Chapter Text
Trinity.
The word that kept blaring in Lara's ears when she was awake.
In her dreams when she was asleep.
In her mind when she was looking for clues for the next trinity commander to hunt.
In her heart when she..
Wait..
Maybe…she didn't have a heart left anymore.
Or at least that's what she used to think now.Her friend Sam had left her because of it,even after all she went through for the sake of her best friend.The friend who meant everything to her,the one she became a monster for.Killing all those Solarii without a second thought,killing every single madman who had dared to touch Sam.She couldn't bear the thought of having to live without her.The thought that molded her into a killing machine,made her into someone she was not.She still hated Mathias with a burning passion,even if he was dead now.She still dreamt about that,still heard Sam's agonizing screams,she still remembered.She remembered it all too vividly.And she wasn't going to forget anytime soon.Her mind had a twisted way of reminding her who she really was.She was nothing but a psychopath with a bow,who let her arrows loose at everything with a pulse.
The only one who made her feel otherwise was her best friend Sam.She loved Sam the way she would have loved her sister had she not been the only child of Richard and Amelia.She cared far too deeply to let her go,when they were back home after Yamatai had Sam not…
"What do you mean I make you feel…uncomfortable?" Lara felt her heartbeat become irregular,she couldn't wrap her head around why Sam had said that to her,it didn't make any sense.
"I..look Lara,I know we are best friends and always will be,but after seeing what-"
"N-No please wait,what do you mean by that?I-I risked my life for you Sam,please don't-"
"Lara,It's..not that.I care for you….I really do.It's just that you need to get yourself together…especially after what happened back there.." She took a deep sigh,then forced herself to hold Lara's gaze "Whenever I look in your eyes,I don't see that shy girl who struck up a conversation with me her first day of uni...the girl who obsessed over history..I know I sound ungrateful but trust me,I'll always be in your debt for saving my life,but you have to get a grip please,you neither look nor sound like yourself anymore..Don't act like you don't have a heart".
Don't become heartless.
Sam cared for Lara,but it was unsettling to see her become something she wasn't.Their trip back from Dragons triangle proved just as much.Lara didn't talk to any of them,except for the rare times when she decided to join them for breakfast.She seemed distant,and started having nighmares on top of it.Sam had tried talking to her,to no avail.Lara refused to let anyone in.The aura emanating from her made Sam feel uncomfortable,uneasy,unwelcome.
She understood what Lara was going through though,they both had lost so many people.Alex,Grim….Roth.
Roth,who wasn't just a mentor,but a father figure of sorts to Lara.He had been there for her all the time,taught her everything he knew.If it weren't for him,Lara wouldn't have left Yamatai alive.Sam knew this all too well.She wanted to be there for Lara,to be the shoulder she could cry on if she wanted to.But Lara didn't let her in,it was as if she had become numb.
Indifferent.
It….hurt Sam,a bit.They were best friends,for goodness' sake.Why the hell was Lara pretending to be okay when she could come to her and talk about it?They both were supposed to be there for one another,that's what friends are for.
With all of her efforts gone to waste,Sam decided to leave Lara alone.For sometime.To let her resolve her problems on her own.
"Sam I promise I'll get better,just p-please don't go please…" Lara knew it would crush her if Sam decided to leave her. "Stay,please,I never meant to-"
"I know Lara,but I..I really think you should go through with this alone.It'll give you time to reflect on yourself" she reached out,massaging Lara's shoulder "And it's not like I'm leaving you forever,I'm just giving you some time alone.It'll help you.I think."
"Sam…"
Sam quickly shot back with a tiny smile, "I'm still with you sweetie,give me a call sometime okay?"
Lara forced a smile as well,it didn't quite reach her eyes since her heart wasn't too keen on being left alone by the person she called her sister and her best friend.
"You'll still be around right?I can't do this without you Sam."
"Ofcourse,I ain't an asshole.Well,most of the time." She chuckled,and took Lara in a surprise hug.A hug that spoke volumes about what they both meant to eachother.A simple gesture that left both their eyes brimming with unshed tears,reminding them that they both were going to get through this without breaking their friendship,without letting go of one another.They would remain friends despite all.
