(13) The Ghosts Of The Past

In the early hours of the morning, Sylar still hadn't managed any sleep. He eventually got up & decided to get breakfast ready. Aviv barely lifted his head to watch him pass before rolling over on the other side to go back to sleep. Sylar rolled his eyes. Everyone in the house was sleeping soundly, not knowing of the worries he had to deal with. It was another hour before he went back upstairs & had his daily morning hustle & fight to get Noah out of bed. He passed by his own room & caught sight of his reflection in the mirror on the wall above the nightstand. He went to stand before it for a moment, before suddenly taking the glasses off & putting them aside. As Gabriel, he was more shy & nerdy but today he needed the cold logic of Sylar.

Noah was his usual grouchy morning self until he was fully awake in the car halfway to school. It was then he noticed something different about his father. "Where are you glasses?"

"Oh, I must have forgotten them," Sylar shrugged it off. "Don't worry, you're not in any trouble." He was the one in trouble this time.

Ariel was at the school the moment it was opened. She passed herself off as a random parent until she located the one teacher she was looking for. She casually spoke with Maya for a few moments, mentioning Noah (but not Gray) who was the son of her friend Gabriel. Neither name seemed to affect Maya's memory, so Ariel soon went outside to wait for Sylar. She got into the car the moment Noah got out. Sylar looked at her in mild surprise.

"What? The meeting isn't until this afternoon," Ariel said. "I'm not a parent so there's no point in me sticking around right now. We should go see René, for now."

Sylar continued to gaze at her. "Ariel, I am not Gabriel right now."

Too late, she realized he had no glasses. Ariel stared at the dashboard. "Are you crazy? What if Noah finds out?"

"I'm holding on, barely."

Ariel sat back in the seat & put the belt on. She knew better than to bolt. It could push Sylar over the edge & encourage him to hunt her down. "You are really playing with fire right now."

"Are you staying?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll stay."

"Ok," Sylar turned the car onto the highway.

It was a silent drive to the primary school. Ariel remained calm & silent, not wanting to trigger him in any way. She got out first when they arrived & led the way upstairs to Shlomo's old office where René was already waiting. She went to a chair on one side & sat down just in time before dropping in it by surprise.

René spoke. "So, we meet at last, Mr. Sylar."

"Yes," Sylar slowly stalked around him. "Do you know who Noah's mother is?"

"Noah's daughter."

Ariel smothered a fit of giggles with one hand. Even Sylar managed a smile. "That did sound a bit wrong."

"Two different Noahs," René said. "But Claire is once again at the center of everything."

Sylar leaned back against the desk. "When will Noah be born?"

"In the future from when you came."

Ariel gasped as Sylar suddenly moved forward & grabbed René's arm. He held on as both men stared each other down. "When I first came here, Shlomo could block my powers, even my lust for blood. I now know where he got that from. If I am to take his place, I need your powers & in turn, a piece of you will live on in me five thousand years from now." He released the Haitian & pulled away. He had siphoned the powers the same way Peter usually did. René was still alive for now. Ariel watched closely but at the same time, she wondered what she would do if Sylar went for a kill. "You know quite enough about my son," Sylar went on. "How would you like to stay & watch over him like how you once watched over Claire when she was a child?" René didn't answer so Sylar continued. "Noah can never know about my past. I left that for him. He & a friend of his are a little too curious for their own good. That needs to stop." He went behind the desk & opened the top drawer. He held up a folder. "In here is a list of places Noah is allowed & some where he is not. Neither are he & Jason to continue looking into abilities. Jason has a bad habit of looking for super-powered people & showing them to Noah. He keeps digging, he will find me. Do not let that happen."

"You wish me to watch over your son?"

"Did you take care of Maya?"

"She no longer remembers you."

"Then you are already on that path," Sylar held the folder out. René took it & left without another word. Sylar put both hands on the top of the desk & leaned over, slightly panting.

"Are you ok?" Ariel asked.

