The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 46 - Revelations...

"Go to sleep, go to sleep~ Mommy will be here~" Saeko sung softly as her children were being put to sleep. Once their eyes finally closed, she closed the door but not before eyeing them with concern.

As she walked inside the living room, Saeko was met with concerned looks from her friends. The quartet then looked to the right side of the living room where two small spider-cracks were present. The cause of said obstruction.

It was the twins. The entire morning, they were fine then suddenly Ashla and Masaki cried loudly for three hours and it was only until Rhea calmed them down. Her title as Titaness of Motherhood wasn't for nothing after all.

"What happened to the two of them?" Medusa asked, clearly worried about her stepchildren.

Saeko was in the same boat but more so since she was their mother. The surprising fact was that they cracked the wall with their hands only. More specifically, the kind of power they used to accomplish it.

"You girls felt that, right?" Rhea asked as they nodded to her answer. "Then it was no doubt they used chakra." Very, very briefly. "I'm worried about them."

Kuroka and Medusa nodded while Saeko gave her motherly input. "I guess this means a talk with Naruto once he gets back."

"I hope he's all right." Medusa said as she played with her hair, twirling the ends in her fingers.

A loud hum emanated from the Titaness after she assumed a thinking pose, greatly pondering the reason of the twins' sudden outburst and power release. "Maybe it's because of Naruto." All eyes were on her now. "Newborn children and older children have an innate connection to their parents. They cry when they sense one of them in duress or upset. I think that's what happened with them."

Kuroka stood straight as she stared at the older immortal. "You mean Naruto is in duress and Ashla and Masaki sensed it." She looked up at the direction where the twins' room was in. "Poor kids. Wait, that means hubby's in trouble!"

"Or someone riled him up at the place he's at." Medusa pointed out, knowing of his tendency to let loose afterwards.

Hopefully he's all right and make it back home so the twins could see their father was all right and safe. They could hope that he was safe.

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Chasm Monastery

Slowly opening her eyes while ignoring the pain course throughout her body, Lara found herself hanging in the ceiling by her bound hands in a hook. She inspected the room and saw several hanging pale bodies like her with more on the ground beneath her.

"Okay…" Lara gritted her teeth as she swung her body back and forth to gain momentum until her feet reached the beam. She pushed against the beam while pulling the hook out of its position slowly until it was loose. "Crap!" She shouted as her back hit against the corpse-ridden floor.

She was groggy but it didn't last long. "What's happening here?" Lara asked as she spotted the unmoving body of the pilot Jessop… and Patronus. "What? Patronus?"

"Oh, Thank God!"

"What?!" Lara shouted when the hooded hero lunged at her, kicking him in the sweet spot and bringing him down. "What are you doing?!"

Patronus raised his head, tears in his eyes as he was resisting to urge to cry. "Who the hell kicks their savior in the nuts?"

"You didn't save me!" Lara shouted back at the downed hero. "I was dragged by those…those…"

"Yokai?" Patronus finished for her, surprising her while standing up albeit painfully. "Those things are Yokai." He turned his head as he exhaled deeply, feigning the whole thing since the Nemean Lion pelt/bodysuit protected him from the unwarranted blow to his jewels.

"Really? You expect me to believe that?" Lara asked incredulously with crossed arms.

It was Patronus's turn to give her an incredulous look, even though she couldn't see it. "Are you serious? With everything that's happened lately, I figured you be more open to stuff like this! I thought you were some sort of…ache…archerar…ar—ar…" He paused while hitting his head to jumpstart his thinking. "What was it?"

"Archaeologist." Lara stated, deadpanning instead of asking as Naruto pointed at her. "Really, who are you?"

"Boston's own favorite superhero!" Patronus stood straight with a salute. "Not to mention savior of those in danger."

Lara rolled her eyes. "My hero." She drawled sarcastically until series of loud 'thuds' reached her ears.

With a quick flash of his Kitsune Sense, Naruto saw one of those creatures in the samurai armor he mowed back in the caverns approaching their little abode of rotting corpses. "Let's get out of here." Patronus stated as he pointed at the small hole to the far side. "Go through there."

After Lara entered the cave, Naruto placed another tag on the corpse of pilot Jessop and watched it disappeared back to the cave he and Captain America occupied the night before. He heard the footsteps getting closer as his fists creaked under the pressure of his strength, his mind in an internal debate of the 'fight or flight' route.

"Patronus! Are you coming or what?!" Lara whispered from the hole.

His answer was there all along. He followed the archer into the cave but stopped when she did as the latter looked back at the room they were in. They watched strong legs stroll in the room as their owner dragged a heavy stone hammer or axe behind it.

Lara covered her mouth to prevent any noise from escaping while Patronus readied his wrists to use his Hidden Blades just in case the creature looked their way. Fortunately, it didn't and the duo decided that it was time to get the hell out.

Once they had a little slide with some skeletons, Lara and Patronus found themselves in some sort of tunnel reminiscent to those belonging in tombs or mines while being blasted by constant strong wind ahead of them as a huge hole gave them a view outside to some other part of the island.

"Where do you think we are?" Lara asked, raising her arm to protect her face from the cold wind

Patronus simply shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure but I'm guessing we're not near our last location." He then stepped in front of Lara, using his body as a shield against the wind.

"How'd you find me anyway?" Lara asked genuinely. She could've sworn that Patronus fidgeted mid-step and that made her even more curious.

Luckily for Naruto, he was a full-blown trickster. "Actually, I was taken by those samurai guys like you." He lied while turning around, facing her directly. "I fought them off as best I could to keep them away from you, but they overwhelmed me. I actually freed myself just moments before you woke up." He turned around to avoid the suspicious glare the archer was giving him.

There was no way in heaven, hell or other dimensional world he was going to tell that he secretly marked her with a Hirashin seal on her clothes. It happened when they escaped the plane crash and he thought that it was best to do so in case something like Lara being kidnapped happens in the future.

Nor would he ever admit that he forgot about said marker.

(Flashback Begins—Minutes Earlier)

"Rasenrengan!"

The horde of samurai and Yokai looked up as the hooded ninja had lunged at them with his chakra spheres in both hands, backing up to escape contact but it was too late. A smoke cloud erupted from the spot he landed before Naruto plowed through more Yoki and samurai that remained untouched at this point.

Inhaling deeply until his cheeks puffed, Patronus exhaled a large ball of wind at the remnants. "Futon: Renkuudan!" The powerful ball of cutting wind chakra lacerated the Yoki and samurai warriors and blew through a wall, leaving behind a hole as a testament of his power.

Calming his mind and taking a deep breath, Naruto looked around and found himself somewhere else that was anything but his last location. "Damn, was I so into demolishing the Yokai and samurai warriors that I didn't pay attention where I was moving to?"

"Yup, you had 'Demolish everything when pissed off' tunnel vision, Naruto. It happens to the best of us." His Tailed Beast spoke, smirking since Naruto couldn't see it but feel by the way. "Except me of course."

"Shut it, fox or I'm going kick your ass on this island right here and now!"

"…Wow, you're peeved about this. Don't tell me this about those pilots?"

"…"

A loud groan came from the fox. "Oh Naruto…You can't save everyone. That's the problem with you hero-types: save everyone is your absolute duty. It's not your duty. Remember the reason why you kept your powers a secret: there are six of them."

Naruto fidgeted as he remembered the faces of his beloved. Rhea, Kuroka, Medusa, Saeko, Ashla and Masaki. His family are his Brotherhood and he would never risk bringing them harm. "But still…I never thought I would feel this way." He lifted his right palm as a Rasengan was formed in it. "In this world with all those having power to save or destroy…It's sickening."

"Always remember your reasons. There will always be times that you and anyone else for that matter would fail." Kurama said, really delving into his age of experience. "If we fail, what's the best thing we can do from the point on?"

"Learn from your mistakes and be better." Naruto answered, breathing in and out as he chuckled moments later. "Thanks, Kurama. I needed that. I'm glad you did or I probably would've been sulking and bitching about it on this island for hours."

"That's why your parents sealed me in you." Kurama smugly answered back, turning to his own internal thoughts. 'Well, half of me anyway.'

It was known to the trio that Kurama was half of his original self and that he possesses the Yang chakra. When he heard of this for the first time, Naruto almost lost his mind before he asked about Kurama's another half; his Yin chakra half. The Tailed Beast however didn't respond and instead redirected the conversation to one of Naruto's favorite topic at the time.

Both he and Ashura could never forget the blatant verbal defense Naruto gave them after they had dissed the younger ninja's favorite food. It wasn't time to tell his Jinchuriki about his father being the host of the Yin half of his chakra. Right now, they needed to focus on beating the Shinjuu and its army.

*Crackling…Crackling…Cracking*

"Huh?" Naruto looked down before he let out a girlish scream as the floor gave out from underneath his feet, sending him a very long drop. He grunted loudly as his body crashed against the icy boulders that was destroyed thanks to his Nemean Lion bodysuit as it protects him all form of attacks and the elements. "I'm alive." He said with awe.

Standing up, Naruto patted away the leftover snow off his robes and created a Rasengan to light up the dark cavern. He walked through the narrow and not-so-cold tunnel until coming across a large room of sorts as hundreds of icicles hung to the ceiling and shook as if they were ready to cut into him.

He was so focused on the icicles that he walked right into a metal wall of sorts, resulting in a loud metal sound reminiscent of a drum being pounded. "What is this?" Naruto asked as he inspected the ice-covered wall before wiping the casing off, revealing a name in huge white bolded letters. "U.S.S America… What is a battleship during here?"

"Naruto, I hate to disrupt your boat fetish…" Cue an annoyed growl from a tick-marked Naruto. "But aren't you supposed to find that Croft girl?"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as his Rasengan dissipated due to the sudden lack of concentration. "Crap, you're right!" The Uzumaki clasped his head as he bent his knees, panicking over how to find the missing Croft. "I could use Kitsune Sense to find the last location I saw her, but I don't know if the tracks are still there when I get there! Argh, what am I going to do?!"

