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withlovelica · 1 year

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National Museum of Fine Arts x Ramon Lee Panciteria

I do not frequent the city, I just drop by when I need to. Like my previous post about certain restaurants in Binondo, this was again part of my dad and I's must-visit agenda because we were checking out places he would potentially bring his balikbayan (a Filipino visiting or returning to the Philippines) friends to next week when they arrive. As you have probably figured out, he finds joy in being a local tour guide; history and food just invigorates him. AND fortunate enough for me, I get to experience it too (on the sidelines).

National Museum of Fine Arts

This is the thid time I have visited the National Museum of Fine Arts and it is by far my favorite of all because of the varying collections of paintings and sculptures through different periods of time. It is a place where I could see through dead people's eyes haha I am kidding. To put it less macabre than it actually is, I get to experience history they way these Filipino artists viewed the world during their day. Like my dad, I have a penchant for all things archaic!

But first, kitty duties!

I make it a point to capture cats whenever and wherever I see them! Although these two looked malnourished so it was kind of heartbreaking, I felt even worse that I do not have any food with me. But they have a collar! I am hoping someone IS taking good of them at the very least.

Upon arriving at the museum; passed the security section and registration (did I mention you can enter for free? you just need to present your ID and vaccination card) you will be greeted by this famous and massive masterpiece that is the Spoliarium by Juan Luna. It an exceptionally gory display of the country's fight for prejudice and injustice. If you ask me, the message is still very relatable at present time. It may not be as bloodstained (or is it? as Duterte's EJK come into view) as the colonial period but the struggle for justice and equality still stands strong (or even stronger) today.

Here are some of the pieces that stirred up my emotions:

The carnage of the first room. The gallery painted with Japanese torment during WWII was the first collection we viewed and it was a traumatic scene of agony and destruction as so many lives and houses were destroyed during the Japanese occupation. The painter left nothing to imagination - humanity's rawness was on display. I was grateful that I did not live to see that day. Pictures were enough to convince me that men are capable of so much evil when they succumb themselves to senseless warfare.

Anemoia (it sounds like a disease haha) is a term coined by writer John Koenig, and it describes a certain nostalgia for a time you've never known. That is how I feel about the 40s and the 50s era BUT the war was one huge reality that I did not want to come up against.

Ramon Magsaysay was the seventh President of the Philippines from 1953 to his death in 1957. I was always curious about this particular leader of ours as history books spoke of him so highly. An author by the name of Jose Veloso Abueva even described his regime as “the yardstick by which Filipino presidents should be judged.”

In this day and age, you search for things from the past to give you strength to tackle the present and give you hope for the future. There was a time when the country was not always like this - a mess (to put it lightly and to make this less of a political post).

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This was a group of scholars who set the foundations for the Philippine Revolution in 1896. They are called the Ilustrados a term used to refer to the Filipino educated class during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century. The three most prominent are Dr. Jose Rizal (our national hero), Marcelo H. del Pilar and Mariano Ponce.

While I was going from room to room, I caught a sight of this view from one of the windows. That is the Department of Labor and Employment building on a small hill looking down on the metropolitan city that is Manila. It was surprisingly clean that day which is not a usual occurrence.

The gallery display of Juan Luna and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo's paintings happens to be my favorite! For me, this was the most approachable collection on a hoi polloi level haha. It exhibited the two artists' work of art during their explorations to different countries like Spain and Italy; it was like a photo album of the places they have been to if you will.

I rested on some occasions! it was an enormous collection divided into three floors.

In this photo, I was seated in what used to be the old Senate Senate Session Hall and surrounding it was a mural depicting the history of the Philippines by the National artist, Carlos Botong Francisco.

(Just a few of the shots I took of my dad haha as I was asking him to pose for the camera.)

Ramon Lee Panciteria

Settled in between the busy and narrow streets of Sta. Cruz, Manila is one of the oldest restaurants called Ramon Lee Panciteria which has been operating since 1929.

Back in the day, Ramon Lee, a Chinese immigrant and his wife were famously known for serving their Chinese-style fried chicken and pancit canton. Today, the same combo of dishes are still seen on every table. In fact, that was the very dish we ordered.

Like their food from yesteryears, the panciteria's interior gave off the same nostalgic vibe of the 1920s by retaining the original pink cushioned seats and yellow walls.

