Disclaim: I do not own any rights of Heroes series

Italics mean characters are not speaking English

The story may contain few events from short stories or rumors, but I'm working to avoid these.

Chapter One: Pathways

Good or bad. Survive or perish. Fight or flight. Black or white. Kill or get killed. Is this really destiny? Is this how we determine our paths, our future? Always choosing between two alternatives. Maybe, it is. If fate grabs your hand, everything you ever was, ever experienced, ever believed in, can disappear in a second. And then, you can't do anything else. Go with fate, or try to fight it. Fly straight to heaven or fall to the deep burdens of hell. Two other dichotomies, again. Isn't there a third option?

"I know, Dr. Suresh. You are our first priority now." said Bob. Mohinder was on the other side of the phone. "Sylar cannot find any piece, anything that could lead him to the Company. So, pick a cab, take Molly with you and drive to JFK. Two plane tickets will be waiting for you."

"Where to?" asked the doctor.

"Albuquerque, New Mexico. Soon you'll be able to meet your new partner."

"I get a new partner?"

"Yes, a person, who'll fit your needs much more than my daughter."

The line disconnected so he was finally alone, just staring at Elle. She didn't say a word. She didn't know what to say. Her glimpse to the video surveillance system was against her father's orders. Clearly. And Sylar got away, too. But he really did save many lives. Important people's lives. And now, here she is and he couldn't hear any emotion from her father's voice when he mentioned her. He sat down slowly, constantly looking at her.

After a few moments, he smiled. She smiled back faintly.

"I was very concerned about you. But you didn't disappoint me. So, you deserve a prize for that. You're back on track again.

When she heard this, she was so happy, that she jumped in to the air again and again, like a teenage girl. She jumped to his dad, and gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you, Daddy." She was very happy, she almost cried.

But Bob didn't hug her really.

"You'll get a new partner, too. At least a temporary one." he said.

"Oh." She was a bit disappointed, but if this was the price to get him back to action, she thought she could accept it.

She turned around, saw her new partner and her face fell.

He was standing in the office, just a couple of meters away from her. Noah Bennet. The man who wanted to kill her father and the man who she saw get killed. And who told her the truth.

Mohinder's cell phone rang the second time that afternoon. First he thought it would be Bob again, but then he heard a much familiar voice.

"Where the hell are you?" asked Matt. He was clearly in bad mood.

"On a way out of the city." answered the professor. "And in my opinion, you should do the same."

"Why? What the hell happened?"

"Sylar found me."

"Sylar?" interrupted Matt. "Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"We thought he was. Turns out, we all were wrong."

"And you think he would come back?"

"The Company is clearing my lab in this very moment. We are in great danger. Including you. Don't let him find you. Disappear."

"Wait, I have a job here. A life." A dangerous but magnificent idea came to his mind. "Wait, even if he comes here, maybe I can stop him. I'm much stronger than I was last time. I could change his mind, or even suggest him a suicide."

"And what if it won't work? You'll get yourself killed and he will have terrible power. No, you should get out. Think about her."

Matt sighed.

"OK, just let me talk to her before you leave."

Mohinder gave the phone to Molly.

"Matt." she said quietly.

"Listen, I have to ask you a favor. Can you think of the boogey-man for a second?"

She closed her eyes and thought about him.

"Where is he? Is he heading here?"

"No" she said" he's moving, but ... he's getting out of town, too."

"Thank you, Molly. I love you. And I'll come to see you as soon as possible."

"I love you too."

But Mohinder was worried about what Molly said about Sylar's position.

If he had believed in God, he would have considered it a miracle. But he knew it wasn't God's business. He looked at his body. The scars all healed, the pain all gone. And he got his powers back. It was his destiny. But he also had a lot of things ahead of him. His way, his destiny was clear. He saw it on Suresh's laptop. But he had to move fast. He must be the one who gets there first. To the other side of the country. To Costa Verde.

"You wanted to see me?" Hiro Nakamura hasn't been at the CEO's office for a long time. As a child, sometimes he even sneaked in, just to surprise his father, although he knew Kaito didn't like it. Now, the office (and the company with it) belonged to another Nakamura: his sister, Kimiko.

"Yes, I wanted to see you, brother. But not as one of my employees." As she spoke, small tears appeared in her eyes. "You spoke well at the cemetery. I have to honor almost as much as you honored our father. You were very brave."

"Thank you. But I guess" he said, looking at his sister "this is not why you called me."

"I want you what you did. To our father's killer."

"How do you know that."

"Ando told me." He was a bit worried and disappointed. He hoped Ando could keep the secret. The question was, should it kept hidden from his sister too.

"I disarmed him. He'll harm no one again."

"You killed him?" asked she with a disgusted look for a moment.

"No, I didn't"

She took a deep breath but didn't speak for a few seconds.

"And what about your future? Saving the world? And what about Yamagato?

"Yamagato will work well with you in charge. And if the world needs me, I must be there for it. I must be concerned about the future. About the world's future."

"You say you can change the future. As well as the past What if anyone else needs you?"

