Raiders of the lost Stone.
If this was a movie it would be PG-13; safe for most FFML'ers; it
contains the usual crap, strong language, sexually suggestive themes, and
excessive violence. Great stuff.
A Ranma 1/2/ Tomb Raider cross over...
Part 1: Lara and the Diamond of Lord Struden.
French countryside, summer; 1985.
Lara Croft stood at the top of the Chasm, an open scar in the face of
the earth that seemed to go down for miles, mist and smoke seemed to haze
over the darkness as the sheer and jagged rock walls seemed to vanish
into nothingness. She glanced over the side and frowned as the large man
behind her with a gun to her back shoved her forward. He was wearing a
black suit and a dark pair of shades, his face was twisted and pitted
with various scars as he growled menacingly and pushed her ever closer to
the edge. Her glasses fell from her nose and tumbled into the pit
shattering a few hundred feet below on a large patch of sharp stones that
protruded from the side of the wall. A low growl escaped her throat as
she glanced back at him angrily. "Those were expensive." The overbearing
man pulled back on the brown leather bomber jacket that she wore over her
tight fitting green shirt and short brown kaki shorts, two empty gun
holsters hung at her side as well; her face was tired and bruised
slightly from what had been a rough day for her.
The night before she had been shoved into a cell and guarded closely, a
little too closely for her taste; needless to say she had not gotten any
sleep.
A middle aged man dressed in a white suit and a wide brimmed hat walked
up from a black limousine parked near to the canyon. He had a slight limp
and leaned on a polished wooden cane that bent under his weight.
"Fraulein Croft, you shouldn't have." his heavy German accent touched a
bit of brutal class to his rather short stature and build. In his hands
was her travel pack, he tossed most of the contents over the side of the
chasm and held a large glittering diamond in his hand.
"I didn't, your mother should have told you it isn't nice to steal." she
snarled at him and pulled at her captors grip; behind her she could feel
his smile.
"I'm afraid she's dead; I would have kept you company myself, but
Strauss wouldn't have it. He's not much of a conversationalist, but I
hear he does have a way with za ladies." the man laughed slightly at his
own joke and stepped back a little from her struggles.
"I always liked the strong silent type." muttered Lara as her mind raced
for a way out of the precarious situation.
"Calm in the face of danger, you do live up to your reputation fraulein
Croft." said the man as he turned away from her and hobbled towards the
car holding the diamond in his hand while gazing into it's core greedily.
"More than I can say for your reputation Gaust, or should I say
Sturken?" Lara gave a small smile as the man stopped his stride for a
moment to give her a side long glance.
"Dat name has no meaning for me." snapped the man.
"That's obvious, why else would you kill your own daughter for a rock?"
said the woman coldly as she gazed into his eyes.
He stared back at her unfazed by her anger "I know she was an old friend
of yours, but zometimes we must endure a necessary evil to reach our
goals frauline." he turned to the bulky form of Strauss and waved his
hand casually. "Trow her into za pit." the man was clearly disturbed by
the fact she knew his name; who else could know? Anyone she had come into
contact with recently would have to be eliminated save Strauss.
The hulking man laughed in a deep chuckle as she was lifted easily from
her feet by the massive man and held over the pit.
"Hey, take a look down big boy." said Lara as she hung from his grip.
Strauss looked confused for a moment and glanced at her hands, they
where still bound by the rough cord; but they where also holding the
small silenced handgun he kept hidden in his crotch. The gun fired twice
before he realized what was happening and he fell forward loosening his
grip on Lara just enough for her to twist away and catch the edge of the
cliff with her stomach, the wind was knocked from her, as she desperately
clenched her abdomen down and dug her chin into the hard soil of the
rocky ground; she grunted painfully as she kicked her legs up onto the
edge and pulled her body completely onto the ground. Strauss tumbled
forward and vanished over the cliff silently; the look on his face told
her he was still not certain what had happened.
"Thank you for the lovely evening, I might not have known that was there
if you hadn't shown me such a wonderful time." She watched as the man
vanished behind the murky gray fog that hid the bottom of the chasm from
view. After a moment of rest, she staggered to her feet and walked over
to the black painted motorcycle, it was little more than an overpowered
dirt bike, but far better than walking.
