Hey everybody, I'm talking a small break from The Deathstroke Contract to write this new story! It won't be long, probably 5 or 6 chapters. I just came up with it and it was so delicious, I had to write it!

Lost (Help Me, I'm Buried Alive)

My hope is on fire, my dreams are for sale

I dance on a wire, but don't want to fail her

Walk against the stream, fight for what I believe in

I run towards the end, trying not to give up.

It's been one week, two days, seven hours and fifty four minutes since Wallace Rudolph West was taken from this world. The Team was mourning, Artemis was lonely. Flash was inconsolable. But no one knew the worst. Nightwing was broken, lost, destroyed. Of course, no one saw it. Not even Batman. It was so unfathomable, right? Nightwing, the superhero that was most dedicated to his job, most willing to sacrifice his soul, most willing to lose the trust of his loved ones… he was broken. Why, you may ask? It was because his best friend and his grip to sanity had died, disintegrated by the Reach, taken away forever.

The Reach had not only taken away a hero, Kid Flash, no, they had grabbed Dick Grayson's heart and crushed it, just to let the pieces fall to the an endless void of nothingness. And worst of all? No one knew. No one could see how broken the hero was. He lost a part of him when Wally died, and it was worse because he died with them fighting. And he couldn't understand that. Dick didn't want to keep on living that way.

Lying to his friends? Endangering their lives? Forsake everything for the sake of his mission? That's not who he wanted to be, anymore. So Nightwing took a leave of absence, letting Aqualad return to the leadership. And so… Dick Grayson slipped. He finally slipped into insanity. He let himself fall into the darkness of his broken mind. His friends hated him, his best friend was dead… his parents and aunt and uncle and cousin… gone. He didn't have much left. He had lost it all.

So he wanted to forget the pain.

And there he was, on a Blüdhaven bar, way past drunk. He just kept seeing it. All his failures. The Flying Graysons falling, the betrayal of his friends, the death of his best friend. They replayed on his mind like a broken movie and Dick wondered if it would ever stop. He was just drinking and drinking, letting the alcohol blur his mind and ruin his liver. He was young, but he was starting to have an uneven beard and bags under his eyes.

He was a mess.

"Ha," said a voice, next to him, and he looked around, dazed and confused. He could barely see a redhead in front of him. "How they mighty have fallen…"

Dick wished it was Wally, but Wally was dead. Probably hating him on his grave.

His vision focused a little bit and he recognized Roy Harper, clone Roy Harper, looking at him with disapproval. "You know, after finding out I was a clone… I fell, harsh… but not like this. Dammnit, Dick…"

The ebony couldn't speak in his drunken state.

The bartender looked at Roy with a disapproving look. "Hey, get him out. I don't want the cops to find him here. He's been drowning in booze for the last three days…"

Roy glared at the man. "And you didn't care he was underage?"

"He pays, good tips too," said the bartender with a shrug. "I don't ask questions…"

"You're an asshole," said Roy to the man, as he put Dick's arms around his shoulder, trying to get him up. "Come on, Dick…"

Dick slurred his words. "Don't wanna go… ghosts at home…"

"You need to clear you mind," said Roy as he dragged Dick out of the bar. "And I don't want to even imagine the motherfucker hangover you're going to have tomorrow…"

And so, Roy Harper dragged Dick Grayson home.

Tim was anxious.

He was at Artemis' home, summoned by her. He was not the only one, Kaldur was there, and so were Barbara, Zatanna, M'Gann and Conner. It was strange that she would invite them home, especially since they hadn't been really talkative since what happened to Wally. They were all grieving in their way, rememebering the ginger speedster the way he was supposed to be remembered, cheerful, happy.

Artemis was by the kitchen, pouring some coffee on several cups. She was deadly silent.

M'Gann looked at her best friend, worriedly. She sat in front of her, by the kitchen table. "Hey Artemis, how are you feeling today?"

