Wrapped in darkness, the corridor stretched before them, empty and forsaken. The air was heavy, smelled of ages of loneliness. Cobwebs hung at the ceiling. The place looked much like the corridor in Chagatai's tomb. Polished stones made the walls, the ceiling round above their heads.

As the familiar sensation of excitement was building up in her, Lara moved forward, trying to watch out for every possible mistake. Now that Johansson was out of the picture, she didn't want to fail. Not now, so close to her goal. At least she hoped she was close.

The echoes of their own footsteps followed them on the short way to a closed door.

"That was it?" Nate asked, wondering how they had reached the end of the corridor without any trouble.

"I'm afraid not." The door looked sturdy, even after such a long time. And definitely locked. "I don't think we could get to Genghis Khan so easily."

Worry mixed with the unpredictable, and she loved the feeling. Not to know what would await them, what kind of traps they'd need to evade, what puzzles were there to solve. The risk. The anticipation. The adventure. And now, sharing it with someone else who felt the same way wasn't against her liking.

When she looked around with the flashlight, she found a lever next to the door.

"That's suspicious." Nate frowned.

Lara shrugged. "We will only know if we try." They checked every inch of the place, but found no hint of danger. "There's only one way to find out."

"Okay, if you think so." Nate stepped to the lever, placed a hand on it. After sending one more glance at Lara and collecting a nod from her, he pulled the lever. The mechanism moved with agonizing slowness, groaned like an old man. And as the lever came down, the door in front of them rose.

Lara ran her eyes around the place, but nothing moved. No arrows, no spearheads, no fire. No water either. With weapons raised, they stepped inside.

The same view welcomed them. A dark corridor with polished walls that went left and right. Both ways looked the same. A T-junction.

"Well, this is nothing new… whoa, whoa, whoa…" Nate whirled around when the door fell down behind them, closing the way out.

"This is new though." Lara touched the stone surface, but found nothing that would open it again. They were closed in. "At least the way in won't be the way out."

Only a few seconds later, a rumble started, first low and distant like a rolling thunder somewhere far, but it was coming closer with a steady speed, and the faint growl changed into a deafening noise. When Lara flashed the light to the right, she spotted a huge boulder rolling their way.

"Run," she said, and swirled around.

The huge stone blocked the whole corridor, there was nowhere to hide to avoid it. In the darkness they only saw the flicking light of their lamps as they ran, chased by the menacing boulder. The steady speed didn't change, allowed them some time to look around, but not to stop. There were no doors, no crevices, no way to escape.

"Look, over there." Nate spotted a door, locked as the first one.

When Lara paused for a moment to check it, the awakening hope died. "This is the same one. We're running in circles."

The boulder didn't stop. The sound of thunder followed them.

"Crap. We need to find a way out. We can't run around here until we drop dead."

"Working on it." While she sped up again, Lara ran the flashlight around the place. It was high, she couldn't see the ceiling. But empty. No statues, no carvings, no levers. Nothing that could have stopped the boulder. "There must be something."

"You know, there's always a way out." Nate panted as they went another round, and saw the door again. "Shit."

The flashlight scanned the walls, flicked up and down as they dashed along the corridor, and suddenly there was something. First Lara thought she was imagining the red spot high above them, but when she moved the light back there, she saw it again.

"There. Above us." She stopped for a moment, and the boulder came dangerously close. "Let's sped up, and win some time."

She quickened her steps like a runner collecting his last energies, and gained some distance from the boulder. When she reached the spot again, she grabbed her guns, and shot at the red mark. She hit it once, twice, three times, but nothing happened. "It has to be it. Shoot at it," she shouted at Nate in despair.

"That thing is coming." Nate saw the boulder from the corner of his eyes, and knew they had very little time before it crushed them.

"Shoot. Now." They fired all three guns at the same time, hit the red spot right in the middle. And the rumble was gone. The boulder slowed, rolled for a few meters still, and they recoiled until it stopped and meant no danger anymore.

The place was flooded with light.

Squinting, they looked around.

"Nice place."

It was nice indeed. So much different from what Lara had imagined in the darkness. It was a huge, round room with ceiling as high as a cathedral. In the middle high walls closed a part, they had no idea what was beyond them. As they walked around, they noticed a ladder high on the outer wall that led to a ledge, but it was impossible to reach it.

"That's our way out," Lara said.

"Yeah. And how do we get up there?"

The outer wall was flat, no footholds, no projections. Apart from the scrapes that the boulder had scratched into it, there was nothing.

"I don't know yet." She kept walking, tracing a hand on the wall.

Nate ambled around, keeping his eyes on the higher parts until his neck started to hurt. Lara lost him from sight, only heard his footsteps.

"What about this?" she heard his voice from around the curve. Lara hurried over to him.

"Looks promising." A thin flight of stairs started from the middle of the inner wall, snaking around the middle part, up to the top. "But it's still too high. We can't reach it."

"It's lower than the ladder over there," Nate said.

"But not low enough."

