(9) Hour Of Redemption

The waiting. It was the worst part. The whole group had joined Sylar in the waiting room while doctors worked frantically on Noah who was somehow still alive but only just so. He was not expected to survive & even if he did, he would be scarred & mostly likely disabled from being run into the ground by a large pickup truck.

The driver of the truck had died moments before the incident from a heart attack, which was rather fortunate, for it spared him from Sylar's seething wrath. His glasses lay folded on the small coffee table in the center of the room. All Sylar wanted to do was rip the man apart for even hurting Noah & possibly killing him. It was good that the man was already dead. Sylar got up & began pacing. Jason's father eventually stood up to try stopping him.

"No," Sylar put up one hand. "Stay away, Nehemiah. All I want to do right now is kill someone!"

"Gabriel ... " Nehemiah stepped back once or twice, slightly alarmed at the almost vicious bearing Sylar had about him at the moment.

"Stay away," Sylar gasped. He turned away. None of these people deserved an attack from him. The one he wanted to kill was already dead. He walked right into one of the doctors who had come out at last but looked rather grim. The doctor was covered in blood, Noah's blood, Sylar realized.

"Are you the family of this child?" the doctor asked the group.

"It's just me," Sylar said in a whisper. "I'm Noah's father. There is no one else, but Jason is Noah's best friend. So whatever you say, just say it to all of us & get it over with."

The doctor hesitated before saying, "We tried everything—"

"N-No."

"He didn't make it."

Sylar collapsed into a chair, head in hands. Nehemiah sat beside him as others hung onto each other.

"I'm sorry," the doctor finished in a low voice. "We can clean him up & he will be in the morgue for when you're ready." The doctor cast one last sorrowful look over the group before leaving.

Nehemiah cautiously put a hand on Sylar's shoulder but was shrugged away. Sylar gasped for air a few times. "He ... He can't—I … " He choked on words before standing abruptly & walked briskly from the room.

"Gabriel?" Nehemiah called but was ignored. Tirzah burst into tears again as she held Jason close.

Using power, Sylar threw open the lobby doors & went outside. He transported to the beach by the house were he could be alone & glared at the sky. "Is this how it is?" he sobbed at last. "Is this how they all felt when I took one of theirs? Everyone I ever killed was someone's child or spouse or friend. Sister or brother! I took them all & didn't think about how it would affect others. IS THIS HOW IT FEELS?!" He fell to his knees. "Oh God! If you exist, you are a cruel monster worse than I!" He gasped between tears. "I killed them all," He snarled in one breath. "Every last one & I fucking enjoyed it every time! I admit it! I ADMIT, OK?"

Sylar clutched his chest with both hands as he wavered on his knees before lying on his side. "And now," he panted, gripping the damp sand with one hand. "Ohhh now! Oh God, why? Now you make me feel the pain of every single surviving relative of all my victims all at once!" His body shook with raking sobs. A wave rolled into his face. The tide was coming in. "I get it," Sylar whispered hoarsely. He got back to his knees. "I get it! I really do. I deserve it. I DESERVE IT! ME! I deserve every last ounce of pain right now! I know it. Payback for my crimes. I FUCKING DESERVE IT ALL!"

He slowly stood up & stumbled towards the house. He stopped & looked back over the ocean, then said in a whisper. "But did Noah? Did he deserve any of this? What crime did that dear innocent boy ever commit?" Sylar glared at the sky again. "HE DIDN'T DESERVE ANY OF THIS! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT! I'M THE ONE YOU NEED! TAKE ME INSTEAD! PLEASE! GOD!" He leaned forward. "Oh God, if you exist! Please take me instead! Come at me! I'm right here, ready for it. I deserve it all, so give me all you got! Give it to me, now! I will drink this cup of sorrows. I know I earned every last drop of it, but do not expect me to set foot in your gates! I refuse! I REFUSE!"