"That's not so simple. I can't just come back. Time is much more complicated than I could imagine. What do you expect me, to get back to work in the cubicle?"

"I'm just trying to tell you, you've got a family."

"Can't you understand? I must think bigger. I have this power. I will not just sit here and watch the world get ruined. That would be a waste of my power."

She stepped closer to her brother, and he thought she might get angry, just like their father may years ago.

"Then tell me, Hiro, what will you do?"

He couldn't answer.

Micah simply wasn't able to stop crying. Although they were surrounded by many police cars and officers, who were now interrogating Monica, the gang member got caught, but was it worth? Just a couple of months after he lost his father, he lost his mother, too. He wished he could change back everything, to normal, even leave D. L.'s medal, just too get Niki back. In fact, he must leave the medal, the last piece of his father. It's impossible that wasn't destroyed in the explosion. He was selfish and careless, and he paid a fatal price for it. Death was all around him, all around the family, all around heroism, it has just missed Monica too. He had to think. And mourn. He wasn't ready for that. He maybe got a new family, but will he be able to forget the old one, leave it behind? He didn't want to stay here, so far from his memories, from his father's grave. But what else could he do?

"I'm sorry." said Monica calmly.

"It's not your fault. It's all mine."

"How can you say that? You acted like a family. And you saved me." she added.

"I shouldn't have drawn you into this."

"Then do what? Let it go? With your gifts?"

"They have used nothing!" he yelled. "I have nothing!"

Monica scared first, surprised of Micah's anger, but she calmed down fast and hugged him.

"I just want to help you." she whispered.

"I just don't know if I could help anybody. Or if I could be helped."

Monica stared at Micah. She knew he was just eleven, but as she looked in his eyes, he seemed a lot older.

"Damn, how can an idea like this come to my father's mind?" asked Elle. She looked at Noah but he just drove without a blink on her.

"I was just thinking if I could get some of that blood..."

"Shut up!" said Bennet harshly.

"Can you imagine how annoying it is?"

"Yes, I can. After Kirby Plaza I wore one too."

"And what about you? How can you say nothing?"

He slowed down and parked the car.

"Listen here, buzzing girl. I didn't want this situation. Probably you can imagine how I feel about Bob now, but for me, there's no other option. I must follow his orders, no matter how annoying they are. And if he says we're heading to..." His cell phone interrupted the conversation.

"We just had to mention him." said Noah before he pushed the green button. But he looked away from Elle again.

"We're sending some of our people to Costa Verde" said Bob just like a weather report.

"What?" yelled Noah. "Don't forget Elle's with me. You touch my family and you don't have my loyalty any more."

"We just want to protect them."

"From what?! They should be protected from you and your damned company."

"Calm down and listen." said Bob. "Dr. Suresh has just called me and he informed me that Sylar might be heading to Costa Verde."

"Sylar? I saw that man die!"

"No, you just saw him collapse. But he survived. And as I said you'll take care of your business, which is Byron Bevington and I'll take care of mine."

"It is my..." Noah started, but the Bob wasn't on the phone any more.

He started driving again but after just a few meters, he turned back.

"Hey" shouted Elle "turn back or...

"Shoot me down? I wouldn't like to imagine what would happen to the car then and with your pretty face, too. But my family is at stake and I can't afford any mistakes."

Peter sat outside the police department in Odessa, trying to wipe his tears away. It wasn't an easy thing to do. After being used like this, just a moment and he lost the only person who could give him direction, strength, the only person who he could lean on.

A cab suddenly appeared in front of him, and his mother stepped out of it. Her eyes were also red and wet from tears.

Peter stood up immediately and stared at her but she couldn't say a word.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm here to mourn. And to find forgiveness."

"From me?"

"No, from him."

Peter gulped and looked around. He was distracted.

"So you can't let him go either?"

Angela put her hand on Peter's shoulders.

"You should. We both should. He's gone."

Peter turned around and stepped away.

"Why are you saying this? It should have been me. If I had talked, none of this would have happened. I would have survived the shot."

"Peter" whispered Angela. "You must know you're not invincible."

"I know. I can't regenerate my brain. But he was shot in the chest."

She slued him.

"Stop blaming yourself. You can't bring him back."

And as Peter looked at his mother and listened to her, he suddenly remembered. And the solution was clear.

"No. You're not right. I can bring him back. I can travel through time. I can save him."

"Peter" she said, but it was just a moment, and he was gone. "Peter. Peter!" she shouted.

She looked around. Wait! She stopped thinking. How can she look around? Or is this heaven? Is this death? If it is, she wouldn't imagined it like this. She was lying on something and she couldn't see anything, although there was some light.

She tried to sit up but she almost cried because of the pain. Every inch of her body was aching, like all of her skin was burning. But she knew, the dead don't feel pain. She raised her arm, trying to get a glimpse on it. It was horrible. She couldn't even see her fingernails, because her skin was all burnt like it was melted. She took a deep breath. It also caused pain, but she had to.

Suddenly she heard something. A door opening.

"God help me" whispered Niki.