Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.
Arthur swallowed. "Allie. Please put the gun down."
She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me what to do Arthur. Do you have any idea of the trouble you've caused? Robert has been going out of his mind about you disappearing, and I find you here, having a cosy little love in, with her." She looked at Ariadne. "No offence."
Arthur set his jaw. "Allie. Please, just go. I'm not going with you."
She looked at him. "You mean that, Arthur? You're not?"
"Yes." He looked at her. "I'm not."
"Fine." She shrugged. "Stay here." She turned, and left, slamming the door behind her. Within seconds, they heard the slam of a car door, and the screech of tires. Blinking, Arthur went to the window, slightly stunned to see the car driving away in a cloud of dust. He turned to Ariadne. "We have to leave. Now."
She nodded. "Arthur, who was she?"
He swallowed. The sudden recollection of what had happened between him and Ariadne suddenly seemed too much to bear. "She...is one of Fischer's stooges." The lie tasted bitter in his mouth. "She is probably one of Robert's many girlfriends."
Ariadne looked at him. "Arthur, I recognise her."
He stiffened. "You do?" He turned his back, "come on, lets get ready. We'll call a cab, and get on a train. If we hang around at an airport, they'll try and catch us. Hopefully I can access my bank account, and we can-"
"Arthur."
He turned. Ariadne's voice was sharp, forceful. "What is it?" irritation was seeping into his voice.
"I recognise her." Ariadne looked at Arthur, her expression forming into a firm line. "She was in the dream. When we...incepted you." He flushed angrily, but she persisted. "I found her with you, remember? In the hotel. She was trying to feed you chocolate cake, and I-"
"I know." Arthur looked at her. "It was in my head."
"Who is she?" Ariadne's tone was naggingly persistent. "Please, Arthur. She isn't just a stooge of Fischer's. You know her! I know you do! She wasn't just a projection!"
Arthur paused, his hands falling to his sides. He turned to the Architect, his expression tired, defeated. His body seemed to sag under the weight of the secret he was carrying.
"She was an old college friend." He spoke softly. "She-" he swallowed. "I have no idea how she got mixed up with Robert." He shuddered. "I don't want to know, either."
"But did she-" Ariadne seemed unsure of how to ask the question. Arthur looked at her. "What?"
"Did she take advantage of you?" her voice was barely a whisper. Arthur visibly bristled.
"I'm not some blushing little virgin, Ariadne!" he snapped. "She didn't take advantage! I wanted her!"
The Architect paled, and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Arthur, you-"
He sat on the bed, putting his face in his hands. "It was my dreams," he said, his voice muffled. "I kept seeing her, in my dreams. Dreams of you and I together, sitting together, eating together - you would morph into her."
Ariadne's eyes widened with shock.
"I didn't-" he bit his lip. "I knew something was wrong, something wasn't right. You all incepted me, but it was though the projections were still there. And then I get a call, and then Fischer, and now-"
He drew in his breath, shuddering. Ariadne looked at him. "What now?" she asked softly.
Arthur stood up. "We go. Forget the team, forget Fischer, we just go. I need help Ariadne. I need help. Please."
She looked at him. His tone was that of a lost little boy. Looking into his chocolate brown eyes, she felt she could drown in them. But there was something else...a hard glint, which she hadn't noticed before.
"How do I know you..." she let her voice trail away, the sentence dissipating. How do I know you're not manipulating me? Bulimics would lie, she knew, and cheat, to try and satisfy their urge.
"You don't," Arthur said, gently raising her chin with his hand. "But please, Ari, trust me. We need to get away from here." He swallowed. "I need to-go to a doctor, go to a clinic. Please. I'd be safe there. We're not safe here."
She nodded. "OK." She looked at him, and checked her watch. "Its after seven." She turned to the door. "I'll just go and check us out." She turned back. "Then we leave. But Arthur...we have to tell Cobb."
Arthur nodded. "OK." He turned, and began to focus on picking up the clothes he'd left discarded on the floor. He then went into the bathroom, and splashed water on his face. Going back into the main rooms, he saw the chinese lying on the table. It was cold, and congealing. He bit his lip. Hunger was beginning to knaw inside him. He grabbed one of the containers, and began to scoop the stir fry into his mouth.
Suddenly, in a fit of disgust, he threw it on the floor. What are you doing? he cried to himself. Reaching down, he began to try and clear it up, scooping it back into the carton, before chucking it into the trash can situated in the room.
He blinked. Ariadne had been gone...how long? He looked at his watch. Twenty minutes. Would it really take twenty minutes to check them out? Swallowing, he opened the door of the motel unit.
No sign of her.
A feeling of unease was beginning to stir in his stomach, its twin coming to life in his mind. He shut the door, and hurried over to the entrance unit. A bored looking woman was sitting behind the desk, flicking through channels on a wall mounted TV. Arthur coughed politely when she didn't look up.
Her eyes flickered over him. "Yeah?"
"Has my-" Arthur struggled to keep his voice calm. "My girlfriend been over here? Five foot one, brunette, very pretty?"
She shook her head. "No." She turned back to the mindless soap opera she'd selected. Arthur swallowed.
"No, I mean-"
"Sir!" she said, sharply enough to make him start. "No-one has been in here for the last two hours. Except me." She reached for her packet of cigarettes, indicating the conversation was at an end. Swallowing, Arthur turned and hurried out of the unit, into the parking lot. "Ariadne?" he called to the open air. "Ariadne?"
No response. Standing in the middle of the lot, Arthur opened his mouth and screamed. "ARIADNE!"
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