A miniature Kurama manifested on his shoulder and wacked him on the head with one of his tails, causing Naruto's body to lurch forward from the impact. The teary-eyed Naruto glared at the nonchalant mini-Tailed Beast who stared at him.

"Have you really forgotten what you did on Lara long before all this started?" Kurama asked, shaking his head when Naruto shrugged hesitatingly as he face-palmed his head. "There are times when I'm annoyed and/or dumbfounded by your quirks and then there are other times when I'm astounded by your ingenuity. This however is the former."

"What?" Naruto asked impatiently while looking away, embarrassed by his own volition. The cub-like Kurama sighed and whispered in his ear, causing his mouth to form an 'o' like a fish in water. "That's right! Man, I can't believe I forgot that!" He gave a small pat on Kurama's head before forming a hand sign, sending the Tailed Beast back inside. "Thanks, Kurama! I don't know what to do without you in times like this."

"You probably spend your days eating ramen breakfast, lunch and dinner." Kurama remarked nonchalant.

Naruto simply laughed sarcastically as he placed a locating tag on the ship before disappearing a flash of light.

(Flashback Ends)

*Cla-boom*

The hooded ninja snapped his head and saw Lara stood in front of him with a new weapon in her hands. A shotgun it looked to be but like the submachine, it appeared to be an old design as well.

"Nice weapon." Patronus finally spoke, getting a glance from Lara. "What's that for?"

"To destroy wooden fences blocking our way." Lara answered before jumping across the gap, followed by Patronus as they soon heard a voice echoing through the tunnel.

"Over here!"

"She's here somewhere… I heard something below."

"The Guardians will kill her."

"Let's get the hell out of here before they find us!"

"They're looking for me." Lara said as she and Patronus looked at each other. Apparently, they don't know about the hooded hero's presence here. That can work towards their advantage from here on. "You heard that bit about the Guardians, right?" Patronus nodded as they trekked through the tunnel. "Could they be talking about the Youkai?" Lara asked since the male hero faced them during their brief separation.

A shrug was all he could give.

"Possibly but the Yoki I faced and those samurai…I have a feeling that they are opposing forces working together for a common goal." Seeing the skeptical look from Lara, Patronus waved his hand in front of her. "Just rambling but it would make sense in a way."

The duo continued their trek while observing the countless display of bound skeletons of man and animal to wood as if they were sacrifices. Their trek ended physically until Lara noticed a small window-like vent to the side and climbed over it with a wall jump.

She grunted when landing in the new room, followed by Patronus, and surveyed the surroundings. "I hate tombs." Lara admitted after waving off the flies away from her.

"I thought tombs was in your field." A confused Patronus replied, jolting slightly from the sudden deadpan stare from the archer and it clicked to him. "Then again, after what we've been through, I don't blame you for your recent statement."

They looked around in the new tomb and inspected until three prominent statues caught the archer's attention, drawing her closer as she gasped lowly. "A Sun Queen and her stormguard…"

"Say what?" Patronus asked for her to repeat as he walked to her before looking at the statues. "What's so special about them?"

Lara placed her on the sarcophagus as excitement began to overwhelm her. "Himiko! The first Sun Queen! This is Yamatai." Relief washed over her as she was right all along. She moved to open the coffin, but stepped aside when Patronus did it for her as he moved the top enough for them to see inside. "You're really here."

Patronus glared at the dead body inside as his mind pondered many things. If she's dead then who resurrected the Revenant swordsman attacker? Who was responsible for the plane crash? Who's controlling the samurai and possibly the Youkai?

"And really, really dead." Lara coughed after centuries-old dust reached her senses. "This is incredible." She noticed a mural of sorts on a wall and inspected the drawing. "This looks like some kind of a fire ritual…"

Patronus approached her from behind as he too inspected the image lit by Lara's torch. "For what, Lara?"

"A sacrificial ritual…Horrible." Lara stated with hint of fear in her tone. "But why were the women burnt like that?" Patronus nudged her and pointed to the next mural of a different image. "A journey, pilgrimage to… Is that this monastery?" She founded another mural after the one in front of her. "Pouring water? But why?"

Patronus shrugged his shoulders again. "Maybe she was thirsty after her long walk." He joked as Lara rolled her eyes.

"And there you are. Queen." Lara said after seeing the last mural, but that's when she noticed something. "Wait…" She looked between the last two murals. "It's not pouring water, it's transferring power." She looked around the tomb. "This is an ascension ritual. This is how you chose your successor!"

"Something about this isn't right." Patronus looked at the first mural. "If this is an ascension ritual, then why burn the women? Lara might be right about this but my gut is telling me there is more to this ascension ritual than meets the eye."

"There!" Patronus and Lara looked to see Solarii on the upper floors. "Hey, that hooded guy is alive!"

The duo looked to each other and nodded as they went to work against the Solarii. Patronus leaped towards one and grabbed his machine gun, holding it by the butt and swinging at him as he was sent flying across the room. Lara used her newly-acquired shotgun to take out three machete-wielding men who approached her.

With the last three Solarii standing, Patronus swiftly thrusted his palm forward, sending a focused shockwave to slam his enemies against the wall and knocking them out from the impact. "Eaken…" He whispered after focusing on his new original technique.

Lara's mind must've been playing tricks on her as she just saw Patronus summoned wind under his command to finish off the Solarii. She rubbed her eyes to see if she was dreaming but ultimately, she waved it off as exhaustion getting the best of her at that moment.

"Might need ammo for your shotgun." Patronus said as he approached her with a handful of ammo. "Plus, more arrows" In his other hand was a handful of arrows. He watched her grab the objects and pocketed them safely. "Now where do we go?"

"What the hell's going down there?!"

The duo looked up where the Solarii came from and heard an inhuman growl followed a small visage of a large human-like figure. It was the creature they saw in the room where Lara was strung like a caterpillar.

"What the hell is that thing? A Yokai?" Lara whispered with a tinge of fear.

"One way to find out." Patronus replied, implying to fight the creature. Instead he got a slap on the head for his trouble. "Ouch."

Lara scoffed before she noticed the suspended jar and the guarded gates and put two-and-two together. She used her rope arrow on the jar, heaved it once and released her grip as the object broke the barred gates with its momentum.

"Clever." Patronus said impressively as he followed Lara out of the tomb and through a narrow tunnel as they crouched. "You hear that?" He stopped as Lara stopped in front of him.

"Hey! I found a way out down here!" A Solarii shouted from afar, obviously scared.

Another Solarii spoke immediately afterward. "But that woman…we've gotta find her."

"The Guardians can have her. I'm getting the hell out of here now!" The first Solarii shouted with no room for compromise.

"Goddamn it…okay…okay wait!" The second Solarii admitted, fearing for his life as well. "Help us open the gate."

Patronus and Lara arrived at a sheltered alcove with a huge hole that showed the outside on the side with a small fireplace. "Who puts these fire places?" He asked curiously as they decided to rest, mostly for Lara's necessity.

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(Meanwhile)

Captain America's Location, Below Mountain Village

The First Avenger grunted as he strained himself to get out of the Hino-enma's grip. He froze when her fingernails etched near his left eye.

"My darling, do not fret. You will be with me for all eternity~"

Captain strained greatly as he tried to free himself while the Hino-enma's wings began to surround his body. All seemed lost when a loud hollow chirp reached their ears as the frozen Roth and Captain's glanced to the side as much as they could.

A creature that was the size of a human child stood on the other side of the clearing. Its head was slightly proportionally bigger than its darkly pale blue skin and rags for clothing while its long red tongue hung from the wide smile.

The Hino-enma growled at the sight of the Yokai and placed her 'beloved' carefully on the ground but not before giving him a peck on the cheek.

"I'll be back, darling. Wait for me."

With that said, the winged Yokai charged at the little one-eyed imp with her speed. The one-eyed Yokai saw this coming and hopped to the side with surprising agility, stunning the paralyzed Avenger and Roth. The Hino-enma growled in frustration as she turned around for another pass, only for the imp to avoid the rush attack once more.

Captain saw this chance and strained to make even one part of his body move as did Roth with both being none successful so far.

"Come on!" He growled loudly as he strained to move.

Meanwhile, the two Yokai continued their battle of cat-and-mouse as the imp lashed out with its tongue and scratched the Hino-enma when she passed another round. Blobs of miasma were sucked inside the imp's mouth as the lone eye glowed red before it spun around with arms out like a dance.

What happened next shocked the humans present. The imp had grown to its assumed adult size with bulky arms and hardened skin as the clothes had been torn apart while a small horn protruded from its forehead. Its previously long tongue became short during the transformation but it still looked intimidating.

The Hino-enma was not fazed and instead she floated in the air before throwing thin sharp needles at the giant One-Eyed Cyclops. The terrestrial Yokai raised the bulky arms to block them as they fell to the ground. When that failed, the Hino-enma yelled out another round of its poisonous shockwave that cracked the ground behind the Cyclops.

"Captain…" Roth muttered loud enough for the Avenger to hear him. "Any luck yet?"

Captain America strained once more until he finally felt a twinge in his pinky. The poison was beginning to fade! At least for him since Roth still couldn't move at all. The movement reached his arm to the shoulders and soon the upper body but he feigned motionless to fool the battling Yokai.

The battle ceased when the Hino-enma's leg was grabbed by the Cyclops after doing another pass as she was slammed into the ground. She yelped in pain when the giant Yokai body-slammed on top of her, crushing her frame with its heavy mass.

The Oni-eyed Oni rose and slammed its bulk hands onto the female enemy several times until something circular hit its eye, eliciting a groan of pain as it grasped its face.

His hand catching the object, Captain America stood once more with a determined expression before he met the Oni's slow charge. Being the obvious faster combatant, the Avenger slid between the legs as he hit them with quick strikes from his shield.

