A/N: Random thought but I'm hoping this story can get 2K views by chapter 20. There's definitely going to be one, there's gonna be quite a few chapters in this story to be honest. Anyways, let's get started.

BARRY

A young, fifteen year-old Barry Allen at the gates of the cemetery as he shivered, the cold winds blowing with a breeze as the snowflakes that fell from the sky were dispersed everywhere. The snow that covered the ground as Barry held his coat together tightly. He'd worn boots, jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater over it, a coat, a hat, and even a scarf. Inside his coat, he held a rose as he slowly walked past the gates and into the cemetery. The winds were ruthlessly cold and unforgiving, yet gentle and soft in spite of their colossal effectiveness. Barry tightened his coat together as he finally reached the very tombstone of the grave he was looking for, standing in front of it.

NORA ALLEN

BELOVED DAUGHTER, WIFE, AND MOTHER

BORN DECEMBER 9, 1959

DIED MARCH 18, 2000

Just looking at the name of his mother on the tombstone brought tears to Barry's eyes. For four years, he'd faced the reality of his mother gone, his father rotting in prison for the crime of murdering her. A crime he didn't commit. For four years, he'd often run away from his "home" with Joe to either visit his father or to come here, visiting his mother. And yet, despite all of it, for the last four years, he still barely managed to accept the reality of it all. He still thought and hoped that he was simply stuck in a long-lasting nightmare, a dream. He often dreamed of his mother as well as his father, his parents together and happy, being able to see them again. Barry sniffed, letting the tears fall as the fifteen year old walked closer to his mother's tombstone before he slowly kneeled before it, holding the rose in his right hand.

"Hey Mom…" Barry said in a low voice. "It's me. Umm…I just wanted to say…happy birthday, Mom. You'd be forty-five today. You were…"

Barry paused for a brief moment as he remembered his birthday: March 14th, 1989. His mother had been murdered just four days after his birthday. Ever since then, he had never celebrated his birthday. Anytime someone brought it up, it would only help him recall the pain. The pain of that night.

"...you were twenty-nine when I came into this world. You were forty when I was eleven. But now, I'm fifteen and…you're still forty."

Barry placed the rose on the ground near the tombstone as the tears in his eyes only accelerated.

"Mom, I remember…" Barry said. "I remember one of the last things you said to me, the day that…you died. There are two things you told me. You told me that it was better to have a good heart than to have fast legs. You also told me that I was never alone. I've tried, Mom. God, I've tried. I've tried to have that good heart because I know it's what you would've wanted, having it reminds me of you and I…" Barry sniffed as he tried to wipe away the tears. "I don't wanna let you go, Mom, I can't let you go. I still…I still feel alone. Without you and without Dad. I know you told me but I still do. And I know it sounds crazy, but…but could you give me a sign, Mom? Anything? Just a sign?"

Barry waited and waited as he looked around the cemetery, the winds finally came to a halt as the snowflakes fell and piled on the ground steadily, adding to the inches of snow that covered it. He looked for anything that could have seemed out of place. Anything at all…and there was just one thing. He looked in the sky as he saw a swarm of birds. Barry frowned in confusion, birds wouldn't fly in the winters, they would've migrated by the end of fall. Why was he seeing birds now? Were they even real? Was it just his mind playing tricks on him? An imagination of sorts? Barry gazed at the swarm of birds as they flew and flew, they spiraled until Barry could see them making a shape together. A lightning bolt. He blinked and they were gone as the fifteen-year-old stared in confusion before looking down. Barry covered himself with his jacket as he leaned against his mother's tombstone, wrapping his arms around himself as he leaned against the tombstone, whispering to himself.

"I'm not alone, I'm not alone," Barry whispered. "I'm not alone…"

"I'm not alone…"

Barry gasped as his eyes peeled open, the unbearable pain over his body came back to him as he remembered flashes of what had happened. Thawne, Bucky, and the others, Thawne had them controlled and bent to his will. As for Barry…he'd been nearly killed. It all came back to him nearly as quickly as the pain did. He groaned as he breathed heavily before realizing his current situation. Barry felt piles of broken-down bits of rock-like material piled on top of him. He couldn't see past them and the more he moved, the more he risked burying himself alive under them. Barry couldn't find it in himself to phase, the pain in his body and from losing his left hand were already too much to handle. Phasing would've only made it worse.

