Summary: Takes place a few days after the previous chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own DC

It took him a while to track her down, but Dick Grayson was nothing if not methodical. He was now standing outside Shadowcrest Manor, the part time home of one Madame Xanadu, Zatanna's friend and accomplished occultist.

He wasn't sure why she wasn't at her normal Gotham parlor, but that wasn't his business.

He just hoped she could help him.

Dick knocked on the door twice before being mystically teleported into it. He shook his head at the sudden jolt and looked around before being beckoned by a female voice.

"Richard John Grayson, favorite son of the Knight." He turned to see Xanadu herself, levitating in a meditative stance. "I was not expecting you here." He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were clairvoyant." She chuckled.

"Figure of speech, my boy." Xanadu levitated back to her feet and turned to walk up to him. "I am impressed you found me here. For that matter, I am impressed you know who I am." He shrugged.

"Zatanna's told me a lot about you. She speaks pretty highly of your abilities."

"And I presume you need my abilities for something? Something…personal, no doubt, or else you would have asked your lovely Zatanna herself." He furrowed his brow.

"Straight to the point, huh?" Xanadu smiled.

"Well, I am clairvoyant." He nodded.

"I'd prefer you keep this between us for the time being. I need you to send my spirit to the afterlife." She chuckled.

"I believe the better half of Blackgate Penitentiary would be more than willing to do that for free." He rolled his eyes.

"Temporarily. I need to speak to someone up there, and I know you possess a heightened connection to the spiritual plane."

"You wish to speak to Wallace West. To, perhaps, secure some sort of closure with his passing." He nodded, and she smiled. "Of course, I would be more than willing to help a friend of Zatanna's. Especially one as…close to her as you. Come with me."

Dick followed her into the inner sanctum, where she had a strange ritual already set up.

"I must warn you, the ritual you seek to perform has not been used for centuries, and it is extremely dangerous. Only the strongest of wills may survive it." Dick furrowed his brows.

"I want this, Xanadu. If I don't get closure here, I'm as good as dead anyways. I'll survive it, trust me." Xanadu looked at him somewhat hesitantly.

"You are certain?" A strong flicker of determination burned in his eyes.

"One hundred percent." She smiled and nodded. No wonder he and Zatanna were a thing, they were so alike. Nobody could get them to back down if they didn't want to, even if it threatened to end them.

"I will have your soul tethered to this plane of existence so long as I have control over your body. Try not to take too long, the more time you are separated from the mortal plane, the less chance you have to return." He nodded.

"Thank you."

"Thank me after you find what it is you are looking for, Richard." He lied down on the table and allowed Xanadu to mystically secure him to it. Dick closed his eyes and drowned out the sounds of her chanting as he focused his mind on the reason for his escapade.

He was going to find Wally, and if he couldn't bring him home, he would at least try and make things right with him.

Dick groaned as he opened his eyes and sat up. He wasn't in the dark halls of Shadowcrest Manor anymore. He was surrounded by…nothing. Just a strange gray void.

This being the afterlife, he was expecting more clouds.

The former Boy Wonder got to his feet and took a look around. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That's just…fantastic.

-Hey, I'm here, aren't I?- Dick almost tripped over himself as a familiar voice echoed through his mind. He spun around to see Wally West himself, standing opposite to him and smiling in his Kid Flash suit.

"W-Wally? Is that…" He stopped talking and slowly approached his old friend with bated breath.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Dick was knocked out of his trance, much to the redhead's amusement.

"Yeah, no shit, you dolt." They both started laughing together, and Wally brought Dick in for a tight hug.

"Nice to see you haven't lost your sass." He smiled.

"Never will."

The pair broke off their hug, and Dick frowned at his best friend. As fun as this reunion was, seeing him here, in this weird posthumous void, just reminded him this was a visit and nothing more.

Wally must have noticed this, because his smile quickly dissipated. "How've you been?" He frowned.

"Not great, Wall. I…I kinda lost myself after-"

"Yeah, I know. I was watching." He raised an eyebrow.

"You were…watching?" Wally smirked.

"This place, it's…it's kinda amazing. I mean, it sucks it's not, y'know, the real world and all, but I can see basically anything from up here. Like a full on spectre."

Dick stepped back and nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I know you're…disappointed with me. You're gonna say I shouldn't have lost my way and I shouldn't have quit, but the truth is…I needed to. I didn't have a choice. After your funeral I couldn't think straight, at all, and I didn't know whether it was even worth fighting on. I mean " Dick's voice dropped to barely a whisper, "what's the point of being a superhero if I couldn't even save my best friend?"

Wally furrowed his brows and placed a hand on the raven's shoulder.

"That's the grief speaking and you know it. I've figured out a pattern with you, Dick, and I don't think I like it. Whenever something horrible happens, your first instinct is to blame yourself and run around in circles. First, it was your parents. Then it was Jason. Then it was Barbara's injury. And now, it's me."

Grayson narrowed his eyes at the ghost of his practical brother. How could he not get it?

"What do you want me to say, Wally? All those things, they were my fault. If I had noticed what Zucco was up to, my parents would be alive. Jason and Barbara were hurt because I wasn't there to protect them. And you, " Dick was practically reduced to tears at this point, "you and Artemis would have been completely safe from harm if I had stayed away from you when Kaldur and I set up our stupid fucking scheme."

Wally frowned and walked over to Dick, crushing him in what was possibly the tightest hug of his life. "Please, just stop. Stop hogging the blame for all that, because you don't deserve any of it."

