This is the final chapter of this story. It may not be as popular as my other stories, but I've had a blast writing it! Please be sure to leave a final review!

I'll Be Seeing You

"I told you all he needed was a good smack on the head," Cisco said, "We just had to whack the creepiness out of him."

They all shot him serious looks.

"Too soon for jokes?" Cisco asked quietly.

Joe let out a heavy sigh and turned back to look at Barry. He was laying in a bed in the med bay, his wrists restrained to the bed frame. His face was battered to the point where it looked grotesque. If Barry didn't have superhealing, Joe would be certain he would never look the same way again. At this point, though, that may actually be the case. Barry was gravely sick, and his healing didn't seem to be doing anything for him now.

"He's dying," Elinor said sadly from the corner of the room, "She's killing him."

"Why?" Joe choked, brushing a few tears from his face, "I thought she wanted to be him, not kill him."

"She does want to be him," Elinor said calmly, "She wants to live. Unfortunately for her, though, it doesn't work that way. She's not meant to be here. Her dead soul is killing his body. It's deteriorating…breaking down."

"Are you saying he's rotting?!" Wally asked, a repulsed look on his face.

Elinor nodded.

"In so many words, yes," she said softly, "He's decomposing alive. The dead soul occupying his body is rotting it from the inside out."

Caitlin let out a shaky sigh as she removed the stethoscope from Barry's chest, hanging it around her neck.

"She's right," she said quietly to all of them, "Barry's body is starting to shut down. His kidneys are already failing. The rest of his organs will soon follow. The kidneys tend to go first before everything else."

"How do we save him?" Iris whispered.

She was sitting on the far side of the room, away from Barry's bed. She could hardly look at him—partly because of what he had tried to do to her but mostly because of what she had done to him. Iris couldn't even look at Barry's face now without being hit by a fresh onslaught of tears.

"We need to get Barry back," Elinor said simply, "We need to get a living soul back into his body before he doesn't have a body to come back to."

"Okay, but how do we do that?" Wally asked impatiently, "You say it like it's so simple."

"Oh, it's far from simple," Elinor said seriously, "First, we must cast the dead spirit from his body. She's weaker, now that she's unconscious, but it's not easy ripping an unwilling soul from a living body. She's going to fight us."

"And then?" Joe asked quietly.

"And then we try to get Barry back," she said simply.

"What do you mean 'try?'" Iris whispered.

Elinor shook her head.

"There are no guarantees when it comes to these things," she said gravely, "Where Barry is…it's like an ocean. All we can do is cast him a life raft, shine a light on it, and hope for the best. The rest is up to Barry."

"It's up to Barry?" Caitlin said, raising her eyebrows.

Elinor nodded.

"You should know," she said seriously, "This is extremely risky. Barry might not be the one to climb onto the life raft. Someone or something else might assume the vessel."

"Well, I don't see why it's risky to try it," Wally shrugged, "Someone else already is using Barry's body. It can't exactly get worse, can it?"

Elinor nodded seriously.

"There are far worse things that could be occupying your friend's body right now," she said darkly.

They all shuddered.

"Okay," Cisco said seriously, "So, how do we stop another ghost or a…a demon from taking up valuable real estate in Barry's body?"

Elinor shook her head.

"There are a few protection spells I can do," she sighed, "But there's always that risk."

"Spells?" Joe said skeptically, "Like…witchcraft?"

Elinor nodded, and Joe made a face, doing very little to hide his skepticism. He had always been against this sort of stuff.

"This isn't exactly my area of expertise, but yes," Elinor said simply, "I suppose you could say it's kind of like witchcraft."

"Wait," Caitlin said seriously, "You've never done this before?"

"Of course not," Elinor said obviously, "This isn't exactly common in my work. Most people come to me when they want to contact the dead. Actual hauntings are extremely rare, and possessions are practically unheard of. Most cases are really the result of dissociative identity disorder or schizophrenia. Their psychological, not supernatural. Your friend, though…this is more than multiple personalities. I can feel it. It's a true case of spiritual possession."