Disappointment rising to the surface, Nate strolled along the corridor, searching for anything that could help. There must be a way to reach those stairs, he thought as he reached the boulder. For the first time, he gave it a look. It wasn't a boulder actually, more like a huge roller with flat ends. He propped his hands against it, and it moved.

"I think I've found the solution." He shouted over to Lara, who appeared at the curve. "This thing moves. We could roll it over to the stairs, and climb up."

She considered, decided it could work. "Let's do it."

They both strained themselves to move the heavy roller that rattled along the flat surface, its weight impressive under they hands.

"It's good now. Stop pushing." Nate let go, and the roller stopped right under the stairs. "It could work."

"It will work." Lara's determination returned. "Boost me up there."

Because the roller moved slightly, she had to balance on the top of it. When she felt safe, she lay down to help Nate.

Lara inched to the wall, and jumped up to catch the first ledge. The flight of stairs was so narrow, they had to flatten against the wall, and move sideward. The ancients stones creaked under their weight, one broke off when Nate stepped on it. With a crash, it fell to the ground, leaving empty space behind.

"Careful," Lara said. "We might still need them to come down."

Their feet slipped off from time to time, Nate grabbed her arm once to keep her from falling. At the top, they turned around, climbed onto the wall that was wide enough to stand on.

"Well, that's interesting. I don't know if I like the view." Nate scratched his head, remembering the trap in Chagatai's tomb.

The middle part of the room served as a giant cistern, and was full of water up until the rim. A waveless pool so deep the bottom was only a blur of colors and shapes.

"Water. They seem to be attached to it." Lara took a side step, studying the pool. "What is this good for?"

"It surely doesn't bring back good memories." Their eyes met, and hers showed the same emotions. They'd almost died, but it had been hell of an adventure. "I'll take a look."

He dived into the water, and swam down to the bottom. Lara watched him from the wall, tried to figure out what he was doing down there. After a round along the wall, Nate stopped at a point, fiddled with something, then swam back, and surfaced with a deep gulp of air.

"I need your help." He caught the edge of the wall, looked up at her. "I've found a lever at the bottom, but it doesn't move."

She dived with a graceful move, her body a fine arch hitting the water without a splash. As she went under, the recollections of drowning returned, sending a wave of tremor through her body, but she swept the feeling away. One bad experience wouldn't keep her away from going forward. To get into the tomb she'd been chasing for years.

At the bottom, they grabbed the lever, and when Nate nodded, they pulled, propping their feet against the wall.

The lever lowered.

With strong kicks, they surfaced, curious what will happen. Next to the lever, several openings appeared, and with a maelstrom, the water level sank as if someone pulled out the plug. The water poured out into the outer circle where the boulder had chased them.

"Now it's all clear." Lara smiled. "That's how we'll reach the ladder."

"C'mon." Nate dived, swimming for the openings at the bottom.

They passed through, into the outer circle where the water level rose slowly, and the ladder was coming within reach.

"I love this," Lara said, treading the water under the ladder, barely able to wait to catch it.

Nate loved the look on her face. The glint of her eyes, the smile hiding in the corner of her mouth. "Ladies first." He offered the possibility to go first, and she took it with joy.

Arriving to the ledge, she turned around, looked down at the structure below, and wondered how creating something like this had been possible. The outer circle with the boulder was now filled with water, the inner circle was half empty, the water levels equal. And the two of them were standing above all this, with awe on their faces.

"Isn't this amazing?" she asked.

Nate stood next to her, and understood what she meant. It was really amazing. "Yeah. I know." And it was amazing as well that they'd gotten out of there alive. "Let's go and see where the old guy is."

Moving her eyes away from the structure required some effort, but what awaited her was more exciting.

Just like in Chagatai's tomb, after the trap the corridor was simple, leading to a room similar to the one where Johansson had surprised them. A small round room, statues of soldiers lined up on both sides, guarding the entrance with a circular hole in the middle.

"Hello there." Lara walked to the door, pulling the disk out of her bag. After inserting it into the hole, she rotated it to the right, until the two halves of the symbol united. Nothing happened.

"Something must be wrong." Nate stepped closer. "Are you sure this is the right symbol?"

"Yes, I am. The same as before. The symbol of Genghis Khan." She turned it around once more, but it didn't help. The gate stayed locked.

Lara rotated the disk into both direction, tried every symbol. Nothing. She tried everything, the cogs remained motionless, the gate closed.

"I can't believe it." She kicked the door. "I can't believe he beats me again. After all this time." She drew her gun, trained it at the door.

"Hey, hey." Nate clutched her wrist before she could fire. "Don't. I know you're frustrated, but this won't help."

She heaved a sigh. "I know. I goddamn know it."

"Let's look around."

The statues stood straight, their eyes following them as Lara and Nate strolled around, checking every inch of the small room. And those soldiers mocked them when they found nothing.

At the base of a statue, Lara sat to the floor, stretched her legs in front of her. "I won't let him win."

Nate sat next to her. "We've come so far."

With their heads tipped back, they sat there in silence, the soldiers looming over them. "I hate them," Lara said, illuminating one of the faces.

