- Lara's Recollection of Recent Events

From the depths of the Sahara Desert landscape, Lara and Kurtis managed to locate where they were through the help of the tracking technology Kurtis had brought along with him. Utilising GPS and computerized mappings they followed a route to a way out of the sands. This led them on the road back to Alexandria, but using a different one than how Lara previously got there, knowing full well that at least one of the entrances was where Copper's people were.

It took a few hours to get out of the desert as well as the drive to Alexandria, and the evening was now drawing upon them. All the lights in the city were coming on as the sun setted upon Alexandria, and it really was a beautiful view to behold. Driving along through the city, the refuel light on the car dashboard eventually turned on, and the both of them very soon realised this.

"Looks like we will have to find a gas station very soon." Kurtis said, whilst looking at the fuel meter gauge.

"Yeah, I have no doubt though that word has got back to Copper about our escape from those chasers. He may have stationed watchers around the city, we will have to be cautious of where we go." Lara replied.

"I think you may be right Lara, hmmm how about over there?" Kurtis pointed out a service station just a few buildings ahead of them.

They had a quick look around the area to see if there was anyone suspicious. When they saw that there was no one questionable in the area, Lara decided to drive into the station.

"Seems safe, alright I'll pull in to this station." Lara stated.

Lara parked the car at one of the petrol pumps. Once she stopped the car, Kurtis got out and made his way to the pump nearest to fuel tank cap of the vehicle. While he was filling up the car with petrol, the conversation resumed between Lara and Kurtis.

"So...where are you staying exactly?" Lara asked him

"Not too far from here, once we have finished here we'll head over there and I will explain what you want to know."

"Fair enough."

Kurtis completed filling the fuel tank of the car and went over to the checkout to pay for the petrol. They swapped places when he came back, and Kurtis drove out of the station and went onto the main road.

"So how did you get involved in this adventure with Mr Copper's search party?" Kurtis asked her as they drove away from the station and onto their next destination.

"You sure you want to hear it? It's quite a long story." Lara warned him.

"I'm all ears."

"Right here's how it all began... A few days ago I got an unexpected call from a person named Martin Undergreen, he represented Eric Copper and proposed about this 'alien-like material substance' they found at one of their dig-sites in the jungle. I accepted the invitation, and about three days soon after we travelled to India, to be more precise Himachal Pradesh. On the flight, I had met the board of directors of Eric's company, The Green Copper Industrial Corporation, and there I was meant to meet my partner for the adventure, and that in itself was also another surprise I wasn't expecting once we had arrived at their owned hotel...Ayesha Christensen was going to be my partner."

"Huh, Ayesha's involved in all this too!" Kurtis sounded shocked and surprised to hear that she was part of this too.

"Yeah she is, as you know she too is well known in the field of archaeology, but there must also be another reason for her selection. Anyway we travelled deep into the jungle after the short meeting at the hotel to their dig-site. Ayesha and I entered the underground abyss to eventually discover a buried lost city, finding out a bit later on it was called Mystiaja from long ago."

"Gosh...that's an amazing discovery. So how did this city become lost and buried for all these years?" Kurtis intriguingly asked.

"As we observed the ruin, Ayesha told the story of how this glorious city became caved in and the state it had become. In short as the myth tells it, a natural disaster occurred to the city, there supposedly lived a magician whom had protected the city from perishing and formed a barrier around it. During this he had took to a form of a phoenix, and people thought he was trying to save the city, but in actual fact he was only protecting the temple that had held the artefact he was assigned to look after."

"Hmmm, interesting, so was the phoenix there when you and Ayesha were exploring the abandoned streets? I'm assuming you found the temple while you were there?"

"Yes on both accounts, and of course we got our hands on the mysterious artefact as well. It was at that point we heard a horrible shriek from the phoenix outside of the temple. Ayesha and I faced and fought against the creature, and when we managed to defeat it, something strange happened. There was this light coming from the phoenix's body and then suddenly I was in a different place, it was like being transported into another dimension."

"Wow, the guardians seem to have more power than I anticipated even when they're weakened, what occurred next?"

"I was now within this empty space, it's strange to describe it but that was all what it was, full of nothingness. Then the phoenix guardian appeared in his human form, and show me how he came into possession of the artefact before the disaster that had fallen upon the city. He also told me part of a passage and advice which may tell us the main secret behind these three artefacts, and he lastly gave a clue of where the second artefact was."

"Ah okay, I'm guessing that particular clue led you to here in Egypt?" Kurtis assumed.

"Yeah it did... Anyway after that unusual experience Ayesha and I woken from the spiritual encounter to which I'm guessing she had a similar experience as I did, and we made our way out of the underground and back to the hotel. This would be the last time I saw Ayesha be her usual self before she started to act strangely the next morning. This was also the point where things started to go wrong and I started to get more suspicious of the whole situation. That very evening Eric held a little celebration, you know to celebrate us finding the first artefact. However something wasn't right, Ayesha didn't answer her door nor turn up for the event, even though she was fine earlier on. Eric had said that Ayesha became ill that night which I found peculiar, and something didn't sit right with me.

