to face the storm, one must batten down the hatches
Sylar: [is in a cage. it sucks. and he's growing a goddamn beard for how long he's been down here! ... yes, that is how he's planning on starting this]
Elle: [had been anti-Sylar in a cage, for the record. Then again, she was anti-Sylar in the hotel, as well. However, the longer she put this off, the longer he was going to be down there and for whatever reason, he wanted to see her. Which was unsettling in an entirely new way for Sylar and Elle's "relationship". Either way she made her way downstairs, with Dean since she wasn't about to be alone with him, and Castiel swore that he'd ensure that if he felt anything wrong, he'd be there as well. It was nice to think she had a cavalry on hand]
Dean: [follows her down, carrying a folding chair. sets it down by the door, opens it up and sits down, reaching for his gun once he's settled. glances at Sylar -- who was pacing and stopped abruptly when they came down -- then Elle, then back to Sylar, trying to tell him silently that if he starts anything, he'll kill him. and if the look isn't enough, he starts taking apart his gun to clean it, being very deliberate about it all, hoping he'll take that hint if he didn't get the first]
Elle: [the knot in her stomach doesn't go away when she sees him, and in an instant she feels almost the same way she felt when Hiro dropped them both onto that beach. Of course, she's without the bullet wound to the leg, but she still feels that same dizzying disorientation that comes with having no clue why you're somewhere, when you know you should be elsewhere. Still, she moves to face the cage, staring more at the bars on it than the man behind them.] I heard you were looking for me. [in her head, that sounded so much less... mobster boss]
Sylar: [seems to have had the same thought, and he hums, smiling a bit wanly] Something like that.
Elle: [okay, the tone and the response aren't exactly adding up to being good things and her line of sight shifts to look to Dean, just making sure he's still there and hasn't been flung across the room via something up Sylar's sleeve... or rather more to the point, Sylar's hand] Any particular reason why?
Dean: [is still there. is pretending that he's not listening to their conversation, even though it's kind of hard not to hear every word. he's just a guy pointedly cleaning a gun]
Sylar: [sobers a bit, moving over to the bars of the cage to lean against them] It's ... complicated.
Elle: [well, she's relieved to have him there - cleaning his gun or not - but she'll just try to keep her focus to Sylar, trying to make this go as quickly as possible] Uncomplicate it. [folds her arms across her chest, because she's heard this line of phrasing is pretty common with guys]
Sylar: [scowls at her, glancing to Dean and then back] I'm not some stupid kid you can order around. [and he's honestly not opening up with Dean in the room]
Elle: [rolls her eyes] Look, you wanted to find me. I've been found. I'm not ordering you around, for all I care you can rot in that cage. Angel might get upset, but really, I'm trying not to lash out at you right now. You nearly killed me. I shouldn't be expected to play nice with you just because you thought I was a liar.
Sylar: I didn't just think it. [Angela and Arthur weren't his parents. she had to know] But whatever. I'll rot. Fine by me. [will still outlive her and apparently the damn tattoo was wrong]
Elle: [narrows her gaze] Do you seriously still think that I was lying to you?? [there is a healthy amount of accusation in there]
Sylar: Wouldn't be the first time.
Elle: [just draws her lips inward, a frustrated hum of sound coming out of her] You're unbelievable. [shakes her head, turning around, contemplating just walking out, but she knows she was right, she knows that she didn't even care who his parents were] Why would I have known? Because Bennet says it's true? What purpose would it have even served me to go along with whatever twisted game Arthur was putting you through? You were ready to jump through whatever hoops he set up for you and if I had known, if I had actually any clue that he wasn't your biological father, do you think that I would've kept that part secret - when I really, really hated that he was trying to manipulate you? If I had known? That would've been the first piece of my artillery to get you out from under his thumb.
Sylar: [makes a face at her, almost sneering] Whatever. I could really care less whether or not you lied, right now.
Elle: [exhales, this all hurts her. It hurts to be accused of lying, it hurts to have her explanations just blown off, it hurts to stand here in front of the man she trusted... cared about and nearly died at his hand and try to keep her emotions in check] Fine. You don't care, and clearly you don't trust me either. So then, why are you here?
Sylar: [it huts him, too -- that she used him, that she might have lied to him, that she went off to fuck someone else after everything that happened between them -- but he's covering his with anger. frowns at her for a long time, and then glances to Dean] Send your guard dog away. Then maybe I'll tell you.
