AN: Okay, this Chapter has another nod to GuardEzio.. a little mention of something that bothers us both. Nothing against people who like it! It's just not my thing. It worked with the situation and well.. that's it. It worked well :P I love the idea, it fits. So since I left it at a nice low point.. I'm going to cheat and go to where I want to be for the story. I had no sound on my computer for a while.. thank the person who posted Walk-through with dialogue readout enabled. :) I don't like listening to that section much anyway.. the prisoners yelling scares the living daylights out of me when I play by myself. For the sake of speeding things up a bit I jumped at one point directly to the cage.. it was a lot of stuff to write and I just wanted to get there XD
-Fear My Awesomely Dramatic Page Break-
'I don't think she made the fall.'
'Let's get down there. Come on!'
That was the voice of one of the Scavengers..
Lara waded her way through the.. blood, bones and mutilated body parts until she reached the point where solid land was visible.
Drips from the ceiling of the cavern startled her. It wasn't the most welcoming of situations after all. The Cave was one of the many Fortresses of the Solarii.
Roth and Lara had lost contact with the rest of the Endurance Crew and had decided to backtrack their actions to hopefully locate them.
The Geothermal Caverns steam vents were visible up ahead. How was she supposed to get past this?
A small coughing fit brought Lara's attention to the fact that these were indeed 'Some kind of natural gas..' she wondered aloud 'probably flammable..'
She didn't know to whom she was mentioning this. Lara found it useful sometimes to talk things through to herself.
Notching her arrow she drew the string back with the lighter in her hand and took a few steps away for good measure. No need to ignite herself after all.
There was a loud explosion that followed the release. Lara started to advance, foolishly thinking it was safe to do so.
Not so much!
The vent reappeared moments before she was about to head through the now vacant opening.
'Damnit..' she re-strung another and repeated the process, moving quicker now for good measure.
She emerged into what seemed like a supply pit just past the obstacle. She pillaged the crate for all it had. Nothing much, .. some wood, a few bottles. Salvage was salvage.. and they needed as much as they could get.
'Madness. That's what this place is.' She mused to herself again as she sat down wearily at a small campfire nearby.
Determined to make something out of what she'd just recovered she quickly went to work strengthening the strings of her bow.
She'd had a few unfortunate incidents where the string had snapped and hit her face. Leaving her with several unsightly scratches that the rest of the group had fussed about to no end. Lara had told them it was only her weapon malfunctioning, they didn't believe it though. Who would? With all the mystery the Island held.
Time to move..
Lara hauled herself up off the floor with a few quick movements and began her decent down the corridor again.
This place was creepy. The broken bars suggested something that once looked like a Prison cell. The raw smell of blood and sewage didn't help that thought either. The Solarii didn't seem like nice people. Why should their cages be any different?
'Wait, wait.. What do you want me to do? Please!'
Who was that? She crept closer to the opening on the off-chance she might see something of interest.
A horrid feeling seeped into her stomach.
'Don't struggle too much,'
A body was thrown in.
'And hope they kill you fast.'
'Oh god, no..' Lara couldn't help the comment that escaped her. This was all so horrible
'Please.. who are you? What.. what are you doing..' the nameless voice pleaded again.
Maniacal laughter soon followed the question as a small horde of Victims came upon the poor soul.
'No! No! Oh god.. please! Aghh!'
She couldn't stand by anymore. It took less than a second before Lara was firing arrows into the small bunker at any target she could see. She hoped she hadn't hit the Man who'd been thrown in there.
The last person alive screamed. It was a bone chilling, blood curling scream that echoed though the now silent cave.
It seemed quiet now. At least, it had been that way for a few moments. She cautiously decided to resume downward.
Arrows and bow at the ready in case anything decided to spook her.
She heard the mad nattering of someone else stuck somewhere in the Cave. She bypassed by that. If she could avoid crazy.. then she would.
Lara spotted the wheel next to the grate.
That might be a viable way out..
Soon she was using her Climbing Axe to move the wheel, with little success as it broke.
Another vent started up from the hole in the old piping. This could prove beneficial..
Moving again a few feet back she lined up another fire arrow and took aim at the vent.
