Reviews:

look2019:

Thanks.

sloksingh45:

Here you go.

Please remember to review with any comments, question, concerns, or constructive criticism that you might have.

"This is speaking in English"

"This is speaking in Japanese."

Chapter 11:

Flaming Temple

After they managed to save Lara's friends, Minato and Lara headed up the stairs, gouts of fire bursting from the walls as they made their way up into a large temple. Jonah and the others spoke over the radio how they were managing to make their escape from the confines. As they moved through the exploding building, many Solarii, their forces thrown into chaos, ran through the building, only to be killed by collapsing rafters and explosions.

"We might've overdone it a little!" Minato said as he and Lara ran through the building.

"You think!?" Lara shouted back.

At one point, they were forced to climb outside the building to make their way around a blocked hallway. As they moved around the outside of the building, they could hear the Solarii talking.

"We need to get out of here! This place is coming down!" one shouted.

"But what about the Queen? She is in the shrine!" another shouted.

"Forget it! Let's just move!" the first shouted.

"They said the Queen is in the shrine," Lara translated to Minato, "That must be Sam. We have to find it!"

"Preferably before we all get cooked!" Minato shouted.

Finally making their way back inside the burning building, the two found documents and pictures on a table and mounted on a wall. What worried Lara most was the phrase that all of the pictures and documents were connected to: No One Leaves.

"The ritual that Matthias was talking about, that phrase, what is the connection to it all?" she asked.

"Lara-chan, we don't have time," Minato insisted, "Just grab what looks important and let's go. Sam isn't going to save herself."

"You're right," Lara nodded, "Let's get moving."

With the only door out of the room blocked, Lara and Minato climbed through a hole in the roof. After sliding down a zipline to an adjacent tower in order to make their way back to the path they needed, Lara and Minato came under attack from some Solarii soldiers who were more focused on keeping the deadly pair rather than preventing themselves from being burned alive.

The disorganized soldiers were easily taken out as the building continued to collapse around them. Once the defenders were pushed back, Lara and Minato jumped to the wall back onto the main building before climbing back up inside.

Passing through a smoke-filled hall, the skilled pair turned a corner and almost ran headlong into Whitman, who seemed to be none the worse for wear.

"Lara, you're alive," Whitman said.

"So are you…I mean, are you okay?" Lara asked with an uncertain tone while Minato eyed him with suspicion, "What happened?"

"Once they stopped seeing me as a threat, they let me move about almost freely!" he said with an almost excited tone.

"Did you know the others were captured?" Lara questioned.

"Yes, yes," Whitman said, almost waving her question off, "Sam's in there, but I couldn't free her without a weapon."

Lara and Minato moved past him to the door he gestured to, but Whitman moved in front of them, his excited expression and tone returning, "These Solarii are an anthropological marvel, Lara!"

Lara was shocked by his words, "They're insane murderers, Dr. Whitman. We need to get our people out of here."

"Of course, of course. I'll keep a look out here…you…" Whitman rambled as he gestured to the door, "You call me when it's safe."

Lara and Minato moved past him and the young ninja said, "I don't trust him. He's up to something."

"I admit that he's a little…abrasive, but I believe he's harmless," Lara said.

"If you say so, but I'm gonna keep an eye on him from now on," Minato said.

They entered the room quietly before heading behind the pillars, hearing Mathias speak, "I don't think you understand. You have been chosen, Samantha. This is a great honor for you; for all of us. Some were beginning to doubt we'd ever find you, but here you are."

"Please," Sam said, as Lara and Minato moved closer, "I know you think I'm something special, but I'm not! I don't want to be chosen!"

"It's not about what you want. It's about what you are," Mathias said, sighing, "Himiko's blood runs in your veins. I think you know this, Samantha."

"You're insane, Mathias!" Sam said, "Why are you doing this?"

Mathias shook his head, "You're searching for logic and reason where there is none. I made the same mistake once. Back when I thought ships could reach us and planes wouldn't fall from the sky."

"I just want to go home," Sam whined, evoking anger from Mathias who grabbed her by the throat.

