A/N: Ok I'm so sorry for the long wait, my boyfriend doesn't know I like to write these things, so trying to write this long chapter was extra hard with this being his two days off. I think this chapter is about three times longer than my other ones, so I hope that more than makes up for it. I'm so thankful to you all for your reviews, so many of you all have reviewed consistently, and I love each and every one of you for it 3

Part 7

"Cobb!" Arthur choked out as Russo snatched forward, grabbing him by the tie. Cobb whirled around, face frozen with confusion and shock.

"Russo must have come in after sending me back!" Arthur gasped, as his hands clawed at Russo's arms, trying to disentangle himself from the man's grip.

Cobb looked around frantically for any kind of weapon, but froze when Russo pulled out a rather nasty looking jagged knife and gave him a sadistic grin.

"I would stop that if I were you." He smiled. Cobb stood still, raising his arms in a non-threatening manner. Arthur continued to kick out and thrash against the evil man, who looked down at him with irritation.

"Tell the boy to stop fighting." He commanded. Cobb looked hopelessly at Arthur and took a deep breath.

"Arthur, stop." He grimaced, hating to give the younger man such an order. Arthur scowled at him in frustration, but stopped his thrashing and instead just glowered at everything in his line of sight.

"Where's your third partner?" Russo demanded his smiling face switching to one of dead seriousness.

"If we thought you were him, then I think it's fairly obvious we don't know where he is." Arthur snapped, using an extremely condescending tone of voice. He really couldn't be sicker of this man and the whole nightmare his life had become in general, and frankly he just didn't care anymore.

Russo growled and threw Arthur on the floor landing a vicious kick to his stomach. Arthur curled up and gasped in pain, and Cobb made a move to get closer.

"Stay back!" He shouted, waving the knife around, and once Cobb was standing silently in place again to his satisfaction, he reaffirmed his point by landing a hard kick to Arthur's ribs. Arthur cried out in pain and curled up as small as he could get.

"What do you want, Russo? You kidnap us, you make us do this job for you...this is insane! Just let us go, we don't owe you anything." Cobb's voice was raising, he was losing his cool at having to watch this.

"You owe me everything! Through our whole life, all I had was my brother. Then he got taken away from me, and you wouldn't even try to help! You wouldn't even try. And THEN I hear you're plotting against me? Plotting against my brother?" Russo screamed, as he reached down and yanked the prone Arthur off the ground by his tie. Slamming him against the wall, he held his hand against his throat and began to tighten his grip while he kept his eyes glued on Cobb.

Arthur choked and tried desperately to loosen the crazy man's grasp. Finding it impossible, he began instead to kick at his attacker.

"Stop fighting back!" Russo screamed in frustration, and let go briefly to instead land a hard punch to the younger man's jaw. Arthur's head clunked against the wall, and he sank dazed to the ground. Fading out of reality a bit, he heard a scuffle as Cobb leapt towards them and through blurry eyes saw his partner fall to the ground.

"Guards!" He heard Russo's voice screaming, and after a few moments, a group of footfalls running down the hall. Arthur held his head up weakly and tried to spot Cobb through the haze, but his movement only earned him another kick to the ribs, which sent stars flashing in front of his eyes. Two men grabbed an arm each and lifted him up, though the pain in his ribs was excruciating as he was forced to his wobbly feet.

His head began to clear as he was being roughly led down the hallway, and he spotted Cobb behind him with his own two guards. Blood was seeping out of his lower right side and it looked like he had sustained a painful stab. Their eyes locked briefly and Arthur had to look away as the older man's expression verged on hopelessness. Cobb never gave up, and that look in his eyes was something Arthur never wanted to see again. Walking was unbearable enough until he reached the stairwell. Each jolt down the stairs made him wince and he suspected he had some broken ribs. Russo led the macabre parade, gleefully looking back at them every few seconds to drink in their expressions, savouring the situation.

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It hadn't taken Eames long to find his friends once he heard a scream for guards and the sounds of footfalls running up the stairs. He had only managed to search through half of the upstairs bedrooms before the new activity made him cautiously peek his head around the door, worried someone had spotted him.

Heart sinking, he saw the familiar face of Russo practically jumping out of his skin in excitement. Following, there was a hunched over Arthur being supported on both sides, and finally Cobb shuffling along, a little bit of blood trailing on the wooden hallway behind him.