Right?
Fast forward a few months,and Lara had begun regaining her essence bit by bit soon after she had started her therapy sessions.They didn't do much,but something was better than nothing at all.They did help to some extent.Jonah had been a tremendous help in this regard,always making sure she had someone she could rely on.He was the only friend she had other than Sam,the only one other than her she confided in at the rare times she let her guard down.They both had found their footing,Jonah never pushing Lara and always respecting her boundries since she was a private person,guarding herself and her heart.An introvert,if you will.
But there was always one question that kept popping in her mind.Kept nagging her.
Am I really me?
She tried not to think about it,often busying herself with tracking trinity since coming back home from a whirlwind of an adventure that led to the discovery of The lost city of Kitezh,an year after Yamatai.Ever since she had found out that Trinity had been on her father's tail and was responsible for his death,she had taken it upon herself to avenge him and stop them.
Obsessed or not,she had loved him.
He was her father after all.She wasn't going to let this slide,not after all she had been through.She was going to make them pay,even if she would be called heartless.Because doing so would also ensure Trinity never succeeded in their agenda.No more families destroyed in the name of a flawed ideology.
She wasn't going to allow this.
After months of tracking,she had found a lead.A trinity member,who went by the name of Dr.Pedro Dominguez.He was leading a few archeological digs in Mexico.
Time to act.
"Okay" she breathed in, "You can do this.Focus Croft,you got this" She was in the middle of packing her stuff when she heard a knock on her door,maybe it was Winston?
Wrong.
"Hey Lara"
"Sam?Oh my God Sam!" she gasped as she hugged her as hard as she possibly could.Seeing her friend after an year made her feel ecstatic,overjoyed that Sam hadn't given up on her despite the circumstances.That all was not lost.
"How have you been sweetie?" Sam said, pulling away from he,grinning from ear to ear.
"I've been well thanks,what about you?Come on let's-"
"No it's fine really" she glanced over Lara's shoulder to see her clothes all spread out on her bed "Jonah told me you guys were leaving soon for Mexico,so I decided to come and check whether you had learnt how to fold your clothes.Which you clearly haven't"
That got out a chuckle out of Lara,she had missed Sam's (lame) jokes.
"Well,why don't you teach me then?"
"You're a lost cause babe but sure,I still have hope for you" she teased her as she ruffled Lara's hair playfully.
You could tell by the laughter sneaking it's way out of Lara's room that day that their friendship was still as strong as ever.All that happened before didn't matter now.All that mattered was that Sam was still here.She always would be,no matter what.Exactly like she had promised.
The next day was no different,except that bittersweet goodbye at the airport that left both of them emotional and teary eyed,like they had binged watched a soap opera with a sad ending.
Cringy but sweet.
Lara was adamant on wiping Trinity off the face of this planet,and once the young archeologist set her mind to something,not a force in this world held the power of stopping her,making her reconsider.
She was a croft after all.
She knew Dominguez was after the Silver box of Ix Chel,and the Key of Chak Chel.Two goddesses belonging to Mayan mythology;
Chak Chel being described as an old lady and representing death.Ix Chel as a young woman representing life and healing.The former being associated with the new moon,the latter with the full moon.
Together as the twins,symbols of duality and the cycle of life and death.
It was fascinating really,Lara would have loved this were she not concerned more about stopping Dominguez.She had a hunch that this man could prove to be difficult.She wasn't going to let him get hold of these artifacts.Everything else be damned.
She had to stop him before he found them.Or find the silver box and the key herself first.
She had to,she wasn't going to let Trinity win.She would stop them.
She absolutely would.
Beautiful,majestic mountains with snow-covered tips,air thick with the scent of summer rain,howling gushes of wind that sent a pleasant chill down the spine.The perfect romantic getaway for people who dared to love.
The valley of Kashmir was a sight to behold.
Kassandra had been to many places,almost all of them being breathtakingly beautiful.But none of them compared to Kashmir.A land often called Paradise on earth,but what she saw here was reminiscent of hell.Worse,even.
