Sins

Summary: Seven deadly sins of Robert, Saito, Eames, Yusuf, Dom, Ariadne, and Arthur.

Wrath: Robert hated his father.

Lust: Saito has a wife, four mistresses, and five kids.

Greed: Eames gambles to get more.

Gluttony: Yusuf was addicted.

Sloth: Dom missed her and couldn't live without her.

Envy: Ariadne admired their ability to be completely heartless criminals.

Pride: Arthur be damned to admit what he couldn't have.

Author's Note: First of all, thanks again to my lovely beta, Florence Pinky-Poo, for editing this chapter. I was once again stuck on this. It's pretty angst-y and different than the others. I'm an Ariadne/Arthur shipper at heart, but I tried my hardest not to incorporate that into this story... I failed... sorry non-A/A shippers. (-_-)

Thank you reviewers.

The next chapter is the last! So review please. :)

Envy

In the years following the Fischer job, it was safe to say that Ariadne had done okay for herself.

The years following her first dream heist, Ariadne still dreams. She dreams a lot, almost twice a week. They all told her it will disappear eventually, but she doesn't believe them.

Not when three year after the fact, she still has nightmares of Mal stabbing her.

Not when she could see the look of Fischer's eyes when she pushes him off the building or the look in Cobb's eyes when she shoots Mal.

Not when she dreams of buildings exploding and crumbling all around her.

Not when she wakes up only to find herself in a vast ocean.

From time to time, it rains in her dream.

Other times, she hears gunshots in the street and finds herself nursing a ninja back to health.

A few times, she catches herself in the bathroom with a feisty blonde, and when she looks into the mirror, she sees a blue-eyed Brit.

She catches herself walking up endless staircases.

They told her it goes away. She doesn't believe anything they say anymore.

Three years after the job, she doesn't talk to any of them. It's not that they didn't try, but because she can't bear to.

Dom writes her long and detailed letters and sends her Christmas cards. Smiling faces etch on to his and the children's faces. When she sees their faces for the first time, she has to look away. Both Phillipa and James have their mother's eyes. They haunt her.

Saito offers her jobs ever so often. Each job is more elaborate than the first: office buildings to hotels. He offers to pay her more than he paid for the Inception, but every time she goes to meet with him, she doesn't see him. She sees a man clutching his bloody chest.

Yusuf calls. She usually ignores him, but when it rains, she finds herself answering. He reminisces of their times together during the brief period they work together. She smiles because she doesn't remember all of those memories on her own. She needs Yusuf to remind her that they were once best of friends because the only thing she remembers about him was the fact that he let Cobb risk all their lives.

Eames drops by to see her every so often. He was the only one guy in the job she never had any external issues with during/after the job. He never did her wrong nor nearly have her killed nor traumatized her, yet she moves away after his last visit. She knows he could easily find her, but he never comes after her. She's grateful.

Robert Fischer falls off the radar a year after the Inception. He dismantles his father's company and finds himself in a scandal. This she hears from friends and coworkers. She can't stand to read about him or look at his pictures. All she can think about is the moment she gives him the kick. It made her feel like she killed him.

Arthur is gone. They see each other briefly after the job, but she breaks up with him. He still sends her flowers every first Sunday of the month, no matter where she is. She lets them die.

It wasn't always like that. She trusted them.

But she's terribly naïve at twenty-three.

Things had gone wrong.

Only a few months had passed since the Inception when Arthur called her. There was a job offer. A simple extraction, he promised her. One level, you don't even have to go in. The pay is fourth of Saito's pay. Easy money.

Nothing in the dreamworld is easy.

She leaves Paris once her degree is finished.

It's the city where all her dreams take place.

All of her dreams are nightmares.

She isn't surprised to find Eames in her kitchen eating a bowl of cereal. Nevermind the fact she hasn't seen him since the failed job. He greets her excitedly with a kiss on both cheeks. She greets him with an eighth of his eagerness.

