Soo…don't hate me but updates are going to be inconsistent now :) I just haven't the time to write like I did when I started this story :( life is very busy for a senior ya know..
So basically what's going to happen is I'm going to update, like, whenever I want, ya know? Like whenever I finish a chapter after a while of inconsistent writing. :) I reallllllllllllllllllllllly appreciate the reviews you guys have no idea :P much love, Sage.
"Is this the right place?" Peter asked looking out through every window while he drove into the sunny neighbourhood.
"Probably," Matt answered him and looked down, "There's no town here on the map so this must be it."
"And now what? We just drive around blindly till we run into somebody?" He asked disbelievingly.
Driving for another half day had obviously frayed poor Peter's nerves, "Unless you have a better plan…?" Matt challenged.
Peter rolled his eyes and sighed, "No." He said regrettably.
Another hour rolled by after it had become dark and Peter sighed and groaned after every turn. This town obviously wouldn't be that big considering it wasn't even real. But he was pretty certain he'd passed that same trash can atleast twice before!
"We're getting nowhere!" It wasn't Peter surprisingly, but Matt.
Peter looked over to his buddy with wide eyes and kept silent.
"Well it's true!" Matt yelled, "And we've passed that trash can like seven times now!"
He knew it! "Well, think of a better plan then, because I don't have one."
"So I have to be the one to make up a plan? I've been the one making up the plans so far, you do it." Matt folded his arms against his chest like a juvenile.
Peter looked offended, "I've been the one making the plans so far! So it's your turn!"
Matt looked angry and frustrated and was just about to respond with the same emotions when his attention was diverted to a brief flash of headlights among the darkness. They both looked up at the headlights coming towards them and their brains started working.
"Cut it! Cut it!" Matt whispered in panic and Peter fumbled to turn the key, taking way too long for Matt's comfort.
The car creeped towards theirs that was now parked on the curb behind a red hatchback.
"Down!" Matt whispered and they both scrunched themselves in half with much discomfort and waited for the car to pass.
Voices filtered through the open windows of Matt's sedan. Familiar voices, one voice in particular Peter has heard way too much.
"Is that…?" Peter asked almost disbelievingly.
"Yeah, I think so." Matt said and sat back up and instantly recognised the company issued car.
Without thinking, Matt pushed the door open and jogged after the car, "Hey!" He yelled.
Noah slammed the on the brakes, not creating a loud screech due to the snail-like pace Angela had insisted they adopt. He immediately looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar jolly figure jogging after the car.
"Parkman!" Angela exclaimed in surprise and relief. She opened her door and hopped out, somehow still looking as composed as she had every dinner they had shared together.
Matt smiled and was going to say something to Angela when she didn't even look at him and swiftly brushed past him. Matt raised his eyebrows at the predictable action.
Matt walked around to the other side of the car just as Noah stepped out, "So glad to see you guys." Matt laughed breathlessly, from the jogging or his relief he didn't know.
"You too, Matt." He looked over the top of the car and saw Angela still hugging a complaining Peter, "Peter too."
"So, what's the plan now?" Asked Matt, curious to know just what the hell they were going to do now.
"Well, I could try calling Claire again, but the reception here is horrible, or we could search every house and building in this neighbourhood but that would take days – weeks. I could call in all my teams from the company, but business has to run smoothly and as normal if we don't want suspicion being raised in the Company's headquarters." Noah paused for breath, "So that just leaves…" He couldn't finish. He didn't know what to say.
"Leaves time for planning…" Matt offered weakly.
"Well with you geniuses working on a plan, it should take no time at all." Angela spoke sarcastically which Matt and Noah both rolled their eyes at while Peter warned with a "Mom."
She shrugged and brushed the fur collar of her coat, "I'm just saying, we should've gotten this all planned before we even left Dodge." She puckered her lips in her very Angela way.
