Chapter 27

It was like a ripple in a still lake. An echo of a cry came from Matthew's fallen castle, and the strong, mysterious presence of Death filled the atmosphere.

He lingered above the two brothers. Death had seen a lot, but two brothers killing each other for love, well, this was a first. Matthew was gone for good, he felt the void in the body, but he was unsure if Ron's soul could be taken. The man was fighting so hard to stay alive, so hard to get his last sentence out, and hence Death waited.

Savitar and Barry were the first to run in on the scene.

"Ron?" Barry cried out, falling to his friend's side.

Savitar stood behind Barry, face darkened.

"Barry ... I need to ... Frost ..." Ron let a steady breath out.

"I'm here! I'm right here," Frost shoved Barry out the way and held Ron in her arms. "Don't say anything. Caity's gonna fix you. Don't worry."

"Frost, please. Just take care of Jack. Bring him back to Central City."

"No, you bring him back. I'm not leaving without you."

"You've shown me what it's like to live for myself, and there is no greater lesson I would ever learn than the one you taught me." He coughed out blood. "You deserve love, but first you must learn to love yourself ... promise me, you'll love for yourself."

"Ron, stop. Please," Frost had never pleaded in her life.

"Let me go, Frost. I-Xavier. He-"

And with that, Death took him away too. The exact second Ronald Raymond from Earth-98 lost his life was calculable; the second he grew pale, and his eyes fluttered closed as he fell back into Frost's arms.

The three of them stood there for a minute, unable to fully comprehend the situation in front of them.

That is until Savitar spoke up, "what do we do?" He asked quietly.

Frost looked down at Ron's lifeless body, then at Matthew's.

"We have to tell the people," she stated as she got up, dusting her pants off.

"Frost..." Barry got hold of her shoulder, and she immediately turned to him, eyes watery. Barry pulled her into a hug, and a single tear fell down her cheek. That's all she was willing to let herself feel.

Ron may not have been the love of Frost's life, but he was a first. The first person who wasn't a team flash member that she truly cared about, and that meant more to her than anyone would ever know.

Barry held Frost's hand and walked out of the building, Savitar following suit.

A crowd had formed outside the castle, and the citizens watched carefully at the newcomers.

Even within the mosh pit of thousands of people, Savitar locked eyes with Caitlin. Her eyes filled with hope and anticipation. He shook his head slowly, swiftly, in a manner that only she saw and Caitlin understood. She looked down at Jack and carried him away. Savitar itched to run to her; to tell her that he tried to do everything he could because he did. But, as always, he couldn't. He had to put the city first, even if it wasn't his.

"People of Earth-98," Barry started, "I-I'm afraid to say that ..." he looked back at Frost, "Matthew and Ron, er, Ronald have both passed."

Suddenly, screams started to break out, and shouting erupted, people started jumping and fighting with nothing.

"... he should have never come back."

"It's Crystal's fault ..."

"What do we do without a leader?"

"Enough!" Frost silenced the crowd. "Matthew Raymond was not who you think he was. He was a murderer. He killed Crystal and he killed Ron, all because of jealousy. He was a power-hungry son of a b*tch, and I won't stand here listening to you all cry over him when the real hero was Ronald. He risked everything; his wife, his child, his life, just so that his people, you, could live a better life. He died today for you."

A middle-aged man put his hand up, "who's going to be our leader now?"

Frost rolled her eyes, it was never enough for them. They needed someone to follow, someone to dictate. They couldn't control themselves without a leader. It annoyed her, the fact that Ron died for people who barely cared for him. If it wasn't him, it was someone else; there was always someone else in their eyes.

If they truly cared for their civilization, they would've spoken up to Matthew, they would've seen that something was wrong, but they didn't because they didn't care.

The man repeated his question, and Frost looked up. For hope. For an answer. Her stern, colourless eyes wandered through the crowd until she saw him and her eyes instantly widened in realization.

"Xavier, Ron's right-hand man. He will be your new leader."

The people started to murmur and whisper loudly.

"Frost!" Xavier ran to her and pulled her aside. "I-I can't lead a whole country of people with powers! I can't!"

"Your name was the last thing Ron said when he - when he died. There's a reason he said what he did. He saw where your loyalty stands, and he saw how you treated his people. Xavier, trust me, I wouldn't leave the people Ron died for with someone who I know won't be able to help them. They need a leader, they need you."

"What about Jack? He's the rightful heir."

"Jack's coming with us. For the time being. It's what Ron wanted. I'm sure he'll want to come back when he's older."

"We'll be waiting for him."

Frost gave him a tight-lipped smile, "I think the crowd is waiting for a speech."