Innocent people dying because of a pointless battle between two opposing nations.A battle that reminded her of the war between Sparta and Athens.Pointless.Cruel.A beautiful land that knew nothing but cruelty.
It's valleys were as pretty as the ones in Lakonia,a place she no longer dared to call home.
She hadn't been there in decades.Actually,she actively avoided going there.She couldn't stomach the thought of reliving those painful memories again,what getting stabbed in the heart and not dying felt like.
It was where Myrinne had raised her,taught her how to hunt,how to fight.Where her final resting place was.
Part of her wanted to go though,but she never gave in.
It always reminded her that,
Nikolaos,her pater,had chosen Sparta over her.
That she had failed to save her mater.
Failed to protect Alexios.
That she hadn't been enough.
"You can't protect anyone can you?"
She watched in horror as Deimos slid his blade into Myrinne,with nothing but madness in his eyes.With no remorse for killing the woman that had tried her damnest hard to bring him back and loved him despite all.The last crumbs of his sanity lost in darkness that was the cult.
Kassandra had tried to convince him to abandon the cult,to stand with his family against them.They were the ones who had poisoned his mind,his heart,tortured him to the extent that he had become death personified leaving nothing but death in his wake.Even Hades would shudder in his presence.
He wasn't coming back.
He was never coming back…..
The children of Myrinne,of House Agiad,would never be remembered.Kassandra had killed Alexios out of anger,sadness,pain.What else was she to do?When her own brother was the one responsible for the deaths of countless many,guilty of killing her friend Brasidas.Guilty of killing her mater.He was the one who took the people she loved away from her,even if he had been blinded by the cult.
What else was she supposed to do?
She loved him,but he would have killed her too if she hadn't killed him first.He would have done so without so much as a second thought.
Why did the Gods find joy in tormenting her?What did she ever do to them?Or to anyone else?
"Keeper"
Aletheia's voice startled her.She had learned to not think about what happened two and a half millenia ago,to suppress her memories.She hated how helpless all this made her feel.Had buried her emotions away into the confines of her head,never to be visited again.
"What is it with you?Can't you leave me alone for a moment?" She had been admiring the view,and Aletheia decided to barge in uninvited.Wonderful.
"My apologies,but I've an urgent matter that needs to be discussed."
Hah.
Apologies.
"What is it now?Another templar?Or let me guess,an assassin?" Irritation palpable in her voice as she put her right hand on her chin,rubbing her scar there with her thumb on instinct.She often did this when she wasn't feeling particularly nice,or unable to concentrate.Or confused.Or all three of them.She was unreadable,literally.She'd often come here to help the locals as much as she could,had grown acquainted with many of them,and to take in the mesmerizing landscape.She was still human,still admired mother nature like anybody else would.
"It's bigger than that.Two Isu artifacts are in the danger of being discovered.They've caught the attention of the Templars,and the Assassins likewise.You must stop them."
"That won't be the first time they've wanted something that didn't belong to them." She scoffed,inherent losers the lot of them.Always fighting over lost artifacts like stray dogs over a bone,fighting for ideals that wouldn't do this world any good practically.
"You must find the Silver box of Ix Chel and the Key of Chak Chel.I suggest you get to work since you don't have much time,I'm afraid." The Isu was right,Kassandra didn't have much time considering the pace both the brotherhood and the order moved at when they were interested in finding something.
Neither of them was better than the other.Kassandra had become acutely aware of it in 1755 when she saw the lengths the Assassin brotherhood could go to.All just to retrieve a piece of eden,not caring about what else may happen.Hundreds of innocents died due to a massive earthquake that hit Lisbon that day.The day the assassin Shay Patrick Cormac himself realized one thing; Nothing is true,everything is permitted wasn't just a simple Assassin saying.It was a warning.Something he had realized after seeing chaos unfold before his own eyes,due to his own doing.Due to him following a pointless ideology,it becoming the reason he left the brotherhood.
She knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill people in search of the silver box and the key.They were hasty and she knew it.She had seen enough of them to know what their level of patience was.
"Alright,I've been free lately anyway."She tried to casually brush off Aletheia's statement.She had powered through all that life threw at her,this time wasn't going to be any different. Except,she had gotten tired now.