They all nodded their agreement. Barry was extremely messed up right now, but he wasn't crazy. Through all of this, he had never been crazy.

After reinforcing the restraints on Barry's limbs, they all stood around the bed, looking down at him—all except for one person.

"Iris," Joe said softly.

Iris just shook her head.

"I can't, dad," she sobbed, "I can't do this."

"The more people we have, the stronger we'll be," Elinor urged.

"Iris," Joe said somberly, "Barry needs you. He needs all of us."

Iris looked back in forth between her father's pleading expression and Barry, lying on the bed.

"Okay," she whispered.

She stood up from her seat and timidly moved to stand next to her father at Barry's bedside. Tears filled her eyes when she saw Barry's bruised, bandaged face. She would never look at him the same way again.

"Okay," Elinor said softly, "I'm going to start now. No matter what happens, do not break the circle. Hold your ground. The spirit is going to fight, but she can't do anything to us. We have the power now. The incantation will weaken her, but it won't fully exorcize her until it's complete."

They all nodded seriously and held hands, Joe and Caitlin reaching over Barry at the head of the bed, while Elinor stood at the foot of it. A chill ran through all of them when Elinor started to recite the Latin incantation.

"Regna terrae, cantata Deo, psallite Cernunnos,

Regna terrae, cantata Dea psallite Aradia.

Caeli Deus, Deus terrae,

Humiliter majestati gloriae tuae supplicamus."

They all gasped when Barry's body suddenly lurched in the bed, his eyes still closed. They all looked around at each other in shock. Joe was particularly in awe. He hadn't fully been expecting anything to happen, yet Barry had responded to the words. They were having an effect.

"Ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate,

Laqueo, and deceptione nequitia,

Omnis fallaciae, libera nos, dominates."

Barry lurched again at her words, this time sucking in a ragged breath. The others felt a small pulse gently push them away from the bed. Their eyes widened in shock, but they didn't break the circle. They kept their hands firmly grasped together.

"Exorcizamus you omnis immundus spiritus

Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incurs—"

Elinor was cut off suddenly when a loud scream issued from Barry's mouth. They all stared down at him with wide eyes as it continued, stretching out into a long, agonizing scream.

"…incursio," Elinor persisted, continuing the incantation after the scream had subsided.

"Infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,

Omnis and congregatio secta diabolica.

Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, dominates."

Barry screamed again, but Elinor didn't stop this time. She kept reciting the words, shouting over his screams.

"Ut coven tuam secura tibi libertate servire facias,

Te rogamus, audi nos!

Ut inimicos sanctae circulae humiliare digneris,"

Barry's eyes suddenly snapped open. They all gasped. His eyes were pitch black as he gazed up at them.

"I'll kill you," he gritted, "I'll kill all of you! I've been dying to. Every night, I've wanted to kill you all in your sleep."

They all looked up from his eyes, doing their best to his ignore his threat and the way it made them feel to hear those words being issued from Barry's mouth.

"Te rogamus, audi nos!

Terribilis Deus Sanctuario suo,"

"Please!" Barry screamed, tears streaming down his face, "Please, guys! Don't do this to me! Why are you doing this to me?! It's me! It's Barry!"

Their eyes all widened, and they quickly turned their heads to look at Elinor. She shook her head seriously at them.

"Iris!" Barry cried, "Iris, it's me! I'm your Barry! Please, don't do this to me! Don't send me back in the dark. I'm here! I'm home! I came running home to you, Iris!"

A small sob escaped Iris's lips.

"You may have Barry's memories," she said shakily, "But you're not Barry. Goodbye, Marilyn."

"No!" Barry cried, "Iris, please! Wait! I love you, Iris. I loved you before I even knew what the word love meant. Please, don't do this to me, Iris!"