"The Hunger," Sylar shook his head. "It's getting too strong. Ariel, run! NOW! RUN!"

"No!"

"I will kill you if you stay!"

"It's the other way around," Ariel went to him. "You want to hunt. I'll definitely die if I run. So I'm not going anywhere."

"You're either very brave or very foolish!"

"I'm actually quite terrified right now," Ariel whispered as she moved behind the desk, pushed Sylar back & grabbed him by the shoulders. "We need to distract you."

"How?" Sylar gasped. As if unbidden, his hands were suddenly on her hips & began moving upwards. He was going to push her away. Throw her against the wall & kill her.

"I don't know!" Ariel gasped as panic rose up in her as fast as Sylar's hands slid up her sides. She had moments to live if she didn't come up with something quick. "Wait. What kind of birds bring babies?"

"What the hell kind of question is that at a time like this?" His hands paused on her rib cage, Sylar could feel her pounding heart.

"JUST ANSWER IT!"

"Storks."

"What kind of birds prevent them?"

"I don't know!"

"Swallows!"

Sylar did manage to push her away & caught her eye. "Swallows?"

Ariel spluttered before laughing. "If I'm going to die, I'm going to die laughing."

Sylar turned away, pressing one hand to his mouth. "What the HELL is wrong with you?"

"I don't know!" Ariel wheezed, leaning back against the desk. "It's a good thing I decided to come, isn't it?"

"Whoa! Easy!" Sylar dropped into the chair, still laughing. "Ow!"

Ariel had punched his arm. "Not like that, you idiot!"

"Oh my God!" Sylar gasped for air. As both slowly caught their breath, he said. "No one's ever tried stopping me like that before, with that kind of a joke."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"For now," Sylar said. "But this day is only half over & the worst is yet to come. What I did to that woman. I know she no longer remembers, but I do."

"Why don't I go with you?" Ariel offered.

Sylar looked up at her. "You really want to?"

"We have Noah to think about," Ariel said. "Someone needs to keep an eye on you. You're like a freaking werewolf."

"Werewolf?"

"Yeah. Gabriel the man, Sylar the mutt."

"Gee, thanks."

Ariel just laughed. "You're a bit like Remus."

"Who?"

Ariel glared at him. "Remus. Haven't you ever read Harry Potter?"

"Oh, no. I never did get into it," Sylar said. Ariel rolled her eyes & headed for the stairs. As Sylar followed, he added, "I've heard plenty about it. Even Claire had a dog with a Harry Potter-esque name. Mr. Muggles. I'm just more of a—"

Ariel turned sharply to look up at him, standing a few steps below him. "You say Twilight, I will be the one killing you."

"Noted!" Sylar let her go down a few steps before moving again to allow some space between them. "I was going to say Lord Of The Rings, if that's alright."

"Yeah, that one's ok," Ariel said.

"Just ok?"

"I like it, but prefer Harry Potter," Ariel opened the door to go outside. "My wand is nine inch Hawthorn with a unicorn hair, my Patronus is a horse, my Animagus is a white tigress & my house is Slytherin, which I think would be your house as well."

"I literally have no clue what any of that means."

"Just go with it."

"Ok then," Sylar knew better than to piss off a Jewish woman. They headed back to Noah's school in relative silence for most of the drive. When they were almost there, Sylar suddenly spoke again. "Ariel, why are you here with me?"

"We're going to Noah's school together."

"Shlomo said I would never kill for abilities again," Sylar began. "But he never said I would never kill again. I almost killed you today."

"But you didn't," Ariel replied stubbornly. "That wasn't really you, that's your power."

Sylar parked the car & both got out without another word. Ariel was slightly ahead & reached the school doors first & held them open, waiting for him. Sylar stopped outside, looking up at the building. "One of my biggest mistakes was done at a school like this," He began in a low voice. "I don't kill children. I terrorized Molly Walker but I never had plans to kill her. I wanted her to work for me, to find others like me. But then I heard about an undying cheerleader. I thought it would be ok. No one was supposed to die that night. But it wasn't Claire. I grabbed the wrong girl! Cut her head open. I expected her to heal so I was moving too fast to notice until it was too late. Claire was the one I had thrown aside & the one I was holding died in my hands. That is an open wound on my soul to this day, if there is such a thing as a soul."

