As Promised the next chapter, or second half of previous chapter however you want to think about it.
Sylar had led Claire down to what appeared to be a library or study. It was hard to tell with the thick plastic tarp that was covering the entire room. Looking around she she spotted two large plastic tubes near the door and a smaller one. On what appeared to be a desk she could see. Knives, clamps, hammers, and what appeared to be a couple of cheese graters. Claire jumped when the door closed behind her. She swung toward Sylar dreading what his sick mind had thought of this time.
"This room is sound proof."
Claire turned to try and open the door.
"It's locked Claire. Don't worry it's not what you obviously think. You have until breakfast. My kill spot is in it's original place. You have until then to take you're revenge."
"Let me out. I'm not some psychopath like you. We're nothing a like."
"Maybe, but I won't be giving you another chance Claire."
Sylar had come up behind Claire when she turned back to the door. He crowded her and taunted her.
"I mean if you can really get over everything I've done to you so easily one must ask why."
Claire wiggled from between him and the door not realizing she was headed for the table of torture devices. Sylar stopped her when she was halfway to the desk and turned her around backing her up all the way.
"I mean if you've truly forgiven me for what I did to you're mother, and don't let us forget daddy dearest."
Sylar brought up every bad memory he could think of and when her back was against the table he pushed her over the edge. Leaning down over her he placed his hands on either side of her so she couldn't go anywhere.
He whispered in her ear, "of course if you've really forgiven me already I'm ecstatic. That means I want have to wait nearly so long to have you.
Just to drive home the point, he made of show of inhaling deeply.
"You still smell like peaches. I know how your mouth tastes I wonder..."
That's when the hammer struck the side of the side of his head. She didn't talk she just grabbed the hand that had stroked her face at the Stanton, and methodically smashed every finger. She took the other hand and did the same. Then she went for a knife. That's when her calm exterior broke down. She began screaming and crying as she stab him. She slashed at his face as if she was trying to erase him. Sylar screamed out in agony, but he never lost control, never blocked her attacks. It was when she took the cheese grater to his back that he second guessed his choice, but he never voiced his doubt, he just cried out in pain. Claire didn't pay head to the blood that was now all around her she just struck and stabbed and hurt him for all the pain he'd caused her.
Far sooner the Sylar had expected her attack slowed: when he was able to focus on Claire he saw holding a knife and shaking. The knife fell to the ground followed by Claire as she continued to sob.
Sylar slid over to her and just sat beside her as she cried.
"I am a monster."
"You want to know one of the biggest reason you're better then me Claire? It's because you just took out your anger on the person that deserved it, instead of lashing out at innocent people around you."
Claire looked up to thank him and took in for the first time how much blood there really was.
"Um how are we gonna stop from tracking this through the house?"
She wasn't sure why that came out maybe she wasn't ready to say thank you to Sylar. Whatever the reason it was a valid question.
Sylar stood up and offered Claire his hand. She took it to his surprise, and he pulled her to her feet. He used telekinesis to remove the lid on the containers. The two large containers were filled with water and the smaller one had some towels and clothes inside.
"Don't worry Claire I promise not to look when you change."
"Jack ass," mumbled Claire. Sylar pretended not to notice.
When they exited the room there were two very bloody tubes of water and a pile of blood stained towels, with bits of flesh stuck in them, left for some unlucky members of the house staff to clean up.
Claire stopped suddenly and turned on Sylar. "What did you do to me? How come you still feel pain and I don't?"
It seemed like as good I time to ask as any. It wasn't so out of the blue for Claire. It was something she had to understand, something she couldn't let go, because it was just too unfair. Why did she have to stop feeling; why did he sever such an important link to her humanity? Was he trying to make her a monster too? These questions she always asked herself, but never thought she'd have a chance to get the answers.
"I didn't make you stop feeling at least not directly."
"What, but it happened after you cut into my head."
"True, but the only things I could have done while searching through your brain would have had immediate affect. You could still feel pain for at least a little while after. Am I right."
"Well yeah, but still..."
"Did Suresh tell you it was my fault."
"Well no, no one actually ever diagnosed why it happened precisely. Wait, are you saying you had nothing to do with it?"
"No Claire, I didn't say that. What I didn't change anything up there." Sylar pressed his pointer to her forehead.
Claire just stared at him with a half confused half dubious look on her face. Sylar looked away. He wasn't sure why he didn't want to see her reaction to what he said next or why it was so hard to say, she'd been blaming him completely anyways the truth couldn't be worse.
"If you hadn't experienced getting your head cut open you may have went another 10, maybe as much as 50 years before you stopped feeling. It depends on how often and intensely you had to feel pain."
Sylar paused and glanced at Claire
"Okay with your life 5 to 10 years. So yeah what I did sped up the process, but the loss of pain is your ability's natural development. Your body slowly figured out over your life that pain was a useless unpleasant sensation."
"But why can you feel?"
"Your body had your entire life to figure it out. I've had your power less then 4 years. I'll catch up eventually. Besides I think it's already started. I still feel, but the last time I got shot it seemed to hurt slightly less. I'm probably adapting faster because of my intuitive aptitude and the way I assimilate powers in the first place."