Iris looked away from Barry's face, tears streaming down her own. It wasn't him, no matter how much it seemed like it. The real Barry—her Barry—was lost somewhere. He was lost, alone in the dark, and she was going to find him. They were going to bring him home.

"Cernunnos ipse truderit virtutem plebi Suae, Aradia ipse fortitudinem plebi Suae.

Benedictus Deus, Gloria Patri, Benedictus Dea, Matri gloria!"

As Elinor finished the incantation, Barry let out a long, piercing scream. They all gasped when the floor shook beneath them, the lights flickering on and off. Medical supplies in the room started falling off the shelves, and they heard an earsplitting crash echo in from the cortex.

"My computer," Cisco whined.

The floor continued to shake beneath them, and they all felt the same pulse from before, pushing them back from the bed.

"Don't break the circle," Elinor instructed calmly.

They all strengthened their hold on each other's hands, their palms sweating. Barry let out another long scream, like the sound of a dying animal. The scream seemed to pierce through their very souls as it dragged on and on until, finally, it died out in his throat.

Everything stopped when Barry went limp.

They all let out sighs of relief.

"Is it over?" Iris asked shakily, her voice cracking.

"Almost," Elinor answered seriously, "The spirit has been forced from his body."

They all dropped their hands, letting out sighs of relief.

"So, Barry…?" Joe asked nervously.

"He's not here with us," Elinor replied, "Yet. His body is just a vegetable right now, an empty vessel. We just need to guide Barry to it."

"How?" Wally asked.

"We cast another circle," Elinor said simply, "Except now we'll be summoning a spirt, not banishing one. Believe it or not, this is a lot harder than exorcizing a spirit is. I already told you, there are no guarantees, and we'll be risking inviting something even darker into this world, should this go wrong."

"Barry will come back to us," Iris said surely, "He's strong. He'll find his way back."

Elinor nodded seriously and then motioned for them to join hands again. Once they had complied, she started a new prayer.

"Dicam necessitatem quoniam elementa virtutis opus sit vobis detur mihi pretium sed vires meas…"

Barry curled up on the cold ground, his eyes forever unseeing in the darkness engulfing him. He was never going to go home. He was never going to live again. He would spend the rest of his life—his existence—here, alone in the dark with the dead. He supposed he was one of them now. He wasn't here physically, like he was last time. His body was still in the world of the living.

Here, Barry was just another soul, lost in the dark like the others. They didn't bother him now. He was one of them. The longer he spent here, the more he belonged. He didn't feel the same way he did the first time he was here. He didn't feel the same physical needs he did before. Hunger, exhaustion, thirst. He didn't need anything.

But Barry wanted.

He hungered for his life back. He felt mentally drained and exhausted from being here. He desperately thirsted for a way out. He wanted the torment to end. He wanted the sound of silence to be broken.

He missed the sound of his heartbeat now. It had nearly driven him insane the last time he was here, but now it was the nothingless that was driving him insane. The lack of a heartbeat made his chest feel hollow inside. Barry's entire body felt hollow. There was nothing here. He was nothing here.

All he had were the whispers, the hollow sounds of the dead whispering in the dark around him. Barry knew what the sounds were now. They were calling out to their loved ones. Barry did it, too, sometimes. He called out to them, even though his cries went unheard. His voice was stronger than the others, though. And sometimes, just sometimes, Barry thought he could hear his family. He could hear them speaking to him. He even got glimpses of them sometimes.

He knew it had to be in his head, though. There was no light here. He couldn't actually be seeing them. He was hallucinating. He was slowly losing his mind, and soon, he would be just like the others who resided here. He would be one of them, just another confused soul, wandering aimlessly in the dark for eternity.

Barry sucked in a ragged breath when he heard it again. Voices. He knew the difference now between the voices of the dead and the voices of the living. He knew when it was real and when it was just another hallucination.

"…atque ad extra virtute tantum, sed infirmus sum…"

Barry didn't understand the words. Granted, a lot of the time, words from the living were difficult for him to make out. It always sounded like someone was speaking from underwater. This was different, though. It sounded clearer than before, yet the words didn't sound like English to him. He couldn't distinguish any actually words from it.

