just_1_word prompt set 43.5 [devastated]

[its_notluck]

To say that Claire was tense at the moment was putting it mildly. Lately, ever since her phone call with the real Sylar, she had been on edge. The knowledge that he was coming to find her because she had his body and he wanted to get it back bothered her more than she cared to admit. It wasn’t so much about seeing him that was going to bother her but more because having him there meant that Nate would be disappearing.

As it was, she had a hard time leaving him alone for a long time. Right now she was curled up against his side, waiting quietly for the fateful phone call that would come and let her know that Sylar was nearby. At least that was the way it was supposed to go.

That was the way it was supposed to go, but Sylar had never been one to stick to a plan that wasn't his. That in mind, it probably should have come as no surprise that rather than a phone call, there was a swift knock on the door, Samuel poking his head into the room a moment later.

"He's here," he announced, looking sharply to Nate before returning his eyes to her. "It's time, Claire."

Claire looked at Samuel before sitting up slowly, the information sinking in quickly that Sylar was there. She wasn't at all surprised that he hadn't called her but she still couldn't help the slight irritation that flashed across her features before she hid the reaction and looked over at Nate. She hoped the guilt wouldn't be evident as she gave a weak little smile and a nod. "Okay."

What was she supposed to say to him? She couldn't tell him outright that they were going to face Sylar and he was going to disappear after all. So she settled on touching his shoulder as she started off of the bed. "Come on."

Nate watched Samuel retreat, and then shot Claire a glance. No one had bothered to fill him in on the plan, and between that and the guilt that fishtailed across her face, he wasn't so sure he liked whatever was going on. People seemed to forget that he was only sans his memories, not a total idiot. "Who's here?" What's going on?"

She sighed softly as she was left alone to deal with what was going on. It's not like Samuel would actually handle this and tell Nate what was going on, but that was because they both knew Nate would never go along with it. At least she didn't think he would and so she didn't know what to say. "Someone I know is here."

Another sigh, and she rose to her feet, starting towards the door but she found herself pausing as she had a hard time stepping outside. Part of her wanted to stay inside and pretend that what was about to happen wasn't actually going to.

He still wasn't sure he bought that, based on the facts, and he wet his lips with his tongue, half intent on arguing. He thought better of it when he found he couldn't quite find the words, and sighed, shaking his head a bit as he got to his feet. He still didn't like this much, but he supposed he had to -- and could -- trust Claire.

That's what probably bothered her the most. She knew that he trusted her, he had made that much clear to everyone and now she was going to betray him. As they stepped outside, she reached for his hand, needing the temporary contact since she was going to lose it soon. She looked for Samuel then, wondering where Sylar was and where he wanted them all.

Lacing his fingers with hers, he looked down at their intertwined hands briefly, and when he looked up, he spotted Samuel standing by the division between the carnival and camp. He gestured for them to follow, and then he was turning on his heels so fast the tails of his coat whipped at his side, moving to march away from them and into the carnival proper without even a second of hesitation. Nate tugged Claire in that direction, feeling vaguely like a man destine for the gallows for some reason.

Drawing in a small breath as she caught sight of Samuel, she was the one to hesitate for a second as the barker twirled and stalked away. Wetting her lips, she glanced over at Nate with a weak smile before she started forward. Making their way along, she kept an eye out for any sign of Matt or Sylar. Maybe both.

Neither of them were immediately visible, though the fact that Samuel ducked into the House of Mirrors as they reached it most likely explained that. Why he had chosen this place a second time, who knew, but like the first time, the place seemed untraversable even from the mouth of the labyrinth, shadows devouring the light that should have filtered in from the rest of the carnival, hungrily.

It did nothing to help his uneasiness, and he hesitated just outside, shooting Claire a glance.

Claire stood outside the House of Mirrors, the very place that had started the whole mess that changed her entire life. It had been inside those twisted, reflective halls where she had first been told that the man she believed to be her father wasn't actually her father. That her own version of a monster, a boogieman, was still alive despite the fact that she had been led to believe he was dead. It seemed only fitting and sad that this would be where the next step would take place.

Sensing the unease coming from Nate, she turned to face him. "Are you okay?" she murmured.

He offered her a wry smile. "Last time I was here, I woke up and couldn't remember anything."

She couldn't help her own wry smile though perhaps hers was touched with a tinge of sadness as she nodded her head. "Yeah." She squeezed his hand then. "Maybe this time it will be okay."

