"If I had to estimate, I'd say there's only a day or two left till Barry travels back in time."
Atop a cliff, peering over a desolate canyon, a single figure, his hands in his pockets, wore casual clothing as he took a second to stare at the larger-than-normal moon.
His black and unkempt hair had grown so much that it completely covered his ears, somewhat obscuring his vision as it bordered his shoulders.
Despite this, this wild look perfectly fit his sharp features, immaculate jawline and emerald green eyes that shone like headlights in the darkness.
Countless thoughts ran through his mind, yet despite this inner turmoil, his demeanour seemed calm as if he wasn't exactly sure how to feel.
'Well, I guess we'll find out in the next few minutes.'
-BLOP
With this, the youth, or rather, Derek, watched as his Eclipse hit the ground before him, turning itself inward and out as it expanded.
It wasn't long until it formed into a large sphere, a little taller than Derek as it quelled, slowly opening from the side facing Derek, retracting as the moonlight revealed what was inside.
Inside was a female wearing heels and a dark work dress. It was professional yet her frame filled out the attire.
Her hair was a lighter shade of brown, styled in a simple straight manner yet fit her. With light makeup blessing her face, she wore wide eyes as her gaze stayed glued at the sight before her.
Not at the fact she was suddenly in an unknown canyon, but because of the figure who stood before her.
"Hello, Caitlin." Derek greeted with a straight face. He wasn't given a reply straight away as the noise of his Eclipse finally retracting and making its way back to him filled the air.
'She probably knew it was me as soon as my Eclipse placed in STAR Labs surrounded her.'
He thought, the two silently staring at each other, Caitlin frozen like a statue.
Of course, he knew why.
[Caitlin is conflicted]
She didn't know what to say or how she should react.
Was she in danger? Should she take this chance to finally…understand? If so, then where should she start?
These similar thoughts ran through Caitlin's mind as she didn't move, wary.
"Relax. I just want to talk." Derek defensively raised his hands, finally cracking a warm smile.
And this seemed to work as one could see Caitlin's tensed muscles relax, though it was unclear if she meant to do so or not.
Her breathing also calmed as she started to blink more upon seeing Derek's seemingly innocent demeanour. So much so that she took this chance at clarity to speak.
"Where are we?" Her voice remained soft, a hint of shakiness in there. But Derek didn't focus on this, instead turning away from here as he stared at the canyon.
"Very far from Central City, I can tell you that much." He mumbled, loud enough for her to hear.
"But I doubt that's what you really want to know. So go ahead. I'll be as honest as I can be." Derek walked toward the edge of the cliff, taking a seat as his legs dangled off the edge of it.
Perhaps it was his nonchalant demeanour or the distance he seemingly kept on purpose that eased Caitlin, clearing her mind as she controlled her breath and thought out her next words.
"Did you do it? Did you kill Henry Allen?"
"No."
Derek didn't wait even a second before answering.
However, Caitlin remained quiet, staring.
"I understand that all the odds have been stacked against me and there isn't any reason you should give me a chance, but I'm asking anyway."
"Is that why you chose me?"
Caitlin asked, prompting Derek to stare.
"I'm not the only one you could have brought here. You could have chosen Cisco or Joe. Why me?"
She understood why Derek couldn't reason with Barry, but there were still people other than her who would hear him out.
"I chose you because you're the most open-minded. Deep down, you know there is more to this, Caitlin. I trust you enough to bring you here and see this."
"The question is, Caitlin, do you trust me?"
That question wasn't as straightforward as Caitlin would have liked it to be. However, despite not yet having all the answers, she pondered this question for a few seconds.
"I want to. But give me even the slightest reason to believe you, Derek. I need at least that much."
Derek nodded, raising a single finger.
"I'll do you one better. I'll make you understand everything."
***
"Oh…my god…"
Derek and Caitlin sat at the edge of the cliff, the moon shining over them. As the former stared into the maze-like canyon below them, Caitlin stared at him with wide eyes after what she'd heard.
"How's that? Have I proved my innocence?" Derek mumbled while chuckling, knowing the answer that was coming.
"Well…I guess, but you've somehow managed to reveal a buttload of new problems. I guess this really was another one of Thawne's ploys. There's no way you could have…killed Henry Allen." Caitlin looked away, everything still fresh and running through her mind.
Derek scratched his head. He understood how this sudden dump of information could be too much for one to consume so quickly.
As time went on, he was forgetting what it was like to have a normal perception of reality. He spent so much time with everything around him at a standstill that he needed to remind himself at times.
"You said you wanted to talk. Was there something else you wanted to tell me now that you're done…proving your innocence?"
