A/N: I'm back! Spam reviews, school, other projects, and balancing this all has been the main reasons as to why I've been away, but I am back! And I won't stop until this story is successfully completed! Thank you to all the support, friends! And speaking of support…

Shian1998: Barry's situation is a lot more relative than the cliffhanger ending seems, but good that you're worrying! And thanks for the support, it's very helpful!

MarvelousManiac: Good thing you caught onto that! All will be revealed in this chapter…

Aragorn II Elessar: Thanks for the reviews!

And special thanks to ales1698 for favoriting and following, means a lot!

Back to the story! This is probably the longest chapter I've written for this story since the first one.

Chapter Five

Parallels

Lights. Pain numbing his arms and legs. Barry had just opened his eyes a smidge before a mix of shouting and heavy presences overloaded what he had for functioning senses. He raised a pain-bursting hand to make understanding of it all, only for something to grab onto it and push it back towards him.

"Don't move, okay? Let me figure this out."

"Tails, there's got be something you can do, right?"

"We'll see once the results come in, Sonic…until then…we've got to wait."

He blinked again and fell back into the void, almost in the same vein as sleep.

"Hey, buddy. How ya' feeling?"

He knew Sonic's voice all too well, opening his eyes. Contrary to what'd he'd expected, his body wasn't in a cast. His healing factor must've kicked in and done the work for them. But anyways, he was rather happier to know that he could move and function again. He sat up on the bed, surprisingly stable for his size, and looked at the hedgehog.

"Great," Barry surmised. He shook a hand and then the other, sensing nothing wrong. "I bet you're probably looking for some kind of explanation, right?"

Sonic's foot tapped impatiently in his spot. "Yep. How'd you heal so quick? And what exactly were you trying to do back in the desert?"

"I…when I was running back in the desert, I think I might've been unconsciously trying to get home."

"I don't follow," Sonic expressed.

"Sorry, I didn't explain," Barry replied. He got up off the bed and stood to walk a bit. "If I run fast sometimes, I can break barriers between dimensions at will. The first couple times I did it, it was by accident. It's like I'm running so fast into the Speed Force – the place where my power comes from – that history and the universe is my racetrack. I've gotten better at it, but when I tried it out there…something went wrong. It was like I was being stopped from entering it."

"Hmmm," Sonic mulled over. He put a finger to his nose in thought while looking at Barry. "I've felt that, too. When the universe feels like it's actively pushing against you. But this has to be different, right? Tails said the injuries you got weren't from the nosedive."

"Correct," Tails said as he walked in. The fox was wearing a lab coat and was holding some kind of folder with a handful of files packed into it. "While you look pretty healthy, Barry, I'm thinking I know what happened. Check these out." He put the folder on the closest file cabinet and procured two sheets of photos. Sonic and Barry looked them over, with what appeared to be two very different images of his cells. One was looking rather healthy; the other, however, was charred to the molecular level.

"Whoa…That's off," Barry managed to get out while processing the images.

Tails nodded. "These are your cells before and after. It's like when your body was filled up with your 'speed force', it was completely rejected and for a moment stopped working. Honestly, the situation seems one of a kind."

"Good thing for that accelerated healing of yours," a paled Sonic interjected. "You'd be toast without it."

Barry scratched his neck, confounded at this shocking piece of evidence. Had he really been the hurt? Were there any lingering side effects? Then he decided on a better question. "Doc, what's the diagnosis? You have an idea what caused this?"

A little aware of the attention he was getting, Tails folded his arms unsurely. "My best guess is that something made your body…corrupted."

"Huh?"

"I-I mean, you normally should've been able to cross dimensions at ease, like you just said. Somehow, getting here must've 'infected' your system with a chemical or energy that we can't detect." Tails linked his fingers nervously. "Whatever it was…is making it so you can't go back."

The features on Barry's face paled. "No…no, this can't be happening!"

"Hey!" Sonic put his arm on Barry's hip. "We're gonna' figure this out. We've got to keep it together until then, all right?

"But- "

"Flash." Sonic wasn't joking. "Let's just take a breather, okay?"

