Transcripts

(Author’s note: The player can visit the Doorman and Bernard for a way into Le Serpent Rouge but for the purpose of this transcript, you go to Pierre. Also, the optional conversations will be choices with the best outcome.)

LOCATION: (FMV) Paris, France – Von Croy’s Apartment

(The camera pans away from an overturned Jackal head, which belongs to Von Croy’s cane. The apartment is messy, and has been taped up with Police tape. Lara rips it down and enters the apartment. As she enters, she hears breaking glass under foot and she picks up the broken photo, placing it on the cabinet and then looking in the mirror on the wall.)
Reporter: >>

LOCATION: (FMV) Paris, France – Von Croy’s Apartment (Flash back. 2 Days ago)

(Lara is sat with Werner Von Croy. He is nervous and desperate.)
Von Croy: Help me Lara. I need you to get something for me.
Lara: Go on.
Von Croy: I’m tracking five Obscura paintings for a client called Eckhardt, but he’s a psychopath.
Lara: (Leans forward in her seat) Why should I care?
Von Croy: (Stands and leans above her) Because I’m being stalked. People are dying out there.
Lara: (Stands) Handle it Werner.
Von Croy: Lara, please. (He grabs a contact card from the cabinet and puts it into her hand) Look, go and see this woman, Carvier. She can help.
Lara: I’m going. (She shrugs off his hand as he grabs her and she pushes him into his seat) Egypt Werner, you walked away and left me.
Von Croy: (Pushes her back and raises a gun) Get out!
(Gun fire. Werner is pushed against a wall and he falls to the ground, the gun bouncing under a table. Lara approaches his body and sees that he is dead. She stands and looks at her bloody hands. The police and their dogs arrive in a van. Lara is on the streets running. The dogs chase her as she enters a building. She runs up the stairs and down a long corridor until it comes to a dead end. Lara decides at last minute to jump out the window; the dogs only grabbing hold of her backpack. Lara is safe, for now.)​

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Paris, France – Mademoiselle Carvier’s Apartment

(Lara presses a button on the panel by a door)
Carvier: Who is it?
Lara: Mademoiselle Carvier, it’s Lara Croft. I need your help.
Carvier: (The door opens) Miss Croft. I recognise you from photos, and Werner’s description. Come in.
Lara: Thank you.
(Lara enters the apartment.)
 
Carvier: An evil night to be out alone Ms Croft. Our streets are not safe any more.
Lara: Mademoiselle Carvier I have just come from Werner’s apartment.
Carvier: And how is Werner?
Lara: I’m afraid Werner is dead?
Carvier: Dead?
Lara: Can I get you anything?
Carvier: How was Werner killed? What happened?
Lara: It’s all a bit vague. I arrived at his apartment today from London. He was babbling with fear.
Carvier: He said he tried to contact you.
Lara: He did. I never expected that. Not after Egypt.
Carvier: Werner has been fearful for his life. He accepted a commission five weeks ago. Since then he’s been acting strangely, jumping at shadows. He even left a package with me for safekeeping.
Lara: Who was the commission from?
Carvier: The client’s name was Eckhardt. He wanted Werner to research something called the Obscura Paintings. Werner approached me at my department at the Louvre.
Lara: Were you able to help him?
Carvier: A little I think. Poor Werner was clearly terrified.
Lara: Werner didn’t scare easily.
Carvier: He felt he was being stalked.
Lara: He could well have been. The Monstrum is running around Paris according to the press.
Carvier: Werner left a package here with me. I was to give it to you if anything happened to him.
Lara: Do you know what it is?
Carvier: It’s his field notebook.
Lara: If he left his notebook, he was spooked.
Carvier: You still haven’t explained what happened.
Lara: We argued, I can remember that. And – gunfire!
Carvier: Gunfire? Werner was shot? Did you kill him?
Lara: I can’t remember. It’s all a blur.
Carvier: Ms Croft, I strongly suggest that you talk to the Police.
Lara: Mademoiselle, I was a good friend of Werner’s. I didn’t kill him. I didn’t!
Carvier: If you say so.
Lara: Do you have the notebook?
Carvier: I do. It’s safe for the moment.
Lara: I really am going to need Werner’s notebook.
Carvier: Somebody killed Werner. You say you don’t remember clearly what happened. Perhaps the police are right in suspecting you.
Lara: I never killed Werner!
Carvier: I think you’d better leave Ms Croft.
 
Lara: The notebook?
Carvier: (she turns to enter her kitchen) I am not sure this is the right thing but I must respect what Werner wanted.
Lara: The right choice Mademoiselle. (Lara looks at the notebook cover)
Carvier: (Exits into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her) And now you better had go. The Police will be here any minute.

