Guest 2.0: So, in order to be a child of Aphrodite, Barry has to fit a mold that is based on the interpretation of a teenage girl that knew she was Aphrodite's daughter for five minutes? I'm sorry, I respectfully disagree.

Guest 1: Glad to hear it.

Guest 2: Sorry, couldn't resist. I know, me to.

Camp Half-Blood, The Big House

Morning

Somehow, Barry and Chiron found themselves back at The Big House and in the Rec Room. Barry sat down, lost in thought as Chiron looked at him in concern.

"I understand this must be a lot to take in," Chiron said kindly and Barry let out a humorless laugh.

"You don't know the half of it. My entire life…has been a lie," Barry muttered as he put a hand to his face. "I thought I could deal with the fact that I was a demigod, but everything I thought I knew…it was all based on a lie. And I don't…I don't know who I am anymore."

"I should have approached you after the war," Chiron said guiltily and Barry looked up at him. "I sent a scout to look into all possible demigod's in Central City. They came back to me with a report on you. But they said you had too much to deal with as it was; that you were dealing with someone named Zoom."

"Did you know who I was?" Barry asked after a moment and Chiron shook his head.

"I suspected you might be a son of Athena or Hermes. I did not expect Aphrodite, but in hindsight, I should have seen it. You remind me of Aphrodite cabin's head councilor during the war," Chiron said, a pained look in his eyes.

There was a story there, a story of pain, Barry noted. But he had his problems to deal with.

"My mom…she said that my wife and I were never meant to fall in love. That I had to let go of her or everything I care about would be destroyed," Barry muttered and Chiron was silent for a moment.

"Aphrodite has never been one to manipulate her children with lies," Chiron said and Barry looked up at him.

"So she's telling the truth?" Barry asked as he looked at Chiron with a look of dismay on his face.

"I do not know," Chiron said regretfully. "But there is one person who might be able to help you."

At that moment, the door opened and a red haired girl entered the room.

"Rachel," Chiron greeted the girl and Rachel nodded.

"I'm not sure why, but I just…I had a feeling I was supposed to be here," Rachel said.

"I was just about to call for you. This is Barry," Chiron said and she nodded as she eyed Barry.

"The new guy who was claimed by Aphrodite, right? It's been a busy weak for claiming," Rachel noted.

"You mean Oliver, right? This is where he was after he disappeared," Barry realized, feeling stupid for not realizing that earlier.

But, in his defense, the whole claiming thing had thrown him for a loop.

"Yes, Oliver stayed with us before he, Percy and Annabeth set out on their quest," Chiron confirmed. "And he consulted Rachel as I'm hoping you will."

"Consulted Rachel?" Barry repeated, wondering who exactly this girl was.

"Not exactly me, but the Oracle inside me," Rachel clarified. "I'm the host of Apollo's Oracle."

Barry sat there, trying to wrap his head around this. He had seen a lot over the last five years, but this was almost too much. It was just…Barry honestly didn't know how to put this into words.

Barry was broken out of his thoughts as Rachel gasped. He looked up sharply to see her eyes were glowing green. When she spoke, it was with an echo, like there were other versions of her speaking in sync with her.

"Dove's son shall walk alone.

A love seeks to atone.

The wicked one, her vengeance will burn.

Failure will come to those who cannot learn."

Then Rachel's eyes returned to normal and she swayed. She would have fallen had Barry not jumped out of his seat and caught her, thankfully without using his super speed. He had enough going on with exposing his identity to an entire camp.

"What was that?" Barry asked as he helped Rachel to the chair he had been sitting in moments earlier.

"A prophecy," Chiron said grimly.

"They happen from time to time. Pretty sure this one was meant for you," Rachel said as she messaged her temples, as though trying to fight off a headache.

"What makes you think it was meant for me?" Barry said, still in a measure of disbelief.

"'Dove's son shall walk alone'," Chiron recited. "The dove is Aphrodite's sacred animal, her symbol. The fact it mentions a son specifically and that Rachel felt compelled to come here does seem to support that it was meant for you."

Barry turned away from them both, running a hand through his hair. This was crazy, this was insane…yet somehow, Barry knew in his heart it was the truth. He was the son of Aphrodite and a prophecy was upon him.

"Okay, say I believe this. What does it mean?" Barry asked as he turned around to face them.

"Hard to say. But you would not be the first to journey out into the world in search of their place in it," Chiron noted. "Many heroes who have grown into adulthood have journeyed out into the world in search of their purpose. Gone on a journey of self-discovery, I suppose you could say."

A journey of self-discovery. It sounded appealing, extremely appealing. Barry had, over the last four years, thought of getting out of Central City, taking a sort of trip to find himself. But was this really what he wanted?

"It is up to you of course," Chiron said, breaking Barry out of his thoughts. "But this prophecy…concerns me."

"'The wicked one, her vengeance will burn'," Barry muttered, looking at Rachel. "Any idea what that means?"

"I just give the prophecies, I don't understand them," Rachel said apologetically.

Well, there goes that idea, Barry thought with a sigh. That still left a question though…did he actually want to go on this journey?

Part of Barry said no. Part of him just wanted to head back to Central City, live out the remaining days until Crisis with his wife. But he remembered his mother's warning, about how his inability to let go of Iris would destroy everything he loved. A voice that sounded a lot like Joe told him he knew what the right thing to do was.

"I need to get in contact with my friends," Barry finally said as he looked at Chiron. "Whoever this 'wicked one' is, I'll face them head on. But I don't want to leave my friends and family back in Central City thinking I just walked out on them. Annabeth told me about how cell phones alert monsters to our presence, but she said there was another way to contact people."

Silently, Chiron stood from where he had been sitting, walking over to a small fountain in the corner of the room. The light from the window hitting the running water made a small rainbow.