The door blasted off its hinges and created a nice doorway. A little jagged but what did that matter. It was a way out.
The voice continued to haunt her. Now rambling something about a meal? She certainly didn't want to be that.
Better to move off before he finds me..
'Goddamn these caves.. surprised this whole place hasn't gone up yet.'
'Shhush..' Lara spoke to herself in an effort to keep quiet. Now was not the time to panic and blow everything. They'd obviously heard the explosion she'd just created and she needed to maneuver past them as quickly as possible.
'I might have to cap that vent in the pit again..' one of the voice spoke. It sounded resentful. Obviously not a lot of people made it by these things. Naturally, since a lot of these people seemed to be quite stupid, she wouldn't be entirely surprised if they set them off all the time with dumb accidents.
'If it's loose lets just leave it for the next shift?'
That's right.. leave the dirty work for someone else to blow up on.. you miserable, no good bastard..
No honor or heroics, even for their own kind. That was truly sad. Lara might not have liked everyone in her group, but she was still putting in her best efforts to make sure they all made it.
Well, mostly. She hadn't succeeded with some.
'Hey, don't take too long down there. I want to finish this game.'
'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' The other voice replied again.
'What if the unholy ones figure out how to ignite that shit?'
Too late..
'Shit, alright, alright.' He replied grudgingly. It looked like their work-shove off routine wouldn't be happening tonight.
'I hate that place.'
'Look, I'll go check it out.. you can stay here.'
Oh not a good idea..
The exchange between the Scavengers was starting to rub off on Lara. They really needed to move this along.
'Thanks, brother.' the weak one replied. He had to be weak. With all these guys did, for him to fear this above all else? Coward.
A Flashlight beam appeared to the left as the other one made his way back from the direction Lara came. At least she wouldn't have to deal with him.
Sneaking up on the unsuspecting Scavenger left behind proved easier than she thought it would be. With a quick snap of her reinforced bow around his neck and a quick jerk of her hands she heard the tell tale crack of his life ending.
It was a bit of a struggle, he flailed for a bit but she eventually over powered him.
'Hey! We got a problem. Get down here!'
'Alright, you bastards! I'm gonna punish you for this.'
The flickering light hanging from the roof of the cave caught her attention. It would be of more use to her if it was disabled.
A reality realized as she shot an arrow into the target. The Cave got a bit darker.
She wandered about the space briefly, trying to get her bearings.
'Hey, watch it. You're fucking up the board.'
'Relax – you're losing anyway.'
They must be playing a game..
'Goddamnit, not again.' A noise distracted them. One of the figures rose from the table 'I got it.' he assured the other and started to walk away.
Lara took the opportunity to plug the one left sitting in the head with an arrow, soon turning to the one walking away oblivious to the goings – on around him and quickly resolved that problem with another arrow.
It was safe to move again.
A pile of crates caught Lara's attention. On top was a Journal. Reyes.
She knew she shouldn't invade someone's personal things but she couldn't help it. She felt drawn to it.
Upon closer inspection she discovered it was a letter to Alisha, Reyes.. daughter.. about Roth.. Roth was her Father.. was this right? Reyes never mentioned anything of the sort. Certainly not to Roth. If it was true Roth would have know.
Right? Right..
Even if the question was up in the air at the moment, one thing was certain. She still needed to rescue them. This only made the task more urgent.
It's my fault we're in this mess.. I've got to get us out..
Lara navigated her way through a multitude of different rooms, firing at countless faces of the Solarii Scavengers as she made her way further into the cave. She'd come across several of them worshiping dead displayed bodies. It was utterly depraved.. these people had no shame.. or value for human life.
She was just rounding a corner after making her way through a very precarious series of exploding hallways when she heard 'Keep it up, you son of a bitch.'
Reyes..
'When I get outta here, I'm gonna shove one those arrows right up your ass.'
That's right.. good girl.. antagonize him..
'Hahah! This one's got a temper.' One of the three Scavengers observed.
Bad boy.. don't antagonize her..
Thankfully one of the other Solarii had the same view 'Hey, don't rile them up, we're working here.'
'Goddamn, idiot.' he muttered as he started to walk away.
'This cage is kinda overkill.'