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Parisian Ghetto

Lara: (Approaches two homeless men and a dog, taking warmth from a fire) Is this your pitch?
Homeless Man: All Paris is my pitch. Got any spare change? For a coffee?
Lara: Maybe. I need to find a man.
Homeless Man: Then look no further ma petite.
Lara: This is a particular man. Bouchard, Louis Bouchard. Know him?
Homeless Man: No. Never heard of him.
Lara: Even for spare change.
Homeless Man: Go away! I never heard of him!
Lara: So where could I ask? I could use a coffee. How about you?
Homeless Man: Try the Cafe Metro. In the Place d’Arcade. The owner might be able to help you. Knows all kinds of stuff.
Lara: Sounds like my kind of cafe.
Homeless Man: What about the spare change? Mademoiselle?
Lara: I didn’t say I had any.
Homeless Man: Welcome to Paris!

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Parisian Ghetto

City Guide: You looking for anything special little lady?
Lara: So what are you? A city guide?
City Guide: That’s right. I’m a city guide. All tastes and interests catered for.
Lara: Good. I need directions. I’m trying to find a man called Bouchard. Do you know him?
City Guide: That’s not a healthy kind of question to be asking.
Lara: Don’t tell me Paris is dangerous.
City Guide: Oh, we got all kinds of rough stuff here in Paris. Including our own serial killer. Have you heard of the Monstrum? Huh! Have you heard of him?
Lara: What do you really know about the Monstrum?
City Guide: Not much? The killings are very messy. Y’know, grisly. No one’s safe.
Lara: Even Bouchard?
City Guide: Lady, no one! No exceptions! Have you heard what the Monstrum does to the victims?
Lara: So how do I contact Bouchard?
City Guide: He won’t have time for casual callers. Been having staff problems at his club I hear.
Lara: Bouchard runs a club?
City Guide: Yeah. Le Serpent Rouge. Flashy joint.
Lara: Why should losing staff be such a big deal?
City Guide: Because these staff are dying on the job. Messily. No one knows why. Or how.
Lara: You don’t think Bouchard’s up to handling it?
City Guide: Keep your voice down. Bouchard can handle all he needs to. But this is something different. Something creepy. His people didn’t die pretty. It’s got him really shaken.
Lara: Is it the Monstrum?
City Guide: Who knows for sure? I just try to keep my nose clean. You should too.
Lara: So you’ve no idea where Bouchard is.
City Guide: No.
Lara: Well. I’m sure someone does. I’ll ask around.
City Guide: Yeah! Do that. Why don’t you try Cafe Metro.
Lara: What’s at Cafe Metro?
City Guide: Nothing man. Only the biggest loser in Paris. It’s a joke. Forget it. Lemme show you some of our local specialties.
Lara: No thanks.
City Guide: Having to keep low eh? That’s hard, ‘specially with the cops being so trigger happy.
Lara: Should I give Bouchard your regards when I find him?
City Guide: No! Don’t do that! But if you’re at a loose end look me up. I’m sure we could find something diverting for you. You know, something special.
Lara: See you around.

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Parisian Ghetto

Lara: (Lara approaches a woman who is smoking) Not a lot of passing trade at this hour?
Janice: It’s early yet. Move along Ma Chere. You make the place look crowded.
Lara: Have you worked in this neighbourhood for long?
Janice: What can I do for you Cherie?
Lara: I’m looking for someone. Name of Bouchard.
Janice: You won’t find him here Ma cher. He did run a club across the road. Le Serpent Rouge, but had to move premises. There was a lot of trouble I heard. Things needed to lie quiet for a while.
Lara: And no one knows where he is?
Janice: What do you need with a dangerous individual like Bouchard?
Lara: I’m tracking to track down a friend’s movements.
Janice: Lost is he?
Lara: Dead. But he made contact with Bouchard before he... checked out.
Janice: Tell you what. There’s two guys who used to work at Le Serpent Rouge.
Lara: So Bouchard didn’t lose everybody.
Janice: No. These two left before the troubles closed the place down. One’s a miserable old devil called Bernard who was the janitor there. He hangs about in the park sometimes.
Lara: And the other one?
Janice: The other one, Pierre, worked as a barman. Makes bad deals that backfires on him. He runs a cafe in the Place d’Arcade now. Cafe Metro. You never know. Might be worth a shot.
Lara: Better than anything I have so far. Thanks. I didn’t catch your name.
Janice: Janice. Everyone knows me round here. Look, be careful Cherie. Bouchard’s a mean operator. And he’s been targeted hard recently.
Lara: Does anyone know who’s causing Bouchard all this grief? Or why?
Janice: No. Or they’re not saying. The Monstrum has got everyone too scared to talk.
Lara: I’d have thought Bouchard would be geared up for trouble.
Janice: He can handle it alright. No one better. But the way his people have been dying – so ugly. And that poor woman...
Lara: What woman?
Janice: Someone called Carvier. She worked at the Louvre it said on the radio. I don’t want to talk about it.
Lara: Carvier!
Janice: No. You watch out Ma Cher. There’s a lot of sickoes loose on the streets.
Lara: Yeah.
Janice: That’s ok. Some of us like it that way.

