Disclaimer: None of this is mine, it belongs to Warner Bros and other creative outlets and people, I don't intend to profit from this in any way. I am just trying to curb my own writer's block.

One-shot, has nothing to do with "To Lose My Life." It does, however, take place after the events of "Something That Belongs to Me." You probably don't have to read that for it to make sense, but I'd recommend it!

If you are following "Till Kingdom Come" you'll see in the latest chapter that I asked if I should post this really dark story I've been writing, and it hit me that the easiest way to judge interest would be to post the first chapter and see how things went from there. So this is it. Let me know your thoughts.

Story title and chapter titles from Muse. Because they're brilliant.

This is very, very dark, so hang tight.

Map of the Problematique

She should've listened to Arthur.

The moment that call came from Eames that they had a job, Ariadne had caught the first flight out of Paris to meet the team (sans Cobb, of course) in Alexandria, Egypt. Their reactions to her arrival were mixed: Yusuf seemed pleased to see her, his after warm expression brightening; Eames had beamed and embraced her with some lewd comment when he spotted her waiting for them in the assigned café meeting spot. But Arthur was different. After his completely business formal greeting he grew more and more quiet and subdued, until Ariadne could stand it no more and pulled him aside after dinner, bringing him to the balcony of her hotel room so they could talk privately.

"Arthur... What's going on?"

He knew her well enough to know that any of his many possible excuses (It's strange doing a job without Cobb/ Eames is pissing me off/ I feel like I might miss details again) would ring untrue in her ears until he finally told her the truth. So he took a deep breath, his eyes locked on the black Mediterranean Sea ahead of them.

"Cobb thought you would always come back," he murmured softly. "He wanted you to. He told me that he was certain you'd want to continue to dream, even after the job was over." He looked at her then, his dark auburn eyes somber. "I wanted him to be wrong."

Ariadne's eyes widened. "You didn't want me to come back?"

"Dream work isn't all… this," Arthur said, gesturing at the magnificent view ahead of them. Night had fallen, and the lights of the city fell away to nothing but darkness that was the sea. It would be quite romantic, Ariadne mused, if the situation and conversation were different. "It isn't all glamour and money," Arthur continued. "There's real danger involved. You know what happened to Cobb and I. You know how many corporations and people and assassins want us dead, how much they'd pay for us dead."

"Arthur," Ariadne said impatiently, but Arthur cut her off.

"Sometimes they want to see suffering first," Arthur said sharply, his hands tightening against the rail of the balcony until his knuckles turned white. "I can't tell you how many times I've been on the receiving end of true anger, Ariadne. With real guns, real knives, real torture devices, and all because I either did my job wrong… Or I did it right."

Ariadne sighed. Before she knew what she was doing, she reached forward and covered one of Arthur's hands with one of hers. He looked down at their hands as she spoke.

"I know," Ariadne murmured. "I know, Arthur. I accept the consequences. Dreaming… I've already told you. It's pure creation. It's addicting."

"No, no," Arthur said harshly, shaking his head. "No, Ariadne. You don't understand." He tore his hand from hers, running it through his hair in agitation. "Torture. They torture. And…"

"And what?"

"You're… you," Arthur said, his voice suddenly quiet and gentle. "You could lose yourself. The things they could do to you…You might not be you, after."

She looked at him, really looked at him, seeing the storm of terror and uncertainty that was barely concealed under the surface of his smooth expression. And it hit her, at last: he was scared for her.

"Oh, Arthur," she whispered. Her words seemed to trigger something in his face.

And then his lips were on hers, his hands caressing her face and neck. He was unbelievably warm and gentle, and she only wanted him closer, as she took lapels of his suit in her hands to keep him as near to her as he could be.

They broke apart moments later, breathing into the other's face. His head was still lowered, his forehead pressed against hers.

"Please," he whispered. "Please, Ariadne. Walk away from this. Turn around and don't come back."

"Why the hell did you just kiss me, then?" She asked. "If you want me to leave, that was not a good way to entice me."

"Would you rather I push you away?" He asked, his eyes open at last to look into hers. "Tell you I hate you, that I never want to see you again?"

She smiled. "I think you'd be lying."

"Of course I would," he murmured. "But Ariadne… Please. Consider this… I won't always be able to protect you."

"I don't need you to," she said. "All I need you to do, Arthur, is always be there for me. Especially after."

His breath vanished in a sharp inhale. "Ariadne…"

"I know what I'm getting into," Ariadne said determinedly. "And I know there will come a time when I might regret it. But please know… This is my decision, Arthur."

She stood on her toes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed her back, running his fingers down her cheek.

"If you ever change your mind," he murmured. "And decide you want to leave, leave me and all of this… I will understand, and I will respect that decision."

"Do you respect my decision to stay?" She kissed his cheek, and he closed his eyes again.

"I will."

Fourteen Months Later

It was that memory that ran through her mind when her eyes flew open. That memory, of Arthur's dire warning of danger, coupled with the focused look on his face when he put a bullet in her skull and sent her out of the dream.

What's happening?

There hadn't been a reason for her to enter the actual dream for the job. But after designing what she considered to be her best work yet-two levels, one the scattered streets of Rio, the second the open jungles of the Amazon-she'd begged their current extractor, a sharp man named Marc Esperanza, to let her come along. And since the job was considered low-risk, he'd agreed.

Arthur had hesitantly agreed as well, but the worry never left his eyes completely.

She ran through the dream in her head, as she lay on the floor of the abandoned office building they were using to run the job. Nothing bad came to mind. She had loved wandering the exciting streets on her own, interacting with Eames' accurate projections of the Rio townspeople. And she had adored exploring the jungle, climbing trees and enjoying the wildlife until Arthur had appeared, like a mirage, in front of her.

