The Yin-Yang Complex

Half Empty

Barry watched the Trickster hold a gun to an old lady's head. He felt fury pump through his body, the trickster had gone too far this time. The lady had a single tear rolling down her wrinkled cheek, her eyes were kind and she wore her hair in a scarf. Barry felt his heart clench, she probably had kids and grandkids. The poor things might loose their beloved Grandma. "I'm going in," Barry told Cisco through their comm.

"No, don't, it's the trickster, he will have a nasty trick up his sleeve that you won't want to get caught up in, canvas the area first," Cisco told him. Barry rolled his eyes,if he did that then the old lady might die and he wasn't willing to risk that, he ran at the trickster and grabbed the old lady before safely getting her to the other side of the city square. Barry whipped around to check where the trickster was. He was gone. Barry frowned and continued to search for the trickster, but he was nowhere in sight. "BARRY, RUN, THE OLD WOMMAN!"

Barry looked down at the old lady he had just ran into a massive crowd, her eyes were glowing red and the skin in her face broke apart to reveal a cannon, Barry's heart dropped, she was a trap. The cannon began to light and Barry tried to run away but his hand was trapped in the old lady's grasp. He then tried to faze out of the machines hold, but he didn't have enough time. This was it, was he really going to die? Barry saw a bright flash, and then nothing.

Barry woke again in familiar surroundings, the soft murmuring of voices could be heard around him. He was in Caitlin's lab. He sat up, he was still alive? How? Barry pinched himself, yep he could still feel pain, he wasn't dreaming. The sound of footsteps made Barry's head pound as the voices drew closer, "Barry! Oh my gosh are you ok?" Iris said as she appeared through the doorway and rushed to his side. Caitlin and Joe were right behind her, their faces were serious and solemn.

Barry nodded his head, "yes, I am fine, I think," he turned to the three with confusion written on his face, "what happened?" He asked.

Caitlin and Joe shared a look before she stepped forwards and smiled at Barry softly, "Wally managed to get there in time to gather enough speed and break the robot before it blasted you, but one of the bits from it hit you on the head and you were knocked out,"

Barry felt empty. Like he was nothing but a hollow shell. It felt like when Sebastian had died, he took Barry with him. Barry didn't want to accept the truth, to him Sebastian was still in Ohio, living out his life like a normal person. It was as though in Sebastian's last few moments he had become a kid again, he had become Barry's best friend. Barry couldn't understand why his brother would push him away, why he would try to help him when he was suffering himself. Even in death he was helping Barry. He was pushing him to work harder, to save more people, to stop letting people walk all over him. Barry sat in the Cortex, he was slumped over, staring at the wall. Cisco and Caitlin shared a look, they understood what he was going through and they knew he was suffering but he needed to move on. It was not healthy to be trapped in grief. That was an endless cycle of misery and pain and they needed to help Barry escape.

Cisco felt his heart ache for his friend, he knew exactly what he was going through and it wasn't easy. He sat down next to Barry, who didn't even acknowledge him, "Barry, I want to show you something," he whispered softly. He tried to catch his friends attention. Barry's eyes flicked over to Cisco's with a sad intensity, Cisco pulled out an IPad from a bag that lay by his chair, he switched it on but the screen was dark, only dim lights shone down on what looked to be an empty stage. "You said at Sebastian's funeral that if you could do anything with him it would be to get to know him as he knew you," Barry nodded slowly, he wasn't sure where this was going, "well I found this online," he clicked play. The video began with complete silence, however, very quickly the stage filled with boys in a uniform, they wore navy blazers with a red trim. They all began to sing in unison, their voices intertwined delicately and they produced an authentic sound that vibrated over Barry's skin giving him goosebumps. A single male lead stepped forwards from the group of boys, he sang like his life depended on it, and he sounded amazing. Barry felt his heart fill with warmth, he knew that man, he would recognise his cocky smile and perfect hair anywhere. It was him, it was Sebastian. Barry watched in awe as the group danced and sang together in unison, but his eyes never left his brother. For a brief moment Barry forgot, he forgot the grief, the pain and the loss, for a single moment in time, Sebastian was alive, his eyes were full of joy and a smile was splitting his face. Barry hadn't ever known how musically gifted his brother was and how good he was at dancing. It was clear he loved it, it lifted Barry's heart, but all too soon the video ended and the loss came tumbling back down. Barry felt a tear prick his eyes as he ran his thumb over Sebastian's smiling face on the screen. He could only think of one thing though. Gone. His last relative was gone. Cisco stared sadly at Barry and handed him the IPad, "there are lots more videos, he was a sensation"

Barry lifted his head and stared straight into Cisco's eyes, "thank you," he whispered softly. He didn't trust his own voice. Seeing Sebastian happy was making Barry's day.

Cisco patted his friends back softly, " no problem bro," he rose from his seat next to Barry and returned to his work, leaving his friend to discover more about his forgotten sibling.