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Tomb Raider 2
The Official Story
Written by Benjamin Ochs
Lara Croft and her Likeness is a trademark of Eidos Interactive and Crystal Dynamics

The Great Wall

Once the red helicopter took off Lara gazed out the window, and questioned the myth behind the Dagger of Xian. The copter blazed past trees and other wilderness and Lara pulled out her pistol, and it gleamed in the faint sunlight. She glared at the pilot; his red suit matched the helicopter. He wore a headset and was trying to transmit a signal to someone at the base while flipping switches.
Lara soon found herself looking out into the Chinese landscape, and soon the Wall of China, which majestically glided through the grass and trees. The helicopter soon found a flat, empty space for Lara to drop off onto. She headed for the edge of the plane, grasping the brown rope and sliding down it, landing seconds later on flat ground.
She surveyed her environment, and noticed an area that was easy to climb over. She did so, and made her way thorough the stony remnants of the long passage. As she made her way through crumbled walls and various insects, she found a lone guard house, and a batch of crows. To her right she spotted a small lake at the edge of the tall wall.
Without another thought she jumped off the stony wall and into the cold water, finding a small crevice with a key under some seaweed and moss. She nabbed it before heading back to the surface where she found a wild Bengal Tiger howling at her, his teeth glistening in the sunlight as it approached Lara. She gave it a foul look before pulling up onto shore and shooting it square in the face, killing it instantly.
She didn’t enjoy killing animals, but when they provoked her, she fought back, no questions asked. She hopped onto a small mound and climbed her way back up the damaged wall and to the guard tower, where the key fit into the lock perfectly. Lara shoved the blue wooden door open and found several spiders run in terror. The room was clouded in cobwebs and the eerie glow from the window above bade no welcome. She found a ladder that lead to a small catwalk with yet another key, which unlocked an apparent exit below.
Again Lara shoved open a heavy wooden door and found herself in a small chamber, complete with metal bars covering the sky lights in the ceiling. She also found, to her disgust, a skeleton with chains binding its arms and legs. Several spiders were crawling about its mangled body. She found a pile of rocks dead ahead, and since there was no exit, she sought to reassemble the pile of rubble. After clearing a cobweb-shrouded path Lara found a slight slope which led to a pool of green water. Lara, of course, slid down and into the shallow water. She eyeballed the walls for any sort of traps and even after seeing nothing obvious proceeded with caution. After a few steps forward Lara spied a razor disk floating in the water. She picked it up and heard an awful wailing as the disks shot out from the walls, missing her by less than an inch.
Taking a slight step back, Lara sought for another way across the water filled pit, which, on the other side, a path beckoned her. Looking once again, Lara found a crack in the left wall, which she easily reached. As she climbed across she winced as more of the disk shooting machines activated. Finally she reached the end and dropped onto the hard ground. Sensing danger again, Lara proceeded slowly until her foot began to slip on a piece of the crumbling ground, which led to a pit of bloody spikes. Being her usual daring self, Lara dashed out into the upcoming chamber, briefly turning around to see a white door slam shut behind her, and two boulders approaching from the left side of the rocky chamber. She dashed to her right where an exit forebode her, and again found herself jumping over crumbling floors. She landed on a slope and fell into a dungeon like room with yet another skeleton lying on the floor. The walls began to shake and began to move towards a fleeing Lara, who noticed that spikes poked out of the walls also.
She clamored up to a crevice in the wall that led to a narrow hall. ‘Great’, thought Lara, ‘Just another picturesque, stony wall.’ She dashed forward, jumping over two razor blades that stuck out of the walls. Turning left, she found yet another hall with spiked walls closing in, and dashed to the opposite where, after almost being sliced by a rather sharp spike, fell and landed in a chamber with yet another wall approaching her. Desperately, Lara looked for a way out as the bloody spiked wall approached her.
Lara ran to the opposite side of the room and found a piece of floor with a small hole in the floor. Lara could see that below the room she was standing in was a rocky cave, and immediately began to shoot at the growing hole. The spiked wall vastly approached and Lara feverishly fired away at the hole until she could slip through, slicing her forearm in the process.
After assessing her wound Lara looked around and found herself in a watery cave. Beyond she could hear the sounds of critters crawling about. She walked to the end of the cave and entered a rocky cliff that jutted out over a large pit. Several spider skittered away as Lara approached a rather strong vine overhead.
Lara jumped up and grabbed the vine, assessing that it would hold her weight. With a strong push, Lara jetted herself off the cliff and slid downwards to the distant slab of land across the pit. As Lara neared the upcoming cliff she noticed the vine drooping dangerously low, and as she tightened her grip the vine snapped. Had she not held on tighter she would have fallen.
With gravity working against her, Lara swung outward on the vine, as she was just a few feet away from the ledge. After gaining enough momentum, Lara leapt off the vine and clambered onto the grassy outcrop. As she did so she found a wild Bengal tiger growling at her. She drew her guns at the animal, not wishing to kill it, but to continue and find the Temple of Xian. To Lara’s surprise, the tiger ignored her in favor of a dead carcass in a nearby chasm.
Putting away her pistols, Lara continued into a brightly light cave with a campfire and laptop to the left and the Temple dead ahead. Ever so cautiously, Lara respectfully walked toward the red doors. As she reached for the golden symbol in the middle of the door she heard a wild yell from behind her and spun around to find a mercenary leaping towards her.
Defensively, Lara kicked the guard as she rolled out of his way, and he landed at the foot of the door. “Pardon me,” began Lara, “If that was just your way of trying the doors for me.”
The guard sarcastically laughed and replied “And with a Tommy Gun on my key-ring.”
Lara smarted “Though not anymore, so after you”
“Somehow, you don’t behave like you got a monk’s blood” tested the guard.
“I understand that ‘somehow’ is in my favor. So indulge me about the dagger, I’d be indebted with your life,” warned Lara.
“These doors are waiting for the right one, the right time to arrive. And then, the dagger’s blade will honor the hearts of those who believe,” stated the guard as he opens a flask full of drink.
“And to which one is that?” questioned a curious Lara.
“To the sins and fortunes of Marco Bartoli!” praised the mercenary as the downed the flask, which killed him instantly.
Lara put away her pistols before remarking, “Perhaps not just yet then.”
Lara began to leave the cave but noticed the laptop had the same symbol as the one on the door. She sat down and looked through the computer’s files. In them she found just who Marco Bartoli was. “Ah ha!” exclaimed Lara. It seemed as though she’d be headed for Venice.

