Author's Note: Yay! Arthur's back! We haven't seen him for a while. I know the timeline is a little weird, seeing as we're going backwards for the first of Arthur's point of view, but it'll even out by the end of the chapter. I loved all of your reviews for my last chapter. I don't think you guys realize how much they boost a writer's confidence. Good news: Chapter 15 or 16, I can't remember which, is freaking long. Which means a nice, juicy chapter is headed your way soon. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I think you guys have realized by now that I like shorter chapters. Thanks again for the reviews!

Disclaimer: Arthur, his melted chocolate eyes, and his fellow crew, do not belong to me, sadly.

Chapter 14

Part Two

Arthur's POV

Arthur's mind was reeling. Browning had done this, he was sure. The thing was, that did he want with Ariadne? Gifted as she was, she didn't have what Browning wanted. Information about the inception job. Information that she wouldn't have. But Browning would have know that. So why her?

The drive back to his hotel was short due to the speed with which he was driving and how preoccupied his mind was. Again and again he asked himself: why her? Contemplating the question, Arthur walked into the hotel lobby and up the stairs to his floor. The answer hit him just as he was about to open his door. It wasn't her they needed. Granted, Browning did need someone to recreate the inception job, which Arthur was sure he was doing; recreating the scene to expel the idea. But she wasn't the one they needed. No, she was merely bait. It was him.

His gun was outstretched when he opened the door. As he expected, Browning sat before him at the table in the small kitchen. Six men immediately had their guns pointed at Arthur, but he refused to waver.

"You know why I'm here," Browning stated.

"You kidnapped her," Arthur growled, restraining himself from lunging at him.

Browning stayed quiet. His silence gave Arthur the answer he needed.

"Put the gun down," Browning ordered. Arthur didn't move from his stance. "Put it down, or she dies."

Slowly, Arthur lowered his position and threw the gun on the floor. One of the men quickly seized it. Two more men came forward to stand behind Arthur.

"I don't need to tell you to remain quiet," Browning said dangerously, walking out of the room and into the hallway. Arthur had no choice but to follow, if he had any chance to save her.

Ariadne's POV

She heard a noise behind her; the warehouse door had opened. While that was a rare occurrence, Ariadne ignored it, as she was too busy on a particular tricky bit of the second level maze.

"Ariadne," Browning called. "There's someone here to see you."

"Whoever it is, I doubt I want to see them," she snapped, still working on the maze. Browning chuckled behind her. She spun on her heel with a snappy retort, but when she saw whom the 'someone' was, the insult died on her lips. Arthur, in all of his glory, was on his knees before her with his hands tied behind his back, and two bodyguards flanking him. She could see the relief in his eyes at seeing her, but the feeling was not reciprocated. The sketchpad she had in her hand dropped to the floor, but she hardly noticed. She turned back around so fast that the room spun and dug the palms of her hands into her eyes, as if doing that could stave off the river of emotions threatening to over power her.

Anguish.

Never had she felt such anguish, such pain as she did in that very moment. Tremors wracked through her body, and her hands shook as her mind began to replay the many deaths of the man kneeling before her. Ariadne's breaths came in shuddering gasps. Slowly, slowly, she counted down from fifty, willing her heartbeat to slow down.

When her mental countdown had ended, she was a great deal calmer. With a will she did not know she possessed, Ariadne turned back to face the men, who were now all watching her with mixed expressions apprehension and confusion. All but Browning, who just looked amused. Before she could address Browning, the question that she had refused to acknowledge earlier flitted to the front of her mind. What the hell was Arthur doing here?

"Get him out," Ariadne demanded in an even voice, ignoring the flash of hurt and confusion in Arthur's otherwise determined eyes.

Browning merely raised an eyebrow at her tone. She refused to back down, though, and continued to glare at him with her arms crossed against her chest. "Why would I do that? He's such good company," he inquired when the silence had stretched on for what felt like hours.

"Because he's a distraction," she challenged. "I can't focus on the job with him here, which is exactly what you need from me."

There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. "Very well," he replied, shrugging. The bodyguards hoisted Arthur up from the floor and directed him towards the hallway opposite of hers. She could feel his eyes burning into the back of her skull, but she refused to look at him. Relief washed over her when she heard his door being locked, and with a newfound determination, she turned back towards the maze that would destroy Fischer's mind.

Arthur's POV

As soon as the door clicked shut, the men behind Arthur began to release the rope around his wrists and arms.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Arthur demanded to Browning.

"I broke her. Her spirit, to be more specific," Browning replied, idly looking at his fingernails. "I had to get her to work for me. No amount of money was going to work, I already knew. So rather than give her a choice, I forced her to."

"That still doesn't explain why she wouldn't look at me," Arthur spat.

"You know, she was a difficult one to find anything against. No family living, can live off as little as $500 a month or $5,000 a month; so money wouldn't bribe her. And then I realized. You."

"Me?" Arthur questioned sarcastically, keeping his expression neutral.

"You're her one weakness. I didn't realize how much of a weakness until I heard that projections of you had started popping up in her subconscious. Fortunately for me, instead of addressing her feelings, she ran. You are her weakness, Arthur. And because of that, you became her own nightmare," Browning said cryptically before motioning the guard to unlock the door and walking out.

A/N: Sooooo? Good? Bad? Eh? REVIEW! :)