"I would think that is proof that there is," Ariel said. "I didn't know you had an age limit. That isn't in your profile."

"I took things from others who, I told myself, didn't deserve them, but children are innocent," Sylar said. "That's how I justified myself. I don't even kill pregnant women because of the child involved. Missed out on two abilities because of that."

Ariel moved away from the doors, closer to him. "That sounds like a man trying to get this terrifying force no one warned him about under control."

"Key word: trying," Sylar said. "But I failed every single time I tried to give it up."

"Not every time," Ariel said in a low tone. "Noah is proof of that."

"Yeah, I guess he is," Sylar replied. He pressed one palm to his forehead. "I had always wanted to settle down, have a family. Been planning that since I was in high school. Then this THING ... " He let his hand fall. "It showed up. Ruined everything." He looked at Ariel, almost in desperation. "I didn't ask for any of this."

Ariel gently put a hand on his arm for a moment. "I know," She all but whispered. "You're finding that person again. You have a son, a dog, a new home & life with all that. All you can do is move forward now."

"I have to force myself to do that every day, every hour."

"Just keep thinking of Noah."

"Noah."

"Yes, & swallows."

Sylar snickered. "Where'd you come up with that anyway?"

"I have two boy-crazed young nieces," Ariel said. "Well, through adoption. They're from the family that took me in when Shlomo hid me."

"So there's plenty more where that came from," Sylar said.

"Ohh yeah," Ariel raised a hand to push back his bangs. "You don't have your glasses to hold them back. There, that's better." She turned away & entered the school. *

Sylar stayed where he was, letting the doors close. After a few moments, he shook his head. "She's mortal. Forget it." He finally went inside.

The large auditorium was at the other end of the long hall. Sylar entered & found Ariel close to Noah. Off to the side was René. Then in his peripheral vision, he saw Maya at the other end of the wide room. Sylar quickly backed out into the hall once more.

Ariel found him a few minutes later, still in the hall, sitting on the floor against the wall. She crouched down in front of him. "Aren't you coming in? Noah's looking for you."

"I saw her."

"So don't go around her."

"I saw her & all I can think of is how I still managed to kill someone even without my powers & enjoyed it."

"Gabriel."

"Sylar!" He snapped at her. "Did you not hear what I said? I killed her brother without my powers. I had the Shanti virus then. My head was clear. I still killed somebody. Plunged a knife into that body. Felt his blood spread on my hands. I still wanted more so I cut him again. Now what does that say about me, hmm?"

"That you had a very dark past," Ariel said.

Sylar slowly pushed himself up. When they were both standing, he said. "I'm just a killer. I don't need powers for murder. It just makes things easier. I was born a killer."

"That's not true!"

"Then explain why I still killed without my abilities?"

"Because by then, you had already started that life & it was all you knew at the moment," Ariel tried. "You said it yourself, you didn't ask for this. Gabriel Gray is yet another victim of an out of control power. It took a long time to fix that. Shlomo had the same power, but he was in the Kabbalah. He wanted you to have that chance to turn your life around & you took it. You accepted that invitation. You're not just a killer. You show remorse. You're a broken man who's just gotten his life together again. You have a son now. You're one of the best fathers I've ever seen & I'm not the only one who says that. Not to mention the fact that in a few eons, the fate of the entire planet rests w—with ... you." She gasped slightly as Sylar had quickly moved towards her so that they were nose to nose. She froze, not knowing what he was planning to do. Kill her? Kiss her?

"I really am grateful for the faith your people have put in me," Sylar spoke softly. "But sometimes I wonder if you picked the wrong man." At that, he pushed by her & entered the auditorium once more.

