Present Day

Once they had been captured, Peter and Sylar were pumped with as many drugs as they could take. Subdued and weak, the two were shrouded in the darkness of a medicated slumber. Powers suppressed, they lay in their cell, for what seemed like days to them. Raziel was waiting to break the fighting spirit out of them. For three days, he neglected their every need. For whatever moments they were actually conscious, Sylar and Peter were in great pain. Fighting it was impossible; lifting their heads was a chore. Our heroes were in a predicament only summarized by the word 'doomed'.

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Awakening on the Deveaux rooftop wasn't much of a surprise to Peter. But what was off-putting was the sky. A blood red horizon lit everything Peter could see. Peter suddenly noticed another eerie phenomenon. Charles wasn't there. Peter was utterly alone. This was the first time he had arrived and Charles wasn't waiting for him. The butterflies in his stomach grew bigger and bigger as he frantically searched for his guide. This world wasn't right; it was different.

Knowing that something was off kilter, Peter tried waking from his dream. But nothing happened. He wasn't leaving the roof. He had been thrust into this world unexpectedly, and now seemed trapped with in it.

"Hello?" he called out as loud as he could. "Is anyone out there? I don't know why I am here" As he said these words, he felt the arrant truth behind them. Scared and alone, like most organism, Peter chose to fly away. As he lifted his arm and his eyes to the sky, there came a shadow over him.

The figure was back lit by the pure brilliance of the sky. This angel was large and strong, Peter could see that. Slowly, the new member of the vision descended onto Peter. As he got closer, Peter started to make out the features on the person's face. Almost automatically at the moment of recognition, Peter began to weep. Peter couldn't hold the tears back.

"Nathan..." he said breathlessly. There, now standing before him, was his brother, alive as that last moment over the Atlantic Ocean. "I...I don't want this to be a dream..."

"No Peter. This is much more than a dream. You have to know by now that you can visit the other side?"

"Other side?"

"It has a lot of names, but imagine it as an invisible world sitting right next to the tangible one. Everyone visits here in their dreams, but only you and Ma can see everything clear as the waking world."

"Mom is here?" Peter asked excitedly. He could use all the help he could get.

"No," Nathan answered sadly. "She doesn't come here anymore. I think she couldn't stand to see me looking in from this side of the looking glass."

Peter's emotions were raging. So much had transpired in the past year and a half and it all came at Peter like a tidal wave. Without a second thought, he quickly threw his arms around the person he missed most.

Nathan returned the embrace and smiled away his unhappy mood. Peter thought that this had to be the closest to a religious experience he'd ever encounter. Nathan slowly pried them apart.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time. We need to talk."

Nathan got a deep look on his face. "Do you remember what I told you after we pulled that...thing out of your head? I told you that I wouldn't know who I would be without you." Peter nodded solemnly, hanging on every word. Nathan continued. "That still stands. You are my little brother, the rock beneath me, no matter what anyone says."

Peter looked quizzically at his brother. "That's what you want to talk about? Nathan, of course you are still my brother. Nothing can ever change all the things you've done for me, for everyone. I am more proud be--"

Nathan suddenly grew much sterner. "Peter, you have to be prepared."

"What?"

"Prepared, goddammit!" he yelled. "The fight ahead of you isn't what you're expecting...Most of it isn't going to be fought with brawn or flashy powers." Nathan took a deep breathe. "You're going to need every ounce of willpower inside you. So when someone tries to tell you who you are, you remember..."

As consciousness slowly came back to the dreaming Petrelli, he could hear his brother's last words to him, "No matter how weak they got you, never stop fighting. Fight the future."
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"Peter, wake up!!" Sylar's voice boomed in the chamber. Peter awoke to the putrid smell of mold and urine in his cylinder cell, with a diameter of approximately 8 feet. No door or windows. It seems they were dropped into a sort of well and the top had been sealed. The bricks were old and cold, it had the feeling of being underground. Why are we so coherent now? How long have we been out?, Peter began asking himself. What could possibly be different?

Could it be that my stomach is eating it self?, he thought. Or the fact that my eyes are burning and dried out? He was thankful for the darkness. He could hear Sylar breathing heavily, sitting against the wall. "What are you doing?" Peter asked laboriously. There was no answer of words, but the grunting of hard work. In the very low level of light, Peter could see the sweat building on Sylar's brow. "What are you doing?" he asked again, impatiently.

