Gabriel Gray

San Ribero

He sat alone in the small stone room that he was placed in after speaking with Elle. He wasn't entirely sure why they put him so far away from other people. The only thing he could think of was that they didn't trust him, which was totally understandable. After all, he did spend a good portion of the past few years hunting down others with gifts and killing them. But he felt there was something else, something to do with Michael's gift.

Gabriel laid down on the cot, with an arm over his eyes. If only he knew what was going on outside these walls, he might feel a bit more at ease. Heidi could only protect him for so long, and then the others would probably lynch him.

He felt the slight gust of wind before he heard the footfalls. He moved his arm and stared into the mirror image of himself. "Gabriel, we meet again for the last time," Sylar said, a thin evil grin spreading across his face.

Before he could move to defend himself, he felt the telekinetic hand wrap around his throat and lift him up. He couldn't talk, couldn't think; the only thing he had was the blind rage at seeing himself separated. Gabriel couldn't begin to understand the reasons why he hated himself so much, but it didn't change the fact that he did.

Sylar nodded. "Before I kill you, I'm going to show you what I plan on doing to your little haven of mutants. I will fest on the ones with powers I don't have, and just dispose of the rest. It wouldn't be hard, you know. And they all blame Peter Petrelli for bringing you here."

The wall behind Gabriel opened up into the courtyard of the temple, and he was shoved out. He heard the alarms sound. Gabriel hit the ground rolling, looking up to see the portal Peter had gone through close. Sylar turned his attention to the gathering mutants around him. Gabriel looked up, watching a woman in a cheerleader's uniform running at Sylar before being grabbed and slammed repeatedly into the solid stone walls of the temple. Blonde hair mixed with red blood, and then the cheerleader was tossed lifelessly over to Gabriel.

Sylar smiled. "There will always be others. Now," he said, snatching up another mutant. "Tell me where I can find Claire Bennet."

Claire Bennet

San Ribero

She was standing outside of Peter's apartment, crying on Gavin's shoulder when the alarms went off. Fear racked her body; the noise of the siren was eerily similar to the one that went off during her torture. Flashbacks of Armstrong coming at her with nail clippers flooded her mind. Then, Gavin was dragging her away from the apartment door, seconds before it splintered.

The empty sing-song voice filled the air. "Claire?" It was like liquid ice sticking in her belly. She couldn't move for fear that if she did, she would shatter.

Daylight quickly swirled away, and she thought she was passing out. Then she saw Gavin pulling the shadows around them, cloaking them in darkness. With his arms around her shoulders, he led Claire through what seemed a maze of corridors.

"I'll find you, Claire," the voice called again, almost insane with merriment. "It should have happened so long ago, in Texas, but you slipped out of my fingers then, and again in New York. Not this time, Claire. You won't get away again."

A hand shot out and grabbed her around the wrist, and Claire screamed. She heard Noel's voice calling them out of the building, and she knew she was passing through walls from the waves of cold that shivered through her body.

The darkness failed, and Claire opened her eyes, finding herself in the courtyard of the temple. Bodies littered the darkening ground, and she struggled to keep down her lunch. From where she stood, she could see a number of people she recognized, although whether they were dead or not, she couldn't tell. There was Heidi, over there was Gabriel. A cheerleader; a couple of agents, one female, one male. The whole thing was a nightmare, and she repeated it over and over in her head like a mantra. It's just a nightmare, you'll wake up, it's just a nightmare, you'll wake up, it's just a nightmare, you'll wake up any minute now.

Then, Sylar was lowering himself down to the ground below, dark fury across his face above a sickly grin. "It's time to die, Claire."

From her left side, she saw only a blur as Gavin lunged at the killer, but he was tossed away like a rag doll. The last thought she registered before Sylar lifted her up was that this wasn't a nightmare. It was the end of the world.

Peter Petrelli

There were a number of people outside the school yard, fighting off the bizarre creatures that looked like inside out dogs. One, a one-eyed man with a mane of crimson hair was actually using a sword. Another, Peter recognized as Will Stone, fired off a shotgun, blowing away the hungry canines.