Where's young Arthur? He surveys the room. She shrugs. She hasn't been keeping track of the Point Man.

He stays for a week. They barely exchange five sentences at a time. On his last night, he makes her dinner.

Darling, you're going have to forgive us one day, he spoke softly. She prods the fish he cooked for her with her fork. She never acknowledges his statement.

She moves a week later.

She meets Alessio while working on her first architecture job in Rome. He's her assistant. He's clumsy and a total spazz. He's taller than her by a foot and a half. He could break like a toothpick and couldn't fight for his dear life. He's nothing like the guys.

He's her age.

He has no psycho ex-girlfriends.

He's broke.

He hates science.

He has an accent Italian accent.

He doesn't wear designer suits.

So she picks him to be her lover.

She keeps her totem hidden in her purse. She hasn't touched it since the day she left Paris.

They elope after two months. She finally thinks she's happy again.

"Arthur!" She screams in panic. She's frozen to the spot. A gunshot rings out. Her hand goes straight into her pocket to grasp her totem. Her worst fears are realized. Perfect weigh, this is reality.

There's more gunfire. She turns. Arthur is busy playing G.J. Joe with his own set of attackers. There are already three lying dead by his feet. She watches as he swiftly breaks the neck of the fourth while waiting for the fifth assailant. Yusuf is throwing acid at his single attacker. The man screams in agony as his face burns off. Eames is down, so are the two goons lying near him. She sees the charming British man struggling to crawl forward to reach his firearm. The other two aren't so lucky with bullets to their heads.

More gunfire fills her ears. She covers them and clenches her eyes shut. She doesn't see the men assigned to kill her approaching. Suddenly she's grabbed roughly by the arms. The stranger's grip is strong, and she feels herself bruising.

"Arthur!" She calls out again. She's kicking and screaming. Her capturer has a friend. The other man uses her scarf against her by strangling her with it. She thrashes against their bodies, but it's useless. She can't breathe anymore. Her world is going black. She's going to die.

Pure creation, was it worth it?

Bang. Bang. Bang. Three gunshots go off simultaneously. Suddenly she's on the floor, sandwiched in between her two attackers. She can feel liquid soaking through her torso. She panics, assuming she was shot. She doesn't realize she isn't in pain. She doesn't move. She opens her mouth and starts screaming again.

She's calling for Arthur, Eames, Yusuf, anyone.

She's abruptly pulled out of the sandwich. She starts hyperventilating and pushes her savior away. Her eyes are still shut. A hand strokes her cheek gently. She opens her brown orbs to lock with another familiar pair.

Ariadne, it's okay. Arthur says. He looks awful. His usually gelled hair was sticking out all over the place. His left eye is swollen. Blood drips from his nose. There's a knife wound near his temple where more blood is gushing. His suit jacket is gone, and his formerly crisped white shirt is stained pink. The top few buttons were ripped off and the sleeve has been torn off. This is not the Arthur she knows.

It's okay. He pulls her into his arms and plants kisses all over her head.

You're okay. You're okay. Thank god, you're okay.

She doesn't believe him.

Ariadne wakes up with a scream. Alessio is by her side in an instant. She's completely hysterical, and Alessio's at a lost. He tries whispering soothing words to calm her.

You're okay. They only make her scream louder. Soon the neighbors are pounding on the door swearing in their own native tongues.

In the end, they end up in the hospital. Alessio has a broken nose. Ariadne is sedated into a dreamless sleep.

Following her episode, she comes clean to Alessio. She tells him all about the dream-sharing community. She spills every aspect from her experience: from flipping buildings and uncontrollable projections. She tells him all about Robert Fischer. She confesses to the crimes she committed, and the murders she watched her former colleagues commit.

She expects him to lock her up. He doesn't.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, Arthur says. Ariadne is still shaking. It's been three days. She hasn't slept in five. The four of them were huddled up in the nearest safe house. The three men are nursing their own wounds.

