This is the 7th chapter. I don't own the series of Helluva Boss or the game of Tomb Raider.
Draconic Fan: In the future chapters.
Fight at Mountain Base
After a long talk about Antauri's life back in London and how he even met the ladies who are originally from Hell, they decided to head out when Millie came from behind.
"Hi there." The voice of Millie said, which made both Antauri and Lara spooked and turned to her.
"Dammit, Millie! You scared the living shit out of us!" Antauri grumbled which made Millie nervously chuckled.
"Sorry." Millie apologizes, scratching the back of her head which Antauri and Lara are wondering why she followed them. "But can you blame me? I can't sit here and let you and Lara go to that radio tower alone. You'll be getting yourselves killed."
"We're aware of that, and it's not going to stop us." Lara told her. "They're also guarding the tower."
"Which is why I'm helping you out." Millie declares.
"Did Blitz know about this?" Antauri questions with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Roth need some extra hands on getting back on his feet and-"
"Blitz and Moxxie are keeping him company while making a makeshift crutch for him." Millie cuts him off. "I even told him about helping you two get to tower and kill those bastards."
"You've got to be kidding! They couldn't even make something out of the wilderness and survive on their own!" Antauri points out.
And speaking of which at the campsite, Blitzo and Moxxie are trying to make the makeshift crutch since they were able to collect the materials they need while Roth watches them make it, which it's pretty terrible and he's amused.
"Damn it! Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Blitzo grunts and the materials collapsed while the stick bonked him in the head. "And I'm already wet enough, all because of the fucking rain!"
Roth couldn't help but chuckle at that, watching Blitzo complain and Moxxie tried to reason with him.
Back at the other camp.
"Okay, I'll give you that, they don't know what they're doing." Millie said with a sigh. "But still, Roth can take care of himself and both Blitz and Moxxie are helping him. So, you two are stuck with me and I'm helping you whether you like it or not."
With no way of talking Millie out of it, Antauri and Lara reluctantly lets her come and help since they don't have time to argue.
"By the way, I found this." Millie said as she tosses a bronze coin to Lara. "It's been laying on the ground next to you guys, so thought I wait for your talk is over."
Lara then looks at the coin, which got her surprised.
"This bronze coin probably found its way into Japanese circulation sometime in the 19th century." Lara told her. "Basically, this is Chinese Bronze Coin."
They then get out of camp, but barely when they heard voices of more guards paused them.
"It's freezing out here!"
Lara shushed Antauri and Millie, though she didn't need too. They already knew to be quiet.
"You'll get used to it. It's even colder up by the radio tower.
"The weather on this island is crazy."
"Everything about this island is crazy, brother."
"Hey! Get that damned gun off me!"
Antauri quickly walk to the guard and snapped his neck, gesturing them to hide somewhere while avoiding the spotlight.
"Gonna go check in, need anything?"
"Nah, I'm good."
Using her knife, Millie throws it right at the spotlight just above the pathway.
"Aw, damn it."
"Burned out again."
"Surprised they even work after so many years."
"These guys are idiots." Millie grumbled as they spread out to kill the guards which she impales him in the head with her knife, Lara strangles the other guard with her bow, and Antauri snaps the third guard.
They advanced forward and inside of the building but hearing the welding noise as Antauri kills the guard. They went up the stairs and starts killing two more with Lara fires her bow at the first while Millie throws her knife at the second. Antauri noticed an artifact, which happens to be another bronze coin.
"This coin is from the Edo Period, minted in the late 17th century." Antauri quietly said. "It could've come from any number of old wrecks on this island."
"Find anything?" Millie asks, approaching him. "Ohh, another coin."
"Yes, but this one is Japanese in the late 17th century." Antauri nods, then turns to Lara. "You're becoming deadly with the bow, Lara. Keep it up."
It got her smiled proudly as she nods.
They then notice two more guards in front of them, few yards away. Lara and Antauri pulled out their weapons while wait for one of the guards walking away and out of distance. Lara fires her bow, killing the first guard and Antauri fires his pistol and killed the second guard in the head. Millie grabs hold of his back, and they leap towards the other building while scrambling up the wall and climbed the walkways, heading towards the top.