Eames started to softly follow after them as his head began to work carefully through the details. If Russo was here, there would only be that meathead with the broken nose left behind in the basement. It wouldn't do much good for Arthur or him to get back as they were still handcuffed, but maybe if Cobb were killed...

Quietly, he crept behind them from a fair distance; he was going to need to bide his time to wait for the right opportunity to rescue them all.

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It seemed like an eternity to Arthur as he was being half dragged along in excruciating pain before they finally began to make their way through the silent dancers and advance towards the Prince's throne.

"You're back? And you brought me something?" The Prince asked, curiously.

"Yes, brother, I've come to rescue you." Russo said, proudly.

"Rescue me from what?" He said, suspiciously. "We were just sitting here chatting moments before, what's changed?" He asked, baffled.

"Oh, were we now?" Russo grinned, as he reached back and scuffed Arthur's hair playfully. "Your friend must be a better forger than I thought he was!" He laughed at Arthur. "Pity it didn't help you in the end."

"Wait, what's going on? I know I saw that younger man die, it happened just in that other room...I don't understand, this doesn't make any sense." The Prince babbled as he gave Arthur a sceptical eye. His precarious hold on reality was starting to shift.

"I hired these men to save you; they were supposed to wake you up."

"Wake me up from what?" He demanded, frustrated by the lack of answers.

"You had a fall, out of a window. You may not remember. You were in a coma and I'm here to get you out."

"But...no, we've been here together for years, building my kingdom together." The Prince countered.

"You've been in a coma for less than a month, not years. Is his head alright?" Russo looked back at both Arthur and Cobb.

"Time passes more slowly in dreams." Cobb confirmed painfully, sagging a bit at the waist. Russo frowned at that answer and looked back at the two men, another question on his lips.

"So how long have we been here for in real life?" He quizzed.

"Maybe ten to fifteen minutes?" Cobb replied, after it was clear Arthur would prefer to just glare at Russo and not answer. Russo looked around in disbelief; a large grin broke across his face.

"Well that's just amazing! Why would you even bother staying in reality?" Russo asked, looking around at the two pained faces who weren't sharing in his mirth. "Maybe after this we can leave and go into my own dream!" Arthur shuddered involuntarily, and Russo smiled at him "You'd enjoy it, I promise!" He grinned.

"But...no, this can't be a dream, this is real. I don't know what you're trying to pull." The Prince shook his head, looking from one face to another. "Do we just wake up then, if it's a 'so called' dream?"

"No, I'll have to kill you I think. But I promise it'll be alright, you'd wake up again with me." Russo replied, looking around for confirmation. Arthur and Cobb remained silent, refusing to confirm or deny this.

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Eames was standing a small ways away, hidden in the crowd of dancers and felt a sort of half-formed plan start to hatch in his head. Deciding he had little or no time to spare, he decided this was the best idea he was going to have and barrelled through the crowd.

"Brother!" He yelled, being sure to get the attention of everyone present. He couldn't help to smirk a bit to himself at the expression of shock that was plastered on all of their faces. He so did enjoy being the center of attention sometimes.

"I got here just in time." He stated, walking with the upmost confidence until he was standing by the Prince's side.

"What...?" The prince demanded, staring at disbelief from one to the other.

"That man's an imposter...and a poor one at that. He's trying to take over your kingdom. He was just trying to trick you so you'd let him kill you!" Eames stated, staring into his 'twin's' eyes. The Prince let a flicker of doubt cross them.

"We've been through a lot together, brother, do you think I would ever ask to kill you?" He asked, but still seeing no real response changed his tactic. "You didn't actually believe him, did you?" He scoffed.

"No!" The Prince denied vehemently, their sibling rivalry trumping everything. "Well who are the other men?" He asked.

"Just a clever distraction, they're actually on his team." Eames explained. "That blonde one with the stab wound, he's the real leader of this group." Eames pointed him out. The Prince looked sceptical, but Eames had a card up his sleeve to completely convince him.

"Pass me a knife." He commanded, and his twin handed one over.

"If you kill me, I'll kill you while you're stuck in here." Russo hissed. "Then I'll kill Cobb...but I'll keep Arthur. Would you really do that to him?"