"Hello?" Barry called out in the darkness.

"…simul sic habeas…"

Barry's eyes widened when he suddenly saw something he thought he would never see again.

Light.

He squinted his eyes, blinking multiple times as he stared at the small speck of light in the distance. And then Barry did what any carbon-based lifeform would do: he moved toward it.

"Hello?" Barry called out again, rushing toward the ball of light in the darkness.

He heard the others stir in the dark around him, roused by his call and by the light shining up ahead, breaking through the empty nothingness. They would soon be moving toward it as well.

"…manere prope et nostra nobis fiet res ita fiat semper."

Just like that, the words suddenly stopped, the silence quickly rushing in to take their place. Barry strained his ears as he moved toward the light, but he didn't hear anything. He kept moving, though, and the light quickly grew bigger. Barry suddenly came to a halt in his tracks, struck by a sudden thought.

He didn't even know what the light was. It could be anything, if was even real and not in his head. Most living things were attracted to light, but light wasn't always a good thing. Barry was in an ocean of nothingness right now, and much like in a deep abyss of the ocean, a light didn't always mean good things. He could be like a small fish right now, moving towards a pretty white light, only to be swimming into the luring jaws of an angler fish.

But what was his alternative?

What more could happen to him? He was already dead, so to speak, so what harm could come from it? Maybe it was a way out. Maybe it was heaven. Weren't you supposed to get there by traveling through a dark tunnel towards a white light? That's what they say, at least. Barry didn't know if that was what he wanted, though. It saddened him, the thought of leaving his loved ones behind. He didn't want this. He wanted to live.

But Barry also didn't want to stay here. He didn't want to spend an eternity in this dark place.

And he would see his parents again.

Barry's heart swelled. Maybe this didn't have to be a tragic thing. Maybe he could still have a happy ending. He could see them again, really see them. He could be with them forever in the light.

Barry started to move again then, his mind made up. Really, it already had been from the start. He was going to move into the light. He would do anything to escape the darkness that had been chasing him for half his life. He was finally going to be free of it.

Barry didn't feel any fear as he ran into the light. He closed his eyes as he let it engulf him, carry him. He let it carry him away from the pain, the ugliness. He let it consume him until it was all he felt. He became the light.

And then Barry opened his eyes.

They all waited on pins and needles after Elinor finished reciting the incantation, the growing silent. They waited…and waited. They looked back and forth between Barry and the woman standing at the foot of his bed. Elinor didn't say anything, though. She didn't direct them or tell them to be patient. She just stared at Barry, waiting.

It was up to Barry now.

He needed to climb aboard the life raft. They all wondered morbidly if maybe it was too late. Barry had been in the Void for too long, and he was too far gone now. Maybe, they had lost him forever.

After what felt like an eternity to them, Barry suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes snapping open. They all let out a collective sigh of relief as they stared down at Barry. He looked up at them with a confused expression on his battered face.

"Barry?" Joe asked nervously, and they were all instantly reminded of the dark possibility Elinor had told them of.

It might not really be Barry.

Barry turned his head to face Joe, looking at him with tearful eyes. He had an almost…disappointed look on his face.

"Joe," Barry whispered, "What's going on? Where am I?"

"You're back, Bar," Joe choked, tears filling his eyes, "We brought you back."

Barry's eyes welled up with tears at these words, and a small smile formed on his face.

"It's over then," he sighed in relief.

"How are you feeling?" Caitlin asked seriously.

"Well, I'm never playing Ouija again," Barry said, and they all laughed lightly.

They all kept giving him calculating looks, though. They couldn't help but wonder if it was really him.

"What do you all remember, Bar?" Joe asked cautiously.

Barry shook his head.

"It's all a blur," he said, "Bits and pieces are starting to come back to me. My memory kept shifting when I was there, and I couldn't think straight most of the time, but it's coming back to me now. I was in the dark for most of it."