"This bunker...WW2 era. Probably Japanese." Lara murmured which Antauri agrees with her statement.
Then, they ziplined down from the top, landed in some partially flooded ruin.
"Ah, it's freezing!" Lara gasped as she hit the water.
"Even through my pants!" Antauri agrees.
His pants were thick enough to protect him from several environmental changes along with his white fur, but the coat water seeped through as if they were nothing.
"Damn! I'm not built for this!" Millie exhaled, but they're heading to dry surface when they heard voices.
"Over here!"
"Alright, let's get these lines hooked up. The brothers inside need power."
"Ow...fuck!"
"You okay?"
"Fine...fine! Just do the job."
"How many came in from the new wreck?"
"A couple dozen...and some women. Father Mathias brought one in himself."
"For the ritual?"
"Probably. We'll find out tonight."
Antauri then noticed a journal. He begins reading it, which appeared that one of the islanders, known as the 'First Solarii', named by Mathias. The journal talked about controlling the guns and food in order to keep them happy. The storms bring to this island and decide the fate of new survivors: any who defy us are killed.
"Son of a bitch." Antauri snarled quietly after finished reading the journal.
"My God. Who are these people?" Lara questioned in shock.
"They may have once been like us before losing their sanity to the island. At least now we have name from them. 'Solarii', sounds almost like a cult." Antauri explains. "We better be extra careful from here on out."
"But...what about the ritual?" Millie asks, worried.
"Not sure, but we have to focus on getting to the radio tower." Antauri said as Lara and Millie nods with an agreement.
Lara used her axe to turn the valve and shut off the gas. It was then Antauri and Millie noticed a message on the wall under an old breaker box that said, 'No One Leaves'.
'That's unsettling.' Antauri mentally thought before he and Millie follows Lara into the next room when voices were getting closer.
"Careful, careful...it's loaded with fuel."
"Yeah...No shit!"
"What do they need it for?"
"Generator, probably...for the tower."
"How the hell are we going to get it up the stairs?"
"Good question."
"Let's just leave it here for now. We can get some of the others up front to help us out."
"Fine with me. Let's go."
Antauri then fires his pistol at the barrel, explodes and killing the guards which alerted the other guards. The third guard revealed himself while try to find the ones responsible, but Millie ran to him, drops down to his shoulders and snapped his neck. They then head up the stairs but caught off-guard by another man jumping through an opening above them. Millie pulls out her knife and lunges down, impales him in the head. They then climbed up and through where the dead man came from which the room has a large glass, and a wreck.
"Hmm...this glass looks weak." Millie commented with a ponder.
"Still probably need something with a lot of kick to break it." Antauri replied. "Maybe there's something in there."
Before he and Millie head further, Lara climbed over into what looked like an old power room. They also noticed her already messing the valve.
"Lara, wait!" Antauri shouts.
But it was too late, the valve switched on the gas as another guard came toward her from the other side.
"There's nowhere to run, outsiders!"
"What the hell?!" Lara exclaimed as he attacked the glass with the butt of his submachine gun.
"Lara, back through here! Get out of the room!" Millie called her from the other room.
Once Lara quickly gets out of the room, the gas began to fill the room and Antauri picked up the lantern, aims at the opening. With the careful toss, the lantern shattered and created a massive explosion in the area. The resulting blast blew everyone back, and Antauri was rammed headfirst into the wall behind him as he's knocked out. Lara and Millie recovered quickly, went after the man who's impaled through. She takes a submachine gun and put him out of his misery, then they returned to Antauri's side and attempted to get him back to his state.
"Antauri! C'mon, sweetie! Don't die on me!" Millie pleads, shook him.
"Antauri, please don't be dead! Wake up!" Lara adds with a whisper, also shook him.
A brief pause with no result, then Antauri groaned and with a racking cough that shook through his entire body, his eyes slowly slid open.
"What the hell happened?" Antauri asks with a groan as Millie hugs him with relief.
"The explosion threw you into the wall. I think headfirst." Lara replied, relieved that he's alright.
"That explains how I've got a headache. I've gotta have a concussion by now." Antauri groaned, putting his head and gently rubs with a hiss.
"Be careful with that, then." Lara told him. "Come on, let's get you back on your feet."