Fried Chicken (Whole: P450; Half: P230), Pancit Canton Special (P390) and Shanghai Rice (P320)

Everything emanated a very cozy and homey feeling. Food was again unpretentious and huge in portions that dad and I were were able to take home unfinished dishes.

1919 Grand Cafe

To cap off our meal, we embarked on a polar opposite experience.

Nestled in the corner of Juan Luna St. in Binondo is a Neoclassical edifice which houses the repurposed Grand Cafe 1919. In 1922, it was the former HSBC building, a then heritage jewel.

To cut to the chase, I would like to say that their coffee and desserts are the cherry on top of an exciting food trip in Manila.

Muscovado Latte (P180) and Blueberry Cheesecake (P150)

Try it! I am still on the hunt for the snowflake crisp cookie they served together with my coffee! It was just too good that I had a Ratatouille (yes, the Disney animated movie! haha) encounter. The cookie reminded me so much of a delicacy I used to eat when I was a kid called Peanut Broas! Kuhang kuha yung lasa!

#Manila #food trip #Philippines #National Museum of Fine Arts #Ramon Lee Panciteria #1919 Grand Cafe #manilaguide

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redthreadoffate · 4 years

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the spreading virus [arthur, ariadne]

a repost, originally posted in my former writing blog

ship: arthur x ariadne, wolf (oc) x kitty (oc)

warnings: swearing; edited thrice in a span of…a few minutes so mistakes may be present

notes: this is 1 of my 3 inception babies; i was still using a different voice then but nothing else has changed

summary: there’s a virus spreading around, and arthur has to .protect his family before they can read safety

Happening now in Brooklyn…”

“…as President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines…”

“In other news, Tom Hiddleston and Tom Hardy team-up with Minka Kelly in a fantasy-filled…”

Whether you want to hear about what’s going on locally, internationally or even when it comes to celebrities, the news you hear on the radio, watch on television or read in the newspaper is the one you make sure to catch. And on Thursday morning, December first, it is no different from any other mornings. People wake up to tune in to the daily reports happening around the world.

And that’s just what Arthur Brandon is doing in the very early morning. The kitchen television is on and he’s currently watching today’s special reports. His ears pick up at the local news, and then listens carefully at international news, but zones out on celebrity news. He’s enjoying his brewed, black coffee and buttered toast.

Aside from the TV and his breakfast, his mind is working on a master plan for the day. He can hear footsteps upstairs and he can cross off ‘get children ready’. Once his wife arrives downstairs, they’ll share their two minutes of honeymoon-esque bliss before their daughter arrives to ask them for breakfast. It’s not a regular day for her; she’s playing hooky for a doctor’s appointment. Ariadne would be taking off a day from work to accompany their youngest. Their son would come down in a few seconds, his bag already filled with yesterday’s homework. Arthur would remind him about his inhaler and the younger man would roll his eyes and say, “yes, Dad”.

After a few short conversations, breakfast is over and they’re all ready to pile in the car. Drop Casey off, bring Ariadne and Spencer to the hospital and then it’s his turn to go to work. The day will be just like any other day, he thinks.

“Morning, Arthur,” Ariadne greets as she enters the kitchen. “Anything happening on the news?”

“None that we should be alarmed about,” he replies. They meet halfway and he kisses her. She returns it with much glee. “How’d you sleep?” he asks her, his hands now on her waist.

She gives him a crooked smile. “It scares me when it’s time for the kids’ annual check-ups. They’re going to go in fine—”

“And come out with something serious,” Arthur finishes. “I know, I worry about that, too.” He brings her close and assures her, “Spencer is going to be fine. She’s a healthy girl.”

Speaking of, the young girl arrives in the kitchen with a beam on her face. “Good morning, Daddy. Good morning, Mommy.”

“Good morning, Sweetheart. You seem more cheerful than usual,” Ariadne observes with a quiet laugh. “Is it because you’re skipping school today?”

Spencer giggles as she sits on the stool of the counter. “An excused absence!”

“Don’t be too proud of yourself, little missy,” Arthur teases. “It isn’t fun anymore when you’ve missed lessons and don’t know how to answer your school work properly in the future.”

The young girl sighs dramatically and raises her palms to her cheeks, “Oh, Daddy, you’re the one who keeps saying I’m smart.”

