Kate looked out at the world around her. A week had passed since her encounter with Tom Terronson, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right…

She sighed and moved closer to the edge of the roof. She wasn't sure how high up she was, and she really didn't care.

"You meant it, didn't you?"

Kate turned around, looking for the source of the voice. "Kala?"

Kate's sister came over and sat down next to her. "Who else?"

Kate looked at her, confused. "What are you doing here?"

Kala rolled her eyes. "That's nice. Can't a person talk to her twin sister?"

Kate raised an eyebrow.

Kala smiled. "Ok, I know I'm not the best sister in the world, but neither are you."

The other eyebrow joined the first one. "Is anyone?"

Kala chuckled darkly. "Perhaps."

There was silence.

"But you did mean it, didn't you?" Kala finally spoke up.

Kate turned to her sister. "What?"

"You care about Sylar. You want him to change."

Kate smiled. "Of course."

Kala nodded slowly. "That's why you won't kill him, isn't it? If you had the chance."

Kate shrugged. "Kala, he helped us stop Tom. He saved my life."

Kala looked at her. "He also took it once."

Kate smiled humorlessly. "So we're even."

Kala chuckled darkly, and there was silence.

"I never really believed that someone could care about Sylar." Kala finally said. "Could care enough that they'd try and change him." She looked at Kate. "Until you called him a 'friend.'"

Kate shrugged. "It was the only real word I could use."

Kala looked at her. "But no one else would even consider saying that. You did."

Kate looked down. "Because it's true. I hate Sylar, and he hates me. But we're also…"

"Best friends."

"Right…"

There was silence.

"I just can't see how anyone could say that about him." Kala finally said.

Kate smiled. "I can't either. I just know it's true."

"Kate, Sylar is the world's most dangerous serial killer. You won't even read someone's mind. How is it that you two could even possibly be friends?"

Kate chuckled darkly. "I honestly have no idea."

Kala shook her head. "I'll never understand you, Kate."

"No one does."

Again, there was silence.

"Kate, why do you care?" Once more, Kala spoke first. "Why can't you just accept the fact that Sylar can't change?"

"He helped us, didn't he?"

"Yeah, one time in a million."

Kate sighed. "Kala, he took a bullet for me. In the back of the head."

Kala's eyes widened. "What?"

Kate looked down. "Three years ago. He was sent to the past. And he tried to kill me." She sighed. "But Tom got there first."

"Tom?"

"Yeah. Three years ago, he tried to shoot me, and Sylar got in the way." She sighed. "That was the first time I ever met Sylar. And if that won't leave an impression, I don't know what will."

"Why am I only hearing about this now?"

Kate chuckled darkly. "I didn't want you to know. More importantly, I didn't want SYLAR to know. Not until I showed it to him…" She trailed off, her eyes far away.

"And you didn't think I could keep a secret?"

"That's not what I meant. Even the slightest reference could have told him something was wrong." She sighed. "I never even told Jonathon…"

Kala looked at her. "Jonathon doesn't know?"

Kate shook her head.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Probably." She sighed. "But I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Kala nodded. 'I can understand that."

Kate looked down. "The problem is, I can't help but remember that." She sighed again. "Even when he killed me. The only thing I could remember was his face when the bullet hit. He had no idea what he was doing. It was instinct."

Kala raised an eyebrow. "An instinct to save rather then kill? That's rare."

"Exactly. He's a killer, plain and simple. And yet, part of Gabriel Gray is still there."

"But even if he became Gabriel, wouldn't a part of Sylar still be there?"

Kate smiled darkly. "That's the question, isn't it?"

Kala nodded slowly. "I never thought Sylar could do anything other then kill. It's not really his nature."

"And yet, there's something in him that wants him to do something good. That wants him to be Gabriel Gray."

"But is that part ever going to show itself? Or is it going to stay in the shadows?"

"Kala, the man's going to live forever. Maybe it will just take a while."

"Somewhere around a million years?"