Smirking when the giant fell to his knees, Captain quickly jumped onto its back and stood on the shoulders before bashing his shield against the lone eye several times. Leaping off the Yokai's body, Captain threw his shield at a weak-looking tree as it soon broke from the Vibranium-Adamantine object before he grabbed the lighter portion and lifted it over his head.

"Take this!" Captain shouted as he threw the sharp stump directly at the Oni's eye.

Splatters of blood gushed out like a hose from the eye as the Oni fell backwards on the ground with a loud thunder-like 'thud'. Roth whistled at the brutality Captain America just displayed against the Yokai as he began to regain feeling around his body.

"Yes…" His relief turned to despair when he noticed the Hino-enma slowly get up from the ground. "Crap, Captain!"

The Avenger was already on it as he was atop the female Yokai and slammed his shield on her head several times with loud bangs each time. However, the winged Yokai wasn't going down without her darling as she backhanded Captain America off her.

"Darling, why have you hurt me so? Don't you love me?"

Captain responded with his raised shield to block the thrown needles. He then ran towards the waterfall with the Hino-enma right behind him before jumping on several cliff faces, dodging the poison shockwaves with each attempt.

"Stop moving!"

This time she shouted with anger as she flew up, easily passing her beloved and the waterfall before diving steeply.

"Oh crap." Captain America muttered lowly as he just barely reached the top before rolling out of the way.

Another poisonous shockwave shot out in short-range omnidirectional when the Hino-enma's fist slammed against the ground as Captain America used his shield to block the shockwave. A soft 'hum' rang out between the shield afterwards while the ground shook slightly.

Growling at her beloved's tenacity, the Yokai twirled around in the air before dashing towards him with a strong beat of her wings. Instead of a full charge, the Hino-enma surprised the Avenger with a couple swift leg strikes and that's when the latter was shocked.

"My arm is going numb again?!" Captain mused after blocking a leg strike with his free arm.

The two entered a clash of offense and defense with Captain America's shield blocking her leg attacks the whole time. After a spinning axe kick from the Hino-enma, Rogers took something out of his belt and swiftly attached it onto her mid-riff.

The Avenger quickly turned around and dived off the waterfall but not before giving the female Yokai a wink. The confused Hino-enma didn't notice the blinking device on her person until she was engulfed in a ball of flame, screaming in pain all the while.

Roth laughed out loud when the leader of the Avengers landed in the water as he was finally about to move his body although crawling is the only option for the moment.

Captain panted slightly as he regrouped with Roth before lying down next to him, deciding that rest was needed for the moment.

"Not bad, Avenger. Not bad at all." Roth congratulated with a tap on the shoulders.

Captain chuckled a little. "It's what I do."

Their respite was broken when the smoking body of the Yokai landed in front of them. Captain instinctively threw his shield at the weakened Hino-enma, knocking her out as her head snapped backwards from the contact before hitting the ground a second later.

"…Yep…Definitely what I do."

Raising his hand, the Avenger caught his ricocheted shield before sheathing on his back as he laid on his back. Happy that his battle with a Yokai had ended although the thoughts of the young Lara Croft and hooded Patronus plagued his mind. He however had confidence that they can get through anything as long they are together.

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Sheltered Alcove, Yamatai

"Patronus…"

"Yeah?" Patronus turned around and saw a dilated Lara staring at him, scaring him slightly. "Uh, yeah, what's up?"

"What is this?" Lara asked as she lifted a small ball that was bitten in half. "This tastes like chicken or steak."

Patronus chuckled as he raised a ball of his own before eating it. "It's a food pill. It's designed to restore one's energy though not completely. I figured you need one after all that's happened recently."

"Thank you. I never realized how hungry I was until you gave this to me." Lara admitted albeit embarrassed.

"It's fine. And—" Patronus stopped mid-sentence as the Solarii ahead were screaming about one being a coward and said coward talking about the Guardians approaching. "They're up ahead. You ready?" He asked as Lara chugged a good portion of her canteen.

"Let's go." Lara said resolutely as she blasted the wood with her shotgun, clearing the way out.

"Nice."

The archer and ninja began their trek out of the alcove but suddenly the wooden platform gave way under the strong wind around the corner. Naruto reacted quickly and grabbed Lara's hand as she fell first while his left hand grabbed the small ledge on the wall for support.

"Lara, can you climb?!" He shouted over the wind as Lara nodded. She used Patronus as support as she climbed to the wall and carefully hugged with her back against it while Patronus did the same. "You okay?" He asked as she nodded once more. "Follow me this time!"

They traversed along the wall and around the corner as the wind got stronger when they did, seeing small debris being blown toward their general direction. Patronus and Lara noticed a platform ahead but it was being blown away little by little, forcing them to increase their pace a bit.

Patronus jumped on the first platform and gestured Lara to do the same as they quickly ran to the other side where there was a broken handing portion of the upper platform. "Lara, I'll give you a boost!" Patronus stood in front of her with his hands lowered.

Nodding and backing away a bit for room, Lara ran towards Patronus and easily placed her feet on his palm as the latter pushed her up to the upper platform with his strength. The archer made it to the platform without climbing it herself as she looked down to see Patronus scaling the hanging portion and making it to her level.

They reached a dead end in the form of rocks and wood until Patronus noticed a broken small hole in the wall on the left side. "There…" He raised his arm to stop Lara when his ears picked up clattering inside. "Wait…" He used Kitsune Sense and saw Solarii inside. "There are several of them in there. Get ready."

Lara nodded as she followed Patronus inside the room and silently entered it as the Solarii cursed their luck. "Damn it. Let's just break the damn thing and be done with it."

"I'm sure that's easy for you guys…" The Solarii turned around and saw Patronus there before he lashed at one with his Pivot Blade, slashing and cutting his legs, bringing him down before finishing him off with an uppercut. "That's one!"

"You bastard!" The nearby Solarii shouted before his life ended with an arrow to his head.

Readying another arrow, Lara fired it at another Solarii atop a stack of boxes, sending him to his death when it pierced his heart. Patronus leaped at another approaching with a machete as he parried his strike and stabbed him in the shoulder before he threw the wounded Solarii at one of the bulky-armored companions.

Said Solarii used his shield to push aside his thrown comrade and charged at Patronus who did the same. He raised his shield to block his small knife but his eyes widened as Patronus's Pivot Blade sliced it in half, revealing his upper body.

"Crap~" The Solarii whined before the hooded ninja kicked him to a wall.

The archer and ninja finished off the remaining Solarii in the room and hid their bodies from sight before continuing their trek as they climbed to the second floor. "Okay… now what?" Patronus asked as he was lost.

The rattling was loud as the building groaned from the pressure outside. Lara looked around to find a way out before she looked at the spot where the two Solarii were messing with before their interruption. "Hmm…" She focused on her senses and saw that there was a hollowed-out gate leading below. Their way out. "I got it!"

"What?" Patronus asked as Lara looked up and saw a huge bell hung to wooden support beams. He stopped her when she was about to open the windows. "Let's do this the easy way, shall we?" He took a shuriken and flung it at the top of the bell as said object fell and crashed through the gate, leading the way out. "There. See no harm d—"

The Uzumaki was interrupted when the building suddenly began to be torn apart to bits by the strong wind outside little by little. And if that was enough, more Solarii was heading their way.

"Kill them!"

Lara glanced at Patronus as she readied her arrow. "You were saying?!" She fired the arrow at a Solarii while the other one was put to sleep by a lone shuriken to the shoulder.

"Whatever…" Patronus was about to say more when another strong blast of wind blew against them, flinging them off the second floor and all the way down to the bottom floor via the hollow gate. He grunted when landing, groaning slightly as Lara had chosen his head to break her fall. "You okay?"

"N-Never better." Lara answered with strain as she and Patronus stood up before they picked screams of horror. Both archer and ninja looked behind him as Solarii was running away from something while beams and walls broke apart in a rapid pace.

"No…No! Ahhh!" A lone Solarii yelled out before being silenced by the large humanoid warrior they glimpsed several times earlier.

"Hurry, the Guardians are here!" Another Solarii screamed as he and his brothers ran past both Lara and Patronus, not caring they were there at all.

"Alright, come on come one move it!"

Lara ducked when a Solarii body flew over her while Patronus stood his ground pondering over what to do: fight and run away. However, someone else made that call for him. "Patronus, we got to go! This place is falling apart!"

"Let's go." He followed behind Lara but not before launching a discreet jutsu at the warrior. "Eaken." Patronus smirked when the hulking samurai was blasted by his wind blast and sent flying further away from them.

Both he and Lara ran across the breaking platforms as a gap appeared in front of them, forcing the duo to jump to the other one and one after that. When they reached a seemingly temporary stable platform, Patronus and Lara were knocked off their feet when the room suddenly tilted like a cubic and briefly ended their running streak.

"Come on, get up!" Patronus hoisted the archer to her feet as they ran to the end of the room and jumped across another gap to a wooden suspension bridge, both of them hoping that it was over.

*Crack-Snap*

"Crap/Shit!" Patronus and Lara cursed when the bridge broke, plummeting them through another bridge below before they entered another sliding contest much like the plane earlier. "Lara, Lara, look ahead!"

The archer did look and saw wooden trenches blocking their way. She quickly brought out her shotgun and blasted the trenches, clearing their way briefly until they encountered another trench, firing it away as well. Their slide ride ended when they landed in a small cove within the cave as a parcel of land was in the middle with a bit of sunshine on it.

Lara coughed loudly as she slowly walked to the piece of land and laid down with her arms spread out. Naruto couldn't blame her since after all, she's only human. She wasn't like him, a Shinobi, or the heroes and villains who too live in this world. But he was also very impressed by her resolve and realized that Lara was above most of her kind.

"Take a breather." Patronus said and Lara didn't argue as she shut her eyes for a little bit of sleep.

That was until their comm links blared with an unfamiliar voice to Patronus yet the opposite for Lara.

-"Hello? Hello?"-

"Sam!" Lara sat up as she took out her radio, responding quickly. "Sam, it's Lara!"