Slinging his arm around her shoulders, Lara helped him to his feet. He staggered a bit once he's upright, but he steadied himself.
"Okay, I'm fine." Antauri said. "We need to keep moving."
As they pressed forward, passing a corpse, Millie was able to find a field report. It tells them about the Axis have lost the cargo ships from the storm during their expedition and established a communication center high in the mountains and coastal base construction while surveying the possible excavation sites. The Axis was tasked to identify the source of the storms and hoping to succeed the war.
"That explains how the Germans and the Japanese have built the base and the radio tower, but it left them dead after they've surrendered." Millie muttered, turns to Antauri. "Antauri, lend me your gun since you're setting this one out."
Antauri didn't the idea of not fighting against the Solarii, he reluctantly gives the pistol to Millie, but soon as they pressed on, they heard shouts of warning.
"Now! Light them up!"
"Ah, shit!" Antauri growled as the lights were lit, making his headache worse and making it harder for him to concentrate.
"Antauri, get down!" Lara and Millie shouts, firing their firearms as the number of survivors.
"She has a machine gun along with those freaks! Get down!"
Both Antauri and Millie are offended from that insult, but the white hellhound briefly ducks down to avoid the incoming fire and letting them take care of the guards. Several minutes, which felt like forever, went by a gunfire seemed to echo in the confined space, amplifying his headache even more. Just as quickly as it started, it suddenly became quietly, and Lara was pulling him back into his feet.
"You hurt at all?" Antauri asks when Lara and Millie looking over their wounds, shook their heads.
"How about you?" Millie asks.
"Besides a damn headache getting worse because of the crossfire, no." Antauri answered. "Thanks for saving my ass. Gotta shake off this headache."
"You took a nasty blow to your head." Lara points out. "You may be out of sorts for a bit and that's alright. Consider it payback for keeping me alive for this long."
Antauri and Millie chuckled while helping her loot anything from the dead bodies strewn about before they take a break at the fire. Millie helps Lara salvage up the WW2 submachine gun since it needs some spit and polish, extends the magazine to hold 15 more rounds, adding a muzzle brake to dispel the gas from bullet firing to reduce the recoil, and make the stock padded to help steady the weapon while firing.
"From a dead man?" Antauri asks when he noticed a gun.
"Yep, just put him out of his misery and sent him straight to hell." Millie answered with a nod. "Just hope Blitz and Moxxie don't give each other a hard time, or Roth's."
"Knowing them, they probably have troubles of their own and Roth probably tries to help." Antauri said. "We know Roth, he's stubborn."
Lara agreed to his statement, but then head to the hallway after she informed the white hellhound.
"Let's hope we find that console Alex mentioned here." Antauri commented, making Lara and Millie nodded in agreement.
Together, they took down a leftover guard who jumped down from the vent above them and pry the door open at the end of the hall. Inside, they found a console connected to the radio tower.
"Holy shit. Looks like this is it." Millie said with gasp, but Antauri's head is throbbing, making it difficult for his concentration.
However, the console was so old Antauri and Millie doubts that it worked anymore. It was covered in dead leaves and, as they suspected, Lara attempted to grab the switch, it came off into her hand.
"Dammit!" Antauri and Millie cursed.
Lara looked ready to start cursing herself, but grabs the radio instead.
"Alex? Are you there?" Lara asks as Alex radioed back, but out of breath.
"Yeah."
"The console's a wreck." Lara told him.
"Damn it!"
"That's what I said." Antauri stated, gently takes the radio from her. "What do we do now?"
"Well, unless you see a Radio Shack around, you're going to have to patch in manually through the maintenance panel."
"Okay, that sounds simple enough." Lara replied.
"Almost too simple. What's the catch?" Antauri asked.
"You two are going to have to find it first. On those old towers they installed the panels high up, I mean way high up."
To prove his point, Antauri, Lara, and Millie turns and noticed a radio tower which it's high up.
"Climbing again." Lara groaned.
"Just great." Antauri added, ending transmission as Millie grabs the radio.
"Blitz? Are you there?" Millie asks as Blitzo radioed back.
"Hey, Mills, what's up? Found the radio tower?" Blitzo asks.