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Parisian Ghetto, Cafe Metro

Lara: (She approaches the til area in the cafe) Are you Pierre?
Pierre: Possibly. What can I get you?
Lara: Information.
Pierre: Really! Well everyone wants something for nothing.
Lara: It needn’t be for nothing. We could trade.
Pierre: Trade?
Lara: You used to work at Le Serpent Rouge. I need to find your ex-boss Bouchard.
Pierre: You don’t look like police.
Lara: No, I don’t but I do deal with problems. Sort them out.
Pierre: And run errands no doubt. Hm! What sort of problems?
Lara: What sort of problems do you have? Any situations need clearing up? Difficulties removed?
Pierre: In exchange for information about Louis Bouchard. Hm. That’s dangerous information.
Lara: I’m a dangerous girl. And right now I’m losing patience.
Pierre: I do have a ‘situation’ that needs tidying. A retrieval job. Something I forgot to pickup from Le Serpent Rouge when I left in a hurry. It’s mine. And I want it back.
Lara: Why don’t you just pick it up yourself?
Pierre: Two guesses.
Lara: Bouchard? The Monstrum?
Pierre: Don’t joke about the Monstrum! Bouchard ran a lot of operations there. The place will be staked out.
Lara: Just tell me where the item is in the club.
Pierre: It’s small, small enough to fit inside one of the stage lights. The one that doesn’t work.
Lara: That’s it? OK. I can work with that. How do I get into the club?
Pierre: With this. This’ll get you in behind the stage area at the back. Return what’s mine to me, here, and I’ll put you in touch with Louis Bouchard.
Lara: I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear from you again.
Pierre: He isn’t going to. I just tell you where to find him. Then it’s up to you.
Lara: OK. And if this doesn’t work out I know where to find you. Don’t I, Pierre?

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Parisian Ghetto, Cafe Metro

(Lara returns after retrieving the trinket box from Le Serpent Rouge)
Pierre: Did you…? Everything go ok?
Lara: It’s quiet in here. Your voice really carries.
Pierre: Don’t mess me about.
Lara: You were right about the place being staked out. There were gunmen all over the place. No sign of the Monstrum though.
Pierre: You got it! HA!
Lara: Now, a little matter of Bouchard’s whereabouts.
Pierre: Bouchard. Yes… er…
Lara: You aren’t going to disappoint me are you. You don’t want to see my dangerous side.
Pierre: No. it’s just that someone else was asking for him. Just after you left.
Lara: Asking for Bouchard?
Pierre: Yes. The customer who was sat in the corner, reading his paper. I couldn’t tell him anything, naturally. But he may have overheard us.
Lara: You know, you talk real loud. It’s hard not to notice it.
Pierre: OK, OK. Take it easy. Are we going to deal?
Lara: Only if you behave.
Pierre: Alright. Bouchard is lying low. I know someone who can show you where.
Lara: You can trust them, this person you know?
Pierre: Just about. Name of Francine. She’s my ex.
Lara: Reassuring.
Pierre: This is her address and the code for the gate.
Lara: And she can point me to Bouchard? You’re sure?
Pierre: Oh, absolutely. She knows a discrete route to the back of the premises.
Lara: Discrete? Translation—dangerous.
Pierre: Nothing in Paris is safe. But this route will get you where you want to go. Please. It’s arranged. She’s expecting you.
Lara: I hope this arrangement works out, Pierre. I’d hate for you to become a personal problem that I have to come back and tidy up.

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Parisian Ghetto

Francine: Come in. Pierre said to expect you. Bouchard is in the old church. You need to find the mausoleum in the churchyard. It leads down into the church basement.
Lara: Is this the best way?
Francine: It’s the only way past the Doorman. Watch out for the ledges. They are dangerous.
Lara: Where isn’t these days.
Francine: Welcome to Paris.

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Paris, France – Bouchard’s Hideout

Lara: What happened to your man in the room out there Bouchard?
Bouchard: To Arnaud? You’ve got something to say about that?
Lara: Maybe. It might be linked to what happened to a friend of mine.
Bouchard: I doubt it. Get her out of here.
Lara: Do you know the name Eckhardt?
Bouchard: Never heard of him.
Lara: OK. You helped a friend of mine a while back. Werner Von Croy.
Bouchard: Names don’t mean a lot here. Even real ones. What did he want?
Lara: Maps and information, on the Louvre.
Bouchard: I remember. Four weeks ago. Wanted to take a coach load of Japanese tourists to see the Mona Lisa.
Lara: Easy, Bouchard. I lost that friend yesterday. Now I’m wanted for his murder.
Bouchard: There was a newscast about a Monstrum killing earlier. What would you know about that?
Lara: Nothing that would interest you.
Bouchard: You’d be surprised how much The Monstrum interests me.
Lara: My friend…? The Louvre…?
Bouchard: Yes, the academic. Wanted access to recent archaeological diggings inside the Louvre. I gave him a contact. You want the same?
Lara: And more. I need 9mm protection, backpack, plastic explosive, stun packs. Paris isn’t safe these days.
Bouchard: Who for? You obviously can take care of yourself.
Lara: Do you have what I need?
Bouchard: I know who does. Daniel Rennes. Works out of the pawnbrokers on the corner of Rue St. Mark and Cours la Seine.
Lara: A front, obviously.
Bouchard: Yes, Rennes needs careful handling. But he can get you what you need if you know how to make the right approach.
Bouchard: A trade. I have to get certain things into his hands. Passports. You could deliver them for me.
Lara: Passports!
Bouchard: Czech passports. Nothing to dirty your hands with. It’s a business arrangement.
Lara: For which he would give me what I need?
Bouchard: For the right price. The passports will prove you come through me.
Lara: What happened to your man in the sickroom back there? Was he delivering packages for you too?
Bouchard: Poor Arnaud. One of my toughest. The only survivor of four attacks so far.
Lara: Attacks? By who?
Bouchard: An interesting question. We don’t know for sure. Yet.
Lara: The Paris Monstrum perhaps.
Bouchard: We’re looking into that. You should take care.
Lara: An automatic would help. You sold my friend Von Croy some hardware. I need the same.
Bouchard: That was then. We need all the firepower we can get. Rennes is your man. Is it a deal?
Lara: OK. Deal.
Bouchard: My man will show you out.
Lara: No problem. I can find my way.
Bouchard: Ah, but I insist. In which case… Make sure Rennes gets that package. And be sure it is Rennes.
Lara: Why? Who could it be?
Bouchard: I’d like to ask poor Arnaud that. But he can’t talk anymore. Just take care.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Paris, France – Unknown Location