"Arthur, why are you here?" She'd asked, puzzled.

He had run to her, his eyes wild with anxiety. And without a word, he'd lifted his gun and shot her through the head.

Ariadne blinked, sitting up and taking in her surroundings. Everything was still, the real Rio just outside the windows, the sun slanting in a sunset. Her team slept on around her, oblivious, save for their chemist, Alex, who was still reading his novel, unaware she'd awoken. Except… Wait…

Their mark, a cowardly but wealthy businessman called Henry Walles, was awake as well. He looked bewildered. They stared at each other.

"This is reality," he stated confidently. Alex looked up, confused at why his sedative had failed, woken up the mark.

Ariadne checked her totem; the chess piece fell. "Yes."

Walles swallowed stiffly, rubbing his eyes. When he looked up, Ariadne was alarmed by the fury in his face. "You'd better run, bitch."

A lot happened at once; Eames jumped to his feet and punched Walles, sending him sprawling backwards. Marc woke and began shouting to Eames, Walles and Alex, words like run, danger, he knew ringing in Ariadne's ears. And Walles broke from Eames, lunging towards Ariadne with hatred in his eyes.

And then Arthur shot straight up from where he'd been laying next to Ariadne. His arms dove around her waist as he practically picked her up and spun her around, away from Walles' reach. He jumped to his feet, his arms still around Ariadne's middle. She gasped at how tight and possessive his grip was.

Eames had tackled Walles. He looked up, fear in his eyes as he yelled at Arthur, "Take her and run!"

Arthur didn't need to hear another word. Ariadne felt like she was being dragged back as Arthur began to move, still holding her waist.

"Arthur, what's happening?"

"He knew," Arthur said in a deep and dark voice, a voice he never used for her. He let go of her waist, only to wrap his hand around her upper arm and pull her along behind him, running as fast as he could with her in his wake, the voices of their team and Walles fading behind him as Arthur closed and locked doors as they moved. "He knew why we were there, what was happening. We need to get out of here right now."

Ariadne's eyes widened. "Arthur, what about the others? Edward, Marc, Alex-"

"They can handle themselves," Arthur said sharply. They reached a stairwell and Arthur slammed the door shut, fumbling for the lock. Ariadne stood beside him limply, startled at the way his face had set, his skin white, his hands… trembling?

"What, and I can't?" Ariadne asked, honestly puzzled. Arthur himself had trained her, taught her how to attack and defend herself, kill with a gun and her own strength. He knew she was capable of fighting off an attack.

Arthur seized her arm again, pulling her down the stairs, and didn't answer.

"Arthur-" Ariadne started. Arthur abruptly stopped, turning and pushing her to the wall, his hands clamping on her shoulders.

"You weren't there," he snapped. "Ari, you didn't see what Walles' subconscious is like. You don't understand how much danger you're in."

"Danger I'm in-"

"He's a god damn misogynist," Arthur hissed. "A fucking psychopath towards women. I've never seen anything like him. It was awful. He's used his power to abuse and dominate women, in the very worst possible ways. And he's furious that we just tried to extract his secrets. Those two things together, combined with the fact he saw you and he knows you're with us… He's going to go after you first. I have to get you out of here."

Ariadne's heart thudded painfully in her ears. "Oh."

Arthur grabbed her hand and continued down the stairs. She followed him, moving faster than before, aware of why he was panicking, so intent on rushing her away. "We're going to take the car and drive as far as we possibly can," Arthur said in a hushed tone. "Marc and Eames are going to head off Walles' men and give us some time. They were there, they saw what he's capable of, and they more than agree that you need to run. And they know very well that I'm the one who's going to run with you."

Because you love me, Ariadne thought to herself. She could imagine how little time it must've taken for Marc and Eames to agree that Arthur needed to get Ariadne out.

They exited the stairwell, Arthur closing the door behind them. He took her hand again and they ran, Ariadne's scarf blowing behind her, Arthur not complaining that he'd left his suit jacket behind, the situation so intense. They were on the second floor, the final massive staircase ahead of them, and Ariadne thought they were going to make it when the side doors on the bottom floor ahead of them burst open in a shower of gun fire.

Arthur yanked her to the side, at the end of a long hall, a window at the other end. He pressed her against the wall, his back to her, covering her completely, as he pulled his gun out, checking it. Ariadne gripped the back of his vest in both hands, her heart hammering.

"Don't let go of me," Arthur whispered urgently. "But if I tell you to run and leave me, you are going to, so help me God." She nodded, pressing her face into his shoulder.

She could hear yelling and the sound of heavy boots clambering up the stairs. Arthur stood completely still, his head turned to the noise, his breathing slow and steady. She tried to match hers to it as her fear grew.

There was a single yell and then Arthur was shooting with his always perfect aim, and she could hear bodies falling. Arthur stepped out and she moved with him, her hand clamping his shirt but there were more coming and then he was yelling in her ear.

"Ari! Go!"

She didn't hesitate, but broke into a sprint, covering her head with her arms as she scampered down the stairs. She could hear gun fire behind her as Arthur continued to shoot at their assailants and she prayed in her head please protect him, don't let him get hurt-

"Oof!"

Her breath left her as something large and heavy tackled her, sending the two of them falling to the ground. Ariadne hit the granite floor hard, and she saw stars for a moment, before a man's face appeared above hers, frowning.

She was pulled to her feet, her hands jerked behind her back and tied with something. Ariadne thought she must've hit her head hard, as she had a pounding headache and her vision was still somewhat blurred as the man dragged her back up the stairs, his hands gripping her upper arms with malice, unlike how Arthur had.

But she came back to reality when she saw the scene at the top of the stairs.

Should I continue? Drop a line please