Who: Gabriel Gray, Petra Petrelli, then future!Peter Petrelli What: Gabriel gets revenge, and the aftermath Where: Petra's room, then the jungle When: backdated to Thursday afternoon Rating: PG-13 for violence Warnings: Character death Status: Complete
He had to do it. That was the only thought going through Gabriel's mind as he slipped out of the facility's kitchens, the sharp chef's knife he'd managed to pilfer hidden for the moment under his shirt. It was going to be dangerous, doing this, but there was no other way. Peter had suggested several things, but none of them would work . . . There was no other way, no matter what his lover said. Gabriel swallowed heavily before removing the knife, hiding it in the waistband of his pants, behind his back. Glancing around the hallway, the teenager stepped up to the door, hearing the ticking inside. It sounded off-kilter, broken - the sound he'd come to associate with Petra Petrelli. Letting it fill his head until it blocked out most of his other thoughts, he opened the door, knocking on the doorfacing. "Hello?"
Petra, for her part, was waiting for her little Tick Tock to come visit her so that she could help him with the little problem that he'd told her he was facing. She was seated on her bed, her legs folded beneath her, leaning back on her hands, humming a little tune as she ran through the inhabitants of the island in her head. She was trying to pick the perfect victim for her Tick Tock. She grinned as she heard a familiar ticking, and she sprang off the bed.
"Tick Tock!" she exclaimed, dancing over to the door and grasping his hand. "Come in, come in!" She giggled happily and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him. She slid her fingers through his hair from the base of his neck to his forehead, and moved around him, heading toward the bed. Her back was to him and she giggled, not even suspecting in the slightest what he was planning. "We'll pick the perfect gift for you together."
Her excitement made his heart clench a little bit, and Gabriel started to wonder if he should be doing this. She was so excited, so happy to help him . . . It made him feel bad, knowing what he was really planning on doing. When she jumped up and pulled him into the room, he stumbled slightly and felt the hidden knife nick him, making a grimace flash across his face for a split-second before it healed itself. Soon he was distracted by the way Petra was petting his hair, and he managed a little smile for her, focusing on the ticking. It was the only way he could block out any really dangerous thoughts that she would hear.
When she had her back turned, Gabriel knew that it was now or never. He had to remember what she'd done to Peter; it was the only way he could do it. Drawing the knife, he focused on the terror in Peter's face every time he woke up from a nightmare of Petra cutting into his head, all of the blood that had been all over the room, the way Peter had shook in his arms . . . It was all it took. Swallowing heavily, Gabriel followed Petra to the bed, raising the knife. His hand was shaking as he brought it down with all the strength he could muster, the sharp blade slicing downward toward the back of her neck, at the base of her skull - the exact spot Peter had told him, before.
Petra was happy to help Gabe take care of the ticking he could hear in his head. She did the same thing for Gabriella, after all, and wasn't Gabe just the male version of her beloved pet? "There's oh so many people here with delicious powers, it's almost hard to pick just one." she said. She had the feeling that something was wrong, but before she could really respond, there was a sharp pain in the back of her neck. Her eyes widened but beyond that, she didn't make a sound. She simply dropped to her knees and then fell face downward on the floor, her body lifeless and blood flowing from the wound.
God, there was so much blood . . . Gabriel let go of the knife the minute it became embedded in Petra's head, and he shuddered, feeling sick. What had he just done? Oh god, what had he just done? He stared at her lifeless body on the ground, blood pooling beneath her, and shuddered, closing his eyes. Even as he did so, he could hear the ticking slow and then cease. She was dead . . . Petra was dead. Opening his eyes, Gabriel stared down at her, the body laying at his feet, the knife sticking out of her head, and it was a strange fascination brewing in his mind. Kneeling down beside her, the ticking was slowly replaced by a dark voice, whispering in the back of his mind.
It doesn't take much, Gabriel . . . All you have to cut a little more. All that power, right there, just move the knife a little more, cut her open . . . Just do it and take it all . . .
