The Extraction
I based Ariadne's ring on a family ring I have. One of the great disappointments of my life is that people from that time had such small hands and I can't were it without getting it re-sized. Trust me it gorgeous! Puts Kate Middelton's engagement ring to shame!
Just FYI, readers who LOVE A&A may be really pissed off after the next two chapters.
Ariadne looked at the engagement ring Arthur had given her. Once more in the waking world, the antique ring was stunningly beautiful. Arthur had explained it belonged to his great, great grandmother. Who had fled from Europe to New York during the Great War. It had a large, oval shaped, clear brown diamond at its heart and held the feel and weight of generations of his loved ones. It felt strange to have such a beautiful thing on her small hands. She kept feeling it was to big. To noticeable. The gold around the diamond was heavy and detailed. Showing it's age but with a reserved beauty not found in modern jewelery.
"If you don't like it," Arthur said noticing her once more looking at it. "I can always get you a ring you do like."
"No!" She said shocked "I love it. I love that it belonged to all the brides of your family." She found herself trembling again. "I just... hope I can take care of it and keep it safe... for..." She blushed. She almost said, 'for our son to give to his bride' but thought better of it. The time right now was to perfect. She wouldn't allow herself to look to far into the future. Arthur nodded and finished packing. They had been grinning stupidly at one another all morning. It took them far to long to pack.
The day of Edwards extraction had come. They would be leaving for Berlin in an hour. They had decided not to tell the Team of their engagement. They didn't want to divert attention away from the mission. But surely the Team would see the blushes. The smiles. Ariadne didn't want to take her ring off. It was exactly her style and she did as Arthur (her fiancés ) suggested, and turned it around so only the gold band was visible. After so many decades of ware, the gold had lost a good deal of shine and might go unnoticed.
A brief meeting and revision of the plan before the Teams made there way to the airport. Only Saito stayed behind to be with Shin. They were quickly seated in coach, a section they had all to themselves as Saito had directed the plane to be empty except for Edwards and his Son and the two Teams. A flight attendant told them Edwards and Hector were seated in first class and the plane was soon airborne. Once it leveled out, the Teams were in motion. Hecate quickly hooked up a canister to the ventilation system of the plane. In every vent except the cockpit, the gas enveloped. The Teams and solitary attendant stood behind the first class cabin in gas masks, waiting. After three minuets, the Teams advanced. Edwards was an older man but still looked perfectly fit and healthy. Yori quickly took his vitals and that of Hector's (who would be left out of the dream).
"Were all good here." She told the them. Very quickly the Teams opened up the PASIV and took out ten IVs with white securing cuffs. They all seated themselves in the remaining seats, Arthur and Eames hefted Hector out and put him in a seat behind first class.
"Keep and eye on him, Little One." Eames told the Control. Sybil nodded. After they had all seated themselves and had white IV's trailing from there wrists, Cobb nodded to Sybil
"Good luck." The Control said pushing the button and sending them in.
It was a noisy market place. Full of bright colors. Confusing languages. Cobb had to admit, it would take a lot for projections to find them here. The Team quickly found Edwards. He was wandering the market place, looking at all the different stalls. It was easy for Eames and Braker to impersonate his sons Hector and Paris* and talk to him. Edwards was more likely to listen to them in the strange market of foreign tongues. They talked politics, of Edwards running for public office. Fanning his vanity. For a few days, the team watched him. They sensed Edwards projections trying to find them. But the maze of the market was a good one. It moved organically and it's projections were at Ariadne's will. Edwards happily talked about all politics with his sons. And soon enough the subject had come around to dream extractions.
"There going to blow up the world." Braker said disguised as Paris. "These people have no laws to govern what they do. What's to stop them form getting the command codes for our nukes?"
"I agree." Edwards said "Why we need to have the run of it."
"No, we need to get rid of it all together." Eames said disguised as Hector. Edwards laughed
"But then how would we control things?" The old man asked
Back in the waking world the Control and the Doctor were knelt in front of Ariadne. The Girl was holding the Architect's left hand and looking over the ring there.
"That is one bitching engagement ring." Sybil said moving the stone in and out of the light but never taking it off Ariadne's hand.
"She and Arthur didn't say anything." Yori said. "My God, look at it. Do you think it's real?"
"Oh No." Sybil said mockingly "I think Arthur sprang for a fake diamond." Yori cast Sybil a look as they continued to admire the fine stone.
Back on the first layer of the dream, they prepared to go in deeper.
"Remember," Arthur said to his Lady, "Let Roy take point. He was trained for this. If the projections find you, run away."
