A/N: Hello everyone! Letting you know that I'm trying a little return to writing while testing this new story's idea. It's going to be a different type of story based off an idea I had when I first watched the Death of Vibe episode last fall. Just keep an open mind.

I'll let you guys decide if you're interested before posting another story you don't like, so don't be shy :)

Cisco is dead.

Cisco just died.

Cisco was gone.

He was gone forever, and he wasn't coming

These were the only thoughts running through Barry's distressed mind that was threatening to break following the events that just unfolded in front of his eyes, leaving him huffing and puffing. This time, his physical condition wasn't caused by the beating he just received from Cicada, yet again, but because of the overwhelming emotions. It just couldn't be happening. As Barry was lost in his psychological torment, the speedster's brain wasn't even registering at the moment the pain from his bruised cheeks and from his broken and bleeding lips.

"Cisco..." he whispered to his dead friend, an action that took all of his strength considering the indescribable weight pushing down on his chest and making it so difficult to breathe.

The grasp of horror and defeat that was clutching and crushing his heart was familiar; he felt the same way when Ralph got allegedly killed before his eyes by Devoe last year. But, for some reason, it wasn't the same. It could be because it was Cisco this time. Or, was it? Perhaps it was just denial as his mind was desperately hanging to the hope that Cisco was about to breach at any moment now, alive and well.

A white-hot pain suddenly erupted in the middle of his back and radiated almost instantly in his whole body, causing the speedster' knees to buckle underneath him and sent him kneeling on the forest ground, accompanied by an agonizing scream. Thanks to the anguish that was engulfing his mind and body, white spots soon appeared and clouded his vision. It was mere seconds later, or maybe less, that all strength left his beaten body which allowed the gravity to take control of it and attract the rest of his limbs toward the ground.

''FLASH!''

Voices shouted his name at the top of their lung. They were very familiar voices, but ones Barry couldn't identify as he was slowly falling into the grasp of darkness. The pain was too much; he couldn't hold on. So, the CSI allowed the embrace of unconsciousness to take him over.

"Cisco," he whispered again just before his mind went completely black.

The speedster's mind drifted all over like a bird flying over the infinity of nothingness as he was trying to find his way back to the world of the living.

''You're gonna be okay,'' whispered a voice. Cisco's voice this time. Barry was sure of that.

So, Cisco was alive, right? He sounded so worried, just as anxious and worry as the CSI had been for his best friend's fate moments earlier.

''Fight this, dad,'' added Nora's voice.

''Stay with us, it's gonna be okay,'' added Cisco, once more.

More words got spoken, but none that was making any sense to Barry who was slowly growing farther and farther away in every way. It was so hard, almost impossible, to hold on, despite Flash's strong will to know if they were ok. He so desperately needed to know if Nora and Cisco were going to stay that way. What if the thing, or the person, who attacked him was about to finish the job by killing his best friend and his daughter? But, despite Barry's best intentions, the speedster's mind slipped again.

Slowly, the bliss that had been enveloping Flash started to dissipate and sound, words, around him became clearer and stronger.

"I think he's waking up… Caitlin, come back!" Urgently called out a female's voice, followed by hurried heels clicking on the ground.

"'Everything's going to be okay," added another, unknown, person.

A groan was the only sound Barry managed to let out to express his awareness of his surroundings. Well, awareness was a big word for the moment, but at least Barry could hear voices and understand words, mostly, so that was a great start. Why were his eyelids so damn heavy anyway? Why was his back hurting so much? At least, with every new passing second, the ringing in his ear was subsiding a bit more 'till the point Barry was confident he could concentrate on something without getting nauseous. His hearing got better just in time to pick up the sound of a person approaching his bed because he was definitely laying down in one, just before that person spoke up:

"Barry? Can you hear me?"

Caitlin.

"Cait?" Barry rasped, struggling and badly falling at opening his eyes, but still moving his head in the direction of the voice, "wh- 'appened?"

"Cicada stabbed you in the back; you were out for more than a day," gently explained the other voice that was finally clear enough to be recognized; Nora. Hearing her was enough to cause Barry to sigh in relief; she was okay. The speedster didn't dream about her calling out for him in the woods.