Gaust's car moved away from the canyon in a cloud of dust and started
down the long deserted road that would lead him back into the small town
nearby; Once he got there nothing could be done for several days, he
would be too well guarded. She struggled against the ropes and rubbed
them along the rough edge of the side car's small Plexiglas windbreaker,
within a few seconds she was free. She pulled the clip from the gun and
counted the bullets hastily as she mounted the bike and kicked the engine
into a start; five rounds remained. A few small pins where all that held
the side car into place, she pulled them violently away and kicked the
small pod off roughly, sending it off the edge of the cliff as she drove
away after her prey.
Gaust fingered the jewel in his hands and relaxed in the back seat of
the limo; a tall glass of champagne rested in his palm and an operatic
tune soothed his troubled mind. "Such a waste, she could have been useful
to me." He placed the diamond on the lavish bar that sat across from him
at the back of the limo.
"She was dangerous, eliminating her was not an option." snarled the
woman dressed in tight black leather that appeared beside him from the
shadows of the opposite side of the cab with another man dressed in
black. Gaust did not seem surprised by her presence.
"I know Frau Stanton, but she was quite a woman no?" the man chuckled to
himself as he handed the diamond to her; she idly tossed it back to him.
"This is not the stone I seek, you may keep it as compensation for your
trouble Gaust." the woman gave him a sly smile and brushed her long
straight black hair back behind her shoulder, it was cut in an almost
militaristic even length and her make up was strong yet some how perfect;
The deep red of her lips seemed to contrast her dark eyes and the pale
skin; she was beautiful, but it was a cold and harsh beauty.
The dark glass of the privacy window slid down slowly revealing the
driver, he was a harsh looking black man in his mid twenties with a dark
pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes.
"What is it, this had better be important." snapped the man harshly at
his driver.
"Heir Gaust, we are being followed." said the man simply before he
rolled the window back up.
"Vhat?!" screamed the man as his accent worsened in his anger; He turned
to see the slim form of a motorcycle bearing down on them in the
distance. "Croft!"
Lara could see the long silouette of the limo as she closed in on it at
top speed, they where still a good hour away from the village and she
could catch them easily if they maintained their current speed; however,
she knew that they would speed away if she was spotted and turned her
gaze to the hills that ran along the roadside, they would meet the road
halfway to the city, but it would be a rough ride; they could easily out
run her if she did not chance it though. The car began to deminish and
sealed the decision, she had been seen and it was a race now. She turned
and rode up the rough dirt trail that would lead her to them.
"Who are you calling at a time like this, she'll never catch us on that
toy." said the dark clad woman as she sipped on her glass lazily.
"You underestimate her ability fraulein, she is a dangerous opponent."
snapped Gaust as he continued to dial; he placed the receiver to his ear
and snarled into the phone. "Dis is Ludwig Gaust, dere is a woman on da
motorcycle chasing my limo due west of your current location; about five
minutes away, kill her. Move quickly, she has just turned into the hills;
under no circumstances is she to survive." he hung up the phone and
smiled darkly as he relaxed into the leather.
"Who was that?" asked the woman flatly, her interest was obviously
waning.
"Just a weapons test for a new smuggling operation of mine, she won't
make it to the town alive." he sipped at his champagne delicately. "Such
a strange drink, I haven't had it for some time."
"Your preference would be beer? A rather roughish drink for a cultured
man such as yourself." Stanton seemed amused for a moment before
returning to her own thoughts.
"Cultured? bah! Germany was brought to power by strong men, it will
continue to thrive under their influence." he snorted crudely. "Not this
fluff and pompous thing you call culture."
"We'll see." she replied absently.
She was half way there and almost certainly ahead of them now, Lara
gunned the engine of the cycle as she flew over a hill and landed roughly
skidding for a few feet before she regained control of the bike. She
stopped for a moment and cocked her head, a familiar sound filled her
ears as the low thudding of a helicopter could be heard in the air; wind
blasted from in front of her suddenly as it appeared from nowhere
directly in front of her, from behind the cover of a hill. "A silent
running helicopter?!" She could see the look in the pilot's eyes as he
turned the massive bulk of the chopper towards her, it was a civilian
design; with the possible exception
of the minigun mounted just below the nose. It swiveled to face her and
she stared at it wide eyed for a second before gunning the motor as the
ground she had been standing on vanished behind her from the massive
force of the heavy caliber bullets. "Shit!" The helicopter itself kicked
and the nose was pulled down as the machine gun went off. It was obvious
that they could only use short burst of fire and Lara smiled as she drove
away.
