Hello everyone. After a while, I'm back with another chapter. This chapter will continue from the last chapter directly after the finale (3x18) and into (3x19). As promised from Chapter 4: this chapter will have more focus on Cisco and Barry to even things out. I apologize that the chapter is so broken up, but in order to have it make sense with the original episode, I had to break it up in sections. Hopefully this chapter is an enjoyable read.

Thank you for all the support, it means a lot to me.

stars90: OMG, that's too high of a praise. Thank you so much.

TheLifeStruggleisREAL: I'm glad that you liked this chapter and I can see why a lot of people didn't enjoy this season very much. There were some great moments but not enough. As with each season, I have high hopes for Season 5. I just love these characters so much.

JLgods01: Hopefully you like this update.

All characters, story plot lines to the writers, producers of The Flash and The CW. I do not own the rights to any of them just the idea is my own.

Note: Italicized words are flashbacks.

Feel free to write a review on your thoughts.

P.S. It was announced that Season 5 would have a lot of deaths. Just a fun question: If you could bring back one character that have died in the Flash, who would it be? I have a soft spot for Professor Stein and Earth 1 Captain Cold, but I think it would be interesting to see someone like Hazard or Plastique since their powers are so cool and both had a personal connection with Barry.

Chapter 6: She's Gone

A loud distress warning echoed off the walls of Barry's and Iris' apartment indicating immediate danger prompting Barry to quickly glance down at his phone.

"Star Labs?" Barry questioned before making eye contact with Iris.

Iris' eyes widened with worry as she moved from the couch towards her phone. "I'll meet you there with my dad as soon as possible."

Barry nodded his head and quickly ran off towards Star Labs. Different scenarios running through his head to try and explain the distress call. Did a metahuman attack Star Labs? Or worse, did Savitar take the initiative and forwarded an attack on Star Labs? Barry urged his feet to move faster at that thought. He can't lose anybody else. A chill ran down his spine at the thought of an injured Caitlin vulnerable to the proclaimed God of Speed. Julian…Cisco…Caitlin… please be okay. Within a matter of seconds Barry arrived at the infirmary where he last spoke with Cisco and Caitlin, only to be greeted with disaster. The room was a mess with shattered glass scattered all over the floor. Barry glanced around hoping to find some explanation before his eyes settled on a familiar necklace on the ground, now broken. His heartbeat sped up with apprehension. No... it can't be. There must be another reason. Barry placed his suit on and sped off around Star Labs before hearing a noise in the metahuman containment zone. Face to face, Killer Frost stood in front of Cisco, Julian and HR ready to attack. Barry's heart sank, the only thing he could think about was Caitlin.

"STOP!"

*Scene: Barry stopping Caitlin*

"She's gone." Barry said disappointingly as he breathed in the cold air outside the empty Star Labs parking before heading inside to get some answers.

Back in the Cortex, Cisco had Julian by the collar of his shirt and pressed against the wall. "You did this to her. This is your fault!" Cisco uttered harshly. In all the years Barry have known Cisco, never had Barry seen Cisco like this. The man of jokes was gone and in his place was an angry man ready to fight.

Julian grasped at Cisco's arms attempting to push him off. "Let go of me, I saved her life."

Cisco's grip tightened. "You call that saving her life? That's absolute crap and you know it. You don't get it do you? Caitlin is now living her worse nightmare. Do you not realize that she was willing to die before becoming Killer Frost? Becoming Killer Frost is a fear that she thinks is worse than death. She may be breathing but Caitlin is not living. Stop pretending like you did it as a favor to her, you selfish bastard!

"Okay, hey stop it now." Barry reached for Cisco's arms and pulled him backwards.

"You must be barmy if you think Caitlin dying is the best option for her." Julian said trying to stand his ground.

"That's not your choice to make!" shouted Cisco in frustration.

Barry struggled withholding Cisco from attacking Julian again. "Stop this right now and can someone explain to me what happened?" Barry pleaded hoping to gain some insight.

"What's with all the yelling?" said Joe as he entered the Cortex with Iris right behind him.

Iris glanced at Barry. "What happened?"

"Caitlin…. she uh…. Frost is in control now." Barry struggled to say that, his tongue felt like it was double in size.