The scared Sam let out a small breath of relief. -"Oh God, Lara…It's good to hear your voice."-

"You too, Sam." Lara said through her cracked voice as she was close to tears. "Is the rest of the crew with you?"

-"No, I just managed to steal this radio off a guard."-

Both Lara and Patronus looked at each other with surprise. "A guard?" The archer asked.

-"I've been kidnapped."- Sam informed with tinge of fear.

"What? Where are you?" Lara asked slightly panicked as Patronus listened the whole time.

-"I don't know…some old Japanese palace. They keep talking about some 'fire ritual'."- Sam paused as she gulped in air. –"Lara, I'm freaking terrified."- Another pause came from the other end before Same responded albeit alarmed. –"Shit, someone's coming. I've got to hide this thing."-

"Sam…Sam!" Lara shouted but got no answer from the other side. She stood up as her eyes met with Patronus's gaze. "A fire ritual. Like the mural in Himiko's tomb…" She dreads of the repercussions if that was to happen to Sam. "Roth, are you there?"

-"Cap and I are heading towards the palace. The others are being held there too."-

Lara answered back through the radio. "Patronus and I'll meet up with you two so we can go in together." She put away her radio and was about to head to the exit when she noticed lack of movement from Patronus. "Patronus, what are you doing?"

"What if she's alive?" Patronus suddenly asked, catching Lara off-guard. "Himiko, the first Sun Queen…what are the chances that she's still alive?"

After a stutter, Lara gestured him to move. "We have to go. Sam's in trouble!"

"Ever since we left that tomb, something's been really bugging me about it." Patronus crossed his scratched-laced sleeves. "There must be more to it. It cannot simply be an ascension ritual especially after…"

Lara raised a brow as she stepped forward a bit. "After what?" No answer came from the hooded hero. "Patronus, what are you not telling me?"

"…" Patronus let out a big sight before answering, "Yesterday in Boston, I was attacked by this guy: Shogjo Amakusa. He and I battled and I tricked him into revealing who it was that sent him after me." He paused while inhaling. "He told me that the Sun Queen Himiko resurrected him…with the promise of a better life and land."

"What?!" Lara shouted with fury. "You're telling me this now?!"

"Hey, don't take that tone with me!" Patronus stepped forward close to Lara's personal space. "I wasn't sure if this was the same person but this feeling I have plus everything we know at this point leads me to believe that Himiko might still be alive."

"We don't have the facts to conclude that!" Lara back-stepped as she calmed herself. "Right now, Sam and my friends are our only objective."

Patronus stayed for a few moments before following Lara out the cove and to outside where they were near a mountain.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

The Pathway Towards Japanese Palace

"Come on, we got to go!"

"Wait!"

Roth groaned as he turned around to Cap dragging the body of the burned yet unconscious Hino-Enma in a makeshift sled. He pulled her to the side inside a nearby cave before he threw his shield atop the ledge above, bringing an avalanche of boulders in front of the entrance.

"Don't want to risk her getting the best of us while we save Sam and the others."

Captain America aided Roth with his shoulders as they progressed through the forest. Roth could hear the slight heavy breathing from the Living Legend and assumed that the battle against the female Yokai took quite a bit from him.

"Hopefully there aren't any more surprises in store for us." Roth joked mirthfully, much to Captain's chagrin. "What?"

"I really wish you didn't say that." His enhanced hearing picked something from ahead before he threw Roth at a nearby tree as he took his shield off his back, wielding it with his left hand. "Okay, let's do this."

Captain America hid himself behind some thick bushes and foliage as he waited for the pack of Solarii to walk past his location. Crouching lowly, Captain leaped at the Solarii and kicked one of them, sending him flying through the row of his brothers. The Solarii quickly recovered and looked at the one responsible before they quickly surrounded him.

Smirking at their loose formation, Captain dashed at one of the Solarii, bashing his head with his signature shield. Grabbing the dazed Solarii, he threw him at another who was ready to fire at him. The three remaining Solarii charged at him with their machetes but Captain parried each of their strikes easily before throwing the shield at one of them.

He angled the throw as the shield ricocheted of a Solarii's and hit the last two with swift precision. Captain raised his hand to catch his shield as he walked towards the tree where Roth was hidden but his path was suddenly blocked by the Oni-bi that formed out of nowhere.

"Great…" Captain threw his shield once more, easily defeating the floating head as they disappeared. "That was surprisingly easy." He then face-palmed himself as soon he said that. "Damn it!"

The ground shook like the rhythm of a heart monitor and it got worse as it seemed to approach his location. Captain America turned around when the shaking stopped and his eyes widened at the mere size of the new creature that stared down at him…literally staring down at him.

"I fought a lot of creatures in my time but you…Just…wow" Captain America said as he observed the hulking creature before backpedaling to avoid the rapid thrusts from the Onyudo.

Roth watched from his position in the tree line as the Living Legend was dodging each of the Yokai's attacks. Wanting more information, Roth pulled out his radio. "Patronus, come in…" No answer came from the hooded hero. "Lara, come in."

Another round of static crackle only concerned Roth until Patronus's voice came through in a whisper.

="What is it, Roth? Did Captain defeat that Hino-enma yet?"=

"Along with a group of Solarii and those floating heads." Roth answered. "But now he's fighting a Yokai with a long tongue and bulged out eyes. Ring any bells?"

="I fought one of those things not too long ago. That's an Onyudo. Nasty but strong."=

"Oookay~" Roth drawled out at the hero's incessant tone. "Any weaknesses?"

="Their massive builds for one. They're slow so they compensate that with their strength... although…"=

"What?"

="They might have surprise attacks."=

"Like what?"

="I don't know."=

Cue an almost face-fault from Roth before he recomposed himself. "Aren't you an expert on these things?"

="I read about them and I just fought one pretty easily since I'm awesome."= A sweat-drop fell on Roth's head as Patronus continued. ="I got to go. More Solarii incoming."=

With a sigh when the radio link ceased, Roth saw the Onyudo stomp its right leg like a sumo wrestler as miasma leaked out from its frame before crossing the smoking arms and charging at Captain America like a bull. Captain though saw this coming and waited until the last moment before he jumped to the right.

An inhuman groan came from the Onyudo as Captain America looked and saw it clasping the head after crashing into the wall. This was his chance. He charged at the hulking Yokai and landed several hits with his fist and shield at the legs.

Captain backpedaled when the Onyudo stood up before he rolled backwards to dodge the incoming attack. He did not expect the Yokai's long tongue lash out and wrap around his body. "Oh craaaa—" The Avenger screamed as he was whirled around a few times before being slammed into the ground.

The Onyudo reached out with its large hands before retracted them when bullets hit the back of his head, directing attention onto the human hiding in the tree before walking towards it.

"Come get some!" Roth taunted as he fired more bullets from his dual pistols. His ire grew when the bullets didn't faze the Yokai at all and he revealed his location to it. Nevertheless, he fired and reloaded onto the Yokai, hoping to buy time for Captain America to wake up.

Groaning from his position, Captain rose within the crater and looked for the Yokai he battled. His eyes caught the Onyudo shaking the tree where he hid Roth at as the latter held onto it for dear life. Captain dashed towards the Yokai and shoved his shield's edge directly against its back, eliciting another groan from the creature.

Leaping high and landing on its shoulders, Captain wailed onto the Onyudo's head, forcing it to release the tree and attempt to grab him. The Avenger saw this and jumped high in the air to dodge the hands before falling back down at the Onyudo and hitting its head once more with all his strength into the shield.

A small shockwave blew from the contact as the Onyudo's head had snapped down while Captain America landed in front of him. Still active and planning, Captain threw his shield once more at a nearby tree, felling the trunk onto the dazed Yokai, trapping it under the weight.

"Captain, look!"

Heeding Roth's words, the First Avenger saw the Onyudo was about to rise from the tree and dashed at the creature before decapitating it with his shield. He watched the Yokai dissipate into ash as relief soon washed over him.

"Brutal…" Roth observed as he began to climb down the tree while Captain stood by the base.

"Time called for it." Captain muttered before helping Roth by the shoulders as they continued their way to the palace.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

Mountain Descent

After crossing a bridge, several torii along the way, Patronus and Lara slowed their pace when Solarii voices rang to their ears.

"Damn, this is the good stuff."

"If you show up at the ceremony drunk, Father Mathias will slit your throat." The second Solarii warned his drunk friend.

Patronus and Lara approached the small party of three and made quick work of them via the former's shuriken and the latter's arrow. They walked to the other side where a big gap was between them and a Japanese house on built on a cliff in the other side. Lara fired a rope arrow and slid the zipline followed by Patronus as they landed expertly.

Seeing the wooden reinforcements, Lara blasted it away with her shotgun before she and Patronus entered just as her radio crackled with Sam's voice.

-"Oh God, that was close. Lara, are you there?"-

"I'm here, Sam. Are you okay?" Lara asked after pulling out her radio.

-"What do they want with me, Lara? A fire ritual?"- Patronus and Lara walked to the end of the deserted house where they saw the visage of a palace far below their eyesight as it was mostly covered in mist. –"This is fucked up!"-

"Listen. W—" Lara was interrupted when Patronus pointed at himself and shook his head. "I'm going to get you out of there!"

-"Please, please help me, Lara."- Sam whimpered through the radio.

"I promise. I promise, Sam." Lara answered softly. Then peace was shattered when she heard the Solarii voice through the radio. "Sam?! Sam?! Stay away from her bastards! Stay away!" She cursed at her carelessness before looking at Patronus. "Why did you make me change my sentence about us?"

"So far the Solarii think I'm dead. Let's keep it that way. Element of surprise will work for us." Patronus explained as Lara slowly nodded as they began their descent to the palace.

After jumping down a zipline, they found themselves behind more Solarii that was inspecting a tank of gas. Patronus lowered Lara's bow when she raised and whispered to her. "I got this." He cautiously approached the trio and went to work.