"So do I, girl! I've waited years for this moment. I've given my life!" he shouted before he threw her onto the ground, "Don't you think I've tried to get away from here? From this place? We are all trapped here. But you, Samantha, you have the power to release us! Many have given up their souls willingly for this gift!"

A Solarii soldier interrupted his monologue, "The fire's getting worse and the other girl's vanished."

"This must be ended," Mathias said, sighing before he gestured to one of the men, "Dmitri, guard her with your life."

Once Mathias and a majority of the guards were gone, Lara and Minato moved out of their hiding places with Lara shooting an arrow through Dmitri's throat, while Minato slit the throat of another.

Sam gasped when she saw her rescuers, "Lara! Oh my god, you're here. I was beginning to think I was going crazy."

"It's okay. It's okay," Lara said, trying to calm her friend, "It's going to be okay."

"Who is that?" Sam asked, just noticing Minato hanging back.

"His name is Minato. It's a long story, but just know that he's here to help. We can trust him," Lara insisted.

Sam just nodded, "I remember now. H-He was the one that was with you when you tried to save me before. How are we ever going to get out of here?"

Lara, checking her weapons now that she had a moment, said, "We need to leave before they come back."

The group moved back to the door with Lara took the lead, Minato in the rear, and Sam between the two. Lara leaned out the door and whispered, "Whitman! Whitman! Where the hell is he?"

They started moving down the hall when Minato grabbed the two women by their shoulders to stop them. A second later, Whitman came back around the corner, his arms behind his back. Mathias came up behind him.

"Run, Lara, run!" Whitman shouted as Mathias ordered for their capture.

"Back! Back into the throne room!" Lara ordered as Minato pulled both women back into the room before slamming the door closed. Minato created a few clones who took Sam through an open door that collapsed behind them. Minato and Lara moved into cover while the Solarii soldiers started busting their way into the room.

"There they are! Pin them down!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Lara started firing her machine gun at them while Minato threw his kunai at them and used fire jutsu to attack the enemies. The soldiers, between fire burning the building around them and the two far more skilled enemies they were facing, didn't last long and soon the last one fell. Once the last Solarii soldier died, Minato and Lara headed through the burning halls, killing more of the soldiers as they went. They soon made their way out of the building to find themselves in a large courtyard. On the other side of the courtyard, a large man prepared a mounted machine gun and grenade launcher.

"Go! All of you! Find the chosen one!" the large man ordered the other Solarii as he cocked the weapon, "I've got these two."

Minato created a series of clones who charged the machine gun nest as a distraction while the original Minato and Lara made their way to the more covered side to get in close to the machine gunner.

"Lara-chan, I really hate those machine guns!" Minato shouted as his clones were slaughtered by the machine gun's barrage of rounds.

"I've been waiting for you two bastards! You killed my brothers! Now you pay!" the man shouted over his firing gun as he sprayed rounds and grenades at everything moving.

Minato launched attacks at some of the Solarii while Lara used a zipline to attack the machine gunner directly before he had a chance aim at her. Her momentum allowed her kick to send him flying away from the gun. Lara scrambled to turn the gun on him, but the large man pushed her and the mounted gun off the ledge, having her crash to the ground.

The large man stepped to the edge and pointed a handgun at the stunned woman, saying, with a smirk, "No hiding now."

Lara rolled out of the way of the shot to grab a grenade launcher, but Minato came out of the shadows to stab the man between his shoulder blades, making him cry out in pain. Minato reached around to slit the large man's throat. Lara used the grenade launcher to blow open the door blocking their way while Minato jumped to her side. They made their way through the rest of the compound before blowing a hole in a wall to make their way out. They came out on a roof to see Sam and Minato's clones fighting off Solarii soldiers. Minato and Lara started throwing and shooting at the attacking Solarii, giving the remaining clones and Sam a chance to escape.

Lara and Minato tore through the Solarii before they had a chance to regroup from their failed attempt to recapture Sam. They eventually reached a large gate, which separated them from Sam.

"Lara, come on. Climb over," Sam said.

Minato came behind Lara and tapped her shoulder to gesturing behind them.

"We don't have time," Lara said, understanding his meaning. Head for Roth. I'll follow. And don't get on the helicopter."