Sylar quickly answered with a "Shhhhh." As if to say that absolute quiet was necessary. More focused breathing and grunting from the resilient Sylar was making Peter more apprehensive. It could only be that Sylar was trying to focus his power. The glow was barely anything noticeable at first but it began to grow, with extreme concentration from Sylar. His lips tightened, and the sweat rolled off of him. Brighter and brighter it got as his hand became a lantern for the two prisoners.

"A little something..." he began drudgingly, "to make sure we still got 'em." Peter shook his head and laughed. Defeat wasn't in his tone, but it was behind his thoughts. He had never felt so drained. His body was weak and his mind cloudy. It was reassuring to see Sylar try to fight the fatigue. Behind his minuscule laugh Peter added, "Well then, if we are testing our powers, let me see if I can fly up there and lift that slab." Throwing his head up to indicate the cover 30 feet up, sealing them in.

"Too bad exploding will only mean this whole cell collapses in on top of us." Sylar chuckled. The two began to laugh more and more. Their bleak situation was only laughable in this loopy mental state. Or maybe they genuinely were becoming good friends. Either way, it was cut short.

The huge brick above their heads began to move. The lid began to slide with the grinding of stone-on-stone, but not removed completely. There in the crescent opening, peeking down on the prisoners was the bandaged Maximus, who was still reeling from the burns inflicted by Sylar.

"Sylar" was the only thing he said, and said with much distaste. Peter and Sylar looked at each other. What do you think he wants? Sylar projected. With a thud on the skull, he got his answer. The rope ladder dangled behind the struck Sylar. Sylar lazily draped his arm on the rung. "I can't climb. My muscles all feel like lead." Maximus' glared with the fire of hell in his eyes. In those eyes, he told Sylar as plain as he said he wasn't going to climb, Maximus wasn't pulling.

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Plodding up the stairs in chains, Sylar wanted his strength more than anything. He remembered the days when he felt invincible. When he lived just take on more power. That power came at the great cost of his humanity. Evil madness brought on his sadistic campaign and now that Sylar refrained, it only brought pain. The only woman to touch his heart had led him into a trap. She had turned the lion into a pussycat and left a trail of nip for him to follow. And all he wanted to do now was draw out his claws.

Maximus pushed the exhausted Sylar up the staircase and down the hall with a smile on his face. His master had wanted the infirmly prisoners conscious, but in no shape to fight back. Maximus could only have been more content if he were dragging Sylar's dead body. Soon enough, soon enough, the giant thought.

Eventually they had shuffled their way back into the dilapidated library that housed the coffin and Raziel. Sylar stood before the stiff, unmoving mummy. On either side of him stood Eden McCain and a figure Sylar couldn't make out. Eden's coy bright smile was the salt rubbed in the wound. He had to undo a year of affection. For every moment he spent admiring her, he felt now he had to be repulsed by her. But he couldn't. The long nights, the sweet kisses hidden under the safety and security of his bed sheets.

Raziel's omniscient voice boomed forth through the silence. "FAMED VILLAIN, REHABILITATED HERO: SYLAR, THE MAN WITH ALL THE BRAINS. YOU KNOW, WATCHING YOU KILL WAS QUITE A SPECTACLE. BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, YOU CLAIMED WHAT WAS RIGHTFULLY YOURS. I REALLY MUST COMMEND YOU. BUT," and now Sylar could hear the voice's tone drop, causing more bass to rattle the walls. "YOU HAD THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO ASSESS ANY SITUATION. THE UNPARALLELLED SENSE OF RECOGNITION. WHEN I HAD THAT POWER, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DID?"

Sylar was unmoving. His head tilted down, sweat pouring down his forehead. "I MEDITATED FOR 3 MONTHS. I WASN'T MOVED BY HUNGER OR WORRY. I LET LIFE HAPPEN AROUND ME; IN ME. UNTIL I UNDERSTOOD HER. YOU KNOW, LIFE'S SECRETS ARE NOT SO HARD TO FIND WITH AN ABILITY LIKE OURS, MY DEAR MR. GRAY. BUT YOU DIDN'T CARE FOR EXPERIENCE. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU TOOK IT FOR GRANTED. ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE I MAKE YOUR LIFE FORCE MINE AGAIN?"