They all exchanged curious looks.

"Most of it?" Wally asked.

"I mean," Barry said quickly, "Of course I was in the Void the entire time, but I could hear you guys sometimes. I could feel you."

"Because your body was still in the world of the living," Elinor said knowingly, "You still had a connection to this world."

Barry nodded slowly and then looked at Joe.

"Sorry about the drywall," he said softly.

They all let out small laughs. It was Barry.

"Dude," Cisco said loudly, "Were you the one creeping around the woods with us?"

Barry laughed lightly.

"I was trying to help you find your way," he explained.

Cisco shook his head.

"You could have just said, 'hey, guys, it's over here,'" he said in exasperation, "That would have been hella less creepy."

Barry laughed and shook his head.

"You know how hard it is to communicate from the Void?" he said defensively, "Every time I reached out to you guys the others would…"

His words trailed off, though. They all frowned at him.

"They would what, Bar?" Joe asked softly.

Barry shook his head.

"Let's just say they knew I wasn't supposed to be there," he said quietly, "They left me alone when I kept quiet. I would have communicated more, but whenever I did, it would weaken me, and they'd try to pull me back under. My memories would get all messed up, and for a while, I would forget why I was there."

Cisco shuddered.

"Okay, this is super creepy," he blanched, "I don't want to think about communicating from the world of the dead. Doing it from the world of the living was creepy enough."

"Agreed," Barry laughed lightly.

He looked down at his hands then, which were still restrained.

"You think you guys could…?"

"Yeah," Joe said, rushing forward, "Sorry, Bar. We had to be sure it was really you."

As soon as his hands were free, Barry reached up towards his face. He hissed in pain and clutched his shoulder instead.

"I'm so sorry, Bar," Joe choked, "I…"

"You shot me," Barry said quietly, "It's okay Joe. You were just trying to protect Iris."

Joe's eyes filled with tears as he looked down at Barry.

"You…" Iris choked, speaking for the first time, "You remember?"

Barry nodded and a sad smile formed on his face as he looked at her.

"I thought turning off the lights would paralyze her," he said quietly, "I knew she was afraid of the dark, but…"

"But she was also used to it," Iris said quietly, staring at his face.

Barry reached up and touched his cheek then. Iris's eyes filled with tears, and a small sob escaped her lips.

"It's okay, Iris," Barry whispered.

Iris shook her head and sniffed.

"I bashed your face in with a frying pan, Barry," she choked, "I broke your nose and your jaw. I ruptured one of your eye sockets. That's not okay."

To her surprise, Barry gave her a watery smile. He looked almost…proud.

"Who do you think gave you the pan?" he asked with a small smile.

Iris's eyes widened.

"You mean you…?"

"I wanted you to do it," Barry said firmly, "I made the pan fall next to you because I wanted you to protect yourself. I could never live with myself if I had hurt you."

Iris shook her head frantically.

"It wasn't you, Barry," she said quickly, "It was her. Marilyn."

Barry nodded and looked down at his lap.

"Still," he whispered.

They all stared at him. They couldn't even imagine the conflicting emotions he was feeling. It was a wonder how Barry was so calm. He had just spent three weeks in the Void. They wouldn't have blamed him if he were a crying mess right now, but surprisingly, Barry was calm, composed.

"Barry," Joe said gently after a moment, "Did you know her? Marilyn?"

Barry looked taken aback by the question.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Did you know who she was?" Joe asked, "Before she died?"

Barry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"No," he said after a moment.

They all looked at each other, thinking of the photo from 1952. In that moment, they all silently agreed not to burden Barry with it yet. They would tell him about it eventually, but he had enough he was trying to process right now.

"I'm sorry," Barry said quietly, "But I really need to sleep now. I don't think I've ever been more exhausted in my life."

They all nodded understandingly.

"She was making you sick," Caitlin told him softly, "Her dead soul was killing your body, and your organs were just starting to shut down. I don't think your body would have lasted much longer. A week, maybe."