Arthur smiles and moves to kiss her forehead. “That you are, my princess.”

Footsteps approach the kitchen and Arthur doesn’t even have to guess who it is. The eldest of the Brandon children has arrived with his blue backpack behind him. “Morning!” he greets. The three initial Brandons return his cheerful 'morning’ as he slides beside his sister. Just as Arthur predicted, after reminding his son about his inhaler, Casey says “yes, Dad,” with a roll of his eyes. “Your birthday is almost nearing, Spencer.”

“Yeah!”

Ariadne smiles as she sets Casey’s plate in front of him. “What do you want?”

As soon as their mother is out of hearing range, Casey whispers in his sister’s ear. Spencer nods excitedly. “A puppy!”

Arthur and Ariadne look at each with twinkles in their eyes. “Oh really? Do you really want that, Spencey?” Arthur asks.

“I do! I do!” the young brunette replies. “And Casey does, too!”

“Spencer!” Casey shushes her.

About twenty minutes later breakfast is over, dishes are washed and everyone is ready to pile up into the car. Arthur gets into the driver’s seat while Ariadne sits on the passenger seat. Casey and Spencer get into their respective sides in the back seat, Casey behind Ariadne and Spencer behind Arthur. “Seatbelts,” their father reminds. When everyone is ready, Arthur starts the engine and the four begin their journey to their daily endeavors.

The traffic jam turns out to be horrible today. Arthur fears that Casey would be late for school, Ariadne assures him that there’s always a first for everything. Stuck in the city, Casey and Spencer decide to play a childhood game wherein their parents have to guess what they are thinking about. They are now on the fifth round and the adults have yet to guess what the children are thinking.

“Can you keep it as a pet?” Ariadne asks.

“Maybe,” Casey says with a slight shrug. “Possibly.” Spencer nods in agreement. “Dad?”

“So you can see it in the pet store?”

“Nope.” Spencer shakes her head.

Ariadne bites her bottom lip in thought. “Tricky. So it can be a pet but it can’t be found in the pet store…so it’s in the zoo!”

“Yes!” Spencer cheers.

Arthur nods as he steps on the gas pedal but not moving more than ten inches. “When you meant keep it as a pet, did you mean that it is a pet in the zoo?”

Casey replies, “You can also keep it in the house.”

Ariadne sighs. “Alright, I’m ready to use my one and only answer.” Casey and Spencer eagerly coax her. “Some sort of sea animal? A shark, maybe?”

“Wrong!” the kids yell with glee at the same time. If Arthur doesn’t get it, the score would be three-two. Guess who’s winning. “It’s not that, Mom,” Casey says. “Although good guess. That was what we were almost thinking.”

“Your turn, Daddy.”

Frustrated with the traffic jam and partly bored with the childhood game, Arthur shrugs and says, “I give up. What is it?”

“A wildcat!” Spencer announces. “We win! Casey and I win!”

“Oh, I see,” Arthur murmurs. He’s now interested in the commotion happening in front of him. Two men have begun arguing, one man who had stayed in his lane while the other had tried to overtake him from another lane. As he was watching intently, thinking of plans on how to get out of the scene in case anything will happen, an NYPD officer in a motorcycle zooms past their car with much force that they broke the side-mirror. “What the—”

“And he’s just going to run away!?” Casey demands

“Stay inside,” Arthur commands as he unfastens his seatbelt and unlocks the door.

“Be careful,” Ariadne tells him

Arthur steps out of the vehicle and walks the short distance to where the side-mirror landed. He’s cautious about the men who are still arguing with one another. As he picks up the damaged part the driver from the car beside him asks if he’s all right. “Good, just…” Arthur shows the side-mirror to him, “poor thing.” The driver gives a crooked smile before nodding. Arthur returns the nod before returning inside the car. “That went well.”

Just then, another NYPD officer in a motorcycle arrives and stops right beside their car. “Stay inside! Stay inside! Do not—” He is unable to continue his sentence as he is hit by a speeding (or as fast as it could get) truck. Casey immediately covers Spencer’s eyes. Ariadne and Arthur look at each other in shock.

“Daddy, what’s going on?” Spencer asks, eyes still covered by her brother’s hands. “What happened to that man?”

