Dick had tried to stop a drug dealer. A drug dealer, fairly high up the chain who would have maybe stopped shipments for at least a little while. Unfortunately, Dick was still not in the best shape of his life and the drug dealer was a bit better at fighting than the usual thug. The low life had injected Nightwing with some drugs before running away to avoid being imprisoned or detained.

The drug was obviously still in Dick's system, though the more manic part seemed to be wearing off, the part that had him jumping between several rooftops very quickly and what looked like injuring his ankle if the slight limp Dick had now was any indication. He didn't seem to know what was going on or what was happening if what he was mumbling to himself was any clue.

He seemed like he was trying to go home but was too high to know the way, or that's what he was trying to do. Wally watched sadly as Dick fell to his knees and really hoped that Dick having a bad trip. Even if that seemed cruel to hope for, The last thing he wanted was for Dick to turn to drugs as another unhealthy coping habit.

Dick grabbed his ears, steeling himself against some unknown evil when his eyes focused on him. What? No, that had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Because no one could see him. But Dick's eyes didn't look away even as he got back onto his feet, putting his weight on his bad ankle, seemingly not knowing or not caring. He looked...scared. Maybe he was hallucinating and Wally was just standing in the same spot as his hallucination? At least that's what seemed like the most likely explanation before Dick spoke his name in a trembling voice.

"Oh! Can he see me?!" Wally moved slowly to the left and Dick's eyes tracked him as he moved.

"Oh my- fuck." Not noticing the words tumbling out of his mouth. Wally opened his mouth to let out the deluge of things he had wanted to say to him for the past weeks? Months? Years? But before he could say a word, Dick bolted faster than a person should have been able to with a sprained, possibly more injured leg. Dick was not coordinated and as he leaped from one rooftop to the next, he lacked the grace that he normally had.

Thankfully, Wally was even faster than normal and was able to catch up to Dick in seconds. Unfortunately, Dick refused to stop moving and he was probably injuring himself even more in his hurry.

"Dick stop!" Wally shouted part of him elated that finally, someone could hear him. The other part worried that Dick was going to fall off the roof if he didn't slow down, especially since there was clearly something wrong with his leg and he was probably damaging it further by climbing and running on it.

Wally sped so that he was standing in front of Dick who suddenly stopped short. Dick's eyes were panicked like he was scared of him and Dick's eyes were still tracking Wally as he moved towards him, though Dick took a step back for everyone that Wally took forward.

"Dick, I'm not going to hurt you," Wally said softly and as calmly as possible, putting his hands up and out. Of all the possible first conversations he had imagined and he had imagined a lot of them, this one hadn't been one of them. Dick clearly did not believe him as the look in his eyes did not go away.

"Dick, I can't hurt you," Wally continued when Dick didn't speak. Wally tried to show him by trying to touch his arm but Dick leaped backward and entirely too close to the roof edge for his comfort. Wally decided not to try that particular one again while they were at least 500 feet from the ground.

"Dick, I'm not going to hurt you," Wally repeated, hoping to at least decrease the amount of fear, at least take a tiny bit of fear off his face.

"I'm sorry," Dick said, his voice cracking.

Wally nodded, "I know you are. It's okay." He wanted to say so much more than that. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to explain. But right now what he needed most, was to not scare Dick into accidentally falling off the roof.

"I'm sorry," Dick spoke again, starting to curl in on himself. Not ideal but at least it was harder to run away in his position.

"Dick, what do you think I'm going to do?" Wally asked softly in the same voice he used for children and victims. Normally Dick would bristle at that tone being used at him.

"You want to hurt me," Dick whispered, "You want revenge because it's my fault." Wally nodded,

In understanding, not agreement.

"No Dick, I don't."

"But you're dead and it's my fault." And if it didn't just break his heart the way Dick said it fully, believing it. Wally leaned down, as Dick was hunched down so that they were at the same eye level. Dick's eyes darted from Wally to the ground and back, so he was only sometimes able to hold eye contact but it was probably the best he was going to get.