"And that would've wasted time, so we're just going to have to put our heads together-" But Peter didn't finish. The interruption being so huge, his voice leaving him with no words trailing after.
All four of them looked into the sky, witnessing the ascension of a massive concrete structure, exploding from the centre of the house with the red hatchback parked out the front.
"Mack." Andrew's voice was nonexistent as he stared at the short man in front of him.
"Mack." Sylar addressed him much more harshly, complete opposite of Andrew's greeting.
Mack's arms rose from his sides, "In the flesh." He laughed.
Sylar's brows furrowed for half a second, thinking.
"What do you want from us?" Claire asked, shifting her weight nervously from one leg to the other hoping no one would notice.
"It's not something I want from each of you; I only want something from you Claire." He smiled in a way that was probably supposed to be both menacing and seductive reminding her of Sylar's, but only producing a disgusting cousin of Sylar's signature smirk.
"Give it up, Mack. She doesn't want you." Sylar spoke strongly, not afraid.
"I'm not talking to you!" He exploded angrily, "And she will! Over time…she'll learn to love me." He smiled hopefully.
Sylar could've laughed if it weren't for the gag that escaped his throat, "You're just a sore loser." He jabbed, a slight mocking smile on his perfect face.
Mack's face went red, "I'm not the loser here!" he pointed angrily towards Sylar, "You are! I can give her everything!"
"In exchange for what?" Sylar's voice rose to a volume even louder than Mack's which surprised everyone.
Mack faltered for a moment.
In this time, Sylar took another opportunity to exploit Mack again, "Do you think I would ever let you do any of the things to her that run through your mind?"
Mack swallowed, "You don't have a choice. You don't own her."
"And neither do you." Sylar said much more normally, thinking he's gotten his point across.
"She's my woman!"
"Stop talking like I'm not here!" Claire shouted, her hands making a cutting motion through the air, "I don't choose you, Mack. I'm sorry." She said softly.
"That is unacceptable." He shook his head slowly and glared at Sylar, "This is your fault. If you were still the killer I know you are inside, she would choose me."
Sylar gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look, "No one with half a brain cell would choose you for a foosball team let alone to spend forever with!"
Andrew let out the tiniest of tiny laughs and all heads snapped towards him, and he immediately shut up.
"You think this is funny do you?" Mack asked dangerously.
Andrew's eyes went wide and he shook his head vigorously, "No! Not at all!"
"I think you do, Andy." His eyes travelled up and down, "I gave you everything. A family, a home…and then you stab me in the back first chance you get."
"I'm sorry. But I just couldn't have all those good people's blood on my hands."
Mack barked a laugh, "Good people?" He pointed towards Sylar, "This guy has killed countless good people, more than me! And you're taking his side?" He laughed again, more loudly this time.
No one said anything, Andrew because of fear, Sylar because he knew he deserved every accusation he got from anyone, and Claire because she was just waiting for the moment Mack disappeared and left them all here to live for eternity.
Mack walked towards the trio and stood in front of Claire, "C'mon, Claire. Time to go." He hastily grabbed her hand which she reflexively wrenched away, not getting out of his grip.
Sylar's hand grasped Mack's forearm and tightly as he could and pushed against him which Mack matched and pushed also.
"Let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Claire screamed into the air and tried with all her might to get away from him.
"Never! Do as you're told!" He yelled in return.
Sylar withdrew from the struggle and drew his fist back and put all of his bodyweight behind the punch that landed square in Mack's jaw. The impact threw Mack back, clutching the side of his face with a stream of blood dripping around his fingers. He cursed into the air and Claire jumped to Sylar's side and held onto is jacket for dear life.
"I knew it." Sylar whispered to himself, "It's him." The real him!
Mack's arms rose from his sides, "In the flesh." He laughed.