If she was okay, so was Cisco. He had to be. But, wait. How did he get stabbed? Cicada left right after seemingly killing Vibe.

"How?" He weakly asked.

"Cicada came back to finish the job, while you had your guard down. You had us worried," explained Nora who joined Caitlin right next to the bed and gently put her hand on her father's shoulder.

Slowly, but surely, Barry managed to half-open his eyelids and blinked a few times to clear his vision. Finally able to clearly see his surroundings and the white ceiling of the medbay, Barry started to take a good look around and search for the one person occupying his thoughts.

"Cisco?" He asked, after looking twice around the whole room and not finding the friend he was looking for. "Where is he? Where did he go?"

The complete silence that fell in the room, followed by a quiet sob, forced Barry to observe more closely the two people standing next to the bed. Once that was done, the CSI took notice of the pale faces and red puffy eyes that were staring right back at him. That latter part was especially true for Caitlin who also had dry tear marks visible on her skin.

The sight of his friend and daughter' expression twisted Barry's stomach and sent a wave of nausea up his throat. No. It couldn't be. Maybe, hopefully, things just got close, and they had all been anxious about both the engineer and the speedster. It had to be the reason behind their exhausted features. It had to.

"Cisco?" He asked again, feeling his mouth going parched.

"It's all my fault," said Nora after a second of tensed silence. "I'm… it's wasn't supposed to happen. I'm so sorry," she badly apologized.

"I do... don.. I don't get it," stuttered Barry. He knew. Deep down, he knew. There was only one logical explanation, but it was one he couldn't face. It was one truth that was threatening to shatter his world.

"He's gone, Barry. Cisco's gone," finally let out the doctor whose glance drifted away to avoid painful eye contact.

To be honest, it wouldn't have mattered since, at this very instant, the speedster lost all connections between his brain and his surroundings. He was blankly looking at the wall while his mind sent an agonizing sensation all over his body. No. Not Cisco. Barry was right when he said that losing his best friend and being his fault would be the end of his world. It was like the earth had opened under his feet, and he was falling fast with no perspective of reaching the bottom.

Denial suddenly rushed over like a runaway train and washed over his mind as Barry gulped down his saliva and spoke up, "no... there was someone else with the room, with us, I heard a voice."

Frowned and confused faces blankly looked back at him.

"When?"

"Dad, it's only the three of us. Everyone else is upstairs."

Barry shook his head vigorously, a gesture he quickly regretted when the walls and ceiling started spinning around and forced him to take a moment to stop, close his eyes, and take a shaky breath. That was at this moment he took notice that something else went wrong earlier. Well, yesterday. It seems like the dark matter that messed up with Cisco's power was playing tricks with his abilities.

"Take it easy," gently instructed Caitlin's tired voice like she'd been reading his mind, "because of Cicada's dagger, your powers are not going to work for a few days at least."

Of course, they weren't.

But that wasn't the most crucial issue at this very instant.

"When I woke up and right after Nora went to get you," explained Barry before taking two deep breaths to chase away nausea. "I heard someone talking to me."

The second his sentence was done, Barry opened his eyes again and looked straight at his daughter for confirmation, only to see her sight sadly.

"I was alone with you when you woke up," she assured, "you dreamt it, I'm sorry."

"But ther-"

"Dad, there wasn't anything left of-"

The young speedster closed her eyes for a second and deeply inhaled, unable to finish her sentence. Grabbing a hold on herself, she continued, "Cisco's gone. I tried to create a distraction with the explosion, hoping I could drag him through a breach with me, but it didn't work. With the dagger dampening my speed, I barely got out of there alive myself. There wasn't enough time to save both of us."

Tears rose up exponentially fast and quickly filled Barry's eyes. His best friend was gone? Raising his right arm, and wincing at the sudden pain from his too sore body, he wiped them off and swallowed his saliva to clear his throat.

"I heard him, in the woods, I know it. It was him, it-"

Barry stopped himself before the crowd pressing against his bed could do it for him. They were right; he saw it for himself before Cicada came back to finish the job and stabbed him in the back, literally. There was nothing left of his best friend, just a few pieces of his shredded uniform. That was it. As he was sniffing, the speedster turned his head in the opposite direction, blocking himself from the two women.