The next few seconds passed without any response from anyone in the trinity. Barry thought on what Sonic had pointed out. His head nodded.

"Okay."

"Great," replied Sonic. "Tails, can you keep looking at the results? We could probably take a walk and give you some time."

His furry friend nodded. "Understood. You guys get some air. I can handle the results enough as is."

Positive, Sonic gripped Barry's hand and led him out the door towards the city. The speedster snuck in a worrisome look before he went, and after the door closed, Tails felt something bubble in his stomach. Dark things were definitely at work.

But he didn't know how to fix them.

Yet.

Cisco and Gypsy escaped from their breach into the familiar hallway of S.T.A.R. Labs, landing with grace. The two easily collected themselves before walking towards the cortex; and given how dire the current situation, that made sense.

"What's up, people?" Cisco announced to the assembled team, hoping to spark up some humor with his words. "Found who I was looking for, in case any were doubting…"

"Gypsy." Iris walked closer, seeming to stand still before continuing on what she'd planned. "Hi."

"The same," the bounty hunter exchanged back, "though I understand why things are a bit gloomy around here." In an act of sudden empathy, Gypsy gripped Iris' hands with her own. "We're going to find your husband, Iris. I vow on my word."

The proclamation seemed to instill some hope into Iris, brightening up. "…Thank you." Then she snapped into boss mode. "About that…do you know anything that might help us find Barry?"

The collector smirked. "Yes. Can I use your whiteboard to explain?"

Harry coughed. "Be my guest."

"Thanks." She strolled over to the transparent whiteboard, popped a marker off and began drawing small dots across it in red marker.

"I told you when I first came here the reason my earth has Collectors was that we enforced strict no-travel between our planet and others. But that's not the whole reason."

Joe was surprised. "What else is there? You made the rules pretty clear when you were hunting H.R."

Gypsy's expression drooped. "I did, but my father entrusted me to keep this secret hidden forever. If it ever got out-"

"You can trust us," Caitlyn pleaded. "Considering how advanced your earth is to ours, who'd believe us?"

"Yeah," Ralph chimed in. "I've got a strict confidentially policy for my customers. Well, for the hot ones at least."

"On second thought, all of us except Dibny," Harry barked. "Continue, please." This earned him an annoyed look from Ralph.

Gypsy turned back to the board, concentrating when she started drawing a set of what amounted to seven identical emeralds. "What my father and his allies knew, long before I was around, was that there was an ancient wizard known only as Kaon. He was a magical demon who craved power and apparently put most of the energy he confiscated into seven emeralds of his design. Then he used them to instigate the Plastoids' aggression, inciting the war that instigated our ban on interdimensional travel. It was…madness…"

"Let me understand this…" Cisco processed, "…you guy's ban was started by this ancient wizard, who used seven powerful objects to cause a war. I never thought I'd say this, but…this is just like Lord of the Rings!"

"Cisco!" Iris cried out.

He swallowed. "Sorry, got off track. Better now."

Joe walked closer. "What about these Chaos Emeralds? Whatever happened to them?"

Gypsy returned to her stern look. "When my father and his allies took down Kaon – and I don't just mean defeated – a race known as the Echidna came from some point outside of our multiverse. They claimed to be the caretakers of similar emeralds and said they could keep them hidden. With no other options, my father gave them over. And ever since, we've never heard from them."

"You don't think…" Iris started, her mind locking in on something. "This place the Echidna came from…is it reachable?"

Gypsy put her hands up. "I don't know. Nobody has ever tried finding them, mainly since it would conflict with our earth's policies. The only person who's ever tried was my father, and that was once when he didn't trust them."

"Bit of a bind, then," Harry lamented. "Wonderful."

Iris looked out to the rest of the team "Any other ideas?"

Silence followed her suggestion, and she was almost prepared for running into the same roadblocks; then Cisco realized something. "I think- no, it's too- but…I don't- "

"Ramon," Harry barked. "If you have a suggestion, say it. Quickly."

