Yay! Finally got a new chapter up! Sorry about the delay, but school has been so busy and I had tons of papers to get done. And when I did have free time, I didn't feel like writing because I had been writing a lot of papers. So here is finally the next chapter. Luckily my semester ends in like 10 days, so I will be able to finish this up and start a new story. I will be uploading a few oneshots soon. And this story will be ending in three or four more chapters, and there will be an epilogue, I don't know if that's included in the three or four more chapters yet, we'll see. So anyways, here's the next chapter. Please review! Let me know what you think and let me know that you're sitll with me! :D Thanks for reading!
I don't own Inception, but in 11 days I will own it on DVD! :D
Arthur looked around as he suddenly appeared in what was Cobol Headquarters. Ariadne and Dom did an amazing job with the layout and he hoped Brendan wouldn't take too much notice in his surroundings.
"Arthur, this way." Eames and Dom called as they made their way to the men's room. Arthur quickly followed them and watched as Eames and Dom changed into Mr. White and a Cobol employee. Arthur made his way to the mirror and concentrated hard, when he opened his eyes he was no longer Arthur, but a Cobol employee. Pleased with himself he grinned and turned to Eames, whose eyebrows were raised in amusement. Dom chuckled and shook his head.
"Alright, we need to find Ariadne and Brendan. Eames, remember to twist his words enough so that he'll believe that letting us go is in the best interest for all of us." Arthur told Eames.
"Arthur, I know what I'm doing. Let me do my job." Eames scoffed and stalked out of the bathroom, in search of Ariadne and Brendan.
"Arthur, relax. Everything will be fine." Dom assured Arthur. Arthur looked at him and sighed.
"Come on, we need to be close behind in case something happens." Arthur said, ignoring Dom's questioning look. It was strange to see each other as different people, but knowing who they really were. Arthur still had trouble adjusting to forging into people and seeing other people being forged into.
Ariadne blinked quickly and looked around her. She was inside Cobol Engineering and she was pleased with her and Dom's work. If this wasn't such a critical mission, she would be impressed with how well they could work together. Brendan came walking up to her. He was wearing a nice dark grey suit and black tie.
"Ari, come on, Mr. White wants to meet with us." Brendan called her over and she stood up, shuffling over to him.
"Nice outfit." Brendan commented. She was wearing the same tan outfit that Arthur put her in when they were in the second layer of the Inception job.
"Thanks." She replied, following Brendan and glancing around to spot her team.
"What are you looking for?" Brendan asked before knocking on the door.
"Oh, nothing. I'm just taking in this amazing architecture." She lied, hoping Brendan wouldn't notice. He shrugged and waited for someone to open the door for them.
"Ah, Brendan. Come in." Mr. White (Eames) opened the door wider to allow them access.
"Thank you sir." Brendan nodded and ushered Ariadne in. Ariadne took in the large office, proud of her work.
"Now, you were here to discuss something with me. Am I right?" Mr. White asked Brendan. Brendan nodded and glanced at Ariadne.
"My sister and I have a proposition for you." Brendan replied, standing up straight. Ariadne inhaled slowly and held her breath as she waited to hear how Brendan would start this off.
"You know I don't make negotiations." Mr. White responded gravely. Ariadne knew that Eames was making it harder on purpose, the more insistent Brendan would be, the more it would stick with him.
"I know sir, but I was hoping you'd hear me out first." Brendan hid his desperation well. His voice was steady and unwavering.
"Alright, sit down." Mr. White motioned for them to take a seat. Ariadne stared at Eames briefly before allowing her body to plump nervously into the chair.
"My sister worked with Dom Cobb and Arthur. I told her that I could talk to you about removing the price on her head. The rest of the team is fair game for you." Brendan explained. Ariadne's head snapped up.
"Brendan, you promised!" She hissed, panic rising in her.
He held up a hand and shook his head. She frowned and watched as Eames face remained expressionless.
"What makes you think I'll remove the price on her head? What if the whole team is worth more together?" Mr. White asked. Brendan exhaled and kept his gaze on Mr. White.
"I never said I expected you to or know you will remove the price, I'm asking if you will." Brendan replied.
"You have to let my team get a head start at least." Ariadne blurted out. Brendan turned to her, an angry look on his face.
"Why would I do that?" Mr. White asked.
"Brendan you promised to ask!" She whispered to him. He sighed and turned to Mr. White.
