Author's notes: This chapter and the next are ready for uploading. As soon as you're ready to read it, of course. Love all your comments. I think the day I reach 50 reviews is going a huge one for me! LOL, no pressure. I'm breaking the pattern here by posting a chapter that's actually shorter than the previous one, BUT - the next chapter is huge so :P

I hardly think I'm Sid Vicious.

Arthur looked around him. The dreamscape was vibrant, full of high rises of different shapes and architectural styles. The horizon was nowhere in sight, just buildings separated by many intersecting roads, yet the sun managed to light everything up. Ariadne was becoming a proficient architect, rivalling Cobb himself, and Arthur smiled at that thought.

He saw Eames across the street, and waved him over. Their first plan was to attempt to extract from departments holding valuable information, and he could see a bank on the other side of the intersection. Cobb meanwhile, is holding on to the subject's attention while he and Eames commit the heist.

'This place is nice, isn't it? Cobb will be happy,' said Eames, after running across the busy road. He received a couple of looks from the Blackwell's subconscious, but they quickly lost interest.

'Yeah,' said a distracted Arthur, as he noticed Ariadne on one of the top floors of an apartment building. He nudged Eames and they both smiled back at her. 'Come on, I see a bank over there.'

When Arthur looked back, Ariadne had her back to him, and then she disappeared out of sight.

Eames and Arthur arrived at a non-descriptive building simply labelled as Trust & Co., where Arthur approached the front desk, asking to view a deposit box. The receptionist left her desk to inform a banker. 'Your box will arrive shortly,' she said when she came back.

Eames led Arthur to a bench for customers to view their contents. 'You didn't pull out the first six digits that came to your head, did you? We could check out the whole vault and not find anything important.'

'Here it is gentlemen, deposit box 02211987A,' said the banker, and he placed a tiny box on the bench. 'Return it when you're satisfied,' and the banker left.

'I'm guessing that number is significant to the Blackwells' somehow?'

'It's Ariadne's birthday.'

'Oh, really? Any other numbers of Ariadne you're aware of that I'm not? Dress size perhaps?'

'Eames, we're here to work,' cut in Arthur, who had just opened the box, and it distracted Eames completely.

'Is that a death certificate?'

Arthur held it up to the light. 'No, it's a police report of an accident that happened years ago -'

The landscape rumbled.

'Wow, she's good. The tremor feels real. Were you aware that she incorporated an earthquake into the scenario? To channel her frustration, no doubt. Her parents are going to cop it good,' snickered an amused Eames. 'Come on, what else is there?'

'We should go.'

Eames turned to look at what Arthur was staring at and realised that all the bank employees were staring at them curiously.

'Uh, yeah, we should.'

Arthur grabbed everything else in the box, which was just a silk scarf of navy in colour. The ground trembled again, and there was a distinct crumbling of buildings in the distance.

'God, she's mad, isn't she?'

'We have to find Cobb and get out of here.'

'Yeah, before we become collateral damage,' said Eames, as he felt the ground move again. 'What's the rush Arthur? Can't wait to get back to her?'

Arthur didn't say anything; he just shoved the report into Eames carefree hands. 'Read it. Paragraph 6.'

'"Closing statements: Due to the nature of the accident, it was deemed too risky to continue on with the search for the fourth passenger, the surrounding area a precarious cliff face. Witnesses claim that the four men left together, 20 minutes before the emergency rescue was called on to the scene. Of the three unidentified bodies recovered, it is believed that they belong to three of the four men; the fourth passenger is missing, presumed dead. All parents involved should be immediately notified of this finalised case. No inquiries will continue. Appeals can be made in court. ATTN: Allen, Blackwell, Parker and Williamson families." Wait, Blackwell - as in this is the police report to their son's death? Is this the kind of information we're supposed to be extracting?'

'Ariadne was under the distinct impression that she buried her brother that day. This proves that the Blackwells knew all along their son might still be alive.'

'Whew. No wonder why this was locked in a vault. Who would want to tell anyone their son is missing, presumed dead?'

The people at the intersection was giving both men inquisiting looks as Arthur tucked the navy scarf away and Eames folded up the report and placed it in his breast pocket of his jacket. Another building came loose from its foundations and tumbled onto the road.

'Something isn't right here.'

'Well, Cobb's over there with the parents,' said Eames, indicating the other side of a busy intersection. 'Why is he screaming "this seems perplexing?"'

