Hey all you people. We're here at the end of season 3. It's been a roller coaster and people seem to like what I've done with the season to fix all its problems. Here's the climax of it all, so hope you all enjoy. My co-authors are Brightburn1985 and ThomasMarieAmell2.0.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Flash. I wish I did, but I don't.

Once Mal had disappeared, the team sprang into action. "Barry, why have you not dismantled the accelerator?" Caitlin asked.

"I never thought I had to. Plus with the metas we keep trapped in the Pipeline, I figured it'd be too dangerous messing around with it, lest they escape." Barry said.

"Well now they're all going to die thanks to your carelessness." Caitlin shouted.

"Is it wrong I find you so hot right now?" Barry muttered in her ear.

"Tell me what you really think tonight when we're alone. Right now, focus on preventing another city wide disaster." Caitlin replied.

Barry turned back to the computer and furiously tapped on the keyboard. "Okay, that should do it." Barry said, cutting power to the accelerator before it could properly start.

Everyone released a breath they hadn't realized they were holding, but were soon distressed when they felt, more than heard, an explosion in the building.

"Of course he'd plant a bomb in the lab in case we managed to shut down the accelerator." Barry groaned.

"Well, nothing we can do now. Let's just get out of here!" Cisco shouted as he ran towards the exit.

Barry carried everybody he could into his arms and ran out, coming back a few times to gather the rest of them. Once outside, Barry did a head count.

"Wait, where's HR?" Barry asked, when realizing that HR was not with them.

"He's still inside?" Cisco exclaimed when he saw the building on fire.

"I'm going back after him." Barry said, preparing to run back inside.

"No, you can't," Caitlin held him back. "It's not safe in there."

"I need to save him!" Barry shouted. Barry ran to the doors, but an explosion of flames pushed him back as the glass doors burst off their hinges.

"Wally! I need your help to rid the flames." Barry yelled at his teammate.

In two streaks of lightning, the two speedsters rushed in to extinguish the fire and find HR before it may be too late.

Caitlin was also helping out some by robbing the flames of their heat from the outside so they wouldn't spread. As well as treating any injuries she could on her friends.

The flames were soon gone in a few minutes, with only the smoke and ashes remaining. Barry and Wally returned with grim expressions on their faces.

"We found HR." Wally said in a whispered tone.

HR's body had been crushed by the falling debris. That with the smoke and flames had made it impossible for him to breathe. In the end, suffocation had been what ended him.

In the press conference, Barry had stated that this was due to a bombing incident. People were afraid that this was a sign of terrorism, but Barry had managed to steer the conversation away from that by stating that many people still had grievances against STAR Labs, no matter who the face of the company was nowadays.

There were several more questions about the safety Central City was in, but Barry simply stated that in a world where people can emit flames from their hands, a bomb isn't the most danger this city has encountered before.

By the time the press conference came to a close, Barry had managed to calm the masses, and confirm that they would be rebuilding soon. And no, this explosion was not due to the particle accelerator in any way.

The team had congregated in the West household as STAR Labs was now in ruins. They had decided they would begin reconstruction once they had dealt with Savitar. Luckily the accelerator had remained virtually untouched, so none of the metas they had locked up in there had escaped. But they were in the progress of moving them into ARGUS custody as they would ask less questions about the new metas that Iron Heights would have.

"We need to talk about how we're going to move forward." Caitlin said.

"The plan stays the same. We stop Mal, lock him up, and try to rehabilitate him." Barry says.

"You think he's still worth saving? Savitar destroyed STAR Labs, and we have confirmed he's killed at least four people already. How many more bodies need to drop before you realize Savitar is too far gone?" Cisco exclaimed.

"That's not your decision to make. And it's not mine either. I may be biased in this, but Mal deserves a fair chance."

"We already gave him that chance, and he spit it back at us, and slapped our faces. Just how many chances does he get?"

"I don't know, but I know I'm not giving up on him. He's my family. If I just gave up on him like this after just finding out about him…" Barry trailed off.

"I get it Barry." Caitlin grasped his arm. "If I found out I had some secret relative I never knew about, I'd love them unconditionally, no matter what kind of life they've lived. But that love only goes so far. I'm all for not… putting him down, but you have to face the fact that once Malcolm is behind bars, he may never be getting out again."

"He's all I have left. I've been getting my memories back since I found out. My real memories. I remember growing up beside him in the same room, going to school, family vacations." Barry revealed. "Sure, he was different. Sure he scared me sometimes, but he's all I have left of my family."

"You have us Barr," Joe said, "Family isn't only the people you're born with. It's also the people you choose to be part of your life."