Eames is the worst with a gunshot to the thigh. Ariadne is initially horrified, but he assures her that years in the Royal Marines, he's been through worse. Yusuf has burn marks from the splatter of acid. His arm is badly scarred. And Arthur has knife wounds all over his body.

It isn't always like this he says, putting on a brave face. She's not swayed.

She's expecting. Their tiny flat is filled with baby books. Alessio wants a boy. Ariadne wants a girl. They make a bet: whoever guesses the sex right gets to name their child. By five months, the doctor tells her she's won.

She's happy, she convinces herself.

She packs the last of her stuff from her apartment. The boxes are stacked by the door, and she's just waiting for a moving van. She clasps her hands together and prays Arthur doesn't return before she leaves.

God doesn't grant her wish. He's there before the movers. He looks around the small space, and questions why her stuff is all packed. She sits him down.

I can't do this, she confesses. His eyebrows press together as he comprehends her words.

I don't understand, he whispers. She sighs.

I'm not like you guys. I'm not a thief. My heart isn't stone cold like you guys. Arthur's eyes darken, and she realizes it was a low blow. She goes on.

My first job, I almost get lost in Limbo. My second job, my teammates kill ten people in less than thirty minutes. I don't want to be a part of it anymore. They don't say anything for the longest time.

What about pure creation? He asks as if it's going to change her mind.

What about morality? She counters coldly. He opens his mouth to say something, but he's interrupted by a knocking. The movers are here.

She's gone by the hour. She leaves behind a box of scarves.

Four years after Inception, she realizes her life isn't easy. Eight months into her pregnancy, she goes into premature labor. Alessio is gone. She has a job in Prague, but being pregnant, he goes in her place. He is only gone for a day. Nothing bad could happen, they believe.

They are wrong.

Annelise is stillborn.

Ariadne never thought she could feel such heartache. She finds hope that her heart can't be broken any harder than this.

She shouldn't expect so much.

Alessio commits suicide a month after.

Ariadne doesn't believe in much anymore.

She returns to Paris alone. She doesn't do it consciously, but she's there. She walks into Professor Miles' lecture. She takes a seat in a back. Her eyes shut as she remembers four years before when she was just a student. She was the most promising student, top of the class, destined to succeed.

Look at her now: a barely notable career, a dead family, and large, unused Swiss bank account.

When her eyes open again, the lecture hall is empty. She looks around and sees Professor Miles staring at her intently.

"Hello Ariadne," he greets her softly. She notices that he more wrinkles than before. Of course it has be many years since she's seen him last.

"Hello Professor Miles," she replies. He frowns.

"Ariadne, you haven't been my student for four years. Please call me Stephen." She smiles softly.

"It's nice to see you again, Stephen."

She ends up telling Stephen everything that had happened in years following the job.

He's not exactly sure what shocks him more.

She roams the bridge she had recreated during her second dream-sharing experience with Cobb.

She eats dinner at the restaurant she has eaten several times with Yusuf.

She checks into the hotel she knows Eames stays during his duration in Paris

She finds herself in the warehouse with the key Arthur handed her four and half years before.

It's by chance she reads a newspaper. She visits New York after Paris. She figures they'll, her former teammates, will find her, but that doesn't stop her from leaving.

She's walking on the street with an old childhood friend when her friend shows her a newspaper.

It's so sad, she comments pushing the paper into Ariadne's hands. I can't believe one man can be so selfish. Her friend says in disgust. Ariadne squints at the paper. There are two pictures of two familiar men. The headline reads, Billionaire Son Destroys Fischer-Morrow, Browning committed.

Ariadne excuses herself. She goes home and cries for hours. She accepts a museum job in Italy. She doesn't return stateside.

She's not surprised when Arthur shows up five minutes after her. She had a feeling he followed her. In fact, he may have never left. He stands in front of her: hands in his pocket and a severe case of poker face. She acknowledges his appearance with a civil nod.