She was tired.Exhausted.Fighting a battle that wasn't hers to fight to begin with.
How long had it been going on now?Two thousand and five hundred years perhaps,when she had been tasked with keeping track of the templars and the assassins,two millenia and a half of unnecessary bloodshed.She had walked from one edge of the world to the other,had seen too many people die,too many wars,had seen entire civilizations rise and crumble.
Had been alone all along,was always destined to be.
She knew now that they were looking for the Silver Box and the key of Chak Chel.She had to protect it,she had to protect the balance.It is what she had sworn to do the day she took the staff from Pythagoras,the man she didn't have any fond memories of.He was never there for his daughter yet still expected her to carry his burden.Because she didn't have a choice either way.
The balance was the only thing she had left to protect now.
"You have to find them both,Keeper.You must."
Her face was cast downward,eyes serious and somber,anguish consuming her body and soul.Because those foul chain of memories that had reawakened,refused to leave her mind.
"I will." She quietly said as she turned around from the edge of the mountain she had been standing on,ready to do as she was told.
She had no other choice.
All she had to do now was keep going,until the heir of memories would relieve her of her duties.
Finally.
In a strong,abrupt rush of wind,she vanished into thin air.There was no denying that the staff of Hermes Trismegistus had it's perks.It could alter it's appearence into that of a caduceus pendant,becoming more convenient and easier to carry.Being able to teleport anywhere she wanted was her favorite though.
She arrived at her hide-out,as she liked to call it.An innocuous little house in Mykonos.
It reminded her of Barnabas and his fatherly affection,his unwavering faith in the Gods that almost made him sound naiive,childlike.His constant reassurance and gentle demeanor that made him all the more dear to her.
She cared for him.
Like the pater she never had.
Something she did not anticipate when she first met him.
"I miss you old man." she muttered to herself,holding a sword given to her by him on her 29th birthday.It was still razor sharp.She had taken great care of it,it being the only memento she had of him.
"I wish you were here" her free hand tracing the edges of the sword, "I really do.." her face fell as tears stood ready to crawl their way out of her eyes.
Crying won't bring him back.
It won't change anything.
Stop.
Concentrate.
Stop.
She put down the sword instantly as if it had cut her.This was no time to get sentimental.The time for all this was gone now.Her own life at the mercy of the sands of time.She had to focus.
On her mission.
"Maybe we'll meet again."
She made her way to her bed,clearly exhausted and in need of a much deserved rest.
Laying in bed,closing her eyes only intensified her emotions further.
Mykonos held many things for her.Ranging from feelings of love to guilt and everything in between.
It was where she had had an affair with the rebel leader,Kyra.
She didn't specifically love her,it was just a fling..or so she thought.A fling,that cost a certain Spartan polemarch named Thaletas,his life.Kyra was already in a relationship with him,she did care about him but not as much as she should have,considering he led his help and his men to her so she could rid the Silver Islands of the man who made life there a living hell;Podarkes,who also happened to be her father.
The Gods really did enjoy toying with mortals.
But Kassandra had provided Kyra with her aid as well.She had helped her better than Thaletas could have in his nine lives.
He had found out,confronted Kassandra about it and engaged her in combat.Which proved fatal for him,of course.
None could match the ferocity of the legendary eagle bearer.Kassandra could have spared him,it's just that she didn't want to.His pompous nature got under her skin.She never told Kyra about what happened between the two of them.She knew she wouldn't get a pleasant response since Kyra was hot-headed and Kassandra,well,had murdered him even though she was in the wrong,plain and simple.Might as well keep it a secret.
Who was going to find out anyway?
His heart might have been in the right place,but his attitude towards particular things and women specially,irked Kyra.It became the primary reason she decided to cheat on him.He always seemed so full of himself.Kassandra was practically sure after the rebellion,Thaletas would push Kyra to the sidelines,claim all the glory for himself.
Hmph.
Like Kyra would have let that happen.
Kassandra scoffed "I wonder how he managed to get your attention in the first place,Kyra" she still didn't like him, "Maybe you always had a thing for Spartans."
She turned to her side,wanting to sleep.Wanting the flashbacks to cease.
