A/N: So... here we are.

The Final Hour.

Brian Hughes - You hate cliffhangers, eh? Welp... you might be a bit disappointed. Cause this is a big one.

GlistiningAorticArches - Thank you! That's what I've been trying to do this whole time!

As of 9:34 EST the night before this goes up, we are at a clean 18,300 views on the dot. We are also at 71 followers and 61 favorites. This is absolutely amazing! I am so happy that we've come this far!

Anyways, on to the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own DC, CW, or any of its shows or characters. I do, however, own the plot to Resurrection.

Sam slowly walked up beside Barry, also struck dumb by who he saw in the massive group of resurrected slaves.

"I must say, I really do like your reaction! It took quite a while to gather this size of an army, especially with the time constraint on each 'reaping'."

Barry looked around. He recognized many of the faces in the crowd. Thing is, last time he saw them, those faces were not cold, void of all emotion. Last time he saw them, their faces were etched with horror. Etched with pain. With fear. With sadness.

"You're starting to remember them, aren't you? You pushed it to the back of your mind, hoping that you could forget. I bet you even forgot its name!"

Barry started to breathe quicker. His heart was racing.

"What was the name of that earth?"

"Don't-"

"Oh yes! I remember! Earth-52! The earth that you failed to save!"

Barry stumbled back. His mind was as clouded now as it was that day. The day he failed. The day that 13.7 billion people died because of him.

"And you, Sam! Well, actually it's Samandriel, isn't it? That's what they called you on Jewel, right? You should recognize some of these faces, too."

Among the victims of the tragedy on Earth-52, there were victims of another crisis. The crisis on Jewel, the home planet of the Fire Angels.

However, there was one face that stood out among the crowd. One Fire Angel, standing to the left and a few feet behind Riser, caught Sam's attention.

It was her.

Peniel.

Rage filled Sam. Rage for Riser enslaving Penny. Riser seemed to notice the sudden change in Sam.

"You noticed her, didn't you? I bet you're thinking of ways to free her from my grasp. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you can't. She's mine." Riser turned to Penny. "Come up here." Penny walked up to stand directly beside Riser. Riser turned her toward him.

"She's all mine. Hell, she doesn't even remember you." Riser shot a mischevious grin at Sam before kissing Penny swiftly. Under his control, Penny immediately returned the action. It was seemed to last for an eternity but was only for show. Only because Riser knew what seeing this would do to Sam.

He was right.

Sam's eyes exploded in a bright blue flame. His wings extended to their fullest length, burning with the light of a thousand suns.

"LET HER GO!" Sam shouted. Like the rage running through him like blood, fire began to seep through his skin.

Starting at his feet, a blue flame crept up his body. He started rising in the air. As he rose, the blue flame continued up his body. After he was about 30 feet in the air, the fire reached the top of his head.

His whole body was covered with a blue flame.

"Now that's what I wanted." Riser said, waving Penny back behind him.

The flame grew in intensity, growing bigger and brighter. After a few seconds, a massive explosion occurred, knocking back everyone on both sides.

Except for Riser and Penny, of course.

Survivors of this war would tell stories of the last Fire Angel. Stories of his power. They would say that the heat was greater than anything they had ever felt. They would even say that the sun wouldn't have needed to be out that day, he was so bright.

All because, when that explosion cleared, a creature was left behind. It wasn't a person.

It was a Phoenix.

A giant bird covered in white flames hovered there, just outside of the S.T.A.R. labs warehouse. It was upright, belly outward and head looking toward the sky. Just floating there. At least 100 feet tall, with a wingspan of 150 feet.

The battlefield was silent for a moment. Then, Phoenix looked down at the enemy forces.

With a loud screech, it dove down to the forces, breathing a searing white flame onto them. Anyone who got close enough to even be grazed by Phoenix's wings immediately erupted into an inferno, burning themselves and anyone around them, the fire not spreading any more than that.

"Well then! That was exciting! Now, with the war." Riser raised a hand to the sky. "Open fire," Riser said as he lowered his hand to the side of the Flash.

Bullets, bursts of energy, fire, and more started moving toward Barry and his friends. Barry looked around. No matter where he would bring his friends without them being destroyed immediately.