Sylar fell to his knees again, this time on the grass just above the sandy beach. The sun was setting into the Mediterranean. He stared out over the green sea, watching the gold disc sink. It burned his eyes but he ignored it. He saw a rare sight, the fabled green flash before the sun set completely & he was left in almost total darkness. He didn't know how long he had been there, silently waiting on his knees, but he slowly gave up. "You don't even exist," he muttered at last. "Why do I even bother yelling at you?'

His phone vibrated in his pocket but Sylar ignored it. He knew what it was about. The process. The dreadful process he had forced so many others to go through. Dealing with the leftover body. It was his turn now. He had to collect his son's body. Decide a place of burial. Cremation or casket? The date of the funeral. He had to do it all & he had to do it alone. The process was another thing he deserved, the final nail in the proverbial coffin. The hilarious irony of it all was beyond cruel, but that's how he had been, exceptionally cruel, the brutality of his bloody killings was legendary, & today was the day he would bitterly reap what he had sown.

For a fleeting moment, he thought about time-travel to save Noah but now or then, here or there, one way or the other Sylar would have to face Noah's impending death & he wondered if it would be worth it. What if he did go back to save him? It would expose his powers to those beyond the Kabbalah, expose Noah to the Company in America which would be a fate worse than death. It was all over now. Was there even any point? The phone continued to vibrate.

"Yes alright!" Sylar snapped irritably, pulling it out at last. "What?"

"Mr. Gray?"

"Yes, what is it?" Sylar demanded in one shaky breath. He wiped away a few tears but more replaced them.

"I'm not sure how to say this but," the person who called hesitated before adding. "You're son is ... uh ... he's asking for you." There was a long moment of silence. "Uh, Mr. Gray, you there?"

"Noah is dead," Sylar whispered, hardly daring to hope.

"He was but something, I don't know what happened," the other one went on. "But he is asking where you are right now."

The phone fell to the grass. Sylar walked up behind the doctor & tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm right here."

"Mr. Gray," the doctor turned to him. "I don't know how, but we had your son on a slab in the morgue, cleaning off the blood. He just sat up & looked around." Sylar had both hands over his mouth by now as the doctor went on. "There's something else. Sir, he doesn't have a mark on him. It's like it never happened. The only reason why I know he was fatally injured is because I saw his ripped up body myself. I don't know what's going on."

"I do!" Sylar gasped in a whisper. "I do & I understand now. She can't produce Regen in children without a partner who shares that ability. Without me. I really am her soulmate."

"Uh, Sir?"

Sylar cleared his throat & spoke in a normal voice. "Where is he?"

"First door on the left," the doctor pointed down the hall.

Sylar moved down the hall by himself & paused at the door. "Oh God," He pressed his forehead to the door. "Is this really happening?" He finally opened the door & entered. He went to the bed where Noah lay, looking out the window, & sat down.

Noah turned to look at him & sat up instantly, putting his arms around his father's neck. "That really hurt, Dad!" He complained.

"Yeah," Sylar laughed weakly. "Yeah, it did."

"Stupid truck!" Noah was still grumpy. "Where'd it come from, anyway?"

"The driver died of a heart attack," Sylar answered, holding Noah tightly. "He didn't know what happened."

Hearing a sniffle, Noah pulled away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You don't have your glasses on," Noah pointed out.

Sylar managed a laugh through tears. "Ohh, I forgot them. Don't worry. You're not in any trouble." He looked Noah over in two ways, just to look at him & he let his first power seep in.

He could see Noah's ability. Regen, but not like his own or Claire's. There was something more to it. Ordinarily, he would need to go for the base of the brain to figure it out but now, he just knew the difference. Noah's power was a super Regen. He could heal faster than his parents combined & unlike either of his parents, he didn't have a spot to strike him down. Noah would never again know death, not even temporarily. It was impossible to kill him & that would make him a target for the Company back in America. Noah would never be allowed in America if Sylar had anything to do with it. Sylar didn't know how that would go over when Noah was an adult, but he would make sure his son never set foot in that country.

Noah looked out the window again. "Dad, it's dark already?"

"A lot happened," Sylar replied. "Noah, uh, well, you died."

"Don't be silly," Noah laughed. "I'm right here."

