A/N : In my Kaleidoscope of our life together – The Croft Legacy universe.
I still write the story but my current love/hate relationship with the TR franchise prevents me to work on it at moment. I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey instead and I'm in love with Kassandra, she is everything Lara could have been in Shadow but alas…
Anyway, my inspiration somehow came back with a crossover of the two games, it seems like I need to associate the positivity of ACO with Sam and Lara to write something and I don't know, here's what came out of it. Don't know the AC franchise well, I just did with the knowledge I had so bear with me if it's not completely accurate, I needed it to fit the narrative.
Set soon after they got married, not yet discussing seriously about having a child.
No beta, all mistakes are mine. Let me know what you think.
Sam was finally home after an excruciating day in London, stuck in a business meeting that dragged on for hours just for a stupid network to decide if they wanted one or a couple of her documentaries. She grabbed the mail on her way to the front door before entering the manor. "Honey, I'm home!" She shouted as usual, to let her wife know she was back. Knowing Lara would join her soon, she kicked off her shoes, threw her stuff on the side table in the foyer and made her way to the couch, sprawling on it as she skipped through the mail. "Trash, Trash, bills, ohhh this looks interesting." She stopped as a letter with a familiar logo piqued her interest. "Babe, you have a letter from the Sisters of Artemis."
As if on cue, Lara walked out of the kitchen and toward the foyer. "What does it say?" She kissed her wife's forehead tenderly before lifting up Sam's feet to sit on the couch next to her, settling them back on her lap.
"Wait…" Sam swiftly opened the envelop and read. "'You are cordially invited to the 5-year reunion of the sisters of Artemis at the Jeffery Hall, UCL 20 Bedford Way on…'Oohhh that's so great!"
"Has it been five years already?" Lara grabbed the invitation and looked at it.
The filmmaker nodded. "Time flies when you're having fun and crossing death's path on regular basis."
Lara rolled her eyes. "Ah ah very funny."
"I know, I'm a comedian." Sam smiled proudly before turning serious. "Do you wanna go?"
"I don't know…" The archaeologist trailed off as she kept staring at the piece of paper. "I haven't seen them in ages."
"5 years, it's written there." Sam tapped the invitation before giggling when Lara tickled her foot. "It could be nice. I mean, you are rich, officially that is, successful, you have a hot wife; it could be worse. I know people who went to high school reunion with far less than that."
"It's not that..." Lara shook her head. "Yes, I am proud of my career and…"
"Me, your wife." The older woman winked.
Lara chuckled. "And proud to have married such a beautiful, talented, smart and humble woman. Is that what you want to hear?"
The producer raised her hands innocently. "Your words not mine."
Lara smiled fondly before focusing back on the invitation in her hands. "What I mean is, I wouldn't know what to say to them."
"Sweetie, you never know what to say to people in social gathering …" Sam giggled and wiggled away as Lara tried to tickle her again for her comment. "But here it's different. A lot of them were studying history, old languages, paleontology… I mean, you can easily find topics that are in your comfort zone. It could be good for us to see other people and forget about ruins and tombs and documentaries for one night."
The British woman hummed. "Are you sure you don't want to go just to brag about our lives and find out what they have become?"
Sam gasped, putting her hand to her heart as if she had been hurt. "Me?"
Lara laughed at her wife's antics. "Yes, you!"
"I don't… but if it was the case, I don't see why either of those things should be exclusive." Sam shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oh right, especially when the one inviting us was the president of the club, Katherine Makris, with whom you had a feud." The archaeologist raised an eyebrow, amused.
The filmmaker snorted. "A feud? What is this, Shakespeare?"
"You almost threw a drink at her face once," Lara reminded her. "And if I hadn't been there to stop you, you could have been in trouble. She had a lot of connections."
"Well, that's my problem with her, or was, whatever tense you want to use." Sam moved to sit up. "She acted like a Queen Bee that owned the place, only talking to who she deemed worthy of her attention. She used to talk to you because your name is money and despite my parents' fortune, she always treated me like I was trash and a bad influence on you."
"Well…" The Englishwoman smiled teasingly.
Sam grabbed the pillow to her right and slammed it on Lara's head. "I pushed you out of your shell a bit, it's not like I forced you to do drugs or rob a bank."