The hooded hero grabbed two Solarii's heads and bashed them together before he sent the last one with an uppercut. Lara flinched when the airborne Solarii crashed through the roof behind before she looked at Patronus. "Who are you?"

"A hero." Patronus blankly answered before another voice rang out.

"What the hell's happening up there?"

"Stay alert, we'll check it out."

Patronus looked at Lara as he extended his Pivot Blade before charging towards the approaching Solarii. He stabbed one in his leg and hit him with a reverse elbow, smacking against a wall while the other Solarii was shot in several times by Lara's pistol.

They followed the path the Solarii took and found one more running towards them although it ended with a kunai that stuck him to a wall like glue. As they approached the torii, Lara glanced back at the Solarii dug in the wall before she gazed at the one who was pinned by the kunai.

"That's some crazy strength to do that. Is he one of them?" She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard another gunshot and looked up to find Patronus holding the Solarii above with one arm. "He's got to be one of them."

With a scoff, the hooded ninja choke-slammed the Solarii into the ground with a loud 'boom,' which made Lara cringed. That was when she noticed how ruthless Patronus had gotten against these Solarii lately. What changed his methods? He wasn't like this before the pilots… "Oh God…"

Lara stared at the back of the Bostonian hero as he gestured her to follow him. "He blames himself for their deaths. I wouldn't blame him since I too did the same thing." Then again after what happened with Sam on the radio, ruthlessness could be what they need now. "I could learn a thing or two about and from him."

They came across rough and raging waters from a waterfall above as Lara pondered their next step then couldn't find a way around it. "We got to swim across it."

"Okay then." Patronus answered simply before picking Lara on his back, much to her surprise. "Let's go."

Smacking his head, Lara was not happy at this approach. "Hey put me down! I'll be fine!" She smacked him several times but he did not yield to her words while crossing the raging waters. "Do you hear me?!" The water was up to his chest and since she was on the hero's back, there was a bit more breathing room for her.

"Yeah, yeah…" Patronus drawled out since the water didn't bother him in the slightest due to the pelt. As for his steady pace, it was his better chakra control since the Water nature was his second-best element behind the Wind nature in his arsenal.

However, he didn't take in account of the rocks his feet passed by nor the one that caused him to lose his balance.

"Waahh!" Lara screamed out as both she and Patronus were suddenly dragged along the current, clinging onto his frame for dear life as they fell down the big waterfall.

Once he got their heads up, Patronus began to stir his body out of harms' way as they passed by a stone formation before he turned his body to the right side to avoid a malfunctioning engine's fan. The duo then flung off from a big drop to a lower when Lara noticed a wooden trench in their way. "Shit!"

"Fire, fire!" Patronus ordered, immediately regretting his decision a second later after Lara fired her shotgun as his left ear rang loud inside. "Damn that hurt!"

Their literal water slide ended when both of them entered rather forcefully inside a broken plane as Patronus face-planted on its glass front window. He was about to move when a familiar yet dreadful sound reached both his and Lara's ears.

"Patronus, don't move." Lara warned him as the glass continued to crack. "Stop moving!"

Barely glancing at her, Patronus whispered sharply. "I'm not!" Then something caught his eye and he gestured his head toward it. "Lara, behind you."

Lara did and saw a hanging unused parachute but there was one problem. "There's not one for you, Patronus."

"We're gonna have to share it." Patronus answered as the glass continued to crack more prominently every second.

"How?!" Lara asked both shocked and surprised.

"…How strong are your legs?"

"Huh?"

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Minutes Later)

Shantytown, Yamatai

"Uh…That was wild."

"Yeah…"

Both Lara and Patronus laid next to each other after a wild parachuting ride through the dense forest away from the mountain and ended with the hero being the mat against both a tree and the ground. Lara had to carry Patronus with her legs and they had no other choice at the matter. After a moment's rest for the archer, they walked some distance until a spectacular sight was beholden in front of them.

It was a Japanese palace consisted with prominent structures connected with a bridge as the ground level was that of an old village from ancient times except it was littered and retrofitted with debris over the years.

Hearing a gasp, Naruto looked at Lara and saw her clasping her stomach. It was bleeding arterial red. "One of the branches got you." He stated rather than asking as Lara nodded with a grimace. "Let me look at it."

With some hesitance, the archer removed her hand enough for Patronus to see the open wound. It wasn't deep but she needs first aid to prevent infection. It was times like this that he regretted for not learning Medical Ninjutsu whenever he had the chance.

"We got to find something to clean it." Patronus ripped off a portion of his haori's bottom half and tied it around the wound, clasping it slightly as Lara winced loudly. "Sorry."

"I need disinfectant." Lara winced again as a rush of pain surged through her briefly. "I think we can find some in there."

The duo walked to the entrance of the town before Patronus carried Lara on his back once more as they slid down a muddy hill, using the hero's body to break through a steel wall consisting of separate parts. He set her down before Lara walked behind him to ensure her safety.

After a walk through the tunnel, Lara pointed at something ahead of them as Patronus followed her finger and found an abandoned helicopter. "Might be supplies on board."

"Okay, wait here. I'll be back." Patronus ordered quietly before Lara stepped on his haori, causing him to face-plant on the ground. He got back up and glared at the glaring Lara. "What was that for?"

"I'm not staying here. I'm going with you." Lara answered resolutely despite a wince just now.

"You could barely walk let alone stand. It's too dangerous for you now." Patronus countered, trying to make her see reason.

Lara shook her head as her eyes remained determined. "Sam is in danger. I'm not going to stay here while she's there, scared and alone by those bastards! I'm going even if you bound me here!" She huffed slightly at the hooded hero.

A tsk came from the ninja. "…Damn it. I'd done the same thing if it was one of my friends." Patronus turned around and started walking towards the pathway of the helicopter. "You're really okay in my book, Lara."

For some reason, Lara smiled when he said that. It was probably the first time since Roth that anyone recognized her for who she is and what she is capable of. Patronus didn't baby her throughout their time together; he stuck by her and although he may be annoying most of times with his remarks, the hero didn't underestimate her at all.

Using his Kitsune Sense, Patronus found a way through underneath a watery tunnel. He flinched when the smell reached his nose. "Gah, that's gross!" He glanced at Lara. "Keep your wound closed as much as you can while we go under there."

"Got it." She followed Patronus underneath the water as it reached her chest before sharing her companion's earlier sentiment. "*Groan*…the smell."

"I told you." Patronus informed her.

A Solarii voice ordered through the floor above them as they traversed the water tunnel. "Where's the old man?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…please…" A different voice responded although it wasn't a Solarii.

"You're lying… I know escaped with him."

"Please…I…don't…*cough*I…don't…"

"Maybe I need to loosen your tongue." The Solarii taunted throughout the hall.

Lara and Patronus reached the end of the tunnel and founded a stronghold of sorts. "Okay, I'll handle the ones on foot. You take out the bastards on the rooftops and any coming my way. Got it?" He asked, getting a nod from Lara as she already had her bow ready.

"Ready."

"Let's go."

Patronus, followed by Lara in a good distance behind him after taking care of the Solarii on the rooftop, sneaked up on a Solarii and covered his mouth before stabbing him with his Hidden Blade, dropping as his comrade noticed them and charged at him. Lara saw this and let loose an arrow into his brain as two more Solarii charged at them.

Instead of ranged defense, Lara took the offensive approach as she shoved against one of the Solarii, stunning the armed man before hitting his head with a rock while Patronus flipped his enemy with one hand to the ground and knocked him out with a punch to the cranial.

After the area was cleared, they traversed over a lone beam to the ridge and jumped across a gap to the other platform.

"What the hell was that?" A Solarii warned ahead before making themselves known to the duo. "It's—" He was silenced by Lara's arrow while the other was put to sleep by Patronus's sleeping toxin-dipped shuriken. They followed the curve pathway where there was another Solarii guarding the rear of the helicopter.

"What the—" Before he could react, the Solarii stared in shock as he was lifted in the air by a glaring Patronus. He tried to free himself but the hero's grip wouldn't budge.

"You bastards are the type of people I hate most in the world." Patronus said aloud before he kneed the Solarii's stomach, forcing out the air out of his lungs and sending him to unwanted sleep. "Luckily for you, I'm the merciful type…barely." He stated quietly.

Seeing the bundle of rope on the helicopter's rear door, Lara fired another rope arrow and pulled it with a single heave despite her pain. The rear door opened, leaving the inside open to them as they entered within the vehicle.

Both Lara and Patronus went to work and searched for medical supplies to heal the former's wound. So far, they haven't found anything much to their displeasure, especially Lara as she went to the front of the plane.

"Sorry about this." Lara apologized to the dead pilot as she inspected the body for anything but only found a lighter. She tested it to see if it worked and the small flame emerged from the small device.

Patronus heard a thud and turned around to see Lara sitting on the floor while lighting the arrowhead with the lighter. He put two and two together before running towards her, kneeling in front of the archer. "Are you about to do what I think you're going to do?"

"Yes, I will and I'm not going to like it." Lara said weakly as she was about to do it before Patronus clasped over her arm. "Patronus, there's no choice." She argued to the hero.

"I know." Patronus sat next to her as he offered her his hand. "I assume it's gonna hurt like hell so…" He gestured his hand to her face and she didn't like it one bit.

"I don't like this at all." Lara complained slightly as she had her teeth barely touch Patronus's gloved hand. "You ready?"

Patronus chuckled slightly. "I should be asking you that." Lara responded with a chuckle of her own before she placed the flaming arrow into her wound.

Stifled screams echoed through the body of the helicopter after Lara bit down on Patronus's hand as hard as she could to fight the pain as much as possible. The ninja grunted loudly since the girl has a set of hard teeth and it reminded him of the very unusual burst of strength Saeko used on the same hand during the twins' birth.

The stifled screams ended for a little while until she let go of the arrow and Patronus's hand before darkness took over.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

(Some Time Later)

Helicopter Hill, Shantytown

"…To—rl…ain—Ruto."

