A/N: Thanks for the comments, I'm gonna miss them after that story is done, one more chapter after this one. Excited to see your reactions to the ending, hopefully you won't kill me...too much *wink*
I know, I know, I'm one day early, but let's just say I have a very busy schedule in the next couple of days that won't allow me to even post anything new 'til at least Monday. So, here I go, I'm sure you'll forgive him for being early.
Mickey Webb: Thanks for your comment!
''Hyde! STOP!'' Commanded Barry, as he finally entered the room he's been looking for, Joe following in his tracks.
They found the man in a relatively small and circular room. The dim light made it hard for them to discern to object on the ground, in the middle of the room. When their eyes adjusted to the darkness they managed to make out a very old and creepy water fountain made out of some unknown of gray stone. The artefact consisted of a pond of very clear water with a figure sitting in the middle of it, the figure depicted a man's face with long hair attach to a slim; old and wrinkled, attached to a delicate child's body; the wisdom of an ancient in an immortal body. Both of the statue's arms were extended forward, now holding the sun necklace, the one Hyde had been using for many decades, the same one that was now starting to glow, lighting up the room under the guidance of old incantations.
Hyde stopped his incantations and turned slowly toward the two intruders, but stayed on his knees, a strange and wide smile all over his face. The smile of a victorious man.
''You're too late, I already started the ritual. You can't stop it.''
Joe and Barry both felt a pit in their stomach, exchanging horrified looks, they could get out of there in a heartbeat, but there would be no such luck for everyone else in the building and everyone living in the radius, in the unknown area of effect.
''Destroy it.'' Whispered Joe.
''Worth the shot, but how?'' Whispered back the speedster, electricity already charging up in his body, cracking, ready to dash.
''Don't look at me, I'm not the one who got hit by lightning.'' Half-shrugged Joe.
Lightning? Of course, lightning, it was worth a shot!
''Stay back!'' Ordered Barry, a second before starting his sprint, running in circles, gathering speed and electricity for his attack, if there was one way to stop this whole madness, this was it.
''You can't stop it!'' Hyde repeated in a loud cry, but he still got up, closing on his artefact in a protective way as the glowing only grew in intensity, the man's hand lowering on it.
'Now or never.' Thought Barry, throwing his lightning bolt harder than he ever had, straight for the target, connecting with the old magical artefact, and the figure touching it at the same time, sending Duncan Hyde yelling in pain, before falling still on the ground. Whether he was dead or alive wasn't a priority right now as the speedster stopped his movement, only taking one quick glance at his fallen captor, before directing back his attention to the magical object, frowning. His attempt didn't had the effect he was hoping for; the Fountain of Youth wasn't a pile of broken rocks and dust; it was still standing, intact. Worse than intact, it was flashing.
''Joe.'' Said Barry, quickly turning around. ''Tell me you're in direct communication with the team.''
Without answering, the detective's hand quickly went to his ear, taking out his comms and handing it over. Within a second, the speedster had them attached in his Ghost suit.
''Guys? You there?''
''Barry!'' He head Iris' voice crying out in relief.
''Man! Are you ok?!'' Came Cisco's voice, covering Iris'.
''No time for that.'' Answered Barry on the verge of panicking, cutting them off. ''Is Constantine with you?'' His friend and family must've heard the urgency in his voice as they all stopped talking in an instant.
''I am.'' Said the British demontologist. ''What's happening?.''
''Hyde had the ritual underway by the time I arrived, I tried to destroy the Fountain using lightning, but it didn't work, now it's flashing very quickly and very brightly.''
Over the comms, the hero heard various gasps and whispers, but all his attention was focused on waiting for Constantine's answer, recognizing his deep sigh among the sounds, it didn't look good.
''If you broke it while the ritual had already started, it's possible that you overload it, it's still going to explode.'' Finally said Constantine's voice.
''Oh no...'' Came Iris' voice over the rest, echoing what everyone was probably thinking.
''What kind of damage are we talking about?'' Asked Barry.
''A lot, maybe just as much as it would've if you hadn't done that.'' Answered Constantine, gravely. ''You need to get out of there NOW.''
''I don't think there's time.'' Barry didn't mean to say it out loud, but he still did. The only person who could get far enough without a doubt was himself, but he wasn't going anywhere without the people he cared about and every innocent who were facing imminent death.
