We stood in the dining room that night after, the night after Henry Allen's funeral. Everyone was mourning over his death, but Barry was the worst. I couldn't explain the mood of all of us, but I could tell none of us liked this feeling. Barry spoke to Wally for a minute or two, before I walked over once Wally walks away, putting my hand on his forearm.

He looks down at me, his face remaining the same, as my heart broke staring at how broken Barry was. His optimism from yesterday had be completely demolished, and replaced with anger, hurt and hatred. I blink long and hard, holding back tears back, not allowing myself to cry more than the few tears I had already shedded earlier at the funeral. My under eyes were red from crying earlier, the lack of make up I had on showing the slight redness in my cheeks, my eyelashes damp. My plain black dress was slightly damp due to the rain from earlier, as was my hair, the side braid I had put it in earlier loose and also damp.

My eyes open, slightly glossy and red, as I used every cell in me to hold the tears back from falling, "I'm sorry." I whisper, "This shouldn't have happened. I can't imagine how upset you are, right now."

"Yes you can." Barry confronts me quietly, "You're probably the only one here who's witnessed one of their parents being murdered. You're the only one who can even understand the pain- and anger I'm feeling right now. When my mother died, I didn't have to watch her die. Jay wanted to make sure I watched my father die- so we could be the same."

"You're nothing like him, Barry." I say quietly, "You never will be."

He gives me a sly nod before grabbing my hand and leading me to the dining table everyone was crowded around, before speaking up, "Guys, Zoom's still out there. We need to come up with a plan."

"The man can crack open breaches to Earth Two. I mean, if he can do that, what else can he do that we don't know about?" Cisco asks.

"Right after he killed his time remnant, he told me I was "almost ready"." Barry says.

"Almost read for what?" Iris questioned.

"I don't know." Barry tells us honestly.

"Yep. Classic psychopath." Cisco says. "Why can't they ever just say what they want to do?" He continues, "We also have to figure out why I keep vibing Earth Two being ripped to shreds."

"Seriously." Joe agrees.

"It's like I'm watching "Transformers" in 4-D, but, like, ten times more realistic. And with much better acting." Cisco speaks.

"Look, if you can vibe the future, we need to stop Zoom before that happens." Joe says.

Barry speaks up, this conversation being too much for him to handle, "I'm gonna get some air, all right?" He lets go of my hand, before walking to the front door, walking outside, closing the door.

Everyone goes silent, looking at each other, debating silently who should go after Barry, as I looked at them, quietly speaking up, "I got it."

My heels clicked as I walked to the coat rack, grabbing one of Barry's jackets, slipping it on before stepping outside, Barry's head snapping back as his gaze lands on me, as I closed the door, moving towards him and sitting next to him.

"I'm sure- you've probably gotten sick of me being the one who always comes and tries to comfort you- and talk to you. But- I thought I'd give it my best shot." I say quietly, turning slightly where I was seated so I faced him a little more.

He shakes his head, denying what I had just said, "It makes me love you even more. For caring. And being there for me."

I smile weakly, nodding before looking down at the rest of the steps, waiting for him to speak again, to tell me what was on his mind, and to open up to me more.

"When I was in the Speed Force," Barry broke the silence, looking at me, "I felt like I'd finally come to grips with her death, with not saving her when I went back. And then, the moment where I'm finally at the place I can move on- my father's taken from me. How am I ever supposed to find piece with that?"

My hands move, slowly grabbing one of his hands, holding it between mine tightly, looking at him.

"I don't know how you're supposed to cope with that. I don't know how you're supposed to handle it- I don't know how you're supposed to eventually be at peace with that- considering I was thrown in a foster home not even the day after. But what I do know- right now- you have Joe. Iris. Wally. Caitlin. Cisco, Harry. Jesse- me. We're here with you- and we're going to give you as much support we can." I spoke.

I continued, "You did say you were seeing things differently. How you were angry about what you had lost- rather than seeing what you had. I understand I'm in no place to try and call you out of it- but I know you're angry at Jay. You're angry because he killed Henry- and that's exactly what you said you saw differently once you came out the Speed Force."

"I just miss him so much already." Barry admits, the small tears in his eyes.