"Even he would get tired of killing eventually."

"Somehow, I don't think so."

"But there is a possibility."

"A faint one."

"But it's there."

Kala looked at her sister. "Kate, how long are you going to go along with this? It's a fool's hope."

"But it's still hope. And I'm not giving up on it."

Kala shook her head slowly. "And yet you've given up on the hope of us ever being…A family again."

Kate looked at her sister. "And where would you get an idea like that?"

Kala sighed. "Kate, you spend more time trying to convince Sylar not to be a killer then you do even talking to me or Kathy. Forgive me if I come to the wrong conclusion."

Kate sighed as well. "Kathy's not ready to listen."

"And you think Sylar is?"

"Sylar knows almost nothing about me. He's desperate to know what's in here." She tapped the side of her head. "And if that makes him stop to listen for a moment, I'm not going to complain. Kathy has nothing like that. She just… hates me."

"Kathy doesn't hate you, Kate."

"I beg to differ."

Kala sighed. "I can't believe you'd use the fact that Sylar wants to kill you as an advantage."

Kate smiled darkly. "If I used it any other way, I'd be dead right now."

Kala looked down. "Yeah. I guess you would."

Kate sighed and looked out at the city. "It's not like I don't want us to be a family again, Kala. I want that more then almost anything. But if I try, I'll have to give up trying to save Sylar, and I can't give up on anyone…"

"Not in your nature, is it?"

"No."

"You would put everything on the line to save a serial killer. You would die saving his life." Kala shook her head slowly. "I don't understand you, Kate."

"No one does."

Kala sighed, and there was silence.

"He is your friend." Kala finally said. "I don't care what anyone says. There is no way that Sylar is your enemy."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "If that's true, why is his name engraved in my arm?"

Kala stood up. "Because he doesn't know how to handle it!"

Kate stood up as well. "Kala, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down. I'm perfectly calm." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "But the point still stands. Sylar is your 'friend,' Kate. He just doesn't know how to handle it. No one else will come near him unless they're going to try and stick a knife in his head. You're the only person in the world who will even talk to him."

Kate looked down. "Is that such a bad thing?" Her voice was quiet.

Kala looked at her sister. "No, Kate. That's exactly the point. It ISN'T."

Kate looked up at Kala, who put her hands on Kate's shoulders.

"Never stop." Kala whispered to her sister. "Don't even dare stop this. You're the only person in the world who has a chance of changing him. The only person in the world who has a chance of SAVING him." Her eyes locked on Kate's. "Do NOT give that up. For ANYTHING."

Kate looked at Kala, her eyes wide. "But I thought…"

"No." Kala's eyes seemed to see straight through her. "I'm not mad at you. I can see that this is what you needed to do. And I'm all right with that. I know now. And I know that this is the only chance Sylar has." Her face was cold, her expression dark. "You're the only person who cares enough to try. The only person who risked everything for him. You're his only chance."

Kala hugged her twin sister. "Never give up, Kate. Never." She put her hands back on Kate's shoulders. "I'm sorry for everything I did." Her eyes locked on Kate's. "And I'm going to try and change it." She sighed, and her hands fell to her sides. "I'm going to talk to Kathy. Maybe, just maybe, she'll see too."

Kate put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Thank you." The words were simple enough, but the look in her eyes said more.

Kala nodded, turned around, and disappeared in the shadows.

"I'm only here because of Kate."

Eric's words were simple enough. But this entire situation was anything but simple.

He couldn't believe he was here, talking to the man he'd never wanted to see again. Last time, this man had been trying to murder him. It wasn't exactly the best first impression.

Sylar raised an eyebrow. "She told you to?"

"No." Truth be told, Kate had told Eric to stay as far away as possible from Sylar. "I'm here by choice."

The other eyebrow joined the first. "Really?"

Eric nodded slowly.

"And you know how dangerous this is?" There was a murderous glint in Sylar's eye.