Barry shook his head. "I'm sorry Joe. You are my family. You raised me into the man I am today. You're my father in everything but blood. But sometimes blood is thicker than water. I'm not giving up on him, I can't."

"We realize that Barry. But this is about more than you. This is about the Flash. And the Flash needs to recognize that Malcolm is not your brother. He's Savitar. He's your enemy that is trying to kill you, and you need to do everything in your power to make sure he doesn't win." Caitlin insisted.

"I'm not delusional. I know Mal needs to go down. But he's more than just another criminal that I can forget about once I put him in a cell. He's my brother, and I will always care about him. He's crazy, but he needs help. He's my responsibility."

Barry was dressed in his suit, waiting on the street he'd seen in the first vision from the Philosopher's Stone. The place where Barry had seen Savitar crush Barry's head underneath his metal boot.

Barry took a deep breath to calm himself. His heart was already beating at a thousand miles an hour. He didn't need to make it worse.

The sound of rushing wind signalled the arrival of another speedster. Looking behind him, Barry saw the metal suit of Savitar.

Savitar turned his head to look around. "No backup? That was foolish. You haven't prevented their demise. You've only made it so I am required to track them all down and kill them before your eyes once you've been immobilized."

"Please listen to me. We don't have to fight. You can decide to stop what you're doing and end it right here. No more blood needs to be shed. We can be a family again." Barry called out.

"It's been written in the stars that this day would come. And here it is. Allen against Allen. Two brothers pitted against each other, just as it's always been. Lucifer and Michael. Cain and Abel. This is our destiny."

"We choose our own destinies. It's not something someone else can force upon us. It's up to us to forge our own paths."

"Who says this isn't it?" Barry could hear the sadistic smirk from his brother as he charged forward.

Barry did the only thing he could think of. He ran. Barry ran as fast as he could away from the metal speedster. Mal was still leagues ahead of Barry. There was no way Barry could match him.

For some reason, Savitar was trailing behind Barry. Barry knew Savitar could have wrapped this up several times over by now. Meaning the only reason it hadn't happened yet, was because Savitar was playing with him.

Running all over the city, Barry swerved right and left, keeping his movements random. But no matter where Barry ran, Savitar always seemed to be there. There were times when Savitar showed his true speed and blurred ahead of Barry just to give him a scare.

Barry skidded to a halt before he crashed into the metal body and ran in an opposite direction.

Whilst Savitar was behind him, Barry decided to try a trick after watching the footage of Music Meister use his speed against the four super powered individuals of Wally, Cisco, J'onn, and Kara.

Twisting his right arm around, Barry created an arm tornado behind him that not only pushed against Savitar, but also helped propel him forward just a little.

Savitar evaded and disappeared before instantly reappearing at Barry's right. Savitar reached out and grabbed Barry's arm that was still behind him and stopped their chase. And somehow, they'd ended up right back to the street where they started.

Barry's momentum was still behind him, so the sudden stop caused Barry to lurch forward with incredible force. And with Savitar gripping his arm, it felt as if Barry's arm was being torn off. Thankfully it didn't. His speed healing must have saved him there by quickly healing any damage to his skin and muscles to prevent his arm from being torn off. But his arm was definitely out of its socket, rendering it useless.

Savitar lifted Barry off the ground from his limp arm and shook him around, causing sharp pains to appear. Barry couldn't keep his screams of pain silent.

"So pathetic. You should have called for your friends. They would have made this less painful. And it would have been more fun for me." Savitar slammed Barry into the ground, not releasing his hold on Barry's dislocated arm.

"This isn't their fight. It's mine. I didn't want them to get involved." Barry muttered loud enough for Mal to hear.

"No, you were hoping that by not inviting your friends to the party, you'd be able to manipulate me into thinking that there is no such thing as destiny. That you were able to change what would happen and spare their lives." Savitar states. "That's the brother I remember. Manipulative when he wants to and able to actually think a few steps ahead. But you'll find that I don't care what happens to them. It's the fact that they're associated with you that makes them worth any of my time."

"Then let them go. Kill me and they don't have to suffer." Barry begged.

"But yet, their suffering will lead to your suffering. In death, you find peace. It's life where there is conflict." Savitar refused to relent but let Barry's arm drop and ran off in a crack of light and reappeared, dropping Caitlin to the ground. Savitar's back now facing Barry.

Caitlin surged upwards, trying to see where she was but paused when she saw the giant metal speed god standing above, and she knew what was about to happen.

"Please!" Barry shouted in desperation at Savitar's back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about what happened."

"Your apologies don't matter. You are the reason everything has happened. It's your fault everything has come to this point. You've brought this upon yourself. A nightmare of your own making," Savitar said, not turning his back, confident Barry couldn't do anything as he would bring his friends one by one and kill them in front of Barry.