Elle: [in truth, Dean should be the one thinking that she went off and screwed someone else, but the one night she had with Sylar, the confusing attachment she allowed herself, it didn't do anything to fix what was wrong - it just covered over the hurt from losing him. Now she was having to own up to that night, to those events, in front of him and if she could do that - why the Hell couldn't Sylar. Setting her jaw, she knew that she could have Castiel there in a moment's notice, and the closed circuit cameras were still an option... but she didn't want to be alone with him, however she wanted this to be done, so she glances to Dean] I'll be right here. He can't get out and you know Castiel can be here quickly. [she knows he's going to have issue with leaving her... but she pleads with him silently, hoping he understands that this isn't what she wants, but it's something she does want overwith]
Dean: [frowns at her. yeah, he really doesn't like this, but ...] I'm gonna be right outside the door. He starts something, you yell. [this is not a polite request]
Elle: [nods, and moves toward him, giving his hand a squeeze] I'm capable of being loud. [takes a step away from Dean, turning her back to him so that she can face Sylar as Dean leaves] There. He's going away.
Sylar: [watches Dean, waiting for him to leave -- which he does -- and then sighs, sinking into the bars a bit] There's a bar. It's -- the people there, they're like us. [pauses, not sure if that's even where he should start. he wasn't lying when he said it was complicated] They took me in for awhile. I left. I came back. One of them ... she could tell what people needed just by touching them, and I was so -- so lost.
Elle: [she wants to call bullshit, to tell him that she doesn't even care about any of this. That while she was fighting for her life he was out there with her phone, collecting powers and who knows what. That he had discarded her. Instead she just folds her arms across her chest and listens]
Sylar: [his life pretty much sucked after he walked away from her, so it's probably a good thing she didn't call bullshit. he'd probably just get vicious again] I borrowed her power like I did yours. I wanted answers or help or something -- I don't know. But what came up was you.
Elle: [he didn't borrow her power... she knows that at least was true. He had fixed her ability, he'd allowed her to forgive herself -- it was the only thing she was still grateful for.] What do you mean, what came up was me?
Sylar: One of the other people there could sort of ... manipulate her ability. [rolls up his shirt sleeve and holds his arm up to the bars so she can see the tattoo. it'll likely fade eventually -- it's probably already starting to -- but it's still there]
Elle: [won't get too close, but she figures he hasn't been as angry since Dean left, so she gets close enough to see her own face in the slightly dull image on his skin] Right... and that's supposed to mean something to me? [other than that he has issues letting go]
Sylar: [drops his sleeve and his arm, and rolls one shoulder in a shrug] That you're supposed to help me.
Elle: [shakes her head] Sorry, I tried to help you already. You didn't like that very much.
Sylar: Things change. People change.
Elle: But I'm still a liar.
Sylar: [huffs out a sigh, getting agitated again] I don't know. No, I don't trust you, but I need something. Something needs to change.
Elle: [shifts her stance] So, you don't trust me, you think I lied to you, and yet here you are expecting me to help you? Putting some weight on my shoulders as if it's my fault if I can't help. Great.
Sylar: [sighs again, rolling his eyes] Fine. Whatever. Let me out. I'll leave.
Elle: [makes a frustrated sound, because she knows they won't just let him leave. exhaling, she rubs her hand over her features] You went through all the trouble of tracking me down, of being trapped here, of insisting that Dean leave -- and now you're just giving up? Wow. You're really committed to me helping you.
Sylar: You obviously don't want to.
Elle: [sighs] Do you even listen to what you're saying? You don't even trust me. How the hell am I supposed to help you if you won't even trust me. Do you even know what I'm supposed to do in order to help you?
Sylar: No, I don't. And I don't know how I'm supposed to trust you or how you're supposed to trust me. I know -- [cuts off, not sure how to put it. knows that he screwed up, that he should have just let her walk away, even if he's still not sure whether or not she really did lie to him or not, but ... saying I screwed up sounds cheap]
Elle: Bennet thought I knew your file like the back of my hand. He thought I was being the Company girl I was raised to be, but I was stuck in a situation back then that I didn't want to be in. I was being used, the same as you, and maybe I didn't look because I didn't want to know. [she sighs.. he should know if she's lying or not, but if he doesn't want to listen to that ability, she's not going to argue any more] Everyone had an agenda when it came to you - and all I wanted was for you to be whoever you wanted to be. No matter what that was, and if you still think I was trying to twist you into something I needed? Fine.