Arthur doesn’t answer. Instead, he looks out the window and sees people screaming and running around. The two men in front had stopped arguing and are now back inside their cars, honking away. The driver beside them had run away, leaving his side of the door wide open. Arthur feels Ariadne’s hand hold onto his elbow. “The children,” is all she says. He nods in understanding. He’ll get them out, he’ll get them safe. Suddenly, another truck passes by them and Arthur notices that it’s making a path way for itself. He re-fastens his seatbelt and says, “Hold on tight.”

Casey lets go of his sister and holds onto the seat. Spencer looks at him before copying his movements. Ariadne holds on to the door. Arthur steps on the gas and follows the truck wherever it passes by. This goes on for a good few minutes but once he hits the intersection, Arthur doesn’t see a car to his left. They crash and for a moment, everything is black and blurry for him.

“Ariadne,” he manages, “the kids…” He looks to his right and sees Ariadne trying to calm the children down. She’s holding onto her temple meaning she may have a bump. But as parents, their first priority will always be the children. “We have to get out,” he says softly. “Have to find…someplace safe.” Ariadne unbuckles her seatbelt and opens her door. Arthur gathers up his energy before doing the same, thinking that the kids should be safe. He opens Spencer’s door and unfastens her seatbelt. “Are you okay, Spencey?”

“Yes, Daddy,” she replies, “I’m okay.” She puts up a brave front.

He picks her up and places her on his hip. On the other side, Ariadne is caressing their son’s hair, probably to calm him down. At the corner of his eye, he sees people running away and screaming, not much of a different sight from earlier.

However, this time, he sees a man acting strangely. He’s running towards the people as if he’s about to attack them. He watches closely. The strange-acting man aims for a van not far away from him. He tries entering the van but the people had locked themselves in. To Arthur’s surprise, the man jumps to the front and tries to break the windshield. After a few attempts, he is successful and drags the driver out before…biting him? Arthur’s eyes widen. He bit the driver. At the back of his head, he began to count…

'One Mississippi…’

“Arthur, we have to go!”

'Two Mississippi…’

'Three Mississippi…’

It’s not until the third second that the bitten man begins to have a seizure.

“Arthur!”

'Four Mississippi…’

The man begins to stand.

'Five Mississippi…’

'Six Mississippi…’

His seizure continues.

'Seven Mississippi…’

“Arthur, let’s go!”

'Eight Mississippi…’

'Nine Mississippi…’

“Daddy!”

'Ten Mississippi…’

His head twists and turns.

'Eleven Mississippi…’

He growls.

'Twelve Mississippi!’

Attacks.

“Arthur!”

Arthur jumps out of his thoughts and turns to see Ariadne holding onto a heavy breathing Casey. He looks around for a way to escape. “There!” He points towards a heavy van. “Get in there!” The family begins to run. But all the while, Arthur watches what the bitten man is doing. Once they reach the van, he searches for the keys and fortunately, they’re still in. Just as he is about to start the engine, a woman attacks them and is forcing her way inside through the open window. Arthur does his best to ignite the engine. When it does, he drives a little recklessly, hoping to throw out the woman. But to his surprise, Ariadne kicks the attacker and they are, at last, pretty safe.

As they enter the highway, Ariadne moves to the back of the van to stay with Casey, whose breathing intensified. After a few minutes, she calls her husband to pull over so that she could look for his medicine. Arthur stays with his son as Ariadne searches through Casey’s backpack. “There’s only one in here, the extra one is in my purse…shoot, I left it in the car in a hurry to leave.”

“It’s alright,” Arthur tells her. “We’ll figure this out. The one we have now will have to do.” Arthur kisses Casey’s forehead as he moves back to the driver’s seat now that Ariadne has taken over once again. “Are you okay there, Spencey?”

Spencer, who had been going around the van, nods and says, “Yes, Daddy. Look what I found!” She comes out of the cabinet she had been looking at and reveals a Remington 700 BDL rifle.

Arthur immediately stands to go to her. “Whoah, whoah, whoah! Be careful with that.” He takes the dangerous weapon away from his daughter and places it on the passenger seat. Must be a hunter’s van, he wonders. When he sees Spencer back on her seat, he sits on the driver seat again, ready to start the engine. But just then, there is a vibration going on in Arthur’s pocket and he realizes someone’s calling him. He looks at the screen and sees a familiar name. “Hello?”