"Maybe," he agreed, squeezing her hand back. He didn't sound as though he believed that, though, but it didn't stop him from pulling away from her so he could lead the way in.

For a moment she just watched him walk ahead of her. She could just walk away now and disappear, though she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to hide for long. She wasn't sure she really wanted to watch again after all, but she walked up the steps before fully deciding to run. Stepping inside, she followed after Nate.

In silence he wandered through the mirrors, trying to follow the sound of Samuel's footsteps since he couldn't follow him bodily, the barker having got some sort of headstart on them. He faltered twice, looking over his shoulder to make sure Claire was following, and twice he looked almost relieved to see her, taking a deep breath before he started back in on the maze. And sooner rather than later they came upon a small room at the end of a long hallway of shadowed reflections.

The lights were better here, catching the glass that paneled the walls brightly, though he paid his reflection little mind at this point. Rather he was more focused on Samuel, who leaned against one of the walls casually, arms folded over his chest, and the man who was with him. He didn't recognize their visitor, but it didn't matter -- mostly because the man's reflection, looming over Samuel's shoulder, had caught his attention.

There, looking back at him from the glass, was someone that bore no resemblance to the man standing opposite Samuel. There in the glass was, well, him. He would have thought it some kind of trick of the light if the newcomer's reflection didn't twist to face his own as he did.

"... what ... ?" It was all he could manage.

Once again all the sound seemed to fade away, leaving them in a strange sort of silence as they made their way along. She paid no mind to their reflections which seemed to surround them, flashing over the panels as they walked along, appearing and disappearing in small flashes as they walked towards the center where she knew Samuel would be waiting for them. It didn't surprise her to see Matt standing there either but her eyes were drawn automatically to the sight behind the men.

In the cool pane of glass, she met Sylar's gaze and immediately all emotion slipped from her features. It didn't matter that she had been with his body, with Nate, over the last few weeks. It didn't matter how close they had gotten. All that mattered was that she knew it was Sylar as they looked at each other while she walked up behind Nate.

"Hello, Claire." Even on Matt's face, the grin Sylar effected was no where near pleasant. "Miss me?"

"Not even close," she replied coolly, lifting her chin slightly.

He hummed, amused, and turned to face them in full. He took a handful of steps forward, circling them like a vulture wheeling above a newly dead animal, though his attentions were solely fixed on his body -- Claire only got the carrion treatment for how close she was standing to him, still. "He's sort of pathetic, isn't he?"

"Now, now," Samuel chided, lightly. "That's no way to talk to family."

"Leave him alone," she snapped defensively, stepping a touch closer to Nate. It didn't matter that it was actually Sylar's body, she still glared at Matt and the reflection as though they were the interlopers.

Nate pulled his eyes away from his twin's reflection in the mirror and took a step forward, putting himself on the defensive, counter-circling as Sylar wheeled around them. He still had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't about to let Sylar hurt Claire.

Again, the killer made a soft noise, this one on the verge of a chuckle. "Not to bright, either. Guess I got all the brains."

"Are you having fun?" she asked, the contempt she had for him evident on her features as she watched Sylar even while Nate tried to move between them as though he was going to protect her somehow. She just wanted him to get it over with, to stop playing around and torturing them all.

"I wanted to see him, but if you're so eager to get this over with ... " He popped one shoulder in a shrug, reaching to put a hand to his body's shoulder.

In tandem, the both of them went ramrod straight, and then abruptly, they were both stumbling backwards, gasping for air. Then, abruptly and still in time, their breathing was leveling out, and Matt -- and if the mirrors were any indication, it really was him now -- glance between the three of them, panicked. "What did you do? Where is he?"

A smile that was nothing short of wicked curled Samuel's lips, and he met Sylar's eyes for an instant before he answered. "Back where he belongs."

Matt spun to face him, sputtering. "You sonovabitch!"

It was hard. Even if she had wanted to get it over with, it had been too quick. There was no time to say goodbye to Nate or to even register that he was gone. If she could feel pain, she was sure she would have felt a sharp stabbing one in the center of her chest at the exact moment he disappeared but she had to focus on what was happening. As the men stumbled apart, she slipped away from the man who was now Sylar, completely and wholly, and she hurried to Matt.

As he whirled to face Samuel, she grabbed his arm and pushed. "Matt, no. We need to go." She clenched her jaw, not trusting either of them who had vowed not to touch the telepath.

"This is the part where you run away, Parkman," he grumbled, his tone oddly exhausted in spite of having his body and his abilities back. "It's part of the deal -- your life for mine."