"Yeah, but...the console is a wreck and what's worse, Antauri has a concussion after taking a blow to the head at the wall from the explosion." Millie explains.
"Shit, how bad on the scale of 1 to 10?" Blitzo asks again with a grunt.
"About 8." Millie answered. "And we're heading to the radio tower. By heading there, I mean climbing up to get to the maintenance panel."
"Christ on a stick! Okay, but you guys might wanna hurry up. Those dipshits are still looking for us." Blitzo suggested with a groan in annoyance, ending transmission.
As they look for a way out, Antauri found another diary, but to his surprised, it was Mathias journal.
"Lara, Millie, come here." Antauri called as he began to read it out loud.
Mathias talked about being the only survivor of his group while the others are dead because of them attempted to escape in a makeshift boat that was tossed and turned by the storms. He also talked about how the storms of the island weren't random or even natural, that they're appeared to be emotions behind them.
"I knew that son of a bitch isn't what he appears to be. He's one of them and can't be trusted." Antauri growled as he threw the diary.
"Sam went with him! The others have to find her and soon." Lara cried, suddenly immensely worried for her friend's well-being.
"And they will, Lara." Millie assures her. "We have to call the others for help. We have to get to that radio tower."
They set off down the adjourned hall after getting more bullets from the ammo cases, discovered another tight walk-space filled with pipes. As Lara ducked and nearly grabbed the pipe above her head, Antauri quickly grabs her wrist.
"No! Don't touch the pipes. They're scalding hot and you'll get burned!" Antauri warned her.
She nodded and they shimmed through, carefully avoiding the pipes.
"That tower better work after all this." Lara commented.
"You're telling us." Antauri agrees as they ducked under a pipe cluster.
A pipe burst a cloud of hot steam in front of them. Antauri pulled Lara back just before she was hit.
"Crouch down and crawl." Antauri suggested. "Maybe the lower we are, the less likely the steam will reach us."
They did as he suggested and avoided any more burst bursts of steam. Lara kicked down the vent in front of them and they stagged out as they look at the radio tower, meaning they're getting close.
"Snow?" Antauri said in confusion as light flurries of snow whipped around them.
"This isn't normal." Lara stated.
"Ah, shit! Now I wish I brought a jacket with me! We could use one." Millie remarked, tried to suppress the violent shiver.
They're prepared to cross the bridge, but quickly noticed the only way across was a small, loose-looking beam.
"You've got to be kidding me! This is like the tree on the cliffside all over again." Antauri growled as they approached it.
"At least this looks less flimsy." Lara called back as she quickly crossed the gap and onto the bridge piece with a little hop.
However, before Antauri and Millie could join her, a man jumped out from behind the truck, taking Lara by surprise.
"I got one! Ah...hah! Come here!"
He seizes her by the waist and attempting to throw her off the side of the bridge. The moment she's in the air, Lara grabbed onto the side of the trucks bed, preventing him from throwing her anywhere.
"Ah! Get off! Let go!" Lara yelled, kicking him in the face and sending him hurtling off the bridge to his death.
Antauri and Millie crossed the beam in three large but careful strides and was at Lara's side immediately.
"You alright?" Antauri asks, attempted to calm her down.
After a moment, she nodded and they continued with their arsenals drawn.
"Are you sure you're okay, sweetie?" Millie asks him.
"I'm fine, just got the swollen down." Antauri told her when the loud whistle was heard.
"Damn! How many are there?" Lara cursed.
"Too many." Antauri growled.
"Damn it, they musta killed everyone in the base."
"We need some help over here!"
Lara fires her bow at the guard in the head, killing him and then the second from the top is killed. Antauri and Millie advanced when one of the guards ran to him, as the white hellhound shot him in the dick and swipes him in head with his claw. Lara grabs her submachine gun and fires the survivor ziplining the rope but takes the fall and died instead.
"Where the fuck did she get that fucking machine gun and those freaks?"
"Yeah, fuck you too!" Antauri shouts back, shot the other survivor in the head while Millie shot her gun at the third one, then advanced further.
"There they are!"
"Just fire everything you got! They're getting too close!"
Antauri then fires his pistol at the barrel as it explodes, destroyed the building and killing the guards.