He linked his hands nervously. "I couldn't find Barry from those particles…but that was because he's outside our Multiverse. And then Gypsy went and told her whole Tolkien story…so what if we BOTH vibed them?"

Shrugging, Gypsy walked closer to him. "Couldn't hurt. From the sounds of it, this team is out of options."

"Gotcha," Cisco agreed. "Yo, Ralph! Where're the particles at?"

"Why am I the one who – oh!" Ralph reached into his coat pocket and procured a thin tube of grainy manila sands. His arm elongated past the console table (and a mildly surprised Caitlyn) before reaching and holding it out to Gypsy. Disturbed by the display, she took it and his arm retracted to normal length.

"Sorry – what was that?" She asked.

"He does that a lot" Cisco summarized. "You'll get used to it."

She looked crossly to him. "Ciscy, I don't know if this is going to work…but I'm willing to try."

"Good mindset," Harry interrupted. "Theoretically, all you need to do is both vibe it at the same time."

"Nice pep talk, Harry," joked Cisco. When he caught Gypsy's glare, he coughed and went to hold onto the particles. She did the same. No change seemed to alter how they were acting, and Iris stiffened her grip on the console table in anxious waiting.

Suddenly, both vibers gasped. The action went on for quite a bit before they relaxed into normal breathing. Gypsy was at a loss for words and Cisco was trying to breathe normally again.

"What happened?" Iris worried. "What'd you guys see?"

The collector put a hand to her temple. "Things…I've never understood. It's like the multiverse just became a lot clearer."

"Tell me about it…yow," Cisco interjected. "I feel like Doctor Strange when he got trippy on magic LSD."

"But what did any of that do with this…'dimensions outside of' the multiverse?" Joe questioned.

"Sorry, lost track again." Cisco composed himself. "I think, scientifically speaking, we might've found a crack."

"A crack that could lead us to the dimension of the echidna," said Gypsy. "It's a risky one, though."

"Then let's take it." Iris said standing defiantly. "Let's find my husband."

"I did not imagine this place would be sunny!" Barry mentioned when he and Sonic walked down the city street, all while trying to block away the sun. "Not that it's bad, just…nevermind."

"You live in a city, right?" Sonic questioned. "Why'd you think Station Square wouldn't be?"

"I…It's like when you meet something in real life," elaborated the human speedster. "It's just a lot more…normal that you take it for. Like meeting you for instance."

"Thanks for the compliment," Sonic replied cheerfully. "How's your body feeling, by the way?"

He flipped his hands again casually. "Fine. I feel good. It's just those scans Tails showed me. They looked…morbid."

"Don't get your hopes twisted up about it. We've got this sunny day to enjoy. Maybe there's a chili dog stand around?"

Barry couldn't help chuckling…and thinking about Sonic. He was such a positive animal. He never seemed to lose his temper or focus as Barry had in the past. Maybe he hadn't seen that part of his personality yet, but if things got worse than they slightly were, he knew he could rely on him for help.

"SONIC!"

The hedgehog, out of nowhere, froze and turned – straight into a life-sucking hug. Barry blinked his eyes to properly perceive a pink hedgehog smothering Sonic with her arms and torso. She had severely shorter spikes and wore a red dress. The CSI gulped when he glanced down at her waist and saw a massive hammer tucked in there. Why is that there? He thought. Okay, more importantly – who is this?

"I told you I'd catch you, Sonic! And now you're here!" The hedgehog fired off as she squeezed the life out of him. Barry fought to make himself not cringe at the sight, or even when he heard what he thought to be "Save me" from the blur.

"…Amy?" The overwhelmed hero managed to get out. "…You're… crushing… me."

"Ohhhh, sorry!" No sooner had she let him go than he breathed hurriedly to recapture his air. She astutely picked up on the lankly human standing above them. "Hi! Who're you?"

"Barry Allen," he replied briskly, shaking his hand with her gloved one. "Sonic's been…giving me a tour, considering I'm from out of town?" He rubbed the back of neck nervously but managed to keep his cool intact. "Amy" didn't seem to pick apart the differences.

