Closure

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Closure; Lara and Amanda finally bury the hatchet
Topic Started: May 8 2009, 09:25 PM (96 Views)
Neilmoon	May 8 2009, 09:25 PM Post #1
New Raider Posts: 20 Group: Members Member #32 Joined: Jan 31, 2009 Your favorite TR? TR:A Male or Female Male	CLOSURE Neil Burns (Neilmoon) PG AUGUST 3, 2120 CARVER ESTATES (Formerly CROFT MANOR) SURREY, ENGLAND It was a clear, starless night and the figure sprinted across the exquisitely-kept grounds with gazelle-like grace, reaching the masoleum in the center of the Manor. The structure said CROFT above the entrance and the woman, as her voluptuous curves identified her as such, smiled. She entered and examined the coffins and graves along the walls that housed the family. The woman knelt between the two coffins, which housed her parents' remains, and said a silent prayer for them and the rest of the family. Crossing herself, the woman got up and walked to one that was almost in the middle of the crypt. It read the following: LARA AMELIA CROFT 14 FEBRUARY 1978 10 JULY 2024 "Death is but the next great adventure" The woman smiled at the Harry Potter reference. She also smiled at the fact that the remains in the coffin were not that of Lara Croft, but that of the Doppleganger that died in her place. The woman knelt and pressed a hidden button at the base of the coffin, causing it to move and reveal a hidden passageway. "Home sweet home," the woman quipped as she climbed down into the passageway and walked through the dimly lit tunnel until she entered the former trophy room that had since been converted to a guest suite. "I must say. It is very nicely done." The woman found herself looking in the full-length mirror. A skintight, black latex stealthsuit encased her curvy, yet athletic figure amd her head was covered by a full black hood with nightvision goggles hiding the eyeholes. Black fingerless gloves and black diver booties completed the ensemble. She walked around the suite, examining it, and her hidden lips curved into a sad smile as she picked up a photograph with Chase and Amanda Carver with Hilary Winston. "Oh, Chase. Winston," she sighed longingly. One was a faithful family servant and surrogate father while the other was a cheerful rogue who betrayed her numerous times for money, yet knew how to reach her soul, plus she could not have thought of any other loyal person when the chips were down. "Rest in peace, you two." She kissed the photograph and placed it back on the mantle before leaving. She headed out into the hall where she saw decorations indicating there had been a birthday party earlier. "That's right," she mused to herself. "Today's Amanda's birthday." The masked woman saw an elderly woman sitting by the fireplace sipping tea. Her hair was pulled back in a snow-white bun and a fine line of wrinkles decorated and otherwise well-preserved face. Her bare arms revealed tribal-like tattoos of long ago. Sensing another prescence, the old woman turned to the intruder, putting on her glasses. "Who are you?" she croaked. "What are you doing here?" "Happy Birthday, Amanda." the voice was a familiar posh-accented alto. "No! That's not possible! She is dead!" "Well, as the American humorist Mark Twain would say," the woman mused as she removed her hood, revealing a familiar aristocratic-featured visage with chocolate eyes and chestnut hair set in a familiar French plait, "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." "No! You're dead! You can't be real!" Lara walked over and knelt at Amanda's feet, holding the other woman's hand. "I am real, Amanda. In the flesh. It's good to see you again." "If you're real, then who's in the coffin?" "Three guesses and they all begin with the letter 'D'." "That's impossible. I blasted the into the eithr." "I thought so too, but she showed up at the Manor a few days later." "Why didn't she kill you?" Amanda asked, removing her hand. "I discovered the word Natla used to enslave command her, and I freed her." "You FREED her?!" Disbelief colored the old woman's voice. "Yes, and she killed Natla after. She told me at Alister's funeral. I hadn't seen her after that for a while." "Well, how did she end up in the coffin and how are you still alive. Also why haven't you aged a single day?" Lara got up and walked over to a chair opposite Amanda. She noticed a partially eaten chocolate birthday cake with a plate and silverware sitting on the table next to her. "Do you mind?" she asked as she cut a piece and put it on her plate. "Go ahead," Amanda croaked. "Take the whole damn thing. Grand niece makes it too sweet anyway." "Thank you." Lara took a fork and began to eat the cake. "Anyway, I married Kurtis Trent, as you know, and we had twins. Richard and Amelia." "Your parents," Amanda mused dryly. "I would think your obsession with raiding tombs would prevent you from being a good mother." "I thought so too, but while I was pregnant, Kurtis and I worked out a mutual arrangement. For three weeks out of the month, I would play Doting Housewife and Mother. The last week was mine to go on digs. For thirteen years, it worked beautifully." "Did your children ever ask to join you?" "All the time. I would tell them to wait until they were at least sixteen or seventeen." "Raider and mother. Having your cake and eating it too," Amanda smiled, gesturing pointedly at the cake Lara was enjoying. "Touche," Lara chuckled, "although I have always found that a silly adage. What are you supposed to do when you make a cake except eat it? As for Ms. Dopple, she had never been on a dig. Wouldn't you know, her first dig and the bloody plane crashes. Poor darling's neck was broken on impact and she was instantly incinerated. I was able to pull myself out of the wreck with broken legs and internal bleeding before I passed out." "So