"I know." Lara put a reassuring hand on her wife's thigh. "I was just teasing. I just… I've never cared much about her. I spent most of my time focusing on archery and the only people I really talked to were Tara, Jasmine, and Alyson."
"But at least they were nice and not condescending." Sam hugged the pillow against her and sighed.
"Maybe she has changed?"
"Yeah right…" The producer answered sarcastically.
"We have..." Lara stated.
"I know. And in the end, I wouldn't change a thing because it brought us together." Sam softened a little before continuing. "But we're not her and we were never mighty bitches in the first place. It's weird because her sister was such a sweetheart, I guess she lost at the genetic lottery."
Lara grabbed her wife's hand in hers. "Why do you want to go then?"
"I don't know," Sam started playing with Lara's fingers. "I'm just curious and as you said, you had a few friends, it wouldn't hurt to catch up with them." She shrugged.
The archaeologist looked at her wife as she pondered her answer. "Okay, we'll go then."
The filmmaker lit up. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Lara kissed Sam's nose before standing up. "You can even rsvp yourself if you want."
"Yes! I'm gonna use our family business card, the one with the gold letters and the Croft crest. AH AH, in your face Katherine!" Sam smiled wickedly until she noticed her wife's face. "What? Let your girl have some fun will you!"
"Whatever makes you happy, love." Lara chuckled. "Now let's go eat." She offered her hand to help Sam rise from the couch.
"Yes, I'm starving!"
A month later, Sam and Lara were getting ready in the master room before the big reunion with the Sisters of Artemis.
"So, what do you want me to say if they ask about Yamatai?" Sam asked, fixing her hair in front of the dressing table while Lara was buttoning up her blouse.
Lara lifted her head to look at her wife. "Why would they ask about Yamatai?"
"Because it was all over the tabloids at some point, you know, before we stirred away from our cray-cray image to become respected professionals in our respective fields."
The archaeologist removed her hair tie and moved behind her wife to check her hair in the mirror. "I guess we'll just give them the answer that we agreed on every time someone from the press brings up the subject and then change topic."
Sam nodded. "Okay, PR answer then bragging, got it."
"Sam!" Lara shoved her gently before grabbing her hairbrush.
"What? I practiced my speech, you're gonna love it!" The filmmaker smiled cheekily.
The Englishwoman stopped brushing her hair. "Oh god, now I'm scared."
"You should be." Sam giggled before taking pity on her wife. "I'm kidding, I'll be on my best behavior."
"I don't want to make a scene. Either we like it or not, we have a bit of a notoriety and it could easily end up in the tabloids." Lara declared. "Let's just shake some hands, talk for a while then leave."
The producer raised an eyebrow, staring at her wife through the reflection in the mirror. "So you want me to be your arm candy?"
"No, I want you to be yourself." Lara kissed the top of Sam's head. "Just stay away from beer bottles!"
Sam laughed and turned around to slap Lara's bottom as she walked away. "Ass!"
The taller woman chuckled before saying. "We should go if we don't want to be late."
"Yes, let's get this party started!"
A couple of hours later, Sam and Lara were at the venue, giving their names at the reception counter.
"Mrs. and Mrs. Croft, welcome." The hostess greeted them. "Here are your name tags and the party is in the first room on the left." She handed them the stickers.
Sam looked at them and frowned. "Name tags? What for? It's not like they were a hundred."
"Between the former students, a few former teachers, the spouses and the guests from other clubs, Ms. Makris thought it was a good idea."
Sam scoffed. "Well if Ms. Makris thought it was a good idea, who am I to judge?"
"I'll just take these," Lara grabbed the name tags. "Thank you."
"Have a nice evening, ladies."
"Oh, we will." Sam grabbed her name tag and placed it on the side of her dress. "Hi, I'm Sam Croft, and you are?" She took the other sticker from Lara's hand and put it on her wife's chest. "Look at that, you are a Croft too. Seems like I stole your last name."
Lara chuckled. "I can't say I'm complaining."
"Good." Sam smiled lovingly at her wife before pecking her lips. "Now let's go see Ms. Makris who can't help but be too much as always."
It didn't take long for the couple to meet the former president. The tall brunette with tan skin greeted them with a quick hug. "Lara Croft and Samantha Nishimura, always glued to each other even five years later!"