"It's part of the deal. If you let her go and give them a head start, we'll tell you where they were."
"Are you sure that's a wise thing to ask me?" Mr. White asked, slowly getting angry. "Is it worth your life and job?"
"For my sister I would do it. So yes, it's worth it." Brendan replied coolly. Ariadne let out a relieved sigh inwardly. Brendan took the bait, now he'll ask in person if they got that far. The next level would be trickier.
"This team is worth too much together, I can't just let her go and tell people that the team is worth just as much without her. She has quite the reputation already." Mr. White told Brendan. Brendan frowned and looked at Ariadne.
"Either you give me all of them, or they all live as fugitives." Mr. White continued. Araidne was holding her breath, waiting to see how Brendan would react.
Brendan was frozen in place; his jaw set and Ariadne could tell he was thinking things through.
"What if…what if I asked you to take the price off of all their heads?" Brendan finally replied. Ariadne looked at him surprised, but Brendan just ignored her.
"Now that is a big request Brendan." Mr. White replied.
"Yes, but sir, if there is no other option, that's the one I'm going to bring up to you." Brendan straightened up and looked Mr. White in the eye. Mr. White observed him and then turned to Ariadne.
"Your brother really has guts." Mr. White told her. She nodded slightly and let out a soft smile.
"So, what's your decision, Sir?" Brendan asked, hoping to get his attention off Ariadne.
"I'll need some time to think about it." Mr. White answered. "The money I will lose isn't worth letting them go."
"If you won't let them go, I'll help them escape!" Brendan blurted out. The shock on Ariadne's face was priceless. She didn't think Brendan would be so willing to help the team. She knew that he would do anything to keep her safe, but his sudden change of heart worried her.
"Brendan, are you sure? Just a few days ago you were set against helping them. You made me leave my husband…" Ariadne trailed off.
Brendan nodded, "Yes, I'll do this for you."
"I don't think Arthur will want me back, especially after what I told him. I was so cold and cruel to him." Ariadne whispered, holding back sobs. Brendan pulled her closer.
"I'll talk to him." He whispered into her hair. Mr. White cleared his throat and they pulled away.
"I'm afraid I can't just let them go."
"Well then I quit, and this team will be safe with me." Brendan defiantly replied, before pulling Ariadne out of the room. She looked over her shoulder at Mr. White, who shrugged. The events definitely turned out differently than they expected.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Dom were walking casually through the halls. No projections were attacking and it was oddly quiet.
"Dom, I have a bad feeling about this." Arthur mumbled. Dom turned to him and sighed.
"I have to agree with you. There hasn't been anything. Not a gunshot, not a glance. There definitely is something wrong."
"Do you think it's because of the virus?" Arthur asked. Suddenly a shot was fired at them from out of nowhere. Arthur ducked as Dom pulled out his gun.
"What the hell was that?" Dom asked, crouching next to Arthur behind the wall.
"I don't know. I just mentioned the virus…" Arthur replied as a round of shots was fired at them. Dom and Arthur looked at each other knowingly.
"That must be it's defensive system. If it suspects we know or knows we know about it, it attacks." Dom whispered to Arthur. Arthur nodded.
"Well now we know why the projections weren't reacting. They have a different reaction. They're trained differently. Because of the…uh, yeah, they attack if it feels threatened. This is going to make it much harder on the next layer." Arthur sighed, and rubbed his face. Dom nodded.
"We should be able to handle it." Dom replied. Arthur looked at him incredulously. "What, I'm trying to stay positive here." Dom defended.
"I know, I just don't think that way." Arthur said. "The shooting stopped."
"Don't be too sure." Dom answered as he looked around the corner. The projections looked calm and there weren't any gunshots. "Alright, let's go. Ariadne and Brendan should be done meeting with Eames."
Arthur nodded and followed him, but as he stepped around the corner he was shot. Dom turned around at the sound and watched as Arthur clutched his side and fell to the floor.
"Arthur!" Dom shouted and rushed over to him.
"I guess I'm going to be the target huh?" Arthur tried to lighten the mood but Dom frowned as he flinched. Arthur was no longer disguised as a Cobol Employee, all of his focus was on the pain and Dom was worried that Brendan and Ariadne would walk by and Brendan would recognize him.
"I'm going to call Eames and tell him to let Ariadne know that she needs to sedate him. We need to get you to the next level. You're the one in charge of that dream Arthur. Will you be able to make it?" Dom asked worriedly. "I could do it for you and you can wait up top for us. I could get you out of this now."
