Title: My Savior
Author: Valeria Anne
Rating: T
Genre: Drama/Romance
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur
Summary: How hard is it trying to build new memories when the old ones are gone? Is it right to feel you need to protect someone you hardly know? Arthur meets Ariadne, who is trying to get to know the truth about herself, when she has no one else to trust but just one person… her savior.
I DO NOT own "Inception". I wish I did ;)
Note: Sorry about the summary. I am usually good with making summaries :$
Chapter 1: By the Beach
It's been over 6 months since the "Inception" job. Saito kept his word and Cobb has finally managed to go back to his kids. It was the moment he has been waiting for; he could no longer see Mal in his dreams, but he always saw her in their kids' faces, and it didn't bother him at all. In Philipa and James' faces, he could see the same old Mal that he fell in love with years ago, not that shade that haunted him in his dreams.
For the first four months, no one of the team could contact with any other member. Even Cobb and Arthur couldn't get in touch though after that job they both resided in the States, in Los Angeles, but it was a matter of safety after all. The international news was all about Robert Fischer Jr. and his "catastrophic" decisions of dissolving his deceased father's empire and building "something" for himself. Most people were against this decision, especially Browning, who made it clear in a public announcement that he would no longer support his Godson, while others approved, taking into consideration the young man's ambition and determination to start something from scratch. Everything was alright and the mission was successfully accomplished, and now it was time to think about what to do next.
Cobb has made it clear during the Inception job that it was his last job and once he got back to his kids, he would leave that field and get back to his old job; architecture. It's been a long time since he last built, even in the Inception job they had to find another architect who could build the dreams, and they did find one of the architects they worked with before. But now, Cobb just wanted to feel normal again; have a normal life and a normal job.
Although Arthur has never worked with any extractor other than Cobb, he couldn't decide whether he really wanted to quit, too, like Cobb did. He could always find another extractor to team up with, he was the best point man after all, but Arthur wasn't sure if there would be any other job in the future that would be better than the Inception job. Arthur felt that this last job was the top one, nothing else could get that close to perfection; the designs were terrific, the plan was simple, and yet brilliant, the sedation was effective enough to get them deeper in the mark's subconscious. Everything was going smoothly... except his part. Arthur slipped for the first time, why was that for? He kept asking himself that question over and over, but he got no answer.
Cobb never tried to convince Arthur to quit, but Arthur knew that Cobb wanted him to, and sometimes Arthur wanted that, too, he just couldn't decide yet, whether he was ready to give up this job or not. So, instead, he decided to take a long vacation, clear his mind from the stress, and then he could decide what to do.
Arthur had a very elegant apartment in New York that he always stayed at when he went back to America, but now he wanted to go back to that house; the one he inherited from his parents, the one he grew up in. "Maybe it's time to go back", he thought.
It was the best feeling he had in a while when he stepped in his home. All his memories came back in a few moments; memories of his mother teaching him how to read his first words, memories of his father helping him with his homework, and memories of that little girl that lived across the street and used to go to school with him. Now, it's been months since he came home and he still could get easily excited when seeing anything in the house that once belonged to his mother or his father. There, in that house, he could be his own self, he could the "Arthur" that no one ever knew.
"So, why don't you come for dinner tonight? Philipa keeps asking about her uncle Arthur and James wants to show you Fuji", Cobb was laughing while talking to Arthur on the phone.
"Fuji?" Arthur asked, puzzled.
"Yes, it's the worm he insisted on taking in home and putting it in a small glass box. It's kind of his new pet", Cobb said chuckling.
Arthur smiled; he knew James loved collecting anything weird he could find, including worms.
"So, will you come? I will cook myself", Cobb teased.
Arthur laughed and said, "Well, that would make a difference... Okay, I will come. I will bring the dessert".
"Deal. See you at eight", Cobb said.
"Alright, see you". Arthur ended the call and leaned back on the sofa. Since he came back home, he enjoyed staying indoors for hours, wandering in the big house and opening all the old photo albums and the closed boxes. It felt nice to dig in the past, and he was the best to do that. Although he really didn't want to go out that night, but he could definitely feel how much Cobb was happy, and he knew that his friend just wanted to share his happiness with the people close to him. He also missed the little kids, it's been three weeks since he last visited Cobb, maybe it was time to go see them...and Fuji.
It was a few minutes past seven, and Arthur was already dressed in one of his three-piece suits. He wanted to leave early so that he had some time to go to the pastry shop. Arthur left the house and took his BMW and drove to the pastry shop near his house. He bought chocolate mousse and some ice-cream for Philipa and James. He walked back to his car, put the boxes on the passenger seat and looked at his watch; it was quarter past seven, still a bit early. Cobb's house wasn't that far, it would take less than 10 minutes to reach it with his car. So, Arthur decided to walk for a while by the cornice and enjoy the view of the sea and the smell of fresh air mixed with the salty taste.
Arthur kept walking for a while thinking of nothing; just enjoying the scene and listening to the waves crushing by the shore. Suddenly, he saw something. He narrowed his eyes...no, it was someone. He blinked again to make sure he wasn't imagining. No, he wasn't. He could see a small figure coming out of the water, unable to stand. Arthur could only watch in shock as that figure kept trying to get on its feet but in vain, so instead it slowly crawled till it reached the shore and then it collapsed.
Arthur stood still for a few moments, unable to think, and then he suddenly moved like he was struck by lightning. He crossed the cornice and ran till he reached that figure. He leaned over it to check; it was a woman. Actually, it was a girl. He was about to shake her and try to wake her up but then he stopped; maybe she was injured or she had a broken leg or arm and then moving her would be dangerous. Instead, he got his cell phone out of his pocket and called 911.
Once the operator answered, he said quickly, "I need an ambulance now". He told the operator his name, his location and a summary of the situation; a young woman who may be injured and could be possibly dead. He didn't know if she was physically injured or not, but she just got out of the water, then something must be wrong.
Arthur finished the call, and looked back at the girl lying in front of him. He furrowed his brows; there were traces of blood clot at the corner of her lips. Although she was all wet, but he could definitely see that her lips were bleeding earlier, like she was hit. She was wearing jeans pants and a blue blouse and a light blue jacket, and she wore no shoes.
Arthur looked at her wet face for a while. He couldn't understand what just happened. Who was that girl and what happened to her?
"Who are you and where have you come from?", Arthur said in a low voice.
This is my first "Inception" story. Please, feel free to say what you think of it. Reviews are always appreciated.
I re-wrote the first chapter. I haven't changed much; just a few words here and a few words there.
I am sorry if the intro is a little long. I just can't control myself when I write about something I like ;)