"No," Sylar tried again. "You did die. They couldn't save you. Something else happened."

"Like what?"

Sylar took up Noah's right hand, turning the palm up. "Noah, I'm going to slice your palm. Trust me. It won't hurt. Just watch."

"Wait ... WHAT?"

"It's ok, Noah," Sylar raised his free hand, one finger pointing to Noah's palm. "I know what I'm doing." Unfortunately, he finished silently to himself.

Noah watched as a small pale red line streaked across his hand back & forth a few times. "That kind of prickles a bit."

"You heal faster than I," Sylar let go both his power & his son's hand.

"Heal?"

"Here, watch this," Sylar now did the same thing to his own palm using his force power. He winced at the pain as he cut deep. Unlike Noah, his wound bled for a moment before sealing over.

"How'd you do that?" Noah gasped.

Sylar raised a hand towards a napkin on the nightstand beside Noah's bed & summoned it over, then wiped the excess blood from his freshly healed palm. "It's called an ability. You have Regen like me, but yours is much faster than mine."

"What was that other thing you just did?"

"Telekinetic," Sylar said. "I can move things with my mind."

Noah slowly sat up straighter in bed. "You can also move really fast. I remember."

"Teleportation. I can move through time & space."

"How many abilities do you have?"

"Too many, I'd say."

"Where do they come from?"

"Depends who you ask, either science or some God or other," Sylar shrugged. "I used to know some doctors who were screwing around with genetics, the adrenal glands, stuff like that. They were able to synthesize powers for people but the problem with that was no one knew what they would get until after they tried to get a power."

"But no body did any experiments on me," Noah pointed out.

"A few of us are born this way," Sylar said.

"So are y—"

"Noah hush," Sylar stood up. "We shouldn't talk about these things here. If the wrong sort over heard us, there could be trouble. Let's go home & take care of Aviv, then we can talk."

"Ok," Noah slipped out of bed & followed his father out to the waiting room where everyone else was still hanging around.

Jason was the first to get close to him. "Are you ok?"

"Dad said I died."

"Yeah well," Jason nervously rubbed the back of his head a moment. "You got wiped out by a truck."

"I know," Noah muttered. "That didn't feel too good, either." He looked sideways towards his father leaning against the door-frame, waiting for him. Sylar shook his head once & crossed his lips with one finger. Noah tried not to roll his eyes. He couldn't even tell Jason? "I gotta go," Noah told Jason. "Poor Aviv's been alone all day."

Leaving was easier said than done. Jason's entire family pressed around him & everyone wanted to at least touch the miracle boy who lived. Tirzah grabbed him back more than once, still crying. It wasn't for several minutes until Noah was able to leave at last.

They got into the car but Sylar didn't start it yet. He finally looked back at Noah. "Want to sit up front?"

"SERIOUSLY?" Noah exclaimed.

"Well, you're thirteen now," Sylar said. "Consider it your bar mitzvah."

Noah scoffed as he got out. "Why are you so weird?"

Sylar was grinning like an idiot while Noah settled into the front seat for the first time in his life. "You have no idea."

When they got home, Aviv took one look at them before turning tail & running under the couch. Sylar & Noah got down on hands & knees trying to coax the dog out. Aviv slowly slunk out on the other side. When the two went around to meet him, Aviv hung his head. He had been abandoned all day & wondered if maybe he had been a bad dog or something.

"Aw come on," Sylar crouched down & held a hand out. "I know it took longer than planned. We had an accident. Come here."

Aviv growled at him instead. He went to Noah who picked him up & carried him into the kitchen.

Sylar sighed heavily as he stood up. "Well ok, then! I just got my ass dumped by a dog."

"You still don't have your glasses, Dad," Noah said. "Aviv probably doesn't recognize you."

"Ohh I left them at the hospital," Sylar said. "But I should still smell the same." He held out his hand but Aviv growled again. "Alright." He pulled away. "I will try getting them back tomorrow."

Noah filled Aviv's water & food bowls. "He sure is hungry."

