A/N: There will be a note at the bottom to explain certain things.

Disclaimer: Inception belongs to Christopher Nolan.

Chapter 4: Truth

Robert Fischer was just settling in front of the television with a late-night snack when the doorbell rang.

"Remind me why I fired the butler," Robert muttered. He stalked to the door and checked the security monitor. His visitor seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps it was someone he used to work with; most suits looked the same to him. But this man was quite dressed down, sporting a leather jacket and blue jeans.

Robert pushed the intercom button. "Can I help you?"

The man looked straight at the camera. "My name is Charles. I was a friend of your father's. I'd like to speak with you."

After letting him in, Robert led Charles to the living room. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you."

Settling back into his armchair, Robert assessed the man seated before him. He was about his own age, late twenties to early thirties, and spoke with an English accent. Although he was slightly scruffy, Charles gave off a sophisticated air, cumulating into some rare warm professionalism. "Have we met?" Robert asked, furrowing his brow. "Were you...at the funeral?"

"Yes. And you might've seen me around the office before you left."

"I see. So why are you here?"

Charles took out his wallet and removed a photo from within its folds. He handed it to Robert. "This is yours, Robert. I found it on your desk at the office."

Robert took it gratefully, absentmindedly noting the first-name approach Charles was taking. "I could've sworn I packed everything up."

It was a snapshot of Robert's graduation. A happier, younger version of himself was flanked by the two most important people in his life: his father and his godfather. Uncle Peter was beaming. His father, on the other hand, was giving the same tight-lipped smile that he gave to reporters.

"Maurice was really proud of you, despite your disagreements over the last few years," Charles said, gesturing at the picture.

"No, he wasn't." Charles looked surprised. "Looking back, I think Dad was disappointed I didn't become a doctor like I'd always said I would," Robert explained, tracing the image of his father's serious face with a thumb. "But I have a chance to fix that now."

"Are you going back to school?"

Robert shrugged. "Hopefully. I haven't made up my mind about the field yet. Psychiatry, maybe."

Charles looked very interested. "Any particular reason?"

"It may sound silly to you, but I respect the mind's power over the body," Robert replied.

"That's perfectly understandable. You don't know how much I agree with you on that."

Robert gazed at his visitor. For some reason, he felt he could trust this man with his life, even only after knowing him for five minutes. Aside from his godfather, he didn't have many people he could talk to. Not many people understood that to grow up mindbogglingly rich, and in the shadow of the reason for his privilege, was an isolating process.

Which was why he added impulsively, in an almost conspiratorial tone, "I'm interested in dreams, mostly."

Charles leaned forward, tilting his head inquisitively. "Dreams? What kind?"

Robert hesitated, unsure of how much he should give away. "Lucid dreams. And, well...other ways to dream."

"Ah. Shared dreaming?"

To Robert's relief, there was not a single note of accusation in the other man's voice. "Yes. When I started school, my father secretly hired someone to teach me to protect my subconscious. Mind you, that was before dream-share was completely outlawed," he assured Charles. "Still, nobody else knew. My father was paranoid that my classmates would try to take advantage of me while living away from home. He paid for it out of his own pocket." Unfortunately, his father's paranoia had rubbed off in him, which resulted in his inability to form anything beyond casual acquaintanceships during university. Robert decided to keep that to himself. No reason to burden someone else with his past woes.

Charles raised a brow. "Tell me you haven't ever used extraction to get what you want, though." A sly grin formed on Charles's face. "Although, I won't tell anyone if you did."

Fischer snorted. "My father and I were both against it. That's not the right way to do business. It's not respectable."

Charles shrugged. "Well, I don't blame you for liking the whole dream scene. It was fun while it lasted."

"It was, wasn't it?" Robert murmured.

Charles was silent for a moment. When Robert was just about to offer him a drink again, Charles spoke. "Robert, there's something you need to know. It's about your Uncle Peter."

Robert grew tense as images of car wreckages and mangled limbs flashed through his mind. "Did something happen to him?"

"No, no, nothing like that. But you need to do something for the sake of Maurice's legacy."

Robert folded his arms, half relieved and half irritated. "I'm done with Fischer Morrow. Uncle Peter is taking care of everything now."

"That's the problem." Charles leaned forward. "Your Uncle Peter is not who you think he is."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There's a reason he never married." Charles took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's about time you knew. He and your mother had an affair. Peter is your father."

Robert stiffened; he could hear his own heart beat loud and fast in his ears, as though somebody was squeezing the life out of him. "I... what? Are you sure? How do you know this?" he demanded.

"I can't say, but you need to listen to me. This doesn't change the fact that Maurice Fischer was your real father. He raised you. He took good care of you," Charles said urgently. Robert was too stunned to protest this somewhat true, yet certainly exaggerated, assertion. "Peter knew that you were his biological child, but he didn't want to give up being your father's right-hand man. He didn't want to give up his throne at Fischer Morrow. And now he's sitting up there, all by himself, just like he's always wanted."

"No," Robert whispered.

"If you don't believe me, you can easily find out yourself." Charles gave him a meaningful look.

Robert clenched his hands. "You mean extraction?"

"If you want. You deserve to know the truth."

"No. I don't think I could do that to him." Robert shook his head, torn between anger and denial. What did this man have to gain from telling such an outrageous lie? Common sense told him that because something like this could be easily verified with a simple test, the likelihood that Charles was lying, or at least aware that it was a lie, was slim to none. He finally summoned the confidence to make his decision. "I'll have to confront him myself."

Charles nodded his understanding.

"But then what?" Robert asked, more to himself than anything. "If you're suggesting that I should fight to take back the company... my father... Maurice wouldn't have wanted me to. It would go against everything he expected of me. Besides, Uncle Peter doesn't deserve to lose everything he's worked for." Robert, overwhelmed with confusion, suddenly found it hard to swallow. He needed Charles to understand. "Uncle Peter was there when my father wasn't. That much is true."

Charles looked startled for a split second, but then he recovered. "You don't have to keep the company, Robert. Just an idea, but you could just take your share out of Peter's hands and point it in the right direction – whichever way Maurice would've wanted," Charles said gently.

Robert let his words sink in. "And what would that be?"

Charles stood up, signalling his leave. "Only you can know that, Robert."

A/N: The next chapter will feature Peter and Robert. Eames's POV will return shortly after. Although, the next update may take a while because I have three exams over the next seven days.

Regarding the alias Eames used with Robert, it was an allusion to his real-life namesake, as per Nolan's intentions. I also purposely allowed Robert to trust "Charles" so quickly and instinctively because his subconscious trusts him. Deep down and unknowingly, Fischer associates that name with Cobb's "Mr. Charles" and Eames' face to the person who once "saved" him with a defibrillator. In this interpretation, anyway.

Also, big points for those who may have caught the Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow references!