The hapless Sylar just stood, hands heavy with chains; head slung low and wavering. He sneered his teeth beneath his dark, unshaven face. "Did you ever try living?"

"EXCUSE ME?"

"I tried to put a human foot forward once I met my fate with a samurai sword. I let the hunger for power and knowledge which had consumed me before, fall to the wayside. Struggling for more and more only leads to destruction. Maybe you should take the same hint I did. When I got up from the fall, that's when I knew my strength."

Eden looked to Raziel for some sign of reaction. She had never heard anyone speak so brutally to Raziel. His distinguished eyes sitting deep in their black sockets squinted in laughter.

The laughter rattled the room. "YOU PROUD FOOL! EDEN, BREAK HIM"

"Wait!" Sylar interrupted. "I know what you are. You're power won't work on me," he smiled ever so slightly.

Eden returned the smile, "My power is way past just using my words. Remember, that the female of the species is deadlier than the male. At this point, Sylar my love, I could just stand next to you, letting you get a whiff of my perfume. Then its a matter of whispering a command and turning you to putty. Now, why don't you come over here, baby?"

Sylar clenched his fists in rage. He hated being told what to do.

"Come on, Gabe." Something in the way she said it. Something about her tone, about the memories attached to that sweet alto of hers made Sylar feel weaker. Images of Jenny's curves, memories of the touch of her skin plagued the battered man. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to go to her. But he didn't know if it was to kiss or to strangle her. He knew that it was wrong. He knew that it would mean his demise, but slowly his shackled feet began to move towards her.

The part of Sylar's brain that still had some sense, decided to fall to his knees; impede the slow trek over to his doom. "Aw, baby, your shoelaces are untied." She stepped with a subtle rock of her hips. Only one step forward now, she giggled spiritedly. Sylar just looked forward, buried in thought. Her warm demeanor quickly faded to obvious frustration. Seconds past and Sylar's defiance had gone too far. Eden screamed, "Stand up!" in a guttural tone, booming her power behind it.

In the sudden reaction expected of Sylar standing, he was able to throw his body forward from his kneeling position. Diving straight for Eden, Sylar's arm was like a python in the brush grabbing hold of her skirt from his position on the ground. Stretched out, he screamed in the voice reserved for his victims "You and Nakamura can burn for this! Watching me die won't bring back Suresh or Charlene."

Eden was quick this time and backed up, tearing her skirt in his grasp. Sylar mistook her jovial jump for nervousness, so as his delusional smile widened , she smiled wider and asked Raziel, "Oh please, let me be the one to tell him, Raz."

Now, with a little more apprehension, Sylar looked up to the clapping, giddy young woman, "Tell me what?" he asked quietly.

"That you are a bigger fool than any of us could ever imagine." a familiar voice broke through. From the shadow behind Raziel's coffin, stepped Hiro Nakamura. "I don't know a Charlene." the small figure in his long trench coat spoke softly. Then in a flash of light, Hiro's figure became blindingly illuminated. The flash was soon over, and when all their eyes had adjusted back, Hiro Nakamura was no longer standing there.

An older Caucasian fellow, with wiry blond hair stood there. His unshaven face, and sunken wrinkled eyes looked icily down on Sylar.

"I think you're talking about the Hiro Nakamura we're holding hostage. I'm just his stand in."

"SHIFT, MAXIMUS: DRAG THAT MISERABLE SACK OVER HERE." The revealed shape-shifter and the metallic brute complied, and finally Sylar let them. He had been defeated. His glassy eyes looking off into nothing, seeing the lies he took for happiness over the past year; the struggle he had gone through in the past 4 days. Sylar's stomach was twisted into a mess, kneeling before a mummy, he realized it was the face of Death.