Sylar: Like you said, everyone else was. It's hard to tell who's actually on your side when everyone's trying to screw with you. [also? he sort of can't use that ability to see whether or not she's lying. the spell on the cage keeps him from using his abilities, remember?]
Elle: [oh... yeah. Well, that just sucks.] Fine, but I'm here now. You wanted Dean to leave? So I told him that he could leave. That doesn't earn me any trust?
Sylar: Guess so. [arches his eyebrows, wondering if him not going batshit on her earns him any points]
Elle: [he does get angry - fast - and it's his temper that freaks her out] Do you know how hard it is for me to be alone in a room with you? I trusted you and now I'm trying really hard to focus on the thought that there are much bigger things going on in the world, than whatever issues we have.
Sylar: I trusted you, too, and you destroyed me. You lived. I lived. I think we're even.
Elle: I destroyed you?? You tried to kill me over hearsay.
Sylar: [she fucking ruined his life. she pushed him to kill someone when all he wanted to do was learn to control himself. she as much at fault as Chandra is. and he tenses a little as all of that goes through his head, his fingers curling into fists, but he doesn't spit that out. forces himself to be calm] I'm sorry. [and he means that]
Elle: [she wasn't even considering the past... she thought they both were under the same agreement that she was as much a pawn as he was, but she hears the words and she accepts them, even if she can't just forgive him like that. She does however, move to take the chair Dean had brought down, tugging it nearer to the cage and taking a seat] Thank you. [of course, this is feeling like a much longer process than she had thought it would be] I don't know how I'm supposed to help you, Sylar, but I'm not sure if you understand how big the picture you walked into is. Lucifer is walking the Earth, he's no longer locked up in Hell and the people I'm with? The people that I was with before I found you again... the people that I'm with now, they're trying to help stop him. They're family for me and I'm more inclined to help them fight, than try and figure out whatever is bothering you about me.
Sylar: [studies her for a moment, and then] Maybe that's what I need. Maybe I need to help you save the world or whatever it is you're doing.
Elle: [chuckles] You do realize that the guy up at the top of the stairs cleaning his gun? He's not exactly itching to let you in on this fight.
Sylar: I got that impression. [offers her a wry smile] But I can help. I need this as much as you need me. [doesn't mean that in a sexual way or whatever -- he just knows that he's hard to kill and decent in a fight]
Elle: I can't make that call on my own. This is something that goes back with their family. I'm the rest stop, I'm part of the home team advantage that makes sure they have a home to come home to. [truthfully, she's not even sure she wants him there - to have that constant reminder in the same place as her... that just makes her stomach twist a bit] They all know what happened, Sylar. They all took care of me after... [she sets her jaw] You're going to have to convince them, not me, that you can be of help.
Sylar: [nods] Fine.
Elle: You're going to have to stay in there... one nice chat doesn't give you a hall pass.
Sylar: [ ... that he doesn't like so much. makes a face] Get your friends to expand whatever they did to down here. I want to be able to move around. [take a shower. take a piss in something other than a bucket]
Elle: [stands up, pulling the chair away from the cage] I'll talk to them. We'll figure something out that's less cage-like. [since she does recall his time in Level Five] His name is Dean, by the way, and he's not my guard dog. [if she was the type of person to express her love for people, she'd tell Sylar that she loves Dean - but she knows that she's not that girl, and there's no point in rubbing that in]
Sylar: I figured that out on my own. [and yeah, that kind of hurts for some reason]
Elle: [shrugs up a shoulder] I'm sorry. [she means that, not for the other things - but for this, for the way that might've hurt him... even though she does feel like he deserves it on some level]
Sylar: [mirrors the shrug, accepting the apology but not sure what to say]
Elle: I'll... I'll talk to Ruby about the spell. Do you need anything else? [since she's trying to be somewhat hospitable... in the prison scenario]
Sylar: [dimly amused] A million dollars and a Porsche?
Elle: [not going to even crack a smile, instead she just sighs] I'll send someone down when we've figured out how to get you better suited.
Sylar: [hesitates, and then] ... thanks.
Elle: [heads up the stairs, and out to where Dean is hovering. even for all of her bravado downstairs and her anger and frustration, that was hard to take all at once and as soon as she sees Dean, she'll move to him, wrapping her arms around him and just holding him for a moment]
Dean: [wraps his arms around her in turn, pulling her close] Everything okay?