Ariel stood rooted to the spot for a while. "What was that about?" She finally asked herself as she stared at a case of school trophies without really seeing them. She put a hand to her head. "Girl, he's married. Get over it!" She continued to stare at the glass case. All the same, he was also technically widowed for about five thousand years, wasn't he? It was all too confusing. Suddenly the hallway exploded in brilliant light.

Sylar could see the light through the doorway. Most people thought it was a ray of sun striking the glass, but he knew it was her. He turned away as Noah grabbed him. "Dad, where'd you go off to?"

"Uh, I ... I was busy, dealing with something," Sylar replied.

"That sun sure is bright," Noah blinked a few times.

"It's Ariel," Sylar said under breath. "That's her power."

"Why did she change inside?" Noah shook his head a few times. "Come on. You should meet Maya. She's really nice."

Sylar couldn't think of any excuse fast enough & he certainly wasn't going to say the real reason why going any where near her was a bad idea so the next moment, he found himself face to face with her once more. "Uh hi," Sylar said quickly. Noah watched him in amusement.

"Hi, you're Noah's father?"

It took a long moment to respond. "Um yes, of course. Gabriel."

"I'm Maya Herrera," Maya held out a hand. "Well, not for long. I'll be getting married when I go back home."

"Congratulations," Sylar quickly shook her hand. "You've been a teacher for a long time?"

"About seven years," Maya said. "My fiancé is a scientist so I ended up learning a lot, then went for my degree to become a part time teacher. This will be my last term for a while."

"Is your fiancé a teacher as well?"

"He is a professor in India," Maya replied. Sylar had a sinking feeling what that meant & she confirmed it. "Dr. Mohinder Suresh."

Sylar inwardly groaned. Suresh would remember just fine. "Well, good luck with your new life." He shook hands with her once more before pulling away.

Noah followed him. "What is going on? I've never seen you so awkward before."

"Noah?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

Sylar turned to glare at him. "Shut up."

Noah burst out laughing. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've got a crush."

Sylar clapped his hand onto Noah's shoulder & steered him towards the buffet table. "Perhaps you didn't hear me. Shut up!" He left his (totally correct) son by the food & made a beeline for René. "She's with Mohinder again. He remembers me just fine." René merely nodded & left immediately. Sylar headed up the grand stands & sat down near the top to keep an eye on his son.

The light soon went back to normal. Ariel found him sitting by himself & took up a place beside him. "I saw René leave."

"Maya's marrying Mohinder Suresh," Sylar said. In a lower voice he added. "I killed his father."

"So you sent René to wipe his memory of you."

"If Maya starts talking, Mohinder will know," Sylar said. "So I either wipe him or kill him & I have Noah to think about, so wipe it is. Mohinder could ruin everything. Oh God, if Noah finds out!" He looked away & closed his eyes.

"That's three people in one day who knew you from before," Ariel looked down on Noah for a bit. "Maya's been wiped. Mohinder's about to have the same thing happen to him. René knows about you, but he stays quiet. But somewhere, somebody is going to pop up unexpectedly. What if you don't have René handy to take care of things before it's too late?"

"You don't think I worry about that?" Sylar all but snapped.

"Somewhere down the line, Noah will find out, one way or the other."

"I can't tell him," Sylar gasped in a panic whisper. "He'll hate me!"

Ariel stood up. "He'll hate you more if he finds out from someone else. How many people have you killed?" She let it hang for a moment. "There are too many ghosts, Gabriel. One of them will get through."

"You don't—" Sylar slammed his fist down on the part of the bench beside him, cracking the wood, making Ariel jump. "You don't know how hard it is to look at that boy & pretend to have a normal life for his sake. Am I just supposed to ruin that?"

"Gabriel."

"I can't!" Sylar said. He stood up & glared at her. In a voice loud enough for others nearby to hear, he went on threateningly. "I can't, you hear me?" Ariel's eyes slowly filled with tears. She let out a breath, turned on her heel & left. " ... Ariel ... " He barely murmured her name as she walked out.