Barry decided on something. If it worked, then they could continue fighting while Sam wrecked havoc. If not... it's been a good run.

Barry stuck out his hands, palms facing the enemy forces. He closed his eyes and shut out the sounds of the battlefield raging around him. He focused on his speed.

All these years, he's been harnessing the speed force. Learning how to control it. Barry used his connection to the speed force and reached out into the world with it.

Suddenly, he could feel every air particle in front of him. He could move them, change them. Barry tried to combine this with another trick he knew.

He has had the power to steal kinetic energy from his surroundings for quite some time. Just reach out and grab it. However, he's never tried to control specifically where he was stealing it from. He's never needed to.

Feeling the atoms in front of him, he connected with every single bit of air that was in the 'door frame' to the warehouse. When he did that, he started stealing the kinetic energy from that and that alone.

Just as the projectiles were about to strike himself and eventually his friends, he succeeded in creating the barrier.

As he returned to perceiving normal time, he saw the projectiles slow to a stop right in front of him.

"Woah," came a voice from behind him.

"Yeah, thanks for the save, but how are we supposed to fight with them not even letting us into the fray?" Oliver asked.

"Alright. I'll send these projectiles the other way. When I do, I'll start taking fire myself. That's when you all will move in."

"Whenever you're ready," Kara said.

"3, 2, 1... GO!" Barry accessed the atoms again and used them to turn the projectiles the other way. When he did, every single bullet and everything else was redirected back at the enemy forces. In the moment of confusion, Barry dashed into the fray and started killing targets.

The team charged into the forces, fighting with all their might. They knew that they were outnumbered more than ever before in history, but they had a feeling that they would win.

Somehow.

Sam woke up in a white room. Well, less of a room and more like a white void, but he was confused none-the-less. He sat there and looked around for a moment before he heard a voice come from behind him.

"Sam?" It was a female voice. One he recognized immediately. He sprung up and spun around, eyes wide.

"Penny?" He asked. He wasn't sure what was going on. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he had gone insane. Whatever it was, he didn't care. Because to see her, even in a dream, was a miracle.

He could never dream of her. At least, the her he knew. Whenever he did dream, it was always of her calling out to him, moments before her death. Before he survived something he never intended to. Before he wiped out his people.

It was hell.

But, for the first time in forever, he could see her. The her he fell in love with.

Her hair was a deep red. Crimson, long and flowing, and beautiful. The tears of anguish from his memories were gone. Her eyes shined a bright blue, brighter than anything he had ever seen. Her skin was a pale white, cheeks rosy and sparkling. She wore a simple t-shirt and shorts (at least, their Jewelian equivalents). Her thin frame, her red hair, her blue eyes, her pale skin, everything was just as he remembered.

Perfect.

"Yes, Sam, it's me," Penny said, smiling warmly. Tears leaking out of his eyes, he stumbled into her arms.

He cried. He cried for the first time in forever. He would lie awake at nights, not being able to do anything. He couldn't fall asleep, and, for some reason, he couldn't cry.

He always hated that. He would sit there and never be able to cry. He might have right after the incident on Jewel, but never afterward.

It felt so good to cry.

She held him, crying as well. After a minute, Sam gathered just enough composure to speak.

"How... how are you... how are you here? I... am I dead?" Sam asked, cradling his wife's face.

"No, you're not. We're inside of you."

"What?"

"Your soul. Your flame. That's where we are."

"What do you mean?"

"When you unlocked your Phoenix form, you unlocked access to your flame. You can now wield it better than you ever could before."

"But that doesn't explain how I can see you," Sam said, still confused. After seeing his wife again, it wasn't really the best time to be learning new things.

"When I died, my flame joined with yours."

"What does that mean?"

"When Fire Angels die, their flame burns away their bodies. And, if the Fire Angel doesn't do something, then the flame will soon fade as well. We can join our flames with another living Fire Angel to live on in them."

"So... so you are... what, a part of me? And I'm not just imagining you, this is actually you?"

"Yes. Because we can only be spoken to after the host Fire Angel unlocks their Phoenix form, which only happens for the best of the best, inhabiting flames never get to speak with their host, which is why no one knows about it except for those who have reached the Phoenix form."