She needed to rest.She wouldn't be able to have lots of it,now that her hands were full.She needed to find them as soon as possible.
The Silver Box of Ix Chel and The Key of Chak Chel.
…
2 weeks of extensive research and sleepless nights finally came to fruition.She had found out the Keys location.
Mexico,Cozumel.
At the hidden temple of Chak Chel.
On the other hand,she had also determined that taking it away would trigger natural disasters of unmatched magnitude triggering the cleansing,something she wouldn't allow to happen.If that was the case,she only had to find the temple and hide it,camouflage it.Simple and relatively easy.Hopefully do all that before the templars or the assassins found it
"That's it then.Time to find another Isu artifact" She said to herself,heaving a sigh "Why did they have to create so many of these?Malákes show-offs." She wasn't particularly fond of the Isu.With good reason too.They had brought nothing but destruction with them,even after eons of them being dead their Isu technology still brought about chaos.They had little regard for humans and thought of them as being inferior to them when they were still alive,saw them as nothing but objects to experiment on.
A grave mistake on their part.
A mistake that had erased their entire race from existence.
"Alright then."
Her caduceus pendant began pulsing with other worldly energy.
"Let's get on with it." She walked away from the edge of her table,ready to teleport.Ready to find the key.
In the blink of an eye,here she was.
In Mexico.
In a lush forest filtering the first rays of the morning sun,somehow reminding her of Kephallonia.
"I still wonder if leaving Kephallonia was a good idea" she sighed as she started trekking her way through the forest,looking for the closest village or town to stay in for the time it took her to find the temple.Being immortal didn't mean she was allowed to be reckless,her body still functioned like an average human body minus the aging part.
As she was walking her way out of the forest,treading carefully since she had eyed a jaguar from afar earlier,she saw an eagle perched on a tree in front of her. She stopped for a moment,looking at him intently.
Ikaros.
Even though he was only a bird,his presence felt reassuring to her.Even if he couldn't talk to her the way a human would,she was still thankful for what she had.An eagle to stay by her side through thick and thin.The one she could rely on.Her only friend.
This was no time to dwell on it now,he was long gone, "Not now." ,she took a deep breath, "I need to find the key,focus on the key". She often caught herself missing him,specially when she was on a mission.His aid proved invaluable to her,always giving her an edge over her enemies.Even if he was sent by Pythagoras to watch over her,she still held the eagle dear.
She arrived at a small town shortly thereafter,talked to a few of the locals there.None of them had a clue what she was talking about,except small bits,if you could call them that.The temple truly was well-hidden if no one knew anything about it.She had found an inn as well,good enough to pass as one.Finding the temple wasn't going to be easy,but with Aletheia's assistance and her natural talent at things like this,she would find it sooner than anybody else.
She had to.
They had been here in Cozumel for only 6 weeks,but the rate at which Lara and Jonah were moving was incredible,given the odds weren't exactly in their favor.They had found out the whereabouts of Dr.Dominguez.He could be the local Trinity cell leader,it was a possibility since he was all over the place.
On a rather busy night,they were observing an on going festivity from the top of a hotel,both of them suspecting Dominguez to be here.Lara explaining a few pictures with Mayan riddles that spoke of the hidden city of Paititi,the place she thought held the Silver box,to Jonah.Pictures she took in a collapsing Mayan crypt.
Talk about dedication.
"If you hadn't pulled me out of there,I'd still be in there taking pictures"
"You'd still be in there,don't know if you'd be doing much"
It was fun to have him around.He was smart and funny.
"Come on Lara,I'm sure he's here somewhere.We'd best be on our guard.He probably knows we're here too."
"Right.Let's go".
They split up to look for him.She was still searching for Dominguez when she bumped into a stranger.
A considerably tall stranger.
Both had been wearing their respective masks,that unfortunately came off.
"I'm terribly sorry sir!" Lara instantly crouched to pick up her mask and the poor mans that had the misfortune of running into her.
"Here,I'm-" She looked up at him and-
It wasn't a man.
It was a woman.
Woman with luscious brown hair,and dreamy hazel eyes.Her hair braided on her left side.
