Well, I'm back with the LONGEST CHAPTER in this entire story. It is also the second-last chapter. That's right- the next chapter will be the last! THE END IS NEAR!

Hope you guys enjoy this. I also hope it's as emotional for you as it was for me (I almost cried at one point during the writing process! I'm such a baby sometimes!)

And, I'd like to thank ShyneInc, the manager of the C2 "The League's Finest", for adding 'Grimm' to the C2! If you guys are looking for some more League stories to read, there is a great collection on there!

Alright, enough chitchat! This chapter goes out to TempestJLU, M., and Miss NeKoChan for their various reviews (and concern for Wally!). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still just Grimm. And a bag of nachos.

CHAPTER TWELVE: ELIMINATION

By the time Batman arrived at the Watchtower, the other members were already waiting for him inside the hospital room. They were joined by four of the League's best medics.

Without a word, Bruce Wayne stalked towards the hero's bed, grabbing hold of the IV stand. He produced a small vial from his utility belt. The contents of the vial were a peculiar green colour.

He attached the vial to the IV, allowing for the green liquid to flow through Wally's IV and into his bloodstream. The others watched in silence, praying silently that their friend would be cured.

Diana looked questioningly at Bruce.

"It should begin to take affect the moment it hits the bloodstream," he informed the Amazon.

"And it'll cure him?" John questioned, sitting on the foot of the bed. Wally continued to shiver and twitch.

"Not exactly," Batman replied without emotion. "From what J'onn has told me, the drug has reached its most advanced stage. The antidote I made will help to lessen the effects of the drug slightly. The rest is up to Flash."

This news greatly disheartened the superheroes. Flash was weak from the drug. He'd already been to hell and back, and his suicide attempts proved how dismayed he was. How could he possibly hope to fight this curse off?

"Hang in there, pal," Lantern encouraged his friend. "We're here for you."

"You can do this," Shayera did her best to sound confident. "Just don't give up."

"Hera, protect him." Diana added her bit.

The others offered their support to the young speedster. No matter what, they were by his side. They just hoped that he could hear them.

"You child," insulted Shayera. "All you ever did was mess things up. You were constantly ruining things for John and I, with your pitiful whining. I am sick to death of seeing you look at me like I'm your frickin' mother or something. Grow up! Your own mother wanted nothing to do with you, and neither do I!"

"You'll never be anything other than worthless!" Superman agreed. "You were always the weak link. And wink links have to be cut loose. You were kidding yourself. You could never be a superhero. You're weak."

John towered over the scarlet speedster. "You actually thought I was your friend? How dim are you? I took pity on you. I humoured you. But you never meant anything to me. You're just a stupid, irresponsible kid! And I'm sick of you always tagging along and getting in the way!"

Grimm knelt before Flash. "They don't want you anymore. They never really did. Just let it go."

Wally tiredly lifted his eyes to the girl's scarred face. He could feel himself disappearing. It wouldn't be long now.

The dark girl's grey eyes were filled with satisfaction. Wally blinked. Was it his imagination, or had she just flickered? No. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Nothing could stop Grimm…But the darkness was flickering too. Wasn't it?

Grimm didn't appear to notice. "Wouldn't it be so much easier if you just let go of it all? Just let it fade away. Let the darkness win. There's no point in fighting anymore."

He had to have been wrong. The darkness was still strong, and Grimm was glaring at him, as powerful as ever.

"It's calling you, Wally," she continued, her grey eyes fixed on his. "Just give in."

Give in. It sounded so good to Wally. What had he been holding on for anyways? It was better just to give up.

"That's right," Grimm smiled maliciously. "It will all be over soon. You just have to let go."

Wally felt the darkness consuming him. It was done. He'd finally lost. He had to go now.

"NO, WALLY! Take my hand!"

That voice. Where had it come from? There was no one here but Grimm. And yet that voice sounded like an angel. So concerned.

"You're hearing things, Wally," Grimm read his thoughts. Was it just his imagination, or did she look worried? "Let go of it all. Then the pain will end. They'll all be better off without you."

"I'm here too, Wally!"

"We're ALL here!"

That time he was sure he'd heard something. An image fleeted before his eyes. Six familiar people, all trying desperately to save someone. They were pulling him back with all of their might.

G.L.? Wings? Wally tried desperately to hold on to the image. No, memory. His memory. They all looked so worried. Could it possibly have been over him?

"You're wasting your time, Wally," Grimm was definitely upset. "They never cared about you and they never will. It's hopeless."

Was that him they were trying so hard to bring back? He remembered now. They had saved his life. Pulled him from the force. The looks on their faces were not those of hatred, but of concern. Concern for him.

Grimm's grey eyes were turning a soft glow of red. "Stop it! You have no one! You heard them just now!"

But Wally couldn't stop it. His mind was alive with images and feelings. He felt Hawkgirl's hug when she resigned from the League. And heard Supes congratulating him on his first big mission. He saw Princess setting fire to his popcorn machine on movie night, J'onn letting him win at Brawlin'-Bots, and G.L. taking him out for dinner after he got stood up on a date. Even the wry smile he'd received from Batman after taking down a group of villains-the closest he'd ever gotten to a compliment from the man.

They were everywhere. His friends had always been there for him. He'd just been too blind to see it.

