So this is an AU to another fic i wrote, when it doesn't fall. You don't have to read the other one to understand this one just this one is how my other fic could have gone differently. The OCs are going to be the same.
Summary: When the team wakes up on the plane after successfully completing inception Cobb and Saito are stuck in Limbo. Everything is not as it seems and Arthur, Ariadne, and Eames must figure out why. Also they have to figure out where Cobb and Saito's bodies have gone and why Yusuf just disappeared in thin air, literally.
This is completely un beta-ed so all mistakes are mine. Please don't hesitate to point out any that i have made
Disclaimer: I don't own Inception or any of it's wonderful characters
Round, round, round it goes. Never stopping, it never slows. Will it fall? Know one knows.
**Inception**
She blinks. It takes her a few seconds to realize where she is. She is in a plane on the way to the United States. The team just successfully completed inception. But there were complications. She looks at her team member's faces. There is nothing happy there, so she knows what she is going to see next. In the chair, He is still asleep. Cobb is stuck in Limbo.
Her heart sinks. It takes her a few seconds, minutes, hours, she doesn't know how long, to let this fully sink in. Cobb didn't make it. She has felt nothing worse than this in her life. The silence was heart breaking. It needed to end. This just couldn't be possible. This can't be real, but her totem told her it was.
"We have to clean everything up," Arthur's voice cracked. Ariadne could see the salty tears glistening in Arthur's eyes that he was battling to control, and losing.
No one responded. Ariadne wasn't sure yet that she could talk. Yusuf just looked away. He didn't have the same ties as the rest of them, he was just the chemist. Eames, well Eames being Eames, was drinking, a lot. The bottle of vodka that was full just minutes before is now almost empty. Fischer is still sedated and will be for the next hour. Two hours until they reach their destination, Los Angeles.
Ariadne found her voice, "He could still come back. He stayed in Limbo to find Saito. Maybe he is still looking for him, or they could be together and come back to us any second." She was bordering hysterical.
"Ariadne," soothed Arthur, in the softest voice in could manage considering the circumstances, "We have to prepare ourselves for the fact that they aren't going to come back. We don't know how fast time in moving down there for them. They could both be ninety right now. If they ever wake up, they wont even know what where they are, why they are here, how they are here, most likely even who they are.
"I don't think they are going to come back. Now we have to prepare to cover our tracks."
Ariadne chocked back a sob. How could this be happening? Cobb wasn't going to get lost. Why aren't they going to get Cobb back? Why the hell isn't Eames doing anything besides drinking? She couldn't take this anymore.
She got up and walked up to Eames, ripped the vodka bottle out of his hands, and slapped him across the cheek. "What the hell are you doing? We could be going back down there to save them and you are drinking? After everything that has happened, everything that we went through, you just give up?" she yelled, tears spilling down her cheeks.
He snatched the bottle out of her hands. "It doesn't work that way darling," Eames responded, slightly slurring his words, "You may have been his prize student but me and Artie old boy have been in this business for a while. That just isn't the way it works. When something goes wrong, you cover your tracks and move on. If we didn't, we wouldn't be alive." He leaned back and continued to sip from the bottle.
She whipped around to face Arthur, "He is right Ariadne." He told her, but not quite as rough as Eames, "Cobb and me have been friends for a while but once you are in this business, there is no getting out, it hardens you. I will make sure his body gets back to Miles. I will make sure you are safe though."
She slumped back into her chair and stared out the window. All of this had been for nothing. The danger that they put themselves through is all for nothing. Cobb is gone and Saito with him. He will never see his children again. Fischer will break up his company but for what? So he can be a man that he wasn't destined to be? This isn't right. This isn't how it is supposed to be.
She curled up into a ball and watched the sky fly by, the clouds change, and the sun rise. Time doesn't stop and it doesn't go backwards, no matter how much you wish it would. Now she would wait. Arthur and Eames will deal with Cobb, Fischer will wake up, and they will all continue on with their lives like none of this happened. How could she possibly go back to university and pretend like none of this happened, like the impossible can't be created. She will have Miles but he left dream sharing a long time ago and never joined the business of dream sharing. He won't understand.
You would think being you wouldn't be tired after dreaming for ten hours but it is the wrong type of sleep. Ariadne feels the most worn out she has in her life. No matter how much she doesn't want to, she falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.