Mack saw the realisation in Sylar's eyes and widened his own. Still clutching his jaw, he forced the ground Sylar was standing on to open up into a huge pit. Not being fooled though, Sylar used his telekinesis to push his and Claire's bodies away from the earth and avoid the gaping hole in the ground. When Sylar's feet hit the ground, Mack forced a long, ragged rock to fly from the ground and smash Sylar in the face, not giving him the opportunity to fight back.
The large piece of granite collided with Sylar's face with a sick crack and crunch probably breaking his neck, sending him flying backwards, away from Claire.
"Sylar!" Claire yelled after him, taking the first step towards him. But that's how far she got before Mack grabbed her arm and wrenched her over to his side.
When she was safe, steadying herself from being thrown from her place, Mack took this opportunity to hold his arms in front of him the same way a husband would hold his wife as they entered the honeymoon suite. The ground shook and they all attempted to steady themselves. Mack held his arms like before and slowly raised them towards the sky, the same time the earth in front of them began to split and a giant wall began to rise.
Claire's teary eyes made contact with Sylar's when they realised they were nowhere near each other and Mack had control. Claire's terrified face was the last thing he saw before his view was consumed by Mack's concrete wall.
The ground took it's time to become steady and the wall to stop moving. Sylar dashed to the wall and slammed his palms to it, "NO!" He yelled furiously, too many times to count as he hit and smacked and punched the wall till his healing ability had a hard time keeping up with him.
Sylar's exhausted body couldn't take anymore and he leaned his back heavily on the wretched wall. This moment brought him back to the other wall that nearly ruined his life, the brick wall in the alternate universe he shared with Peter. So much pain, so much heartache. So familiar to him in this moment it hurt to breathe. The situations were so similar, no escape, no company…no hope. He would die before he let himself be trapped in that situation again. Death was the better option.
Sylar raised his eyes to Andrew's form, frozen with fear, staring at the wall, "Why didn't you help?" He asked darkly.
Andrew couldn't pull himself together; he still hadn't moved and was breathing heavier that a bull pulling two tonnes of cargo.
Sylar furrowed his brows in anger and jumped up from the ground and stalked angrily up to Andrew, grasping the front of the man's shirt in his fists, "Why. Didn't. You. Help?" He yelled.
Andrew snapped out of it at once, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" His hands flying to the sides of his head in surrender.
Sylar was still angry, and Andrew only made it worse. He drove his right fist into the drywall beside Andrew's head, never flinching as it created a fist-sized hole in the wall and his knuckles to ache. Andrew immediately recoiled away from Sylar's fist. But just as quickly as he had attacked the wall, he was gone, blowing a hole through the front wall of the house with the invisible force behind his hand and stomping into the night air.
Sylar stopped his footsteps as soon as he caught sight of the people gazing confusedly at the wall that extended far into the sky.
"Let me go!" Claire yelled, squealed, kicked, screamed, everything she could think of to get Mack away from her. He was still dragging her by the hand at a very fast pace, trying to put as much distance between them and Sylar as possible.
"Quit that!" He yelled back at her, not bothering to turn around.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked angrily. She was so angry and so scared she was on the verge of tears. There was no way she could defend herself from Mack, her power was strictly defensive. That's why she needed Sylar with her, he balanced her out. He would make her feel better, not only with his presence but his words that charmed her even when she was at her worst.
Mack turned abruptly and raised his hand as if to backhand her across the face, but hesitated and decided against it and instead just gave her a furious look. Claire obviously flinched and squeezed her eyes shut when he raised his hand but regained her composure and struggling when he didn't hit her.
"I don't want any more trouble from you." He told her quietly, but it sounded like a furious shout in her mind. Dishevelled and hobo-looking as he was, she knew he was dangerous. The fact nagged at her mind's fear and constantly reminded her of the potential he wields.
Claire walked an arm's length away from him after that, with him dragging her the whole way. The whole way to an imaginary place with no limitations.
"Sylar!" Peter rejoiced, running up to the man closer to a brother than a friend and threw his arms around him briefly.
