Disclaimer: Tomb Raider belongs to Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics. I make no profit by writing this fiction. All ideas in this story are my own; similarities with other fictions are purely coincidental. And also, English is not my native language.

In Search for Kindred Spirit

Chapter 1: The Sorrow of Regret

Lara took a deep breath, held it, before releasing a long sigh. Steadying herself, she walked up the narrow lane to reach for the small cottage sitting by the cul-de-sac, the moment of her dread coming ever closer with each step taken. The morning breeze of American spring brushed her hair and caressed her skin, as if attempting, yet failing, to sooth the goose bumps brought on by the sense of anxiety.

It seemed to take forever, but once she was face to face with the dark wooden door of the cottage, she hesitated. She wasn't particularly close to its inhabitant, despite their connection via Roth.

Regardless, reconciliation had to start somewhere, and Lara must be the one to initiate it. She owed it to Roth, but most of all, she owed it to the family he had left behind…

Lara lifted her arm, and gave the doorbell a firm press with her thumb.

The single storey cottage itself appeared to be quite modest from the outside. Painted yellow, it contrasted with the surrounding greens of grass, bushes and short trees, all encircled by a short white fence. One of the trees had a swing made of tyre hanging from a branch. The garage itself was left open, filled with mechanical tools so abundant that left little doubt Lara had found the right place.

Her observation stopped when the door finally opened, and behind it stood a tall teenaged girl, with dark young skin and braided brown hair. Her eyes were greyish blue.

Reyes was right…She does have Roth's eyes…

"Alisha?" Lara asked, offering a smile.

"…Yeah?" the girl responded, seemingly uncertain.

"My name is Lara," Lara said as she offered Alisha her hand, "I'm a friend of your mum. Is she home?"

Alisha gave her a look. "Mmuuuummm!" She then shouted, walking away, "Someone's here for you!"

Lara stood at the door, waiting, unsure if she had been invited into the house, as Alisha skipped into the hallway, turned a corner and disappeared. It didn't take long for Reyes to show up though.

"Who is it?" The woman asked aloud as she came into Lara's view. As her gaze met Lara's, she stopped in her track, seemingly surprised.

She then made a face, and hurriedly ushered Lara into the courtyard before closing the door behind them.

"What are you doing here?" She frowned.

Lara was slightly taken aback, as she tried to quickly compose herself, "I…I just wanted to see how you're doing…that's all…"

"How are we doing?" Reyes snorted and turned her head, "Lara, you need to get off la-la-land and come back to the real world. Seriously, that's what you wanted to know? That's why you're here?"

For a moment, Lara could find no words.

"I lost all my savings on your stupid expedition, came home with no tressure, and barely even escaped that fucking island with my own damn life. The father of my daughter is dead. I now have to work two jobs to pay my debt and support ourselves. And you want to know how I'm doing? Is this a fucking joke?"

Upon receiving those words, Lara, desperate to mend the bridge with Reyes, immediately took out her cheque book in a split second of bad judgement. She wrote a sum and handed it to a disbelieving Reyes.

"Here, take it, please," Lara stuttered, "I'm sorry for what happened, I truly am…"

Before she knew it, a hand flew across her face. Lara stumbled, her ears ringing and her left cheek burning as she immediately regretted her action.

Reyes was rightly disgusted. "Keep your father's wealth to yourself, girl, and get the fuck out of my face." She gritted her teeth, went back into the cottage, and slammed the door shut.

Lara stood silently, trying to absorb what had just happened, with her hand tenderly rubbing her sore cheek. She had barely even had the chance to explain herself, or say anything constructive to Reyes, or do anything at all. She had been totally helpless, unprepared and undeserving. This trip had been a total waste. If anything, things had gone from bad to worse. Not knowing what else to do, she turned away in defeat, a defeat that had come too quickly and too suddenly.

Her trip back to the hotel was a long one. Traffic in New York was as congested as it could be. Lara had opted to travel with a taxi. With her driver humming away to the music playing on the radio, Lara's mind drifted away.

It's all my fault…

Those very same words she had uttered to Roth when they had been first stranded on the island of Yamatai, came floating back on her mind as easily and it was naturally. The adrenalin necessitated by a sheer will to survive on Yamatai had stripped her of any emotional angst. Then, she had been forced to emerge as a fearless warrior, but once the action had worn off and she had had time to reflect, the urge to blame herself for everything that had happened returned, as she once again came face to face to the only truth she knew.

