Happy belated Valentine's Day, I guess? What a time to live in, folks. I needed to get through the end of last semester, I took winter break to crash, and I feel like I got thrown into the deep end when I came back to school. Apparently, all I needed was a mental crash on Saturday to get me back into the writing groove. Who knew?

Barry and Sara investigate DeVoe's mind, Marlize tries to control the situation back in the real world (spoiler alert: she doesn't do too well), and the duo finds a shocking surprise while searching.

***

"Guys," Sara said quietly, Barry keeping a constant eye on DeVoe. "We're in."

"Paint the picture," Cisco told her. "What do you see? What's around you?"

"For starters, the Thinker," Barry said darkly, shifting to watch DeVoe float past the windows. "We're in the 405 bus, in the middle of the street. We just came out of that same portal from before."

"This is where it all began," Marlize told them. "It is the nexus of Clifford's brain. Once you find him, get him through it, and he can regain control of his mind."

"What do they need to look for?" Lena asked.

"Our house."

"All right," Barry murmured, turning to Sara. "Hang on." Sara had just enough time to fling her arms around Barry's neck as he picked her up, then everything blurred around her. When everything returned to normal, they were standing in front of a perfectly ordinary home. Sara spat hair out of her mouth, and Barry smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's fine," she waved his apology off as he set her on the ground. "So this is where the DeVoes live?"

"Yeah, I've been here before," Barry nodded, walking up to the front door.

"Good," Sara followed him, looking over her shoulder. "At least one of us knows what we're doing."

Barry looked at her incredulously. "Says the one who jumped at the chance to follow me in here!"

"I captain the Legends," Sara reminded him. "We basically make stuff up as we go."

Barry huffed. "Well, at this point, we're being guided by our friends outside. You're basically following a blind man."

Sara shrugged. "At least it's a good-looking blind man." Barry, who had just reached for the doorknob, looked like he'd been slapped in the face as he gawked at her. "What?" she gestured him up and down. "I just call it like I see it." Barry's face was suspiciously red as he opened the door and led her inside. Sara just grinned, waltzing in behind him. "We're inside!" she announced.

"Great!" Winn cheered. "What do you see?"

Sara ran smack into Barry's back. "Hey!"

"Nothing," Barry answered, and Sara poked her head over his shoulder, looking around to see a completely spotless house.

"That's a little vague," Oliver said. "What do you mean, 'nothing?'"

"It's empty, Oliver," Sara answered, walking into the living room to investigate. She found a picture frame face down on the mantle; when she picked it up, she didn't see any image inside, just cracked glass. "Completely empty," she corrected.

***

"So that's a bust?" Malcolm asked.

"Sounds like," Mon-El sighed.

"All right," Barry said. "Well, where should we go – "

The feed crackled, and Felicity leaned forward, watching the screens flicker. "Barry?" she asked. "Barry, can you hear me?"

Cecille gasped from the center of the room, and Alex squeezed her shoulder, Joe rubbing her back. "Babe, breathe," he said in concern, watching Cecille's face twist in pain.

"Cecille's powers are connected to her pregnancy," Lena said. "Her contractions must be putting a strain on her transcranial link."

"No, no, no," Marlize shook her head, scowling. "We need to do something about that."

"Like what?" Palmer raised an eyebrow. "Stop her from having a baby?"

Marlize's face showed that was exactly what she was thinking. "No, no, no, we can't stop her from having a baby," Alex shook her head.

"We have to, Agent Danvers, or this will never work," Marlize glared. "She is the only way to get Barry and Sara in and out of Clifford's mind."

"OK, everyone, calm down," Kara held up her hands. "It's not like Cecille's going to lose her powers if she has this baby."

Leo pointed at Marlize, who gave Kara a deadpan look. "I don't like that face."

"No, me, neither," Wally balked. "Cecille is going to lose her powers if she has the baby?!"

"But she's the one connecting to Barry and Sara," Felicity looked around wildly. "Won't that leave them stranded in DeVoe's mind?"

Brainy sighed. "I'm afraid so."

"Then why didn't you share that information before now?" Nate asked sharply, eyes narrowed.

Caitlin perked up suddenly. "Joe, do you still have that inhaler I gave you?"