"Daddy!" Monty called, running to Nathan along with a little girl, maybe a little older. Nathan lifted both of them up, and tried to take off into the air. His eyes went wild when he didn't go anywhere.

"I can't go anywhere, Pete," Nathan said, fearful. "We can't fly."

A young woman with a couple of black eyes came up behind them with a frown and a pistol. "It's probably better you stay on the ground with the enemy you know." She pointed up, and Pete looked to see several flying shapes in the sky.

Striking out at a lunging dog, Pete asked, "What is this place?"

The one-eyed man ran past, swinging his sword better than even Hiro could. "If we knew, it still wouldn't be the time or place to discuss it," he yelled out as he flew by. "Get the led out, we don't have much time before the portal closes!"

Nathan spun and took off after the strange man. "What do you mean?"
The one-eyed man stopped and turned around to face Nathan. "Sylar," he said, and then continued his rush to the portal. He was nearly there when is shrunk out of existence. Nathan cursed.

Will threw the unloaded shotgun at one of the dogs, and from the sound of it, broke its jaw. Then, all of them were running for the relative safety of the schoolhouse.

Claire Bennet

San Ribero

She was overcome with rage, and she lunged at the killer, slamming her shoulder into his gut. She heard him grunt with surprise and pain, and took whatever pleasure there was to be had in it. Then, she turned her nails into his face, drawing blood. Sylar screamed, almost girlishly, when she threw all caution to the wind and jammed her fingernails into his groin. She tugged as hard as she could, letting her nails drag through the sensitive flesh, and followed it up with an elbow to the face.

Claire threw herself over the prone body of Sylar in hopes of continuing her assault, but she was lifted up by invisible hands and thrown high into the air. She came down on the cheerleader's body. Looking down, she saw the empty open eyes of Elle. She screamed and pushed herself up, only to be shoved farther back by Sylar's stolen talents.

"This is going to feel so good," he said, licking his lips. "I bet you taste so good." He licked his lips, but instead of intimidating her, she smiled. A growing stain of blood was growing around the crotch of his pants. He pinned her against the wall, and she heard her head crack against the stone. Stars filled her vision, but immediately started fading. She was healing at a rate that was incredible, even for her.

As Sylar grew closer, he ran and she stuck out both of her feet, letting him ram himself into the slight heel that her shoes bore. All the air went out of his body, and she was dropped to the ground. Claire was on her feet in no time and ran for the safety of the stone towers that grew up around the temple.

Will Stone

Will stood in the small circle that was made up of the adults in the alternate world; Grant, Peter, Nathan, and Emily, as well as himself. There was nothing to be said; there was no way out of the building without trying to get threw the ever-growing pack of inside out dogs, and that was death. As it was, Will didn't like the look in Grant's eye. It bothered him that Grant's power worked and his own didn't.

Finally, he looked up at Peter, brandishing that sword of his. "You have to know exactly what is going on here, Pete. Most powers don't work here, at least the physical ones don't. You and me, were emotion based. We can fight our way out of here, but you have to be ready to face whatever loses may come." Grant's eyes shot to Nathan.

"What are you suggesting?" Will asked, cutting off Peter.

"I'm going to go out there and distract those hellhounds until the portal opens up. Then, I want Pete here to lead everyone to it. I'll keep the dogs off for as long as I can."

Pete shook his head. "That's suicide. I won't let you do it unless there's no other choice."

Grant smiled, laughing a bit. "Too bad," and then he was out the window, his sword flashing into the bodies of the strange canines. From his spot by the window, Pete pulled up his memories of Elle and electrocuted as many of the dogs as he could.

Will turned to look back at Nathan, who went to the children's side, just in time to see two of the hellhounds burst through a window. Molly ran, shrieking, while Nathan covered Monty from the rain of glass. Pete spun, releasing an arc of blue lightning, frying one of the mutts on the spot.

The other lunged for Nathan. The flying man responded by putting his arm out for save his neck. The teeth of the dog buried themselves deep in his forearm. Using his other arm, Nathan punched again and again into the side of the canine's head. Will rushed to help, wondering if they were ever going to escape.