Noah climbed up the stands to him. He watched the door close as Ariel went into the hall & left, then looked at his father. "Two women in one day? Dad, what's wrong?"

Sylar glared at Noah, then smacked the top of his son's head. Ignoring the laugh, he said, "Nothing. Never mind. I'll be right back." He hurried down to the main floor & into the hall. Once by himself, he teleported to the beach back home. "Didn't you punish me enough when you killed Noah?" He shouted at the sky. "I thought giving him back to me meant I was forgiven! I don't understand why you're dredging up the ghosts of my past now? That affects my birth power when I can't understand something. It makes me ornery & dangerous." He fell to his knees, on the sand. "He's too much like his mother. Telling him would drive him away. He'd hate me like she does right now. Am I to lose my only son one way or the other, my ONLY anchor to what little sanity I have left?" He looked at the ocean rolling in. The waves began crashing over his lap. He stood up & turned to face the house, but moved his eyes upwards once more. "Do you want me to believe in you again, or not? Seriously, make up my friggen mind!" He went into the house to get some dry clothes, then beamed back to the school to find Noah.

"Did you catch up to her?" Noah asked.

"I—wh—uh, no," Sylar decided to keep it simple. He wasn't going after her in the first place but better to let Noah believe that. "It's only a half day because of this right? Shall we go home?" Noah agreed & a few minutes later, both were in the car & homeward bound.

Sylar didn't see Ariel again until a few days later when it was time to get Jessica Havok. Ariel showed up at the last minute & cast him one cursory look before turning away. He let her be until it was time to beam over to Jerusalem. Ariel only held his hand to be brought along, then let go & went to find Jessica.

They were staying over night as Jessica finished packing with Ariel's help. Jessica would have to go to Haifa the long way since she was literally moving over. Sylar stood on the balcony of Jessica's top floor flat, looking out over one of the world's most famous city. He could hear the bombs in the distance & as night fell, he could sometimes see a flash of them. People on both sides were dying in droves out there & not in a way Sylar liked. This was different. This was all out warfare. He had never been so close to the front lines before.

As an American, he had grown up constantly hearing about wars & rumours of wars. Like every last one of his fellow countrymen, he had been glued to the screen for nearly a day when the Towers went down & he had been in New York at the time. He could hear the rumbles as both suddenly crashed & shook the very floor he had stood on at the time. But that didn't compare to this. It was different being this close to such action. It put him on edge.

He glanced around, hearing the door slide open. Ariel stood there. "Jessica wanted me to tell you she set up the extra bedroom for you down the hall."

"Alright, thanks."

"Goodnight," Ariel turned to leave but she couldn't move.

Sylar dragged her onto the balcony with his force power. He made her face him. "Sorry about the other day. It was a really bad day for me."

Ariel didn't answer him until she felt the force leave her. "You put your glasses back on."

"Mhm."

Ariel glared at him. "Don't ever do that again, you absolute camel!"

Sylar blinked a few times at the insult. "Alright, I said I was sorry." An awkward silence past. "Was that seriously the best insult you could come up with?"

"No, but the other one wasn't very lady like."

"Ahh, I see." Sylar suddenly saw better than a moment ago from a particularly bright bomb flash. Both turned to the railing to watch for a bit. "It's a good thing we are getting Jessica out of here," Sylar went on after a while. "I'm amazed anyone wants to live here. Why doesn't everyone just leave?"

"If we all leave, they win."

"So? At least no one dies like this."

"This is our land."

Sylar watched another flash fade. "No offence but, who says & don't say God? They claim God says it's their land. Jews make the same claim. So there has to be something else."

"It is our land," Ariel insisted. "We were here first. We built it up & yes, the Torah does say God promised it to us & in fact, so does the Qur'an. It says Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. By that book, we are called the people of the book, but no one cares."

"Just seems a silly thing to die for," Sylar muttered. "Books & cities. This is one of two reasons why I hate anything to do with any God or religion. Causes a lot of fighting. My power I was born with is the other reason."

They watched the not so distant war for a while before Ariel asked, "You used to believe in God, right?"