His hand brushed against the knife handle before he realized what he was doing, and it made him feel sick. "Oh god . . ." It was all he could get out before he stumbled up and rushed to the bathroom, losing the contents of his stomach as he retched. Shuddering, his eyes closed tightly, the only thought that came to him as he recovered was that he needed help. He needed someone to help him deal with this. Peter . . .
At that very moment, Peter was pacing in the room that he shared with Gabe, walking the length of the bed and then doubling back. He knew what his lover was doing and he wished to God that there was something he could've done to convince the young man otherwise. He hadn't wanted to subject Gabriel to that kind of thing, to killing a person. It wasn't as easy as Gabe apparently thought that it would be, and he was so young, so innocent. Peter was scared of what consequences Gabe's actions would have, whether everything that Peter had been trying to prevent would be undone.
He frowned at the sound of Gabe's voice in his head, and he wasted no time in responding with a quick I'm on my way before closing his eyes and concentrating for a moment. He disappeared from the room, and then reappeared somewhere else. Opening his eyes, he felt his heart sink at the sight of Petra's lifeless body on the floor. "Gabe. . ." he said softly, glancing toward his lover.
The bathroom door was open, so Peter could see straight through into it, to where Gabe was sitting, his forehead resting on the toiletseat. He stared between the lifeless body of Petra on the floor and his lover, standing over her, his gaze full of guilt and terror. He shuddered heavily and sat up, rubbing a hand over his face before he shakily tried to get up. They had to do something . . . He had to do something to fix this. To finish things. He whimpered softly before shuddering again, wrapping his arms around himself as he leaned against the door facing. "I don't- I don't know what to do, Peter . . . I don't know what to do." His voice was tearful, breaking in the middle of his words as he tried to keep from freaking out any more than he already had.
Peter frowned deeply at the sight of his lover, and he quickly moved around Petra's body, heading into the bathroom. "It's okay." he said softly as he knelt down beside his lover, his hand reaching out to brush delicately over Gabe's cheek. "It shouldn't have been you that did this. It should've been me." He sighed and shook his head, hating to see his lover in that particular state of mind. He leaned forward and kissed Gabe's forehead, his hand moving back to caress Gabe's hair at the back of his head. "We have to bury the body."
Peter was there to stop him from getting up, and he shuddered again before leaning into the other man's soft touches. He needed the comfort, right now, because he was reeling over what he'd done, and even moreso over what he'd almost done; what he'd been tempted to do. "I just wanted to protect you . . . I wanted you to be safe." The words were whispered softly as he leaned into Peter, closing his eyes for a long moment or two. He knew the older man was right; they needed to bury her, before someone noticed the blood scent coming from the room and chose to investigate. "Where do we put her?"
Peter sighed and listened to Gabe, hugging the younger man tightly against his chest. He knew Gabe's reasonings behind going after Petra, but it didn't mean that he had to like them. "I know, Gabe." he said quietly as he smoothed his hand down Gabe's back. "We. . .bury her on the beach. I think that's a good spot as any. Or maybe in teh jungle. That might be better. It'd be easier to hide the grave. We just dig a hole and dump her body, knife and all."
Gabriel slowly took everything in, from the feeling of Peter's hand sliding down his back to the scent of his lover pressed against him like that, and slowly he started to calm down. By now the determination he'd fought to create was starting to come back, and he shuddered heavily before smiling weakly at Peter and getting up. He offered his lover a hand, trying to keep himself from thinking too much about it. "Let's finish this, then, so we can forget about her . . . Please." It was a soft plea, but it was there nonetheless.
Peter watched Gabe stand up, a concerned look on his face. He was worried for Gabe's well being, for his sanity. He knew from personal experience that it wasn't easy to come to terms with the fact that you'd taken someone's life, but he was determined to be there for his lover when it finally sank in what had happened. He smiled softly at Gabe and took his hand, standing up. "Why don't you let me take care of it?" he asked softly. "You should go get cleaned up, try to get some rest."