Elle: [takes a breath, nodding] Yeah, he was relatively calm. Still a bit angry, but he is locked up in a cage, being forced to be 'normal' so to speak. It is hard to keep a balance when the things you're used to having aren't at your fingertips. [all of this is murmured against his shoulder]
Dean: Guess so. [slides a hand up into her hair for reassurance]
Elle: [takes another breath, exhaling it slowly and just stilling at his side for a moment] You're going to laugh, but he says he wants to help. With the whole... Lucifer thing.
Dean: [pulls back a little, looking down at her with a frown] Yeah, um, no. I wouldn't trust that freak to shine my shoes, much less with the fate of the free world.
Elle: [not meeting his eyes just yet, because his shoes are amazingly... okay, his shoes are boring, and eventually she'll look up at him] I know, but we can't just keep him in the basement. What was the point of Chuck seeing him show up here if it wasn't for something that was supposed to mean something. Look, I don't like the idea of him here. At all. But he is here and we can't just walk him out the front door and hope that he's not going to go kill other people. We can't kill him either, he's too powerful. Why not use that to our advantage for once? [she doesn't like how it sounds when she says it, but she can't argue against the logic] It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow or the next time you go out, but he thinks I'm supposed to help him. That I'm some part of some cracked out future where he's ... I don't know, better. [shrugs and then shakes her head, dropping her gaze] It's not the best option, I know that - but I don't know what else to do.
Dean: And letting him play ball with us is a better idea? What if he snaps and kills us? Or tries to or whatever. I dunno about you, but been there, done that, got the damn t-shirt. [and yeah, okay Cas or Ruby or Amy or whoever could probably prevent it or bring them back, but ... he's got enough life threatening situations in his every day life. he doesn't need help putting one foot in the grave, and he has a responsibility to his people to protect them. to protect her]
Elle: [her hand runs over her features, nodding] I know, it's crazy and it's not what I want either. I just... I don't know what else to do here. [leans in against him, just resting to his chest] I can at least get Ruby to put lockdown on a room. We can put someone to guard it. [chews on her lip] I know that you've known the worst sides of him, but I know he has the ability to change. We all do. I want to believe that he didn't kill me for a reason.
Dean: [sighs heavily, scrubbing a hand through his hair] He can have the room -- [because it's slightly unfair to keep him in a cage, even if it makes him happy to see the prick playing prison bitch] -- but he's stayin' there until I work this crap out. [wants to talk to Sam and Cas first]
Elle: [she nods and looks up at him, brushing her hand to his cheek] I didn't want to ask, I hate that I'm having to ask you for this. You kept me safe, you saved me, Dean and here I am asking you to invite him into the home that we've all relied on. [shakes her head] I just... I couldn't lie to you about it. [because she knew that she could've gone to Sam, gotten him to move Sylar and possibly more, but she couldn't have done it that way]
Dean: [tilts his head into her fingers a bit. is really unhappy with the situation, but ... he'd probably be more than just unhappy if she'd lied to him] Yeah, well. Thanks for not doing that.
Elle: [her brow furrows] I don't want to see him. I don't care how reformed he gets... I gave him a chance, I think that absolves me from whatever help I'm supposed to give him. [clings a bit to him, shifting her hand against his back to pull in closer] Are you going to be okay?
Dean: [hasn't been okay in a very long time -- even before this Sylar crap started] I'm more worried about you, sweetheart.
Elle: [she knows that it's an empty question with too deep of a truth, but she's better that he answers, regardless of what he says, but she pulls back, looking up at him, the true range of emotion she feels for him, right there, in her eyes] I just... [takes a breath] I love you, Dean and I don't want you to think that I'm letting him stay for some other reason.
Dean: Trust me, I don't. [wouldn't want to snuggle up to Alastair after all he did to him -- assuming he swung that way -- so he's not about to start thinking that Elle would do the same. reaches to brush a bit of her hair out of her face, warmly] And I love you, too, sweetheart.
Elle: [shifts slightly, moving to lean into his straying touch] Okay. Can we go away from the doorway to the basement? [a soft smirk hits her features]
Dean: Yeah. [tugs her away from it] C'mmon.
Elle: [nods, taking his hand] Okay. [and follows him away to wherever isn't there]