It's all my fault…

The death of Roth, the sufferings she had caused Reyes, and Alisha, who would never meet her father…and not just that…there was still Grim, Alex, even Whitman…

Her heart sobbed on the inside. Her eyes though, remained dry. Yamatai had seemingly taken away her ability to cry, at least on the outside, and because of that, the knife sticking in her heart felt ten times worse.

Lara decided to reschedule her next flight. There was no point staying in New York any longer. Much as it pained her, she needed to summon whatever courage left she still had. There was still amendment she had to make in Los Angeles.

The following morning, Lara was sitting on the bench inside the airport terminal, reading a newspaper article on the discovery of Yamatai. Questions were still being asked of what had actually happened there. The world never learnt of the brutal and supernatural truth, because none of the Endurance crew survivors had made any attempt at revealing it upon escaping. Lara herself never cared about publicity or money. She would be content in living a simple, modest life, despite her inheritance. Sam came from one of the richest families in Japan. Jonah shied away from attention, and like Lara, was never one to be tempted by wealth. Reyes of course needed the money that would have been granted through interviews and the like, but above all else, she wanted to shield her daughter away from all the consequences that would have followed suit. Most importantly, perhaps, none of them wanted anything to do with Yamatai ever again, least of all earn fame and wealth from an event that took everyone else's life but their own.

Deep in her thoughts, Lara was taken by surprise when a familiar voice called out her name. She looked up and saw Reyes standing in front of her.

"Want to get some coffee?" The woman asked casually.

Lara was uncertain of why Reyes had come. "How did you…?"

"I called Sam," Reyes waved her hand. "She gave me your flight details."

"I…I see…" Lara, like the day before, struggled with words.

"Took me a while to find you here," Reyes continued, "anyway, let's find a place to sit down and get some drinks."

Upon her insistence, Lara stood up and followed the woman. They came to the closest coffee shop, placed their order, and sat down together on a table. The airport was bustling, but they had managed to pick a secluded spot where the crowd noise was mostly muffled down.

After a moment of awkward silence, during when Lara was fumbling with the food menu and trying her best to avoid Reyes' stare, it was the older woman who broke the silence first.

"I want to apologise about yesterday, Lara." She said, pointing at Lara's bruised cheek, "I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay. Looks worse than it is," Lara tried to put on a smile, nodding, "I deserved it."

"No, I went off at you before you had a chance to speak, I…" Reyes sounded truly remorseful.

"Reyes," Lara cut her off, "It's okay."

This was followed by another extended period of silence, as both their drinks arrived.

Lara took a sip at her tea, composing herself. She had to do it right this time. There would be no more second chance if she messed things up again.

"Listen, Reyes…I know we haven't exactly been best friends, but I wanted you to know, I am really sorry for what happened to Roth…"

Lara waited for Reyes to speak, but when Reyes remained quiet, Lara decided to continue. "Roth took the axe for me. He died protecting me. I regretted it so much, and wished so hard that they had killed me instead, but they didn't, and now I will never forgive myself for being too weak when Roth needed me the most."

"Don't blame yourself, Lara," Reyes spoke solemnly, "No one could've foreseen that. And Roth…you know him…he would've sacrificed himself for any of his crew, not just you…You just happened to be there, that's all."

"But you were right," Lara continued. With Reyes willing to listen, she found herself struggling to contain her emotion. Her heart ached with every word. "You were right, I was green, and inexperienced and a complete fool totally blinded by my own ambition and desire to find Yamatai…I led everyone into the Dragon's Triangle despite knowing its danger…it was all my fault…"

"No…your job was to find Yamatai, and you did. Like Jonah said, it just wasn't what we had expected." Reyes calmly said. "The storm didn't kill our people. The cultists did." She then extended her arm and put in on Lara's shoulder. "And that wasn't your fault. You didn't know there would be murderers and supernatural forces at work on that island."

"But-"

"No but, Lara," Reyes sighed, cutting the young girl off, "You did the hard work on Yamatai. Without you, none of us would've made it out of there alive. For that, I should thank you."

Lara had to work really hard not to start shaking. Amongst the Endurance crew, Reyes had been the person most critical of her, and listening to Reyes' validation of the pain she had forcibly put herself through on Yamatai to get everyone safely off the island was as gratifying as it was redeeming. The question remained though…

"If you aren't blaming me, then why…" Lara asked.