Sam just looked at her with confusion.

"Just trust me," Lara insisted, "Please trust me! Go!"

With that, Sam ran as fast as she could, missing as more of the ninjas from before showed themselves to her friend and Minato.

The undead ninjas launched their attack on the pair while Lara fired at them with her pistol and Minato used his various skills to open a path to allow Lara to climb up the massive wall.

Once she was high enough, Minato started climbing up after her, the undead ninjas right on his tail. As they were making their way through one of the gatehouses, someone, whether it was the ninjas or the remaining Solarii they didn't know, set fire to the building. Minato and Lara slid down a zipline to escape the burning building and make it to the bridge they originally came from.

As the undead ninjas chased after the two, Mathias, on the top of the gate, ordered, "Destroy the bridge!"

"But we'll hit our own men!" one of his Solarii said before Mathias, angered by his words, pulled a gun and shot the resistant soldier in the head.

"Any other non-believers?" Mathias asked before the other soldiers armed cannons to start firing on the bridge, aiming for the ninjas and fleeing pair while some Solarii soldiers attempted to attack them as well. Lara and Minato ran across the bridge as it was blown to pieces by the cannonballs.

Reaching the other side, just out of range of the cannons, Lara heard Roth on the radio reporting that they were under attack and were heading for higher ground.

Lara felt fear grip her heart when she heard that. She shouted into the radio, "Wait, the storms! It's too dangerous! Roth? Damnit!"

"What's wrong? What did Roth-san say?" Minato asked. When Lara translated what Roth said over the radio, Minato picked her up and ran through the tower, while the flames spread through the tower. Reaching the top of the burning tower, Minato dropped Lara back to her feet while she started calling into her radio.

"Roth? Where are you? Roth?" she shouted into the radio.

"Right here, girl!" Roth shouted as the helicopter suddenly climbed over the top of the burning tower into Lara's eyesight.

Minato picked Lara up again to jump through the open helicopter door.

"Pretty impressive jump there, boy," Roth said to Minato before turning to Lara, "Let's get the others and get off this blasted island."

"Roth, we have to land," Lara insisted as she looked out the window to see her friends fighting off Solarii soldiers, "We have to land or the storms are going to crash us. We can't leave."

"We can't leave them behind," Roth said, spotting the others below.

Lara went to the pilot, "We have to land!"

"No way! Not in this weather!" the pilot said.

"We can't leave them behind!" Lara shouted.

"I barely made it here in one piece!" the pilot shouted.

Losing her patience, Lara pulled a gun to aim it at the pilot, "Do it!"

"She'll pull apart!" the pilot insisted, more afraid of the weather than the woman pointing a gun at him, but only just.

"Now!" Lara insisted, pulling the hammer back.

"Fuck! You're crazy!" the pilot shouted.

Just as he was taking the chopper down towards the ground, the storm suddenly got worse, knocking the chopper around until a lightning bolt hit the blades and sending them tumbling to the ground with a powerful crash. The force of the crash caused blackness to engulf the passengers.

Roth was the first one to waken. He pushed the propeller off of him and looked around the burning wreckage. The mysterious boy that Lara had been running around with was nowhere to be seen and the pilot was still in his seat, though he was beyond helping if the large tear in his neck was anything to go by. Roth then noticed Lara unconscious nearby and scrambled over to her. Giving CPR to the unconscious girl, Roth was frantic to help her until she suddenly gasped a breath of her own.

Once she was breathing on her own, Roth hooked his arms under hers and dragged her away from the burning helicopter before it exploded and sent the two flying. Roth immediately got back to his feet and started dragging Lara some more as she couldn't stand on her own yet.

"R-Roth!" Lara shouted, causing her surrogate father to turn and see more Solarii charging them.

Roth started firing at them while pulling Lara away from them. Eventually, Roth's guns clicked empty, but more Solarii charged them. Just when it seemed the two were going to meet their end, a dragon made of water cut off the Solarii's charge. Minato jumped to the pair and, creating a clone, picked both of them up before they jumped off the nearby cliff to escape the enemies.

A/N: And there's chapter 11! Please remember to review with any comments, question, concerns, or constructive criticism that you might have.