"I know- I know you do. It's going to be hard. But I'm here. I'll be with you- we will all be with you- every step of the way. You can't let the angry get the best of you. That's what Zoom wants." I tell him.

A whooshing sound ran down the street, causing both of our heads to snap up, seeing Zoom's lightning down the street, as Barry's eyes widen, "Zoom-"

Before I could stop him, he had let go of my hand and ran right after Zoom, leaving me alone on the porch steps, the night going quiet.

-

[ barry's pov ]

"Bad time, Flash?" Jay asks, a smirk on his face.

I let out a breath, the anger inside me increasing as I saw the look on his face, as he speaks again, "Thought I'd give you some time to mourn."

I spoke up angrily, "This ends now."

"Not yet." Jay spoke into the cold air, his breath visible in the air, "There's always more to take, Barry."

"You're gonna stay away from them." I warn.

"Well- that's completely up to you." He told me.

I stare at him, my confusion growing large, "What?"

"When we first met, I told you that Zoom needed to be the best. You just didn't realize I was talking about myself." Jay said.

"Is that what this is about?" I question, letting out another heavy breath.

"A race, Barry-" Jay spoke, "Between you and me. To see who's the fastest. You win: this is over and you get to be the hero."

"I'm not racing you." I decline quick.

"Then your father won't be then only person you love that I'll take from you." Jay threatened, "I mean- just because Zee's my sister- doesn't mean I won't murder her right in front of you- just as I did with your father. The same goes for everyone else you love."

My heart drops, my eyes slightly wide as I go somewhat pale, the anger in my chest at its maximum point. The thought of watching him murder Zee, just like he did with my dad, had me convinced to race him. I dreaded the thought of witnessing that, or ever losing her.

"Think about it, Flash. All I want to know is who's the fastest man alive. On either world. I'll be waiting." Jay said to me, before running off, leaving me in the cold night.

-

[ zee's pov ]

My eyes dart back and forth between everyone the next day as we all stood in the cortex of Star Labs, piecing together all of Zoom's plan, to try and figure out a way to stop him. Zoom had told Barry that night that all he wanted to do was to race him. We all knew that since that was too easy, there had to be more to it.

Everyone threw out whatever Zoom had told them or any of their knowledge that would have any relevance to figuring this out, as I kept silent, tightening my ponytail, keeping the hood of my beige hoodie up, the rips in my black jeans making the bare parts of my legs cold, half of my feet cold due to the slip on vans I had on.

"This Magnetar that's being developed by Mercury Labs. Turns out, it can act as a pulsar." Harry began.

"Whoa." Cisco says, his lips forming an circular shape.

"What's is a- pulsar?" Iris asks for all of us.

"It's a power amplifier with a highly magnetized, dense rotating core that can be easily weaponized." Harry explains.

"That's what happens to Earth Two. What happens in my vibes is because of this machine." Cisco admits.

"That thing is powerful enough to destroy a planet?" Iris asks.

"More than just a planet if it has the right power source." Harry says.

"Like what?" She asks again.

"Like me." Barry spoke up. "That's why he wants to race. He wants to siphon the energy I create when I run." Barry said in realization.

"He wants to siphon the energy off both of you." I look up, "That'd be more than enough."

"When Jay captured me said he used to measure his success by counting the number of victims he had, but now he was gonna measure it by the number of Earths he conquered instead." Caitlin said.

"He doesn't want to just destroy Earth Two." I look at everyone, "He's going to destroy every other Earth."

Harry nods towards me, "He wants to take out every other planet in the multiverse."

"How many are there?" Caitlin questioned.

"Infinite." Harry exclaimed.

"Can he do that?" Jesse says in a questionable voice, somewhat doubting it was even possible.

"If he can create a breach to Earth Two all on his own-" Joe trails off.

"He can get to all of em." Barry nodded.

Cisco crosses his arms. "One pulse to destroy them all."

"I guess I don't have a choice." Barry spoke, looking at all of us, "I have to race him. I have to win."

-

I stood in the hall with Harry, as we listened in on Joe and Barry's conversation, Joe trying to convince Barry to not race Jay.

Harry held the gun, staring at the ground, awaiting the signal that Barry was not going to give in, so he can go on and shoot him with the dart.