the Dopplehoe is in the crypt. Forensics did identify her as you by the dental records. Of course, if she was supposed to be you, they would match. It would make perfect sense. So you survive another crash, then blacked out--" "I truly thought I was a goner. When I woke up, I found myself in the most undescribably beautiful place I have ever seen. I had been to Shangri-La and, let me tell you, this place puts that to shame." "Plus no guardians? Chase told me," the old woman smiled. "No guardians. Nobody to tell me I couldn't leave if I wanted to. Like Shangri-La, there is no hunger. No illness. No poverty. When I pulled myself from the wreckage, not only were my legs were broken, but the base of my spine was crushed. I was literally paralyzed from the waist down. Yet, miraculously, I was able to get out of bed and walk across the room with no effects whatsoever." "It is miraculous." "Even more amazing is that nobody aged. Everyone looks young and beautiful, even the children. Yet, there are a number of citizens that are, quite literally, centuries and even millenia old. You know Zinn who taught me how to defend myself physically and mentally?" "Yes. You mentioned he tried to steal your soul or something in order to make him invincible." "Something like that. There was an Asian woman who was like a good version of Zinn. She taught me the same thing, honing my body and mind to literally become a perfect weapon with incredible inner peace. Well, she was born in the first Chinese dynasty." "She was seven thousand years old?!" Amanda croaked. "Yeah. It turns out that the water that people drank and bathed in not only had healing qualities, but also stopped aging." "The Fountain of Youth." "Something like that. When I did leave, I had absolutely no idea how long I was there healing myself. Days. Weeks. Months. Imagine my shock when I discovered that I had been there TWENTY YEARS! Yet, instead of looking sixty-six, which is what I was, I looked twenty six. Yet, a great sadness befell me. When I got back to America, I had discovered that everyone had assumed I was dead. Even my family, I had missed anniversaries, graduations from high school and university, holidays, everything. In fact, at this point, they were grown up with families of their own." "What did you do?" "I missed my children growing up. I certainly wasn't going to miss my grandchildren growing up. I would pop in from time to time to check up on them, take them when Kurtis and the new wife were on holiday or out for the evening. In all, I became part of the family." "How? Everyone, including me, thought you were dead." "I had a cousin Abigail that lived in the Australian Outback as a recluse. We looked so much alike, she could have been mistaken for me. The family would see her once in a blue moon." "And given you are good with accents and that she never travelled supposedly made it easy for you. Right?" "Exactly." "What about Trent?" "Well for the longest time, I had my suspicions that he suspected something, but he never said anything. Before he finally passed on, I told him everything." "How did he take it?" "He was upset that I deceived him, but he was also happy that I was alive and spending time with our children. It was nice to have closure. Of course, in some cases, I was not so lucky." "Your little boytoys." "I wouldn't put it that way, but you're right. We both know what happened to Alister, but during my stay in Utopia, for lack of a better name, Zip was gunned down in a driveby in Los Angeles and Bryce died when his trailer was blown up during a raid on the Manor." "I'm sorry," Amanda said with a softer tone. "I know how much they meant to you." "Thank you. When did Winston start working with you? And when did you decided to hook up with one Mr. Chase Caver?" "During the time we though you dead," the older woman replied. "In fact, I hooked up with Chase while you and Trent tied the knot. Winston came the first month of your crash and the kids loved him. He would regale them with stories about your exploits as well as your father's." "Rest in peace, Hilary Edward Winston. Thank you so much for your services to my family and I. I love you." "He was a funny old man. He would often tell how you used to use him for target practice." "Poor darling," Lara chuckled. "He absolutely hated it. On his sixty-first birthday, I started a tradition where, on that day, he would get his own back." "He must've love that." "Oh, he did. I told him not to hold back. It was his time for revenge and to just let me have it. It was bloody well worth the pain to see him happy. The fact he was a marksman in India when he served in the Army as a top marksman helped as well." "I can imagine." "I was going to say I was shocked that you and Chase hooked up, but given you're cut from the same cloth, I am actually not surprised. I visited him before he passed and it was lovely to finally forgive him for everything, especially Monaco. I also forgave Alex his sins. Closure is such a lovely thing." "It is. A bit ago, you said your Manor was raided. Why?" "Apparently, there was some item in my collection that some rich meglomaniac wanted and he sent a team with instructions to acquire it, any means necessary, and to eliminate anyone who was in the way." "Did they get it?" "No, Alex told me that at the time, he and Chase decided to loan my collection out to various museums as sort of a memorial tour. This was the second time they did it." "When was the first?" "When Zip, Sheridan, Winston and I were visiting Zip's grandmother in Atlanta and we had an unexpected holiday in Hazard County when our rental decided to go on holiday. At that time, Chase and Alex, with Bryce's help, decided to loan out the collection for a generous commission. Needless to say, I had to punish me. But enough prattling on about me. What has