Waiting It Out - An Inception fic...
This is a birthday present for my dear friend The Pink Archer, who is absolutely wonderful and exceptionally talented. Happy Birthday lovely! I hope you have a fantastic day and may this year be very kind to you :)
Songs to listen to whilst reading (songs to be started at the *)
Come Away to the Water watch?v=zeDWEey6erI
Trip Aces watch?v=HaLdoTSBo_I
In Noctem watch?v=e1KUtW761ZA
Stairwell Fight watch?v=gNHEwTLapV4
O Children watch?v=SMv2vm6D-9w
Arthur and Ariadne are stuck in the first level of the dream as they wait for the Somnacin to wear off. It's a week of nightmares, late night discussions and accidental intrusions on private moments.
Day One
*1
"No, he'll be alright."
Ariadne shot a reassuring look at the point man before continuing to stare out over the water. Rain trickled coldly down all of their backs' and created a fine mist that hung over the bay. Her mind lingered over her final words to Cobb, and she couldn't help but send up a quiet prayer that he would be able to keep his promise. She felt more than heard Arthur rise next to her and she looked up at his face when he extended a hand to help her up. Their swim up to the surface from the van and the subsequent rain had destroyed his perfectly styled hair and strands now hung over his face, sending raindrops rolling down his cheeks.
"We need to get out of here." He said. Ariadne nodded and grasped his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Yusuf clambered upright behind them, and ran a hand through his hair.
"Where do we go?" The chemist asked. Arthur and Ariadne exchanged a glance before she answered.
"Do you remember those extra buildings scattered around the outskirts of the city Arthur had me add a couple of days ago? The hotel, apartment block and those houses?" Yusuf nodded. "We split up and head for those."
"We'll drop you off first." Arthur told the other man. "As the dreamer, it's safer for us if you don't know where we are."
"The less I know, the less the projections know right?" Yusuf asked. Arthur replied with a wry grin.
"Wait, what about Eames and Fischer?" Ariadne asked as she tied her wet hair up out of her face. She squinted out over the water where she could just make out two figures walking slowly away from them across a rocky beach.
"Fischer is the safest of us all." Arthur said as he pulled a gun from the waistband of his trousers and checked the clip. "He's the subject, so the projections' main aim is to keep him safe. And as long as Eames can keep up the forge, he will be fine too."
"And if he can't…" Ariadne prompted.
"He knows what to do." Arthur replied with a pointed look.
The trio began to scramble over the rocks and head towards the city. They walked for half an hour before Ariadne called them to a stop.
"We're two blocks away from the nearest safe-house. This is the one we designed for you." She told Yusuf. The chemist nodded and pulled the collar of his coat tighter around his neck against the rain.
"Fischer's subconscious will still be on edge; stay low and don't make any unnecessary changes." Arthur warned. "Hopefully after a few days, as Fischer settles, the projections should too, but don't give them any excuse to start looking for the dreamer."
"I hate coming into the field." Yusuf grumbled. "I head for the subway tunnels if things go wrong, right?" He asked Ariadne.
"Yes, they connect all the safe houses." She replied. "You'll be fine."
"As long as I didn't forget to dream in the weapons caches in all the houses, we all will be."
"Just don't die, Yusuf." Arthur said, teasingly, but with enough seriousness in his voice to make it a valid warning. "I'm quite happy with keeping my track record Limbo-free."
"Ha-bloody-ha." Yusuf replied, he began to turn away. "I'll see you at the end of the week. Look after her." He told Arthur, gesturing at Ariadne. At Arthur's curt nod, she was about to tell them that she could take care of herself, but Yusuf had already begun to walk away and Arthur was turning in the opposite direction, waiting for her to follow, so she let it go… for now.
They continued to walk around the city for another 40 minutes, giving the business district a wide berth – as much as possible in a maze. The rain was keeping most of the projections indoors, but they still kept to the quiet streets. Ariadne tried to exude the same calm, confident air that Arthur did, but she was still reeling from the events of the third level.
"You've done a brilliant job, by the way." Arthur said, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two. His hand made a sweeping gesture to the world around them.
"Thank you." She replied. She was a little unsure in Arthur's company now. She had been fine when Yusuf was with them, but this was the first time they had been alone since the hotel. "When do we split up, by the way?"
"We don't split up." Arthur replied, his eyes abandoning his sweep of the streets to look at her just in time to catch her quizzical gaze. "We're going to stick together."
"You trying to protect me, Point Man?" Ariadne teased.
"Maybe." Was his simple reply as he went back to scoping their surrounds. "Come on, we've been on the streets long enough."