"Yes, it's even Sam Croft now, that's how glued to each other we are." Sam answered with a fake smile.
"So I've heard, that's lovely. I'm happy for you two." Katherine replied before someone called her name. "I'm sorry, I have to go check on the caterer but I need to talk to you when you have a minute, it's important." She finished before leaving.
"I have a feeling she's going to ask us something." Lara said as soon as the woman was out of earshot.
The filmmaker squeezed Lara's arm in reassurance. "Ditto but we'll deal with her later."
"Lara, it's so good to see you!" Alyson, one of Lara's friends in the club suddenly approached them. She hugged Lara before turning toward Sam. "And the best friend, I can't believe you put a ring on it, I thought she was all about work."
Sam hugged the blonde woman happily, glad to finally see a friendly face in the crowd. "What can I say, I'm irresistible!"
"You are." Alyson laughed. "I'm glad you came. I thought that now that you're famous you wouldn't want to mingle with us. I mean some of the stuff you're doing Lara, wow."
Lara blushed. "I am not a movie star, I'm just an archaeologist who happens to be in documentaries sometimes."
"Produced by yours truly." Sam thumbed toward herself.
"I think what you're doing is great, guys." Alyson congratulated them. "Now come on, Jasmine and Tara just arrived, let's go see them."
The couple spent an hour reminiscing about their time in college until Katherine asked them to talk in private. They followed her to a little office at the end of the hallway.
"Do you have your pickaxe?" The producer whispered.
"What for?" The Englishwoman asked in a hushed tone.
"In case she's planning on murdering us."
Lara shook her head. "Don't be silly."
"Please have a seat. I apologize for being so secretive but it's important and I don't want anyone to hear us." Katherine sat in front of the desk and motioned for Lara and Sam to do the same.
"Just FYI, Lara is a freaking ninja and I know some close combat moves too." Sam declared as she sat down. They were having fun with Lara's friends and the interruption was pretty rude.
"What?" Katherine frowned, confused.
"Nothing." Sam waved it off. "What's all the mystery?"
"Well, I wanted to talk to Lara about a discovery I made and well you since…" The woman trailed off.
"Yeah, yeah, we're inseparable we get it." The filmmaker rolled her eyes.
"Anyway." Katherine continued. "As you know, I'm a historian and I've recently decided to look into my own past to find out who my ancestors were. I was able to go back to the 5th century BC and that's when things become interesting. The name of a female mercenary from Sparta carrying the spear of King Leonidas kept popping up. I have an old manuscript that could probably help me in my research but I can't quite decipher it. I need your help, Lara, to..."
"Wait," Lara suddenly interrupted her. "Is this why we're here? Was this party all a ruse to meet us?"
"Not completely," The historian rushed to justify. "I was planning on doing one, maybe a 10 years reunion but I couldn't wait that long so since I didn't know how to contact you, I thought it was the perfect opportunity."
"I know you're a history nerd but you are aware that there are things called phones or Facebook right?" Sam told her with the hint of sarcasm.
"I didn't think Lara would have answered me, you are known for being private," Katherine explained. "And I know I haven't been the nicest to you in college, Sam. My parents were absent a lot, or ignoring me at best, always secretive. I had a lot of anger and I took it on people."
"That's no excuse," Sam replied quickly. "My parents were absent too and I tried to connect with people not tear them down."
"I know, and I'm sorry." The former president sighed. "I've worked on myself a lot these past few years and decided to put all this energy into something good, that's how I started looking into my past. Like I said, I could have a famous warrior in my bloodline, it's something that is worth looking into."
Sam snorted. "Right."
Katherine glared at her. "You don't have the exclusivity on the big and famous ancestors, Samantha."
The filmmaker glared back. "Mine was a psychotic bitch who killed a lot of innocent people and looking for my heritage almost killed us all but thank you for your concern, Katherine."
"Hum, why don't we go back to the topic at hand?" Lara tried to ease the tension. "What does it have to do with us?"
"I discovered that this female mercenary, almost always called a Misthios in the texts instead of her name, had an encounter with the leader of the daughters of Artemis." Katherine developed. "I thought that, since Lara was a part of our club that she could be interested in a documentary focused on them."