Arthur shook his head. "No, I'll do it. Ariadne needs me there with her. And you're incompetent when it comes to computers."
"I'm not that bad." Dom defended, hoping that this light banter would help keep his mind off of the pain.
"Dom, last time we let you try to extract something from a computer, you planted a virus, caused all the projections to turn on you, and we couldn't get the computer to work." Arthur replied.
Dom sighed. "Ok, fine. But will you be able to last long enough. Once you're gone, the dream will collapse."
"I can do it." Arthur replied, gasping as he shifted. "Ariadne is going to be pissed." He mumbled and Dom chuckled.
"Ok, let's get you up, now that they are after you, we have to be more cautious. They won't be after me, but because I'm with you, it's more risky.
"Sorry." Arthur coughed as Dom helped him stand up. "Call Eames." He told Dom, in short breaths. Dom nodded and pulled out his phone.
"Eames. Change into a regular employee and offer Brendan and Ariadne a glass of water. We need to get to the next level now. Arthur's been shot."
"What? How the bloody hell did that happen?" Eames asked.
"The projections react strangely whenever we say infection. Well the other word, but don't say it. Arthur learned the hard way. We didn't think they'd keep attacking him, but they are. So meet us in the conference room and have the PASIV device ready." Dom ordered quickly, wrapping his arm around Arthur and supporting his weight.
"Right love, be here in five. That should give me enough time." Eames replied and shut his phone.
He walked to the nearest mirror and changed into another employee. He walked swiftly to the lobby where he saw Ariadne lead Brendan.
"Brendan, sir, would you like to have some water while you wait for you ride?" Eames asked. Brendan looked at Ariadne, silently asking her if she wanted to get a drink.
"I am pretty thirsty." She replied, knowing that the employee was Eames.
"Alright, just a glass of water." Brendan followed Eames. Eames nodded and smirked as he pulled out a bottle of water and secretly slipped in the sedative. He handed Brendan the bottle and he took a drink and fell asleep within minutes.
"What's going on?" Ariadne asked. This wasn't part of the plan. They were supposed to get to a hotel and enter the next dream there.
"We've come across some complications. We have to get into the next layer now." Eames told her, changing from the Cobol employee back to himself.
"Why, what happened?" Ariadne asked just as Dom and Arthur burst into the room. "Arthur!" Ariadne shrieked and rushed to him.
"I'm fine." Arthur panted as he sat down in a chair. He hissed in pain and Ariadne was at his side instantly, holding his hand and looking at Arthur and Dom waiting for an explanation.
"Arthur was shot." Eames replied.
"I can see that." Ariadne snapped. "I want to know what happened to caused him to get shot."
"The projections react when we talk about the v…the infection. I think it's their defensive mechanism." Dom informed her.
"They attacked because Arthur said vi…"
"Ari, don't say it!" Arthur shouted, covering her mouth. Ariadne pulled his hand away and looked at him, her eyes wide. "I can't risk you getting hurt too. We need you and I can't bear to see something happen to you." Arthur's breaths were becoming more and more shallow. He was losing blood quickly.
"We need to get you into the next level now. If we wait too long, it will be too late." Dom told Ariadne, grabbing Arthur gently and pulling him to the floor. Ariadne helped Dom and they laid him down. She took her place next to him, stroking his cheek and laying down. She grabbed his hand and he laced their fingers together.
"I'll be fine. We have to get this done and we'll be fine." Arthur tried to convince Ariadne.
"Are you sure you don't just want Dom to go down with me and handle this?"
"I'm inept when it comes to computers." Dom told her. "Arthur is the one who can is computer savvy. We just have to get this done fast, if now, the dream will collapse if Arthur doesn't make it on this level."
Ariadne nodded. "Ok, well let's get going."
Eames quickly handed everyone an IV. "Alright everyone ready?"
Dom, Arthur, and Ariadne nodded. Ariadne stole one last glance at Arthur and he squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"I'll see you all up top." Eames replied. "And I'll keep an eye on Arthur here." He quickly added as Ariadne looked at him, worry in her eyes.
The last thing she remembered was Arthur's soft eyes staring into hers.
Was it too short? I hope it wasn't, I worked hard on it...especially after a long gap of writer's block and no motivation to write because of school...let me know what you think...I'll try to update again soon! Reviews are love!