Eames simply ignored him, though he was having a hard time of seeing Arthur hunched over, bloodied and battered next to him.

"To tell it's an imposter, brother, you have to see how he reacts when I try to kill his leader." Eames shouted over his shoulder as he took two purposeful strides towards Cobb.

Seeing where this was going, Russo suddenly began to panic, realization and horror crossing his face.

"No! No, don't let him do that!" Russo screamed, and he started to try to stop Eames.

"Guards, seize that man!" The Prince shouted, now completely convinced Eames was his brother and the other was the imposter.

Eames continued forward and giving an apologetic look to Cobb, he stabbed him quickly in the stomach. Cobb's eyes looked up at him in understanding and they slowly faded away as Eames pulled the knife out and Cobb quickly bled out.

"Kill me, kill me quick!" Russo screeched in panic between the two guards, thrashing out in desperation. "You don't understand what you've done, you idiot!"

The Prince a bit startled by this outburst, looked to Eames for an indication of what to do next.

"Should we kill him, you and I...together?" He asked.

"This traitor doesn't deserve a quick death." He answered. The Prince nodded, but Russo kept his maniacal screeching.

"Ask him any question about our childhood; ask him anything, he's an imposter!"

Getting slightly nervous, and knowing he still had to buy time for Cobb to take out the goon guarding them all, Eames walked over to Russo and punched him has hard as he could in the mouth, savouring every moment of it as the crazy man spat out blood and a tooth. "The first man we killed together was Nathan Rhys, under the overpass, in-" And here Eames punched him again, though the damage was already done.

"Where was it, brother?" The Prince asked, suspicious eyes were now levelled at Eames.

"Oh, well..." Eames stammered.

"See, he doesn't know! It was under the overpass that time we visited Derby on a summer vacation!" A flash of panic crossed the Prince's eyes at the realization that this was the truth and he had made an error in judgement.

"Get him!" He commanded, panicked, and the guards who had been watching Cobb moved in and grabbed Eames before he even had a chance to turn and fight. The knife dropped harmlessly to the ground as Russo shook his arms free of his own guards and glared at them both. His relief was short lived when suddenly his brother's face had a look of bewilderment, and he suddenly dropped motionless to the ground.

"No!" Russo screamed, looking around as the dancers began to slowly disintegrate as if they were made of sand. Russo spotted the knife on the ground where Eames had been forced to drop it, and began to make a break for it.

Through his mind was hazy with pain, Arthur more than anything felt irritated by how slowly Cobb was killing the twins off, but then recalled the obvious fact that time was moving more slowly where they were. Realizing he need to buy Cobb a few more minutes, he wrenched his hands away from his guards who were now disintegrating. Having the advantage of being closer to the knife, he dove on it and protected it with his body. Eames managed to wrench one arm free and grabbed at Russo's shirt, but he tugged free of the grip and jumped on Arthur, a flurry of fists and rage as he tried to reach the knife that would save his life. Rolling about on the ground to avoid the blows, Arthur protected the knife with all he had in him while Eames desperately kicked out at Russo. Suddenly Russo stopped and looked down as he straddled the younger man on his back still lying carefully over the knife.

"You may have bested me tonight, but I die confident of one fact." He grinned his familiar sadistic grin as Arthur scowled up at him. "I've seen the fear in your eyes. I know that even though my physical body may die today, I will always haunt your nightmares. It will be a long, long time before you don't look over your shoulder, Arthur." He smirked, suddenly appearing to be at peace with his impending death. Eames finally broke free and landed a kick at Russo's stomach that sent him sprawling on his back. There he lay crumpled, the look of sadistic glee forever frozen on his face.

Eames walked forward and held a hand out to Arthur, who painfully accepted it and slowly attempted to stand up. Crying out in pain at the effort, he was forced to instead stay seated as he held his ribs wincing. Eames took a seat next to him on the ground, taking in the point man's general appearance. His face sported a nasty split lip and black eye, while his hair was all over the place and his vest and tie were wrinkled and torn beyond repair. Once again Eames was struck by how young he looked when everything about his image wasn't meticulously in place.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this, darling-" Eames began, but Arthur shot him an uncharacteristic glare.