Eckhardt: (Addresses a group of people) Esteemed Cabal members the hour of your reward grows ever closer. As you know we already possess three of the Obscura Paintings. (Points up to a wall with the three paintings) Our contact Professor Von Croy located the fourth one for us here in Paris When we have this we will reassemble in Prague. It is time to awaken THE SLEEPER. Hopefully we will be more successful this time. We are also closer to the fifth and last Obscura Painting in Prague We will gather at the Strahov. Gunderson.
Gunderson: Master Eckhardt…
Eckhardt: Dispatch your team for the fourth painting.
Gunderson: Immediately!

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Paris, France – The Louvre

(After chasing her stalker in Paris, she is knocked unconscious)
Bouchard: (He taps Lara’s face) You ok?
Lara: Bouchard! What are you doing here?
Bouchard: No time now. Quickly!
Lara: Was anyone around when you got here? (She quickly picks up and hides the fallen Periapt Shard that had lain next to her.)
Bouchard: No. No one. Come on! This way.
Lara: Bouchard, I must get back to Von Croy’s apartment. There’s something I have to check out there.
Bouchard: Your friend’s place. Of course. Where is it?
Lara: Rue Valise. The Chantell building. Do you know it?
Bouchard: (He waves to his driver who is standing with the door open) My driver will. Get in.
Lara: (Walks to his vehicle and gets into the back seat.) What were you doing at the Louvre?
Bouchard: Trawling police short wave. You were attracting a lot of attention in there. I figured you might need some help.
Lara: Thanks.
Bouchard: Wouldn’t you prefer somewhere safer than your friend’s apartment?
Lara: I found some leads in the Louvre that may link to his death. I have to check his apartment.
Bouchard: We’re almost there. There’s something you should know. The police bands were full of details of another Monstum killing—in Prague.
Lara: Prague! Not a dealer named Vasiley? Mathias Vasiley?
Bouchard: Yes. You knew him?
Lara: He’s connected with what I need to find at Von Croy’s apartment. I need to go in alone.
Bouchard: OK. I’ll wait here.
Lara: Appreciate it, Bouchard.
Bouchard: She’s inside now. You can send in the cleaner.

LOCATION: (FMV) Paris, France – Von Croy’s Apartment (with flash back. 3 Days ago)

(Lara enters Von Croy’s apartment which has been taped up by Police. She walks in and hears glass after stepping on a framed photograph of her and Werner working together. She places it on a sideboard and looks into the mirror above. She remembers more of what happened that night.)
Von Croy: I’m tracking five Obscura paintings for a client... People are dying out there.
Lara: (Stands) Handle it Werner... (She shrugs off his hand as he grabs her and she pushes him into his seat) Egypt Werner, you walked away and left me.
Von Croy: (He sees a man approaching from behind so he pushes her back and raises a gun) Get out! Get out of the way!
(Lara looks at him in surprise but a hand grabs her shoulder and she is flung against a wall and knocked unconscious. Werner is pushed against a wall and he is held up by the intruder, strangling him until he is dead. Then he is dropped to the ground and the intruder mutilates his body, using Von Croy’s blood to draw on the wall. The intruder- looking somewhat different now- walks out of the room. Lara wakes and approaches his body to see that he is dead. She cuddles him for a moment and then stands, noticing that she has his blood on her hands.)