Ariadne lowered her head to keep the water out of her eyes and let Arthur steer her towards another one of the safe houses, well apartment in this case. They kept their faces turned down as they crossed the lobby and Arthur led them over to the elevator. They rose to the seventh floor in silence, Ariadne happy to let Arthur take the lead again, considering he was the one with the gun. Or guns, she was never really sure with that man.
"Number 718, right?" He confirmed once they were safely in the corridor. She nodded and they walked over to the appropriate door. She stood outside whilst Arthur went in to check it out. She only entered when his voice called out to her that it was safe to do so. The rooms beyond were pretty nice, in her opinion. Might as well hide in style, if you can, seemed to be the theme Arthur was going for when he asked for these extra buildings to be included once they found out just how long the sedative was going to last. The apartment was bigger than the once she shared in Paris and was situated on the corner of the building, giving them large views of the surrounding streets. To the left of the door, was an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area, the walls made almost entirely of glass, except in the kitchen. To the right was an L-shaped corridor with an arch at each end that sectioned off the bedrooms and bathroom for added privacy. Against the corridor wall, next to a large desk, was a metal cabinet that Arthur was already crouched in front of – the promised weapons cache. Ariadne walked across the room to stare out the vast windows. The dark world outside made it easy to see her own reflection staring back at her. The rain drops on the glass looked like tears running down her cheeks. She stood there silently, looking but not seeing. She didn't turn around when Arthur's reflection appeared behind her in the glass.
*2
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. Ariadne sent him a weak smile and a nod in response.
"Are you sure?"
Ariadne sighed. "How can I be so tired if I am really asleep?"
A humourless grin stretched across Arthur's face. "It's completely normal." He said. "We can still feel in dreams; just like we feel pain and adrenaline, we will feel fatigue and everything else. It's all in our minds; without certain signs, our subconscious would have a hard time telling the difference between awake and dreaming. Right now, your subconscious believes that this is real, that you are awake and that you have been in danger, so it has been pumping adrenaline through your system as part of the fight or flight response. Now that it believes you are out of danger, the adrenaline has eased off and your mind is telling you that you should be exhausted. So you are. It's like those dreams you have up top, the ones where for those few seconds after waking, you are not sure what is the dream, and what is reality."
"That's why it's so easy to get lost in a dream, isn't it?" Ariadne asked. "That's why Mal came up with the totems… because your mind is so easily tricked into making your dreams a reality."
"Exactly. Right now, you and I know we are dreaming, we know that this isn't real. But without that knowledge, it would be pretty hard to tell, wouldn't it?" Ariadne nodded. "That's why we have the totems. And that's why you, in particular, need to be careful."
Ariadne turned around to face him. "Why me?"
"Because, you are the architect, and a damn good one." Arthur studied her. "I'm not going to lie, you have the potential to be the best architect in Dreamshare."
Ariadne wanted to blush at his words, but there was a sinister undertone to the compliment.
"But, with that talent there will always be a risk that one day you will create a maze too perfect, too elaborate, that it will become impossible, even for you, to recognise the lies." His eyes bore into hers. "Don't use dreaming to escape reality, Ariadne. It will kill you."
"I won't."
*3
The pair stood watching the rain for a few more minutes before Arthur spoke up. "Come on, I want to show you a couple of things."
Ariadne followed him through the apartment as he showed her the main fire escape and told her what to do if they ever got swarmed by projections. They were by the front door when he pulled another gun out of his waistband and pressed it into her hands.
"Now, this is important." He said, holding her eyes with his. "If I'm ever not here, and someone comes through that door who isn't one of the team, shoot them. Do you understand me? Shoot them and then run."
"But…" She tried to object, but he closed his hands around her biceps to silence her.
"I mean it, Ariadne. Run. And I promise that I will find you. Do you remember the lessons I gave you?" Ariadne nodded, suddenly feeling like her knees could give out at any second from the exhaustion pressing upon her mind. Arthur seemed to notice the way she was sagging in front of him, because he took the gun from her hands and led her towards her room. Once they were inside, he pointed to the chest of drawers in the corner.
"There should be dry clothes in there, if this was all done correctly." He said softly, smiling gently at her. "You should change and get some rest. "
"Thank you." She said.
"That door," Arthur said, pointing to the right hand corner of the room. "Connects our rooms. Keep it unlocked, and call me if you need anything."
He strode across the room to place the gun… her gun… on the bedside table, then turned to leave.
"So, I'll be able to sleep." She asked.
"In a way, yes." He replied. "Think of it as a dream within a dream." A teasing grin spread across his face, which she shyly returned.
"Goodnight, Ariadne." He said to her at the door, beginning to pull it closed behind him.