Quite pretty to be honest.She didn't look Mexican though.A tourist maybe?
"I-I'm sorry I thought you-"
"It's alright.No harm done." Kassandra said as she flashed her a smile.
Lara nodded, "I uh,suppose you're a tourist?"she asked the tall stranger,trying to make the situation less awkward.
"Yeah," identical thoughts were circulating in Kassandra's mind,whoever this girl was,she was certainly easy on the eyes.More than easy. "Same as you."
"How-how did you know?"
"Your accent." Kassandra spoke as she smiled knowingly.
Lara didn't usually strike up conversations with strangers,but it came naturally to her at the moment.Maybe because she thought it fit to at least be polite to the person she accidentally crashed into.
Sam would have been proud of her.
"I see.Enjoy your stay"
"Likewise".
Kassandra couldn't help but think her familiar long after the young woman had left.As if she knew her.Like a password she couldn't crack.
Where have I seen her?
I'm sure I have.
Why else would she feel so familiar?
She kept thinking about it for the next few hours whilst trying to find the temple,ultimately deciding to shove the thought back into her head.She knew the templars were here too,Aletheia had told her about it.She had to be quick.She needed to be quick.
She didn't have the time to think about random girls feeling familiar.
She was still trying to find the temple,still planning on how to hide it if templars did actually find it by some miracle,when Aletheia spoke suddenly.
"Keeper,you need to get out of here.Right now."
"What do you mean?" her eyes narrowed,confused at the Isu's request.
"The key,it's been taken. "
The ground beneath her started trembling just as Aletheia said that,she could feel the tremors under her feet,almost fell to the ground.That's how strong the vibrations were.She was utterly confused,Aletheia coming in at the exact same time as the earthquake…
This wasn't a good omen.
"What happened?!"
"Exactly what I just told you,the key has been taken."
"Maláka!Damn those templar bastards all the way to oblivion!I'll be sure to-"
There it was.
Shouts of panic coming from behind her,she turned around to see what the commotion was all about.
Her eyes widened.
Her mouth agape.
A tsunami was heading her way.Ravaging everything in its path.
"Shit!"
She began running as fast as her body allowed,it didn't matter if her lungs were burning,or if her legs had started to give out.She couldn't stop.Not until she had found a safe place to teleport to,something with enough weight and height to withstand the tsunami's currents
Run.
Run for your life.
She eyed a building from afar,it looked strong enough to survive the tsunami.She ran as fast as she could,her caduceus pendant began surging with energy just as she jumped into the air,teleporting her to that same building in a flash of blinding light.She had been swift enough to not get swept in the current,had reached the building just in time.Watching from above only made her realize how close she had been to drowning,as she lay down,trying to get her breathing in check.Her mind telling her,
All of this was her fault.
She was late.Again.
As always.
Guilt swept all over her,her eyes clamped shut,her hands balled into tight fists.Rage seeping into her soul.
"Keeper I need you to listen,yo-"
"I've heard enough" she paused for a second,anger palpable in her words, "tell me where-"
"It's not who you think it is."
"Wait." She opened her eyes.Her brows creased.
"Who is it then?" she inquired,forgetting her guilt and anger for a moment.
"The girl you met a few hours ago.She took the key,she is an archeologist from what I've gathered."
What??
Kassandra got lost in her thoughts.That 'girl'.The girl who had seemed familiar a while ago.
What in the name of actual fuck?
Was she working for the Templars?
Or the Assassins?
There was no way in hell any ordinary archeologist would have been able to discover the temple of Chak Chel.Even Howard Carter wouldn't have been able to find it.Not even in a million years.
"I'll teach that maláka a lesson!" She growled,like a tigress getting ready to pounce on her prey.
Kassandra was furious.Being alive for thousands of years had made her pricklier than she used to be,tired of pointless bullshit.She hated people who interfered in her business.Be it a contract or a grave life-or-death mission.She absolutely hated it.
And to think the girl had seemed fairly average….
She needed to find out who this young woman really was,who she was working for before it was too late.
Only the Gods could protect Lara now.She was in for a rude awakening.
A proper,horrific,terrifying awakening.