Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.

"You want me to..." Adam's voice trailed away. Arthur tilted his head, smiling. The other man swallowed.

"Kill me." His tone was soft, persuasive. "Come on Arthur. You know you want to. Me out of the way - you'd have Ariadne all to yourself."

Adam looked at the gun. The sleek metal felt heavy, cumbersome, in his hand.

"You do know...that we were engaged?"

Adam blinked, feeling as though Arthur had punched him. "Engaged?"

"Yes." Arthur's voice was smooth, cold, seeking to hurt. "Engaged." He began to move forward, as though Adam were prey. "We would have got married...except I had to go to Colombia."

Adam felt himself start to shake. "No, its not true. She would have told me!"

"Why would she?" Arthur's voice was silky. "She thought I was dead."

Adam rubbed his forehead, the gun feeling cold and cumbersome. Arthur smiled again.

"Still, at least you're now clear. Oh, and the baby? I'm the father."

The gun clattered to the floor. Feeling dizzy and nauseous, Adam swayed.

"Where would he be?" Arthur mused as he and Ariadne hurried along. "Where were the two of you when he first vanished?"

Ariadne bit her lip. "The park," she said, trying to keep calm. "We were just walking in the park."

Arthur's eyes darkened. "Then we need to hurry. Come on."

As they pushed their way through the continuing throng of projections, Ariadne felt vulnerable. These - Adam's projections - all seemed to be glaring at her, accusingly. Feeling scared, she drew closer to Arthur.

He looked at her. "Are you allright?" There was a slightly tender catch in his voice, which served to unnerve her further.

"No - I mean, yes," she replied. She looked at him. "We'll find him."

"We have to." Tenseness was in Arthur's voice, reflected in his face. "Its a question of having to, its that simple." He turned a corner. "Look, the park."

Ariadne paused. A crowd was gathering. "What's going on?"

Arthur froze. "Oh, God," he muttered. "We need to move. Now!"

"Baby?" Adam repeated, dumbfounded. He looked at Arthur. "Baby? How is that...you were gone for six months...she wasn't pregnant when we got together, how can you-"

Arthur shrugged. "Who said anything about it being six months ago?"

Adam stopped, his heart accelerating. "What?"

"Look, its not her fault. Its not your fault. You're sick. And I think she got tired of competing with your mother." Arthur began to settled himself on a stool. "She was lonely, and I think I saw it as an opportunity-"

"An opportunity?"

"To get back together." Arthur nodded. "And trust me, I took it."

Adam felt the room was beginning to spin. He started to walk. "I need some air," he mumbled.

"Oh, Adam, where are you going? We've only just started!"

"What's going on?" Arthur demanded, pushing his way through the assembled crowd. They were standing, looking down at Adam, lying crumpled on the floor.

"Oh, the poor thing," an older, motherly looking woman commented. "He's not long for this world."

Arthur tightened his lips. "I'm a doctor," he said, authoratively. "Let me through."

The crowd began to disperse. Arthur moved over to the other man, who was lying perfectly still. "I don't need people looking," he snapped, a final rebuff to the projections. As they began to disperse further, he checked the other man's pulse. "He's still breathing. But I need to get him."

Ariadne bit her lip. "But, what if you-"

"Ari, I need to pull him out of limbo. His mother's going out of her mind." Arthur looked at Adam's pale face. "I'm sure I can handle it. I need you to watch-"

"No, I'm going with you."

"Ari." Arthur looked at her, his expression settling. She blanched slightly. "Its not practical. The best solution is for me to find him. When he wakes up, he'll need to have you here, to comfort him, reassure him he's ok."

She swallowed. "All right."

"Now." Arthur looked at Adam, biting his lip - a rare gesture of nervousness. "The PASIV?"

Ariadne spied a silver surface in a flowerbed, and hauled it out. As Arthur began to unwind the IVs, she smiled. "What should I tell the projections?"

"Just tell them that we're receiving medical treatment." He raised an eyebrow. "It is true."

"What about the kick?"

Arthur swallowed. "I'll improvise."

She nodded. "OK, are you ready?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes."

Ariadne's handed hovered over the PASIV. Arthur closed his eyes and plunged into darkness.

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