Claire Bennet

San Ribero

Hands burst from the tower walls and yanked Claire through to the other side. Cold washed over her, and she breathed easy as she was drawn into the arms of Noel Gillespie. Behind her stood two agents she didn't know; a massive black man and a small, wiry Latino. The two took a defensive stance around the huddled people inside.

Claire was the first to hear the rumbling, but there was not time to warn anyone before the wall collapsed. Sylar was on them.

The Latino agent released arc after arc of electricity, while the black agent lifted a massive stone to hurl at the enraged killer. With a telekinetic push, Sylar shoved the both of them into opposite walls and continued his pursuit of Claire.
Noel leaped in the path of the killer, and he threw a punch. To his and everyone else's surprise, it passed right through her head. She tossed a combination of her own, each connecting with their target.

The air around them grew cold, and Claire watched as Noel's breath took on the shape of a thick fog. Then, Sylar kicked the girl in the stomach, sending her flying. It took Claire a moment to realize what had happened, but she was always good at science. The cold air slowed her molecules, making it harder to phase. She became denser because of the contraction of her atoms as the slowed to conserve heat. Or something like that. It didn't really matter. There was a mutant killer on the loose, nearly unstoppable, and someone had to do something or he would take the whole island.

Claire lunged, utilizing some of what she'd seen as a cheerleader. She tackled Sylar at the knees. She prayed for a satisfying crunch of his knees breaking, but settled for them buckling. She unleashed her fists, relatively useless in one-two shots, but seriously painful after a while. She just had to keep it up.

It grew harder to breath, but she took each hit as a victory and kept at it. The world grew light and wavy at the edges, growing darker and creeping in. Then she felt it, the light telekinetic touch on the skin of her neck. It lifted her slowly of Sylar, taking her away from the madman.

He grinned as he stood, staring at her with blood trickling down from his nose, the corners of his mouth, and his eye. "Finally, I have you," he said. That's when it happened.

Gabriel Gray

San Ribero

He struggled to push himself to his feet. Sylar was here, and hungry, and Gabriel had something to give to Claire. The mere weight of it was growing, and it ached in his right forearm like searing. He grimaced, looking over at Elle, her eyes glazed over. He thought he saw the faintest motion of breath, but didn't kid himself. She was either dead or dying and there was nothing he could do for her.

He shut his eyes, still pushing against the cold, hard ground. Somewhere off in the distance, he heard a woman scream. Could be Heidi, could be Claire, could be anybody. There was nothing he could do anymore. He was just going to quit, to lay down and die.

Something in Gabriel forced him to continue, even pushing him to his feet. The world had grown infinitely foggy, and he lost control of his motions. It was like watching a movie, filmed in first person. The devastation was horrible. How could one man do so much damage? It was unthinkable, but it was only a movie.

He found himself moving towards the fallen wall of one of the towers without knowing why. He felt the rage curling deep in his stomach and knew in his heart that Sylar was close. He didn't know why, but he knew so little nowadays.

There he was, with Claire lifted up in the air by invisible hands blotching her throat. It was too late, better to have died then watch his own failure at the hands of another him. It was too bizarre, too surreal.

It slipped out of him, feeling as a snake wrapped around his arm might, cold, scaly, sinuous. It grew in size as it flowed through the air. It's form became apparent as it went; a massive white dragon, clearly of the Asian persuasion. That thought made Gabriel giggle, how it rhymed. He was beside himself, until the dragon flowed through Sylar, making Claire drop to the ground.

The tail exited Gabriel's arm, finally freeing him of the All-Gift that his cousin, Michael, cursed him with as he lay dying, but as Sylar was trapped in the beast, he felt stripped. He watched, helpless and in ever-growing pain, as Sylar became transparent. Soon, he was gone completely. To Gabriel, there was only him, the dragon, and Claire.

It was apparent that the great white dragon was heading towards Claire after awhile of it's spiraling around, that the grant show was only to escape the wretched confines that was Gabriel's body. It rushed the small blonde woman, taking her in its mouth and fading at the same time. For one second in time, Gabriel and Claire shared a thought. Rhodora.