'Since the old man busted out, they don't want to take any chances' a voice responded gruffly.
'These new ones are trouble.' another surmised.
'We should just send them all to the Oni.' another suggested.
'So.. what do you think's going to happen?'
'The Sun Queen.. she's finally going to lead us off this rock.' a voice suggested mildly hopeful.
'So it's all real? I mean.. she's real?' he quickly corrected himself.
'She is. And nothing is going to stop us.'
I wouldn't be so sure about that..
Lara took this moment as an opportunity to get the upper hand on the situation. A Scavenger was walking past her view point and she struck him with an arrow. Taking care of the others in the room just as quickly.
She was soon met with cheers and applause as she rounded the rock heap in the center of the room and into the view of her fellow survivors.
She looked up, her eyes connected with Alex first 'That was bad-ass, Lara!' he praised her from above.
'How the hell did you get in here?' someone questioned.
Lara looked up reluctantly 'I had some help..'
When she didn't continue Reyes prompted her 'Grim?' she looked at her for confirmation.
'Yes.. he didn't make it.'
'Shit!'
There was a moment of silence before Jonah spoke up 'I didn't think anything could take that guy down.'
'He went out swinging, .. gave me a chance to get to you.' she offered, trying to lessen the blow of Grim's death with purpose.
Grim won't have died in vain..
'Look, there's a rescue helicopter on its way.' hopefully changing the subject to a better topic would help a little 'I know their keeping Sam separately. Have you seen Whitman?'
'Guess he didn't make it to the guest rooms.' Reyes barked bitterly. The Doctor had once again managed to separate himself from them.
'Mr. Showbiz probably weaseled an upgrade.' Alex concluded.
Jonah kneeled down 'We'll find him, and Sam too, but we're not gonna do anything from up here.'
Lara nodded 'I'll find a way to get you out.'
She began moving about the cave looking in earnest for something to help them with this.
'Alright, let's try to loosen this thing up.'
A loud metal groan reverberated around the cave 'Come on guys, again.'
'Okay, ready.. jump!'
They were shaking the confinement, but not much else.
'It's no use, Reyes..' Alex spoke.
Always an optimist..
They ignored him 'Ready.. jump!' Jonah echoed again.
'Goddamn it!' Reyes would be no use if she got too frustrated. She was used to having things go her way.
'Lara, there is some weird shit going on here.' Alex tried to lighten the atmosphere with some light chit-chat
'We heard them talking about a Sun spirit' Jonah chimed in again.
'Sun Queen. Ancient ruler of Yamatai.' Lara offered.
Alex paused 'You've got to be kidding me. You mean.. this is Yamatai?'
'Yes it would appear so. Hold onto something' Lara interjected. She'd been working busy in the background prying another handle off a vent system and was currently taking aim at the contents.
'Wahoo! Yeah! Yes! Wooo!' The excited shouts of Alex meant she must have done something right.
'That did it!' Reyes joined the conversation again. The cage was loosened.
'Alright. Great job, Lara.' she heard Jonah add to the end.
Lara started to make her way across the room when a huge fireball escaped the bottom of the cave and erupted mere feet from her position.
'This place is becoming unstable.. the floor is starting to buckle.' She informed them hastily.
They'd have to move quick.
'Don't worry about it Lara, just get us out of here!' Alex was always so helpful.
Jonah seemed to pick up on this 'You're doing great!'
Lara had made her way to the top of the wooden ramp on the side of the cave wall and was looking out over the floor uneasily.
'Jump over, we'll keep the cage steady.' he spoke calmly trying to steady her nerves.
She launched from the suspended cage onto the Airplane Fuselage the Scavengers were using as makeshift containment.
'Nice to see you all again.' Lara joked as she pulled herself about the top of the platform.
'Okay, now what?' Alex asked eagerly.
Reyes observed the situation for a second before instructing Lara on how to proceed 'The other counter weight. Its locked down over there.'
Lara quickly went to work firing an arrow to the left at a structure that vaguely resembled a chandelier near a vent into rocking to the right into a pile of junk hanging from the wall. This dislodged the other counterweight and everything started to sway.