"Sure, I was raised sort of Catholic." They listened to a round of rapid gunfire. "Never went to church services but my mom, well aunt who adopted me, taught me about God, anyway. She even had a priest come to our home to baptize me the very first Sunday she had me. But it's a little different from you. Catholics are Jesus followers."

"Yeah, I know," Ariel leaned against the railing, back against the city. "Ever think about going back?"

"I will never go back to Catholicism," Sylar replied. "Even if I decided to believe in God again. I would go Protestant, probably Adventist since they keep the Sabbath like your people do & it would just make things easier in this country."

"What's wrong with the Catholics?"

"The Petrelli family," Sylar stated. "They all still practice & I have no intention of being in the same church Peter is."

Ariel tried not to laugh. "What about going back to God?"

"If God exists, then He needs to be the One to come back to me. As far as I know, He abandoned me to this terrible fate. Why would any God allow someone like me to exist? I stopped believing after I started killing. Took a few kills. In the beginning, I ... I had a different method of ... "

"You're profile said you crucified some of them. You got that from your side of the Bible, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Sylar nodded, laughing softly at the 'your side' comment. "Only in the beginning & then that's around the time I stopped believing."

"Can I ask you something a bit personal perhaps?"

"Might as well."

"Why did you like pain & terror so much?"

"I do like a good hunt but, it's not that I like it; although, I grew to enjoy it more as I destroyed my mind with more powers," Sylar sighed heavily & moved away from the railing. "It's the fact that it was necessary."

"Necessary?" Ariel gaped at him. She had expected him to admit he just liked it. But he sincerely thought it had to be done a certain way? The very idea of that shook her. "How? What the freaking hell does that mean?"

"Now you're being unladylike," Sylar grinned before he answered. "I found out a lot sooner than Mohinder what caused abilities to behave. It's the adrenals that make abilities work even better than a conscious choice to try using them. Pain, fear & excitement are the three of the best ways to arouse those glands, the ability comes bubbling up almost as if unbidden & I could," He put one hand into the air & made a snatching motion. "catch it. I could learn them better than Peter by looking at them that way in all their natural glory. It's why I always came out on top whenever fighting Peter. I'm just better than him. It's why I chased Claire all through her house before taking the Regen. It was to make her scared so I could catch her power. Also, it helped me to download the power better as well. Pain & fear for them, excitement for me. I can take powers the exact same way Peter does of course, you saw that with René but memory wipe or power blocking aren't really focused on strength anyway, but for the others, they weren't strong enough. My way made them stronger but death was a by-product in all but one case: Claire, because she can't die. I suppose Lydia could be considered as another one since a different type of excitement got in the way & I soaked up her power through that. Someone else ended up killing her."

"Why didn't you just have sex with everyone, then?" Ariel half laughed out of nerves. "No one had to die!"

"I don't do minors, sex or killing. I'm a murderer not a rapist & most importantly, I WILL be damned to hell before I sleep with Peter so ... "

"Well who cares about Peter anyway, right?"

"Got that one right!" Sylar agreed. "But yeah. That's why I did it that way. To me, it needed to be done a certain way to learn the ability properly."

Ariel stared at him. "I just never expected you to say it was necessary. I thought you simply enjoyed it like the way a vampire would so to speak."

"Ok what am I, a camel or a werewolf or a vampire now? I never drank the blood. I do like how it feels. Always did even before I killed anyone. But I wouldn't drink it."

"You're a camel when you're being a creep."

"An adorable creep," Sylar teased.

"I'd still go with werewolf," Ariel rolled her eyes. "It's like you have two personalities."

"It's how I try to deal with it now," Sylar said. "So far so good, but is that because of me or what Shlomo did for me?"

"Probably a bit of both."