Then, there was only the ticking of the infernal clock. The clock was Sylar, back with Gabriel forever.

Claire Bennet

San Ribero

Sylar was gone, Gabriel was down, and only Claire was left standing. She rushed outside, knowing that Peter and Nathan were still trapped on the other side of some portal, possibly nearing the end of their lives. The people here were safe for the moment; her family needed her.

Alphonse was standing in the courtyard, already deep in concentration, searching for the minds of Peter, Nathan, and the others Sylar trapped. Some of those who had fallen before were standing, dazed, confused, but alive. Heidi ran to her, wrapping her in her arms. "Thank God, Claire," she said. "I don't think I could lose everyone so soon."

"Peter and Nathan aren't gone yet," Claire said. "Neither is Monty, for that matter. Look."

The world shimmered in a circle before Alphonse, pulling the air from another world through to this one. It stank horribly of rotten meat and spoiled milk. She hated the smell. Peter came through first, carrying both Monty and Molly. He was followed by Will and a woman, with Nathan between them, bleeding from his arm.

Then, the most horrible creature burst through the spiraling portal. It looked like a Doberman, turned inside out, like something from Resident Evil. It lunged, trying to catch some of the gathered people, but they were all to alert, pulling each other away from it's gnashing, rotten teeth.

From out of nowhere it seemed, there stood a red haired man with an eye-patch over one eye. His clothes were dirty and torn, and his crimson hair was a massive, unkempt mess. A sword was strapped to his back. He thrust his hand in the mouth of the hellhound, wrapping his fingers around its bottom jam and twisted. From where she stood, she heard the snap and whimper of the creature. The strange swordsman then bashed his head into the dog's, hard enough to kill it. He turned to the crowd, with the portal closing behind him, and wiping the dog's blood of his forehead with one hand. "It's over," he said, and the crowd cheered.

It was the perfect cinematic moment, and Claire felt the world beneath her quiver. Then her mind returned to the situation at hand, and ran to Nathan and Peter, ready to give blood to the wounded.

Elijah

Sydney, Australia

He took each step slowly, letting the thump echo in the metallic hallway. He loved his underground bunkers; they pleased him greatly. Smiling, he wondered what the other two seraphim would say about his little pleasures.

His phone beeped at him. Annoyed, he answered and feared the response. It was Julie Davenport, one of the heads of his research departments. If she was calling, it could only mean one of two things. Something to do with Project: Omega or Project: Phaethon. Phaethon was a simple problem, and Julie or James knew what to do in the event of a problem of any kind. That left only Omega.

"Sir, we have a problem," Julie said, her own voice shaking with fear, confirming what Elijah thought. "It's Avarice. He's gone rogue."

Elijah hung up and quickened his pace. Avarice was the worst of the seven. Lust was already in the field; Pride was missing; Gluttony was amenable; there was yet to be a Wrath, Sloth, or Envy. Only Avarice formed an issue. Without Avarice, the whole project was doomed, and he was notoriously hard to deal with.

(A/N – I apologize for the incredible lateness of this chapter. A number of issues came up. First of all, I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this story after this chapter. It's still a bit of an issue, and it may again be awhile before I update so I can plot out the next arc. Then, I wanted to make this fight Epic. I felt like I was lacking that in the previous major fights, and I wanted to really make a statement here.

The other ones are a bit more personal. I'm getting over some virus or another, and it made it very unpleasant to sit so far away from, well, I leave at unpleasant. Then, I've come across issues with my internet connection. It's finally starting to look up. Finally, I've been thinking about changing the rating for safety issues. I'll say this much so far, Avarice is a disturbed individual and a very, very bad person.

Anyway, sorry again for the long absence. The next arc will start featuring a small number of characters, Claire, Hiro, and Will, as the rest will fade in the background. The arc is called "Discovery". I pray that the deaths surprised you. (Elle and Sylar, although he may be back) I hope you continue to enjoy my story if you do, and if you don't, I hope you will. Love, -Traumedy101)