He had brought so many lives to end, and now he was going to receive his ultimate redemption. As a boy, Gabriel's family instilled a fear of God and a respect to all things holy. Those repressed memories of his childhood were all resurfacing now. The communion, the stained glass trials of Christ, the ever watching eye of God. Sylar prayed in his heart that God was watching. He hoped that the Maker would witness Sylar give up his chance at the afterlife. His belief in the soul was deep rooted, but now it's fate was unclear to Gabriel. He didn't know what this dark ceremony meant for his eternal soul, but it was happening now.

Raziel leaned forward out of his box and hovered for a moment looking into the blank eyes of Gabriel 'Sylar' Gray. Like a hidden thread buried under the surface, Gabriel could feel something slowly escape from inside him. With each passing second, his skin began to wrinkle and sag on his face. Inversely, Raziel's complexion brightened and began to take shape.

With the grand show going on at the front of the room, no one noticed that Peter had materialized near the door. He regained his bearings but it was too late. Raziel, who had released Sylar from his deadly grasp, was in a coughing fit. The recent moisture to his throat was sudden and unexpected. As the limp body of his companion fell to the ground, Peter's heart felt as if it were slammed into a brick wall.

Sylar was dead.

He couldn't bear to think that he was too late. Peter had never been late for anything he was set on doing. His tears welled up because he was disappointed, and he had let a good person die. A person that he found came from the same origin as Peter. They were two halves to a bigger picture, and Peter was sad to be alone now.

"How'd he get here?" a bewildered Maximus uttered, as he caught the petrified Petrelli.

"He froze time and waited for the drugs to wear off, idiot." a newly rejuvenated Raziel spoke from his restored lips. "I knew he would. He's as brave as Richard, the Lionheart. And twice as ingenious."

Peter was worn thin. His impatience and frustration finally got the better of him, and he charged forward. Maximus, like a football MVP intercepted Peter's beeline and planted his feet. Peter hit the metal wall with a force that had a severe bounce back. Peter slid back reeling from the extreme contact.

"Please behave. Or I'll have my men snap that street urchin's neck. I've kept him alive for insurance purposes. In fact, Sari, Hiro and your mother are all under a very close watch by my sources. With a word, all three will be eliminated."

Peter, grunting on the ground, asked "What do you want?"

Raziel smiled a crooked smile, his new face still very stiff. "To live in harmony, my dear boy. I want to teach you a little something about supersession. Please, Peter, let's talk some sense. I want to reclaim the helm of my fortune, and I want you to host the party. This body has undergone quite a bit of wear in the past 150-some-odd years. You cooperate with me, and we shall make the possibilities endless. Such potential."

For the second time in 4 days, Peter heard a Lankashire accent in his head replay a scene from his dark past, Maximum potential. I think he was talking about you, mate.

Peter's weak spirit saw the sense in it. Raziel was most likely in need of more than he was letting on, though. "What is it you need from me?"

Raziel went over to the kneeling Peter. Crouching down, Raziel came face to face with the young man. Peter's heart skipped a beat at the thought that Raziel would do to him what he just saw him do to Sylar. But there was no withdrawal. Just the rancid breath of a reanimated corpse. "Peter, do you know how time travel works?" He shook his head.

"Well, every auia...do you know what an 'auia' is? I'm sorry, sometimes I forget that not everyone is caught up in matters such as these. An auia is a soul, essentially. Visualize a field, at night, swarming with fireflies. That's the Universe, and each point of light is a being. Now those little lights all follow a course; a course riddled with events. My one light was split in two in 1981. To ensure that it stuck, my enemies stamped the event with a lunar eclipse. What I search to do is supersede that event. Your powers are attached to that vessel, your body. I need you to take us back to 1979, during a solar eclipse. If the two halves to my one light are together before they ever became two, well then I will erase 1981's tragic events. Coincidentally, we'll be able to snap Hiro out of his daze while we're in 1979 and all return here, one big happy family."

"That's where Hiro is? How did you get him there?" Peter asked dumbfounded that Hiro would volunteer for such a thing.

"That was my doing" Eden interrupted from behind Raziel. "He came looking to officially finish what his father started." Raziel said maliciously. "The little samurai had a strong heart before we beat it into submission. He may need medical attention, Peter, so the more time we spend thinking about it..."

"You'll leave my loved ones alone if I agree to this?" Peter frustratingly interrupted.

Raziel only grinned wider. "My dear boy, they'll be my loved ones too"