Chapter Fourteen

"Get out of here." Sylar said quietly, stepping closer to the trio.

"Sylar!" Claire gasped, moving closer to Peter's side.

"I'm not here to hurt you Claire." Sylar said slowly, his dark gaze turning to meet Nathan's. "Now get out of here." He said to Peter and Claire

"What are you going to do?" Peter asked, looking between Sylar and Nathan.

"What needs to be done." Sylar answered quietly.

"No." Peter said forcefully. He moved to step towards Sylar, but found himself hanging mid-air, fingers clawing at his throat for air.

"You're not a killer Peter." Sylar said, lowering the other man back to the ground. "But I am." He finished darkly.

Claire watched Sylar with fearful eyes, reaching down to grab Peter's hand as soon as he was back on his feet.

"Come on Peter." She said softly, tugging on his hand as she took a step back.

"No." He said brokenly, shaking his head.

"Go Peter." Sylar said, moving to stand next to Nathan.

Peter took a step back, his eyes shooting to Nathans.

"Pete." Nathan whispered.

"I'm so sorry Nathan." Peter said sadly. "But it's the only way." He continued, moving another step back as Claire pulled on his hand.

Without another word, Peter and Claire turned and rushed down the halls, ignoring the deafening silence behind them, never breaking their run until they were safely outside.


"Even if you kill me, they'll still hunt you." Nathan said quietly.

"Oh Nathan. You're so naïve." Sylar said moving around the other man. "There's not going to be anyone left to hunt me." He continued darkly, reaching up, pointer extended.

Nathan's mouth opened on a silent scream as bright red streaks of blood fell down his face. He dropped to the floor without a sound, a sneering Sylar leaning over him.

Sylar watched the other man's final breath dispassionately, his own face slowly contorting.


Peter and Claire sprinted out into the bright sunlight, taking only a second to make note of their surroundings, before Peter lifted Claire in his arms, and shot up into the sky.

They two remained silent as Peter streaked across the sky, Claire peered over his shoulder to try to see where they were going.

When the familiar skyline of New York came into view, Claire stiffened.

Noting her change in mood, Peter slowed his pace and looked down at Claire questioningly.

"What's wrong?"

"We're going back to New York." Claire stated dully, glancing up to meet his questioning eyes. She instinctively knew why Peter was returning to the city, it was the same reason he turned to his brother the last time they were there.

Peter sighed, before looking around for a safe place to land. Noting Central Park beneath them, he held Claire close as he streaked past, so fast that no one on the ground would notice the two figures dropping from the sky.

As they landed in a secluded area, Peter let slipped Claire out of his arms and ran a hand angrily through his hair, his eyes unseeing as he paced around the small area.

Claire watched him pace in silence, eyes tearing as she saw the pain etched in Peter's face.

"It had to be done." She said quietly, moving forward and placing a hand on his arm, stilling his frantic movements.

"He's my brother." Peter ground out, moving to sit down on a nearby bench. "I just left him there, knowing exactly what would happen to him." Peter dropped his head, so Claire wouldn't see the tears shining in his eyes.

"Peter, he was hunting us. This was the only way to stop it." Claire said desperately, moving to kneel in front of Peter. She reached, her fingers brushing Peter's cheeks, before moving together to lift his chin so his dark brown eyes met her hazel ones.

"You tried to make things right. You tried to talk to him, to make him stop this but he wouldn't listen. Even if he did it was too late. You remember what Tracy said about the money and technology that was used to pull this off, even if Nathan wanted to stop it, he couldn't. It became bigger than him."

"Don't you think I know that?" Peter growled, jumping to his feet. "I knew what I had to do, I was prepared to do it!" He continued, returning to his pacing.

"Peter, who are you kidding?" Claire cried out, coming to her feet and again reaching out to still him. "Look at yourself. You're blaming yourself for what happened to him, even though you had nothing to do with it. We both know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself had you been the one to take his life. Sylar was right. You're not a killer Peter." Claire tugged on his arm to pull him back down to the bench.

"He didn't deserve to die like that." Peter whispered brokenly.

"It was the only way." Claire repeated quietly. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, before Claire turned to look at Peter.