**Inception**
She is woken from her deep sleep by the flight attendant. "We will be landing in Los Angeles in 25 minutes. Would you care for a hot towel?" She shakes her head, "Do you need immigration papers miss?"
Ariadne takes the papers wordlessly and places them next to her. She has no need for them. The team already worked all of this out before they left. She is set to stay in a posh hotel, that she would never be able to afford under normal circumstances. Arthur will be staying in the same hotel as her to make sure that she is safe but she isn't allowed to contact him. If she sees him, she will have to pretend that he is a complete stranger, that they have shared nothing. Her heart twangs at the memory of the kiss they shared in the second level of the dream.
She looked around her. Eames was also being woken up by the stewardess in the same way she had been. She stifled a cross between a laugh and a sob. He groggily looked around and groaned and covered his eyes as he looked into the sun.
She glanced over at Arthur. He was busily typing on his laptop. When he saw her looking at him he gave her an odd gaze then went back to his work. Strangers, right.
Yusuf was still looking out the window, casually drinking another glass of wine. That man could always get lost in thought. He is probably thinking up a new dream compound. Work never stops and neither will she.
The voice of the captain came on the speakers, "Please fasten your seatbelts and place your seats in the upright position. We will begin our decent into Los Angeles very shortly. Thank you for flying with us and on behalf of all of us we hope you had a wonderful trip."
She brought her chair back up and adjusted her seatbelt. She can only imagine how she must look, tired and bleary-eyed. Her hair must be a mess. She must be a sight. Certainly not how a first class passenger was expected to look.
She ignored the glare she was getting from the stewardess and pulled her brush from her bag to attempt to sooth the knots out of her brown silky hair. It was no use. She quickly tied it up and brushed her bangs behind her ear.
Cobb and Saito are gone from their seats. She assumed that anyone who didn't know who they were wouldn't even remember that they were there.
She entertains her self with the cars on the freeway. They were so small and it looked like none of them were moving. She laughed. Arthur gave her a look. She ignored it.
When they landed, the second the seatbelt light turned off she bolted. She was the first one off the plane. She practically ran to customs. Lucky for her there was no line yet. Once she got through she fidgeted impatiently, waiting for her bag. She was about to reach for it when a strong pair of male arms grabbed it for her.
"I do believe this is your miss?" a deep British accent asked her.
She turned around to face the forger, "Thank you," she responded, meaning much more than just for her bag.
She knew he knew what she meant with that smile on his face. He held out hi hand. "I don't believe we have met. Eames, nice to meet you."
She took his hand and shook it. "Ariadne, and like wise."
Ariadne was still angry with him but it had subsided greatly. She had realized that even though she must go on with her life like none of this happened and Cobb didn't make it, she will always carry the memories of these last few months with her, and maybe that could be enough.
When she pulled her hand back there was something that wasn't there before, a small slip of paper. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, letting the paper fall in.
He flashed her that familiar toothy grin, "Well I would hate to keep such a wonderful lady. How long are you going to be here?"
"Just for the weekend." She said easily, but of course he already knew that.
"Well maybe I will see you around." He winked, grabbed his bag, and sauntered in the other direction. She watched him go until he was out of sight. Despite hid words she knew that this was going to be the last time she saw him. She was allowed on last look, right?
Ariadne shook her head, shaking away all thoughts of Eames. She grabbed her bag and walk towards the exit. The piece of paper sitting like a rock in her pocket will just have to wait.
When she walked out she quickly got into a cab. It was about to leave when the other passenger door opened and a man in a suit slid in.
"Sorry I thought it was free." He told her, using the same line that Eames had used on Fischer in the dream.
"Not a problem. We can share. Where are you going?" she asked him, taking the lead in the conversation that was not supposed to be happening. What is Arthur up to?
"The Fairmont Miramar Hotel. If that is too far away I can always grab another cab." He flashed her his bright white teeth.
"That is funny," she didn't have to fake the smile on her face. This whole conversation was crazy. "That is where I am heading too."
"How funny, I couldn't have picked a better cab."
"We can split the fare?" She didn't need to split the fare. She now had more than enough money to take a cab across the country and back, multiple times.
"No need. I have it covered." She had no doubt about that. He probably had enough money to fund a small country.