Grimm was brimming with hatred. "Lies! All lies! They hated you! You should just give up! You can only bring pain!"

Wally stood up with strength he didn't know he had. He towered over the dark girl.

"NO!" He protested. "I'm through listening to you! You're always telling me that there's so much pain and hatred in my life. But the only pain around here is you!"

The pitch black had lightened to a dark grey. A small light, unseen, began to grow.

"My friends are the best thing that ever happened to me!" He continued, finally finding his voice after all this time. "They care about me. And I care about them! And I'm not about to throw all that away! Not for you."

Grimm seemed to shrink before his eyes. "You're wrong. They'll stab you in the back! And you'll have no one to blame but yourself!"

"I'm sick of giving up!" The Flash bellowed. "I want you out of my head, and out of my life!"

"You'll be sorry…" Grimm threatened, continuing to shrink. The light was growing brighter.

Wally West narrowed his eyes. "I'm already sorry. Sorry that I ever listened to you!"

The light shone so bright that Flash had to cover his eyes.

The last thing he heard was Grimm's angry voice.

"You'll regret this."

And then, there was nothing.

"I think he's coming out of it!"

"Flash? Are you alright?"

The light was still so bright; Wally didn't want to open his eyes.

"Wally, can you hear us?"

The voices sounded so concerned. Wally decided he couldn't stay asleep forever. Opening his eyes slowly, the world was a blur to him. He blinked, setting things to focus, and found himself staring up at six familiar faces.

"Is it really you guys?" Flash asked suspiciously. There was no way he was falling for another one of Grimm's tricks.

John chuckled silently. "Of course it's us. You gave us a bit of a scare there. We were worried."

"You were?" Wally rasped. His voice was out of practise, and he was suddenly very tired.

Next thing he knew, Shayera was hugging him tightly. A tear slid down her cheek, but she didn't appear to notice.

"Of course we were," she replied.

Wally blinked. "I told Grimm you would be," he whispered.

The others looked confused.

John raised an eyebrow. "Who's Grimm?"

"She was never real?"

No matter how many times he heard it, Wally had trouble wrapping his head around the concept. The whole thing just seemed so…stupid.

John offered his young friend a comforting smile. It had been a bit of a process convincing Flash that none of what he had been seeing the past weeks was real. The others had said their bit to Wally before leaving him to rest. John and Shayera had stayed behind to talk to the young speedster.

"I can't even begin to imagine what you've been going through," Shayera commented.

Wally let his head thump onto the pillow, staring at the ceiling.

"The things she told me…" He stated softly, almost to himself.

John fixed Wally with a concerned look. "You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to."

"She said everyone hated me. That I was a screw-up, and that I should never have joined the League." Wally appeared to have forgotten all about his two friends, and was now speaking mainly to himself. "I thought I was all alone."

Shayera gripped Wally's left hand, careful of the bandages that were still in place. "It's not true, Wally. We all care about you."

Flash blinked. "We never hang out."

It was a seemingly random comment, and he stated it so factually that it took the other heroes a minute to be certain Flash hadn't lost his mind.

He continued, not waiting for a response. "I'm always getting in the way. Everyone thinks I'm weak."

"Nobody thinks that!" John protested. "You're one of the team!"

"Then why am I the only one who has to have Batman baby-sit them on missions?" Wally did not appear to be angry in the slightest. Instead, he seemed to be trying to distinguish between reality and fiction.

Shayera and John exchanged a look, at a loss for words.

"Wally…" Shayera started cautiously. "The truth is, we were concerned about you. After the incident with Brainiac and Luthor, we didn't want anything to happen to you. We were just trying to protect you."

Flash chuckled mirthlessly. "It didn't work, did it? After all that, you guys couldn't protect me. You couldn't save me…from myself."

Wally choked back a sob as he remembered his jump. "…I was so willing to die…I hardly even thought about it…"

Shayera's eyes brimmed with tears again, and John lowered his head. In their hearts, they both wept for their young friend.

The medicine had cured Wally's body. But his mind…still had a long road ahead of it.

How do you escape from the thoughts inside your head?

Wow. That was a lot darker than the original chapter (The one with a big group hug and a Wally joke at the end). But I had mixed responses about what should happen in the end. Some people wanted a lot of angst (I think they were hoping for a death), and others wanted a happy-go-lucky ending. So I mixed them together.

What a long, strange journey it's been! There IS ANOTHER CHAPTER after this, so don't nobody go nowhere!

I'd just like to thank everyone for all of their support for this ficlet! For all of the reviews, the author alerts, and the people who put 'Grimm' on their favourites list! As well as all of the reviews promising to hurt and maim Grimm!

Hope you enjoyed Grimm's finale (The character, not the story!). Come on out and take a bow, Grimm!

Grimm: Go to hell. I have to go find someonemore interestingto haunt.

My, isn't she lovely! Well, that was her last appearance, so you won't have to deal with her again! Yay! Ice creams for everyone!

And as much as it pains me to end this ficlet, there are NO plans for a sequel at this point. Not to say I wouldn't enjoy doing one, I simply have no ideas. Any sequel would have to include Grimm, and a guy can only get hit by so many arrows! LOL! So, this will likely be it until the muses descend again.

As I said, the next will be the last chapter, so please REVIEW! Thanks!

Keep Smiling! ;)

rogueandkurt