Abstract
Sorry about this shorter chapter (but in my defense, last chapter was pretty long, haha). A huge thank you to xXErza-chanXx for your super long review! It makes me so happy and encourages me so much. Don't worry about the length of the review or language barrier. Thank you also to imagineReds for your follow!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inception -insert sad face here-
Chapter 10 - When in Paris
Arthur watched Ariadne sleep, zeroing in on the pencil smudge right underneath her right eye, the one lock of hair that followed the rhythm of her breathing. There would be no stopping her from entering the dream now; he knew that Eames would need the help with an armed subconscious and three sleeping bodies. Cobb was quietly explaining the situation to him now, giving Arthur a moment to gather his thoughts. The entire game plan would have to be changed, altered around someone who knew their way in and out of a dreamscape. Ariadne will have to enhance the maze, Eames will need to actually forge, and he would have to make sure she was in tip-top shape if she was to run the defensive for them.
The Point Man took a deep breath. She would be in the first layer, running from projections and keeping them safe…while he was doing his job in the second. The only relief he felt came from the fact that if she died, she would at least wake up in reality.
Amelia looked up from her notes to Arthur. "Are you all right?"
He frowned. "Bennet's subconscious is armed. You'll be up top, so you'll be fine; we have to re-iron out the details though."
The woman nodded. "I'll have more sedatives prepared just in case someone dies so they can go back to the dream. But if it's the dreamer-" she looked at Eames. "It won't stop the dream from collapsing even if he goes back under."
"Thank you." He stayed quiet for a moment, listening to Ariadne's even breaths. "I'm sorry, Amelia. For your family."
Her eyes softened, looking at him.
"I lined the job up with Becket and followed talk on the grapevine to Grane. And I'm sorry about your children. We'll do what it takes to get them back safely. I promise."
She peered closer at Arthur's face. Dark shades colored his tired brown eyes.
"Have you been resting, Arthur?" Amelia asked gently.
The surprised look on his face answered her question.
"I have something that can give you a few hours' rest, but I can understand that you would prefer to be alert and at the ready. Thank you for what you're doing for me and my kids, all of you."
The Chemist scribbled something down before continuing to speak. "Michael and I knew what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to settle down with a family, being involved in dreamshare and all. That isn't to say that it isn't worth it though. Having a family of your own with the person you love is a blessing, one that's even more fantastic than dreaming. No," Amelia said, answering Arthur's unspoken question. "We stopped dreaming naturally a long time ago. But to have that one person who can anchor you, who can empathize with you…it's worth it."
It was as though she knew what his exact thoughts were. How can it be worth it if she's dead? Arthur wanted to ask. His own words came floating back to him, from so long ago.
It was worth a shot.
Ariadne breathed in deeply, her eyes opening.
"How was it?" Amelia asked, motioning for the Architect to stay still.
"Very vivid. It was nice," she answered, stretching.
"I'm going to put you under one more time, but then I'm going to give you a kick, okay?"
The Architect nodded, motioning for her to press the plunger. The soft hiss gave way to sleep as somnacin started flowing into her bloodstream, and Arthur thought about a life where he would never hear that sound again. He cared for Ariadne, yes. She meant so much to him, and he would do whatever it took to protect her. But could he live a normal, apple pie life after all that he's done? All the illegal extractions, hell, inception, and now abstraction…all the people he has killed, all the corporations out for his head. Would he just drag her down with him? He thought about the way the somnacin flowed through him, the cool chemicals mixing with his blood as he slipped into a world where he was master of the universe, where he could play God. Over and over, he had to repeat to himself- we are not Mal and Cobb. But now, there was another example of where this life could lead. We could be Amelia and Grane. Both stories ended in tragedy. One chose to take her own life, and one died…
Because you didn't do your job properly.
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. There was always going to be the danger of them getting caught. Lord knows how many times he had been, tortured for information. He could thrive in this life; the danger, the somnacin, his job, his incredibly high pain tolerance. But Ariadne? He would be damned if she had to see half the things he did.
"It's difficult to balance the way you feel and being in dreamshare, Arthur," Amelia said. "But if anyone can do it, it's you. You're the best Point Man there is. Your job is in the details, as mine is with those." She waved her hand toward the desk covered with pipets, trays, and solutions inside glass bottles, beakers, and flasks. "You know which lines can be crossed, and which must not be. Ariadne is a brilliant and bright young woman. She can take your lines and bend them, if need be."
There was some solace in her words, but the ever-efficient Point had to stash it away until this job was finished and everyone was out of danger. He cleared his throat as Eames walked up to them, and after a slight tilt of Amelia's head, the Brit quickly pulled Ariadne's chair back. It was just enough to give her a kick, a falling sensation, but he didn't drop it all the way. The brunette flailed as she woke up, turning in her chair to glare at him when he chuckled.
"Not sorry, love."
Wordlessly, Arthur began to detach Ariadne from the PASIV.
"Your turn, Mr. Eames." Amelia gestured at the Architect's now-vacated spot.
"We need to talk," Arthur said quietly, nodding at Ariadne's workspace. The makeshift walls she pinned her work onto would offer a little more privacy.
"What's wrong?" She asked when they reached her desk. The Point took a deep breath.
"Ariadne, you were right. We need you in the dream."
His jaw tightened, right hand rummaging in his pocket. She stepped closer, trying to be a firm and reassuring presence.
"What happened?"
There was a beat of silence before Arthur answered her. "Remember when I told you on that last job that it would be an easy extraction because Ellis didn't have an armed subconscious and Bennet didn't know what he was doing because he knew so little about dreamshare?"