I never expected to win. I knew my chances were fairly low, I could hold against them for so long. This was all part of the plan…at least, most of it was. All up until the fall. Until Thawne took my left hand from me. Now, I'm stuck here. In the dark dimension, buried under all this. Can't use my speed or my phasing. Too much pain for that, but I can get out of this. I know I can. I have to. Problem was…getting out of being buried alive under thousands of pounds of rock isn't easy.

Barry finally struck out his right hand as he pulled himself to the surface, taking in a deep, heavy breath. After several hours, without the use of his speed or his abilities, he'd finally managed to climb out and get to the surface of whatever celestial body he was on.

But for me…it's far from impossible. It never was. Nothing for me ever is…and nothing ever will be. I can't afford any exceptions to that.

Barry took off his coat as quickly as he could before wrapping it on and around his left arm, specifically close to the stump of his left wrist. Blood soaked onto the jacket as Barry clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to let out a scream of his pain.

"God…dammit…" Barry sighed as he looked around the entirety of the Dark Dimension.

He struggled onto his feet as he stumbled through, forcing himself to keep moving. Not more than an hour later, Barry dropped onto his knees, the pain in his body taking over as he forced himself to stay awake. Stay awake. That was his main goal at the moment, that was all he had to do or even think of. Fortunately, it was an easier goal than he thought. Unfortunately, it was because of the incoming people who surrounded him. There were three of them as Barry counted, two men, one woman. For a particularly unknown reason, Barry couldn't help but notice the woman. She seemed to be the exact same age he was, a couple inches short of his height. Her hair was long and had a chocolate-brown color to it. She wore a sort of red uniform, much like the other two people with her. Barry remained on his knees.

"This one isn't from here," one of the men said.

"We should rid ourselves of him," the other man said. "He is already weak and in vain. Best to end his suffering. Kill him, Lucian. He is in no state to stand, let alone fight."

The other man, clearly named Lucian, paused as he considered his fellow man's offer. "Most likely. Kaecilius will not like the foreign presence of a stranger in the Dark Dimension. Neither will Dormammu."

Lucian moved his hands as he created a sort of double-side, bladed weapon. It was somewhat translucent and had a clear glass-like color. Lucian moved closer to a kneeling Barry, holding his weapon in the air before the woman stood in front of Barry, blocking Lucian's way. For a moment, Barry paused in confusion as he looked up, seeing the woman defiantly standing against her ally.

"What're you doing, girl?" Lucian growled.

"Just wait," the woman said. "Kaecilius will want him."

"And what makes you think that you know the will of Kaecilius?" the other man questioned. "Because you are his daughter?"

The woman scoffed as she looked at the other man and then to Lucian. "Kaecilius warned us that we'd be blessed with a man. A man who'd come to us injured and broken, desperate for help. We'd heal him and he'd become one of us. The best of us. This could be him. This man, he may be weak and broken before you now. But soon, he could be our greatest chance against the Ancient One and the rest of Kamar Taj. I'm telling you, Kaecilius will want him. Or you can explain to my father why we will never achieve our mission before he takes your head for it."

Lucian and the woman glared at one another as Barry watched. For a few moments, there was nothing but brief silence. Then, Lucian retracted his blade as he turned around and walked away, the other man walking with him. Barry could've sworn he heard the woman let out a brief sigh of relief as she turned around, a smile on her face. The kind that was hard to describe. She knelt in front of Barry as she held his left arm, seeing the stump where his left hand used to be.

"Am I supposed to serve you now?" Barry mocked.

The woman let out a mix of a scoff and a chuckle. "I may have just saved your life. Afraid I can't say the same for your hand."

"Too little, too late for that," Barry muttered.

The woman eyed him as the two briefly exchanged glances before she spoke. "What's your name? And don't lie. I'll know if you do."

"...Barry Allen."

The woman gave a slight, mixed smile to him. "Hello Barry Allen…I'm Jaina. Now, you and I…have places to go."

Jaina helped Barry to his feet as he stumbled, the two of them moving together as they journeyed through the Dark Dimension. As they did so, Barry couldn't help but wonder to himself: what had he gotten himself into this time?

A/N: I just want to say, if you're going to try and put a face to Jaina (who is an OC for this story), just imagine Nina Dobrev (particularly from her Vampire Diaries era). She's going to be a bit of a significant side character in the story.

Also, I know this was a short, filler chapter, but I mostly wrote it to provide light as to what happened to Barry and if he was still alive, which (as you can see) he is. Jaina, Kaecilius, Dormammu, and the Zealots will play a part in this arc along with the rest of the characters that are here. Stay tuned, folks!