"…Wh—Who…Who is that talking?" Lara's eyes began to open slowly as she blinked.

"She…tinues…ess…me, Kur…ma. Surprised…you're…by her."

"Patronus?" Her eyes began to clear as she began to get up slowly. "Wh-who…"

Before her eyes cleared completely, Kurama had already returned within Naruto's seal, leaving the duo alone as it was just them the whole time. Fortunately for them, Patronus had taken off the communication device before summoning Kurama out in case it had secret features in the eavesdropping department.

"Wakey, wakey~" Patronus greeted cheerily when Lara woke up now, looking a lot better now than before. "You look good."

"Excuse me?" Lara asked defensively, mistaking his comment as flirting.

And Naruto caught it as he put his hands up in a defensive manner. "Whoa, take it easy! All I meant was that you look better since you closed your wound and got some sleep." He sighed in relief when Lara glare lessened. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Lara answered as she exited the helicopter followed by Patronus. She then began tinkering with her bow, which caught her companion's attention.

"Whatcha' doing?" Patronus asked as he reattached the S.H.I.E.L.D. device on the inner side of his right Hidden Blade bracer. His answer came in the form of Lara's bow being modified with the lighter attached to it. "Oh I see. Fire arrows to burn the bastards…I like it!" He gave it a thumbs-up and Lara laughed at him, which shocked him from there.

She laughed? No comment or remark of the disdain type.

"Sweet." The hooded ninja raised his arm and activated the S.H.I.E.L.D. touch screen. "Cap, come in." No answer came from the Legend. "Captain America, can you hear me?"

="Patronus, can you hear me?"=

It was Roth, not Cap.

"Roth?" Patronus and Lara exchanged looks. "Where's Cap?"

="He's talking with S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in Osaka. From what I understand, they received his SOS and boosted the signal of his radio with the satellites and at base. They're discussing extraction points throughout the island."=

Lara was surprised, so surprised that she barely could held herself up. "We're going to get out of here? Thank God." She said with great relief in her voice.

="Lara! Are you okay?"=

"I'm fine." The archer answered with slight exhaustion still present.

="You don't sound fine."=

Lara insisted firmly this time. "I'm fine."

"Other than the wound in her stomach and cauterizing said wound with a flaming arrowhead, she's totally fine." Patronus inputted jovially, causing Lara to glare at him intensely. "What, I'm just agreeing with you."

After a small debate/praise session with her mentor, Lara got down to business through the shared frequency after Roth asked for their location. "Patronus and I are in some kind of a shanty town, near the fortified palace."

="Captain and I are still coming down the hill. How did you two get there so fast?"=

Both Patronus and Lara looked at each other before saying, "Long story."

="…Okay, Cap and I can see the town from here now… Are you two near that large gate?"=

"We're heading towards it, old man." Patronus replied casually before sensing negative emotion ahead. "Crap, trouble!"

"It's the outsiders! There!" A Solarii warned before firing a solar flare in the sky, alerting his brethren in the area about their presence.

"Shit!" Lara put away her radio as she prepared for battle. "Time for my new weapon!" She lit the arrowhead with the lighter and fired at the men in ground level, specifically the gasoline tank behind him as it soon exploded from contact, incinerating the Solarii.

"Watch out! She has fire!" The wave of Solarii shouted as they took cover behind several buildings around them.

Patronus smirked as he brandished three kunai before standing up. "She's not the only one." He expertly threw them at three separate locations where the Solarii had taken cover.

"…"

"…What the hell is this?" They all took a closer look and failed to notice the tag around the kunai was smoking. "Oh crap!"

*Boom-Boom* *Boom-Boom* *Boom-Boom*

Lara, after recovering, stared in shock at the destruction of this exploding kunai. She would've stare more if it wasn't for the nudge from Patronus. "Lara, they're going to try to pin us from all sides! I'll take care of the right flank, you keep them down with suppressive fire or light them up!"

"Okay!"

Lara fired another fire arrow at a Solarii at one of the tall buildings in front of them, lighting him up before releasing another yet non-aflame arrow that shot through another Solarii's head. Patronus ran to the right flank and leapt at his wave of Solarii who met his charge with waving axes and machetes.

"Big mistake!" Patronus exclaimed as he grabbed their heads and slammed their bodies to the ground, using both his and their momentum to knock them out. He continued his charge before he slid on the floor and tripped another duo of two Solarii with a kick. "Like pain?" He stabbed them both with his Hidden Blades in their shoulders, causing them to scream. "Good!"

A new group of five Solarii charged at him and he was ready to slice them with his blades. Well, that was until they were picked off by Lara who switched to her machine gun from the bow/arrow. Patronus sent her a thumbs-up which Lara responded with her own.

After a brief recon to make sure it was safe, Patronus gestured Lara to come to him. They cautiously made their way to the gate Roth had mentioned and chose to stick close to the buildings until they find it to the gate.

"Now!" A Solarii ordered as the gate was suddenly closed shut.

Patronus and Lara followed the Solarii traversed the multiple ziplines that led to the direction they just came from, except it just exploded and blocked their way out.

"Holy shit!" Lara exclaimed with fear and shock.

"Get ready!" Patronus proclaimed as he used the pivot attachment on his left Hidden Blade and drew Tenkaichi. "Here they come!"

Lara readied a regular arrow but noticed the oil drums in the pathway in front of them and chose to use a fire arrow as she took cover behind a barrier. She waited until a couple Solarii passed by the drums before firing it, smirking as the flames consumed the bastards. Sensing an attack from above, she dodged it and fired a regular arrow at a Solarii on one of the rooftops.

"Here I come!" Patronus charged at one of the armored Solarii and swung his sword, cutting through the latter's shield.

"What the hell!?" The armored Solarii exclaimed in shock, leaving him open to a knee in the face.

"They're kicking our asses here!"

"Cover them from the side!"

Patronus smirked as he charged the Solarii archers, scaring them as they hastily tried to get an arrow ready. He stabbed their legs with the Pivot Blade and Tenkaichi before he slammed their heads with dual elbow strikes while Lara pulled out her shotgun and charged at another armored Solarii which she named the tanks.

The Solarii tank swung his machete at her but Lara dodged to the side, leaving him open to her shotgun as she fired it, bringing him to his knees. Said Solarii cursed as he looked up to see the female archer hit his head with a toolbox.

"Get them!"

Another wave of Solarii archers and tanks came at him as Lara and Patronus nodded at their current roles. The hooded ninja charged at the tanks and dual kicked their shields hard, sending them through a nearby wall and another building. "What the hell?"

That distraction provided Lara to put two fire arrows at the archers, ridding the world of those two for good.

The duo quickly regrouped and stood back-to-back as they waited for another wave of Solarii. One more did and they were brought down by the dynamic teamwork between Patronus and Lara. They looked back at the gate and Lara noticed the white tarp-covered beam that served as a lock.

"You see it?" Apparently, Patronus did so as well.

Lara nodded as she continued to look at the gate. "Yeah." She fired a fire arrow at the beam, burning it by using the tarp as the catalyst. The archer walked to one of the stations and used her axe to turn it as the gate began to open.

"You need help?" Patronus asked despite knowing the answer from Lara, which was a shake of the head. "Okay then."

They crossed the gate and saw another campfire before Patronus heard an exhausted sigh from Lara. "Okay, let's rest here a bit."

"No!" Lara answered back as she turned around to face him. "We keep going."

Patronus shook his head as he placed his hands on her shoulders and forcefully pushed Lara to the ground. "You're no good to Sam if you're dead. What we just went through, it takes a lot so rest is needed. Five minutes tops!" He declared as Lara sighed exasperatedly since she knew it was the right call. "Good…Do you think Roth and Cap are heading on their way here now?"

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(With Captain America and Roth)

"How the hell did we get into this situation?!"

"You're asking me?!"

"You're the one who got us into this mess!"

Captain couldn't help but feel sheepish as he turned around and saw the massive hordes of Yokai chasing after them. All he wanted was to go number one in the forest but somehow had stumbled upon the group of Yokai feasting on their catches of the island's wildlife. Hence their current situation.

"I'll not live this down." Roth hissed distastefully.

Why? The old man was being carried by Captain America…bridal-style.

Captain nodded his head stiffly. "This stays between us. We take it to our graves!"

"Agree!"

The Avenger threw a couple of grenades that exploded near a boulder and fell several trees, ending the Yokai's pursuit and giving them freedom.

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Ancient Gate, Shantytown

"Just when I think things couldn't get any worse." Lara remarked with sorrow.

Patronus looked at her as she sat by the campfire to rest a bit from their recent squabble. "What do you mean?"

"'What do I mean?'" Lara repeated incredulously. "Just what were those things in the monastery?" She began to list her observations about the creatures. "They were dressed like the Stormguard, and the sounds they made, almost…inhuman. Great, now I sound like Dad."

"What's so bad about your dad?" Another glare came from Lara and that told him all he wanted. "Never mind. Personal stuff, I get it."

"…My father…He was a renowned archeologist." Lara said softly, catching Patronus's glance at her. "But…throughout my entire childhood, his reputation fell year by year."

"Why?"

"Take a guess: conspiracy theorist, nut head, delusional guy."

Patronus noticed that despite her harsh tone about her father, Lara's eyes showed remorse and sadness. "She misses him." He stated obviously. "Well… five minutes passed. Let's go." The corner of his right eye noticed movement ahead before he looked and saw three Solarii descending on ziplines in the distance. "Keep your eyes and ears sharp. Solarii are ahead of us."

"Got it."

They traveled down a small hill and passed muddy waters through a block of sorts as they heard a voice familiar to Lara.

"Get your bloody hands off me!"

Lara gasped. "Oh my God, Grim!" They hurried cautiously across the bridge to the other side as the Solarii shouted 'prisoner escaped' for them to hear. The duo found a modified tower where two Solarii were climbing the ladder. "Here bastards!" She fired a regular arrow at the first one and a fire arrow at the second.