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Paris, France – The Louvre - Rue Valise - The Chantell building – Von Croy’s Apartment

(Lara has just killed a man who was trying to kill her. He had already rigged the building with explosives. His phone rings so Lara answers it)
Bouchard: Is she taken care of yet? Hello? Is she dead yet? We have to get back to Prague.
Lara: No, Bouchard. She isn’t. But your little friend is. I’ll take care of you later. (Tosses the phone behind her.) It’s time I visited Prague.​

---

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Prague – Czech Republic – Monstrum Crime Scene

Lara: (approaches a man leaning on the side of his car) What do you know about that building over there?
Luddick: Eh… what?
Lara: The one you’re watching? With police tape all round it.
Luddick: The Vasiley place? It’s a murder scene. I’m a reporter.
Lara: So what happened in there?
Luddick: Another Monstrum killing. You’re not from around here.
Lara: No. I need information—which I’d be willing to pay for.
Luddick: It’ll cost you.
Lara: I gather Vasiley was some kind of an art dealer.
Luddick: More than that. He was involved with the Mafia.
Lara: Mafia? What makes you think so?
Luddick: Lady, I know so. I’ve been investigating Vasiley’s activities for some time.
Lara: Tell me why he was murdered then.
Luddick: Vasiley found something they wanted and got smudged because he tried to hang onto it. They set the Monstrum on him.
Lara: You say he found something. Do you know what it was? A painting perhaps?
Luddick: I don’t know about that. But he was definitely silenced. The Mafia tidied away all the evidence. Took it to the Strahov.
Lara: Now you’re going to tell me what the Strahov is, aren’t you.
Luddick: No. Your credit just ran out.
Lara: Keep talking till the money runs out.
Luddick: It’s not that. This is dangerous stuff I’m telling you. I shouldn’t be shooting off my mouth.
Lara: You’re a big boy. You can handle it. Tell me your name.
Luddick: Luddick. My name’s Luddick.
Lara: OK, Luddick. What else?
Luddick: The Strahov is the Mafia centre of operations in Prague. There’s been a lot of activity there recently.
Lara: You’re well informed.
Luddick: I’m a professional! It’s my business! I’ve got dossiers on all of the main players. It’ll cost you.
Lara: OK, I’m in.
 
Lara: (Looks at the open folder on the roof of Luddick’s car) You call these dossiers! Yeuch! Do you know who that is?
Luddick: No. He arrived yesterday.
Lara: That’s Bouchard. He’s a Parisian gang boss. I ran into him over a personal matter.
Luddick: Really! Is he Paris Mafia then?
Lara: No idea. Who’s that?
Luddick: That’s Eckhardt. He’s the Mafia top guy from what I can find out but I know less about him than the others. They’re all gathered in the Strahov at the moment.
Lara: All of them?
Luddick: All six major players. Eckhardt and the other five.
Lara: Luddick, I have to get in there. Today. How would you manage it?
Luddick: It’s not easy. The place is heavily guarded. Security gates, cameras, ident scanners. But… But I could get an access code. I have contacts. It’ll take me half an hour.
Lara: You’re right. You are a professional. OK, while you’re on your errand I’m going to start with Vasiley’s.
Luddick: Be careful in there. And don’t keep me waiting. It’s not healthy to hang about on the streets. Especially in weather like this.
Lara: Stay warm. ​

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Prague – Czech Republic – Mathias Vasiley’s Apartment

Lara: (She spots Bouchard lingering in Vasiley’s apartment so she knocks him unconscious with a swing of her gun. She handcuffs him to the radiator) I want some answers, Bouchard. Why did you want me dead in Paris?
Bouchard: You were just a side issue. A loose end that needed tidying up.
Lara: Who ordered it?
Bouchard: A madman called Eckhardt. He was putting pressure on all my operations, threatened my family, killing my men. You saw one of them at the church.
Lara: A psycho, huh!
Bouchard: The worst. Eckhardt is the Monstrum.
Lara: Is that right? What exactly were you doing for him?
Bouchard: I had to take delivery of a Painting that was in the Louvre and bring it to the Strahov here in Prague.
Lara: My painting! That wasn’t easy to get that out of the Louvre Bouchard.
Bouchard: Seems everyone’s a loser.
Lara: So why Prague?
Bouchard: Eckhardt is protected by a group based in Prague called the Cabal. They’re almost as dangerous as Eckhardt and at least as insane.
Lara: The Cabal? Not the Mafia?
Bouchard: No. They’re far more sinister than the Mafia. No one even knows how old they really are, but I’ve seen records suggesting they were active during the Second World War.
Lara: Dangerous enough to use the Mafia as a front?
Bouchard: Anyone too inquisitive about Cabal business simply disappears.
Lara: Like my friend Von Croy. What was his involvement in all this?
Bouchard: He was hired to locate one of the five Obscura Paintings that was in the Louvre. But he found out too much. He contacted Vasiley here in Prague and they exchanged information.
Lara: I found Vasiley’s faxes. And four Obscura Engravings he sent to Von Croy.
Bouchard: Vasiley originally had five Engravings but kept one back.
Lara: Why are the engravings important?
Bouchard: Each Engraving contains an encoded map of a particular Painting’s location.
Lara: So one of those Engravings told Von Croy where the Louvre Painting was.
Bouchard: Yes but your friend got careless. The faxes were intercepted by the Cabal. And then Eckhardt didn’t need Von Croy. He was another loose end, to be tidied up like Vasiley.
Lara: Killed, not tidied up! Why does Eckhardt desecrate the bodies like that, Bouchard?
Bouchard: It’s to disguise something he does to them. He takes ‘things’ from the bodies. Things he needs to revive the Cubiculum Nephili.
Lara: The Cubiculum Nephili—The Sleeper, last of the extinct Nephilim race.
Bouchard: You’ve heard of the Sleeper! Eckhardt is insane. He thinks he can use the Sleeper to breed the extinct Nephilim back into existence.
Lara: There’s no faulting his ambition, is there. So this 5th Engraving that Vasiley kept back is the key to the last Obscura Painting. I’m going to take a look round.
Bouchard: It’ll be well hidden. Vasiley was very cautious.
Lara: Not cautious enough.
Bouchard: The map in the last Engraving shows a location called the Vault of Trophies. The Vault was one of the last Lux Veritatis secret strongholds and Eckhardt’s been desperate to get into it.
Lara: A Lux Veritatis Vault!
Bouchard: They seized all five Obscura Paintings in the late 1400’s and hid them. The last one is almost definitely in the Vault.
Lara: So do you know where the Vault is located?
Bouchard: Only that it’s beneath the Strahov somewhere.
Lara: And the Painting is definitely there?
Bouchard: Eckhardt thinks so. It’s one of the reasons the Cabal built their stronghold there.
Lara: I’m going to take a look around.
Bouchard: Are you going leave me like this?
Lara: Yes. Take a break. You’ve been running round a lot. I’ll be back with the fifth Engraving.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Mathias Vasiley’s Apartment

