A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait on this. I just started school again, and have had zero time! :-/ Also, it's difficult to type because I stapled my finger today. Owww :( Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! I love that you tell me what you think… I'm always open for opinions/ suggestions. Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Inception isn't mine. Sometimes I dream that it is, but then I wake up… or do I?

Seeing the blood brought a surge of panic to the usually calm Arthur. There wasn't a lot of it, but there was enough to make it clear that something was wrong. His Architect wasn't here… and not by choice. Well, at least she wasn't ignoring him. Arthur guiltily forced the thought out of his head. This is NOT the time. Arthur pulled out his phone and speed dialed the first person that popped into his head. They answered on the first ring.

"Cobb? It's Arthur. I need your help."

….

Ariadne was standing in her living room. It was clean, cleaner than she left it. She was unsure as to how she got here. When she woke up, she was on her couch. Why did they bring her back? Ariadne walked over to her entry table. Her picture frames- unbroken. The confused architect fumbled for her totem and set it on the table. It tipped when she flicked it down, but bounced back up as if attached to some sort of invisible string.

She was dreaming. The thought made her uneasy. She had to get out; she had to wake up. What difference would it make? She's locked up in a basement. Even is she was free from the dream, she was still their prisoner.

Ariadne left her apartment, walking outside into the sunlight. She knew that she had to wake up, but she just wasn't ready yet. This is the first time she's been outside in days, and she wanted to enjoy it. Besides, she had to come up with a plan, and she always thought better when she was moving.

There was one thing that Ariadne was sure of- they could not get her secrets. Cobol learning to perform and inception would cause chaos in the corporate world; it would become a monopoly. Cobol would own everything. The fact that Ariadne was never really suspicious of Cobol frustrated her. She let them into her life with open arms. How humiliating. One benefit of not knowing a huge amount about dreaming was that even if Cobol found what she knew about inception, it wouldn't be enough. She was no expert, and there was no way that the inception would be successful. Even so, she knew she could not allow them to hack into her mind.

There was something odd about her dream- there were no projections. They had to be somewhere. Ariadne suddenly got the overwhelming feeling that she had to find them. If she were going to find a large crowd, the first place to go was the university. With that thought, Ariadne turned on her heels and headed to her school.

….

"Ariadne's what?" Arthur winced at Cobb's tone.

"She's missing. Cobb- I don't want to take you from your kids so soon after your homecoming, but I need your help. I need to find-" Cobb cut him off abruptly.

"Call Eames and Yusuf. Call Saito. Anyone you can think of. I'm on my way- meet me at the warehouse at seven, tomorrow night. We'll find her, Arthur, I promise." Arthur hung up the phone, quickly making a few more calls. Everyone, with the exception of Saito, was meeting at the agreed time. Saito was willing to help once a plan was in place, but was unable to personally be there.

Arthur had some planning to do before the others got there. The first, and most pressing question was: Who took her? Arthur knew that he had to return to Ariadne's apartment. He had to look for any clue he could find.

When he arrived at Ariadne's apartment, he stepped in cautiously. He didn't want to be there- the empty apartment was physical representation of his Architect's absence. Arthur walked over to the pile of papers that he saw when he was first here- the window into his past, the window into his secrets. Arthur wanted to feel angry that his privacy was invaded, but he couldn't muster up the energy that it required. He couldn't find himself angry at Ariadne- not while she was in danger.

….

When Ariadne arrived at the university, it was bustling with people. Projections. Ariadne was thankful to see them. They weren't going to harm her; they were a part of her. The Architect knew that she was going to have to find Cobol at some point. Liam, if she had to take a guess at who was in this dream. If anyone was going to try to extract from her, it was Liam.

Ariadne headed to her Architecture classroom. If she had a guess as to where he was, that would be it. When she walked into the room, she saw that she was correct. Liam was sitting at Professor Miles' desk, reclined with his feet resting on the surface. His eyes were closed, but she saw a smirk grow on his face as she approached.

"Ah, Ariadne, darling. I wondered when you'd find me. Have a seat, my love."

"What do you want from me, Liam? Why are you in my head?" Liam reached up, softly stroking Ariadne's cheek with the back of his hand. Ariadne shuddered, and took a step back.

"You know why I'm here. Tell me how you performed the inception." Ariadne glared at Liam.

"I only know the basics, not the nuances. I certainly don't know enough to make it successful."

"Then tell me the basics." Ariadne scoffed.

"I honestly can't think of a better way to say this… so I'm just going to have to say it simply: Fuck no." Liam's eye's narrowed before he sighed.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to find out whether you are willing or not."

"Well, do it the hard way. I'm not telling you a thing." With that, Ariadne stood and walked away. She had been careful to not look anywhere except Liam's face during the conversation. Ariadne knew that he had been watching her eyes closely, hoping that she would give away the location of her secret. He was going to have to work a hell of a lot harder than that.

The only way, Ariadne thought, was to find the safe before Liam. If she got rid of the secret, there would be nothing to find. First, though, she was going to have to find some protection. This was not going to be easy- firearms were not usually her forte. The only place that Ariadne could think to go was the warehouse. Would it even be in the dream?

Ariadne walked in the direction of where the warehouse should be. To her relief, it was there. A sudden thought drained her relief and froze her feet to the ground. Cobol knew where the warehouse was. What else did they know? Who else was in danger?

….

Picking up the papers, Arthur sifted through them slowly. Finally, he saw a paper of some use.

Subject: Samuel Robinson

Arthur couldn't help but be startled by his brother's name. He hadn't seen his brother in over five years. Sam didn't exactly agree with Arthur working on the wrong side of the law. Arthur read through the paper slowly, absorbing as many details as he possibly could. Finally, he reached the bottom of the page. What he read made his blood run cold- Cobol Industries. The papers, and his hope, fluttered to the ground.

A/N: Review, my loves!