"I don't get what that has to do with it."
"My body has to adjust each time it acquires a new power. That means my original ability sort of analyzes it, So my intuitive aptitude has probably been slowly mutating each new nerve cell to be less sensitive to pain."
Claire was silent a moment, but she didn't look satisfied.
"Are you going to keep standing in the hall pouting, or are you going to say why you're so upset?"
"I liked you being to blame better."
"What are you disappointed that I'm not as diabolical as you thought?"
"No disappointed that it's not something you can fix."
"Given the general direction your life tends to take Claire; why would you ever want to be able to feel pain?"
Claire just stared up at Sylar like he was an idiot.
"If I can't feel what keeps me in touch with my humanity?"
She wasn't sure why she was being so honest with her own personal boogie man. Maybe it was the fact that he had just let her spend all the time she wanted mutilating his body, just so she could vent her anger. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't think she could talk about this with anyone else, or that they wouldn't understand. Maybe just maybe it was because she knew he'd be honest with her and if there was any hope or if it was hopeless she'd find out if she kept talking to him. Whatever it was she was she found herself wanting him to answer her. What he did next was not the response she'd been looking expecting.
Suddenly Claire found herself up against the wall with Sylar's body making it impossible for her to go anywhere. She tried to hide her fear, but did a poor job of hiding it because of her shock.
"You know Claire you need to learn to trust me if I'm going to protect you."
The smirk on Sylar's face did little to reassure Claire, but she did manage to raise her mask of defiance. Sylar began speaking in a whisper.
"Just answer me one question Claire. Am I right to assume that you didn't have a lot of time to be a typical college student with everything you had to deal with over the past few years?"
"What are you driving at..."
Claire was cut off when Sylar's ducked his head down and she felt his tongue caress her earlobe. She was taken to off guard to stop the sharp intake of breath in reaction to the charge Sylar's actions sent through her body.
"If you'd had time to indulge in certain extracurricular activities like most of your classmates, you'd already be aware that though pain is superfluous, The rest of your ability to feel is left perfectly in tact. Given our ability it may work better than most."
With that Sylar quickly stepped back as if he'd done nothing.
"I know it's quiet shocking Claire, but I think you get the point."
Claire could only stare at his back as he retreated down the hall.
Noah had gotten up and rushed to save his daughter the moment he'd seen Sylar push her up against the wall. He missed Sylar but arrived at the base of the sides staircase that led to the upstairs rooms just as Claire did.
"Dad what are you doing up so early?"
"I could ask the same thing of you. You seemed awefully chatty with Sylar this morning."
Claire would have liked to have been surprised; she stood there a moment trying to muster a sense of shocked outrage, but all she felt was a sense of resigned disappointment. Noah mistook her silence as a sign of chagrin.
"You know you can't trust him. Angelia may say you need to, but I don't trust that she's telling us everything, if any of what she says is the truth."
"Angelia can't stand to be around Sylar anymore then you can. He killed Nathan remember, from what Peter says she would have let all those people die instead of get his help. I'm going to take a shower."
When Claire brushed past Noah to head up the stairs he noticed the blood in her hair. Noah went after her.
"What the hell did he do to you Claire!"
"What are you talking about, and why are you yelling at me?"
Noah took a deep breath. "Why is there blood in your hair?"
"Don't you know weren't you spying on me the whole time?" The venom in Claire's voice could not be mistaken.
"Claire you know what he's like you know why I have to take precautions."
"Take precautions that's a good excuse dad. That's a good way of putting it. Only problem is I think your 'precautions' are going to cause me more problems then they're worth. Being terrorized by Becky, losing West, were a direct result of your precautions. Excuse me if I'd rather you forgo the favor."
Claire continued upstairs ignoring all the arguments that Noah was making as he followed her to her room. Claire stopped at her door and turned around.
"I have to take a shower now, so bye."
"I'm your father."
"You're the man that was never there after the company gave me to you to raise and suddenly turned into uber protective when Sylar came on the scene!"
Claire stormed into her room with blooming feeling of guilt. That guilt you always get when you've been too honest for selfish reasons with family, but she couldn't take her dad's overbearing at the moment. She was confused enough. She'd already been thinking too much for her to be comfortable. Why was Angelia being so calm about Sylar's presence, when literally the day before she was more willing to let thousands of people die then to deal with Sylar? I'd like to think that it's because I'm her granddaughter and in danger, but it's Angelia that might get her to accept him, but she seems at peace with it. The man that killed her son, that's bound to cause some emotional conflict. I don't know maybe she's really that good at controlling her emotions.
Mean while outside in the Hall Sylar emerged from his room to a very angry Noah.
"You keep your hands off my daughter."
"Really what exactly did I do. All I did was correct a misconception she seemed to be laboring under."
"I saw you in the hall, I don't know what you did or said, but I won't have you..."
"You won't have me. What exactly do you plan on doing? Besides I just needed to know if you were spending your time spying on Claire. Thanks for answering that question. I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to tip your hand to your daughter though. I wonder how she's dealing with yet another betrayal by you."
Noah was fuming but he didn't have anyway to reply, so he stormed off instead.