​Lara: (Lara notices that Bouchard is not where she left him. As she leaves the apartment, she opens up a closet door. She sees Bouchard’s face as the body tumbles towards her. She jumps back with gun raised at him.) What the hell’s going on around here?

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Prague – Czech Republic – Monstrum Crime scene 

Lara: Did you get me the Strahov code?
Luddick: I told you. I’m a professional. But I want the exclusive story, events in Paris and whatever happens here.
Lara: Done.
Luddick: This pass code will get you into the warehouse area. It’s only a low level pass but at least you’ll be inside the complex.
Lara: I can take it from there. Have you tried this code yourself?
Luddick: Me! No! The place gives me the creeps. Workers have gone missing and all kinds of spooky stuff.
Lara: What goes on in there?
Luddick: God knows! I’d give my innards to find out. But it’s way too gothic for me. If you uncover anything give me first shot at it eh!
Lara: Sure thing.
Luddick: I also got this. It could come in handy. The Strahov is one weird place.
Lara: A handy machine pistol! Gas punch reloader. No invasion force should be without one. How much?
Luddick: Have you seen what these can do…?
Lara: How much?!
Luddick: €800.
Lara: OK.
Lara: Let’s talk in the car.
Luddick: The Strahov isn’t far.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Strahov

(Lara looks on from above through an air vent and watches as Gunderson throws Luddick into a chair)
Luddick: You can’t keep me here. My paper will miss me if I don’t report in.
Gunderson: Found him skulking around in the loading bay. Must have got a pass code.
Eckhardt: How very fortunate for me that you arrive just now, whoever you are. Close the door on your way out, Gunderson.
Luddick: No wait! I know about you, and your Mafia operations! You can’t…
Eckhardt: Mafia! Mafia! Oh my, you are so very much out of your depth. No, what you have stumbled into is something much more… ah… accomplished than those oafs.
Luddick: I have records on you Eckhardt! You can’t hurt me!
Eckhardt: If only there was time for us to read them together. But it’s too late now, there are things… to be done. (Places the glove on Luddick’s chest and Luddick starts to burn, blue electric light emits from his eyes which then turn more fierce and orange as blood splatters across the wall in an alchemic symbol)

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Strahov

Lara: (She leans over a computer panel and reads the map) I wonder what needs that kind of security to keep it in. (She places her map over the top of the screen) Wouldn’t you know it. My route goes through that bio-dome. It’s a long way round, unless I can shut the power off to that section. (She looks to her side and sees a few buttons that would do such a job. She taps them) That’s it. Better get moving whilst the grid’s down.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Bio-Research Facility

Lara: Don’t breathe and definitely don’t move.
Muller: You’re in big trouble, whoever you are. Intruders don’t last long in the Strahov.
Lara: Just answer my questions!
Muller: Fine.
Lara: First question—who are you? Second question—what are you and your buddies up to in here?
Muller: You really don’t know what the Cabal is? We are the beginning of a new order of life on earth.
Lara: Well, I’ve never heard of you.
Muller: Ignorant mortal! The Cabal! We control everything here in Prague. It means that we are going to be immortal, and you are going to be dead, intruder!
Lara: Immortal? That is impressive. How are you going to manage that?
Muller: I can’t tell you. It’s more than my life’s worth.
Lara: Does that help?
Muller: Meister Eckhardt is about to return the Nephilim race to glory. For our part in that triumph he will grant us immortality.
Lara: If I had a coconut for every time some lunatic said something like that…
Muller: Your pathetic ignorance blinds you. We already have the last vital element from Turkey here in the Strahov.
Lara: And that is…?
Muller: The only true remaining Nephilim. The Cubiculum Nephili, the Sleeper. That’s right. The last of the extinct race, here in the Strahov.
Lara: Surely the Nephilim are just a myth.
Muller: You see! Ignorance! With vital essences extracted from this precious specimen Meister Eckhardt can breed the next generation of pure Nephilim. No more abomination to run amok like Boaz’s Proto-Nephilim. She deserved to pay for her stupidity.
Lara: Yes, highly inconvenient having abominations running around loose isn’t it.
Muller: You have no idea what you are mocking! (Instantly afterwards, he picks up a bottle of toxic liquid and sprays it at her. She coughs and he escapes.)