"Lara, you're here!" Grim shouted from the tower.

"Grim, you escaped!" Lara answered back as she was about to climb the ladder.

Hearing something unfamiliar, Patronus looked for the origin and saw a stick of sorts land near the ladder and Lara. "Watch out!" He threw his rope dart and wrapped it around Lara before pulling her towards him just as the stick exploded.

"Crap, they have dynamite, Lara! Take cover!" Grim warned.

Both Patronus and Lara took cover behind two crates as they used their respective senses to locate the Solarii. Once they found them, Lara fired her machine gun at one section while Patronus threw an exploding kunai at another section of the row of buildings they occupied.

"What the hell?" A Solarii asked with surprise before he and two of his comrades was set aflame by the exploding tag.

"Those two have dynamite too?!"

"Let's blow each other up then!" A Solarii shouted as he threw another dynamite. Patronus saw this coming and jumped in front of the dynamite before he grabbed and threw it back at the Solarii. "Crap!" He cursed before being blown away by the exploding object.

Lara smirked at seeing the Solarii being blown to bits by their own weapons as Patronus leapt at the building, climbed it and took down several more of the Solarii with Jutjitsu takedowns, palm strikes and of strength never seen before. She ducked behind the crates as a body flew over her before looking at it, staring with widened eyes.

The Solarii's chest had massive bruises through his body with the chest cavity being the most prominent. If she had taken a closer look, she would've noticed an impressive imprint of Patronus's fist in the left abdominal section.

"Holy crap, did you see that, Lara?" Grim asked gruffly as Lara and Patronus looked up after the skirmish was over.

"Yeah I did." Lara answered with awe as she turned around to see Patronus walking to her. "I'll say it again: who are you?"

"Now that's just getting old." He answered tersely as his eyes looked up the tower and saw an elderly man with white hair under a brown cap-like object. Grim wore a sweater vest over a buttoned shirt and black dirty jeans. "I take you're Grim then."

"And you must be Patronus." Grim gave him a nod of respect. "I heard you on Reyes's radio a while back. Good to see a face to the face…somewhat. Anyway, thanks for keeping an eye on Lara here. She's special."

Patronus chuckled while Lara blushed from the comment. "You don't have to tell me that. She can handle herself well against the Solarii."

"Where are the others?" Lara asked the elderly seaman.

"Still locked up inside…but I know where they are. Get up here and we'll get them out together."

Lara and Patronus looked for the ladder but saw that it was destroyed. Most likely by one of the dynamite the Solarii threw at him.

"We can't get up there." Lara informed as Grim cursed at their misfortune.

"Well, they got some kind of setup for haulin' cargo." Grim pointed to his right, showing his companions to the station of said cargo haul. "Maybe you two can come around the other side?"

Patronus and Lara surveyed the scene before them and saw that it would take some time to reach the other side and to Grim's location. "Okay, we're on our way and Grim…" Patronus tossed something at Grim who barely caught due to the unexpected weight of said object.

Grim inspected it and saw that it was tri-bladed knife of sorts and it certainly wasn't something he was familiar with. "Thanks. Hope to see you two soon."

"Let's go." Lara said as she took the lead once more, amusing Patronus as he followed her.

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Near the Windmill

After climbing three buildings and three ziplines including the one that was leading them to the tallest structures in the area, Patronus and Lara ran across a platform before they swung forward from a beam to the next platform where they saw the pulley station that controlled the gondola lifts.

"The outsiders are here! Warn the others!"

And more Solarii for the matter of fact.

Patronus sighed loudly as he jumped down to a level below. "This is getting tedious." He used his hands this time and landed on the next platform while Lara kept the Soalrii under fire with her machine gun.

After making sure that they were held back, Lara followed Patronus before kicking the wall in front of her for boost, hoisting herself up as Patronus was beating the hell out of a Solarii. Another Solarii nearby didn't notice her which was good as Lara sheathed her bow and brought out her axe.

"Ah!" Lara shouted with effort as she dug the axe's head into the unaware Solarii's head. Pulling it out, Lara watched her enemy fall to the ground as Patronus headbutted his Solarii.

"Hurry up! Kill them!"

Patronus and Lara shared smirks as they jumped to the next building while avoiding the slow giant fan. The Solarii on their level were taken aback by the bold approach from the duo as Lara swung her axe into one of their legs while Patronus cut another's leg before delivering an uppercut that sent the Solarii's head to the ceiling, displaying his body like a chandelier.

"Burn in—" A Solarii was interrupted when the aflame bottle burst in his head courtesy of Lara's pistol.

As the burning Solarii fell to the ground, Lara fired three more bullets from her pistol before following Patronus to the upper floor where she saw him kick the last two Solarii off the building, sending them to their doom below.

Once they secured the station, Patronus and Lara jumped onto one of the gondola/cargo shifts as it turned to the direction of the station on the opposite side. When they were halfway, Patronus nudged Lara to call for her friend and so she did.

"Grim! Are you there?" Lara shouted across the area.

What they got was a hectic Grim running away before he was caught by two Solarii. "It's a trap, you two. Show them your teeth, Lara! Give 'em hell!" He shouted as he was dragged by the Solarii back to one of the buildings.

"Crap, we got to get there!" Patronus said as he and Lara dislodged themselves off the lift.

They heard more kills orders and saw more Solarii traversing the ziplines to their platform. Two of them made it but Lara killed the rest who were still on the zipline as Patronus kicked one Solarii's leg to knock him while redirecting the other Solarii's punch to his downed companion.

"Hahaha~" Patronus smirked before he bashed their heads together.

Another wave of two Solarii reached their location via another zipline. This time, Lara intercepted them while Patronus dealt with the long-ranged Solarii archers and gunmen.

Dodging the machete, Lara decided to use the same movement Patronus used several times against the Solarii as she cut his leg to bring him down and roundhouse-kicked him in the head before swinging her axe into his chest, ending his life. Her eyes darted to the other Solarii who hesitated and that gave her the chance as she jumped at him.

"G-Get off you bitch!"

It was all for naught as Lara dug her axe through his throat, watching the life in his eyes leave his body. Patronus watched the whole thing after taking care of the last Solarii across with another shuriken without looking. They were about to cross when three more Solarii revealed themselves with Grim held hostage.

"Drop your weapons or we kill your friend!" The Solarii holding Grim hostage ordered while Lara had her bow directed at him.

Grim shouted back. "Don't fucking do it." He grimaced when the Solarii dug his machete slightly against his skin, drawing blood.

"Okay, okay, okay." Lara complied as she had her hands and bow up in the surrender gesture.

His fists creaked under his strength, Patronus inhaled deeply. "Grim, do you still have that kunai I gave you?" He got chuckles from the Solarii as one of them pulled the tri-bladed kunai.

"You should've seen him wielding the thing. It was pathetic and funny at the same time! Why'd you give this to the old slime to begin with?"

Lara had a look of worry as she pondered the significance of the kunai while Patronus chuckled loud enough for all to hear and the last words the Solarii ever hear.

"So, I can do this." Patronus answered before disappearing in a yellow flash, shocking everyone.

"What the—" The Solarii looked before they heard screaming and turned to see the hooded man just kicked one of their own off while taking his kunai back before he charged at the two.

Grim saw this as his chance and elbowed the man's stomach while Patronus grabbed the second Solarii's machine gun, held the barrel and swung it like a bat at the former wielder's head, sending him through two walls. The last Solarii charged at Patronus and swung his machete in hopes of striking him down.

His hopes were shot down when the hooded ninja grabbed his wrist, stopping the blade in motion. The Solarii grunted in pain when Patronus twisted it enough to force him to drop the machete as he looked inside the latter's hood. Fear was struck within him as he saw red eyes with slit pupils.

Before he could plea for mercy, the Solarii groaned when Patronus shoved his Hidden Blade through his throat, gurgling blood as it flooded his lungs until air was no more.

With a grunt, Patronus released the grip as the deceased Solarii fell on the floor. As he flicked the blood off the blade, Naruto jumped across the gap easily as he grabbed a shock-struck Lara before jumping back to the platform Grim stood on.

"Come on, let's get moving." Patronus said after releasing Lara, only for his arm to be pulled by said latter.

He turned around and met a glaring Lara with a wary Grim behind her as she asked one question. "Who. Are. You, Patronus?" She asked tensely as Grim picked up a machete and a machine gun. "Tell me!"

"Not now." Patronus answered simply but Lara wouldn't let up. "All you need to know is that I'm here to help. Now you can doubt that and stay here or we can stop wasting time and rescue your friends." A few moments later, Lara softened her glare as she released his arm. "Don't worry though since there's plenty of more where that came from."

"More?" Both Lara and Grim asked before they followed Patronus to the upper floor.

Once on the floor, the trio found a zipline post connected to a cliff on the other side. "Okay then. Grim, get on my back." Patronus ordered as he lowered himself in front of the old man.

"Are you daft, boy?! I'm not doing that!" Grim answered hotly.

Patronus gave him a blank stare. "Can you climb the rope and a wall?" A second later, a dejected Grim was on his back as the ninja brought his Pivot Blade and Hirashin Kunai before he jumped across the big gap and sunk his blades into the wall. "You good, old man?"

"I'm a'ight." Grim answered before he looked back at Lara. "Come on, girl!"

Lara nodded before she began to climb to their location. However, their respite ended when two more Solarii appeared behind the tower as one of them began shooting at Lara while the other cut the rope.

"Lara!" Grim and Patronus shouted with worry as Lara swung towards the wall and held herself with her axe. The ninja gauged her distance about 30 feet below him before he tilted his head to dodge an arrow. "Lara, climb up now!"

"Kill them!" One of the Solarii demanded before taking one in the head. The other Solarii cried out in surprise as he took one also in the chest.

"Who's the one shooting?!" Grim shouted tensely, asking that same question for both Patronus and Lara.