"We were only supposed to be gone for the afternoon," Sylar said as he sat at the table & pushed a chair out for Noah. "What do you want to know first?"

"About what?"

"Your ability," Sylar answered. "I have Regen as well. I know quite a bit about it."

"I don't seem to feel as much pain as before," Noah began. "But you looked like you felt what you were doing to your hand."

"It's because you heal a lot faster than I do."

"Why didn't I heal before now?"

"Oh, that's a big question," Sylar watched Aviv for a moment. "Abilities need some sort of cataclysm before they appear. A bit like jump starting a car. Back in my day, it was a major eclipse that made abilities manifest in some people. For you, I think it was the truck that did it. It shocked your body enough to go into survival mode & Regen took care of the rest."

"Are there others like us?"

"I'm in the Kabbalah's inner circle," Sylar was suddenly glad he had joined so many years ago. He could tell Noah all about people with abilities who were a part of that & not have to mention any one in America. "So you could join us when you're twenty years old," he finished a while later. "If you want to study it more. I had already made some arrangements in case you ever developed an ability. I'd be with you the whole time. You can meet others with powers under my supervision. Shlomo would love to have you. This is actually good news for him. He was hoping you'd have an ability & want to join. He's not doing too well, though."

"He has cancer right?" Noah asked. "If he had Regen, he could be cured."

"No, Regen would accelerate the growing cells," Sylar said. "It won't cure cancer. If it shows up in someone before cancer does, then you'd never get it. But it's too late for Shlomo."

"That sucks," Noah said. "How come you seem to have more than one ability?"

"The one I was born with allows me to mimic other powers," Sylar thought hard. He needed to get away from that one quickly. Fortunately, Aviv provided a distraction as he jumped into Noah's lap.

"Hey Dad, can animals have abilities?"

"Uhh, I don't know," Sylar answered, rather surprised at the idea. "That would be an interesting study."

"Maybe Santa IS real & his reindeer have flying power."

"Maybe," Sylar laughed shortly. "Never really thought about that."

"Why can't I tell anyone about how I can heal?"

"Noah, no one outside the Kabbalah can know," Sylar was instantly defensive. "The Regen is one of the most dangerous powers to have. Dangerous for its host. If the wrong people knew about you, they would take you away, lock you up & study you like a guinea pig for ever."

"They'll keep me until I die?"

"Noah," Sylar stood up & went to the counter to lean on it. He turned back to his son but saw Claire instead, the moment after he had taken her power. "Poor boy. There is so much about yourself you don't even understand. Your brain is not like the others, Noah. You are not like the others. You're different. You're special & I couldn't kill you even if I wanted to. You can never die & neither can I."

They stared at each other for a long time. Noah was shocked into silence, partly from what he just heard but mostly from what he was seeing. It was fortunate he couldn't understand that either for he now seeing his father in the same way his mother had seen him after his brutal attack on her. He was seeing Sylar for the first time, not Gabriel Gray, but had no way of knowing that fact.

Noah clutched Aviv, watching Sylar. "Dad?" He finally breathed in a low voice. "You're ... kind of scaring me, right now."

"I know."

Aviv whined. He was being held too tightly. "Uh, Dad?"

Sylar wavered slightly. He glanced around then checked Noah who was still hanging onto a wriggling Aviv. "Noah," Sylar gasped weakly. "Noah I—can you excuse me for a moment?" he hurried for the door.

"Dad?"

"Just stay there, Noah," Sylar ordered as he went outside. "Stay back! I'll be back later. Just stay inside." He let the door slam as he left.

Noah finally released the poor dog. "What the hell was that about?" He waited for a few minutes but Sylar didn't return.

Noah finally decided to go look for his father but to do so quietly. He didn't want to run into his father on the way out in case he was returning so Noah went around to the back door, shoved Aviv back inside before the dog could betray him & stepped out into the night. He slunk around in the shadows, checking over the grounds, first through the back yard & then the front before moving towards the shoreline. He had to pass the two door garage standing by itself off to one side from the house & planned to use that to keep hidden. He heard something inside.

