about her.
"Nyong sing nggoleti kowe, dadi nyong sing mesti mateni kowe siki." Lara talk to the princess in ancient Hanacaraka, it means: 'I'm the one who find you, so I'm the one who had to kill you.'
Jonggrang didn't do anything, instead she just close her eyes and read somekind of spell. Then she swing her arm. Suddenly, Lara throwed away from the place where she stand and her head hit hard on stone wall of the shrine. Sam then after Lara. She doesn't breath, but she still feel her pulse on her neck. Sam then saw a kris blade on Lara hip, she though that kris could be used to take down Jonggrang, so she get the kris, and holster it on Sam hip. After that, she step up to Jonggrang, when she get back to the shrine to back meditate.
"THAT'S ENOUGH! Where is you honor?! Get down here and face me!" Sam then ready to face princess then step down and start attack Sam. Luckily, Sam master the art of Judo fighting, since her family is the native people of Japan, she get used to be trained by her family since she was a child. But still, Jonggrang know how to do the right way of fighting. She master the Pencak Silat martial arts. Still, it's hard for Sam to defeat her. Sam then get back up again, and try to defeat her again. It's still hard to defeat her, until one time, she found a way to defeat her, yet by stun her up. Sam do a headbutt to her face for once then attack her with her iconic Judo moves, yet punch on her stomach, and bring her down in with her full hand. Sam start her execution, she pull out the kris blade, and start to stab her heart, but Jonggrang managed to hold the blade, and Jonggrang advanced the fight and turn the blade then try to kill Sam. Sam can't hold it no more, but before she stab Sam, Nathan coming out from behind, and stun the princess by hitting her head from behind. And Sam turn the blade back, then she stab Jonggrang right on the heart. Jonggrang firstly just feel pain, shortly after, she feel her body become heavier, then her body becoming so hard to be moved, then slowly, her body start to petrified back, and BOOOOMMM! She's going up, until the shrine roof and wall destroyed. After they done with her, both of them then go to Lara and try to revive her. Slowly, Lara open her eyes and see her friend, Sam save her life, just like when Lara save Sam on the Yamatai. Slowly, a ray of sunlight then shone on them, leaving them know that everything is over, they're free now.
"Sam, you killed her. You saved me. I owe you my life." Sam then gave Lara a friendly hug to her.
"I made yo a promise Lara, let's get you home." Sam the carry Lara just like Lara carry Sam on the Yamatai. Not long enough, Nathan satellite phone back to rang. It was from Eddy.
"Nathan, what the hell is going on up there? I never see such a sunlight since I'm in here." Nathan didn't answer Eddy question, he just told him another thing."
"I'll tell you later Eddy. The main thing is now we're free. I need you and your men in here, we got a man down." Nathan request some help to Eddy. Shortly after, Eddy shows up with his men on a WW2 truck. Eddy then escort the team back to the nearest outpost of their location. The outpost was located near the beach. On the outpost, Lara was confused seeing Nathan bloodshed on his chest, so Nathan told everything what happened to him.
"Locke was trying to kill me, he was shoot me from behind, then he beat me up until I can't stand another chance. He start to pull out his combat knife then he grabbed my hair. He's trying to behead me, but I managed to fight him back. He was try to negotiate with me, but it's to late for he to negotiate." Nathan tells everything what happened to him when he fight Locke.
"Nathan, the satellites phone battery's out, we can't call for help now. How we're going to get out from here then?" Sam then anxious when she try to contact help from the outer island, but before Nathan answer, they heard someone helicopter balde whiring from distance and someone calling from distance using power amplifier.
"Hey you heard that?! Someone's here!" Lara then get up from her seat then she try to find where the sounds coming. They try to heard it again, looks like the sound coming from the coastline. So they try to get to the coastline. They actaully surprised, because they never see the coast in here, just land, mountain, and forest. Looks like they managed to break the illusion curse inside the island.
They finally found the coastline, and they can't believe what they saw. It was Chloe who call them.
"Chloe? How do you get in here?!" Nathan asked to Chloe how the hell she get inside the island.
"Just like the way you go to the Borneo, Nate." Chloe answer Nate question, not long enough military SAR aircraft landed on the beach. They entered the helicopter and ready to go home, but they very surprised seeing who inside the chopper, especially Nathan.
"SULLY?! How the hell you...Goddammit, you old bastard, you made it!" Nathan was surprised saw his 'father' inside the chopper. Looks like Sully survived the giant and he was picked up by Chloe who called for military aircraft. But he didn't survived in one piece, his left arm and right foot broke, and his head got some serious bleeding. But it's okay, he just need some rest. He survived this nightmare.
"Kid, that prehistoric bigfoot just a kidstuff for me, they need more to take me down. Anyway, I saved your notebook." Sully then give back Nathan notebook. All of them then take a seat inside the chopper, they're ready to go home.
"Lara, you did it. You made your own mark, it didn't become waste. You fulfill your father's hope. He proud of you Lara. You should know it." Nathan give his congratulation to Lara, same as Sam, she gave her some congratulations. Lara feels like she still need more to fullfil her father's will, but this one is enough. She know in her gut that her father proud of her, and she just need to know it. The next day, she fills her notebook about her experience on Kemujan.