"What is this?" Tracy asked.

David Vega walked down the corridor toward Tori's room with five strangers trailing behind him.

"Mr. Vega?" Jade asked. "Who are these people?"

"These guys are gonna help Tori," he looked at Cobb. "I hope."

"You must be Jade," Cobb shook the Goth's hand. "I am Dominic Cobb; you can call me Dom."

"Arthur," the tall thin man introduced himself. "All you need to know is that Dom is the only one who knows how to get into Tori's dream and we're the ones insane enough to follow him."

"Ain't that the truth," the larger-framed man with slicked-back hair emerged. He took one look at Tracy and leaned back. "Beautiful," he breathed.

"Hold it right there, stud" Tracy shook her head. "Not every woman falls to pieces at the hint of an accent."

"Wow," the brick shithouse sighed. "That's never happened before."

"And that is why Eames is the ideal pretender," Ariadne grinned, patting Tracy on the shoulder. "Because there's not much depth in the real him to get in the way."

Eames pointed to the source of the insult. "Ariadne over there fancies herself the comedienne. She's just an architect, my dear; a one trick pony. I on the other hand can be anything you want me to be."

"Can you be silent?" Jade snapped.

Cobb laughed and even Arthur grinned. "Ooh," the blond mastermind nodded. "I like her."

Arthur brought a table to the middle of the room while David, Eames and another man with glasses helped grabbed every spare piece of furniture: two chairs, a couch and an empty hospital bed. On the table, Arthur put up a stainless steel briefcase and opened it to reveal a gizmo this side of Star Trek.

"What is all this?" Tracy asked.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Looks like a game console."

Ariadne giggled and found an outlet for the device. "I assure you…it isn't."

Arthur helped with Ariadne's hookup and then began to prep his own.

"I don't get it," Jade looked on bemused. "What's happening here?"

"Jade," David put his hands on her shoulder trying to calm her down. "These people are professionals. If anybody can get Tori back to us, they can."

Eames went over to initiate his connection to the machine.

"I'm going with you," Jade said firmly.

Cobb's team looked at one another.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Arthur responded. "We've had bad luck with tourists."

Jade folded her arms. "It wasn't a question."

"You better let her go, too" Tracy insisted. "And that goes for me."

Jade looked at Tracy. "No."

"I'm older and I can do what I want. I will look after my baby sister. Besides, nobody else here has faced this Krueger guy and lived more often than me."

"What do you think, Dom?" Ariadne asked him.

Cobb took a deep breath and pondered for a few seconds.

"Let's get you two haloed," he said throwing up his hands.

Jade pointed to the Indian man with glasses. "I didn't catch your name."

"This is Yusuf," Cobb gestured toward the darker-skinned fellow.

"And what do you do?" Jade asked.

"I am the chemist," he said proudly with a smile.

Jade tilted her head. "And what does that mean?"

Yusuf set down his bag and unzipped it only to unravel dozens of test tubes and fresh, disposable syringes. "When dealing with lucid dreaming, ladies; it is imperative that the unit be properly and effectively sedated."

"You're gonna put us all under?" Tracy folded her arms.

"Feeling tired? Didn't think so. See, my cocktail can trick the mind into sleeping even when the body's not tired."

"You can't just go to sleep?" Jade asked. "You know, beforehand?"

Cobb shook his head. "For the kick to work, your body needs to be completely alert. If things get really bad in the dream, we need to be able to wake you up quickly and completely."

Yusuf spritzed a little solution from a syringe, holding it intently. "So, heavy sleepers rejoice. Now, who's first?"

"Is…is it safe?" Jade asked nervously.

"Absolutely," Yusuf nodded.

"How are you sure?" Tracy asked suspiciously.

"Because I made it myself. I know this formula inside and out." Yusuf studied the worried faces of the two sisters. "Look it, the worst side effect I have come across was probably a bad case of cottonmouth."

Tracy nodded. "Designed it yourself, huh? Is it regulated, like FDA?"

"Would it put you mind at ease if I said it was?"

Jade and Tracy nodded.

"Then it is."

Cobb chuckled and took the two by their hands.

"Okay, into the hot seat."

Jade laid down as Cobb strapped her head with the "halo" which was a mishmash of wires and electrodes connecting her mind to the portable mainframe from which they will all collectively enter and launch themselves into the dreamer's mind.

"I don't know about this," Jade said to Cobb. "I'm scared."

"Frankly, Miss West" Cobb said. "I don't know what is waiting for us in there. All we can do is stay together."

Yusuf entered her view with the shot ready to go. "You okay?"

Jade looked between the two men and saw the love of her life laying helpless in that bed, not knowing if she was moments from death.

"Do it," Jade said, single tear falling from her blue-green eye.

Once Cobb finished doing a once around for Jade, Tracy, Arthur, Ariadne, and Eames; he sits down himself and Yusuf helped him with his own halo. He didn't bat an eye to the prick of the syringe; he's done this so many times before.

Yusuf stood in the center of the circle.

"Alright, kids" he said, taking out his watch. "People typically start feeling the effects at around ten seconds."

Tracy took Jade's hand.

"Ten…"

Jade squeezed it so hard.

"Nine…"

The most random thing popped in Jade's head.

"Eight…"

It was Poe; something she read a long time ago but never forgot it.

"Seven…"

Deep into that darkness peering

"Six…"

Long I stood there, wondering,

"Five…"

Fearing,

"Four…"

Doubting,

"Three…"

Dreaming dreams

"Two…"

No mortal ever dared to dream before.

"One…"