"So you want Sam and I to help you find who your ancestor is? It would mean studying your documents, going to Greece, and searching for clues?" The archeologist tried to summarize.
The historian nodded. "I can pay you."
"Money is not the issue," Lara informed her. "We have plenty on our own but honestly right now, my biggest concern is how you talk to Sam. If you don't stop, I'll leave and there won't be any negotiation at all."
"I'm sorry." Katherine sighed.
Lara studied her for a moment. "What happened to you? You've never been this…"
"Bitchy?" Sam offered.
"I was going to say intense." Lara corrected.
"Here's the whole story. I know someone, they work for a company who's building a machine that could make you see the lives of your ancestors by using your DNA. They need test subjects and I offered my help because I'm desperate for answers." Katherine confessed. "They are rushing me to start but I don't want to go until I know more about my ancestor."
"Is it dangerous?" Sam questioned. "Because speaking from experience, it's not worth it, trust me." She might not be Katherine biggest fan but she wouldn't want her to get hurt.
"I don't know, I don't think so. But please, I'm stuck and you are the best I know. I need your help…" The historian said, almost begging.
Lara glanced at Sam before looking back at her former classmate. "I can't give you an answer now, we have to think about it."
"I understand." Katherine stood up and grabbed a card in her purse. "Here's my contact info. Talk about it and give me a call in a couple of days."
"We will." Lara stood up and nodded in goodbye before leading Sam back to the party.
The next day, Lara was surprised to find a mail carrier at her door. Katherine had sent them copies of her research so they could have all the information before making their decision.
"We have another letter from Katherine." Lara announced as she joined Sam in the kitchen for breakfast.
"Twice in a year, we are lucky." Sam thanked Winston for the cup of coffee the man had just put on the table before asking. "What does it say?"
The archaeologist put the file on the counter and grabbed her cup of tea. "That she made us copies of some of her research if we want to look at them."
"Great, let's see what all this fuss is about." Sam reached out for the file and started reading as she sipped on her coffee. "Her family tree is pretty impressive."
Lara finished her toast before reading a few documents on her own. "I have to admit, I'm intrigued."
"You know," The older woman stopped reading and looked at her wife. "I kinda feel bad for her, I mean, it looks like she has nothing but her research to hold on to."
"I can understand that. When I lost you I became quite obsessed myself…" The Englishwoman trailed off as she stared into the distance, seemingly lost in the dark part of her mind.
Sam stood up and wrapped her arms around Lara from behind, softly kissing her neck. "I'm here, sweetie, together always, remember." They stayed like that for a minute, enjoying the closeness until Sam spoke again. "I don't think we have enough material for a documentary but you could still help her translate her manuscript."
Lara turned her head slightly to look at her wife. "You wouldn't mind?"
"It's not up to me to decide what you can or can't do, you're free, but if you're asking for my opinion, I told you, I feel bad for her. Maybe beneath all the bitchiness, she's not so terrible." The filmmaker shrugged.
"Okay, I'll give her a call tomorrow and see what we can do."
Lara worked with Katherine for a couple of months, translating the manuscript. Her ancestor name was Kassandra, a Spartan mercenary with a lot of skills. She had a younger sibling, Alexios and not the happiest family history.
Once they had gathered enough information, Katherine booked an appointment with the person she knew to try the machine called Animus. A few days later, Lara received a call from her former classmate, asking her to accompany her. The archeologist refused at first but eventually took pity on her.
That was how, the next day, Lara and Sam found themselves with Katherine in a big office with a man explaining all the details about the machine.
"The technology exists for a while now, but we are trying to improve it so people can access anyone's memories, even ancestors that aren't their own." Dr. Zuller informed them, rising from his desk chair. "But the best way to understand is to show it to you. Please follow me."
They all walked toward the lift as the man kept talking about his company.
"We googled your name, there isn't a lot of information regarding your activities, except for the fact that you are a subsidiary company of Abstergo Industry." Sam said as they stepped inside the elevator.
"We are doing a lot of sensitive research here and we are trying to avoid industrial espionage by spreading too much information." Dr. Zuller explained, pressing the button for level -23.
"There is a lot of controversy surrounding Abstergo Industry lately." Lara pointed out. She had a bad feeling about the company as soon as they stepped a foot inside the building.