Mitchell and Fay were huddled together, looking bleakly around at their surroundings. Cobb was waving for them frantically, but Arthur and Eames were unable to cross the road as the Blackwells' subconscious began to take notice of their degrading environment, and of the intruders.

'He isn't. He's saying "this dream is collapsing",' stated Arthur, but before Eames could respond, the building behind them folded over and crumbled on top of them.

Ariadne reached over and touched Alex's face. 'You're, you're real... unless, I'm still dreaming?'

'No, little sis, you aren't dreaming. I'm here,' said Alex, and he held on tight to Ariadne's hand. She however, fumbled in her pocket with her other hand and pulled out her bishop. Placing it flat on her palm, she tilted her hand slightly and the bishop tipped over, rolling off her hand and hitting the ground with a hollowed clang. It continued rolling until it came to a stop at Arthur's relaxed feet. He's still dreaming.

But you're not.

'Alex, what are you doing here?' asked a bewildered Ariadne, removing her hand from Alex to pick up her bishop, and then running over to the machine. Barely a minute has passed into their ten minute session. A gun was then cocked and placed near her temple.

'No one hurts her!' said a threatening Alex.

The man then lowered his gun and aimed it at Eames limp body instead. Ariadne looked up then, only to realise that there was another four armed men, each of them standing next to her team members. One of which was tying up a gagged and battered Yusuf.

'What is going on? Yusuf, you okay? Who are these people?' Ariadne turned on her brother. 'Alex, answer me!'

'Ariadne, there is no time to explain. But after ransacking through, Arthur, I think. Yeah, Arthur's desk, I saw how organized you can be, so I came prepared, and saw my chance when you all went under a couple of minutes ago and left, Yusuf, right? When you left your chemist here, to guard you.'

'Alex, let them go. They haven't done anything to you!'

'They took you away.'

'What? What are you talking about Alex? No one took me anywhere.'

Her brother shook his head. 'We have to go now, or I'll kill them when they wake up.'

'How do you know about -'

'Shared dreaming? Like you. Learnt it off someone. Now let's go.'

Alex grabbed Ariadne's arm and pulled her along, but she could see Arthur and Eames stirring awake. She needs to distract Alex.

'How did you survive the car accident?'

Alex stopped near the front door, to turn around and face Ariadne. 'I was never in that car.'

'I don't understand. Mother and Father buried you! I was there, at your funeral.'

'No, I cut the brake line and let some drunk driver and his friends from some graduation after party drive it up the mountain.'

'Alex, you wouldn't do that. You couldn't have...' Ariadne looked around at the armed men and realised that he could. 'You killed them? Why?'

There was a sudden movement from the middle of the room when Eames tackled his nearest armed man, knocking out his gun. Arthur took the chance when the other three men were distracted at the sudden attack, to knock down a second man. The other two left their guard of Yusuf and Cobb to help recover their guns and they quickly subdued both their captives.

'Alex, no!' screamed Ariadne, and Alex had to restrain her from running back to her team.

'Ariadne, if you don't come with me, I'll kill them, I swear!'

Ariadne stopped resisting her brother's hold immediately. 'What do you want with me?'

'I want you to keep your promise that we'll be together, always. They,' shouted Alex, waving his gun at the restrained Arthur and Eames, 'are keeping you away from me. I'm your family, I'm all that matters!'

'What about our parents? You weren't planning to kill them were you?'

'They should never have let you go, it was their fault!' screamed Alex.

Ariadne shook her head. 'You're not yourself, Alex. The Alex that I know would never kill anyone, let alone his own parents. He loves them!'

'Not after they buried me.'

'They didn't know. I didn't know. Please Alex, what you're doing is crazy, put the gun down!'

'Promise you'll come willingly with me?'

'Of - of course.'

'Ariadne, no! Alexander, we can talk about this -' said Arthur, with a hint of desperation in his voice.

'NO! I just want Ariadne safe, with me. No more talking, no NOTHING!'

'I think he's beyond reasoning,' said Eames.

'I'm Alex Black, I'll call the shots, and I am taking my sister with me. Anyone who intervenes, I'll kill her, then I'll put the gun to my head, you understand?'

Arthur tried to reason with him again, 'Alex, just stay calm and we can work something out.'