"Yeah," Barry sighed, "I believe it. I feel like shit. My head feels like it's been split in two."

"Well, that may be more from the head trauma," Caitlin said gently, "You have more than a little concussion from it."

To their surprise, Barry smiled.

"Iris sure does know her way around a frying pan," he joked.

Iris, however, looked down at the floor in guilt.

"Please," Barry said seriously to her then, "Please, don't feel bad about it."

He looked seriously back and forth between both her and Joe.

"Things could have turned out a lot worse if you hadn't done what needed to be done," he said surely, "You saved me. All of you. Thank you."

Joe wiped the tears from his face and let out a shaky sigh before putting his hand on Barry's good shoulder.

"You should get some sleep, Bar," he said softly.

They would all eventually come to terms with everything that had happened, but it would definitely take time.

It took Barry three days at STAR Labs for him start healing and recovering from his wounds and the supernatural illness that had been plaguing his body for weeks. Once his organs were fully functional again, his wounds were able to heal. By the time he went home, he was already on the mend, but his arm was still in a sling from the gunshot to his shoulder, and his face wasn't fully healed yet. The swelling had gone down, but his nose was still healing from being broken, and he still had dark shadows under his eyes from the bleeding in his sinuses.

Iris could still barely look at him. Barry knew it was more than just his face that was troubling her, though. She would probably take a long time to get over that night. He had attacked her, and while she knew it wasn't really him, he understood why she was still a little uncomfortable around him. They all knew it was only temporary, though. The memories were still fresh for all of them, and it would take some time for them to move past it completely.

But they would do it, as a family.

They were all gradually starting to move on and put the whole thing behind them. Barry seemed to be struggling with it the most, though, and understandably so. He had been through a terrible ordeal, and they knew he would probably never fully forget all that had happened to him. To say they were worried about him would be an understatement. Barry was being quiet—not so much withdrawn, but quiet.

"Hey," Iris said softly as she made her way out onto the porch.

Barry turned back and looked at her from where he was sitting on the steps.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Can I sit?" she asked nervously.

Barry nodded, and she moved to sit on the other side of the steps from him, much like she had countless times before. As soon as she was sitting, Iris saw what was in Barry's hands. He was slowly turning the broken pieces of a record between his fingers. She knew immediately what it was.

"I'm so sorry," Iris said softly, "Marilyn destroyed it."

"I know," Barry whispered, "She was trying to silence me."

Iris nodded slowly.

"Is that why she covered the mirrors?" she asked quietly.

Barry nodded silently, still looking down at the pieces in his hands.

"Cisco told me about my dad," he said after a moment, "And the box."

Iris stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"I…" she said in a strained voice, "I still don't know why he gave it to us. It didn't really help us in the long run."

She looked questioningly at Barry, but he didn't say anything to enlighten her. Instead, he asked a question.

"What happened to the box?" he whispered.

Iris gave him a sympathetic look.

"She burned it," she answered sadly.

Barry just nodded, his face hard. Iris could see the anguish behind his eyes, though.

"Probably for the best," he whispered.

Iris furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"I need to finally move on," he said in a strained voice, "Don't I?"

Iris opened and closed her mouth a couple times, not sure what to say to him.

"I think that's all you can do," she said softly.

Barry nodded and brushed a few stray tears from his face.

"I thought it was heaven," he whispered then.

Iris stared at him, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"The Void?" she asked curiously.

Barry shook his head quickly.

"No," he choked, "The light. The…'life raft' you sent me. When I saw the light, I thought it was heaven."

Iris gave him a watery smile.

"And then it took you home," she said, smiling warmly at him.

Barry didn't smile, though.

"Yeah," he whispered, "It did."

The smile slid from Iris's face as she watched him, staring down at his knees.

"Barry," she said shakily, "When you woke up…you had this look on your face. You looked…"

Barry shook his head quickly.