There was only one thing he could do. No time to waste.
''BARRY!'' Screamed Joe as soon as he saw his son disappear from in front of him with the artefact. ''No no no…'' His nerves couldn't take it anymore. It was with shaking hands that he went for his cell, almost dropping it on the ground in his hastiness, barely catching it so he could quick dial Cisco.
''Cisco!'' He screamed into his device the second he heard the sound of someone picking up on the other end of the line, before the engineer could make a single sound. ''Barry, he's-''
''He's heading towards the Badland.'' Said Cisco's voice from the van, instantly answering Joe's question as his worried eyes anxiously followed every movement of the red dot on the screen. ''He's going to try and drop it to a minimal safe distance. ''
'Come on Barry, I know you can do this.' He thought to himself.
''What's going to happen if it explode and Barry's not far enough?'' Asked Joe, dreading the answer he already knew inside.
''It would kill him, possibly tear his whole body apart.'' John Constantine answered grimly.
''He can do it, I know he can.'' Said Caitlin.
''Can you hear us, Barry?'' Tried Iris, but silence was the only answer they got back.
Everyone in the van and in the lab followed the red dot on their screen, anxiously waiting for...anything, something, to happen. Every single second was pure torture, each one feeling slower than the one before. At any moment, that same dot could completely disappear from the map, both from the computer and from existence.
''Isn't he more than far enough?'' Asked Iris, anxiously.
As if on cue, the dot suddenly immobilized himself for just a moment before suddenly running back in his track, moving toward the city instead of further away.
''He made the drop, he's turning around and returning to the city!'' Cheerfully exclaimed Cisco, ready to raise his arms in the air in celebration.
The celebration got cut short as suddenly, the dot disappeared from the screen, just as the tablet monitoring Barry's position suddenly lost signal.
''BARRY!'' Screamed Iris in horror as the rest of the gang lost their voice in shock.
The cry of anguish of his daughter felt like a punch in Joe's stomach, especially since he was the only one still inside, with no computer screen to show him what was happening with his son's signal. The lump in his throat paralyzed his voice, his mind sending flashes of when they first lost Barry back in May,
''Wh…a…'' He tried speaking up, getting interrupted from another cry he barely heard over his own distress.
Their enemy hadn't moved a single muscle since he got partly hit by the lightning right in the middle of his ritual, but it changed the same instant Barry's sensor lost his signal, the scream that erupted from his throat wasn't human, sounding like an agonizing animal getting his skin ripped off from his still alive body. The horrible and piercing sound caused Joe to let go of his cell, freeing both of his hands so he could cover his ears in a faint attempt to protect them.
Actually, the metaphor probably wasn't too far away from how it must be feeling as Hyde's skin started to decay right in front of the detective, aging years, even decades, in mere seconds, until all that remain was just dust in bright clothes. It was over. Duncan Hyde was no more. Just like the Fountain of Youth. And just like….Barry? No, Joe couldn't think like that. He needed to get back to the van and go get his son back, once more.
***FLASHFLASHFLASH***
It took about 20 minutes, 20 minutes spent in almost complete silence, for the S.T.A.R. Labs van to get close to the last position of Barry's suit sensor before the signal was lost. They tried in the first moment to contact their friend with no success, letting the imagination of each and every one of them to try and fill in the blank of what really happened out there.
''He might've just been knocked down by the residue energy of the blast.'' Theorized Cisco, half-hearted, halfway into the ride, his technical mind trying to hang on to any possible explanation.
''It has to be.'' Whispered Joe, desperate to believe it. From what he'd been told, the signal stopped when the speedster was just outside town, between 10 to 15 miles from where he left the artefact. It had to be far enough to keep him alive, there was no other possibilities the detective was ready to accept.
As soon as they stepped out of the van, Joe, Cisco and Caitlin started looking around in the sand and rare vegetation.
''Let's split up to cover more ground.'' Said Joe. ''No going away till he's found.''
''If he didn't go far enough, it's possible there won't be anything for us to find.'' Said Caitlin grimly, fully aware that everyone around already had that thought haunting their mind and didn't want to be reminded of it.
The speedster's dad glared but didn't say anything, moving away, resuming his search.
