Lara Croft burst through the door of her country home and went up to her room. When she got there, she collapsed into a heap onto her bed. She groaned with tiring need to sleep from her previous expedition, the search for the Arrows of Eros. She was betrayed by a false university and had to battle it out with the owner of the Prizma Company. She won and came home with her prize. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, at eleven, she woke up and sighed, chiding herself in her mind for letting her sleep late. She padded downstairs, still in her adventuring clothes from yesterday. She went into the kitchen and sat at the table. The butler brought her some tea.
"Sleep well, Miss Croft?" asked the butler cheerfully. Lara scowled.
"What do you think? Are you blind?" Lara grouched, "This tea tastes terrible! It's cold!" Lara glared at the butler then softened, realizing she hurt his feelings.
"Oh, I-I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to berate you like that," said Lara, gazing into the butler's eyes apologetically, sincerely. The butler smiled.
"It's quite alright, Miss Croft. I understand that you're probably under stress from your trip."
"Don't worry old chap. I'm fine right now," Lara reassured, "I think I'll go for a jog. It'll do me good."
In the woods, Lara was feeling better. The woods helped her to clear her mind and relax. Suddenly she was startled by a large gust of wind.
"Llara! Llara!" echoed a haunting vioce. Lara wasn't frightened, but nervous.
"Wh-who's there?" she called shakinly, "Please, if someone is there, answer me!" Then, out of thin air, a young light-haired woman appeared in front of her. She was dressed in a pastel shade of purple gown sewn of violet petals, which looked very pretty if you like that sort of thing.
"Who are you?" Lara asked in wonder, stepping back once.
"I am what you see," replied the maiden, "You are prettier than I expected." Lara blushed with pleasure at this remark.
"You're very pretty yourself," Lara stammered.
"My world needs your help, Lara. A certain crystal was stolen from the kingdom of Uthral, where I come from. As a result of the crystal disappearing, all living things were turned to malachite statues. I was lucky enough to escape right before the curse reached my dwelling." The woman's eyes were filled with fear. Lara put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"I'm sorry about that. What could I do to help?"
"Come with me and I'll take you to my world," said the woman. The surroundings blacked out for a few seconds, then, new surroundings faded back in. They were in a grass field of wildflowers of all the colors of the rainbow. Amethyst, Rose Quartz, and other kinds of stones were scattered here and there in all different sizes. There were even mountains of bismuth, some covered with trees. The sky was a gloomy gray.
"I will leave you now, but just one thing; see that tree-covered mountain over there? That is were the crystal is being held. I don't dare go there because of the terrible monsters lurking there. We needed someone brave to help us. That's why you were chosen," explained the woman.
"I would be honored to do it," exclaimed Lara.
"Good. Now get going. There isn't much time." The woman's image began to quiver and dematerialize.
"Please! Before you leave me, what's your name? Will I ever see you again?" Lara begged. The other woman smiled.
"My name is Pearlstaff. You may never see me again I'm afraid. Goodbye!" and she was gone. Lara stood there in the field in a daze. She turned toward the mountain that Pearlstaff had pointed out. Out of all the brave people in the world, she, Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, was the one.
"Well, Lara," she told herself, "You better get going."
When she got to the mountain, she was amazed by the towering mass that she saw before her. The forest was dark and deep with little light being filtered. Lara took a deep breath, and started forward. Errie sounds echoed through the trees, sending chills up Lara's spine. She turned her head at every chirp, squeak, or growl. All of a sudden, a terrible beast sprang out of the trees at Lara, baring its yellow teeth, flashing it's bloody claws. It's red, glowing eyes had a horrible stare that bore right into your soul. Acting on reflex, she pulled out her Uzi and pumped bullets into the ferocious monster. The creature roared with pain as it crashed to the ground in a heap. From that point on, Lara sprinted up the mountain to avoid any other creature like that.
At the top, Lara came to a clearing with a stone altar. Lara sighed with relief as she rushed up to the altar, for upon it was the crystal that was stolen. It was pure quartz, and a sharp pain went through Lara's fingers when she picked it up. She stuffed it into her pack. Then, there was a break in the clouds, releasing a shaft of sunlight onto a city of gold and silver, which was the capitol of Uthral, to Lara's understanding. The shaft of light was positioned over a large gold building, which was the main temple. Lara dashed to the town as fast as she could go.
At the town, the people and animal there astonished Lara. They were all statues, made of malachite, frozen in the position when they were affected by the curse. She made her way to the temple, guided by the light. The frozen figures Lara passed were all different; some friendly, some mean, and some strange, like one that of a centaur. When the temple came into view, Lara rushed up to the open archway. The inside, unlike the outside, was silver, accept the altar, which was copper. Lara took out the crystal from her pack and placed it on the altar, wincing with the pain in her fingers. There was a shockwave of rippling light that brought the malachite figures back to life as it blew by.
Then, the surroundings began to glow with blinding light, and Lara Croft was back in the woods near her mansion, as if she never left.