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Bio-Research Facility

(Lara enters into an air lock and tries to open the other door as it has not opened automatically. A figure appears from the side, making Lara jump back and draw her pistol)
Kurtis: You really have made a mess of things, haven’t you?
Lara: Who for? The stalker who stole my Painting! What do you need with the Painting?
Kurtis: Maybe I’ll explain later, Ms Croft, but for now I need to go and turn the power back on.
Lara: Leaving me here.
Kurtis: You’ve caused enough problems over the last two days. Safer for everyone if you stay in one place for a while. You’ll be OK in there.
Lara: (She pulls out the shard and slams it against the glass) And this?
Kurtis: My Periapt Shard! You…
Lara: …picked it up in the Louvre, yes. After you stole my painting.
Kurtis: All this can wait. I know where you’ll be. Take a breather from damaging things, why dontcha. (He salutes her and walks off, leaving Lara angry and pacing the container.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – The Sanitarium

Kurtis: (He sees an injured man on the ground ahead and a claw drag the body away to eat. Kurtis slowly follows the creature and sees that it has crawled into the air vent. He stops.) And I thought this would be one of my easy days.

LOCATION: (Optional Conversation) Prague – Czech Republic – The Sanitarium

Kurtis: (enters a cell and sees a man sat on the bed) Hey, take it easy. What’s going on down here?
Truck Driver: Dying! We’re all dying! Proto’s on the loose. Black Angel’s gonna kill us.
Kurtis: Get a grip! What’s gonna kill us?
Truck Driver: The Proto! It got free. We got fed to it but it ate the guards when the power shut down.
Kurtis: What the hell’s the Proto?
Truck Driver: The screamer! The Black Angel.
Kurtis: Hey, I don’t give a damn about your Black Angel. What are you doing down here?
Truck Driver: I didn’t sign on for this. Not devils and shadows. I’m just a truck driver.
Kurtis: What? You drove here?
Truck Driver: Four days on the road, from Turkey. Long way. Long way.
Kurtis: What did you bring here? What-were-you-carrying?
Truck Driver: Death in five tons of stone. The Sleeper. Drove here, then they grabbed us. She locked us in here with her hungry pet the screamer. The Proto!
Kurtis: You were fed to that thing?
Truck Driver: Fed to it, yes. But not me. I’m safe in here.
Kurtis: Yeah, sure. Keep the door locked, OK.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Bio-Research Facility

Kurtis: (He opens up the air lock but cannot see Lara. She jumps down from above and kicks his gun out of his hand. She draws her pistol and aims at him. He closes his eyes and she fires. His eyes open again as he is still alive. She shot at a mutated inmate who had crept up on him. Thanks.
Lara: Glad you came back to save me, stranger.
Kurtis: Name’s Kurtis. (He holds out his hand to shake)
Lara: (She tugs his arm and forces him against the wall. She searches him, removing the Chirugai) Lara. And this is business.
Kurtis: I owe you one.
Lara: You owe me a painting.
Kurtis: Sorry. That went AWOL at the Louvre.
Lara: What brings you here from Paris?
Kurtis: Eckhardt! We have business that only one of us will walk away from. You?
Lara: Personal reasons.
Kurtis: Eckhardt plans to use all five Obscura Paintings to revive an ancient evil called The Sleeper and rebreed the Nephilim race. To do that he collects alchemically transmuted elements from his murder victims’ bodies.
Lara: I’ve seen him at work as the Monstrum, with that glove.
Kurtis: Eckhardt is the original Black Alchemist and now he’s very close to finding the last Painting.
Lara: Does he know where it is?
Kurtis: Yes. It’s hidden in a Lux Veritatis Vault beneath the Strahov. That Paintings must be destroyed and to do that I need the Shard you picked up at the Louvre.
Lara: There should be three Periapt Shards.
Kurtis: Eckhardt has the last one. If all three Shards are united they can destroy him permanently, so he keeps it safe.
Lara: Tell me about the Shards.
Kurtis: They’re ancient weapons of the Lux Veritatis. Two of them were entrusted to my father. Eckhardt murdered him to stop them passing into my hands. He failed.
Lara: So Eckhardt went after your father. And you want revenge.
Kurtis: Justice!
Lara: We should work together.
Kurtis: You’re trusting me?
Lara: Here. How can they be used to kill Eckhardt?
Kurtis: He must be stabbed with all three Shards.
Lara: We can divide the forces against us if we split up. You need the third Shard so you should go after that. I’ll find the last Painting and destroy it.
Kurtis: OK. (He turns and moves to Lara’s side and they look at her map.) Eckhardt guards the Shard in his old alchemy lab in the lower regions. I can find my way there.
Lara: The Engraving shows the Painting hidden in something called the Vault of Trophies. Here. The entrance is underwater. (She lifts up his chin to look at her) No problem.
 