Savitar stalked towards a still Caitlin who was on her back. He raised one leg and brought his foot down on top of Caitlin's torso, pinning her down to the ground. When Caitlin grabbed his foot and tried to use her powers, Savitar let the lightning surge into her body, electrifying her out of using her abilities. "I made you a promise, that I would make you suffer when I finally ended you. The time has come for me to take my revenge."

"I didn't mean to ruin your life. I couldn't stop it. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I'm so sorry," Barry continued to express his sorrow, tears falling from his eyes.

"Any last words?" Savitar asked as he prepared to crush Caitlin's chest, effectively killing her.

Barry who was on the ground twisted his head so he could look at Savitar. "Forgive me," he whispered.

With a roar, Savitar applied pressure to his foot, but Barry pushed himself up with his one good arm and ran with everything he had.

Savitar paused for just a second to turn around at the sound of a speedster heading towards him.

Unbeknownst to Savitar, Caitlin still had her hands wrapped around his metal boot. And if he did know, he didn't care, or didn't realize the significance of it. Because as Savitar was turning around to face his brother once more, he was unable to move one of his feet, which caused Savitar to stumble. This provided Barry with enough time to shove a vibrating fist forward, and into Savitar's chest cavity and appear on the other side.

Savitar released a gasp as he felt his insides be violated.

The metal suit collapsed as the power source, Mal's connection to the Speed Force, disappeared, leaving Malcolm Allen to fall into the arms of his brother.

Mal coughed and blood spurted out and was dripping down the side of his mouth. Mal was just in normal clothes now, aside from the bloody hole in his chest.

"I didn't expect that. Didn't think you had it in you," Mal sputtered.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to, but you left me no choice. I couldn't let you kill them. No matter what you mean to me, no matter that you're my flesh and blood. My twin brother. I couldn't let you hurt Caitlin." Barry sobbed.

"Don't apologize," Mal sneered at him, "that just makes you weak, and makes me pitiful. Own up to what you did, or it's meaningless."

"I don't want you to go." Barry cradled his brother's body closer. "I'm not ready for this. There's so much we didn't get to talk about. I couldn't save you."

"Nothing to save. Truth is, I've been an empty husk for a long time." Mal mumbled, his strength leaving him. "I'll see you when the Speed Force claims you too."

Mal's body began to fade into light as the Speed Force was claiming its lost child.

"One more thing," Mal whispered. "You're family. But that doesn't mean everything's forgiven." Mal disappeared and Barry was left holding air.

Once Mal was completely gone, Barry let out a sob he'd been holding in, but couldn't contain it any longer. Fat tears falling down his face as he cried for his lost brother that he killed.

Caitlin shakily crawled over to her lover and just sat across from him. "I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but you did the right thing. There was no other way of stopping him."

"He was my brother." Barry refused to open his eyes as he clutched the grass beneath him, ripping it from the ground. "He was my brother."

There wasn't a body for the team to recover, and for the longest time, it was hard to believe that it was finally over without the entire team there to witness Savitar's defeat. And without any physical evidence to show for it. Even Savitar's suit had disappeared into the Speed Force.

Still, the team slowly came to the realization that it was over by the time they had HR's funeral.

Barry had spent his days digging out every old family photo Barry could find. Looking for every trace that Malcolm had been part of his family. He'd even copied out Mal's birth certificate.

And sometimes Barry would just look at the status of his brother on CCPD records. Missing. Not dead, missing. It wasn't like they had any proof that Malcolm had been found and had died, and for the sake of Barry's sanity, they left it be.

Caitlin tried to be there for Barry as much as possible, but it was proving difficult as Caitlin was going through her own trauma. Savitar had nearly killed her. A few ribs had been broken and she'd blacked out when her lungs were being crushed. Caitlin was on the brink of death, and if Barry hadn't distracted Savitar when he did, she would have suffocated. What was worse was that her powers had been completely useless. Her powers were supposed to combat those of a speedster, but with a couple shocks, she was down for the count. So she wasn't having a very good opinion of herself nowadays. She was supposed to help, but instead was a hindrance. A hindrance that forced Barry to murder his brother.

"I need to talk to you guys about something really important," Barry pulled aside Caitlin and Cisco when they were assessing the damage done to STAR Labs.

"What do you need to talk about?" Cisco asked.

"This might seem sudden, but it's something I've been really thinking about these past few days, and I need to leave," Barry declared.

"Leave? What do you mean leave?" Cisco exclaimed.

"I need a break from this whole Flash gig. When I started this, I was happy. I was making a difference, inspiring hope in people. But now I'm realizing what I've had to do to come this far."