"Why I raged at you yesterday?" Reyes raised her eyebrow, putting down the coffee she was sipping. "Lara, I don't hate you, not personally. I think you are a good person."

Lara listened as Reyes continued.

"I suppose I was too harsh, that's why I wanted to catch you before you leave for L.A., to apologise for what happened. The truth is, Roth treated you like you were his own daughter. I resented that. Every time I see you, I'm reminded of what could've been. The way Roth encouraged you, the way he taught you, even the way he smiled at you and put his arm around your shoulder, they all reminded me that it could've been, and should've been Alisha, not you. I'm jealous. I ain't no saint, and I admit it."

"I'm sorry…" Lara stuttered, slightly surprised by Reyes' honest revelation, "I never intended to…"

"You were always number one in Roth's eyes, Lara. Maybe you don't know it, but you were. I was happy to play second fiddle, but Alisha…" Reyes eyes began to water as her voice choked a little, "Alisha should've been up there…I screwed up…I never told Roth that she was his daughter, and now it's too late."

Lara looked at Reyes. She suddenly looked so old and tired. Amidst her own angst at having lost a father figure in Roth, it had barely crossed her mind that sitting across the table was a woman who had lost so much more with Roth's passing. Her lover, the father of her daughter, sank into the ocean with regrets that could never be righted again…

Lara leaned forward, before a subconscious force led her to put her hand on Reyes'. "Roth loved you, and he would've loved Alisha. What happened to him…was tragic and a great loss to us all…"

Both casted their eyes downwards at the table, and embraced the moment of silence in grief. At times like this, Lara wished she could've been more help and more comfort to her companion, but as her best friend Sam used to never tire of reminding her, she was too often too poor at words.

Reyes, however, seemed to appreciate her gesture.

"Thank you, Lara," She said, dabbing away her eyes and trying to force a smile.

"I know life is hard, I really do," Lara tried to convince the older woman, "If there is anything I can do to help, please just-"

"Lara," Reyes cut her off. "Understand this. I came here to apologise for yesterday, not for charity."

Lara swallowed hard. Reyes had correctly guessed her intention, and it seemed that the prideful woman was not impressed. Nevertheless, she pushed on. "Roth was like a father to me. Like you said, he treated me as if I were his own daughter. In the end, he even gave his life for me. And that is because he and my father were best friends."

Reyes listened attentively, her brows softened as it appeared that she had begun to understand the point Lara had been trying to make.

"Roth did what he did because I am my father's daughter," Lara explained, in the most convincing tone she could muster, "My father would've done the same for Roth's daughter. He would've done everything he could for you and Alisha, except he's dead…and this…" At this point, Lara's voice choked even to her own mild surprise, as she willed herself to finish in a shaky voice, handing the cheque she had written the day before to Reyes, "…this…is all that's left of him…"

For a moment there, memories of her father threatened to flood back to Lara's already exhausted mind, but the young girl shook them off forcibly, watching, as a sympathetic looking Reyes finally took the piece of paper. The older woman's eyes widened in shock as she noticed the sum written on the cheque, "This…Lara I can't accept this…"

"If this could give Alisha the future she deserves, then I can think of no better way to spend it," Lara insisted.

This time, it was Reyes who appeared lost for words, "I…I don't know what to say…after the way I treated you in the past…after what happened yesterday…"

"It doesn't matter," Lara took both Reyes' hands, as she looked into her brown eyes, smiling, "You and Alisha are Roth's family…and that makes you my family too…Family forgive each other…Family help each other…"

At this, Reyes' eyes watered as she pulled Lara into a deep hug, "…I really don't know what else to say, except thank you, Lara…those words meant more to me than you know…thank you…"

Lara kept her eyes closed, as she embraced this moment of tranquillity and peace, warmth in the knowledge that even though not every wrong had been righted, at the very least she had returned a sense of hope to one of Yamatai's worst victims. From now onwards, she would no longer let herself, or anyone else be consumed by the sorrow of regret, not anymore. Grief would not bring back a loved one lost to the tides of the ocean. In its place, there must be forgiveness and redemption, for only then could they emerge from the ashes of Yamatai, with a kinship and a bond stronger than ever before.

The road to recovery starts now…