Her last class of the day had been less than eventful; Professor Miles' stand-in was definitely not on her list of top ten professors. As she was gathering her stuff and putting her books into her bag, one of her classmates- Evan? She was sure she'd seen him around a few times, though they've spoken maybe once- walked up to her.
"Hey, Ariadne!"
A smile. "What's up?"
The two walked out of the classroom and to the front courtyard of the school, talking about class. Evan's face was animated as he asked her a question the professor had addressed, and Ariadne was more than willing to explain the answer. Just as they stepped outside, he turned to face her.
"Listen, Ariadne, a few of us are going to grab some drinks at that new bar around the corner, and I was wondering if you could…well, if you'd like to go…"
Ariadne, who had previously been paying attention to him, completely lost track of what he was saying as she looked toward the front gate to see a tall man in a three-piece suit with slicked-back hair leaning against it. He looked directly at her, and her pulse sped up in excitement and anticipation.
"Ariadne?" Evan's voice sounded next to her ear.
"I-I'm sorry, I…can't this weekend," she said quickly, distracted. From where she was, she could see the man smirk, as if he knew exactly what they were talking about practically thirty feet away. The infuriating bastard. "Excuse me."
It took a lot of self-control for the Parisian to not run up to him. "Arthur. What are you doing here?"
The Point Man's smirk turned up ten thousand megawatts. "I was in town," he said almost casually. "Looking for an architect for a new job I'm working."
Her eyebrows shot up. "A new job?" She could feel the excitement and adrenaline start to pump through her, and she bit her lip to keep from grinning too widely. Frustratingly, she could tell from the amused glint in his eyes that there was no hiding her euphoria.
"Shut up," Ariadne muttered, looking at the cobblestone floor before looking back up at him.
"Shall we go for coffee? I know a great café nearby,"
She decided that one day, he was going to be the death of her.
A cup of French Vanilla latte and a lot of hushed conversation later, Arthur leaned back in his chair, fingers knitted together.
"An employer AND a mark who has barely any idea what dreamshare is after we did an inception? Should be fun," Ariadne laughed, draining the last dredges of her cup. The Point smiled and stood up, straightening his jacket. Suddenly, his dark eyes sharpened and whipped towards the window. When she called his name though, he just shook his head, smile returning.
"It's good to see you, Ariadne."
The Architect nodded. It took Arthur a moment to continue talking.
"There was no stopping you from going with us in the first place," he started. "And now, I wish there was another way, but we need you down there because…Bennet lied to us last job. His subconscious is armed, and Eames is going to need help in the first layer."
He gave her a moment as she chewed over the information, and then turned to look at the layout of the first maze she designed, biting her lip. Arthur could practically see the gears turning in her head.
"I'll have to change some of this stuff," Ariadne said quickly. She swiped a sharpie from her desk and began marking on the paper.
"It's not just that." The Point Man sighed, leaning against her desk. He was on the verge of running a hand through his hair out of frustration. "I'm going to have to train you some more and make sure you're in as good of a shape as you can be before Thursday comes. If anything goes wrong and you die, Amelia said she's bringing more sedatives so you can go back under, but that's time Eames is losing when you're not there. If he dies, the dream collapses, and that gives us a limited time in the second layer."
Ariadne blew out a breath. "I think I can get these changes done in a couple of hours and run them through with Cobb. Can we start training after that?"
If he ever had to put her through this again, Arthur would hang himself. An hour in dream time later, Ariadne had a broken left arm, a split lip, and they were both running from projections that were thundering somewhere behind them. Her gun, a Beretta 92FS, was clutched tightly in her right hand. In reality, she would have run out of bullets a while ago.
His eyes spotted a catch in the wall and he tugged her into the hidden side room in, hoping to give them a few minutes.
"I hate your subconscious," Ariadne said as she panted.
"You're doing great," he replied. Earlier, he had her shoot at paper targets, and then took her from a shooting basement to the heart of the city, shooting a gun right on the street to aggravate his projections. They leapt at them, intent on ripping them apart.
"How much more time do we have here?" She asked while inspecting the broken arm. She winced; he knew she would have a phantom pain for a while after they woke up.
"About three minutes."
"Thank God. Can we just stay here for three minutes?"
The sound of the projections' footfalls seemed a little farther away, and Arthur hesitantly nodded. He looked at her arm.
"Are you okay?"
The Architect sighed. "I think I should do this again sometime later just to solidify everything I learned, but I think it's fine." Carefully, she flicked her safety on and put the gun on the floor.
"Ariadne, I don't know if we have enough time to do another practice. Eames may be able to squeeze something in if I can't."
A breathless laugh.
"I'm not going into Eames' head if we're not on a job."
Arthur couldn't help the small grin. "Yeah, I wouldn't either."
It was worth a shot.
"On the job…" Ariadne turned to face him when he started speaking again. "Run. Hide. Use your maze, and remember what you learned."
She nodded, big doe eyes taking in everything he was saying.
"And…I'm sorry. About everything that's happened. I thought it was best for you that we stay apart because of dreamshare…we both want to stay in this world, and I couldn't let us be like Cobb and Mal. Or now, Amelia and her husband."
One minute left in the dream. He had to hurry.
"We can't afford to be relaxed this close to a job this dangerous, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry about all of that. Maybe there's some way it could work, after this. It's…" he swallowed. Feelings weren't really his thing. "Amelia said something to me, and it made me think."
At this, she laughed. "She said something to me too."
The dream started to shake.
"Ariadne, when the job starts, I won't be able to protect you for very long. I know," he cut her off. "You can take care of yourself. But when this is over…when this job is over, I promise it won't be like last time. We'll figure something out."
He left a fleeting kiss on her cheek as the dream shattered.