Xavier walked up the staircase, just high enough for everyone to see him.

"People of Earth-89, my name is Xavier Freeman. I first met the Raymond brothers when I was twelve. They were my heroes, and I knew I always wanted to be like them when I grew up..."

As he continued his speech, Barry walked up to Frost. "I didn't even catch Ron's last words. He was fighting so hard to communicate that to you."

"Yeah, I just hope Xavier lives up to what Ron expected."

"He will. It might take some time, but he will. I'm sorry we couldn't save him."

"It's fine. At least we got to save Iris."

Barry looked at her in guilt and astoundment, "Frost. I never thought-"

"No, I-I'm sorry. That was wrong of me. It's no one's fault, but I just wish we could've saved them both. I wish-"

"Maybe you're being selfish."

Frost and Barry looked back at Savitar who was listening in on their conversation.

"What did you just say?" Frost asked, her eyes burning with anger.

"Has it ever once crossed your mind that maybe Ron wanted this? Do you really think he would've just started living his life after Crystal and Matthew died?"

"He would've had Jack."

"He doesn't know Jack."

Frost glanced at Barry.

"Guys, let's not do this. Not here. People are grieving, and trying to argue about whether Ron would like the fact that he died or not is something none of us can answer. We need to be here for each other, now more than ever."

**********

"Help!" Jack cried out.

They were back at the house Jack had been in before, a funeral was set up within an hour since the team couldn't afford to loose time.

Caitlin rushed into Jack's room, "what's the matter?"

She tried to hide her laugh as she saw the boy struggling to button-up his shirt. Caitlin crouched down, helping him wear his suit and tie.

She cupped the child's cheek, "do you know what's happening today?"

He nodded, "we're saying goodbye to Uncle Matthew and R-uh-dad?"

"Mhm. Your uncle and dad have been arguing for a really long time."

"So, who wins?"

"... The both do. They get to be with your mommy now."

"I wanna be with mommy."

Caitlin sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her for Jack to sit on. "You have a very long time until you see your mom."

"But I wanna see her now!" Jack crossed his arms, pouting.

"Don't you want to tell her all the stories of your life? How can you when you only have five years to tell?"

"I'm going to tell her about you, and Savi, and Barry, and everyone. Frost too, because she looks just like mommy."

Caitlin smiled, "after we say goodbye today, Jack, there's a really big choice you have to make."

Jack scrunched his nose, "what?"

Caitlin's heart felt heavy. She did not want to be the one telling him to make a choice, but she did take it upon herself to be responsible for him. So, this was her duty.

"Well, after the funeral, team flash and I will be going back to our home."

"I don't want you to go home!"

"I have to, honey. We have to save people there like your dad did here. You can stay here with Xavier and Martha ... or you could come with us. We-"

He didn't hesitate when he jumped onto Caitlin, "I wanna be with you, Caity!"

"Are you sure? This is not-"

"I'm sure. Yes. Yes. Yes!"

Caitlin smiled again, she felt at fault for smiling so much on the day of a funeral, but with Jack, it was hard not to.

"Okay, now go show Savitar your outfit while I get changed."

Jack ran out the room yelling, "Savi! Savi!"

Twenty minutes later, Savitar popped into the room.

"Babe, what's taking so long?" He said while  focused on his phone, "everyone's already there. And Jack's getting-"

He stopped complaining as soon as he saw Caitlin struggling to zip on the back of her dress.

"Wipe that smirk off your face."

He laughed, "love, if you needed help, you could've just asked."

Savitar walked closer to her, so close that she could feel his breath upon her shoulder.

"You always know when I'm in need of a rescue anyways."

He zipped up the back of her dress, slow and steady, his fingers deliberately brushing her exposed skin. She felt like the cells in her blood were exploding each time his skin came in contact with hers.

He kissed her neck and whispered, "you ready for today?"

She sighed, "not really. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he's gone."

"I think he's in a better place now."

"Do you actually?"

Savitar nodded, "Ron never liked it here, not after Crystal died. He only stayed to get revenge or closure. And with Matthew gone..."

"I get what you're saying. I just feel like ... we never kept our promise, you know?"

Savitar pulled her closer to him, arms wrapped around her small, fragile body.

"We made a new promise, to look after Jack. And we can't break this one, we won't."

Caitlin smiled at Savitar, "you're going to be a great father, you know?"

Savitar smiled back, "I'm glad you think so. Now let's go, today's not going to be a good day for any of us."————————————————————————————————————————————SPOILER FOR THE FLASH:

I can't believe they killed off Frost!! Especially after everything Caitlin has gone through.

QOTC: the saddest death from the Flash?My answer: H.R and Frost :(