I blink long and hard, taking in every word Barry lashed out on Joe with, my eyes opening, slightly glossy.

"I won't let another person I love die- when I can prevent it." Barry told Joe.

"This- isn't just about racing Zoom, is it?" Joe stepped closer to Barry, "You wanna kill this guy."

"Of course I want to kill him, Joe!" Barry lashes out, "I want to do a hell of a lot more than just kill him. I want him to suffer for everything that he's done. And he's going to."

I held the tears in my eyes back, refusing to cry listening to how the anger completely consumed him, the lost of his father completely breaking him. If I had any good of a biological family, I would be angry too. I couldn't ever blame him for being so angry. But it did upset me the slightest bit, not wanting him to ruin himself by actually killing Jay.

I took a breath, not realizing that I had held my breath listening to that, looking up immediately, the tears in my eyes being harder and harder to hold back.

Harry looks at me, seeing how upset I was becoming listening to this, giving me a small whisper, "It's just the anger talking. It's not him, Young."

I give him a small nod, before slowly walking up by Joe alone, letting Harry stay in place, wanting to try and convince him myself also.

Barry goes quiet as he looks at me, the anger existing on his face, his eyes softening the moment he makes eye contact with me, as I take another deep breath, my eyes slightly red and still glossy, using every cell in me to hold back the tears in my eyes.

"Don't race him, Barry." I spoke quietly, and hesitantly, "He's going to win either way."

"What- so you're saying I won't win? Do you not have faith in me?" Barry shot at me, the anger sparking up more as I continued to conversation, as I repeatedly reminded myself that this was the anger talking.

"I'm saying that you won't care if you win or not. I'm saying- that you'll kill him anyway." My voice lightly cracks, "You don't kill. Heroes- don't kill. Our Barry- my Barry doesn't kill."

Barry goes silent, as I spoke up again, "Are you really going to stand here- and tell Joe and I that you will kill him? That you will make him suffer? Where we have watched you dodge every moment of almost killing someone- where you have dedicated the rest of your life to saving people."

Barry looks up at us, "I'm sorry. But- I have to race him. I'm racing him wether you two want me to or not."

"And we can't talk you out of it?" Joe clarifies.

"Not this time." Barry confirms, turning slightly to walk away.

"Okay." I spoke quietly, as I forcefully blink the tears in my eyes away, "Then- we're sorry too."

"Wha-" Barry's question was cut off when Harry comes into the room and shoots him with the dart, as Barry falls over, grunting, completely unconscious.

-

Barry's eyes slowly opened, as his eyes land on us, a sigh leaving him as he slowly got up, locked in the pipeline cage, as we all stood outside of it, "What are you doing?"

He stood to his feet, speaking again due to our silence, "What did you put me in here?"

"Because you're too angry right now. You can't race him like that. Without a plan- you'll lose." Joe answered.

"Keeping me in here is gonna get everyone killed." Barry spoke, leaning against his hands, putting all his weight on them, "I'm the only one who can stop him; you know that."

"You race Zoom on his terms, you'll lose." Harry states the complete obvious that Barry wasn't understanding.

"This is not your decision to make!" Barry hit the wall with his palm.

Joe spoke up, "It is this time."

"No-" Barry whimpered in defeat, turning, hitting his palm against the wall once more.

"We all made it together." Joe admitted.

Barry pauses, turning, betrayal clear in his eyes, staring at all of us, "What? All of you?"

I cross my arms, looking at my feet, staying stood next to Cisco, not daring to make eye contact with Barry yet.

"Bro, I went back and forth, I was like- a good 60/40 at first-" Cisco starts.

I put my hand on his forearm, keeping my head low, mumbling quietly, "Shut up."

"Ramon." Harry also warned, causing Cisco to clean up quick, "Yeah- we all made it together." He mumbles in slight shame, not wanting to do this to his best friend.

"Allen. This is for your own good." Harry told him, starting to head towards the screen to shut the doors completely.

