Hello- Inception is not mine. Post-movie, rating might change. A little A/A so far that you can ignore if you really want to.

"Cobb. Listen... I know you've just got the children back with you, and I will understand if you choose not to accept this job..." Miles' voices comes through the line crackly and rough.

"Job? Miles, you know I'm out. Is this extraction? Inception? Either way, you know I can't risk it again. I've just got my family back, my kids. I won't lose them."

"I know. Understandable that you're wary. But they're not coming into the dream with you. Chances are you won't even see them." Pause. Dom can imagine Professor Miles' expression as he works to persuade him. "The point is, they're not at risk. You can't harm them. And, well, this is something else. Something different. I hate to drag you away from the children but I need you specifically. You're the best I know, Dom; I wouldn't ask anyone else and I wouldn't ask you otherwise."

"Something different? You've been working on something else?"

Miles sounds pleased. "Yes, just a little something new. And since inception went so well...anyway, you know about extraction, yes? The taking of knowledge. But it's not really taking, is it, if the owner still possesses it. They have just shared it- albeit unwillingly. But I've been thinking about ultimate extraction, the actual theft of a piece of information. You take something out of someone's mind and they no longer own it. I wouldn't have considered it possible before, but when I heard about your team's success with the Fischer job... I was hopeful. I've been experimenting, and I think it just might work."

"Hang on." Cobb hesitates. "You want me to test something dangerous, untested and potentially fatal? Because it just might work?"

"I've already stated I understand if you want to leave it. I know you have alot at stake, but really, you know the children are safe! And it's hardly fatal, as you put it. If you're planning on retiring... one last job. Go out with a bang." Miles spins. "You can think about it. In the meantime, try and choose your team quickly."

And he's hung up. Dom's apprehensive at the idea of a new job. Wasn't inception big enough a bang to go out on? But even as he persuades himself otherwise, this new idea intriguing and more than a little thrilling. He finds himself calling Arthur.

Dreams aren't something you can easily walk away from.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

Arthur stands on a balcony somewhere in New York with Ariadne. They're sharing a hotel room seeing as, much as he's tried to persuade her otherwise, Ariadne's not continuing her course. She's seen bigger things, created bigger things than this world will ever know, and she can no longer admire the works of real-life architects. This is a source of some dismay to Arthur, who is trying atleast to give her good advice, but she never listens. She's too stubborn, and her mind is too potent, to be suppressed. He glances over at her dark eyes, glinting from the city lights, and flyaway auburn tresses of hair. She smiles at him, but then the moment snaps like thin ice as the phone rings. Arthur, his face a mask of composure, ducks his head through the doorway and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Arthur." Cobb addresses him quickly. "Miles called me."

Arthur's momentarily puzzled. "Why? What did he say?"

"He has a new job."

"I don't understand; are you in?" Arthur's almost tentative, unwilling to hope Cobb will be joining them.

He sighs. "Yes. You?" He's brisk and businesslike as usual, and there have been less respites from this manner since his latest episode in limbo with Mal.

"I guess. What is it?"

"Something like ultimate extraction- the complete theft of information, or an idea, all without the dreamer realising they ever knew it."

Arthur hesitates. "And this is safe? Miles has tested it?"

"We hope so. Atleast, he seems to think we can do it."

"I'm in if you are." Arthur says. Of course, it's dangerous. it always is. Arthur's used to that. "And Ariadne? Do we need an architect?"

There's a split second's pause before Cobb says, "Yes, of course. Ask her, if she's there."

Arthur wants to explain but before he can realise that the truth is exactly what Dom's assumed, he's passing the phone to Ariadne. "Ask her."

He watches for minutes the one-ended conversation, following her expression through what he identifies as surprise, excitement, unease, and nervousness. Eventually she agrees, flicking her eyes over to Arthur as she chews her lip. She passes the phone back, crossing over to him and giving him a hug.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

A crowded bar in the Middle East. Miles is sitting at a table with Eames and Cobb. Eames looks strangely at home, but he's rolling a red poker chip between two fingers.

"Your totem, Eames?" Miles questions. Eames grins broadly.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I got it from Vegas, rather predictably. Actually, what's yours, Miles? I imagine this is an interesting one."

"Probably not, but it is foolproof. My reading glasses. They're on me at all times, you see, and an intruder in my subconcious can't actually alter my perception. If I were in a dream, they wouldn't affect my sight at all, of if they did it wouldn't be realistic."

"Clever." Eames remarks. Even Cobb smiles.

"Can we get down to business, then, now? How many layers would we need? Sedatives?"

"No, no, it's relatively easy on that front. You could do it in one, but two would be ideal, just for deception's sake."

"And how would this work? I'm assuming we capture the subject, the dreamer, and steal a piece of information. How do we make them forget it?"

"Actually, it's not as simple as all that. We're working with an idea here, and trying to convince them it never existed. It's less to take information without arousing suspicion than to eradicate a thought. In this situation, it's concerning Arthur. You know I'm close to him, and, until recently, his mother also. There was a misunderstanding, somewhere along the line, and she's now convinced her son's a killer."

Cobb vaguely recalls some of these details; Arthur's mother, a stately woman, who must have realised Arthur was never as honest as he used to be.

"We'll need to find her and tap into her subconcious. She'll bring what she thinks of as Arthur into the dream, and we remove that idea the only way we can."

"And how do we do that?" Cobb asks, frustrated. But Eames has already figured it out.

"We kill him."

Thanks for reading :) Reviews are always loved. Tell me if the idea is far fetched, anything is inaccurate, or if the story is just plain stupid. I'll be away on holiday for a week or so, so no updates until then, but chapter two is already in progress, and I'll probably have lots of setting inspiration etc by the time I'm back :) I have lots of plot bunnies jumping around in my head..

Love :)