"Oh my god." Iris whispered in response.

Joe moved his hand over his face in concern. "This is really bad, if she's gets spotted by CCPD there will be nothing that we can do to stop them from arresting her. She's a wanted meta."

"Wait, how did this happen? Why did Caitlin lose control?" asked Iris.

"Oh, you want to know what happened?" Cisco whispered darkly. "Caitlin's heart stopped, and she went into cardiac arrest, that's what happened." Cisco's face morphed with pain as he relived the memory, the heartbreak of seeing his best friend die was no less the second time. "She was fine one minute and then next thing I know she starts seizing and we lost her. But then lover boy over here decided to play God by removing her necklace against Caitlin's wishes." Cisco's anguish filled eyes quickly changed to rage before lunging at Julian. "Guess you and Alchemy have that in common." sneered Cisco.

The mentioning of Alchemy touched a nerve and Julian pushed Cisco away fiercely. "Are you serious? Do you have any intelligence in your brain? I thought you were a smart man but maybe I overestimated your abilities. Caitlin died, and I saved her. You're telling me that you would want your best friend to die even when there was a way to save her? To have her be dead rather than be with you by your side making jokes, drinking coffee, or making scientific discoveries together.

Cisco's eyes flashed dangerously. "I care for Caitlin. Do not underestimate the love that I have for her and what I will do for her. I will go to the ends of the Earth for her and nothing hurts me more then to be in that room when she flatlined. But that's the difference between you and me. I value her choices. She is her own person and I would not take her decision away from her because of the respect I have for her. But now your action has removed her freewill from her. She's caged within her own mind and you will have to live with that."

"We can all agree right now that we care for Caitlin, right? So, let's try to look for her instead of wasting time arguing here." Joe spoke as a voice of reason.

Cisco broke his intense glare at Julian and made his way to the main computer to trace Frost's cold signature. He knew the chances of finding her was slim with the blizzard outside, but he was desperate and prayed to heaven that he hadn't lost his best friend forever.

*Scene: Barry deciding to go to the future*

"Go get ready and meet me in the Pipeline in 15." Barry instructed to Wally.

Wally nodded and went off to go put his suit on. Joe and Iris made eye contact with one another, both were worried and still unsure if this was the right moment for this mission.

"Barry, I know that saving Iris is important. No one wants that more than me but maybe we should do this later. The team right now is in shambles with what just happened with Caitlin. Are you sure you should be doing this now?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll go talk to Cisco but I'm doing this." Barry responded as he placed a kiss on Iris' cheek and left the Cortex leaving an uneasy Iris and Joe.

Barry knew that what he was doing was bad timing, but time was ticking for Iris and he can't waste anymore of it. He needs answers, and this is the only way that he can find them. He saw Iris die, that was a sure thing that is proposed for his future. Caitlin is strong, he was sure that she can hold on till he finds a solution for Iris first.

"But wait, you got Iris. You got your happy ending. Everyone else be damned." Caitlin sneered.

Barry closed his eyes with guilt from the memory. He wants his happy ending. He is a selfish man.

Barry stepped into a back room knowing that Cisco often comes here when he needs a moment of silence. There Cisco was sitting on a chair in front of a computer looking at a map of Central City. Cisco glanced up from the screen when the door opened. "Okay, I think I have jotted down the spots Caitlin most likely would go to or is familiar with. You and I should split up all the locations. I'll go to her apartment, you go to her bench and we'll go from there." Cisco suggested as he started to put on his jacket.

Cisco noticed Barry casting his eyes downwards, a habit that Barry does unintentionally when he's nervous. "What?" questioned Cisco.

"I'm going to the future. I'm going to find out who Savitar is and how to stop him once and for all."

Cisco was quiet for a moment before he began to laugh softly. "Okay, thanks for trying to make me laugh but we really need to work on your idea of humor." Cisco stopped laughing when he noticed that Barry was silent. "Wait, you're not serious, are you?"

Cisco's question was answered when Barry lightly nodded not having any words to say.

"What the hell, Barry? This is not the time for that." Cisco said finding his temper rising.

"There's never going to be a right time for this Cisco and we don't have much time left to stop Savitar."

Cisco shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe what I'm hearing right now. You want to leave when Caitlin, OUR Caitlin, is out there alone?"

