Alliance {The Flash/Arrow}

Nineteen

Barry

I stared at the towering circular objects surrounding the nearly invisible singularity. Even though I couldn't see it with the naked eye, it was one of the most intimidating things that I had ever seen in my life. I had no idea what lay on the other side of the inter-dimensional gateway, and my ignorance towards the singularity was crippling. I'd been staring at it for the past ten minutes as Cisco and Jay went over the condition of the singularity. Oliver was on the phone with Felicity and Laurel to assure them that he would make it home safe, something that I had already done. Joe was standing with Caitlin and Harry as they attempted to inform him about what we were about to do. It wasn't the easiest thing to comprehend if you hadn't been dealing with it from the very beginning, and I felt bad that we'd left Joe out of the majority of the timeline of the singularities. He knew the very bare minimum because he was usually too busy with work to figure out what we already knew. I promised him that I would sit down with him one day and work through all of it with him, but that was something that was going to have to wait until I brought Ashton home.

Oliver's sigh rang in my ears as I heard him walk closer to me. "Felicity says good luck." He stated with a soft smile. I nodded in acknowledgement, my eyes not moving from the previously theoretical gateway in front of me. "We're going to bring her home, Barry."

"I'm just worried about what's already happened to her." I admitted. "God only knows what Zoom's done to her by now, and I can't stand the thought of her being in pain because of him."

He nodded in agreement. "I know that it's daunting to think of her in pain, but she's a strong girl. She's been through more than you can comprehend, and you have to believe that she's okay. She might not be in the best shape of her life, but she's going to get through it come hell or high water because that's just who she is."

I smiled slightly, knowing that she would probably crack a joke or make a pun right about now to keep everything lighthearted. "I know."

Oliver tilted his head to the side slightly as he looked at me. "What's with that smile?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

He looked like he was about to ask something else when Jay spoke up. "Okay, Barry, if you're ready, now's a good time to go."

I nodded as Cisco and Harry came up to where Oliver and I were standing. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I chuckled lightly, trying to hide the nagging worry in the back of my head.

Cisco smiled as he patted my shoulder. "Cheer up, man. We're about to travel to another universe. How many people can say they've done that?"

"Me." Jay and Harry said in unison, shocking themselves more than anyone else.

Cisco's face dropped slightly. "Thanks, guys."

Jay chuckled before looking at me. "Remember to keep up your speed while you're traveling through the singularity. You're going to see things in there, but you have to keep yourself from getting distracted."

I nodded. "I will."

Harry looked back at Caitlin and Jay. "If we're not back within 48-hours, make sure that you close this."

"But what about--" Caitlin started, but he cut her off.

"Zoom will most likely have us if we're not back by then, and we can't risk letting him back here. You have to close it."

Caitlin nodded reluctantly, and Joe patted my shoulder. "Make sure that you make it home, son."

I nodded and hugged him tightly before turning back to the taunting gateway in front of me. I took a deep breath before taking hold of Cisco and Oliver. Cisco grabbed Harry before I ran through the singularity, feeling like I had walked into an episode of Dr. Who. It was a strange experience to see the surges in time that I was seeing, but I kept my focus on what lie in front of me. I focused on making sure that I kept up my speed so that I could find Ashton sooner. I had to make sure that she was okay, and the thought of finding her was the only thing keeping me completely focused on what I was about to do instead of what was appearing around me. It felt like mere seconds before I felt solid ground beneath my feet again, and I looked around to see that we were in what looked like the basement of S.T.A.R. Labs. It looked different, though. It was painted different colors, but it was constructed more or less the same way.