“Are you with your family?”

“Yes.”

“Are you safe?”

“For now.”

“Good. We’ll pick you up as soon as we can.”

“You mean, you can’t pick us up now?”

“I’m afraid not. We have some…issues. The earliest we can is sunrise.”

Arthur sighs. “Better than nothing.”

“Find some place safe for the night and we’ll get you once we can, I promise.”

“Alright.” When they end the call, Ariadne asks who was on the other line. “It’s Dom,” he answers.

Ariadne looks at him. “And?”

“He’ll pick us up as soon as he can. But that won’t be until sunrise. We need to get supplies.” He revs up the engine and moves forward. “We’ll find a supermarket or something along the way.”

It takes them an hour to find a grocery store. Unfortunately, word must have gone out and there are people rushing in and out of the place. Arthur stops the engine and grabs the keys. As he is about to go down he remembers the rifle and looks at it for a second before deciding to take it with him. The whole family rushes inside the store and Arthur takes Casey’s hand. “We’ll find the medicine.”

“I’ll get as much supplies as we can,” Ariadne says. She picks up Spencer and places her inside the nearest pushcart she can find. “If we don’t find each other we’ll meet back here, alright?”

“Okay.” Arthur nods. They separate and Arthur and Casey head to the pharmacy. Once they’re there, Arthur immediately looks for albuterol.

“Dad,” Casey calls out, his voice shaking.

Arthur looks up and sees a twenty-something junkie holding a gun. When he looks behind the younger man he sees the pharmacist dead on the ground. Arthur shields his son with his own body. “Hey.”

“What are you looking for?” the young man asks.

“Albuterol,” Arthur replies.

The junkie nods towards Casey. “For him?”

“Yeah.”

Without a word, the younger man moves behind the desks and grabs a few packs of medicine. He walks to Arthur and hands him what he has. “Take it.”

Arthur grabs the medicine and says “thank you”. Before he could ask more questions he hears a familiar scream. “Spencer!” he calls out. He turns around and sees the pushcart his daughter is in just a few feet away from him. Ariadne is nowhere near her. Arthur brings Casey to his little sister and he drops the medicine in the cart. “Where’s Mommy?” he asks.

“Arthur!”

“Stay here,” Arthur instructs Casey. He then sees Ariadne being assaulted by two men not far from them. “Hey! Hey!” Arthur aims his rifle at them and successfully shoots one of the two. Distracted by his companions injury, Ariadne gets the chance to escape and runs to her husband. When the uninjured assaulter realizes that Ariadne is gone, he turns out to also have a gun, a SIG-Sauer P229, and starts shooting at the couple. Arthur shoots at his leg. A cop from one of the aisles appears and Arthur raises his hands to surrender…but the cop jogs past them and begins collecting his own supplies. Arthur and Ariadne look at him then at each other before returning to their children.

Once they have gathered all the supplies and placed them in the bags that they had gotten they leave the grocery store.

“Where’s the van?” Casey asks.

“What?” Arthur looks up to where they left the van and sees that it’s gone. “Shit,” he mutters under his breath. “Someone must have hotwired it.”

“We didn’t leave anything important, did we?” Ariadne checks to see Casey and Spencer carrying their bags and Arthur nodding. She looks around and spots a building some kilometers away. “Arthur.” She points at it.

Arthur holds on to Spencer who holds onto Casey while he grabs onto his mother. He reaches for his phone and calls Dom. “Cobb, we’ll be in the Aero building. Yeah…still here in Brooklyn, yes…we’ve got flares, that’ll be our signal tomorrow…alright, alright.”

The four continue running towards their destination, dodging people who are trying to attack them. As they near the building one of the attackers aims for the children. Arthur doesn’t bother to think, he just aims the rifle at the incoming intruder and shoots him. Without wasting a second the family runs inside but they are chased by another group. They run up the stairs looking for an open door. Luckily, a door on the fourth floor is open and Ariadne ushers the kids inside while Arthur holds off the monsters.

“Arthur, get in here!”

He quickly kicks the one he had been fending off and rushes inside, closing and locking the door behind him. Panting, Arthur checks on his family and notices one member is missing. “Where’s Spencer?”

“Please let me in!”

Arthur and Ariadne look at each other before running to the corner of the hallway. They see Spencer standing in front of a door and calling for the people inside to let her in. “Spencer!” her parents call out.