"Maybe," Sylar opened the door to go inside. "I am not a nice guy, Ariel. I hold back mostly for my son's sake & with the training I got in the Kabbalah, I hope to keep holding on since Noah is undying like me. But that doesn't change the fact that I am the most dangerous being in the universe, perhaps even more so than your Jehovah who is supposedly a merciful God. I show little mercy. I'm an apex predator above all other apex predators that ever existed or will exist. You can tame this monster but you can never kill it. I did not ask for this & never in my wildest dreams did I ever think to become Death & had anyone told me what would become of me, I would have never believed them, but it is what it is." They shared a look. "I am Death in human form now. There is no escaping it or denying it." Ariel was almost in tears again. Sylar moved inside. "We should all get to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ariel stayed outside for several minutes by herself. She wiped away a few tears before heading to the other bedroom which she would share with Jessica.

"It's about time you showed up," Jessica said the moment Ariel closed the door & started getting ready for bed. "So? Spill the beans!"

"What beans?"

"Oh don't be coy," Jessica complained. "I just want to know why you're here with me instead of down the hall with that gorgeous specimen of the male species. It should be illegal to be that hot!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ariel gasped. "He's just a friend, not to mention my boss! Were you reading his mind or something?"

"Both," Jessica said. "I was feeling everything. Both of you have some real strong emotions. The two of you were out on the balcony for almost two hours. You're asking me to believe you weren't sucking each other's lips off, or more?"

"Girl please!" Ariel got into bed at last. "Just friends. He's my BOSS! Plus, he's married. He's not the one. Actually, he's the ... other ... one."

"Other one?"

"Yeah, the one Shlomo & I used to talk about sometimes," Ariel said. "That one. Shlomo made Gabriel take over when he died."

"Wait," Jessica sat up straight in her own bed. "That one you guys talked about, that was—Ariel!" She hissed in a whisper. "Is that guy down the hall that head-slicer from New York? Is that Sylar?!"

"He's not like that, anymore. Shlomo fixed him," Ariel turned off the light. "Now, please go to sleep." She rolled over, away from Jessica, feeling her eyes sting again. She pressed her palm to them for a moment. There wouldn't be much sleep for her tonight.

After almost twenty minutes, Jessica said, "I can't believe I just called Sylar hot!"

Ariel groaned. "Shut up or I will be the one killing something. How did you not recognize him? His face is known in America now."

"I heard about what he did so I never looked at any pictures," Jessica admitted.

"How much do you know of him?"

"Not much," said Jessica. "He can have more than one ability but he kills to get them. That's about it."

"He got stuck with an unusual power without any training until much later," Ariel said. "He is doing so much better now."

"You sure he is okay?"

"Yeah," Ariel stated simply, not as sure as she pretended to be.

After the last box was loaded onto the moving van the next morning, Sylar gave Jessica the same type of book Shlomo had once handed to him, although hers was in Hebrew. "Once you've settled in, you can join us if you want."

Jessica considered him a moment, her eyes switching from brown to a blue swirl & then back again. "Thanks. I'll think about it."

Sylar looked at Ariel. "See you in a few days." He disappeared on the spot.

Ariel was staying with Jessica to help her unpack once they got to Haifa. Jessica tried not to mention it during the drive over but she finally said, "He does care about you a lot. If he was any other man, I'd say go for it, but this is Sylar we're talking about."

"The fact that he cares should prove he has grown a lot since coming here," Ariel said. "I don't just see him as Sylar, but we can only ever be friends. You shouldn't get involved with the boss & he has a woman waiting for him."

* While looking for something else totally unrelated, I randomly came across a picture of Zach Quinto with a black woman doing something to his hair. I have no idea who she is (not Zoe Salanda) & guessing either a make up artist or a fan. However, she is a good fit for how I imagined Ariel. I can't seem to find the photo again but fortunately I did save it, so if any of you are on facebook, it would be attached to one of my Heroes posts in a few groups such as "Archive Of Our Own (AO3) Writing And Laughing" &"fanfiction . net Writers Unite!" & "Fanfiction . Net" & "Fanfiction Haven" where links are posted to all fanfiction done here & merely do a 'Heroes: The Nightstalkers' post search within either group.