Maybe it hadn't fully sunk in yet that he had killed someone; that he had murdered Petra in cold blood. But right now Gabriel couldn't focus on that; no, he needed to focus on finishing things and making sure they were both taken care of. He needed to make sure Peter was taken care of. Shaking his head a little, he squeezed Peter's hand and breathed in slowly, trying to keep the rolling of his stomach to still, at least for a little while. He didn't want to get sick again. "No . . . I started this, I'm going to help finish it. I need to see it through, all the way."
Peter frowned, not so sure that was such a good idea, but he didn't think that he could convince Gabe otherwise. His lover had a stubborn streak, which Peter usually found charming. "Alright." he said quietly. "Then let's get her out of here." He licked his lips and moved over to one of the beds, removing the blanket. The blanket, he laid out over the floor next to Petra's body, and then he picked her body up easily with his super strength. He laid her out on the blanket and then folded it over her. The ends were tucked under to form a little bundle of sorts, and he bent down, picking the bundle up and throwing it over his shoulder. "Okay, to the jungle."
Where that stubborn streak came from was anyone's guess, though it was feasible that he'd learned it from Peter himself. After all, the teenager hadn't been nearly as stubborn as he was now, before he'd come here. Any smile he might have given was out of place, and he watched in detached fascination as Peter carefully wrapped up Petra's body, the blanket soon getting soaked with blood from her wounds, and pick up the body over his shoulder. He'd forgotten how good Peter was at fixing things like that, and he blinked several times before following hesitantly. The trip to the jungle, luckily for them both, went uninterrupted, and Gabe mildly wondered about whether their captors might have filmed the whole incident. "Almost done with this . . . with her."
Peter was quiet for most of the trek through the jungle, thinking about the best place to hide her body. He walked deep into the heart of the jungle and finally found a spot beneath a tree near the waterfall. "This looks like a good spot." he remarked, nodding. He laid the body down and then smiled softly at Gabe. "We won't have to worry about this anymore after this." He touched Gabe's cheek and then kissed him softly before turning away and focusing on the ground. Who needed a shovel when you had telekinesis? In relatively no time at all, he'd dug the grave, six feet down, and he carefully picked up the blanket-wrapped body. He lowered it into the ground and then covered it back up with the dirt, barely suppressing a shudder.
The soft kiss was returned, Gabriel leaning into it as he accepted the comfort being offered, at least for that moment. Finally he returned to his position of silent observer as Petra was buried and left behind. She wouldn't hurt anyone else . . . That had to be worth something, right? Once it was done, Gabriel swallowed heavily before wrapping his arms around Peter, holding him close. They were safe now . . . They had to be safe. Petra was gone; there was nothing left to hurt them. Nina wouldn't be able to function dangerously enough without Petra . . . They were safe. "I love you, Peter . . . Please forgive me, for this." The words were out before he realized it, and he ducked his head against the other man's shoulder afterward.
Peter ran his fingers through Gabe's hair and hugged him tightly, sighing softly. "I love you too, Gabriel." he said quietly. "I forgive you. You were just doing what you had to in order to keep me safe, and I will always appreciate that." He kissed the top of Gabe's head and then closed his eyes, teleporting them back to their room. He gently pulled Gabe over to the bed and laid him down, kissing him gently. "Now, will you rest? Please? For me?"
Gabriel rested against Peter tightly then, closing his eyes as they teleported back to the room. The feel of his lover's arms around him helped calm him down, at least, and he kissed Peter back softly as they settled down into bed. His head rested on the older man's shoulder and he offered a weak smile, cuddling up against him. "For you, I'll try." Closing his eyes, Gabe settled in to rest, the soft ticking cadence of Peter lulling him into a feeling of security and warmth. It was marred, even as he drifted off, by the dark voice still lurking in his mind, whispering across his senses as he slipped into sleep . . .
All you had to do was cut, and you couldn't even do that. Stupid. Weak . . . All that power wasted, because you were too weak, you pathetic little boy . . . Next time . . .