Derek nodded.
"Yes. Caitlin…in the near future, everything will go horribly wrong and I need your help to stop it."
"My help? So you did need me specifically." She peered at him from the corner of her eye.
Derek shrugged.
"Geez, why does there have to be a reason? Maybe you're simply the first person I thought of."
"Oh yeah? Why me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Derek stared into Caitlin's eyes as she paused.
"Because you'd make the most valuable hostage if things went south."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Caitlin narrowed her eyes.
"Watch yourself, Mr Bond. Any more jokes like that and I really will suspect you of being the bad guy."
Derek chuckled as the two of them turned back to the canyon.
"What about you? How have you been holding up?" Caitlin asked shortly after, to which Derek dismissively shrugged.
"Eh, not as bad as you think. It doesn't get too cold at night and the poisonous cave spiders can be good friends once you get to know each other…"
"That's not what I'm talking about." Caitlin cut off Derek before he could finish his joke, prompting him to tilt his head as he stared at her.
"I mean you. I saw the face you made when Barry asked you why you did everything. For a moment, you looked…complex."
"Complex?" Derek raised an eyebrow as he prompted Caitlin to ponder a better adjective.
"Yeah, like you were masking what you truly wanted to say."
Derek stared for a couple of seconds.
'Impressive. It was only a moment against Barry that I experienced a small inner turmoil before I regained focus on the battle, yet she was able to pick up on it.'
"We've got nowhere else to be, and if what you say is true, I think everyone will agree that it's better if you weren't so distracted." Caitlin leaned in, ready for Derek to speak.
To which his lips slowly curled upward. And before he even knew it, words escaped his mouth.
"I've had something like a dream or a goal for a while now. Though it was something I didn't realise I was destined for, I was prepared to dedicate my entire life to its cause."
Derek's smile grew as he continued to talk, like a child telling another about something that excited him.
"It was something amazing. Something so grand that it could change the world and the people in it for the better. Make the world…perfect."
Derek's tone suddenly changed, gaining an undertone of delight as he looked up, circling the horizon before him with his arms.
"I thought this something justified any action I made. I knew I was the only one to achieve it and that it was my duty. In the end, I could live with it knowing everyone else and the world I loved was better for it."
And it seemed as though Derek's grin was contagious as Caitlin smiled while listening.
"So what changed?"
"Who knows? But after meeting you all, I started to obsess less and less on my dream…"
"And you don't know why." Caitlin finished his sentence as he neither confirmed nor denied, but his silence was answer enough.
Derek had long since found out this world was real, and so, in his mind, "Perfecting this Story" wasn't something that made sense to him.
Stories were made to be observed and enjoyed by the masses. Knowing this combined with the fact that even the system referred to him as a character, he wondered if he was nothing more than a cog, turning and running around with a fiction-like goal for perfection while the masses enjoyed his suffering, in this machine he called CW Flash.
That thought frustrated him.
"It's a thought that's got me pretty confused for a while. I'm swimming in a pool of questions with no answers and I feel like nothing more than a puppet to others who can't control his own strings."
Derek rested his chin on his fist as he sighed in defeat, his eyes focusing as another thought entered his mind.
'Then there's that…'
'You desire Power. I admire it. However, those like yourself who have never experienced such a thing yet seek it always spiral into madness. The taste of power ignites an insatiable craving, leading to a relentless pursuit that cannot be satiated.'
These words Thawne had spoken replayed in Derek's mind like a broken record.
Perhaps it was this obsession over the words that worsened them in his mind or maybe it was seeing Malcolm that further made him more anxious.
But truthfully, it was because of a different reason.
After so long, Derek realised why Thawne was so confident in saying this.
It was because Thawne himself was the embodiment of this Philosophy.
A regular individual who sought power, only for it to drive him mad. Derek believed the only thing that could overpower his desire for hunger was his hate for the Flash.
"Well, you've been speaking about what your goal can do for others and how it's your calling, but you still haven't mentioned what you want."
Derek turned to Caitlin as she broke the silence, watching her raise her arm and stick her finger on his chest.
"Ignore everything else and truly follow your heart. Forget about Thawne, the world and everybody."
"Look inward and start asking yourself the bigger questions. Who are you, and what do you want?"
Derek stared at her for a second, any emotion he had on his face fading away as he turned, his eyes lingering on the moon above them for a few seconds.
It was a question that seemed simple yet it wasn't something he'd asked himself yet.
All this time, he thought the Perfect Story was what he wanted…but considering he didn't even think twice about pursuing this goal, how true was it?
And so, Derek couldn't help but repeat these words.
'Who am I…who is Derek Bond, and what does he want?'