She started to fall and tried to steady herself but the motion sent her tumbling off the other side of the plane and toward the floor opening up underneath them. Lara squeezed her eyes shut tight and waited for the inevitable heat.
'Whoa! Hey! I gotcha, girl!' she looked up. Jonah was clutching her forearm tightly.
Lara looked down for a moment. The entire sub flooring had given way to the Lava from the Mountain underneath.
Looking down at the molten rock she briefly thought of back home, at the local pub. How she'd like to toss the lot of College boys one night who'd suggested she start a game of tonsil hockey with Sam.
She felt herself being forced upward and shook herself from the reminder.
'Thanks, Jonah! That was close!' she breathed looking up gratefully.
'Oh shit, we have a problem! Grab hold of something! Reyes shouted as soon as Lara got a firm grip on the side platform.
'Ahh, we lost the cage floor.'
'Look down, man. We've lost all the fucking floor!' Alex yelled scared in response to Jonah.
'We gotta get outta this thing!' Jonah countered.
'Oh crap, this is bad!' Alex added again.
'Lara, you be careful out there!' Jonah warned.
She had managed to work her way across and around the cage to the top on the other side, slipping a few times but thankfully not falling. If she had, there were no open holes where anyone could have grabbed at her.
An explosion rocked the cage and she struggled a bit but basically kept her balance.
'Holy shit! Sounds like the whole mountain is going up.'
Lara spotted two pikes with vents on them across a gap while Alex continued his running commentary on the situation.
Taking a deep breath and wasting no time she took a leap for the gap and landed on the outcropping soundly.
'Oh crap, we're starting to fall.. hurry, Lara!' Alex called again.
She pried the caps off the vents in succession opening the one on her left and then moving to her right to finish the job.
She had already worked out a scenario in her head. She'd never be able to fire two arrows quick enough to get a explosion the size and power that she needed.
She circled over to the side and lifted her bow in front of her and lined up an arrow parallel to the cage.
Flicking the lighter to on she let the tip catch fire and released it into the smoke.
'Alright, this should do it. Take cover!'
It worked!
The resulting thrust pushed the cage onto the other side of the cave and up against a big landing. It provided them with enough time to escape the inside before it fell into the large pit of lava as they scrambled to pull Alex up before he went down with it.
'Thanks' Jonah called from across the gap.
'Holy shit, that was close.' Alex breathed. He was shaken up pretty bad.
'Lara, it looks like there's a way out on this side.' Reyes shouted helpfully.
'Okay, then go!' Lara called back. 'I'm going in to get Sam and Whitman!'
For one she didn't know why. For the other it was her best friend. There was no question.
As she scaled the side of a hanging crate Jonah gave her his best wishes and told her to be safe.
'Come on, let's move!' Reyes ordered.
Lara pulled herself up onto the uneven crevice ledge. She'd go in to get Sam, but then she'd have to get out again.
-I'll Stop Writing It Like This If Someone Can Help Me Figure It Out! I've Tried EVERYTHING!-
AN: :) H'okay, what'dya think? Tell me if I'm still on the right path.. I'd hate to veer off now :P I'm really getting into it! I'm thinking of dragging this out a while longer :) I have to get my head into Lara/ Alex mode.. I need more Fluff.. or smut.. either or.. – Something with those two! :O I'm determined now! I kinda found this scene in the Fire Cave needed to be done. I know I'm not the only one who ended up screaming at the TV 'I'M WORKING ON IT!' through this whole scene. I mean, talk about pressure? Let the woman work.. jeez. :P
A little note, again.. it will take me a while.. this next section of the game is.. well.. frakkin' huge and I'll need to review for a good long while. I've also done something to my left hand and it hurts to type right now so.. I've pained it out to get this Chapter for you but I need to take a small few day break.
I'm also in the works on a couple One-Shots Lara/ Larson and Lara/ Kurtis Trent. I thought the scene in the newer Anniversary game where he attacks her after the Waterfall was just too frakkin' good to pass up. The Museum/ Airlock scenes with Kurtis also kinda sparked ideas too. I mean.. come on? Even though AOD wasn't everyone's idea of a good TR Game you have to admit that those scenes were pretty intense. Or was that just me? :)