"Arthur!" She called, to stop him, suddenly nervous. He turned to look at her. "Will I dream?"
Arthur sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, you probably will. And I'm warning you, they're probably going to be weird."
"Do you dream?" She asked. Arthur's eyes hardened and stared off somewhere above her head.
"Not anymore." He finally answered. "Goodnight."
This time, the door shut completely.
Ariadne hunted through the draws and mercifully found some comfortable tracksuit pants and a singlet she could wear as pyjamas. She could hear Arthur moving around in the main room as she went into the bathroom to change. There was a small laundry hamper in one of the corners which she could put the wet clothes into, figuring she would launder them the next day if she got the chance. She stumbled back into her own room and fell into bed, too tired to think about pulling the curtains across the windows, only managing to set her totem on the bedside table before her eyes slid shut. She fell asleep instantly, and Arthur was right, the dreams were… disturbing…
*4
"Do you know what it's like to be a lover?"
She was running. Surrounded by toppling buildings. Her legs ached and her lungs burned, but she couldn't stop. She had to get out of the maze. She had to find the team. She had to get out of the maze.
A train hurtled through the space between two buildings in front of her, ploughing up the pavement. She turned right and kept running.
She had to get out of the maze.
"To be half of a whole?"
A gold thread gleamed in front of her, standing out from the dust and rubble. She took hold of it with her left hand. And ran. She fell once. Twice. Blood mixed with the dirt on her skin. She didn't let go of the thread. She had to get out of the maze.
At one point she looked down. There was a gun in her hand. Where did that come from?
"Dreams feel real while we're in them…"
She wasn't paying attention anymore. She was just running.
"She locked away a secret, deep inside herself, something she once knew to be true... but chose to forget."
People began to line the streets. They watched her with cold, hard eyes, their mouths twisted into cruel lines. They seemed to be speaking, but she didn't know what she was saying. That's when she noticed the silence. It pressed down upon her. She couldn't hear anything – not even her own footsteps, her ragged breath, or the pounding of her heart.
"They attack like white blood cells fighting an infection."
They continued to appear.
"What's happening?"
"Your subconscious is looking for the dreamer…"
She was back at the train. She turned around.
She had to get out of the maze.
"I'll tell you a riddle."
Mal was in front of her. Ariadne whirled to a halt. She was standing in the middle of a square. Gold thread criss-crossed away from her in every direction. Ariadne noticed the absence of her scarf.
"You're waiting for a train."
Projections closed in around her. She couldn't scream. She couldn't move. She looked at her feet.
They had disappeared into the tar.
Mal slinked towards her. The projections formed a circle. They smiled.
"A train that will take you far away."
"Why would you put a train crossing in the middle of a downtown intersection?"
Ariadne opened her mouth to scream, but no sound would come out. She wanted to cry, but no tears appeared.
"Quick, give me a kiss."
Arthur was there. He had appeared behind Mal. He smiled and she felt waves of relief. But the projections swarmed closer.
"An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you."
She reached out a hand, begged for him to help her. She could see the glint of silver in Mal's hand. She could feel her lungs tearing with the effort of screaming, but she was still voiceless.
"Paradox."
Arthur stood next to Mal. He cocked his head as he stared at her. His lips twisted into the same cruel smile Mal wore.
"Quick, give me a kiss."
She begged. She pleaded.
"I just want to understand."
Arthur held Mal's hand. Ariadne's heart broke. She called for him. She had to escape the maze.
"You know where you hope this train will take you. But you can't know for sure."
She remembered the gun.
"… you can't wake up from within a dream unless you die."
She had to escape the maze.
"Quick, give me a kiss."
She could feel the projections pressing in around her
"But it doesn't matter."
She focused her eyes on Arthur. She wanted to whisper to him. She wanted to tell him she was sorry.
"How can it not matter to you where that train will take you?"
Sorry that she hadn't saved him from Mal.
"Quick, give me a kiss."
She aimed the gun.
"… you can't wake up from within a dream unless you die."
She closed her eyes.
"Quick, give me a kiss."
"I'll tell you a riddle."
"Quick, give me a kiss."
"I'll tell you a riddle."
"Ariadne."
"How can it not matter to you…?"
"Ariadne!"
She found her voice. She screamed.
"Because you'll be together!"
She pulled the trigger.
*5
"ARIADNE!"
She was still surrounded and she was being shaken. Something was holding her down. Her legs were trapped. She tried to fight them off.
"Ariadne, wake up! You have to wake up now!"