"I'm not disappointed," he assured her, already knowing what she was going to say, "I'm relieved to be home."

"But a part of you is disappointed," she accused tearfully, her voice cracking, "Isn't it?"

Barry looked up at her with watery eyes.

"I thought I would get to see them again," he whispered.

"Oh, Barry," Iris choked, shaking her head.

"I know," he said, "I should be grateful they weren't there, in the Void. I should be grateful to have my life back, to be home and free of all this now, but…I can't help but resent the fact that after all of that, I never got to have a moment with them."

"It isn't fair," Iris said tearfully, "I can't imagine how frustrated you must be feeling, Barry, but…"

"This whole thing started because I was thinking of them," Barry said quietly, "My mother. Her death anniversary. I was thinking about them that day, when I was trying to get to earth 12. That's why I ended up in the Void in the first place."

Iris sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"I didn't know that," she said softly.

Barry shook his head as his face suddenly crumpled. He let out a strangled sob and buried his face in his hands.

"Barry," Iris choked.

"I think about them all the t-time, Iris," Barry sobbed into his hands, "I miss them so much sometimes, I think this pain is never going to stop."

"I know," Iris whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I know, Barry, but it will. We're going to help you move on from this."

Barry just shook his head.

"I don't think I'll ever move on," he choked.

"Barry," Iris cried, tears leaking from her eyes to see him this way, "Barry, look at me."

Barry sucked in a few ragged breaths before finally looking up at her with bloodshot eyes. Iris put her hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye, something she hadn't been able to do for this last week. She didn't see what she had been fearing she'd see, though. She didn't the darkness in them like before. She saw Barry. She saw a good soul. It was a deeply wounded soul, but it was a good one. She saw light.

"Wherever you need to go," she said seriously to him, "Whatever you need to do, do it. We'll support you and help you do whatever you need to do to move on, Barry. You're not alone."

Barry nodded and gave her a watery smile.

"Thank you," he whispered, "Thank you, Iris, but I think I just need to be alone right now."

Iris nodded tearfully in understanding. She gave his shoulders a small squeeze before standing up. Iris wiped her eyes as she crossed the porch, pausing and turning to look at him when she reached the door.

"I love you, Barry," she whispered.

Barry gave her a sad smile.

"I love you, too," he said softly.

Iris smiled sadly at him before opening the front the door and stepping back inside.

Barry stared at the closed door for a prolonged moment before slowly standing up.

"That's why I'm so sorry," he whispered, "But I have to do this."

Barry took off down the street then. It was the first time he had ran since getting out of the Void, and it seemed appropriate, considering what he was running towards. He had been cheated enough. He had done everything right, had made the selfless decision to not go back and save his parents, and then all of this had happened. And after all the pain he had to go through, he still never got to see them. Barry knew it was selfish, but he didn't care. He deserved his family back. After everything he had done to help people, after everything he had been through, Barry deserved to make one selfish decision. He deserved his family back.

Barry's heartrate picked up when he was engulfed in light. He focused on his parents, not just on seeing them again and wanting to talk to them. Barry focused on that night, fifteen years ago. He could see the other end of the wormhole opening up on the other side, and Barry felt his heart stutter in anticipation. He was going to save his mother.

And then something grabbed him.

Barry gasped when a hand gripped his shoulder and gave a sharp tug. The blinding light that was engulfing him suddenly disappeared as he was pulled out of the time stream. For a heart-stopping moment Barry feared the others had found him again. He feared he had been pulled back into the dark. The blinding light, however, wasn't replaced by darkness. Instead, it was replaced by normal daylight.

He hit the pavement with a loud thud. Barry sat there in shock for a moment before spinning around, sitting on the ground with his back leaning up against a parked car. He looked up in shock at the familiar figure standing in front of him, looking down at him.

"Dad," he breathed, his eyes quickly filling with tears.

And then the man stepped forward, blocked the sunlight from blinding Barry's eyes, and Barry was able to see the man was wearing a familiar version of the Flash costume.