Their answer came from the duo's radios. –"I got you covered, girl. You're clear to climb up"-

"Thank God." Lara muttered with relief as she and Patronus climbed up to the cliff.

Grim got off the young ninja's back and grabbed Lara's radio. "Roth, is that you?!" He laughed heartily as his old friend laughed with him. "It's good to hear your voice, my friend!"

-"You too, old bastard."-

"Where are you?" Patronus asked through his touch screen. A light glared brightly and he used Kitsune Sense to find Roth hiding in a Japanese building not too far away and on their height level. "I see you. Where's Captain America?"

-"He's going to meet up with you trio at the bridge."-

Lara took back the radio from Grim. "Can you cover us again on our way there?" Roth looked through his scope and gauged the distance of the entire bridge riddled with Solarii.

-"Yeah. I got a clear line of sight with my rifle until the palace wall."-

With that in mind, the trio climbed to the next platform with Patronus helping Grim along the way as their journey to rescue Sam and the others and escape from the island.

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Vista Tower

After they founded a small campfire inside of a building to provide shelter for them, Patronus and Lara's radios blare with another transmission.

-"Rescue chopper N888RC responding to SOS. Inbound from freighter Trinity."—

"A transmission!" Lara exclaimed happily as Grim sat down to rest a bit.

Patronus listened to Roth's response but there was no more transmission but he spoke to their frequency.

-"Lara, Grim, did you hear that? A rescue helicopter is inbound."-

Lara chuckled with relief. "Set up a signal, we're going in for Sam and the others."

-"But Lara…maybe I should—"-

"This isn't like the pilot, Roth." Lara answered solemnly as Patronus and Grim looked at her. "I got Sam and the others into this mess, I'm getting them out."

Patronus then spoke next. "And she's not alone, Roth." His arm was grabbed by Grim who wanted his turn.

"With me, Lara's got nothin' to worry." Grim said gruffly with a hearty laugh, causing Roth to chuckle through the radio.

-"You better keep her safe, you stubborn bastard or I'll kill you myself."- Roth joked as Grim laughed once more.

"Not while I'm here."

The trio looked for the origin of the voice and their spirits lifted as Captain America approached them from the back of the building.

"Captain!" Lara and Grim burst with joy while Patronus sent him a salute to the veteran soldier.

Cap surveyed the trio in front of him and saw that both Lara and Patronus had gone through the ringer since they last saw each other. His eyes stopped at the second oldest in the room. "You must be one of the survivors. I'm Captain America." He introduced himself as he offered a hand.

Grim happily took the hand and shook it many times while Patronus and Lara watched in amusement. It didn't last however as Captain told Grim to rendezvous with Roth.

"But I can fight!" Grim insisted as he held his machete and swung it a couple times. "Let me get payback on thos' bastards!"

Captain shook his head as he placed a hand on Grim's shoulder before saying the words that caused Patronus to fall to the ground, laughing as a result. "I say with the deepest respect…but you're old." He said with the blankest face.

What Grim responded made Patronus laugh even harder.

"I know~" The second oldest man responded weakly with slumped shoulders.

After a moment of silence between them as Grim offered a small prayer before he followed the trail Captain used to meet with them and regroup with Roth. The new trio of heroes commenced their next leg to the palace, crossing the long centuries-old bridge adorned with several torii and jumping the gap.

-"Alright you three, that bridge is swarming with guards."-

"Great. Any ideas?" Lara asked as they approached the tower's door.

-"It'll be tricky. But you can make your way across underneath."-

Lara sighed with her head slightly down. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

-"Don't worry, I'll be covering you the whole way."- They closed the links as the trio climbed inside the tower and the upper levels until reaching a large hole that led them beneath the bridge above them. –"Lara, I've got them in my sights."-

"Here goes…" Lara muttered as she took deep breaths before jumping onto the fence-wall, scaling it as Patronus and Captain followed her lead. They hoisted themselves up to a narrow trail of sorts directly underneath the bridge where they heard the Solarii's conversations above.

"What the hell's going on down there…do you think they got the outsiders?"

The participating Solarii in the conversation scoffed loudly. "Don't worry. If they didn't, then they'll come to us. Especially that girl."

"Sounds like you want her for yourself."

Lara like Patronus decided to ignore the disgusting slang in the pleasure sense as they continued forward quietly.

"Father Mathis will send us to the Oni if we don't find them, especially that hooded guy." The trio stopped when they heard about Patronus. "He's freaked out by that guy. I overheard him saying that freak killed all our men back in the caverns and that his eyes were red."

Patronus glanced at the crouched Lara who looked at him as he shifted his glance at Captain who had a conflicted expression. He nudged Lara to continue moving and she did, resuming their trek beneath the bridge.

"Yeah right like that guy is anything special. And speaking of the Oni, that's only if we fail. And we won't. The Sun Queen is with us."

The trio reached the end of their trail when a Solarii looked down at them from a door. "What the—"

*Bang*

He fell backwards as his brothers were now in a panic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What was that?! Who's shooting?"

"Sniper! Take cover!"

It was also a close call for the trio as the floor gave way but they saved them by hanging onto a beam as rounds of sniper shots echoed in the valley.

-"I thought I lost you three. Lara, are you okay?"-

"That was too close…" Lara answered softly as she scaled up to the bridge's side and hung onto the beams with Patronus and Captain beside her. She was about to jump when Roth warned her to do the opposite.

-"Wait, Lara. You can't jump or they'll see you…Wait"- She waited as a Solarii was shot, falling down in front of her to the ground below. -"Go now!"-

They repeated this cycle as the trio scaled the bridge to the other side with Patronus and Cap keeping an extra eye on the Solarii in case Roth missed them. They reached the end of the beam as Lara hoisted herself up on the bridge level.

"Thanks, Roth. I guess that makes us even." Lara sat with her back, completely unaware of a Solarii until she was put in a strangle hold.

"Lara!" Patronus hoisted himself up as Lara elbowed the Solarii to let go. He was instead brought down by a bullet courtesy of Roth, but unfortunate for them as the dead Solarii's body pushed Lara and Patronus over the bridge. "Crap!"

Their bodies hit a spiked-log platform that broke their fall but shifted into a wall as they quickly grabbed hold onto it. Patronus and Lara climbed it until they reached another platform that led to a series of buildings on the cliffside.

"Are you two okay?" Captain asked as he swung himself down to their position. He then brought his shield to deflect a hail of bullets.

-"Get out of there, you three. There's too many for you."-

There were no arguments as the trio raced and jumped across the cliffside buildings until they reached the last one. Their brief strand ended when the building was hit by a rocket, shifting forward and bringing them closer to a craggy wall near a waterfall.

Patronus, Lara and Captain jumped and climbed the wall with their Pivot Blade, axe and shield respectively as they made it safely and walked towards a tunnel.

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Cavern Entrance

"Roth, I'm going in." Lara informed, much to Roth's chagrin.

-"Are you sure about this, Lara?"-

"I'll get them…" Lara paused in her stride as she turned around and looked at the two heroes. "We'll get them. We'll come back. I promise."

"…She's something." Captain was impressed by the way Lara handled herself. He had to give her credit for her tremendous and unexpected bravery.

Patronus chuckled at the statement. "You have no idea."

After crossing a narrow slightly underwater tunnel with a bit of breathing room, they reached the other side and walked through several tunnels leading to hopefully the palace.

And they were right.

"My brothers, hear me now!" Patronus growled as he recognized the voice. It was that Mathias freak back in the caverns. "Out in the world, we were nothing. But here…here, we are the Solarii, the Sun Queen's children." Mathis preached in the massive cavern.

Patronus, Captain and Lara barely looked out the hall they were in before they cautiously entered it without a sound.

"She brought us here for a reason." Mathis preached. "I know you want your freedom. I know you want to escape this place."

The trio separated from each other as they took behind different covers; Patronus behind a boulder, Captain America in a spire above and Lara stuck with the wall as they observe the preaching delivered to the huddle of Solarii while Mathis stood on a rock like a crazed leader.

"But to do so, we must release our Queen." Mathis continued, "Like us, she is a prisoner." He pointed behind him and revealed Sam roped to a post. "If we can free her, we can free ourselves!"

"Sam!" Lara whispered harshly as she wanted to charge in but Patronus gestured her to stay put as he observed the bounded girl.

Sam had black hair and eyes with slightly tan skin as she wore a red shirt with cargo pants.

Her fear grew when Mathias held a torch and was about to burn Sam, but she wouldn't let him do it. She fired an arrow but a Solarii saw it and took the death path instead as Mathis found her.

"Seize her!"

Lara fired another arrow at an incoming Solarii before she was overwhelmed by the horde of them. Patronus cursed and nodded at Captain America as they made themselves known by tackling the Solarii off of Lara, punching and kicking them away.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

After securing Lara, Patronus and Captain America formed a two-man shield as they brought down wave and wave of Solarii. Cap bashed his shield against one before throwing it at another, watching his beloved weapon ricochet the walls and knocking more Solarii off their feet while Patronus was punching and slashing with his fist and Pivot Blade.

With an angry growl, Mathis raised the torch and lit the bundle of twigs near the post, setting it aflame.

"No! Sam!" Lara screamed in terror as Patronus and Captain stopped their barrage to see the fire.

They were about to retaliate further when suddenly a very powerful gust wind burst through the waterfall behind Sam, dousing the flames instead and sending the resistant trio against the walls with enough force.

"She…She's the one." Mathis muttered with relieved awe. "Soon my brothers…we will be reborn!" He turned to the Solarii behind him. "Take her to the throne room." He then turned back to see the trio being dragged towards him. "Your fight is over, creatures."

Patronus scoffed loudly, drawing attention from the old man. "Never say it's over until it's over. Our fight's just beginning, you old bastard!" He grunted when the Solarii hit him in the head. "You're going to regret that."

"Get rid of them." Mathis left with the hostage Sam while the three Solarii dragged the exhausted Lara and the slightly incapacitated heroes.