Karel: (He and Eckhardt are watching Lara and Kurtis via cameras) How did she get the Engraving and the map?
Eckhardt: It doesn’t matter. We have lost too many men trying to open that damned Vault. Perhaps her special talents will help us get what we need. The male will be coming this way soon. Make the preparations.
Karel: There’s no danger she can destroy the last Painting?
Eckhardt: We won’t allow her the opportunity. The fifth Obscura Painting is mine already. And then…

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – Bio-Dome

Eckhardt: (Claps at Lara as the floor lifts her up) Congratulations, Ms. Croft. You are positively Amazonian. That Vault has defeated us for months.
Lara: What do you want, Eckhardt?
Eckhardt: I am not interested in you or your friend, Ms. Croft. Give me the Painting and you may both leave.
Lara: (She sees that an unconscious Kurtis is in the hands of them) What choice do I have. (She throws the painting up to him and Gunderson kicks Kurtis off the ledge. Lara approaches Kurtis but he stands and signals that he is fine)
Eckhardt: Gunderson, release Boaz. This old colleague of mine was once a human - before she displeased me. Not you, Muller, you useless piece of dross! You failed me too.
 
Kurtis: Come on. I’ll give you a boost. (Using his powers, he flings her up to the upper level)
Lara: (She kneels down, ready to help him up) Kurtis, quick.
Kurtis: Here! Take these two! (He throws up his Periapt Shards)
Lara: These are your specialty Kurtis.
Kurtis: Don’t worry about ugly here. You’re wasting time! I can take care of her.

LOCATION: (Cut scene) Prague – Czech Republic – The Lost Domain (with flash back of 3 Days ago)

Eckhardt: Still alive, Ms. Croft. You are resilient. But over the decades I’ve killed more mortals like you than I can remember.
Lara: And stole their body parts like a cheap grave robber.
Eckhardt: As I will now take yours.
Lara: To wake this thing! You are grotesque!
Eckhardt: Only my great arts can cause the higher race to flourish again.
Lara: So I guess it’s up to me to stop you then?
Eckhardt: I hunted down and killed the last of the Lux Veritatis. I am immortal! The Shards!
Lara: Scary, huh! For you.
Eckhardt: It is my destiny to breed Hell on earth. You are nothing to me.
Lara: D'you know it’s going to be a real pleasure to shut you up.
 
(Eckhardt is dying now with two shards in his chest. Lara approaches him with the third, ready to plunge it into him but Karel grabs it and knocks her over. With her guns aimed at him and Karel aimed at her.)
Lara: Karel?!
Eckhardt: Go on! Kill her!
Karel: (Hesitates but he plunges the third dagger into Eckhardt) I knew you’d find the third Shard.
Lara: But why? You worked for him.
Karel: No, unknowingly he worked for me, but his usefulness was ended.
Lara: Will you destroy his work?
Karel: Of course not. The Great Work will be finished. I’m offering you the chance to become part of a benign new order in the world.
Lara: You are kidding! Right!
Karel: (He transforms into his original self before shape shifting again) We Nephilim have only ever been trying to survive.
Lara: Too many people have died for me to trust you. Including a good friend, Von Croy.
Karel: He was an unfortunate victim of history, Lara. Eckhardt was stupid to have killed him. I have helped you all along, both here and in Paris. You can trust me Lara Croft. (He reaches out his hand. Lara has a flash back.)
 
Von Croy: Help me Lara. I need you to get something for me.
Lara: Go on.
Von Croy: I’m tracking five Obscura paintings for a client called Eckhardt, but he’s a psychopath.
Lara: (Leans forward in her seat) Why should I care?
Von Croy: (Stands and leans above her) Because I’m being stalked. People are dying out there.
Lara: (Stands) Handle it Werner.
Von Croy: Lara, please. (He grabs a contact card from the cabinet and puts it into her hand) Look, go and see this woman, Carvier. She can help.
Lara: I’m going. (She shrugs off his hand as he grabs her and she pushes him into his seat) Egypt Werner, you walked away and left me. There was no pity then.
Von Croy: (He pushes her back as he sees Eckhardt approaching. He realises that he is about to die so he raises a gun) Get out! Get out of the way!
(Lara looks at him in surprise, thinking that he is aiming at her but a hand touches her shoulder and flings her against a far wall, knocking her unconscious. Werner is pushed against a wall with the gun bouncing under a table and then Eckhardt picks him up by his throat, holding him off the ground.)
Eckhardt: Von Croy, you’ve located the painting for me. Why have you not delivered it?
Von Croy: I... daren’t collect it, it’s too dangerous, but she’ll be able to.
Eckhardt: (He looks at Lara who is just starting to regain consciousness. He closes Werner’s eyes and then strangles him to death.) Your usefulness is finished. (He drops the body and mutilates it, painting the walls with Von Croy’s blood. Before he leaves, he transforms back in Karel and crumples up Von Croy’s glasses) You humans break so easily.
 
Lara: You killed Von Croy!
Karel: Stupid mortal! So be it.