"I tried to save him, dad. I'm so sorry I failed," said Nora, sniffing away her rising tears.

"Do you need a-"

"Leave me alone," requested the speedster, interrupting the doctor whose voice was about to break from the pain. He shuddered and shrugged off in one movement the comforting hand that went to his shoulder.

"Mom wanted to see you once you'll be awake; should I go get her?" Gently asked XS, retreating her hand and awkwardly putting it back into her jeans pocket.

"Not now... just, please leave me alone," requested the man again, a tad more strongly than the first time.

Sighing, Caitlin nudged Nora to stop her from trying to make contact again and pointed the door with her head. He needed some time to register all the pieces of information.

"Alright, we'll give you some space. I'll be in the cortex if you need anything."

Barry grunted as an answer. Maybe it was his back injury, or perhaps it was his mental agony, but either way, he was suddenly feeling exhausted and had no strength left in him to answer. The suffering in his back wasn't helping either; he just wanted to slip away from all of this.

How was he supposed to move on from this? The leaving footsteps barely registered as all he could hear was his pulse beating hard in his ears. He could've, he should've, saved his best friend.

"I'm so sorry, Cisco," he whimpered before slipping into an uneasy sleep.

Everything around him started to drift and change, allowing his surroundings to shift into a forest plunged into the darkness. The clouds were keeping most of the moon's ray from reaching the forest ground, and the three branches were dancing under the gentle breeze. It was almost beautiful for a second, 'till Barry finally realized where he was. It wasn't just any forest; it was the one where they fought Cicada and where Cisco…

Speaking of, in the distance and down the hill from where the speedster was, Barry spotted an unmistakable figure. There was no doubt about it; that person who was looking down at a newly formed crater was no other than himself. Everything suddenly clicked inside Barry's mind; not only it was the place where everything unfolded, but he was also reliving it from an outside view perspective. His past-self was still looking down at the remains of his departed friend when a bright blue breach formed in the back, only to close in the next instant without allowing anything or anyone in or out of it.

The only effect this unexplained portal had was to create a nice contrast of light with the quickly arriving purple and yellow lightning, announcing the return of Nora West-Allen. All of this stayed unseen by the grieving speedster who was still lost in his thoughts, desperately staring at the shredded pieces of the Vibe uniform on the ground until everything changed in a flash.

Before anyone could say or do a thing, Cicada reappeared just as fast as he went away and landed right behind the distracted hero.

"FLASH! Watch out!" Desperately shouted XS at the sudden sight of Cicada rising his dagger behind the Flash.

In the blink of an eye, it was all over. It was too late. Every action unfolded in slow motion in front of the confused Barry who was observing the scene, frame by frame, from a third person perspective. His past-self screamed in agony and fell to his knees. Nora started running the faster she could, without her powers. Cicada took his dagger out while simultaneously kicking the wounded hero down on the ground. Nora reached out to the two of them. Cicada looked at the reckless woman and took off again, just like that. One action at the time.

"Fight this, dad!" Desperately said the young Flash's daughter.

Why was Barry dreaming of this? Why was he seeing everything again, and from that perspective? Or, had he somehow time travel back to that moment?

"Barry-" weakly whispered a too familiar voice that was coming from way closer than the spot where the action was happening.

Barry jostled and turned on himself. Cisco. It was him. Except, the man was nowhere to be seen as his voice was whistling his friend's name and echoing all around the speedster like the wind.

"Cisco? Where are you, man?"

"Don't give up on me, man," whispered Cisco again, way quieter than the first time.

"Where are you? Let me help you!" Called out Barry.

Except, the voice that answered, after a few moments of silence, wasn't Cisco's. It was Iris's.

"Barry? Barry, wake up. Barry!"

It was gasping and seating up in one sharp, and painful, movement that Barry opened his eyes and found himself back in S.T.A.R. Labs medical bay with his wife worriedly looking at him, which shouldn't a surprise considering all the sweat that was running down his back and forehead. So, it was all a dream, again, and Cisco was gone.

"Are you alright?" Gently asked Iris, grabbing his hands between her owns.

"I... I don't know," truthfully answered back the man, looking down and taking a few deep breaths. Was he ever going to get better?

A/N: So, what do guys think? Interested in more? Leave me your thoughts in the comments