been going on with Amanda Carver the past century or so? Last time we left you, you were in the Arctic Circle with a wounded leg. I deeply regret that, you know." "Well, I did survive, no thanks to you. A Swedish expedition found me and rescued me. I returned several months later, around the time you and Trent had hooked up." Amanda went on to tell how she met Chase at a dig in Southern Vietnam and that they fell in love at first sight. They went on a few more dates and well-paying digs where Chase proposed to her at a dig in Honduras. "Well, good for you," Lara smiled dryly. "And thank you for finally curing Chase of his obsession with me. He never stopped trying to get me to drop Monaco." "My pleasure. We got the invite to your wedding and went. A year later, we have a small private ceremony and Chase, Jr is born. A year later Amanda Lara and Cordelia Chase, yes like BUFFY, were born. Then Cameron." The old woman proudly told how the twins were fashionista goddess while Cameron was a renowned professional basketball player for the Bucks, Magic and Clippers in his twelve- year career, investing the money he made into a lucrative real-estate career upon retirement. Chase, Jr. was a star of archeology and screen, taking high-paying digs in between movies. "Of course," Lara chuckled. "Like father, like son." "May I ask you something, Lara? Your family-children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, whatever. They will grow up, grow old, their health will deteriorate and they will die while you stay the same year after year. You stay young and beautiful. Does this bother you at all or does your obsession of tomb raiding prevent you from caring?" "Interesting question. There are many cultures to study and explore and one does not tire of that, plus I am curious about each future generation. See who lives up to the Croft name. However, I suppose that something can be said for the adage "Parents should not outlive thier children." Perhaps, one day, I will find a Fountain of Death that counters the Fountain of Youth so I can finally die and join everyone on the Other Side." "So, your children never found out that you were their mother?" "Well, they both passed away at one hundred years old. Richard first, then Amelia a few months later. I did let them know and explained everything. There were tears and harsh words, but also reconciliation and closure. That was important to have closure with those close to me. Now it is your turn." "Really." "Where did we go wrong, Amanda? When did we stop being friends and start trying to kill each other?" "Besides leaving me to drown in Bolivia? Screw up my chance to go to Avalon and then shoot me in the leg in the Arctic?," Amanda sarcastically asked. "I have no idea." "You were trying to attack me with the dias. As for Bolivia, I held that gate as long as possible underwater until the roof caved in. Of course, I probably should have made a stronger effort to look and make sure you were all right. As for Avalon, why were you interested? Did you have family you wanted to bring back?" "Does it matter? The doctor tells me that if I make it to tommorrow or the next day, that I'm fine, but he doesn't see me lasting the whole week. So, whatever happened in the past can stay there. Yes, Lara Croft I apologize for being a pain in the rear and making your life miserable and I forgive you." Lara smiled as she got up and walked to her "frenemy" and embraced her. Amanda slowly and gingerly accepted the embrace and returned it as the Tomb Raider kissed the other woman's forehead. The embrace lasted many long minutes. "Thank you, Amanda," she purred. "I apologize for everything and I forgive you as well." The two finally let go of each other. "Well, I think I should go to bed now," Amanda croaked. "My family are heavy sleepers so you can walk out the front door. Take my car as I don't need it anymore." Amanda gestured to the keys sitting on the table next to the cake. "Incidentally, how did you get in?" "Secret passage under the Manor leading to the tomb. The entrance is under the Doppleganger's coffin. False bottom." "My grandniece is an interior desiger. She came up with the layout." "She is very good. I will be sure to look her up if I want to change anything in my home. Goodbye Amanda. Rest in peace and say hello to everyone, okay?" "Done. Goodbye, Lara. It was good to see you again and I mean it about the cake." The two women embraced one final time and let go. Lara took her hood and the cake and left with both as Amanda doddered off to the guest suite, where Zip and Bryce's old computer area were, to retire for the evening. Two days later, the funeral was held and as the mourners left, a black leather-clad figure walked to the coffin and placed two roses on it as the sun shone on her long chestnut hair tied in a French plait. She knelt with her hand on the coffin in silent prayer, saying an Our Father and Hail Mary before getting up again. "Rest in peace, Amanda. I hope to see you and the others in the Afterlife someday." THE END ta-daa. a little something that I came up with as a sort of reconciliation between the two former friends. the idea came from an old QUEEN OF SWORDS story I wrote called "Final Dance" as well as TOMB RAIDER issue #50 "ALPHA AND OMEGA". enjoy and all comments are welcome. Edited by Neilmoon, May 9 2009, 10:24 AM.
	Good luck in your new bed. Enjoy your nightmare, son, while you're resting your head.- BASEMENT JAXX


Tessa	May 11 2009, 11:14 AM Post #2
TheTimeTravelingVampire Posts: 1,334 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: Aug 23, 2008 Your favorite TR? TR1 Male or Female Female	Okay, it was really good, but I can not stand the idea of her marring Trent. Shudder Other than that, the fanfic was awesome, great work!



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