Sooo... you probably weren't expecting the Epilogue so soon, were you? Eh, I felt I owed it to you, after taking so long to upload the final chapters, and not posting the final chapter yesterday like I wanted. So here it is. It will go a bit more in depth about Barry's struggles with himself, you will learn a bit more about what happened to some characters, and you will finally see that last memory realized. I hope you realize who it is. It will be made almost obvious in this chapter.

This has been quite the journey. A story I had in my head for a long time, longer than you think, and I'm grateful I got to write it all. It improved my English, and my writing, and I'm thankful for that. And as the first story I finished (not necessarily the first one I started writing) it will always be special for me.

Thank you, to the reviewers FlashCayCay and Daneriis, to those who followed it, who favoritized it, and all those who read it. Thank you.

Now, with nothing left to say... on with the Epilogue!

Epilogue

Somewhere in Europe

He was awoken from his nap on the couch by a knock on his door, a small feeling of dread overcoming him. People didn't usually came to visit him… or ever, for that matter. It probably didn't meant anything good. Still, he refused to panic just yet, it might be nothing. So, the blonde man with blue eyes slowly got up from the couch and walked to the door, yawning on the way over. He opened the door, and was met with the sight of a blonde woman with green eyes, holding a small bag over her shoulder. She looked… strangely familiar.

''Hi'' The woman -rather, girl, she didn't looked that old-, said simply, smiling brightly at him.

''Uh… hi'' He greeted, confused as to who she was. He didn't remembered her from the town. Then again, it wasn't like he went into town that often. There was a small, awkward pause before he spoke again. ''Uh… you are?'' He asked, and the girl seemed to be awoken from her thoughts.

''Uh, right, my name is, uh… Alex. Yeah, my name is Alex'' The girl said, before holding out her hand for him to shake. Alex, huh? He knew an Alex once. Barely, though. Not like he was going to say to this Alex.

''Bart'' He said, accepting her handshake. 'Remember, no last names, don't let her into the house, don't tell too much about yourself' He thought, remembering the rules he had imposed for his own safety when talking to other people.

''So… you wanted something?'' He asked, confused as to why she was here. Clearly, she was new here. Most people -kids especially- had taken a liking to referring to him as 'the creepy guy who lives in the house in the outskirts of town', or something along those lines. He had never really gotten the hang of the language, just the basics. Not like he tried too hard to learn it, for that matter.

''Oh, no, I was just… well, I'm actually a college student. I'm doing a thesis about uh… quality of life in small towns in Europe, so I thought… well, why not come see it by myself, get some hindsight, maybe do a couple interviews. It could really help with my thesis'' The girl explained, to which the man furrowed his brows. Judging by her looks and her accent, this girl was probably American. She had come all the way over to Europe just for a thesis? That was dedication if he'd ever seen it. Still, he wasn't really sure he could help with that.

''Oh, so you want to interview me?'' The man guessed, to which the girl nodded excitedly. She was definitely cheerful.

''Yeah, if that's okay with you'' The girl said, to which he made a face. He looked towards the town, the angle and the distance barely letting him see it, before he looked back at the girl.

''You could probably do better in the actual town. I'm barely part of it as it is'' He said, trying to get her to go. An interview would mean asking questions about him, and he couldn't risk that.

''Oh, yeah, I'm definitely interviewing a lot of people in town too, it's just… well, it's just I was told you know how to speak English, so I figured it would be easier to start by you, and besides I'm trying to get as many point of view as possible, and yours seems to be quite different from the rest, seeing as how you live… further apart from the rest'' The girl said, and the man couldn't help but grin.

''You mean a hermit?'' He asked, to which the girl's cheeks got red from embarrassment.

''No! Not like a hermit… just, like… Uhh…'' The girl struggled for words, not really knowing what to say, and the man decided to put her out of her misery.

''It's okay, kid, I've been called worse'' The man told her, and the girl let out a breath of relief.

''Sorry, I know I can be awkward sometimes. I've always been told I got it from my parents'' The girl said, and he thought about how he could relate to that. He knew a thing or two about awkward. ''So… can I interview you?'' The girl asked again, pointing towards the house. Right, an interview would mean her walking into the house, and that was yet another reason for why this was a bad idea.

''Uh… I don't know, it's messy inside here, and I haven't cleaned in a couple days…'' He trailed off, hoping that would be enough for the girl to leave, but she simply shook her head quickly and dismissed it.

''Nah, it's okay. I don't mind, really. Your name won't even appear on it, if you don't want it to'' The girl said, and the feeling of dread that had mostly dissipated so far grew. She seemed like a nice girl, so he really didn't wanted to just tell to go away so rudely, but he was running out of choices, and the kid didn't seemed to want to leave.