"A gift from Poseidon following the war," Chiron said, pulling out a golden coin.

He tossed it to Barry, who caught it silently. It was a golden coin with an owl on it.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Barry asked confused.

"Toss it into the fountain," Rachel said like it was obvious.

"The Rainbow goddess Iris will allow you to see anyone you wish, it is called an Iris message," Chiron explained. "Simply say 'O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering' and state the name and place of the person you wish to see. Once you are done, swipe your hand through the mist."

Chiron and Rachel then left Barry alone, giving him privacy. Well, here goes nothing, Barry thought as he tossed the coin into the fountain.

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," Barry said before he paused.

He honestly hadn't thought about who he wanted to see, to be his messenger, he guessed.

Iris was definitely out. Barry knew she wouldn't understand, even if he could explain it all to her. Joe would be too confused and probably try to convince him to come back. Ralph was a definite no. Barry didn't know if Cisco was in or out anymore, he never knew what Cisco was planning anymore. That left only one choice.

"Show me Caitlin Snow at Star Labs," Barry said.

The mist in the fountain shimmered and an image appeared. It was like a hologram made of mist. Caitlin was in the mist, in the med lab at Star Labs. She didn't notice him, working on something.

"Cait," Barry called out.

At the sound of his voice, Caitlin whipped her head towards him, her eyes widening as she saw him. He supposed he appeared as an image in the mist as well.

"Barry? What– how?" Caitlin stammered in shock.

"It's…complicated. I'm not an entirely sure I understand it myself," Barry explained.

"Where are you? After you got that hit on the girl taking a picture with Oliver, you never got back to us and now there's that manhunt," Caitlin said worriedly and Barry frowned.

"What manhunt?"

"You don't know?" Caitlin asked surprised.

"Let's just say Oliver and I split a few days ago. What's going on Cait?" Barry demanded.

"After The Flash helped Oliver escape the police, the governor called in the national guard. Oliver's a wanted man and so are you," Caitlin explained and Barry frowned.

"Great, as if we didn't have enough problems," Barry said sarcastically.

"Barry, what's going on? You said you haven't been with Oliver for a few days, why haven't you come home?" Caitlin asked and Barry was silent for a moment.

"I'm not coming back Cait," Barry said, to her shock. "Not right now. Probably not until after Crisis, if I survive."

"Barry, what are you talking about?" Caitlin asked and Barry sighed.

"I found out some things, things about my past. It's made me question…everything. This morning, things became very clear. I'm going on a journey Cait, one of self-discovery. I have to do this for me," Barry said and Caitlin looked at him, understanding and compassion shining in her eyes.

"I understand Barry," she said.

And that was why he'd called her, he realized. He knew out of everyone, Caitlin would understand why he had to do this. She had done the same once upon a time.

"What do you want me to tell the others?" Caitlin asked, understanding the reason for his call.

"Tell them I'm alright and not to try and contact me. I won't be taking my phone," Barry told her and she nodded. "While I'm gone, you're in charge of Team Flash."

"Me? Why not Cisco or Iris?" Caitlin asked in shock.

"I don't know what's going on with Cisco anymore, I'm surprised if he even shows up at Star Labs these days," Barry admitted and Caitlin could silently acknowledge the validity of that. "I picked you because you'll listen to the team; I'm not sure Iris will. A good leader can't just be the one who has to make the tough call; they have to listen to their team as well."

"I'll do my best," Caitlin said after a moment and Barry smiled.

"I know. That's why I picked you," Barry told her before he paused. "If I don't make it-"

"You will," Caitlin said immediately.

"If I don't," Barry said more forcibly. "You need to lead the team. You were always our moral center, you were never afraid to call me or Cisco or anyone on their crap. I know you'll do the same for the others if I can't be there to lead them."

"Barry…" Caitlin trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.

"It's gonna be okay Cait," Barry said with a confidence he wished he felt. "Everything will work out exactly as it should."

Suddenly, Barry and Caitlin heard a voice coming from the other end of the Iris Message. Someone was walking up on Caitlin.

"Good luck," Barry said before he swiped his hand through the mist, dispelling the message.

For a moment, it was silent in the room, save for the running water of the fountain. Barry walked out of the room, meeting Chiron in the hallway.

"You will be leaving soon," Chiron noted and Barry nodded.

"Now," Barry said and Chiron did not look surprised.

Chiron tossed a small bag towards him and Barry caught it instinctively.

"Golden Drachmas," Chiron said by way of explanation. "As long as you are around a rainbow, you will be able to perform an Iris Message with one. And I have this for you as well."

Chiron handed Barry a two inch bronze dagger with a golden hilt. It fit perfectly in his hand, Barry noted as he swung it back and forth.

"Your mother gave that to me twenty years ago, she said that it was meant for a special child of hers. I would know who to give it to," Chiron said and Barry looked up at him. "Demigods give off a scent that attracts monsters. Now that you know who you are, they will come for you once you leave here."

This did not surprise Barry. Annabeth had filled him in on the basics of being a demigod while Percy and Oliver slept. He had anticipated it from the moment he decided to leave. And he wasn't scared, only determined to face this prophecy and this 'wicked one'.

"Let them come," Barry said firmly.

And now we'll take a break from what's going on with Barry to get back to the quest.

For the Cisco thing, well, following his near death experience in season five, Cisco turned into a bit of a flak. He whined about how much he disliked his powers and how he wanted something other Team Flash in his life, he doesn't consult Barry on making or taking the cure, when Barry is not only his best friend, but Team Flash's leader, so that should be something Cisco should at least inform Barry of before he does it. Maybe Cisco was improved in season six, I don't know, but season five ruined Cisco for me.