"Nice shot. Glad you never lost your touch." Millie praises the white hellhound, then approaches them with a dog tags on her hand. "I was able to find this while you two kept those shitheads busy."
Lara grabs it and takes a look at the military dog tags.
"Those are Japanese Dogtags, but I don't recognize the kanji...were these used during World War 2?" Lara asks which made Antauri and Millie shrugs, looked into it later as they advanced when the voice of the guards was heard.
"Stop them...stop them, damn it!"
"Over there! Behind the wall!"
The guards jumped off the wall and Lara and Antauri made a quick work out of the two, shooting them in the head. Millie charges after the third guard, impales him in the throat and silt his neck with her knife as blood sprays into the ground, causing him to collapse down to the ground with blood gurgling in the mouth. They then loot anything from the dead bodies that can put to good use. Millie climbs up of the building and noticed another diary that belongs to Mathias.
She reads it, telling her about Mathias observes the other survivors while avoiding them, but needs others by controlling the entire island. So, he'll gather a small group of followers, understand the power and the need to organize. But more importantly, they can't hesitate to kill or use violence which will be part of their lives. Mathias will learn the true secret of the storms; the island will be his.
"So, that asshole is their fucking leader." Millie growls angrily with a hiss. "What kind of psychopaths are we dealing?!"
Antauri overheard, which he too made him even more pissed off for he learned about Mathias. But they continued on for the radio tower, climbing up when they heard a voice.
"Defend the tower, brothers!"
The guards appeared from the building as they fired their arrows, forcing Lara, Antauri, and Millie to hide. Lara quickly noticed one of them ziplines the rope as she fires her bow and killing him. Antauri shots his pistol at the other in the head while Millie gouges the third guard in the eyes and impales him in the head with her knife. Lara fires her submachine gun at the fourth, killing him.
"Damn it, can't hit them."
"We've got to protect the tower! Stop them at all costs!"
"Ahh, come on! Get some fire over there!"
With that, two of the guards revealed themselves from the opening and throw the molotov cocktails which made them quickly dodge and the number of bottles burst into flames from the ground. Lara then fires her gun at the first guard and Antauri fires his pistol at the other right at the throat.
"What the hell...they're still alive! Get the big guy out here!"
After hearing that, they got down to the ground since they'll be in for another fight against the big guard, who pushes them away with armor, shield, and a machete equipped. He rushes to them with his shield ready while they get ready to dodge. But once the guard starts swinging his machete, they dodge and Millie makes a quick work by lunging him from behind and slits right in the throat, causing him to gurgle in blood and collapse down to the ground. The door opens and the guard noticed they're still alive, but Lara shot him in the head.
"We should be close to that tower." Antauri said with a pant which Lara and Millie nodded an agreement.
They gathered the loot from the dead bodies, before they ventured inside of the building to look for more materials they need for their firearms but stumbled upon a badge.
"An alloy badge awarded to marksman 2nd Class in the Imperial Japanese Army." Lara murmured but noticed a faint kanji. "Hmm, a faint kanji etching. Someone's name?"
They shrugged since they don't know, decided to look into it later and got out of the building while going back to the flurry when Antauri noticed another diary as he reads. It's telling him about Mathias planning to unlock the power of the island while try to understand what was happening. It takes time to study since there are many mysteries here in the ruins of Yamatai, and Himiko, the Sun Queen.
"Mathias started uncovering clues to the true nature of this place." Lara said.
"But not without letting the others know about this." Antauri growled. "We already get the ideas of his plan."
Lara and Millie took noticed of his look, a very pissed off look after learning about Mathias' plan. They decided to take a break after a fight against the guards, which Lara upgrades her gun by polishing the ejector for increasing firing rate.
"Never knew when all this comes and handy." Antauri remarked, then noticed a rope that would get them over to the tower. "I don't think this thing can handle more than one at a time and I'm not risking your life if it falls. I think you should go. I'll radio you when me and Millie clear the area of any other threats and meet you at the other end of the zipline."
While Antauri and Millie stayed behind, Lara uses the rope to incline her way over and onto the tower. Going over to the rusty ladder, she glanced up before putting her foot onto the first rung.