Venice

Upon entering Venice, Lara found the street she wanted was demolished, and decided she’d have to take the canal. She hopped over a garbage bin and climbed over a fence which led to a narrow alley between two buildings. As she slid down a pile of dirt and entered the alley way she found a hungry Doberman interested in her.
As Lara drew her pistols the rabid dog ran towards her and Lara ducked as it flew over her head. She aimed and fired at the dog, killing it in a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath Lara holstered her pistols and moved onward to a small square where she noticed an Italian man sitting on a porch above. He saw Lara and picked up a silenced machine gun. Lara dove back into the alley as the man opened fire.
Bullets cracked the fragile stone floor as the mercenary emptied his gun. As soon as the fire stopped Lara swung out into the square again, aiming at the guard who was reloading his machine gun. Lara fired fiercely and, several bullets later, killed the man who’d tried to take her life. Lara then moved onto a small wooden shack which docked the canal. As she kicked open the cracked door another man snuck around the corner with a bat at hand.
As the man began to swing at Lara she kicked him in the gut, sending him reeling backwards. Lara then pulled a gun out and shot him point blank in the face. ‘Some people,’ sighed Lara. She entered the shack and nabbed a pack of flares off the table in the far corner. She noted that a ladder led to another story and quickly climbed up. She looked out a window on the other side of the room and noted how lovely the canal looked today, even if it ended in the sewers.
Lara then returned to the ladder which reached the roof. As she stepped off she climbed up into a window ledge and shot the window into millions of tiny pieces. The room she entered was a small hallway that had a locked door on one side and another window adjacent from the one she’d shot seconds ago. This window, however, led to a red veranda and the porch in which the mercenary had been sitting.
Lara leapt onto the veranda and onto the second story porch, grabbing a key on the ground that had a tag with the word Boathouse written on it. Lara returned to the hallway and to the locked door. However, to her dismay, the door had no keyhole nor handle. It only had the word Boathouse engraved in the wood. Lara returned to the roof of the small wooden shack and noted that across the canal was a building with a torn sign and the word Boathouse. ‘Finally,’ sighed Lara as she dove off the roof and into the cool canal.
Lara then swam under the door and into a dark room with a boat in the corner and a switch and keyhole on the wall. Lara climbed out of the water and onto a small walkway. She pressed the switch first and, seeing how it didn’t open the door leading out to the canal, put the key in the key hole and found the doors swinging open.
Glad that she’d accomplished something, Lara leapt into the boat and sped back to the shack. A guard met her there with a dog and Lara quickly did away with both of them.

Piczo