But Alex had already started to pull Ariadne to the warehouse doors, and all she could do was stare back at Arthur, hoping against all odds that they'll all make it out alive.

'Don't do anything stupid Ariadne! We'll find you -'

Before Ariadne could react, she heard gun shots in quick succession, the warehouse magnifying the sound as the bullets ricocheted around the room.

'Alex, you said you'll spare them!'

'I lied.'

'What? No, no, NO! Oh my GOD, no Alex! Let me go, LET ME GO! ARTHUR!'

Alex forced Ariadne onto the front seat the car, where she was still struggling and crying. Her vision blurred as tears poured out from her eyes. 'You've killed them, OH MY GOD, why?'

'You'll understand, overtime,' said a consoling Alex, as he tucked his gun under his belt and started the car. Driving off, the backseat rattled with an assortment of weapons as the warehouse quickly became hidden by other building before being replaced by shops and hotels. Alex had reached the main roads.

Ariadne felt disorientated. Her sudden removal from the dream didn't do her any good as she quickly became car sick, the gunshots still ringing in her ears, and the realisation that she'll never see any of her team members again.

'You've killed, killed everyone, and you think that, that I'll understand overtime?' asked a hysterical Ariadne, her crying causing her to take sharp intakes of air every second word. 'You killed them. All, all of them? I'll, I'll never forgive you. I'll die, die first.'

'You don't mean that. I'm going to look after you, travel the world, like we always wanted.'

'No, Alex. It's, it's what you always wan- wanted.'

Alex gave his sister a sideways glance. 'But when we were small, you -'

'That was then. Now, now I have family and, and friends and I don't need to see, see the world. I'm happy,' and struggling to compose herself, Ariadne came to apprehend her situation. 'Be - because of you, I had family.'

'We're still family, we can still be happy. They were just trying to separate us for their own selfish reasons! Those people you call your team, our very own parents, even the professor that taught you architecture; he wants you to move away to work, doesn't he? Can't you see that our whole lives are dictated by these people, keeping us apart because they are jealous of our loving relationship? We can make our own choices and be happy. I'll show you.'

Ariadne could only stare at the driver, having finally run out of tears to cry. She couldn't grasp the fact that this was the same person that she admired when growing up, the same person that gave her a present on his own celebratory day. The scarf.

Ariadne's hand immediately went up to her throat and she ripped the baby blue scarf off.

'Isn't that the scarf I'd given you? You're wearing it today. It must be a sign.'

At that moment, Ariadne realised that Alex was going to hurt everyone she ever cared about, anyone she ever loved, and he wasn't going to care, as long as she was with him.

He mentioned the Professor. You can't risk it.

Ariadne, whose body was recovering from shock, found her voice again, to reason with him, to distract him.

'I did promise that we'd be together, didn't we?'

Alex glanced at her, happy that she's coming around, answered, 'yes, and we're keeping to that promise, aren't we, little sis? No one will keep us apart.'

'You know I can't take that risk.'

Alex glanced at the emotionless voice that Ariadne was now using. 'What are you talking about? What risk? You're safe now.'

They were approaching a bridge to exit the city.

'It only matters now that everybody else is safe.'

'Ariadne, what are you talking about?'

'I can't let you hurt anyone else...' her voice trailed off. 'I'm sorry.'

'Ariadne -'

Ariadne leaned over and yanked on the steering wheel. The car veered into oncoming traffic, and Alex barely got control of the wheel, swerving the car back into their respective lane again. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' screamed a surprised Alex.

'If there is any chance that they survived back there, I'm not letting you come back to hurt them, or anyone else! I'm going to end this NOW!' and Ariadne pulled the wheel hard right, this time the vehicle cut cleanly across the inbound lanes and into the Seine River.

I'm so sorry Arthur.

Post Scripts: I've always considered Ariadne to be unselfish, but this self-sacrifice really shows how much the team has come to be a part of her. Made me sad to write it. Should I make Alex pay for this? I have a lot of explaining to do, so I'll update soon (late next week, max.)

Oh, before I forget, the meaning behind 'Or forever hold your peace' is actually, (in my plot anyway): the time when the truth should be revealed before you'll lose the chance to do so ever again.

Also, I've added a poll on my profile for you, should you want to vent your anger on Alex. The results will close after I update Chapter 8 or 9, where I will incorporate your votes into my plot (this should be interesting...)

Thanks again for everything guys :P (and girls, LOL!)