Present

Hearing those two words from Iris triggered something inside of me that I seemed to forget that I had: hope. It's been so long since the last time I had true hope, and it was a feeling that I had actually missed. After all, it was a good reason to be hopeful.

Barry's alive.

Barry was alive. I kept repeating that inside my head over and over again like a broken record, and I didn't want it to stop. I didn't need Iris to explain herself when she mentioned him being trapped inside the speed force; it wasn't a foreign concept to me. Well, it wasn't like I've ever been there stuck myself, but Hunter told me about it. He didn't just teach me moves and how to defend myself; he taught me about the rules of these powers and everything in between.

But how to get him back...that I wasn't taught about. Iris had made it sound so easy, that I could just simply bring him back to the real world with just one swift try. My gut told me that this wasn't going to be the case, but I had to try. I wasn't sure if I was the person they needed to get Barry back, but it was worth a shot. Barry was worth trying for.

The thing about Iris though was that she wasn't afraid of me. Well, I guess you could say she had that same hope and trust level as Barry did. It only made sense since Joe raised both of those two, so of course they acted the same in some ways. When Iris first saw me and explained to me what was going on, she had a look of edginess on her face, but she didn't once lose her footing or step away when I took a step closer. She was brave alright; especially for coming to me for help when she knew I was with Hunter...I knew she cared about Barry as much as me, and she'd risk her own life even to save him.

However, the rest of the gang wasn't like Iris. They were scared of me, and I didn't blame them.

"You're kidding me, right?" Cisco yelps as he grabs the keyboard sitting on the desk, holding it out in case he needed to defend himself from me. "We sent you out to bring home a zombie, not the girl who works alongside Satan himself!"

Before I can speak, Iris does. "We need her help, Cisco. You know that. You and I couldn't bring Barry back, and we need someone that we know he cares about."

"What about Joe then? We haven't tried him yet, and Barry cares about him. Anyone else besides her, please." Cisco glares over towards me then, but I didn't blame him. He had every right to be mad at me.

I take a deep breath. "Cisco-"

"What about Caitlin?" he asks me suddenly, cutting me off completely. "Is she safe?"

Iris looks over at me then, giving me a curious look as if she realized she forgot to ask. "She's safe. Hunter won't hurt her; he cares about her too much."

He sighs a breath of relief. "Thank God."

"Listen Cisco, I know you have no right to trust me, and I don't blame you, but I just want to bring Barry back home. Iris seems to think that I can do that, and I can't tell you if I can or not, but it's worth a try." I take a deep breath then, seeing Cisco still rebel against this idea.

His eyes dart to Iris again. "What if this is just another trap? It's got to be-"

"No traps." I take a step closer. "This is just me wanting to help."

He raises an eyebrow. "The Raven I know wouldn't risk her life; not for something like this. And if you are doing this just out of the kindness of your own heart, Zoom will kill you himself, you know that? I'm not stupid enough to believe this act...you don't care about anyone besides yourself."

I've heard much worse things before in all my years, but something about hearing those words from Cisco himself cut me deep. I couldn't place my finger on why exactly. However, instead of going into depth about how wrong he was, I simply take a deep breath as I look into Cisco's eyes, giving him the most sincere look I could put on my face.

"I care about him."

That was what finally did it. I could see it in his eyes. He slowly lowers the keyboard then as the room goes dead silent, myself only being able to hear my heart racing in my ears. It takes a moment for Cisco to finally speak, but when he does, it makes my heart flutter.

"I believe you."

-*+*-

"You're telling me we're going to put our trust into the girl that came here to kill us in the first place to save Barry?" Joe says then as he looks between Cisco and Iris, myself standing a few feet behind the two of them. I knew Joe had a point, but so did I.

Iris takes a step closer to her father. "Dad, despite what she has done in the past, she's our only hope. She's Barry's only hope. I know she can bring him back; she's the only person that found her way into Barry's heart, and she's the only speedster we know that knows the speed force and can pull him back."

Joe is silent for a moment as he takes in Iris' words, looking between her and Henry both. I never was really acquainted with Henry, but Hunter told me enough about him to where I knew who he was. I could tell on his face too that he didn't trust me, but that was okay. They didn't have to trust me to know that I could do this.

"Trust me Joe, I hate the idea too," Cisco adds onto Iris' statement. "But she's all we have left, and we need Barry back."

It was then Joe looks between the two of them at me, a look of betrayal yet hope on his face. It made me wonder what he was going to say next, but I wasn't surprised to hear it. "Alright. But I swear on Grandma Esther's grave that if this is a trap-"

"It's not," I assure him, knowing that no matter what I said they wouldn't believe, but I still had to say it. "I want Barry back as much as you all do."

