November 1st

Hiro was positive that even if he accidentally teleported himself and Ando forwards or backwards 100 years, things could not be worse than they were at the moment. His future self was dead, Ando was shouting and it sounded as if there was a war going on in the hallway. They needed to leave and soon, or they were all going to die and then things would really suck.

Hiro couldn't seem to catch his breath and he had no time to think about what he was doing. He just grabbed Ando and concentrated as hard as he possibly could, 'Let us be safe, let us be safe, please just let us be safe and be where we need to be.'

Someone was screaming and the air was suddenly impossibly hot. For a second Hiro was sure that he had screwed up and been unable to use his powers. His fingers clenched on Ando's shoulders and waited to be engulfed by the burning power that was filling the room. The sound of the building shaking was deafening.

Seconds passed and then...nothing. The heat faded away and so did the noise. Slowly, Hiro opened his eyes and blinked. They were outside. It was morning and sunny, and in the distance the New York skyline stretched proud and intact.

Hiro broke into a grin as Ando opened his eyes as well. The two men looked at each other and then laughed. They were back where they needed to be. Hiro wandered over to the edge of the building. Somewhere far below, a police siren wailed and traffic hummed. People went about their daily lives and time ticked on. Hiro smiled to himself and flipped through the comic book he still clutched in his hands. He gazed at the picture of Sylar and felt his smile slipping away.

'Now for the hard part,' he muttered.

There was a scuffling noise behind him and Hiro turned to see Ando leaning against the pigeon cages with his hands over his face.

'I can't believe we made it back,' said Ando from behind his hands. 'We actually made it back.'

'You said you believed in me!' Hiro accused, tucking the comic into his jacket and then going over to his friend and trying to draw Ando's hands away from his face. Ando resisted and shook his head.

'I did. I do.' He sighed and drew his hands down to place them on Hiro's shoulders. 'I do. It was just...scary.'

Hiro nodded solemnly. 'It was.' He patted Ando's hand and tried to smile reassuringly. 'But its over now. We're going to stop that future from ever happening.'

After a moment's hesitation, Hiro rested his hand on Ando's a squeezed it. 'We'll stop it. Together.'

For a moment, Ando just stood silently studying his friend's face. Hiro shifted, wanting to say something but unsure what was going through his friend's mind. He had rarely seen Ando look so serious. What had happened to Ando while Hiro had been locked up with homeland security? He was about to ask when Ando nodded as if making his mind up about something.

'I like you better this way,' he said.

'You like me...better what way?' Hiro asked, confused.

'You have a bruise here,' Ando said, ignoring Hiro's question and reaching up to brush his knuckles over a sore spot on Hiro's face that went from his hairline to his cheekbone. Hiro flinched, but didn't pull away. Ando's touch lingered and Hiro realized that he still had his hand over Ando's and that they were standing particularly close. Hiro felt his cheeks color and Ando smiled.

'Come on, Hiro, enough standing around on the roof.' He pulled away and began looking for the stair door. For a moment, Hiro reached after him, missing the closeness, but he quickly recovered his bearings and followed after his friend.

'We need to find out when it is,' said Ando. 'And then we can find out where this Sylar is so that you can stop him.'

Hiro swallowed hard, thinking of the picture in the comic book of himself stabbing Sylar. There had been a lot of blood. Lots and lots of blood. Hiro felt a bit ill thinking about it. He felt like things were rushing by too quickly, like his life was out of control. He also couldn't shake the feeling that there was something bothering Ando, something more than just barely escaping an apololyptic maybe-future. He opened his mouth to ask if Ando was okay, prepared to argue if Ando insisted that he was, but someone else spoke before he could. Someone who answered in English even though Ando had spoken in Japanese.

'I think I can help you out on the 'when' part, friend,' said the voice. Ando and Hiro spun around, looking for the speaker. Hiro drew his sword and stepped slightly in front of Ando. He felt Ando's hand on his shoulder, a reassuring, warm weight, and prepared himself for anything.

'Its November 1st, 2006 and 9:31 in the morning,' the speaker continued. The air in front of Hiro and Ando seemed to waver, then form an outline of a man. It was almost like looking at a reflection in troubled water. 'And as for the Sylar bloke...well, I think I know someone who can help you find him.' The outline morphed and solidified until a very shaggy and very real person stood before them, looking vaugly annoyed.

'That's some power you got there, Mr. Nakamura,' Claude Raines said in Japanese. 'Won't daddy be suprised.'