When they reach her, the door opens and they see a man not older than Arthur with curly brown hair. A woman, almost the same age, with tan skin and long dark hair is behind him. “Get inside,” the man orders, “hurry!”

Spencer runs inside as Ariadne follows. Casey is a little hesitant but Arthur ushers him inside. “Dad,” is all he says.

“I’ll take care of it,” the father assures the son. Casey nods and hurries inside with Arthur.

Once inside, the man locks the door and pushes a heavy cabinet to block it. Arthur doesn’t think it will hold but it will do for now. The woman disappears into a room and comes out a minute later with glasses of water. “You must all be thirsty from running,” she says and hands each Brandon member a glass. “Here, it’s cold.”

“Thank you,” Casey and Spencer say in unison.

“Thank you,” Ariadne follows with a smile.

Arthur gives a tight smile before drinking from his glass.

“Are you all okay?” the man asks.

Arthur grunts. “We’ve been better.”

The woman leads them into another room—the dining room—and gives the children some food. “I made these this morning,” she says as she puts the plate down. Chocolate chip cookies. “Dig in.”

“Thank you, miss!” Spencer says with enthusiasm. She gets a cookie and bites into it with great gusto. “This is delicious!”

The man, presumably the head of the house, looks to both Arthur and Ariadne. “Please, make yourselves at home. I can tell you’ve been running around the whole day.”

Arthur gives him a glance. “Thank you for bringing us into your home.”

“It’s no problem.”

After a minute of silence, the woman clears her throat. “How rude of us, we haven’t introduced ourselves. My name is Katharine, but you can call me Kitty.”

“Kitty!” Spencer gasps.

“Ms. Kitty,” Ariadne corrects. She gives Kitty a small smile before introducing herself. “I’m Ariadne. This is my daughter Spencer, and my son Casey.”

“Hello,” Kitty greets. “You look the same age as my son,” she pats Casey’s head.

“My name is Arthur.”

“And I’m W—Cirian.”

“You can call him Wolf,” Kitty says with a huge smile.

Wolf chuckles. “I suppose.”

“You mentioned you have a son,” Ariadne says. “Is he here?”

Kitty nods. “Yes, he’s in his room. He’s quite scared.”

After talking a bit, Casey and Spencer succumb to their exhaustion and Wolf and Kitty offer their bedroom to them. Ariadne politely declines but the husband and wife would not take no for an answer. Arthur and Wolf get to know one another while Kitty and Ariadne bond. Arthur and Wolf both don’t say much about their lives but they can tell that they can trust each other. Meanwhile, Kitty and Ariadne talk about their children.

Arthur excuses himself to check on his children. When he enters the master bedroom, he sees Casey asleep but Spencer nowhere to be found. Assured that she’s just somewhere around the house, he begins to search for her. He enters another room and sees his daughter sound asleep on a blue-covered bed. A young boy is watching over her.

“Are you her father?” he asks when he notices Arthur come in.

“Yes. And you are?”

“Liam,” he answers. “She came into my room wanting to talk to someone. She fell asleep. I decided to watch over her.”

Arthur smiles. “Thank you.”

The next morning the Brandons are preparing to leave. Arthur borrows a knife and tapes it to the edge of the rifle, copying a bayonet. Wolf, Kitty and Liam are watching them. Spencer, who had been staying close to Liam, turns to him and says, “Come with us.”

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“I don’t know. But somewhere safe. Daddy was talking to Uncle Dom.”

Arthur looks at the family in front of him. “Come with us. It’ll be much safer.”

Wolf looks at Kitty. “We’ll be a burden.”

“No,” Ariadne intervenes. “Come with us, please.”

“If you need to pack anything, hurry,” Arthur orders. Wolf and Kitty don’t need to be told twice. Kitty brings Liam with her to the master bedroom while Wolf removes the rug on the floor, revealing a secret door. Arthur watches him. After rummaging through, Wolf reveals he had a Benelli Supernova Tactical hidden beneath. As he readies the weapon, Arthur notices a familiar tattoo that was hidden by the long-sleeved shirt Wolf was wearing. Arthur usually hides his with a watch. Arthur smirks. “You never said you worked for Avalanche.”

“You never said you owned it,” Wolf says, mirroring his smirk.