"Yeah, it's in our hospital bag," Joe nodded in confusion.

Alex snapped her fingers, pointing at Caitlin. "Most inhalers contain the drug terbutaline, which can be used to slow down contractions."

"Exactly," Caitlin nodded, straightening to go to the bag.

She stopped when Cecille grasped her arm in a tight grip and looked at her long and hard, her voice reverberating when she spoke. "I found Thomas. He's been this way all the time."

Everyone stared at Cecille, then Martin gulped. "What was that about, Caitlin?"

"I . . . I don't know," she whispered, then carefully removed Cecille's hand from her arm. "I'm going to get the inhaler."

"Guys, time is running out," Winn looked between the monitors and the percentage. "Where do they go next?"

"Harry figured out where Marlize was," Cisco offered. "Maybe he can – "

"He's not here," Laurel pointed out.

"What?" Lena's head flew up from where she was monitoring Sara's stats, and she ran out of the room.

"OK, someone cover us!" Cisco barreled after her.

***

Lena ran into the storage room, seeing it was completely dark inside. "Harry?" she called, hurrying inside. She found him sitting by one of the tables, staring blankly at a spot on the floor. "Hey," she approached quietly. "What are you doing?"

"Help," Harry answered simply, raising his gaze.

Lena tracked where he was looking, and she blanched, seeing him look at the cap he had made. "No," she shook her head desperately as Cisco ran in after her. "No, you are not frying away what's left of you!"

"Help!" Harry shouted in frustration, making Lena flinch as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "Help," he repeated quietly. "Please."

Lena looked at him with wide eyes, seeing the frustration in his eyes at being unable to help more, his desperation to do something. "Cisco, give it to me," she whispered.

"Lena?" Cisco gulped.

"Just do it before I have second thoughts," Lena ordered, voice cracking.

Cisco quickly, carefully handed the cap to her, and Lena checked its mechanics, making sure it was on. She took a deep breath, then reached up, placing the cap on Harry's head. A few more tweaks, and it powered to life. There were a few tense moments, then Cisco shook his head. "Nothing."

Harry's eyes suddenly lit up, and he put a hand on Lena's shoulder. "Lena," he whispered, voice hoarse. "Where DeVoe first fell in love with Marlize. Tell them to go there. You'll find him there. OK?"

Lena nodded. "OK."

Harry took a deep breath. "And one more thing." Lena frowned, then he engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug. She froze, then carefully hugged him back, closing her eyes and burying her face in his neck. One of his arms left her, then she felt Cisco be inserted into the hug, the metahuman trembling next to her. Harry finally let them both go, backing up to sit in his chair. Cisco looked at Lena hesitantly, but she shook her head, biting her lip and turning away, tears in her eyes. Cisco reached up to power the cap off, then removed it from Harry's head. "Stars, so little," the man mumbled nonsense. "Nora shouldn't be here." Lena frowned at his words; who was Nora?

Cisco steeled himself, then put a hand on his friend's head. "I won't lose anyone else today," he promised. "I won't."

***

"Anything at all?" Sara asked, leaning against the railing of the staircase, peering up to the next level.

"Zilch," Barry shook his head, walking down the steps.

"Harry had an idea," Lena's voice told them. "Go to Oxford."

"Oxford?" Sara parroted.

"The hamlet of Boars Hill," Marlize elaborated. "The place where we fell in love."

Barry looked at Sara in confusion, but the blonde shrugged. "All right, we're on our way," he said, scooping her up and running out the door.

He deposited her in the middle of a clearing, and Sara pushed her hair behind her ears, looking around. "All right," she rubbed her hands together, looking around. "We're here. There's a blanket, some wine . . . "

"There's a song playing on a car radio," Barry added, looking at the car with both the driver and passenger doors open.

"Our first dance," Marlize said.

"And DeVoe?" Oliver asked.

Sara sighed, shaking her head. "He's not here."

Barry folded his arms, leaning against the hood of the car. "All right, guys . . . where to next?" Silence was their only answer, and Barry raised an eyebrow at Sara. She made a helpless gesture, just as lost as him.

"Rookie?"

Barry fell sideways off the hood, just barely managing to catch his balance. "Barry?" Sara ran forward to help straighten him.