"Cisco…" Barry began trying to explain himself.

"No, Barry I need you here. In the present, not in the future. Caitlin needs us right now. You were the one who brought her back the first time she changed. We just need to go find her and we can bring her back again, together. I can't do that if you're gone." Cisco interjected.

"Look Cisco, with my powers, I can come back to this time like I never left. Once I'm back, we can go look for Caitlin."

"Wow…wow. Nice to know what your priorities are. Best friends for life? Yeah right. Guess anybody who is not a West will always come second best." Cisco shot knowing it was a low blow, but he was too angry to see reason. To him, it felt like Barry was sacrificing his friendship with Caitlin and him. To him, it felt like Barry was backstabbing him. This hurt worse than when Eobard phased his hand through his heart because he always thought he could count on Barry to be with him.

Barry's legs weakened at Cisco's words and he stumbled backwards. "Cisco, you know that's not true."

"You sure are doing a bad job and convincing me otherwise." Cisco spat back at Barry.

"Both you and Caitlin are important to me. We talked about this earlier. I can't do this without the both of you."

Cisco scoffed. "Then where is the support Barry? Why are you running away when we both need you the most? You know what? Caitlin was right, screw everybody's happy ending till the hero finally gets the girl."

Barry could only stand there feeling his heart break with each of Cisco's remarks. "Cisco, please." Barry whispered as his eyes slowly filled with tears.

Cisco quickly turned around feeling his own tears forming in response to Barry's tears and started to make his way to the door. "I hope you find what you're looking for. I hope you're happy for letting your friends down. I hope you save your precious girlfriend." Cisco winced at his words as he exited the room. In his heart he knew Barry wasn't like that but in the moment, he wanted to say whatever would hurt Barry the most.

Barry stood there feeling all his energy drained from him. His spirit more broken than its ever been. What should he do? He wasn't sure if his friendship with Cisco and Caitlin could be repaired at this point.

"Some things you break can't be put back together." Caitlin pointed out.

No, everything will be okay. He can fix this. Barry looked up from his feet when he heard a noise at the door. A second later, Wally peeked his head in. Barry frowned for a moment, a part of him had hoped it was Cisco coming to talk to him.

"Oh, there you are. I thought you told me to meet you in the Pipeline."

"Sorry, I lost track of time." Barry said as he walked towards Wally.

"Are you ready?"

Barry nodded as they both made their way to the Pipeline. The future has the answers, Barry is sure of it.

*Scene: Barry's time in the future and after he comes back.*

Barry had just taken off his suit after he said good night to Joe when he heard a quiet knock. Barry made eye contact with Cisco. "Hey, can I come in?"

Barry nodded and moved over on the bench he was sitting on to make room for Cisco to sit. Both were awkward and silent as them fighting was unfamiliar territory.

"I'm sorry." Barry and Cisco said at the same time and both smiled slightly at that.

"You can go first." said Barry.

"Barry, I let my anger take over me and I said awful things to you that I know aren't true. I want you to know that I don't mean any of it. Just watching Caitlin die and then seeing you walk away from me. I felt like I was losing two of the most important people in my life and I hated it. But that is no excuse for what I said and I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Cisco. I'm sorry for ever making you feel like I didn't care. I know my head has been focused on Iris a lot lately, but you must know that you and Caitlin are just as important. It's just with everything going on. Being the Flash. Being Barry Allen to Iris and to you both. I feel so stretched out and I'm trying my best to find the balance. I can't do this without you Cisco.

"Like Caitlin said, you're stuck with us." Cisco said accepting his apology.

Barry released a breath not realizing that he was holding his breath. "We'll save her, our trio will be back. She's strong. I know we can bring her back."

"I sure hope so. She's been strong for so long though, she may not have the strength anymore." stated Cisco.

Barry sighed remembering exactly how Caitlin is like in the future. He refuses to believe that what he saw was their destiny. "Best friends for life, Cisco. Best friends for life."

Cisco nodded in agreement and gave Barry a hug. "Always."

As the two friends mended their friendship. Caitlin distanced further away as her bare feet crunched the snow below her. Not sure where she was headed to but continued onward towards the darkness.

That's a wrap on this chapter. I hope you like it.

-V