Nate smiled. "You don't hate them."

"No, I don't. But I want to." The flashlight blinked, the light died. "Oh, c'mon. You can't do this to me." She tapped the flashlight against her other palm to bring it back to life. The beam fell somewhere to the upper wall above the soldiers, disappeared again.

Nate jolted upright. "Wait a moment. Move the light over there again." He took it from her. "Right up there."

Concentrating, Lara stood up and saw what Nate had meant. Tiny drawings so untypical. So far they'd never experienced any carvings or drawings in the tombs, and now there was something. Would it be a coincidence? She grabbed the binoculars, turned on the night vision. Zoomed in as much as she could.

"This is unbelievable." She mused, moving closer. "It's about the closing of the tomb. One guy stands in front of the tomb, holds the sun-disk above his head. In the next scene he gives it to someone—I guess that's Chagatai."

"We've already known that. What happens then?"

"Patience, Nate," she said, but her voice gave away her excitement. "What the hell is that?"

"Let me see." He took the binoculars from her. "It's… I have no idea. Something small. Another object?"

With an impatient move, Lara snatched the binoculars again. "I can't make it out. It's something like a rope. And something's hanging on it. Something hanging on a rope. Or… Bloody hell!" She swirled around, approached Nate with a speed he couldn't follow, and without asking, she jammed her hand into his pocket.

"Hey." He winced, and because he had no chance against her, he put his hands up and didn't protest. "Careful there."

She pulled out the necklace with the golden plate. "Where did you get this?"

"That thing? I found it in Chagatai's grave and I liked it. You think…?"

She didn't wait for the rest of the sentence, but rushed to the gate, and inserted the disk again. When she rotated it, nothing happened, just like earlier. But this time she saw what she hadn't seen before. The tiny slot in the middle of the disk. Much like a keyhole.

"This must be it." She held the golden plate between two of her fingers, and wavered. It was her last chance, and she didn't want to know if she was wrong.

"Do it." When he realized her hesitation, Nate touched her hand, placing his on hers. "Let's do it together."

He gave her strength to take the last step, helped her overcome her fears. It must be it, she kept repeating while the plate moved closer to the slot. The edge of it touched the disk, and when half of it disappeared in the hole, the plate was sucked in. Like a key that had found its place.

The cogs turned, clacked while the two of them took a step back and watched them move, watched them do their job. It must be it, Lara thought once more before the metal beam pulled to the side and the gate opened in the middle.

With a torch in her hand, she stepped inside, her stomach trembling. As she lit one torch at the gate, she fire raced along the walls, lighting up the immense room full of incredible richness. And in the middle, the golden coffin of Genghis Khan waited, surrounded by his faithful warriors guarding his eternal sleep.

"That's what I call treasure," Nate said, but let her take in the view. Let her enjoy her moment.

When she turned around, the sparkle of her eyes told her everything. Without thinking, he pulled her to him, lifted her, and whirled her around. "You've found it. I knew you'd find it."

"We've found it." Throwing her head back, she laughed, her laughter travelling across the room, filling it up with life. After eight centuries, the tomb was full of life again. And it was hers.

.

.

Two weeks later, Croft Manor

.

Lara was lying on the sofa, stretching her legs along it, just like a few weeks ago, but this time she was far from being bored. Things had accelerated, a lot of work and organization were awaiting her, and she loved the idea of it. The discovery of the grave had been only the first step in a long progress. The recent events made her smile. A great adventure. A great success. Great fun. She almost laughed out as she thought back of all the crazy things she'd done with Nate. Traps, graves, shootings, car chases. And last but not least they had found the most famous treasure of all times. The feeling wasn't bad. Not bad at all.

Her thoughts were swirling around Drake when she heard a faint knock on the door of the study, and shortly after Hilary entered with a tray in his hand. A big white envelop lay on it.

"Post has arrived for you, Lady Croft." He lowered the tray, and waited until she took the letter.

"Thanks, Hilary." Lara turned it around, but there was no sender on it. The address had been written in a careless handwriting, and seeing that the stamp was American put a smile on her face. Using the paper knife that Hilary had placed on the tray, she opened the envelope. Inside she found a newspaper from a week ago with a thick headline on the front page. Last Wednesday's New York Times she'd seen before, but she read the title again.

.

LARA CROFT FOUND THE TOMB OF GENGHIS KHAN

THE DISCOVERY OF THE CENTURY

.

She ran her eyes over the article, read the lines she'd read a week ago. As she turned the page, a handwritten note fell out.

The glory is all yours as you wanted. I hope you're satisfied. I enjoyed every minute. N.D.

.

A smile crossed her face, she didn't even know why. Yes, the glory was hers. She folded the paper, threw it on the sofa, and stood up.

"You can put that to the rest," she said to Hilary, and headed for the door while the afternoon sunshine glinted on the sophisticated blade of Genghis Khan's sword adorning the top of her fireplace.

As she passed, Hilary thought that whatever had been in that message, Lara hadn't looked so happy for a long time.