"Wow. Um, sorry, my mind is racing. Why did you appear to me?"

"What, I can't speak with my husband after being dead for decades?" Penny asked with a chuckle. "In all seriousness, I also came here because of the challenge that you are currently facing."

"Riser, you mean?"

"Yup. There's doubt in your mind that you will win."

"How couldn't there be? He has all of us. Every single Fire Angel. How am I and some of Barry's old friends supposed to beat that?"

"You think too little of yourself, Sammy. I wasn't the only flame that took you as a host that day." Penny smiled. Sam opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but he was silenced by what appeared around him.

Fire Angels. As far as the eye could see.

Every.

Last.

One.

"You are Jewel. You are all of us. The entirety of the Fire Angels. How do you think you're so powerful? You think we gave your sword the name Faithkeeper, Last Hope of Lost Worlds for no reason? Those people down there, they may be our bodies, but they are not our spirits. Our souls." Sam looked around and started to cry again, this time a little quieter. Out of the crowd came two little figures.

"Daddy!" They screamed in unison. Sam kneeled down to their level and pulled them in for a hug. After a moment, he pulled away to look at their faces.

"Zachariah! Aliyah! My God, it is good to see you two!"

"See? We're all here." Penny said. She walked over to Sam and knelt down. "And we all stand by you."

Sam nodded to Zach and Aly, sending them back to the edge of the crowd. Sam stood along with Penny.

"We always will stand by you. Anytime, for all time!" Penny ended. Sam quickly leaned in for a kiss, Penny quickly returning it. It was hungry, demanding, and oh so amazing. He dug his fingers into her hair and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as possible. She smelt like she always had, a cool peppermint as if her hair color added to the scent. Both their hearts started racing, breathing quickening.

After a long sought-after moment, they pulled away. Penny chuckled quietly.

"Now, go get 'em." Sam nodded.

"Always."

The white around him faded along with the Fire Angels around him. He was suddenly back in the sky, flying through the air.

He stopped for a moment and hovered over just the right spot, belly facing the ground. The enemies below looked up, and half of them knew what was about to happen.

Sam wrapped his wings around him and tucked his head into his chest. The flame inside of him charged up until it reached its breaking point. When it did, a massive beam of energy left him and struck the ground. It almost looked like a UFO sending down an energy beam to abduct cows. Except, this killed.

When the energy faded, Sam appeared in the middle of where the energy struck. He looked around him and saw Riser's forces surrounding him, but keeping their distance.

"Too bad, your ultimate attack didn't kill all of us. How do you expect to win now?" A bold soldier called out.

"Easy. I beat you all into the ground."

"Really? You must have rocks in your head! This is Lord Riser's army! You are but one man!"

"I am one," Sam said. He extended his arms out beside him. Around him rapidly appeared blue figures. Eventually, there were enough to make up a small army. All of them were Fire Angels. While losing the flames of that small amount of Fire Angels did make him feel slightly less powerful, he knew that these didn't even make up a whole percent of the rest of the Fire Angels inside of him.

"But we are many." The Flames began attacking the surrounding forces, cutting them down with an unheard of fervor. Sam entered the fray as well, fighting alongside his brothers and sisters.

There they were. Clashing on the battlefield. Barry fighting alongside his brothers and sisters in arms, and Sam fighting alongside his Fire Angels. For a moment, things were looking up for Barry and Sam.

Just for a moment, though. Really though, Riser had been planning this for ages. He knew that he probably wouldn't win against them in all-out war. That's why he brought his Trump card.

Cisco and Caitlin.

The battle went on for an unknown amount of time. Sam and his flames fighting on one side, while Barry and his friends fighting on the other. Winn, Felicity, and Harry all stayed at S.T.A.R labs monitoring vitals and aiding the teams on the field. Overall, they managed to defeat about half of Riser's forces.

Eventually, things started turning against Barry and co. Sam's power slowly drained after he released the flames within him. While he dealt a massive blow to Riser's forces, once his power nearly ran out, the flames had to return to Sam. Sam had to use the last of his power to retreat back to the warehouse where he subsequently collapsed.