Wally broke off from Dick once he had calmed down and turned his shoulders so he could look him in the eye.

"Zucco killed your parents. You were just a kid. That wasn't on you, and you made it right. Barbara was attacked by Joker out of the blue, nobody could have expected that to happen. Jason ran off on his own, even though you actively tried to stop him. And as for me, " Wally tilted his chin up so he could lock eyes with him, "I know I'm not the first person to tell you this, but I would have been by your side no matter what you did, plan or no plan. I chose to save you guys, you shouldn't have to feel guilty over that."

"B-but I do, Wally. Y-you died before I could m-make things right with you!"

"You did make things right with me. You brought Artemis out safely, and you helped Bart settle into this time. I couldn't ask for anything more. Sucks that I had to die for it to happen, but that was my choice. Not yours, mine. And I take the blame for that."

Dick wiped his eyes and cleared his throat.

"You shouldn't. It was me, not you. If I had just planned things out better-"

"Dick, like it or not, one of us had to die on this mission. And to be honest…I'm glad it was me, because you have everything to live for."

"What about you?! You had Artemis, and Bart, and Barry, and your parents, and-"

"Yeah, sure, I had all of them, and they had me, but do you really think things would be better if it had been you instead?" Dick shrugged off his arms coldly and turned around to walk away.

"Yes." Wally narrowed his eyes. Dick could be so dense sometimes.

"Okay, let's do the math, since math's your thing. If you had died, who the hell would be better off? I would be a fucking wreck, I know Artemis would be devastated, and even Bart. You were there for Bart more than I was. If anything, you dying would have hurt him more. And that's not even counting the others."

"What?"

"Oh, c'mon, Dick. Use your head. Bruce was devastated when he lost Jason, how do you think he'd react to losing you? He'd probably go insane from that. Zatanna's got enough grief over her dad, but losing the love of her life? Even she would break from that. Tim already lost his family, you're really all he has left at this point. I don't even need to talk about Alfred or Barbara or Cass cuz you get the point."

Wally walked back up to him and placed a hand on his shoulders.

"I know you wanted to save me. But you couldn't. That's just the way the cookie crumbles." Dick frowned, avoiding eye contact.

"But all my training…I spent my whole life trying to keep anyone from dying…I wanted so badly to save you, and Zee, and Art, and M'gann, and Tim, and-"

"You wanted to save everyone. And you know what? That's probably the main reason so many people are inspired by you." Dick turned his head to face his friend.

"What?"

"Dick, everyone looks up to you. Tim, Cass, La'gaan, Gar, Cassie, Jaime, Traci, hell, even our old team. M'gann, Conner, Zatanna, Kaldur. Even Artemis. She may never admit it to you, but you remember that mission way back when we were kids, the one where you and her had to save the rest of us from those dumb robots? Well, ever since that mission, she's done her best to be like you. You inspired her in a way nobody else ever could, and she was not the only one. You gave Jason an icon to look towards, and you took Tim under your wing when no one else would. And Zatanna. You helped Zatanna get through the experience that nearly broke you, and I know she wouldn't have been able to if it wasn't for you. You're the most selfless guy I know, and I know me dying won't change that. This won't stop you because nothing stops you. It's why you're the best guy I've ever known."

Dick wiped his tears away and smiled softly. Hearing those words come out of Wally's mouth felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"You don't quit, Dick. You never quit. You're gonna go back out there, and you're gonna keep fighting. For me, and for everyone else you've lost along the way. And more than that, you're gonna do it for the people you still have left, because you have a lot of them." Wally clasped Dick's hand, and the Boy Wonder smiled and nodded.

"You're right, Wally." He grinned.

"I usually am." The moody atmosphere was instantly broken as the two kids started to laugh together, just like they used to when they were kids.

Before long, a door appeared in the void they were in, and Wally motioned for it. "So…I guess this is goodbye." Dick frowned. He wanted more time.

"Yeah…" They both looked rather sorrowful for the fact, but they also knew it was for the best.

Part of life was learning to let go, and this was where they had to. It may have been hard, but it was for the best. And Dick knew that now.

"I'm gonna miss you, Wall. Every day." The redhead smiled and wiped a tear from his own eyes.

"Me, too, buddy." The two friends embraced for the last time, neither wanting to let go. "Take care of her for me, please?" Dick smiled. He needed no clarification, and he needed no further push.

"With my life, I swear." Wally felt relieved. His soulmate would be in good hands, the best hands he knew.

"And take care of yourself. For me." Dick smiled.

"Put in a good word for me up there." The speedster laughed.

"You're gonna need it." Dick giggled a bit before slowly letting go of Wally's hand. "Good bye, Dick."

He turned around and started to walk to the door.

"Good bye, Wally."

Xanadu's eyes stopped glowing and returned to their normal green state, and Dick coughed violently as his soul returned to his body. He tried his best to stand up but fell to the floor almost instantly. Xanadu quickly helped him up.

"It would be best for you to take it easy for a few days. Your body has undergone a ritual that hasn't been used for millennia. You will require rest and time to recover your vim vitae. At least a week, maybe more." He coughed, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth.

"That bad, huh?"

"Were it not for your strength of will and fortitude, you likely would not have survived. I must say, I am…impressed. Feel free to rest here while you recover, you will need it." Dick nodded.

"Thank you, Xanadu. I mean that." She nodded.

"Did you find what you were hoping to?"

Dick smiled.

"Yeah, I did. And once I'm fully healed…I'm going home."

I'm going home.

Feel free to leave comments or suggestions for chapters you wanna see. Next chapter up soon.