''I don't know…'' He trailed off, thinking of a way to get her to leave. Luckily, he didn't had to think much more, because the girl seemed to notice his discomfort and quickly held up a hand as she shook her head.

''It's okay, if you don't want it to be here, I'm staying at the lodging house in town, maybe you can pass by later, and we can do the interview there. It's just a couple questions, nothing too personal'' The girl said, and he considered it. He knew it was probably a bad idea, but he really wanted to help her, why exactly he wasn't sure. But he felt like he could trust her. So, making a decision, he smiled, and nodded.

''Okay then, I'll pass by later'' He told her, and the girl almost jumped in excitement. Yep, she was definitely really cheerful.

''Great! I'll see you later then. I'll be waiting for you'' The girl said, smiling brightly as she began walking away.

''I'll be there'' He said, smiling to her as she turned around and walked away. Suddenly, a question entered his mind, and he couldn't keep himself from asking it. ''Hey, what is it you're studying for?'' He asked, to which the girl turned to him, her smile still in place.

''Oh, I… I'm studying to be a reporter, like my mom'' The girl told her, her smile a bit bigger now.

''Really? I've known a couple reporters. Keep at it, kid, it's all about the dedication'' He said, and the girl's smile grew even more at this.

''Thank you'' She said, as she nodded to the man, him nodding in return, before walking away. He smiled one last time and closed the door, turning back to the living room. He hadn't been lying when he said it was a mess. He should really clean up more often. Ah well, it wasn't like anyone else lived here with him. Sighing, he walked over to a coffee table besides the couch, and grabbed the facial transmogrifier from it, before using it to return to his true face, showing one Barry Allen.

It had taken him a while, and he had met some shady people in the way, but eventually, he had found this house and settled in here. It was far away from any big cities, and it was just in the outskirts of a small town. And what the girl had said about him being a hermit, well, it wasn't far off the mark. Sole reason he came into town this days was to get supplies and things like that. Thawne's inheritance for him had been really handy for that. It was been… hard getting it, he had to get help from some shady people, and he was pretty sure what they did in order to get that money without drawing attention had been, while not quite, borderline illegal, but just in that case, he had looked the other way. Getting a job here could be dangerous in the long term, especially if agencies like A.R.G.U.S were still looking for him, which wouldn't surprise him, so he didn't had much of a choice. He hated using that money but, at least it allowed him to live, so he had to get used to it. Fortunately, it was enough that it would probably last the rest of his life, especially seeing as he didn't used it that much.

Looking to the T.V, Barry took the control and changed it towards the news channel, turning up the volume as well. The date in the corner of the news channel read April 25, 2024.

''It is official! On this day, the United Nations, with a majority of the voting, have revoked the Anti-Metahuman Act. The Anti-Metahuman Act came into pass in the year 2018, after the events that happened in Central City during the last weeks of 2017 caused a massive fear amongst the population. However, this act was also known for its controversy, especially concerning its treat of metahumans, most of which were treated to levels almost inhumane. For years there was a movement to either soften up the measures, or directly take down the act, and today that movement has won…'' Barry put the T.V on mute, having heard what he was interested on, and couldn't help the small smile that came into his face. The Act had been on for a few years, and it was true that metahumans were treated in many inhuman ways. He was glad it would end. It had been mainly enforced by A.R.G.U.S -though he was pretty sure he had seen in the news that Lyla wasn't the director anymore-, which, while still tied to the U.S government, was considered almost independent, seeing as most countries had authorized it to patrol their cities. Luckily, the country he lived in hadn't authorized it yet, and it seemed like it never would now. Still, he restrained from using his superspeed most of the time. Just in case.

Barry turned off the T.V, and saw his face in the reflection, taking notice of the beard that was already prominent. He supposed it was time to shave. So he went up the stairs towards the second floor, where his bathroom was. It was a small house, but it was comfy, and it wasn't so bad. Granted, it had changed a lot from when he had first arrived, but still. Barry still used his superspeed from time to time, though, pretty much when he wanted to get something done quickly in the house, or the monthly day he sped across the world to check on William. He had maintained his promise to Oliver, and to this day, he always took a day every month to go check up on William for a few minutes. He had done it more often at first, but eventually he saw that the kid was doing fine and decided to reduce it to a day every month. He had made sure to never be seen by him though. He would probably not be happy to see him. And in the meantime, social media was a good way to keep up with him. He had grown so much, and he wished Oliver could see him. If only…