"You're not a killer. And I love that about you." Claire said earnestly. "You have so much to give to the world, you try to save everyone, whether they deserve it or not. But you couldn't save him, and you can't blame yourself." Claire took a deep breath, raising her hand to cup Peter's cheek. "All we can do now is move on and keep the other's safe until they can go home."

Peter nodded slightly, leaning forward to lightly kiss Claire on the lips. He lifted himself from the bench and reached down to pull Claire to her feet. He pulled her close, wrapping an arm tightly around her before kissing the top of her head.

"I love that about you too." He murmured quietly against her blonde locks. Claire smiled lightly and squeezed him closer, before they turned out of the park and made their way back onto the bustle of the city streets.


As they came to his apartment door, Peter stopped short and closed his eyes in concentration. A moment later, the door swung open and revealed Matt's smiling face.

"I can't believe this!" He burst out, pulling Peter and Claire inside to give them both hugs. "Micah has been searching the computer databases around the clock to narrow down places you two could have taken to, we were just getting ready to leave." Matt threw an arm around the two, before calling out. "Daphne! Come see this!"

The blonde speedster tore into the room, coming to an abrupt stop when she noticed the two people standing with Matt.

"You're safe!" She cried out, running forward to envelope both Claire and Peter in hugs. "We were having so much trouble trying to figure out where they sent you. Tracy was positive you hadn't left the state, that they didn't have the time to move both of you out, but Matt kept arguing that they wouldn't be stupid enough to leave you guys so close, let alone hold you in the same facility."

Matt blushed slightly at Daphne's words and sent her a teasing glare. "Well my idea made more sense." He mumbled. "How was I supposed to know they made that dumb move."

A loud clatter from the kitchen announced the hurried arrival of Hiro and Ando. Mohinder and Tracy followed at a calmer pace, smiles on their faces when they saw Peter and Claire safely returned.

Once all the greetings and exclamations over how this could have happened where out of the way, Peter led everyone to the living room where he and Claire could explain to the others exactly what happened.

As they passed Micah, Claire leaned over to give him a quick hug, and Peter ruffled his hair.

"Thanks for leading the search." Claire said.

"We would've figured out where you guys were sooner if we hadn't spent the first day looking everywhere but right under our noses." He complained good-naturedly.

Matt sighed, but said nothing.

As the adults crowded around each other in the living room, Micah returned to his computer, keeping one ear out to listen to the story, while silently searching the net. As he came across a site his eyes widened.

"Hey guys." He called out. "I think you better get a look at this." He continued, turning the computer screen around so everyone could see the live press conference that was being played.

A blonde reporter stood just outside a wooded area, with a large building engulfed in flames in the background.

"At 5:35 this evening a large fire occurred inside an office building in upstate New York. Authorities believe the incident to be a total loss, as the flames still rage out of control." She paused a moment. "We have been informed that many of the offices in the building belonged to Senator Nathan Petrelli, and we'll be going live to his press conference."

The scene changes to the inside of a hotel ballroom, as Nathan visage filled the screen.

Claire gasped, and looked at Peter with wide eyes. Peter tensed, relaxing only slightly when Claire's small hand clasped his.

"I am here to express my deepest sorrow for the families of those lost in this fire. Many of them were my people. The building was being used to house a special project for the president. One that would have been a great help to the country. With this fire and the great loss of life seen today, the continuation of this project is no longer viable. All records of this project have been lost in the fire and it is impossible to replace them, just as it is impossible to replace those who have been lost. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families of those who have been lost. It is time for them to go home now. No questions please." Nathan stepped back from the podium, his head down as the reporters scrambled to ask questions.

Claire wrenched her eyes from the screen to look up at Peter questioningly.

"Peter?" She questioned in a low voice.

"That's not Nathan." Peter said darkly, his mind running through different scenarios. "It's Sylar." He stated, knowing without a doubt that his words were true.

"It was a message to all of us." Mohinder said quietly. "Their project is over, they can no longer hunt us. We can finally go home."


Author's Note: I promise I didn't forget this story, things again have been crazy. I can't wait until I'm finally finished with school. I do apologize for how we had to lose Nathan. When I first began the story, that was how I envisioned it ending, that Nathan couldn't be redeemed and this was the only way to free the other Heroes. Thankfully the show hasn't gone that way. Thank you all again for the reviews, they mean so much and keep me writing. All that's left is the epilogue and I'll hopefully have that up soon.