She curved around the corners and stayed low between the hills as she
weaved her way around the random firing pattern of the chopper. The
gunner tried desperately to force her up to the top of a hill to get a
clean shot, but Lara stayed low and weaved in and out of the brush
forcing him to take shots at her in the dark. Within moments she was lost
to him.
"Where the hell is she?" screamed the gunner.
"You lost her?" screamed the pilot angrily.
"She disappeared in the bushes! How the hell am I supposed to keep track
of her?!" retorted the man as he gazed below.
About a twenty yards away behind a thick cover of bushes, Lara Croft
emerged from a long cement drainage pipe that had been abandoned in the
field. She gunned the motor and looked back with a smug grin plastered on
her face as the copter circled around the area she had disappeared into.
"See you later boys."
Around fifteen minutes later Lara found the road again, it was about a
ten foot drop to the road and she sat back a good distance from the edge
waiting patiently. Within moments the long black form of the limo rounded
the corner and coasted by lazily. Lara smiled and gunned the motor, she
blasted over the jump and sailed over the car landing gracefully next to
the vehicle and firing a shot into the glass before she hit the ground.
Pain laced down her spine as she impacted with the road and ruined the
shocks of the bike, it still ran smoothly though and she kept up with the
car without breaking stride.
Her shot was no surprise though, it bounced harmlessly away from the
armored car's windows leaving a dusty looking white spot where it had
hit. "Ok, the tires." Lara coasted next to the car and let a round fly
sending it through the rubber of the tire and finding equal success.
"Bullet proof tires, damn well built car I must say."
Inside Gaust was in a panic, "Damn her! how the hell did she get here so
fast!?" he picked up the phone and slammed it onto the ground angrily.
Stanton was completely calm however; she looked over to her aide and
nodded. He stood wordlessly and opened the sun roof with the flick of a
button, in his hands was a small machine gun, he pulled back on the lever
and cocked the gun.
Lara smiled as the car slowed down and a huge man emerged from the roof,
he let loose a spray of bullets that was controlled and dangerously close
to her. "So they want to play do they?" she gunned the bike and swayed
between the deadly accuracy of the overbearing man who looked amazingly
similar to Strauss. He reached into his suit jacket and lobbed a small
black ball at her, she steered to avoid the projectile only to have it
explode behind her lifting the tail end of the bike up into the air and
almost causing her to lose control.
"This is getting serious." she muttered as she looked back nervously.
She leveled the gun on him and another explosion in front of her forced
her to swerve away; then another hail of bullets forced her further back.
"He's good."
With a hard look crossing her face she stuffed the gun in it's holster
and opened up the bike completely, this time she charged straight for the
car. The man smiled and fired a few shots in her direction, he lifted the
gun and smiled even more as she drew nearer.
Lara drew her legs up and tensed her body as she came within two feet of
the limo's trunk; he smiled and held a grenade in his hand glaring at
her maniacally; the machine gun was lowered on her and she forced herself
out of the seat and into the air pulling the gun from her pocket as she
went. The shower of bullets sailed underneath her and her bike toppled
and exploded as they ripped through the gas tank, she fired two shots
that took the man in his chest, the grenade flew from his hands and she
fell barely missing the trunk and seeming to disappear onto the pavement.
"Damn!" growled Stanton as she saw her best man fall onto the carpet
dead.
"At least he got her, no one could have survived that bike crash, not
even frauline Croft." Gaust had a hard smile etched across his face as he
fingered the diamond greedily in his palm.
Lara grunted in pain as she hung onto the bumper of the car, her legs
scraped mercilessly against the pavement as the skin was shaven from them
easily, her boots took the worst of it, but her thighs and shins
repeatedly came into contact with the road. She struggled and lifted her
self up in a pull up onto the bumper of the car with another scream of
pain; finally she managed to wrap her arm around the decorative spoiler
on the back, it strained but managed to hold her weight. A cold look of
hatred filled her eyes as she climbed onto the back of the car and glared
at the dark glass that kept her from Gaust. In her right hand was the
hand grenade that the underling had thrown in his death throes, she
snarled and ripped the pin out with her teeth.