Without pressure being put on the entirety of Riser's forces, Barry and his friends started to fail. Once it became apparent that they wouldn't win, Barry started to retrieve his allies from the field. However, when he did, he noticed something.

Riser managed to capture some of his friends. Specifically, all of Team Arrow and Alex from Team Supergirl. He looked around everywhere, but couldn't find them. He returned to the warehouse, where J'onn and Kara were holding them off.

"J'onn! Kara! We need to retreat to S.T.A.R!"

"What about the others?" Kara asked.

"We gotta hope that Cisco and Caitlin have some sway with Riser. Now, let's go!" Kara and J'onn took flight and left for S.T.A.R. Labs. Barry picked up Sam and ran away from the scene.

Once they arrived, Barry put Sam down in the med-bay. He exited and discussed the plans with the remaining allies.

"So, since that failed, what now?" Kara asked.

"You move faster than light. Can't you just take them all down before they know what happened?" Felicity asked

"No. For some reason, I'm not able to go faster than light today. I can't even break MACH 50."

"Weird. Maybe Riser brought something that sapped the Speed Force from you." Winn offered.

"Must be. How should we set up defenses?" Barry asked. Some of them noticed the pivot, but no one spoke up.

"We can't really cover the entrances. We should find a choke point and defend it." Harry offered.

"Do we hole up in here?" Felicity asked.

"How would we escape? There's no passage from here to somewhere else." Harry asked.

"What if we use the breach room? Push comes to shove, we can escape to another Earth and prepare again there." J'onn offered.

"Sounds like it would work. Should we set up some traps?" Barry asked.

"It might slow them down, but not for long," Kara said.

"Better than nothing, though," Barry said. At this, an eerie silence fell over the remaining members of Team Anti-Riser. Although they all knew it from when they signed up, it was only dawning on them now. The futility of fighting.

Riser's forces were massive, both in number and power. They found themselves in the same position that previous enemies of Riser were in.

It's impossible to win against a man who controls the dead.

"What happens after this?" Felicity asked.

"I don't understand the question." Barry understood the question but didn't want to say it.

"Think about it. Say we win. Say, through some miracle, we beat Riser. What then? Cisco and Caitlin are still convinced that you're just some killer. However, the bigger issue is what happens if we lose. Riser doesn't seem all that peaceful, so what will happen then? Will he just do what he said, which is trying to fix you, or will he use the advantage of you being out of the way to do... God knows what?"

"I don't know," Barry said calmly. "It looks bleak, I know. But we have to hope that Cisco and Caitlin still have some trust in us left in them. Especially if we lose."

"You're right. Either way, we need to get moving before they attack. Let's prepare, people!" Kara ordered.

They had scrounged together all that they could. The anti-speedster force field. Mounted energy rifles from Earth-2. Everything.

The time had come. They were stationed at various entrances to the breach room, scattered throughout the building. Once Riser's forces started pouring in, they did everything they could to hold them off and survive the onslaught. They were doing well, but not well enough to fight an immortal force.

Soon, they started falling back. The traps were destroyed, and the defenders were pushed back until they reached the breach room.

"Guys, we aren't gonna win this. We gotta run. Now." Winn said.

"Probably the best idea we've got right now. Let's charge up the breach to Earth-2. Kara, J'onn, defend the entrance." Barry ordered.

"Got it." Kara and J'onn said in unison. After a moment, the breach had been opened.

"Alright, let's go!" Barry said. Everyone moved for the breach before Harry stopped them.

"Wait! Where's Sam?" Harry asked. Barry's eyes widened.

"I left him in the med-bay."

"Go! We'll wait!" Kara yelled. Barry nodded and ran to the cortex.

As soon as he arrived, he saw that the room was filled with Riser's forces, clearing out the place. In a spell of rage, Barry ran and killed each of them with his knife, quickly raising the floor lever the height of a crowd of bodies.

He ran into the med-bay and found Sam still laying there. He picked Sam up and tried to navigate his way out. Once he stepped into the cortex, he froze in his tracks.

Caitlin and Cisco were standing there, horrified.

"What the hell is this?" Caitlin asked, rage slowly rising in her. Barry tried to move past them and ignore their comments but was quickly stopped by a blast of vibe energy.

"You aren't going anywhere." Cisco spat. Barry didn't know what to do. So, he did what felt natural.