The cop shot him a dirty look, his jaw working furiously as he attempted to find the words, but he did not move. Not for Claire as she pushed him, and certainly not for Sylar and his threats.

Claire hated the fact that she didn't have super strength to just push the cop out of the House of Mirrors. "Seriously," she hissed softly, looking up at him with a grim expression. "You need to go."

He hesitated for a moment, clearly displeased with the situation, and then he was bolting past Sylar and back out into the dark. Sylar followed him with his eyes, a smirk that was as malicious as it was tired tugging at the corners of his lips, and turned back to Claire only when he could no longer track the other man's movements. He ignored Samuel for the time being; he didn't want to tip their hand by catching his eye.

"God, it's good to be back."

She watched Matt as he finally decided to take her advice by rushing out of there, a little breath of relief escaping her as he did. For a moment she merely watched him till she couldn't see him anymore and then she turned back to the two men standing in the room with her. No longer did she feel comforted or safe. She felt almost trapped now and she hated it.

At Sylar's statement, she gave a delicate little snort. "Great. I'm so happy for you," she remarked dryly before stalking past him, intending to leave.

He dropped a hand on her shoulder, heavily. "Where do you think you're going?"

She flinched away from him, twisting about to arch a brow at him. "I'm leaving."

Finally, he chanced a glance at Samuel, and the barker nodded. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to guess that he wouldn't let her get far, and placated by that, he pulled his hand away from her. He had bigger fish to fry, as ridiculous as that particularly cliche was. "Fine. Have fun."

Her eyes flickered to Samuel as she caught the barker nodding and then she arched a brow at Sylar once more. "Gees, thanks."

Suddenly she felt somewhat wary, like there was something going on and she didn't know what. Frowning at the two of them, started out of the room again before suddenly something struck her and she turned back. "Will he be getting a new trailer now?" she asked of Samuel, meaning Sylar.

"I'll see what I can find," Samuel promised, flashing her a small smile.

"Good." She turned, sparing one more glance at Sylar before she slipped out of the main room. As soon as she was out of sight, she slowed down and pressed herself against one of the mirrors. She stayed in hearing distance but out of view, glancing about to make sure she couldn't see her reflection.

For a long moment following, she stood in the dark and the silence, and then, finally, Sylar was speaking, "Do I get to unwrap my present, now?"

There was a pause, presumably in which Samuel gestured to the line of tunnels beyond them. "All yours. Just -- try to avoid breaking anything?"

Clenching her jaw as she heard the two of them speak, she looked down the line of tunnels and then she slipped away. She needed to get outside ahead of them. As soon as she did, she quickly ducked to the side where she could hide just around the corner of a building and watch to see where Sylar was heading. She had an idea of what his present was, but she wanted to be sure first.

He appeared from the House of Mirrors, stopping just outside the door to suck in a deep breath through his teeth. He held it, his eyes falling closed, and raised his head to the sky, reveling in the chill in the air and the way that it nipped at his lungs with that single breath. And when he'd had his fill, he exhaled loudly, lowering his head, and moved across the grounds with deadly purpose.

He caught up to his present in the parking lot and wasted no time rooting him to the ground. "Did I say you could run?" A pause, though he didn't allow the cop to answer. "My bad."

She pressed herself to the wall, watching Sylar as he paused just outside of the House and took a moment to enjoy the air. She could imagine what it felt like for him, to be back in his body, and for a moment it caused a sharp pang when he looked almost happy because it made her think of Nate. Of course the expression that filled his features right after was reassuring to her, only because it made her remember that she was in fact still dealing with Sylar. As he started to move across the grounds, she followed.

So when she saw him go for Matt, she wasn't at all surprised because she knew it was coming. It burned her that he had lied. Not that she was really surprised but it still bothered her. Clenching her jaw, she skirted between some vehicles as she got closer while staying out of sight. She could only hope that maybe he would change his mind.

Amusingly, Sylar knew that she was there -- he'd been able to hear her listening in to the conversation he and Samuel had had -- but he didn't particularly care. Let her bear witness to Matt's murder. Let her be the first to remember who and what he was, when so many people had forgotten. Let no one ever forget again.

A feral smile slipping onto his face, he turned his hand and Matt twisted with him, watching him with wide eyes. He held him there briefly, soaking in his fear, sure that he could taste it, then slammed him up against the nearest row of cars with enough force to break ribs.