"Death, it's expected in this line of work," Cisco tried to say. "Nobody blames you if some of the villains die. There are some that just can't be contained."

"But it's not okay. It shouldn't be okay that a brother can kill a brother and call it justice. It's not right, and that's exactly why I have to leave. I need to learn how to move past this, and I can't do that if I'm beating down criminals every week."

"Aren't you going to say something?" Cisco asked Caitlin.

"No, because I was thinking of leaving as well." Caitlin revealed.

"What?" Cisco shouted. Not believing that his best friends were leaving him.

"It's not for the same reasons as Barry though. When Savitar took me, I froze. I was helpless because I've relied on Barry too much to keep us safe. I'm supposed to be his partner, but when the time came, Barry had to kill his brother to rescue me. Even with a broken arm, facing against his flesh and blood, he chose me." Caitlin said dejectedly. "By saving my life, Barry placed a price on it, and it's one I'm not sure how to spend. I need to learn and find myself."

"I can't believe it," Cisco mumbled.

"I know this seems sudden, but this is something we need to do." Barry said.

"Besides, you're here and Wally is more than ready to step up to the plate." Caitlin said.

"Where are you two going?" Cisco asked once it was clear he wouldn't be stopping them.

"Well I'm not sure about Caitlin, but I'm going to be travelling the world. Going from place to place. Searching. What for, I don't know, but I'll know it when I do."

"I haven't really decided, but I know I need to get out of Central. Where I'll go, I'm not sure, but rest assured, this isn't goodbye."

"No, of course not. We're coming back." Barry agreed.

"Absolutely. It's just a question of when."

"And what about the two of you? You're both okay leaving each other after just getting engaged?"

"I didn't know about their decision, but it doesn't come as a surprise," they both said at the same time. They smiled at each other when that happened.

"I'll be waiting for you," Caitlin stroked his arm.

"Life is like a tunnel. You just need to keep going forward to get to where you want to go," Barry said.

"What about STAR Labs? Who's going to be in charge?" Cisco asked, since this vacation was really out of the blue.

"How does a promotion sound?" Barry suggested.

"You mean…?"

"Acting CEO." Barry nodded. "Which means you're the person who needs to get this place fixed up."

"I won't let you down." Cisco promised.

"I know you won't." Barry pulled him in for a hug.

"I guess this is where we part ways," Caitlin said. Taking Barry in her arms as well.

"For now. We'll see each other again soon." Barry had a tight smile on his face.

Sorry it turned out shorter than usual, but hope it was enjoyable all the same. So here at the end I have good news, bad news, worse news, and terrible news.

The good news is; I'm planning on continuing this story all the way up until at least season 6 for Crisis. So we have a good ways off until I'm done here.

The bad news is; it's that time again where I take a break between seasons. Don't expect a chapter next week.

The worse news is; I have no idea when I'm returning. I have my own things that take priority and I'm going to have to step away from this story in the meantime. I'll probably only be working on this once a week or so before my schedule clears.

The terrible news is; it'll probably be a couple months before I start posting again. At the earliest, I suspect my return will be sometime in the summer. So I hope you'll stay with me until then.

Guest: I could make a Caitlin and Ronnie story, but I have no plans on doing so. Maybe sometime in the future, but anything other than a one-shot and you'll probably have to wait until I'm done with this story.

So I'll see you all later in the future. But just one thing for you all to think about before I leave.

Warning; THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SEASON 7.

For those who have been keeping up with season 7 of The Flash, in episode 3, how did Iris not die when she touched the core for the ASF? Shouldn't she have been reduced to a pile of ashes like Nash? Can anyone explain that to me?

And why did they mention Nora's lightning colours? That doesn't mean anything, that's just simple genetics. For anyone who's taken a high school biology course, you should know about alleles and genetic traits. Just like eye colour, apparently everyone has a colour for their lightning. Nora inherited those traits from her parents; yellow from Barry and purple from Iris. But just like eye colour, it doesn't require the presence of the item to pass down. If a person didn't have eyes, for whatever reason, it doesn't mean they don't pass down their traits for eye colour. It's the same principle, just because Iris doesn't have speed doesn't mean she doesn't pass down the traits for the colour of lightning. What we see in Nora is an example of co-dominance. Where both traits are being shown, but not mixed together. I just don't understand why they even mentioned it when talking about Iris being the new source of the ASF. What I'm trying to say is that Nora would've had the same speed trail no matter if Iris was ever connected to the Speed Force.

I'm sorry, that got out of hand. I've been bottling that up since I watched the episode last week. Regardless, food for thought. I'll see you all next time.