"Is that so? Good for you!" She spat back. "I thought that Sonic was going to let me chase him today, though."

"Come on, Amy," Sonic pleaded. "Can't I at least have one day where I'm not being hounded by you?"

"In your dreams, mister!" she declared. "If you've got any more actually warrantable excuses, then spit them out now, or you're going to meet my hammer!" She fingered the edge of the mallet tucked in her belt warningly, and both Sonic and Barry's eyes' bulged. The hedgehog sweated; realistically, he had no escape from Amy, because running from her would only result in more chasing. Unless…

He looked down the street, and quickly noticed the one thing Amy's will was weak to; buttermilk cupcakes sold out of a food truck.

"Hey, look at that!" He exclaimed. "Buttermilk cupcakes!"

Her eyes bulged and she turned, immediately fawning. "What? Hey, stop right there! Sir!" The pink fangirl having left, Sonic grabbed Barry's arm and sped a few feet into a hidden alley.

"Who was that?" Barry asked. "Are you and her a - you know – "

"No!" Sonic refuted. "She's just this hedgehog with a short temper and a big mallet…and a massive crush on me! She never stops chasing me! She's convinced we're forever destined to be together."

"And you're not, even though she constantly sticks by her opinion on it?"

"Yeah…how- "

"I've had a couple experiences on stuff like that. Sometimes it's true, and others…not so much," pointed out Barry. He glanced back to the alley. "But…who knows? Maybe she'll figure it out later on."

"I hope so," Sonic conceded. "Where do you want to go next? There's the park, the stadium, the harbor…Lots of options."

"Hmmm…"

The CSI froze. His ears perked and he turned back to the street they'd been on. Cautiously he ran forwards, Sonic suspicious and on his tail. When he returned to the street, the duo heard a massive amount of panicky noises from the distance. The formerly peaceful scene had devolved into a frenzy.

"That doesn't look good," Sonic bluntly stated. "How fast can you- "

A whish answered his claim, and when he turned, Barry was dressed in his Flash suit. "Pretty fast."

"Thanks. I like to keep a bag nearby for this kind of thing." His glare focused back to the frantic noises in the far distance. "What's up there?"

"The heart of the city. Shops, businesses…You want to take whatever this thing is together?"

"You bet." Barry smiled as he fitted the mask on, took his runners stance, and let the lightning shoot him forward. In the flurry of chaos, he arrived at a slowed-down version of the area. True to Sonic's words, it was an open area filled with people and businesses. He quickly picked up on something dashing its' way across the area…

As a blue light.

"Sonic?" He was so confused he let time scram back to normal and was quite unprepared when said blue blur crashed him into a nearby newspaper stack. He massaged his head and looked towards what he thought was his friend.

But he was dead wrong.

It wasn't Sonic, rather some kind of artificial replica with metallic skin and a cold glare backed up by deathless red eyes. The hedgehog's trademark gloves were replaced with sharp grey claws. Even its' legs were longer than his.

"Subject appears to be disoriented," it breathed. Since when was he a subject? "Orders to capture will be followed." Its right claw dashed for the Flash, but he luckily managed to phase as it dove through where his heart would've been. Reappearing behind it, he winced when it swerved around with no real effort.

"What are you, some kind of clone?" He blurted.

"More like a bad rip-off." Sonic had finally arrived next to him, looking dead serious. "This guy's Metal Sonic. Eggman made him – though he missed a few key ingredients."

"Metal Sonic is superior to Sonic," the robot wheezed. Its claws tensed while it began circling the two. "It will prove so by capturing you and the anomaly."

Anomaly? It had to be referring to him. "I'm better than an anomaly, pal. I'm the Flash." He breather heavier than he had in a long while, dashing forwards. Sonic was right beside him and as the two locked fists with Metal Sonic, a powerful light flooded the area.

A/N: Plot progression! Yay! Both Barry and Sonic and Team Flash are getting somewhere, but we all know a certain doctor isn't going to let that happen. Next chapter will definitely reveal stuff regarding that, so get excited! Adios til a week from now, folks!