"All is well, frauline Stanton. We have ze diamond and our organization
is one step closer to recovering the stone; I wouldn't mind a few more
failures such as this one though." Gaust smiled as he held the diamond up
to the sunlight from the open window of the sun roof.
The woman paid no attention to him she merely stared out the window in
disbelief as Lara Croft climbed up onto the trunk; she pushed herself up
with a strained look on her face and fell against the window. Gaust
turned at the sound and glared in disbelief, with a horrible realization
he jumped from his seat and pushed the button to close the roof, but it
was too late. Just before the window closed completely a small black ball
rolled into the cab and lay on the carpet; Gaust's leg gave out and he
fell beside it staring in horror; he had just enough time to look back
and see Lara was not on the trunk any longer. "CROOOOFFFFTTT!!!!"
She stood painfully and dusted herself off, she had managed to make it
to the sandy roadside instead of landing on the pavement. It didn't help
much, but it was enough to keep her from getting any more scratched up.
The limousine exploded in a massive ball of fire about seven hundred
yards away and Lara was almost knocked back to the ground. She staggered
as pieces fell from the sky all around her. At her feet the European
license plate stuck in the ground, it was bent terribly, but "Gaust-1"
could still be read; she lifted it up and placed it under her arm, "At
least it's not a total loss."
She staggered for a few steps towards the town when something fell at
her feet again, she looked down and saw the sparkling form of the diamond
buried halfway in the sand at her feet. An amused smile crossed the
woman's face as she bent down and picked it up. She turned it over a few
times in her hand and placed it into her pocket, she chucked aside the
license plate and continued towards the town. "I'm going to need a new
pair of spectacles I suppose."
On the side of the road another form stood from the dirt on the side of
the road. It was a woman with long black hair who was dressed in tight
leather clothing. She stared at the burning wreckage and cursed in French
as she punched the ground, her shoulder had a rather nasty scrape across
it that was bleeding profusely; otherwise she appeared unharmed. After a
few moments of glaring at the remains of her former partner and his car
she smiled, and slowly her smile turned into a chuckle, finally she moved
into a full blown laugh. "Oh this is rich! Mrs. Croft, I do believe I
like you; such style and grace. I think I have finally found the perfect
partner in my little game!" she walked a few steps down the road and
picked up a long black coat; tossing it across her arm she started to
walk in the opposite direction of Lara.
TBC......
This is my homage to the Indian Jones films that Lara's series was based
off of, the mini adventure before the real one starts. I hope to keep
this sort of pace through the whole affair as things get started, with
Ranma and Co. competing against her for the stone. It holds a possible
solution to their problem, but it isn't a cure; interesting ne? A few
other things have to be set up before the real adventure starts,
something that will take them to an ancient Temple in Japan, across
China, and even into the Kuno masion, in a search for a lost Amazon
treasure that holds enormous magical power.
It has every thing Lara needs, evil employers, exotic locations,
endangered species to shoot, lots of men to kill, and even a few new
things. One example of this will be Lara's old Archeology teacher, [Not
her mentor from TR4.] These two obviously didn't get along; Why? Because
Lara Croft isn't a scientist, she's a treasure hunter and a grave robber.
Despite that, he will play a pretty major roll in this fic as well. The
old battle ax professor will have quite a bit to say about her treasure
hunting lifestyle; most of it not good. She'll be stuck dragging him
around at the beginning of the fic, I have important plans for him later.
Ranma will have his hands full as well, [Remember this is Lara Croft,
she's never met a man who didn't die around her; plus she's a babe and
Akane won't go for them hanging around each other for long.] Who will be
involved with this in the Ranma verse is uncertain as of the time I wrote
this. Ukyo is out, Sorry fanboys, she'll make her appearance in the
beginning I promise, but she has to stay in Nerima to run her business.
Mousse and Ryoga are definite, as is Akane. Shampoo is a maybe and may
oppose them meddling with the stone for her own reasons; Cologne plays an
important role, Happosai also has a set part, how Lara will react to the
old demon is still a subject of much amusement for me.
I'm pretty good at comedic dialogue, and there will be allot of it;
especially in the beginning. However I promise not to forget this is an
action fic, I can only pray it comes out as well as this first part did.
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