Noah slowly moved to the side door that was partially opened & looked inside. He could see his father lying on the floor in the empty parking spot beside their latest Audi. Sylar had both hands over his face, softly crying. Noah was shocked for the second time that night. He had never seen his father in such a state before. He wanted to run to him but also away from him. Sylar had left him in the house, told him to stay. Noah knew he was not supposed to see whatever he was seeing & after a few painstaking moments, he forced himself to return to the house.

Sylar let the door slam behind him & marched quickly to the garage. He slowed to a stop by the car & leaned back against the driver's door. After a while, he looked at himself in the side mirror. "How DARE you come out around Noah? How dare you! I know I left my glasses somewhere but I am still Gabriel Gray! Still Noah's father. Sylar has no place here!"

He looked away from his reflection. Who was he kidding? The on/off glasses had been a game to keep Noah in line & nothing more. Sylar liked games, especially when he won & his prize was blood or sex, most of the time, both. He was as much Sylar as he was Gabriel Gray. The lust for blood was coursing through his veins. Reliving that moment with Claire from so long ago had roused him in more ways than one. He had always known he would end up bedding that cheerleader. Took five thousand years from her point of view & he had used that to his advantage. Some things just wouldn't change.

"Oh Claire," Sylar chuckled softly to himself. "Claire if you only knew right now." Still laughing, he slid down the metallic door to the floor. But the laughter was becoming more forced as he went down & turned to tears. "Ohh what have I done, what have I done?" He whispered aloud. "I'm so sorry, Claire! For everything. For taking Nathan from you. For hurting you so much! How can I even claim to love you?" He gasped in a much need breath. "And now that THING is here for our son! It goes on. I won't let it, dear girl. I've held on this long. I just need to catch my breath. I WILL hold it back."

He rolled flat onto his back in the middle of the spare parking zone. He refused to move until lust of all kinds had settled. It would be a long night but if he kept himself still, maybe it would help to calm down. "Come on Sy, old man," He begged himself. "You've got to hold on. For Noah." He wiped away tears with both hands as he tried to keep it together.

By the time he calmed down, the sun was rising, casting long shadows through the windows & open door. Sylar slowly pulled himself up. He blearily looked around wondering where he was until both Regen & his senses kicked in. "Oh great," he moaned, remembering everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours. "What a mess." He slowly made his way back to the house & went inside.

Sylar looked around the ground floor of the house but Noah was not to be found. Guiltily, he looked at the stairs. He knew he had scared Noah last night & he had deliberately done so. But did Noah know it had been on purpose? Hoping on 'not', Sylar made his way upstairs towards Noah's room in much the same way he had gone up to Claire's room the day he became immortal. No. Wait. He needed to stop reliving such moments. Wasn't that what caused a rise in him last night?

"Noah?" Sylar stood at the door & slightly opened it. "Noah, are you in here?" He slowly moved in & looked around for his son.

Problem was, one really had to look for Noah in his bedroom for Noah liked an ordered chaos. Though it was kept spotlessly clean & his room was well organized, it had plushies everywhere. Each one had a spot in the bedroom, be it on a shelf or on the bed or on the floor. They lined trails around the floor that had to be followed. Noah had upwards of two hundred plush animals or more. He was an avid collector & it was all Claire's fault, Sylar realized. Claire had collected a few, A FEW, teddy bears but that interest exploded exponentially in her son. It didn't stop at teddies for Noah. He had everything from cats to dinosaurs, elephants to platypodes, horses of any kind, including unicorns & Pegasus types. He had some rare ones like a small stingray. All different sizes from some fitting in the palm of one's hand to at least two about as tall as Sylar. He still had his very first two teddy bears, Mr. Muggles & Shiva, but they were kept in a cabinet behind glass as they were both old & slightly worn. Slightly, for Noah had always taken care of every single one, even fixing them as needed. The bed was covered in them but somehow in a neat order & in the midst was a 'nest' that Noah would retreat into.