"Don't. Just don't, Eames." He said, his eyes glowering sharply at his feet. Sneaking a look up at Eames shocked look, he felt a little badly for his outburst.

"Thanks for your help, though. Cobb's going to be impressed at your quick thinking when we get back." Arthur smiled at him, but it wasn't the familiar smile he usually gave him; there was nothing behind it. No light in his eyes, no emotion at all.

Eames, unsure of what to say next, clapped Arthur on the back in a friendly gesture but felt even worse when Arthur winced at the friendly affection. Sighing, he reclined as he watched the rocks and buildings fall all around them. The shadow of a large slab of rock was the only indication that they would be departing soon, though they never looked up as part of the ceiling crushed them.

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Awake with a gasp, Arthur's eyes darted around in a panic as he cautiously looked at his surroundings. Cobb was unlocking his cuff with a key, and he couldn't believe how long it felt since he had last been here.

Relieved at the newfound freedom, he stretched out his aching left arm and inspected the now dried blood on his right sleeve. The arm still throbbed, but was nothing like the pain he had just experienced.

Cobb, mindful of his injury, helped him up and Arthur looked around suspiciously at the three bodies littering the floor as Cobb moved over to unlock Eames.

Carefully he kicked at all three, gauging for a response of life. Finally satisfied they were all dead, he turned back to look at Cobb and Eames who were watching his behaviour cautiously in silence.

"Let's just get out of here, right?" Eames suggested uneasily, and they all made their way up the stairs.

Eames frowned as he noticed that Arthur made a noticeable point to position himself between the two men throughout the entire building and the long walk home, and began to worry that the little point man would never be the same. Going up the elevator to their respective hotel rooms, Arthur paused in front of his door.

"You uh...you can stay in my room Eames, the bed's a queen size." He offered meekly, and though Cobb had a perfectly nice couch in his suite, Eames sensed it was more than just a polite offer. He didn't think Arthur would be able to spend the night alone and he wordlessly followed him in.

They both got down to their boxers and undershirts and climbed into bed. Eames longed for the last mission where they stayed up all night drinking together to get over the job, but he knew Arthur had gone through something different and he'd give him all the time he needed to get better again.

Cobb opened the door that adjoined their rooms, and peeked his head in to check up on the both of them. Padding softly into the room, he peered over the bed and saw that Arthur appeared to be sleeping. Sitting on the edge, careful not to disturb his young partner, he looked levelly at Eames.

"I wanted to thank you for your quick thinking back there" He said, and Eames shrugged modestly. "I don't know how long it'll be before Arthur wants to work again, but when we do take our next job, I hope we can count on you to join us." He said, essentially offering Eames a job.

Arthur rolled over, not sleeping after all.

"I want to start working immediately." He said, staring up at the two men, ruffled hair sticking every which direction. "I need to be working and distracted."

"I know this has been hard on you, Arthur. If you want to take a break from working with me after all this is said and done, I completely understand." Cobb said guiltily, looking back at him uncertainly. He felt like he had completely let down his younger partner the entire job.

A smile slowly broke across Arthur's tired face as he let that sink in, surprised that Cobb had even considered it.

"What would I do on a break?" Arthur quizzed, "We're almost broke and didn't get paid for this job. I have no legal job experience, Cobb. I never even finished school." Arthur looked down and absentmindedly pulled the blankets tighter around him. "I just need to keep busy." He gave a half hearted smile.

Cobb shrugged, feeling somewhat reassured though still a little guilty about the younger man taking a disproportionate amount of abuse on the mission.

"Alright, I'll start looking again tomorrow." Cobb replied warily as he trudged tiredly back out of the room. Arthur cozied back up in the bed and was asleep almost instantly.

Eames laid back in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't sleep a wink that entire night though was more than happy to wake Arthur up whenever his face distorted in fear, and nightmares began to take over his peaceful sleep.

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A/N: I'm super sorry if this wasn't as up to snuff as the rest were, haha I think I may have written myself into a corner. I really should have just written the story all at once instead of one chapter at a time but when I do that, I just end up double guessing everything because it's not perfect and then I give up. That might have been part of the problem for this chapter, too, I've just been double guessing everything trying to make it good enough, but yeah. Either way, thank you so much for all of your comments, they kept me going through this story! I literally would have just given up this chapter without all the encouragement. 3 to you all!