"I wonder where could she have been that evening?"

"I wasn't sure, but it wasn't good news. In fact that very evening I went to try and find out myself what had happened to her. But as soon as I managed to get to her room through the long way...she wasn't there."

"What!?"

"I know, but there was nothing I could do. I then decided to leave it till the morning, to see whether she would show up or not. Amazingly enough she did, but there was something odd about her explanation of her absence when I spoke to her, and I knew she wasn't the Ayesha I knew. I would soon find out that she was in actual fact been under the control of Eric through the use of the artefact we found the day before."

"How did you find that out?"

"He explained it to me a few hours ago...when he revealed his true plan and nature in Rhamoon's Tomb. This was where we headed next, from India to Egypt. That very morning we took the flight to Alexandria, which I found a bit sudden. I had thought to myself why did we need to rush into things, but of course this is what Eric is like, keen on getting what he wants and before any sort of competition gets there... I imagine you were the reason behind it." Lara predicted, and Kurtis sighed in response.

"Yeah, unfortunately it was around that time he discovered about us, and it became harder to track his and his associates movements from then on. I honestly didn't know Ayesha was involved too. But I'll tell you about that when we reach the hotel, what happened after you landed in Alexandria?"

"Ah right, well it was mid to late afternoon when we arrived and we next headed to the hotel where we dropped off our belongings. We immediately went to the Sahara Desert after that, and met up with Tim who was overseeing the project of pursuing the second artefact. At that point he didn't find anything yet, but it was to be expected, and we eventually got back to the hotel and stayed there for the night. The next day we returned to the Sahara, only this time around it was just Ayesha, Eric, Tim and I who ventured out into the desert. It was not long until we noticed a strange glow coming from Eric's rucksack. It was the artefact reacting to the proximity of the second artefact that was quite close to where we were. The closer we got to our target, the more the artefact glowed. Using that as a guide we just managed to get through a brewing sandstorm and found the Tomb of Rhamoon."

"So this was where I found you a few hours ago."

"Yeah, we found the switch upon the surface to open the trapdoor entrance, and entered underground. There, we fought and defeated the Minotaur guardian of the second artefact in this labyrinth that was designed to confuse and trick any intruder. With the Minotaur being defeated, I was transported once again to this unknown realm, only this time I was speaking to Rhamoon. He showed me how he became a guardian of the second artefact, and what happened to him before and after as he transformed into the Minotaur when he was betrayed by his closest friends. It was a sad tale to hear and see."

"Yeah sounds it."

"Rhamoon proceeded to tell me where the second relic was hidden, a clue of the whereabouts of the final artefact and warned me about the group I was with. I was then awoken up back into this world, and we went on finding the second artefact. However, I sensed something wasn't right in the air when I overheard Eric chuckling to himself. Immediately I got out one of my pistols and aimed it at him without a second thought. Though he wasn't taken by surprise by my action, he'd just continued laughing and clapped his hands, as if everything had fallen into place for him. Apparently he had this all planned over the years, and knew the existence of the three artefacts for a long time, basically what I heard was madness. This was when he showed me that he mysteriously had control over Ayesha, and she took the second artefact from me... Like I saw before, the Ayesha I knew wasn't there...I'm worried Kurtis... how is he controlling her like that with the artefact, it's so surreal."

"I'm not sure yet Lara, but I'm sure we'll find out and try to revert it." Kurtis reassuringly said.

"I really do hope so, I don't want to lose one of my closest friends. Tim then spoke out amongst us against what Eric was doing and should had he carried on with it Tim stated he would've sided with me...Unfortunately Eric didn't like what he had heard from his friend Tim, and simply said 'If you won't join me, you will die' and then...he shot and killed Tim."

"Gosh...he would go that far..."

"Yes he would. Strangely enough he let me live...but eventually he left with Ayesha, trapping me in the room using dynamite to blow the entrance to smithereens. The place was now starting to fall apart and I needed to get out fast. So I found a way and ran for my life out of that tomb, that's where you saved me and here we are now." Lara concluded.

"Wow...that's quite a story so far."

"I did warn you." Lara smiled at him.

"Yeah. Did you leave anything important behind in the hotel you were staying at?"

"Not really, only the usual stuff like clothes et cetera. I can get some when the market opens tomorrow."

"Okay."

The time flew by as Lara and Kurtis had their conversation, and Kurtis started make a left turn into the hotel entrance of where he was staying. As they walked to reception, and Lara signed in at the reception desk, she then wanted Kurtis to answer her question.

"So now it's your turn, how did you get involved with this?"

"Well, there are two people that have helped me so far, and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them."

"Who are they?"

Just after Lara asked that question, Professor Igor Bowmane and Jane Riverton came into the reception area from the stairs.

"Hey, it's Lara!" Jane merrily said, as she came over and hugged her friend.

"Good evening Lara, it's lovely to see you again" The professor stated, as Lara hugged him too. She was certainly very happy to see them both and speechless at the same time.

"It's great to see you both...but...how?" Lara replied, still surprised seeing them there.

"Join us for dinner and we will explain everything." Jane answered, and they made their way into the dining room of the hotel.