Joe looks me right in the eyes then as he takes a deep breath, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Then bring him home."

I nod my head then as Cisco walks around Joe and down the platform, right to where Barry had "died" earlier. Being here again sent images of the horror through my head; along with the scream I had heard Barry utter last before he was gone forever; well, as I had thought anyways. I slowly follow after Cisco as he explains to me how this is going to work.

"So what's going to happen first is that I'm going to vibe where Barry is by touching part of his suit, all while you are in direct contact with me. Without this connection, you won't be able to see what I see, got it?" I nod my head as he continues. "Then from there on out, you have to pull Barry back. Clearly we don't know how since we haven't done it yet, but if Iris seems to think you can do it, I think you can too."

"Sounds simple enough," I take a deep breath as I step up next to Cisco, wondering in the back of my mind if this was the right thing to do. I wanted Barry back more than anything, but if I did this, it meant I lost Hunter for good. For some reason, I didn't mind that; a part of me felt free that I was going to be losing him for good.

Cisco holds his hand out to me then, raising his eyebrows as he slips his goggles on. "Ready?"

I stare at his hand for a moment before I take it, taking a deep breath as I let the speed force flow through me, as if it made any difference. Cisco stands frozen for a long moment before reaching out and grabbing a part of Barry's suit. That was the moment everything around me changed dramatically; as if I had been thrusted into some sort of electrified tornado.

A gasp leaves my throat in that instance, but in some way, being here made me feel almost at ease. It was like it was some sort of safe haven for people with powers like me, and I couldn't really explain it. My hair whips around my face as I look around the tunnel, searching for Barry, but not seeing him anywhere. When my eyes land on Cisco again, he was too focused to pay any attention to me, so I knew I was on my own now.

"Barry!" I shout into the never-ending blue tornado, a few lightning strikes almost blinding me. After a good few minutes of this with no luck, I decide to experiment and see if I could let go of Cisco and venture off on my own. As I do this, I slowly remove my hand from his as I take a step back, still being trapped here in this place. I was good to go.

When I turn around to search for Barry, I finally see him. His back was to me however, and I could tell he was lost. He looked so utterly lost, and that was what scared me. But to see him again...it brought me so much relief that I couldn't hardly explain the feeling. I call out to him again, but he doesn't even flinch.

"Barry! It's me, Raven!" I shout towards him as thunder crackles off in the distance, loose hair strands continuing to wave in front of my face. The wind picks up speed as I make my way closer to him, not being able to move as fast as I had wanted to. I was so close...I had to reach him.

With every single step I take, the wind continues to thrust me backwards, trying its best to keep me away. I scream at it, mostly because I couldn't help myself. So much aggravation was building up inside of me; why couldn't I just reach him?

"So close," I mumble to myself as I reach out towards him, my fingertips just a few inches away. I stretch with all of my might to grab him, but it was no use. The wind was throwing me back too hard; I couldn't even take another step. It was in that moment I knew I had to keep trying for him, but in a new way. Iris had said someone that he cared about had to pull him back; maybe it really was me.

"Barry, I know you hate me. You have every right to; I got you to trust me and then I broke that, even while knowing how hard it was for you to offer trust at all. But Barry...you made me realize who I really was; you helped me find myself again. So please, just let me help you find yourself again too. Not just for me, but for everyone else too. Your friends need you. I need you."

At first I didn't think he heard any of that, but then he looks over his shoulder at me, and I couldn't help but put the biggest smile on my face. Seeing his eyes light up again made me feel unlike myself, and Barry was the only person on this earth who could make me feel that. He turns and faces me then as the wind whips at his hair, but he manages to take a step closer to me too. I reach my hand out to him as he does as well, finally clasping onto mine with a tight embrace.

"I found you," I breathe with a smile on my face as I grab him with my other hand too, just in case I lost my grip. I wasn't going to lose him again...never again.

It was then I realized I felt something else too as I held onto Barry, and it wasn't the undeniable happiness I felt seeing his face again. No, but something else flowed through me again as I looked into his eyes, and it takes me a moment to realize what it was.

He got his speed back.

Before I can process what this meant, everything is changing around the two of us as we're thrown back into the real world, making me gasp and fall forwards from the sudden change. Barry looks around at his family and friends as I look up at him, my heart racing in my chest. Iris runs over to him and gives him a hug as Cisco and the others gather around, but that was when I realized that Henry was too busy looking over at me.

He nods his head. "Thank you."

I nod back as I watch Barry rejoice with the others, making a smile appear on my face once again. Seeing him standing here in the flesh changed everything for me, but I didn't care. Barry was back.

I brought him home.

-*+*-

MY POOR HEART CAN'T TAKE THIS! GAH, I would die for these two for real.

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