''Barr! Barry! Answer me son!'' The detective's voice was booming all around the zone, echoing the young scientist's voices doing the same in the other directions. ''BARRY!'' He tried again, louder. What if….no, he couldn't start thinking like that. Barry was close, he was just right under their noses and he was waiting for his rescue.
''BARRY!'' The detective kept on trying again and again, going further away from the rest of the team with every step, nervously turning around from time to time, hoping the others found something. ''Where are-''
The detective suddenly stopped in his track as he noticed something that wasn't part of the scenery; a dark blue, still, too still, form, half-covered in dirt.
''Oh God…BARRY!''
Sprinting faster than he ever did in his entire life, Joe covered in seconds the remaining distance, falling on his knees before he was even stopped, sliding in the sand, not even caring for the pain in his scraped knees and newly teared jeans. His breath got stuck in his throat, unable to get out, as he feverishly uncovered the dirt from the young man's face and took the mask off, taking in the closed eyes and scratches. The pale skin was so cold right now under his delicate touch.
''Oh my God, please Barry, please. Wake up!'' He pleaded, gently tapping on the hero's cheek, trying to rouse him.
Getting no response, he dug his shaking fingers into Barry's neck, feeling the knot in his stomach. ''Please Barry, please.'' His trembling lips kept on repeating unconsciously, nothing else in the world mattered at that moment, even forgetting where he was or the fact that Cisco and Caitlin were close by, searching for the hero too. Still searching at that moment.
There it was, a pulse, weak but steady,
''Oh Thank God.'' Sighed Joe relieved, letting go of the breath he hadn't realised he was holding and swiftly wiping away the tears that started to form at the corner of his eyes. Remembering all of the sudden his surrounding, Joe turned around to scream as loud as he could. ''HERE! I found him!''
''So…loud.'' Answered a weak voice on the ground, barely above a whisper. Almost jumping out of his skin in surprise, Joe turned his head around to look at his son's face who still had eyes closed, but his face and eyelids were tensing up in pain.
''Hey, hey, Barr. It's over, try to relax. Help's coming. You're going to be fine, just relax.''
Each word had been spoken hurriedly, as Joe's nerves were about to crack under the pressure, his concern levels weren't about to go down any time soon, especially considering how compliant Barry was at that moment, slightly nodding, not making any motion to get up or to even open his eyes like he usually did after getting injured.
Barry's head slowly rolled to his side, eyes still closed, before coughing up once, then twice, causing Joe's knot in the stomach to tighten.
''Barr?'' He asked fearfully, his right hand going under the boy's upper body, lifting him into a semi-sitting position, hoping to ease the boy's breathing. It seemed to help for a second until the young man moved his head again, to the other side, his body twitching in his foster father's grip, coughing up the sand that probably ended in his system during the blast.
'Please Cisco, Caitlin, where are-' before he could finish his thought, a figure came and kneeled next to him.
''What's wrong with him?'' Worriedly asked Cisco.
''I'm not...'' Started Joe before getting interrupted by Caitlin's voice as she joined them, kneeling on the other side of Barry, putting down her medical bag on the ground next to her. Her focus went instantly to the hero's breathing and coughing, cataloguing in her head every possible injury; he wasn't spitting blood, nor was he struggling to breath, both good signs. To everyone's relief, Barry's cough diminished after a couple more seconds.
''Barry? Can her you hear me?''
Barry turned his head slightly to his left and fluttered his eyelids a couple of times before finally gathering the strength to open them, revealing exhausted green eyes. Despite of the open eyes, concerned wasn't going away as the speedster still kept his whole body limp, his arms staying on his sides, no attempts were made on moving them.
''Are you hurt? Are you in pain anywhere?'' Asked the doctor, closely studying the man's face who closed his tired eyes for a moment, tensing with pain, before opening them again. The CSI didn't even have time to answer before his suit got opened for him and expert hands started probing, searching for signs of internal bleeding or broken ribs.
''Head…ankle…hurt.'' Finally answered Barry, sluggishly.
For the first time since finding his son, Joe took the time to look, analyze, his son's body. His first concern was about Barry being alive, but now he realized he didn't really searched for injuries. There wasn't any need to ask which ankle was making the boy feel pain, noticing the unnatural angle of the left one. He looked up at Caitlin, his eyes asking for help as the doctor was already done with the first part of her examination and was moving on, putting back her hands off from behind Barry's head, frowning when they came back bloody.