That ended the conversation for the cab ride. While he was busy typing something on his computer she took the time to pull out the piece of paper that Eames slipped her. It turned out to be a full piece of paper. Wow he knew how to fold a piece of paper. Cobb was right; he really did have messy handwriting. She continued to read:
Ariadne,
I know you are probably reading this in a cab on the way to your hotel. If I am right again Arthur is in the cab with you. The inception may have been successful but there is someone else here. We are confident that it isn't the people who were after Arthur and Cobb but it is dangerous. If I assumer correctly Arthur will be keeping a close eye on you and you will be keeping in contact with him. I wasn't lying when I said I might see you around. There is something bad going on here and I will meet up with you guys later. Arthur might try to keep this from you to protect you but it is safer if you know. Make sure he takes care of you. Good luck. Call me if there is a problem.
Eames
P.S Burn this.
Bellow there was a phone number. She burned it into her mind before folding the paper back up and stuffing it back into her pocket. Arthur gave her a confused look but she ignored him. She would find out more when they get to the hotel. If Eames was slipping her notes than there was obviously something going on that she need to know about. She will make Arthur tell her later.
**Inception**
The trip to the hotel only took 20 minutes. The cabbie dropped them off on front of the hotel and Arthur paid. They awkwardly walked into the hotel in silence. Why did she suddenly have the urge to grab his free hand? The kiss in the dream meant nothing. It was only a distraction that didn't work. There was no way he felt anything for her. He probably had a girlfriend or even a wife waiting somewhere for him to come home.
He let her check in first, for obvious reasons. "What is the last name?" the woman behind the desk asked?
"Smith." They had all taken on new names for security reasons. She was Rose Smith. Where did Arthur get that name from? She doesn't look anything like a Rose. When she thinks Rose she thinks blonde.
The woman took a few seconds to type her name into the computer and get everything sorted. "You have one room reserved for one week?"
This was not the plan. She gave Arthur a look but he looked away, pretending to not be intently listening to the whole exchange.
"Yeah," she replied, slightly unsure of herself.
"Very good. It looks like you have already paid the fee in full?" Ariadne didn't know the answer. This must have been Arthur. The woman didn't notice her pause and continued on, "any other purchases made here at the hotel will just be charged."
"Okay."
The woman handed her an envelope. "Here is your room key. If you need anything don't hesitate to call down. I hope you enjoy your stay with us." Ariadne could tell by the plastic smile on her face that if she had a problem, she should deal with it herself.
She turned to Arthur and held out her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr.-"
"Jack. Just call me Jack." He took it and shook.
It seems the men of the inception team have a thing for hidden notes. When she pulled away there was yet another piece of paper in her hand. Like before she stuffed her hands in her pocket placing the piece of paper there.
She gave him one last smile before walking over to the elevators and pressing the up button. One of the elevator doors opened immediately. She spared one last glance at Arthur and saw that he was watching her. She quickly looked away and pressed her floor on the elevator. The doors closed a few seconds later.
On the ride up she fingered the piece of paper in her pocket. She wanted nothing more than to read it right this very second but she couldn't risk it.
When the doors finally opened on her floor she practically ran out. She found her room quickly and placed the key in the door. The light flashed green and she pushed the door open and slammed it closed behind her in the same second. She haphazardly dropped her bags around the room and flopped down onto the bed and ripped the letter out of her pocket. Arthur's handwriting was much better than Eames'.
Dear Ariadne,
You must know something is wrong by now because I broke the no contact rule. I have already informed Eames of this matter and will soon inform you too. I will meet you in your room in an hour. If this is not okay put the do not disturb sign on your door and I will understand.
Arthur
Destroy this.
She will have to figure out a way to burn both letters later.
She sees the do not disturb sign. She could get out of this right now. She can go on with her life and forget all of this happened. Forget the man who wanted so desperately to get back to his children. Forget that deep British accent that she has so quickly grown so accustomed to hearing everyday. Forget the tailored suits and stolen moments. Pretend that she has no idea what happened when the heir of a major energy corporation breaks up the whole company. Forget that she knew a man who would pay to destroy a whole company. Forget that the impossible cannot be created.
She throws the do not disturb sign into the bottom of the closet and closes the door.
Reviews would be very helpful :)