"We have jealous competitors that would stop to nothing to discredit us. It's nothing you have to worry about, Mrs. Croft." The man reassured with a smile.
"I'm sorry, but why are we going down? The last time I visited, you showed me a machine on the 10th floor." Katherine suddenly asked.
"Since you came with your friends, I thought you should try our new prototype, Ms. Makris." Dr. Zuller replied.
Sam leaned toward her wife and whispered into her ear. "Is it me or does he give off a creepy vibe?"
"I feel it too," Lara whispered back. "I don't like this, stay alert."
The lift finally stopped at level -23 and the doors opened to a dim hallway with stone walls. "Please, this way." The man led them to a room with an electronic lock.
As soon as Lara and Sam stepped into the room, they knew it was a trap. Three chairs connected to a lot of devices were standing in the middle of the place but what set off alarm bells was the security guards in the corner and the Templars flag on the wall.
"I knew this was a trap, you better explain yourself." Lara growled, already scanning the room for a weapon and planning for an escape.
"Well you see, Mrs. Croft, when Katherine told us that she had been in contact with you, it sounded almost too good to be true." Dr. Zuller chuckled darkly. "We heard about your exploits Lara and Sam, you have some royalty in your bloodline; you two make the perfect candidates for our little test. We need information on the location of an artifact and you're going to help us find it."
"Hold your horses, Mr. Hyde. We haven't agreed to anything!" Sam stated, discreetly trying to take a step back toward the door.
"Are you a part of this?" Lara barked at Katherine.
"No!" Katherine cried out. "I swear, I just…"
"No," The man confirmed. "Ms. Makris was just desperate enough for answers that she was easy to manipulate."
"You son of a bitch!" Katherine surged toward him but the guards quickly stopped her.
Lara took advantage of the commotion to grab the supply tray on her left and slammed it against one of the guards' face as Sam kicked another one in the groin. Lara rushed toward Sam and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the room and into the hallway. "We need to find the stairs. I think I saw a sign in the corner."
"What about Katherine? We can't leave her behind." Sam followed, glancing worryingly behind.
"We're gonna get weapons and then we'll come back for her." The archaeologist said as they turned at the corner of the hallway. "But for now, we have to run or we won't be able to help."
"I thought that after Trinity we were done with crazy religious organizations." The filmmaker exclaimed as they finally reached the stairs.
Lara stopped running, leaning against the wall to check if there weren't any guards in front of them before looking at her wife. "I'm sorry, Sam, it's…"
"No one's fault," Sam cut her off. "Don't even go there."
"Don't worry," A voice said from behind them. "You won't go anywhere any time soon."
"Oh for fuck's sake." Sam cursed when she realized they were surrounded. The couple wrestled against a few men but quickly got overpowered.
When the guards had a tight hold on the women's arms, Dr. Zuller came out of the shadow. "It could be all painless if you could just stop fighting."
"Bastard!" Lara glared at him, licking her bleeding lip before spitting at the doctor's face. "When this is all over, I'm going to kill you!"
The man laughed. "You can certainly try, if you survive the experiment that is." He nodded at his guards who then started dragging Sam and Lara back to the room.
The women kept struggling until suddenly, a syringe poke their neck and everything went blank.
Lara woke up with a start, panting and anxiously looking around. She wasn't in a lab anymore, but in what looked like an abandoned house. "Sam." Her eyes went wide in panic. "Sam." Was her wife okay? Was she there too? "Sam!" She called again louder.
"I'm here!" Sam groaned, slowly rising from the rug she was laying on, on top of the house. "On the roof… What the fuck, Lara?"
Lara quickly climbed on the wall and joined her wife. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The filmmaker hugged her tightly. "I'm fine, how are you?"
Lara sighed in relief. "I'm okay."
Sam panned the horizon, trying to figure out where they were. It was hot and sunny, there was a village with temples, people working in the fields and in the distance, triremes sailing on the sea, "Lara, are we…"
"In Greece, yes." The archaeologist finished for her.
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like the 21st century Greece." The producer pointed out.
"It isn't." The Englishwoman confirmed.
"What did they do to us?" Sam turned her attention back to her wife.
"I don't know..." Lara answered helplessly.