Barry looked around wildly, then saw the man in a dripping wet suit appear from the tree line. "Allen?" Ralph squinted, hesitantly stepping out. "What are you doing here?"

"Ralph?" Barry staggered forward. "Is that really you?" Sara's eyes widened, and when Ralph nodded, Barry lurched forward, hugging him tightly as he laughed gleefully. "I thought I lost you! I'm so sorry, man!"

Ralph quickly squeezed him back, a smile growing on his face. "I missed you, too, Barry."

"Barry, did you just say Ralph?!" Iris asked in shock.

"Yeah," Sara smiled warmly, talking so Barry didn't have to. "Ralph's alive."

"Wait," Barry pulled back in confusion. "How are you even here?"

"How are you here?" Ralph countered, looking between him and Sara with wide eyes. "Did DeVoe – did he get you?"

"No," Barry quickly reassured him. "No, he didn't. It's Cecille. Cecille's using her telepathy to get our consciousnesses inside DeVoe's mind."

Ralph blinked. "That's trippy. Why?"

Sara walked forward to join Barry, still unable to believe she was about to say what she was going to. "We need to find the good part of him so we can stop the bad from starting the Enlightenment. Any chance you've seen him?"

"A good DeVoe?" Ralph scoffed. "No. Just the evil, floating chair variety. He visits me all the time."

Sara sighed in annoyance. "Great."

"He knows you're here?" Barry asked. When Ralph nodded, Barry frowned in confusion. "Why would he need to – ?"

"In this place, I do as I please, Mr. Allen." Sara spun around, reaching for her batons when she saw the Thinker's chair float out of the trees. "I must say, the fact that you thought I wouldn't have calculated you and your team making this feeble attempt is somewhat insulting."

"You can be insulted?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

She heard a snicker behind her from one of the two men. "There will be no defeating the big bad this year, Mr. Allen," the Thinker said. "See . . . you are in my mind now, and there's no escape."

"Barry!" Sara scurried backwards as the Thinker aimed his chair towards them.

Barry grabbed her around the waist and did the same thing to Ralph, whisking them away. "Run, Mr. Allen!" the Thinker growled after them. "Run!"

***

"Barry?" Winn banged on the keyboards when the monitors froze again. "Sara?"

Cecille shot up with a gasp, looking around wildly. "He's – he's coming for us!" she panicked. "He's coming for us! I heard his thoughts! He's coming! He's coming here!"

"Finally, something to shoot at," Slade nodded.

"You're not shooting anyone," Marlize shook her head, picking up her tablet. "We need to leave."

"And go where?" Joe demanded.

***

Ralph looked around when Barry stopped. "OK, what are we doing?"

"We're getting you out of here," Barry answered.

"We can do that, but we still need to find the good DeVoe," Sara told him.

"How?" Ralph asked.

Barry shrugged. "He's gonna be someplace that means something to him, before he became who he is now."

Ralph nodded, looking deep in thought, then he smirked. "You mean like when he was a simple history professor?"

***

"Stars are raining," Harry was rambling when Cisco breached into the lab.

Cisco didn't give his drawings a second look. "Gotta go!" he grabbed the man, tugging him through the breach. "Come on!"

The second they were through, they heard a warping sound from the entrance to the room. "Good!" DeVoe's voice boomed. Oliver and Malcolm had their bows up in an instant, Slade and Leo their guns. The others fanned out in front of Cecille as DeVoe strode into the room. "We are gathered here today to worship in song. I suggest 'Kumbaya!'"

He walked smack into a flickering orange field, and Laurel blinked. "A forcefield?" she asked in disgust.

"Oh, don't be disappointed!" Zari glared at her.

"I wanted to scream at him!"

"Forcefield, sucker!" Cisco grinned.

DeVoe ignored them, choosing to sneer at Marlize. "I should never have let you build this chair without my oversight. It was my first miscalculation."

"You've made many miscalculations," Iris narrowed her eyes.

"Really?" DeVoe raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever pondered why I never pursued the Flash? Never needed his speed or his mind?" He looked around. "Anyone?"

"His connection to the Speed Force," Brainy muttered, snapping his fingers and nodding. "He has access to all of time, be it the past, the present, or the future."