"Any last words?" Half a dozen car alarms screamed into the night, but the cop remained silent, choked. "Didn't think so." He raised a hand, and the howl of his telekinesis through skin and bone joined the chorus of alarms, merrily.

As the screaming car alarms and the sound of his telekinesis fill the night, she rushed forward. "Sylar, no!" she cried out, bursting into view from his right as she stared at him with wide eyes.

Casually, he turned his head in her direction, intent on spitting out something nonchalant before he impaled her on the nearest car window. Instead, however, when his eyes fell on her, his stomach twisted sharply -- so much so that he gasped, his handle on Matt slipping -- expression shifting from glee to a close relative of surprise.

He took a handful of steps backwards away from Matt, barely aware the the cop had started staggering away the second he'd found the ground back under his feet, properly.

She wanted to attack him and yet she didn't move as she stared at him with an expression torn between disappointment, annoyance and a grim acceptance. But then she looked somewhat surprised and confused as his hold on Matt slipped enough for the cop to gain his footing and some ground so there was more space between them all. Feeling somewhat breathless and not daring to look at the man who was trying to escape, she swallowed thickly as her gaze remained on Sylar.

He shook his head, trying to get a handle on whatever it was that had struck him, and turned back to Matt -- or where Matt had been, anyway. Turned out for an overweight man with broken ribs, he could still run pretty fast. "Damn it."

When he looked to see where Matt was, she dared to glance after the cop as well before turning her eyes back to Sylar. "You gave me your word," she murmured, telling herself not to be disappointed. It was Sylar after all and his word shouldn't matter. It clearly didn't matter to him.

"I would have promised you the Brooklyn Bridge if it got me my body back," he snapped. "He made my life hell. He deserved it."

"It wasn't about him. I asked you to leave him alone." She clenched her jaw.

"It was about him," he corrected, taking a step towards her, threateningly. "Him and Angela and your father. I'm going to kill them all, and it would have been so much easier if I'd gotten him, first."

She didn't step away from him as he moved forward. It wasn't like she was feeling threatened at the moment after all. "I didn't help to get your body back so that you could go and get revenge."

Now she was really starting to see just how bad of an idea this was.

He rolled his eyes, but decided to at least attempt to humor her. "Enlighten me, then -- why did you help me get my body back?" And what did she really expect from him?

She didn't expect anything, not really. For a moment she just looked at him, studying him closely before she sighed. "It wasn't fair." She shrugged then, shaking her head before glancing down and rubbing a hand over her face.

"But you won't let me do anything about it."

"No." She dropped her hand back to her side, looking up at him. "I won't."

That was, quite possibly, the most ridiculous thing he'd heard in a good long while. Matt, along with the others, had played judge, jury, and executioner for his secret trial; why wasn't he allowed to do the same? He didn't understand, and he doubted she could explain it to his liking -- he was finding she had about as much intelligence as her father -- and so he simply scoffed before moving to push past her.

He'd track Matt down again later. Maybe he'd even get Samuel to help, since he seemed so keen on the idea of Parkman's death.

"Sylar." She reached out to touch his arm as he pushed past her, her fingers curling briefly around his wrist before she let go just as quickly. Dropping her hand back to her side, she looked at him as she thought of what to say and then she sighed. "Wouldn't it be best to just stay under the radar for now? Matt is going to warn the others and they're going to know you're coming, if they already don't." She knew there was a good chance her dad knew and maybe Angela if she was awake by now.

She tried to reason with him in a sensible manner because she knew he wouldn't care about how she felt. About how she didn't want to see Angela or her dad dead even if she was mad at them for betraying her again. She doubt he would listen to her anyways because he would never acknowledge that he owed her.

He pulled away from her sharply, heading back onto the carnival grounds. "If you'd let me kill him, no one would know. But now we have Paul Revere riding off the rally the troops."

He was right of course but she didn't say it out loud. Instead she merely stayed where she was, watching his back as he stalked towards the carnival grounds and she sighed. Turning slightly, she leaned back against one of the cars while wrapping her arms around herself tightly. Letting out a sigh, she looked in the direction Matt had disappeared as her shoulders caved a little. God, she was in such a mess.

Not bothering to look back, he marched off to the carnival with half a mind to give Samuel a piece of his. Someone needed to suffer for his query's escape, and Samuel seemed the best target. Especially consider the fact that, strangely, he wasn't sure he could make Claire be the one to pay.

[Cowritten with heroslayer mun, and Samuel is offering_hope who is used with lots of loving permission. The use of Matt isn't aimed at any specific journal]