Wincing in sympathy and apologizing for the additional pain she caused, the doctor turned the boy's head on his side to examine the injury, probing it, trying to stay deaf to the groans of pain. She extended her other arm to her medical kit, inviting Cisco to come take her place and handing him a clean gauze.
''Keep pressure on it, it should stop the bleeding.'' She instructed before turning to Joe. ''Make sure he stays awake, don't want to risk anything until we know the extent of his head injury and how much the energy outburst affected him.''
Caitlin didn't even wait to see if her instructions were carried out before taking a bandage from her bag and moving down the young man's body. In the meantime, Joe had taken his son's hand into his own, never stopping talking, about anything and everything, trying to keep the hero with them, but he could see the heavy eyelids closing again. That was until Barry's eyes sharply opened, widening, gasping in sudden pain, his glance immediately falling on his broken ankle that Caitlin pushed back in place in the right position just a bit too abruptly and fast.
''Did….it…purpose.'' He panted, his chest quickly rising and falling.
''Did not!'' She exclaimed, acting offended.
Barry grumbled under his breath, taking it back under control, exponentially more awake and alert than his previous state moments ago, pain tremors coursing on his body, not noticing the looks the people around him shared. Maybe, just maybe, Caitlin indeed did it on purpose, just a bit. Partly because of her fear he was going to slip into another coma if they let him fall asleep, partly as a revenge for the panic the young man had caused by running blindly, headfirst, into an explosion.
The doctor couldn't help the smile on her lips, it was really over; Hyde was dead, the Fountain was destroyed and everything was going to be ok. All they needed now was to make sure the speedster would feel at home again, they could deal with that.
Once Barry's ankle was tightly bandaged in the right position, just enough to keep it in place until the healing power would take over and finish the job, Caitlin allowed herself a deep breath.
''You think you can walk?'' Asked Joe who grabbed the young man's arm while his second arm was still keeping him in a semi-sitting position.
Swallowing deeply, Barry nodded slowly, cringing under more pain as Cisco pressed a bit harder before putting away the gaze, looking at the head wound which had almost stopped bleeding by now. Satisfied, Cisco slightly bowed his head to answer the silent question from Caitlin that Barry was ready to move. Each taking a side, Caitlin and Joe took one of the speedster's arms, hauling him on his feet and supporting his slow, but steady walk back, hopping on his only good foot and stopping every couple of steps to let the man catch his breath a little. Slowly, but surely, they made their way back to the van and Barry was finally allowed to sit down, his back against the wall of the van, breathing heavily, tremors shaking his whole body in exhaustion.
''Bro, why did you have to do that?'' Said Cisco, letting go of the question that had been burning his lips.
''I had to, I had to prove I could still do something good.''
Of course he had to, that damn hero's mind, it wasn't like he hadn't done anything good since becoming the Flash, and yet every wrong seemed to somehow outweigh the thousands of goods.
''You didn't have to do this, we know you're still good.'' Tried Cisco, smiling.
''I had to prove it to myself. '' Barry answered sadly, moments before his head suddenly popped up, a thought hitting him. ''What about Hyde?''
''He's dead, Barry, you did it, he decomposed the second the Fountain was destroyed. Plus, the CCPD took care of the rest of his followers.'' Answered Caitlin, getting in the back of the van, coming next to her patient to check his pulse from his wrist. ''Try to take it easy, we'll be back at the lab before you know it. ''
Barry barely even nodded at the answer he got, suddenly more interested in scrutinizing every reaction, every movement the doctor was doing, his eyes filling themselves with sorrow despite the victory. ''Cait, are you still afraid of me?''
Caitlin stopped what she was doing, looking uncomfortable. ''Look, Barry, it's ok. There's nothing to talk about.''
''Yes Caitlin, there is. ''
Caitlin sighed. ''Alright, let's make a deal. If you can stay awake until we reach S.T.A.R and I check you out, tomorrow we can talk as much as you want. ''
She waited until Barry nodded in agreement before returning her attention to looking him over.
'Maybe, just maybe everything would be okay.'
A/N: There you go, leave a comment on your thoughts on that final stand.
One more chapter coming up next Friday. And see? I can do an ending without a cliffhanger...sometimes...