"No, Barry," Jay said sadly.

"Jay," Barry whispered.

Jay nodded solemnly and then tossed a set of clothes on the ground in front of him.

"Put those on," he instructed.

Barry gaped at him for a moment before standing up and flashing into the clothes. Jay stood there with a serious expression on his face.

"Come with me," he said after a moment.

Without another word, Jay started walking down the sidewalk, Barry following in confusion. Jay quickly led the two of them to a small diner just down the street.

"Where are we?" Barry asked as they walked into the diner.

"D&D's Diner in Central City," Jay answered.

Barry looked around the diner, taking in the retro atmosphere. The waitresses were wearing poodle skirts and rolling around on skates as they served diners, and the music that was playing was definitely not from 2016.

"No, I mean what year?" Barry asked seriously.

"1952," Jay answered simply.

He then spun on Barry.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom," he said seriously, "Don't go running off on me while I'm gone."

Barry nodded stiffly. Jay stared seriously at him for a moment, making sure he wasn't about to take off on him, before nodding in satisfaction and heading towards the men's room. Barry sighed and sat down at the counter, waiting for Jay to return to lecture him. That had to be what this was about. Jay didn't pull him out of the speed force for just a friendly chat.

"Is this seat taken?"

Barry turned in his chair to see a woman standing behind him. She was smiling widely at him, revealing a set of perfect, white teeth behind bright red lips. Her dark hair was done up in a retro pin-curl style that matched the dark dress she was wearing, speckled with white polka dots. She was beautiful. Barry wasn't exactly taken by her, seeing as he was in love with Iris, but he couldn't help but notice her beauty.

"I, uh," Barry stammered, staring at her.

There was something extremely familiar about her. It made him uneasy for some reason he couldn't quite explain. He couldn't possibly know her, but it almost felt like he did. He felt like he had known her for years.

"I'm actually waiting for a friend," he said quietly, "He'll be right back."

"Are you new to town?" the woman asked, taking a seat anyways, "I've never seen you in here before."

"Y-yeah," Barry stuttered, "I'm just passing through."

"What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"Barry," he said quietly, his throat dry as he stared at her.

"Short for Bartholomew, I'm guessing," she giggled, "That's my cousin's name."

Barry laughed lightly at that, realizing he was in a time period where his name was actually popular for once. Before he could ask her for her name in return, one of the waitresses approached the counter.

"Can I get you anything here, dears?" she asked them kindly, "Coffee? A milkshake?"

"I'll just have a water," Barry said quickly.

He felt rude not ordering anything, but he couldn't exactly pay for anything with bills from 2016. It would raise too many questions. He just wanted to get this conversation with Jay over with, so he could get out of here. He had had an uneasy feeling from the moment he walked into this diner.

"I'm just dropping something off," the woman next to him answered, smiling brightly as she set a basket on the counter.

Barry glanced at the basket and saw it was filled with scones, cookies, and other baked goods.

"Sweetheart, you shouldn't have!" the waitress gushed, "You're too good to us, dropping off these sweets all the time."

"It's nothing," the woman said, waving a hand dismissively, "You know how I love to bake."

She stood up then.

"Well, I should get going," she sighed, "The grocer closes at four today, and I needed to get a few things."

"You're going to clean that place out of all their flour," the waitress joked, shaking her head as she walked away to tend to other costumers.

The woman laughed as she slung her purse over her shoulder and turned towards Barry again.

"I'll be seeing you, Barry," she said warmly to him before walking away.

Barry stared after her, a churning feeling in his gut as he watched her exit the diner. Something about her had him on edge, and as she disappeared out the door, the uneasy feeling grew. And then it clicked.

He knew where he had seen her before.

Barry stood up from his seat in alarm, his eyes going wide. He stood there in shock for a moment before moving quickly towards the door. He only made it a few paces before his steps suddenly faltered at a loud sound.

The sound of a gunshot.