Ariadne circles around the warehouse with Arthur walking ten paces behind her. She takes note of how familiar the whole place is. She walks into the room Cobb had claimed as his own. She doesn't linger long, just long enough to remember Mal.

Next she walks around Yusuf's workstation. The smell of various chemicals remains. Covering her nose, she hastily walks away from the area straight into Eames' desk. She remembers the hours she spent sitting on top of his desk trying to figure out his job. A small smile finds a place on her face.

She turns away, skipping Arthur's table. However, her eyes stray to his former chair: the one Yusuf and Eames knocked him over with countless times to test out the sedative and the one Eames demonstrated a kick for her. The small on her face broaden to a full-fledge smile. From behind her, Arthur smirks.

She finally stops her stroll when she reaches her designated work area. The space is empty; presumably Arthur destroyed all evidence that she had been there. She runs her hand over the table reminiscing of the time it was filled with sketches and models.

Her hands reach into her purse, and for the first time in years, she grasps her totem. The bishop is cool and heavy. It's not unfamiliar. She places it on the table cautiously. Arthur raises an eyebrow at her, but she pretends she hasn't been glancing at him the whole time. She traces her fingers top to bottom over the bronze bishop.

It falls with a thud. She turns to face Arthur. Their eyes meet for the first time in a long time. Like magnets, they fall into each other's arms.

She writes Dom back. They exchange letters and soon enough, the kids send her letters too. Phillipa is nine turning ten, and James is seven turning eight. She doesn't see a ghost in their pictures anymore.

She accepts the next job Saito offers her. It's an office building located in Osaka. When she shakes his hand offer making the plans, she notices blood doesn't linger on her palms.

She answers Yusuf's call on a sunny Parisian day. She asks him if he remembers the time when they started a mini-prank war with Eames.

She goes to Mombasa alone to surprise Eames. He's more than happy to see her again.

She's starting to believe…

Arthur? She whispers one night. He turns over to face her.

Yes dear? She takes a moment to revel in dishevel hair.

Do you still dream? He arches his eyebrows before moving an arm to her waist to turn her away from him so he can embrace her behind.

No. She doesn't go back to sleep.

She starts taking jobs again.

It's not so bad she realizes.

Some jobs go well; some don't.

It's still not so bad she believes.

She walks into a house, setting her keys in the bowl on the table near the garage door. She walks patiently into the kitchen. She sees a little girl doing her homework. A tall man has her back towards her. Ariadne ruffles the child's hair affectionately. The girl beams up her.

Hello Maman, the girl smiles. Ariadne returns the grin. She saunters up to the man and wraps her arms around his waist. Suddenly her skin burns. She backs away from the man. In front of her, is Alessio. His face, with a sinister smile etch upon it, is melting. She backs up away from him as he lunges towards her. The previously bright room dims.

She runs to protect the child, but when she turns to face the child, the young girl has a wicked smile on. Ariadne is backed into a corner. Suddenly hundreds of projections take the faces of Alessio. They surround her, grabbing at her. They push and pull at her. She opens her mouth to scream, but nothing comes out.

Then Mal shows up with Robert Fischer.

You're waiting for a train, projection Mal recites as she runs a finger through the sharp side of the knife. The Alessio projections are still attacking her. Projection Robert steps forward and strokes her cheek.

You killed me, He spits at her face.

As of me, projection Mal adds as she plunges the knife into Ariadne's abdomen. The hundred of hands let go instantly as she clutches her stomach. She collapses to the ground, pressing her hands on her bleeding wound. Projection Robert smirks.

Enjoy dying, he says kicking her. She's falling.

She wakes up screaming. Arthur is by her side instantly. She forgets they're back together.

"You still dream." He doesn't ask. Its hours later, she is completely calm now.

"Yes." She replies coldly. He pulls her into his lap and runs his fingers in her hair. His lips linger close to her ears. He blows softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"You're lucky." He says pressing a kiss to her cheek.

She thinks he's the lucky one.