ISOLATION CHANGES EVERYTHING
A/N: This oneshot is based upon the episode "The Wall" and what "could've" been going on in Sylar/Gabriel's head while he was stuck in the nightmare.
Everywhere I walk the only thing I can hear is the sound of my own breath and the pounding of my heart against the interior walls of my chest. The deserted streets offer no solution to my predicament…I am lost…I am alone.
All I wanted was the escape the life I had lead for the passed four years…to rid myself of the alter-ego known as "Sylar". So I asked Matt Parkman for help and what did he give me, where did he place me? He trapped me inside my own nightmare and I didn't even see it coming.
For someone who has Intuitive Aptitude as their inherent ability you'd think I would've been able to sense Parkman's motives. After all I had lived inside his mind for over six months. I had even been successful at using Parkman's ability against him, but none of my tricks worked this time. I guess it was because I wasn't concentrating on any of them. I was just so desperate to be free.
And now I find myself here.
It's been three years since I've seen a soul…correction, it's been three hours according to Peter that I've been stuck inside this hell hole. Speaking of Peter, as usual he had come to do the whole "hero" thing and get me out of the nightmare. He said I had to save his friend Emma, or something like that. But even with Parkman's ability at his disposal not even Peter, the "Boy Wonder" could get us out of here. According to him, he is just supposed to grab me and take us out of here. And although his decision to "save my life" seems honourable and noble, I still sense that he is holding back from engaging in any kind of conversation with me. it's quite plain to see that he's still holding onto the past that we so inconveniently share.
As the hours, minutes and seconds continue to tick away Peter refuses to make any meaningful contact with me. He still just wants to get out of here using some quick-fix method. Yet I know that getting out of the nightmare won't be so easy.
Why does he have to be so cold and withdrawn from me? Can't he see that I've made an effort to change, that I've repent for the wrongs I've done? All I can do is sigh deeply as I realize that I would possibly give myself the same reception if I were in Peter's position. It's hard to look someone in the face knowing that they killed the one person who meant so much to you. I know for Peter his relationship with Nathan was paramount in his life.
After all the bickering, generous offers and cold-shoulder treatment, Peter has been beating the hell out of a brick wall that won't seem to come down. I've chosen to try and communicate with him on some normal level, but the Petrelli has continued to prove how stubborn he is toward me. So I choose to quietly sit down and wait until he is ready to talk.
Boom, Boom, Boom! That's all I've been hearing for the last few hours as Peter continues his attack upon the wall. I can't take it anymore. Not only is the sound of the sledgehammer annoying me, but also the fact that Peter refuses to forgive is driving me crazy. When will he let-up? I approach him and question about his feelings toward the murder of Nathan and whether he wants to hit me with the hammer. Peter answers me saying that "he finds it hard to forgive someone who has done so much wrong, and Yes, he does feel like hitting me with the sledgehammer". I try to explain to him once again that I'm different now, that I've repented. But it doesn't take with the young man.
I pick up the sledgehammer and approach Peter, my weapon in hand. He looks at me as if this is our final battle. The moment is tense and time stands stills for a few seconds. I then approach the Peter and violently swing the hammer…hitting the wall with as much force as humanly possible. I then tell Peter that while I can't bring his brother back, I can still help him escape this prison.
A gaze of purpose and revelation glimmer's in Peter's eyes and I realize that I've finally gotten through to him. He looks at me and my eyes pierce his soul, and it is then that I realize that he has actually forgiven me of my sins.
We then pound the wall, one hammer after the other. Eventually the wall cracks and light begins to the stream through. The more we hit the wall, the faster it breaks. With each connecting blow the wall continues to buckle under the blinding, white light floods through and envelopes us.
Not a moment later I feel my eyes flutter. I force them open to find myself slouched against a concrete wall, with a brick prison surrounding me. My first instinct and only instinct is to escape. I stretch out my hand and force my telekinesis upon the bricks in front of me. The structure rumbles and cracks and then explodes as my power forces it open.
I crawl out, coughing and heaving to find Peter waiting for me outside. We are back in Parkman's basement.
"How long has it been, really?" I asked Peter anxiously.
The shaggy-haired Petrelli checks his watch and looks toward me "About a day and a half."
"It felt like we were in there for years" I reply.
The silent moment between is different from so many we had experienced before. Instead of exhibiting fear and hostility, there is now a sense of reconciliation, peace and resolution.
"Let's go save Emma" Peter says as he makes his way to the staircase. Now we know what we're meant to do. We aren't meant to be enemies…we're meant to be heroes.