"True knowledge," DeVoe said smugly. "And now that you have placed him inside my mind, I'll have it all."

Marlize shook her head. "You'll have to find us first."

She tapped her tablet, and the room around them warped. In the next second, Oliver looked around, finding them in a room lit blue. "Where is this?" he demanded.

"DeVoe's lair?" Cisco stared at Marlize. "Are you crazy?!"

"Can he find us in this pocket dimension?" Joe asked.

"I've bought us some time," Marlize sighed, hurrying to the monitors.

"Time," Harry mumbled, walking off to the side of the room. "Rhyme, fly, side . . . "

"Cecille," Felicity looked at her. "Can you try and link up with Barry and Sara again?"

"I'll try," Cecille nodded, taking a deep breath.

***

Sara looked around when Barry stopped running. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around the darkened hallway.

"This is where he taught," Ralph answered as Barry pushed open the doors to a lecture hall. "When he was just a simple history professor."

Barry walked towards the stage, seeing a figure slumped over at the desk. Sara frowned uneasily, seeing the figure not moving. "DeVoe?" she asked.

"Professor DeVoe?" Ralph added, climbing the steps with her.

Sara froze, eyes widening when she saw the bloody mess on DeVoe's shirt. "Barry?" Felicity's voice rang out. "Sara? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Barry sighed, crouching in front of DeVoe's body. "Yeah, Felicity, I hear you."

"What's wrong?" Kara asked.

"Good DeVoe, we found him," Barry answered. "He's dead."

Ralph took a shaky breath. "I don't suppose you have another plan, do you?"

"No," Sara shook her head in frustration, holding her hand to her forehead. "This was it."

Ralph gulped. "Now the world belongs to the Thinker." Barry stood up, and Ralph shook his head. "Allen, listen to me. I'm stuck here, but you're not. You should go. Be with your families for whatever time is left."

"No," Barry denied. "No. OK, first of all, it's our family, and I'm not leaving you behind. There's gotta be another way."

"Allen, you and Lance said the only way to save the world is by finding the good that's left in DeVoe," Ralph said. "It's right here, with a hole in its chest."

Sara paused. "Or what if it's even more literal than that?" she wondered, turning around.

Barry perked up, catching her train of thought. "It's not just him."

Sara nodded eagerly, then yelped when the world around her dissolved into golden lightning. Then she was deposited onto the street, wobbling and finding her balance. She glared at Barry when he stopped, his cowl pulled up. "A little warning next time?"

"Sorry," he said through his smile.

"Why the brakes?" Ralph looked around. "Are we there?"

"Almost," Barry shook his head, pointing down the street.

Ralph squinted, seeing the crackling portal at the end. "So that's the Hellmouth?"

"That's the nexus of DeVoe's mind," Barry explained. "Marlize said we can take control of him if the good in DeVoe passes through it."

Ralph sighed. "Allen, we know that's not possible anymore."

"Why not?" Sara grinned.

"Why do you think he's keeping you alive?" Barry questioned. "I couldn't figure it out, but think about it. If you get out, you take back control of this body, because it's yours. That's why he won't let you leave! Once you get out, DeVoe will cease to exist. All you have to do is make it through that portal, and you'll regain control." He clapped a hand on Ralph's shoulder. "Remember who you are, man. A hero."

Ralph licked his lips, closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. He wrung his neck out, then his clothes shifted before their eyes. He was back in a suit of black and white, a black domino mask on his face. "Let's go get control," he said determinedly.

"Or how about I kill you?" a jovial voice asked, and the three turned around to see DeVoe walk down the sidewalk, a maniacal look in his eyes. "A second time, if necessary?"

The three heroes exchanged looks, then Ralph inflated his hand into alarge fist. Sara pulled two throwing knives from her belt, launching them atDeVoe as Ralph ran forward, Barry disappearing from her side in a crackle oflightning.

***

And here comes the final fight against DeVoe! . . . though honestly I'm just excited to put Brainy up against the Thinker. XD That'll be a riot.

I might be able to get another chapter up this week, but just keep your eyes peeled. This semester is going to be a rough and busy one for me, so please, bear with me.

graphic by marvelity