"No fear of Limbo." She told him. He smiled and gave her a quick kiss before Eames and Braker drugged Edwards and hooked him up to the PASIV.
The second layer was a maze of futuristic proportions. A city, complete with pollution and neon signs in foreign languages. Eames and Braker, Still as Hector and Paris respectively. Told Edwards about these foreign competitors immigrating into America. Putting people out of work. Edwards seemed to be thinking heavily on this.
"They used those damn extractions to make money off the stock market." Braker said as Paris. "They bought us all out." He explained waving at the slums.
"We don't even own this country anymore." Eames added. A few weeks at this level, Edwards own projections of his sons soon feed the idea right back to him. Eames and Braker disguised themselves as everything from extractors on trial for insider trading, to foreign CEO's buying American companies. Proudly proclaiming they made there money off dream extractions. Cobb, Arthur, Hecate and the Australians kept busy fending off the highly militarized projections. Arthur and the Australian Chemist stayed behind in the city as the others went deeper.
The third level was Edwards living in total poverty. A safe was built for Edwards to hide his secrets and valuables so Cobb and Hecate could steal them on this level. Hecate and Cobb stayed behind as Eames, Braker, the Australian Point Man and Extractor took him down further.
Back on the first level, Ariadne was running from the projections. The Maze was good, but not good enough. Roy had kept them both away from the projections but there was to much time on this level and they were running out of places to hide.
Fourth level had Edwards running for president, on the platform of outlawing extractions. He won in a landslide. Braker and the Australian Extractor stayed behind as Eames and the Australian Point Man took Edwards to the final level.
As president, Edwards had the respect and power he craved. Soon enough, Eames realized the Inception wouldn't take. Edwards was cocky. Confident that his use of dream extraction had given him inside information that won him the race.
Roy and Ariadne place headphones over Arthur's ears with the music that would start the kick. They had lined the Teams in chairs to be simultaneously "kicked" into the first level. Projections were closing in quickly. Roy told her to run as he fended them off. She went to a side door but was confronted by a mob of projections. It was so fast, a gun went off. Pain in her abdomen. She looked down at herself. Bright red blood was blooming out of her open wound. Ariadne placed her hand over it. Hot blood pouring over her beautiful ring. She saw black as she fell into Limbo.
On the fourth level, the projections turned on Braker and the Australian Extractor. Braker felt the kick but missed it. He looked up to see his team mate a well as Edwards, Eames and the Australian Point Man had vanished. They had road the kick out without him. He felt the knife in his back and the projections beating him as he fell into Limbo.
It was a brief fight as the Team cam out on the first level. Braker stayed on the floor. Eyes still closed in peaceful sleep. Arthur and the others quickly fought back the projections before he noticed Ariadne's body. It was a shock to see her dead on the ground. Blood over her. Her eyes opened.
"What happened?" he barked.
"Projections closed in." Roy shouted. Hecate and Cobb sedated Edwards.
"How did it go?" Cobb asked Eames.
"It didn't take." Eames said desperately.
"Ariadne's in Limbo, get her out." Sybil said.
"So is Braker." Yori said. Sybil disconnected Ariadne from the device and looked at the PASIV.
"There all back on the first level. Lets wake them up." She said. Yori nodded as the Control pulled the emergency stop.
In Limbo, there were children. Beautiful faces. Their laughter was musical. Ariadne was teaching them French. Braker taught them to fish. They all lived together in a lovely little house in a forest. She and Braker were raising their children there. These beautiful Children were theirs. This simple life was theirs. It was peaceful, warm and happy. She loved Braker in this place. Braker loved her.
Then she was awake. Sybil was in front of her and that simple, beautiful life faded rapidly. Ariadne tried to hold onto it. Tried to keep it. She knew it was only a dream, but she wanted it back.
"Ariadne? Are you okay?" Sybil asked. Yori was by her side then. Taking her vitals. She turned around to look at the Teams. Arthur was seated across the aisle from her. She had forgotten all about him. Ariadne turned to look at Braker. He looked agitated as Sybil tried to calm him. She kept saying things like "you out" but he was still breathing hard.
"Are you okay?" Arthur asked. Ariadne nodded.
"Hecate's formula worked. It felt just like a regular dream." She told him. Tears were running down her cheeks. "It's fading." She added. She concentrated then. She couldn't find the faces of her children in her mind. The Children she shared with Braker in Limbo.
*Paris, Prince of Troy who stole Helen away from her husband, causing the Trojan war.