When everyone is ready and Arthur briefly explains to them that Avalanche will send a rescue team for the family, Wolf and Arthur move the cabinet away. Quietly, the two families move to the fire exit, careful not to attract any of the attackers. Reaching the stairs without any problems, Arthur and Wolf have a silent agreement that one should be up front and another as the tail. Wolf ends up at front since he knows the place more.

Unfortunately, as they near the top of the stairs, one monster appears and begins to chase them. “Go, go, go!” Arthur commands. The families run up as quickly as they can. Arthur gets stuck on the second flight and tries to fend off the attacker. Saliva begins to drip down to his shirt and Arthur fears this could be another way to make him turn. There’s a bang and Arthur looks up to see Wolf aiming his Benelli at the fallen one. “You good?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Come on, let’s go.”

Arthur stands and makes his way up the stairs. He can smell the smoke of the flare but once he Wolf lock the door, he heads straight for the edge and begins counting to twelve. He can hear his family calling out for him but he’d rather fall than make them kill him. “One thousand and ten…one thousand and eleven…one thousand and twelve…” Everything is normal. He stays for a few more second before returning to the group.

“What’s wrong?” Ariadne asks.

“DNA,” is all he replies. He hears a chopper flying by and he’s sure it’s the one sent by Avalanche.

“Haven’t seen that in a while,” both Arthur and Wolf say.

Suddenly the door begins to bang and more attackers are breaking through the small glass. Arthur hopes that the chopper would hurry. His hopes don’t come true as the door is broken the monsters start aiming at them. Wolf and Arthur shield their families and ready their rifles. Luckily, the people on the chopper start firing and they’ve hit more than the two men could. The chopper finally lands on the roof and the two families enter without hesitating.

“Go!” Arthur instructs Wolf. Once he’s inside, Arthur makes a run for it and climbs the chopper. The soldiers inside fend off the remaining attackers as they ready for takeoff.

Once up in the air, everyone relaxes. One of the soldiers removes their sunglasses and sighs. “This is not how I planned a family reunion would be.”

“Uncle Edward!” Casey and Spencer shriek.

“And there are my two favorite godchildren.” He smiles.

“Edward,” Arthur calls him.

“Hey, big bro.”

It takes about an hour to reach the base, and when they do, the one and only Zobedja Brandon greets them. Dom Cobb is on his side. The soldiers help the children and the women off the chopper and Arthur and Wolf look around a bit to see what they had been missing. Spencer grabs Liam’s hand and they run towards the older man in charge. Casey is uncomfortable with how close his sister is to the boy.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!” Spencer calls out.

Zobedja crouches down and engulfs his granddaughter in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I love you, Spencer.”

“I love you, too, Grandpa.” When she squirms away from him, she introduces Liam to the older man. “This is Liam, he’s my best friend.”

“Hello, Liam.”

“Hello, sir.”

Casey is now on the other side of Spencer and he greets his grandfather. “Grandpa.”

“Casey.” This time Zobedja hugs him. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Arthur and Ariadne follow, with Wolf and Kitty not far from them. Edward jogs to his father’s side. “Dad,” Arthur says. “Thank you.”

Zobedja smiles. “It’s no problem.” He turns to his other son and tells him to lead the women and children to their rooms. Edward nods and asks them to follow him. Wolf wonders why he’s still here. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Guillory. I see you and Ms. Hart have been busy.”

“She’s Mrs. Guillory now.”

Zobedja chuckles. “I see.”

“What’s happening, Dad?”

“I need your help, Arthur. You’re the best researcher out there and only you can help us figure out a way to know and solve this problem.”

“You mean, no one knows how this started?”

“There have been theories, but none has been proven. Adam has been trying to figure it out what’s happening.”

“Dr. Eames?” Wolf clarifies.

“Yes.” Zobedja nods. “But he needs more samples and he needs to know the root cause before he can help make a cure…if it’s possible.”

“What do you need?” Arthur asks.

Zobedja sighs. “I need you, Adam, and now that you’re here Cirian,” he nods to the other man, “to fly to South Korea. That’s where the first known zombie,” he clears his throat, “or patient zero, was said to be.”

Arthur and Wolf look at each other and give the commander a nod.

tagging: @angel-cap

#misc: cherish writes #inception #arthur x ariadne #arthur #ariadne

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