The entire setup was simultaneously neat yet utter chaos at the same time & Sylar realized how his own mind & his son's bedroom mirrored each other. This was how his insanity got passed on to his firstborn child. Plush for Noah & blood for Sylar. Neither desire utterly quelled.

Sylar cautiously put one knee on the bed so as not to disturb the plush. It would offend them, Noah would say, plus it would incur the wrath of Noah as well. He was very protective of the things & his temper was forged from the combined stubbornness of both his parents; though, he didn't show it as often. Even Aviv had learned quickly to not touch Noah's plush toys. Sylar used the force power to lift away the edge of the blanket to find Noah still sleeping.

"Hey," Sylar swiped his fingers softly over Noah's cheek. "Come on, buddy. Wake up." He could feel the bed shifting as Noah stretched hard & long. He opened one eye, glaring up at his father who should know by now to not bloody wake him up! He hated being awakened. It was a well-known fact that Noah wasn't a morning person & it was hard to get him out of bed for school every day. "There you are. Are you ok?"

"No," Noah snapped. "You interrupted a good dream. Go away!"

Sylar just laughed. "School starts soon. How about some waf—fles." Noah had already yanked the blankets up over his head, grumbling. "Ok fine. I'll just take ... " Sylar glanced around at the plushies, trying to find one he could remember the name of. Noah had names, genders & back stories for every single one of them. He saw the large wombat at the foot of the bed. That one was easy for it was named after the Australian city. "Sydney! She can come down with me, then." Sylar reached for the toy.

"NO!" Noah sat up at last.

"Then get up," Sylar teased, holding Sydney away.

"Give her back!"

"You have five minutes to get your ass in a chair downstairs, then I will," Sylar smiled triumphantly as he walked out, plush wombat under one arm. Noah screamed in rage. "Hm, hm, so much like his mother," Sylar laughed under breath as he went down the stairs.

"I hate you!"

Sylar put the wombat to one side on the counter. "Ha. Really, like his mom."

Fifteen minutes later, Noah finally sauntered on in to the dining room & plopped into a chair. "I hate getting up all the time!"

"Some days, I'm like that too," Sylar put a plate of waffles in front of Noah who just glared at them, still groggy. He put Sydney on the table away from Noah. "You can have her back when you're done eating."

"Not hungry. Rather sleep."

"Sleep in the car then."

Noah had been holding his head up with one hand but now let that hand fall down flat to thump lightly on the table. "Why? Since you can teleport, I can sleep longer & we just get to school a few minutes before it starts. Don't need the car."

"Yes, we do," Sylar had some of his own waffles before adding. "First of all, its part of a routine. Secondly, I told you yesterday, we can't have people knowing about any powers we have. That can cause problems. People get hurt."

Noah started picking at his food, as Sylar knew he would eventually do. "Where'd you go last night?"

Sylar put his fork down & took a long time to answer. "I needed a moment alone. I had an issue to deal with. Never mind. It's all over now, anyway. Now about school," He proceeded to give Noah instructions to keep his ability hidden, sounding for all the world like Noah Bennet when he tried to keep Claire silent. He was still lecturing Noah right up until they got to the school door. They sat in silence for a moment before Noah started to get out. "Noah," Sylar put a hand on his son's arm & held him back. "Noah, I ... I know I really terrified you last night. I am sorry about that. But that was just me. Imagine how someone who would intend you harm could be. That's why you have to keep silent, ok?"

"You look really different without your glasses."

"No glasses means trouble," Sylar said. "Although this time, the trouble can come from somewhere else if people found out."

"You really mean it, that we can't die?" Noah asked.

"That's right," Sylar replied solemnly. "Very few have Regen."

"Are there others who are immortal?"

Sylar looked at him for a long moment. "Not that we know of." He suddenly understood why Noah Bennet would lie to Claire all the time. It used to piss him off. He had always been straight with Claire. In his own way, he had tried to protect Claire as well by simply telling her the truth. But he & Noah Bennet ended up in the same boat together. Claire hated both. Her Dad for lying, Sylar for everything else. Would it end up the same way with Noah Gray?