"Okay...here goes." Lara said as she starts ascended towards the top.
However, one section was rusted to the point it gave way under her weight, nearly taking her with it down the mountain. She reached the middle ground and paused for a brief moment to get her wits back. Another ladder and she's nearly at the top. The final leg of the climb was a risky one, nearly fall several times, but managed to reach the panel. She then contacted Alex.
"Alex." Lara called him as he radioed back.
"Lara."
"I'm at the panel." Lara informed him as she opened the panel.
"Okay...The tower should boost the signal from the transmitter."
She placed the walkie-talkie at the top of the panel and placing the transmitter inside next to the broadcasting system.
"Okay." Lara said.
"Alright, find the emergency channel and get a clear signal on your radio before you broadcast the SOS. Hey, we go everything crossed for you down here, L.C."
"Thank you." Lara thanked him.
After a moment of tuning, Lara found the channel and cleared up the signal.
"Mayday, mayday. This is Lara Croft of the Endurance." Lara called. "We are stranded on an island in the Dragon's Triangle. We need help and medical supplies. Please respond."
No answer came, and she tries it again.
"Come on, come on." Lara said, grabbing the transmitter. "Mayday, mayday. This is Lara Croft of the Endurance..."
"This is aircraft N177A. Searching for you since the distress call from your vessel. Almost given up hope!"
"So had we!" Lara said with a sob in relief.
"We've got your approximate position, but we could sure use a visual."
"I'll figure something out." Lara replied.
"We'll be heading your way soon, out."
Then, the sound of Alex laughing was heard, came through the radio.
"Lara Croft, you are my hero! WOOHOO! Hey, you know, Reyes actually cracked a smile!"
"Right. Need a signal. A fire...Fuel...Flames...I can do that." Lara said as Antauri came through the radio.
"Nice job, Lara. We knew you could do it. It's all clear down here and I think we see some materials we can use for the signal."
"Great. I'll be down soon." Lara replied, ending transmission as she zoomed down from the tower back to the ground level, noticed Antauri and Millie in front of them.
"That's one way to get down." Lara said.
"Looks like fun, though." Antauri told her with a chuckle. "Come on, the stuff we found is over there."
She followed them around the corner and down the path to a small area with a building and fuel tanks.
"Fuel tanks!" Lara said.
"Get some fuel out of them. We'll look for something to light it up." Millie suggested.
Lara pried the valve open with her axe, letting a large amount of fuel spill out of the ground. Both Antauri and Lara came out of the building with a little piece of metal.
"Look at this. A fire striker!" Antauri said. "Now we don't have to always be looking for a barrel to light the torch."
Lara attached the metal to the torch and struck it, effectively light the torch. She then lowered it to the fuel, causing the flames to follow the fuel path to the tanks and then exploded, creating a more massive, noticeable blaze to make the signal.
That's it for the chapter.
I know, but it'll be for the future chapters to see if they're about to be rescued in the first attempts. Anyway, here are the diaries.
Alone
6 September 1982
I am alone now. The rest of them are dead. This is for the best. I watched from the cliffs as their makeshift boat was tossed and turned by the storms. The clouds looked like a hand upon the water, desperately clawing at their doomed boat. None survived the wrath of the storm. I observed it carefully...the storm was localized and sudden. And just as suddenly it was gone. And this is the most interesting detail: it didn't seem random. I sensed...emotion, something deliberate. I don't know what's happening on this island. Not yet. But if I ever hope to escape, I must understand this phenomenon. Now my real work begins.
Research
17 September 1982
A plan is taking shape in my mind. In order to unlock the power of this island, I first need to understand what was happened here. I need time and room to study this place. There are many mysteries here; foremost of which, the ruins of an ancient Japanese Empire...and a mysterious Queen. It all started with her.
The Solarii
13 October 1990
Over the years, there have been other survivors, but I have avoided them. And if they got in the way...I was not merciful. But now I know I need others. In order to move forward, I must fully control this island. So, I will gather a small group of loyal followers. They must understand power and the need to organize. But more importantly, they cannot hesitate to kill or use violence. It will be part of their life here. They will need structure and purpose and work. But when this island is mine, I will discover the true secrets of the storms.