He ran.

He dropped Sam, not being able to run fast enough while carrying him, hoping that he would wake up in time to escape. He ran past Caitlin and Cisco, running out and back to the breach room. Sadly, forces had blocked his way.

Because of his decreased speed, he knew that he couldn't take them. He ran the other direction and tried another method of escape. Constantly, he was blocked.

Eventually, he made his way to the roof, it being the only unblocked path. Mostly, at least. He walked to the center and tried to clear his muddled mind. He raised his hand to his temple, brushing his ear as he did so.

Barry heard the door open. He turned and moved back. First, Riser himself walked out.

"Well, would you look at that. The Lord himself has graced me with his presence." Barry spat. Riser chuckled. Next came Cisco and Caitlin, followed by none other than Reverse Flash himself. At least, his walking corpse.

"Looks like you brought the whole crew."

"And one of your old friends." Riser chuckled. "End of the line, Barry. We have your allies. They will be protected, I promise. Anywhere's safer than by your side."

"You don't have all of them."

"Don't I? Take a look." Riser moved his hand and gestured to his left. Barry ran to the edge of the building and looked over it. Sure enough, there they were. Kara, Harry, Felicity, all of them. Barry sighed. He wasn't there to protect them.

"So," Barry asked, "what's your plan? You wanna take me in, give me some therapy? Is that it?"

"We want to help you, Barry. You have no care for the worth of a human life." Caitlin explained.

"Let me ask you this, then." Barry began as he walked back to the center of the roof. "How many people, do you think, have been saved because I forced myself to do whatever it takes to save them?"

"Whatever it takes? Barry, you slaughter people for FUN! When you invited Kara to the Christmas party, you killed those men for fun! You even described a way you could have done it without killing!" Caitlin said, exasperated. Barry sighed. He looked down at his knife he used against so many foes and chuckled.

"You know, I never told you about the origins of this blade."

"What does that have to do with-" Caitlin was cut off.

"SHUT UP!" Barry exclaimed, and Caitlin jumped. "Sorry. Anyways, you see, it's custom for whenever a Speed Force soldier is honored, he receives a weapon that is connected to him/her.

An archer might receive a bow, while a marksman might receive a rifle. However, something must be done to it to actually connect it to its user.

A memento, a prized possession from their past, must be used in the making of the weapon. For instance, the action in a marksman's rifle may be partially a melted down locket.

This blade is called Catalyst. When I received my honor, I obviously chose a dagger because I'm an assassin.

When I met with the blacksmith who would make it, he asked me what I would use as it's memento. I thought about it, but it didn't take long. In all my life, there has been one object that affected me the most. One object that made me, well, me.

That's that knife that killed my mother. He used some of the blade in this one and used some of her blood in the cooling process. Her spirit lives on in this. This knife is what started my life. It is the catalyst of my life." At that, Barry stopped and squinted his eyes, and the began laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Caitlin asked.

"Because it's ironic!"

"What is?" Caitlin asked again. Barry unsheathed Catalyst.

"This!" Barry walked backward to the edge of the roof. "This knife made me who I am today. This knife made me, made my life.

It's ironic because the blade that started my life...

Will now end it."

Barry raised Catalyst to his throat. Riser, Caitlin, and Cisco's eyes all widened. They started running to stop him.

But he was the Flash.

And they were not.

With a swift motion, Barry opened his throat. Blood started spilling out. The crimson that pushed him to be who he is. The crimson that he loved.

With the rest of his strength, he fell backward off of the roof. Cisco opened a breach for himself and Riser, while Caitlin created an ice slope for her to slide down on.

When they reached the ground, only Riser could move. He ran over to Barry's side. He noticed that Barry was still alive, just barely. He couldn't, however, speak. Too much blood.

Rises leaned down to whisper into Barry's ear.

"Well, would you look at that.

I won."

Riser pulled away and gave a smug smirk that was hidden from Caitlin and Cisco but in full view of Barry.

The last thing Barry saw and heard was the victorious smirk from Riser and the sobs coming from Cisco and Caitlin.

Then...

Darkness.

A/N: It's not over yet!

Epilogue goes up in the next few days.

-TGO