"It's not your fault and more importantly I'm not dead, I'm just stuck in another or between dimensions." Wally tried to smile like it was funny but didn't succeed. Though he was glad he said that. Who knew how long the drugs, if that's what was causing this rare opportunity to talk, would last. He wanted to use every second he could to help Dick and just hoped that Dick would remember a word he said after the drug left his system.

Dick fell hard onto the rooftop again, in a way that couldn't be good for his knees.

"You're a hallucination then!"

"I'm not," Wally swore to Dick who obviously didn't believe him.

"You're my brain telling me what I want someone to say!" Wally racked his brain, full of the more successful first conversations, he had in his head to try to think of something helpful to say. None of them seemed to apply to them much, so instead, he tried to think of something that Dick couldn't or wouldn't hallucinate. He knew that if he tried to bring up one of their shared memories, Dick would just negate it. Dick was now sitting on his knees putting a lot of weight on his probably injured ankle.

"Is it broken?" Wally asked, distracted. Dick seemed confused at his question. It was possible, Wally realized, that with the drugs and adrenaline Dick might not be feeling it much. Wally found himself reaching towards the ankle to check, before stopping as he realized he couldn't feel it anyways and sighed in frustration before forcing himself to get back on point. Limited time, he reminded himself. Rare opportunity, can't waste it. He had to tell Dick something he would never know himself.

"Artemis has a stuffed pig she doesn't like to show people. His name is Michael, it's from when she was a kid and you better not make fun of her for it!" Wally warned sharply, pointing his finger at Dick. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about Michael. Artemis was embarrassed about bringing him and when Wally had found him, even after they had moved in together, she had threatened him if he ever told anyone about him. He felt bad for breaking that promise now but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment that Dick wouldn't possibly already know.

Dick looked at him dazed and confused. How much had been injected into his friend? Hopefully not enough to cause permanent damage.

"Dick, do you understand what I'm saying?" He asked hopefully. Dick tilted his head sideways and squinted his eyes in his direction.

"Why are you going away?" Dick's eyes widened like he just realized what he said. "No, don't go away. Don't go away, Wally!" Dick rocked a little, pushed himself onto his knees again, and then tried to stand up. Wally winced as he heard something crack that he hoped wasn't a bone.

He was going away? Dick was losing sight of him? Wally knew he had a short amount of time but he hadn't thought it would be this short.

"Wally, stay! Stay please!" Wally felt like his heart was going to rip apart from the pain in his chest. Dick still seemed to think he was a hallucination but apparently preferred that to a haunting ghost.

"Dick, please," Wally rushed to say, hoping that Dick could still hear him, "I can see what you're doing to yourself. You have to stop. You have to ask for help. Ask Bruce, ask Tim, ask Artemis, ask anyone just don't keep going it alone!"

"Wally, don't go!" Wally had no idea if Dick heard any of what he said, or if he could still hear or see him now.

"Dick, can you see me? Tell me you can still see me!" Wally begged. He had too short of a time and he had spent most of it just trying to convince Dick he was real. There was so much more that he wanted to tell, so much more that he wanted people to know. He had wanted to tell Artemis, the whole superhero community, Dick, his uncle, and his parents that he loved them, that he missed them, so much. That he was here for them, even when they couldn't see him. That they meant everything to him.

"Wally!" Dick shouted but he wasn't looking at him anymore, he was looking slightly to his left. Wally moved to the right and Dick's gaze didn't follow. Wally felt like something was chewing through him.

It was over. Over. It may never happen again and it was over. He should have chosen the right words, said the right things from the start. He should have practiced and not just in his head, exactly what he wanted to say, what to do, so when the time came he could have done everything he wanted.

Wally jumped out of thoughts as he heard Dick hiss in pain as he got to his feet. He shouldn't be walking on that foot, especially not if his ankle was injured. Dick should be calling Barbara and getting help from his family like Wally told him to do. Only, he either hadn't heard, couldn't think, or refused still. Of the three, Wally hoped Dick was being stubborn, or else the likelihood of him remembering anything Wally said was low.