"Don't do this- Cisco- man- come on- please." Barry begs, not wanting us to make this decision, "Zee- hey- please look at me- Zee-"

I hesitated before letting my head up, making eye contact with him, regret it instantly, the anger and betrayal growing in his eyes, as he lightly hit the glass with one fist, looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Zee- please- you have to let me race him. You need to get me out of here- I can't lose any of you- you're making the wrong decision- please-" Barry pleaded, continuously hitting the glass.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, "I am."

I slowly step away as Harry shut the doors, Barry banging on the glass as hard as he could, screaming at us to let him out as it goes muffled right as the doors closed, as we all slowly left the basement, leaving Barry Allen behind.

-

We had tried our plan. We almost got him. We were so close. Although, it did go somewhat as plan, we lost Joe in the process. Joe was how with Zoom, and we didn't know what to do about it. We were throwing out ideas, all of them not being good enough. With Barry locked up in the pipeline, we were all screwed.

Wally had soon found out about Joe, getting upset almost instantly, not wanting to lose his father like he had lost his mother, leaving the cortex as soon as he found out.

We all stood in the cortex, in silence, when suddenly the computer starts beeping repeatedly, alerting us.

"Uh- hey guys- Barry's not-" Jesse starts, as Barry rushes in with Wally, her sighing, "In his cell anymore."

"Why did you let him out-" I start to say, my hood falling from my head, revealing my messy hair that was tamed in a ponytail, as Wally cuts me off.

"Wally!" Iris shouts.

"What? I wasn't going to just stand here and let this happen." Wally shot at the two of us.

"You let him take Joe?" Barry asks, anger already radiating off him as he directs his conversations to Harry, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Allen, there was nothing we could do." Harry defended everyone.

"You could've let me race him!" Barry shouted.

"You do realize that either way- he wins right?" I spoke up, keeping my voice low, "You can't stop him from winning. Either way- either one of you winning- will charge that damn machine so he can destroy all of those Earths."

"Now- Zee has a point." Iris spoke loudly, as we try to get Barry's attention, but it wasn't budging, he wasn't paying attention to a word I had said, as if I was speaking to a brick wall, which made me slightly upset due to the fact he wasn't listening to me whatsoever.

"Allen! You're not racing Zoom." Harry spoke sternly.

"What are you gonna do? Are you gonna tranq me again?" Asked Barry.

"Don't tempt me." Harry warned.

"Look, I know you guys made a pact to keep Zoom on Earth Two, but you did that without me and Wally-" Barry spat us, shouting, "You don't get to do that!"

"Barry, look at yourself right now; you're not okay." Cisco spoke for all of us, as my jaw and fist clenched, as I kept my mouth shut, trying to contain my slight anger, blinking long and hard.

"Cisco, my dad was just killed in front of me- do you have any idea how that feels?" Barry fought, yelling at him with all his might.

"Watching someone you love die? Yes, I do. And so does Zee." Caitlin shot at him, "Look- Barry- I know how cold and angry and distant that can make you. But when this happened to me, you were the one who kept me in check. You told me to stop and take a breath, and that's all we're telling you to do now."

"I'm telling you- I'm good." Barry denied.

This was the last straw for me, my eyes snapping open as I let my hand lose from the fist, there being small marks from how far my nails dig into my palm, as I spoke right after him, I accidentally break, shouting lightly, loud enough to get his attention, "You're not- good."

Barry's eyes fall onto me, my gaze stern, stepping closer to him, "You're not good. No matter how many times you tell us that you're good- we all know you're not. You don't only want to win this race, Barry. You want to kill this guy. That's not going to get you anywhere- you won't win- you will lose. Barry- you will lose- killing Jay- isn't going to get Joe back- killing Jay- isn't going to give you the satisfaction- of avenging your father-"

Barry stared at me dead in the eye, as I could already tell these words were hitting him hard, as I couldn't the anger getting the best of me, "You're ruining any chance of trying to find some sort of peace with any of what has happened to you."

Iris comes up behind me, grabbing my hand, slowly pulling me away from Barry, almost getting the signal that I would say things I would regret it, if I had continued, causing me to immediately shut up.

Barry steps back slightly, looking down, letting out a breath, before looking up at all of us, "Look- you guys- you make not think I can do this. You may think I'm too angry- but we're running out of time. I have to beat him, and I'm going to, wether I have your help or not. So which one is it?"

-