But Sylar's mind was too busy, he grabbed Peter's upper arms and looked him in the eyes, "Did you see them come out here? Where are they?" He asked frantically, shaking Peter slightly.
Before Peter had the chance to ask the very confused question floating in his mind, Noah stormed up to the pair, well Sylar, and grabbed him roughly.
"Where is she? You were supposed to be protecting her!" He shouted in Sylar's face, too angry to even say hello or ask for what happened or anything.
Sylar shoved him off roughly, "I'm not your babysitter, Bennet! You knew this mission was too high for a rookie team!"
"You are not a rookie! You have worked on several cases before!"
"None that were this demanding! It's your fault Mack took her!" Sylar's voice cracked only slightly and could've been attributed to the constant shouting, but there was no way he was going to allow Noah to walk all over him especially when he tried everything he could to save the man's daughter.
Noah staggered backwards slightly, "He has her?" He asked breathlessly. The memories of Mack all those years ago flooded his mind. The image of the blood soaked floor numerous body parts laid resting on, thrown unceremoniously into the air and left where they landed. Mack's furious face when they tried to detain him, his horrible temper. His numerous pages in his file solely dedicated to the abuse of women. Suddenly his temper flared just as high as Sylar's.
"Which way did they go?" Noah shouted, louder than he had before.
"I didn't see." Sylar spoke quieter, ashamed of himself for letting another man put his hands on Claire.
Noah grabbed two fistfuls of the front of Sylar's jacket, Sylar reacted and tried to shove him off, but the energy was just too high, the anxiety was too much. They began struggling against one another, neither one daring to make the first punch, just pushing and shoving for a few measly intense seconds.
Matt rushed forward, one hand grabbing Noah's shirt and the other Sylar's jumper just below their necks, "This isn't helping anyone!" He yelled.
The two men released each other with a final push and stared intensely into each other's eyes, just wishing there wasn't a crowd to witness them sorting out their differences once and for all. Sylar wanting to punch the older man so bad it hurt. Noah wanting to teach that punk with his right hook so much he was trembling.
"Is there any other way we can try and find Claire?" Matt asked Sylar, still not trusting the pair enough to release his hold.
Sylar's eyes remained on Noah's for a split second before his mind became less fuzzy, "Andrew!" He pushed Matt's hand away and darted back to the house.
The group exchanged glances before Peter instructed everyone to stay put while he ran after Sylar.
"Sylar!" Peter yelled when he saw his friend climb through an elephant sized hole in the side of a house.
Peter tripped his way through hastily, and just in time to see Sylar grab a pathetic looking man from the floor.
Sylar gripped the cloth on Andrew's shoulder and yanked him up with no effort from his seated position against the wall. Andrew resisted only slightly, not trusting Sylar's obvious temper and his abilities.
"Tell me where Mack's house is!" Sylar yelled in the poor man's face when they rejoined the others.
Andrew came alive, "No! He'll hurt my kids!" He refused and grabbed Sylar's sleeve.
Sylar looked to Matt. Stupid Andrew didn't have to be cooperative. All he needed was a brain.
Matt nodded to Sylar and looked into Andrew's eyes. The man being held by Sylar stared back confusedly, not knowing what this guy was doing. Matt continued to stare – there was a lot of stuff going through Andrew's head at the moment, nothing pleasant, but he finally saw an image of a grand mansion pop into the man's mind.
"Where is the house?" Matt asked, very deliberately, and tilted his head, and a harder expression.
Andrew looked to the faces of the group, looking to each for answers, but all he got in reply was the sound of this Matt guy sighing.
"I got it. The house is in the very centre of this neighbourhood, less than ten minutes away if we speed." He said, glad that he got helpful information.
"Good, let's go." Both Sylar and Noah said at the same time, they shared evil looks and Sylar beat the old man to the driver's seat after lunging for it.
This story is officially on hiatus! :O