He also made sure to check through social media on the rest of his family too. Joe didn't had any, but Cecile did, and that is where he had learned that they had another girl, as well as that Wally had recovered control of his body, and was slowly but surely, making progress. They looked happy together, and Barry was happy for them, it didn't mattered that he couldn't be a part of it. Cisco had some too, and he seemed to be doing okay. Barry had noticed how his hands never appeared, not even once, in any of his pictures, but judging by the fact that he had a couple selfies there, Barry supposed the geek squad had made something for him. Maybe robotic hands, like in that future he visited. In his pictures also appeared a couple guys called Rudolph and Tom, wish he was pretty sure where actually H.R and Harry in disguise. There was also the very occasional meet up where he saw some more familiar faces, like Sara, Jax, Stein and Roy. He had never seen Kara, though, but he liked to think that it was only because she didn't appeared on the pictures. Understandable, seeing as she didn't had an identity on Earth-1. He wished he could see her again, see how she was doing. See all of them.

Barry shook his head and pushed those thoughts away as he entered the bathroom. There was no place there for him. They were happy now, and he being there would only disrupt that happiness. Besides, this was his penance, whether he liked it or not, a penance that would last for the rest of his life. He didn't deserved that happiness, not after what he had done. Barry took a look at himself in the mirror. Like he had predicted, the burnings on his face had made way for a scar exactly like Savitar's. His right eye was white, too, like his had been. He could see perfectly with it, though, something he was pretty sure had something to do with his speed healing. He couldn't be further away from that man, though. When he had first arrived, there had been a lot of uncertainty, a lot of insecurities on him. Every day had been a struggle, especially seeing as there was little more to think about. More than once, he found himself tempted to go back to Central City, to continue his mission, and he came close to doing it. But the memory of all the people he had killed, of his parents, of Ronnie, of Eddie, of Oliver, of Iris, always held him back. That was not what they would have wanted, and he would honor his memories by staying put. It was much easier now, luckily. The dark thoughts didn't clouded his head anymore.

Barry took his cream shave, passing it over his face, before he started shaving. The burnings had caused more than he had thought. Even when it only left a scar, it seemed like the cell tissue of the skin had never fully recovered, and hair had never grown anymore over the right side of his face. It was a strange sight, surely, having only half of a beard, but it wasn't so bad. It saved time. Barry winced as he suffered a small cut over his neck with his razor. Slowly, with time, he had started to feel pain again. It had taken a few years, but by now his pain receptors were back to normal. He had to admit, he missed not being able to feel pain for a while, but he had gotten used to the usual way of doing things eventually.

A couple minutes later, Barry's face was completely clean as he passed a towel over it. Suddenly, something changed in the skies above. He looked through the window of the bathroom, and he saw a sight that he would never thought he would. The skies were red.

Suddenly, Barry remembered. He had completely forgotten about the Crisis and everything that came with it. It was so long ago since the last time he had seen that newspaper… but now, it was here. And in this Crisis, he would vanish, which would most likely mean he would die. But Barry was at peace with it. He hadn't thought about it for years, but now that it was here, he was ready for it. To make the ultimate sacrifice, if it meant that the world would be safe. Barry immediately towards his bedroom. It looked like that girl -Alex, he remembered- wouldn't be getting that interview.

He stopped in front of his closet, and opened it, immediately falling to his knees and taking a wooden box, before setting it on the bed. He opened it to reveal the contents inside. His old Flash suit.

It had appeared on his doorstep a few months after he got settled in. At first, he had even thought a bomb or something, but turns out it had only been his suit. He supposed this meant Cisco and the rest had actually tracked him down and found him, though he still didn't knew how they had delivered it. He supposed maybe Julian had something to do with it. He was grateful for the fact that they hadn't contacted him. Like he had said, he didn't deserved it. Then again, he would probably have to see them now. Talk to them. Looks like his penance would have to cut short. At least in this case, it was for the sake of the entire world.

Barry sighed as he looked at his suit. He felt a strange nervousness just from looking at it. Was he ready to put it on again? To be a hero again? Well, it wasn't like he had a choice. And he was willing to do it. For the sake of the world.

There was a flash of orange lighting, and suddenly, Barry stood fully dressed in the suit. He pulled his cowl over his head and took one last look at the house. Well, this certainly had been fun, in a way. But now, it was to end it, return to Central City. He wondered how that would go. He supposed he would see it soon enough.

In a flash of lighting, he had disappeared from the house, and was on his way to Central City, red skies towering above him. But he wasn't afraid. He was ready for it, whatever it was that would come next.

And as he finally arrived at his city, as he trailed a lightning bolt on the streets, just for fun, as the citizens felt that familiar whoosh of air, accompanied by a bolt of lightning and as they felt hope fill their chests again, one thing was certain.

The Flash was back.

The End.