"Not extremely." Eric replied. "If I want to, I could disappear, and you could do nothing."

Sylar smiled darkly. "Very good. I was wondering if you would recognize that."

Eric sighed. "I'm not entirely clueless as to the nature of abilities, Sylar. Not anymore."

Sylar sighed theatrically. "Can we please just get to the point?"

Eric took a deep breath. "The point is, Kate can't see two inches in front of her face. And neither can you." He sighed. "I've been…updated…On the Tom Terronson incident."

Sylar snorted. "You make it sound so simple."

"And on the conversation during that incident."

Sylar said nothing.

Eric sighed, almost afraid to continue. "I know what she said. How she called you a 'friend.'"

"She was just looking for any word. Friend is the only one that would work. If she told the truth, Tom could have used it to his advantage."

"If she told the truth, that fight wouldn't have started yet. It's too complicated to say in a single word."

Sylar rolled his eyes.

"Look. I don't particularly care about what happens to you." Eric spat. "But Kate saved my life. She showed me what these abilities are. She's taught me a lot about this world. And I care about what happens to her." His eyes narrowed. "And while I don't particularly like her choice of 'friends,' there's nothing I can do about it."

His eyes locked on Sylar's. "So here's the point. You're going to leave her alone. If anything, you're going to help her. You're going to stop trying to hurt her, her little brother, and anyone else even slightly related to her. I don't care what you have to do, you'll do it."

Sylar's eyes narrowed. "And if I don't?"

Eric disappeared, fading from view in the space of a second. "Then you won't see me coming. I'll make sure you never wake up again, Sylar. I will personally see to it that you end up with a knife in the back of your head."

And with that, he was gone.

Sylar sighed. He wasn't particularly scared of Eric. He'd faced heroes like him before. Powerful, yes. But inexperienced.

He remembered when he was like that. Out of anyone in the world, it was a fourteen-year-old girl who had to show him how to fight, how to survive in this world, that he wasn't as powerful as he liked to think.

And now that fourteen-year-old was the closest thing he had to a friend.

'Friend.' He despised the word. Friends were non-existent. They were a fantasy, thought up by people who didn't want to face the cold hard truth that everyone would betray them in the end. How many people had bought the lie that someone cared about them, only to be thrown out of that person's life when their usefulness was at its end?

But Kate was different. There could be no betrayal when there was no trust. And he certainly didn't trust Kate.

He sighed again. That was defiantly a lie. He knew that Kate would never kill him. She'd never do to him any of the things he did to her. No matter what he did, Kate didn't seem to care. There was only one thing he could do that was too horrible, too much even for her. Something he hadn't dared to do. Something he couldn't even think about doing.

And yet…

If Kate really thought this way, then there was nothing for it. He had to do this. While the world still made sense…

He walked out the door and took to the skies.

Jonathon walked to the door and opened it. "Hello, Sylar."

Sylar's eyes narrowed. Kate wasn't here. This was his chance. His only chance.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Sylar's tone was threatening.

Jonathon nodded slowly. "I can guess."

Jonathon flew backwards, slamming into a wall. His expression remained unchanged.

"How soon can Kate be here?" Sylar's eyes were locked on the two-year-old's.

Jonathon tried to shrug, but he couldn't move. "Not soon enough."

"You know why I have to do this."

Jonathon looked at Sylar. "Of course."

It never ceased to amaze Sylar how calmly anyone in the Mendez family could discuss their own death. Kate never cared. Isaac never seemed to. And now Jonathon didn't seem to.

Sylar felt the telepathic energy circle around his mind, a warning that this couldn't go too far without it turning into a huge power-battle.

But Sylar had thought of this. He flicked his hand, and Jonathon hit the wall again. And again.

Sylar let the unconscious two-year-old fall to the floor.

Kate's Telepathic fingerprint lingered in the back of his mind. He had to hurry.

He leaned over next to the small hero. He raised a finger, and a small line of blood started to form across Jonathon's forehead.