Ariadne let her eyes fly open and was immediately confronted with Arthur's face directly in front of hers. His hands dug tightly into her arms as he held her so she was sitting up in bed. Her legs were tangled in her blankets and she was in the middle of her bed with Arthur kneeling half beside her, half over her. Her eyes continued to dart wildly around the room, searching for a shadow in the corners or a glint of silver looming out of the dark. The rain had developed into a raging storm while she slept and a flash of lightning illuminated the room. She jumped, her eyes leaping back to Arthur's as he tried to calm her.
"You're okay, you're okay. It was just a dream." She noticed a gun lying next to her on the bed, presumably one Arthur had brought with him when he rushed into her room. She couldn't look away from it. Arthur followed her gaze and stiffened. He turned her body slightly and pressed one hand against her cheek.
"Ariadne, I need you to look at me. Come on, look at me." She did as he bid. "Good girl. Now, listen to me, it was only a dream. I promise. No one is here to hurt you. Do you understand me?"
Ariadne nodded, feeling her heart beat slowly begin to calm. Arthur searched her eyes, before turning, very slowly, to pick up the gun and place it, along with hers, in the top draw of the nightstand. Turning back to her, he swept some hair off her clammy forehead.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." She managed to rasp out. "You weren't lying about the dreams."
"I know, I'm sorry." He replied. The hand on her arm began to rub soothing circles. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Ariadne shook her head and slumped forward so that her forehead was resting against his shoulder, closing her eyes again. Arthur tensed slightly before moving the hand from her arm to lay it across her shoulders and let the other hand stroke her hair softly. Ariadne felt the tears begin to burn her eyes and quickly shut them. Her shoulders shuddered to breathe past the lump in her throat.
"It's okay," Arthur whispered. "Let it out."
A few tears escaped and began to run down her cheeks as she tried to control her breathing. She desperately tried to hold them back as she realised they were falling onto the bare skin of Arthur's shoulder, left unprotected by his singlet.
"I shot her." She whispered into the hollow of his neck.
"Who?" He asked, just as quietly.
"Mal."
"In your dream?"
"No, I shot myself in my dream." She answered. "I shot Mal in limbo."
"What?" Arthur moved his hands back to her shoulders and pushed her back to get a better look at her face. "You were in limbo? Why were you in limbo."
"I had to…" Ariadne said, cautious of the anger leaking into his gaze. "I had to help Cobb."
Arthur let out an angry puff of air. "Of course. He just couldn't leave it alone, could he?"
"No, you don't understand." Ariadne had to explain it to him. He ran a hand through his hair and fixed his stare on her. "Mal killed Fischer before he could open the vault – we had to follow him down there to give him his own kick so we could finish the job."
"He didn't have to drag you down there with him."
"But it was my idea. And if I hadn't gone with him, he wouldn't have been able to do it." She licked her lips and went on. "We found Mal in their house, she had Fischer, but wouldn't give him up unless Cobb stayed with her. So he said he would. I tried to convince Dom not to stay, I begged, but he said he wasn't, he was going to stay to find Saito. And then, then Mal stabbed him, so I shot her. I found Fischer and pushed him off the balcony… it was about 70 stories. Cobb said to go… so I jumped." Ariadne trailed off, waiting for Arthur to say something. Every second of silence that passed ate at her. Finally, he sighed and some of the tension eased out of his shoulders.
"You're really something, you know that?" Ariadne gave him a small smile. "That doesn't mean that I'm not going to kill Dom, though, for letting you go down there."
"Let's just try and get through this week without any return visits, shall we?" Ariadne asked.
"Fuck," Arthur cursed, running a hand over his face. "No wonder you were screaming bloody murder. Limbo."
She hung her head, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine." He said, smiling. "I nearly killed Dom the first time I woke up from a botched job."
Ariadne smiled. "Do you think we did it? Do you think the Inception worked?"
"I have no idea, and I don't think we will know for a while." When another flash of lightning filled the room, Arthur stood up to close the curtains leaving the room bathed in the light from a lamp in his room, where Ariadne assumed he had been reading until her screaming started.
"Are you going to be okay now?" He asked, walking back over to her.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She smiled tiredly, untangling her legs from the sheet. "Thank you, you know, for waking me up."
"No problem." He began to walk back to his room, but paused at the interconnecting door. "Do you want me to leave this open?"
"Please." Ariadne said in a small voice.
"Alright. Goodnight, Ariadne." He smiled and walked over to his bed. He turned the lamp off and Ariadne heard the sheets rustle as he got comfortable. As she lay in the dark, a thought came to her.
"Arthur?"
"Yes?" His voice floated back to her.
"What exactly was I screaming about?" She asked.
He sighed, thinking. "There was a lot about riddles and trains, and…" She waited for him to finish. "And… you were calling my name."
Ariadne lay awake in the dark for a long time. They both did.