Artemis breathed deeply. "Not good. Not having missions, it doesn't sit well with me. Reminds me of him… and how much I miss him. As Tigress, I'm strong, as Artemis… I'm vulnerable…"

Conner then placed a hand over her shoulder. "You know we're here for you, anytime…"

There was an awkward silence, until Artemis spoke. "Wednesdays are the worst. We used to… have family dinners every Wednesday. We invited Dick, you know, sometimes. It was a really good time…"

And then tears escaped Artemis' eyes. Silent tears.

Kaldur looked at the archer with a pain look. "We are all grieving the loss of Wally, but we must remain strong. And you must remember that if you need us, you can always count on us…"

"Thanks Kaldur," said Artemis with a forced smile. "Thank you, everybody."

Then the door opened, revealing Roy Harper, with a frown in his eyes. "She's not the only one who needs help…"

"Roy," said Kaldur as he looked at the redhead man. It was the first time Kaldur was seeing Roy, and they both were surprised. The last time they saw each other, Red Arrow was consumed over his guilt and Kaldur was preparing to join the Light in the undercover mission.

Roy acknowledge that and nodded respectfully to him. "It's good to see you, Kaldur…"

"I hear you have a daughter," said Kaldur, trying to ease the tension. "Congratulations, my friend…"

"You can visit her anytime, so you can meet her," said Roy with a casual smile. "I bet Lian will be thrilled to meet her uncle Kaldur…"

Barbara and Tim, however, exchanged glances. The redhead woman turned to Roy. "I don't think you summoned us here to talk about Lian… am I right?"

"No," said Roy with a sigh. "Have any of you seen Dick lately?"

Kaldur shook his head. "Not since he asked me for a leave of absence…"

Barbara looked down, guiltily. "I haven't talked to him either. He's been evading me…"

"And me," said Zatanna, crossing her arms at the thought of her ex-boyfriend. "I don't think he want to talk to us. He's not being very… chalant…"

Tim, however, sighed. "I went to visit him, but he was gone. He was not in his apartment. I assumed he was at the Police Academy or something…"

"Actually," began Roy and breathed deeply. "He's been drinking. A lot, the last days. I found him at bar, nearly drowned in alcohol, last night. He is desperate, lost, broken…"

Artemis laughed bitterly. "Well, he's not the only one…"

Tim and Barbara exchanged looks. "Dick? Drinking? But… he's body is like a temple for him, he's never…"

"Wally's death…" began Conner, rubbing his arm. "He took it harder than we thought…"

Roy nodded. "That's why I want you all to come with me to his apartment and make him see light… I know, we are all hurt. Wally was also one of my closest friends, and I'm in as much pain as anyone here. But… we're all friends, we can't let him drown in his own sorrow…"

Artemis nodded and stood up. "Let's go…"

With knowing looks, the friends looked at each other and nodded.

Arriving to Blüdhaven via Zeta Tube, the group of friends walked toward Dick Grayson's apartment.

Tim felt quite uneasy. Dick was his big brother, the person he relied on. Dick had always been there for him, every day since he became a Wayne, a Bat. But now Dick needed him and he didn't know how. He could feel it in the air, it stank with alcohol and dirty clothes. The place was untidy. He felt a pang of pain in his heart. His big brother was suffering, again.

Barbara wanted to kick Dick for being like this. She knew him. She loved him. They were soulmates, supposed to marry and have children and what not. They promised they would always be there for each other, starting from that day they were playing spin the bottle, were shoved into a closet and shared their first kiss. Dick Grayson was hers, and she didn't know how to react to this sorrowful man.

Conner felt angry. Dick had lied to them, almost gotten M´Gann, Kaldur and Artemis killed. However, Dick was his friend too, and he had to pull him off the hole even if he wanted to smash his head. They always stood together. Dick was the one that pressed that button that set him free at Cadmus. He owed it to him, no matter how angry he was.

Zatanna was worried. Although she knew Dick and her were no longer together, she cared deeply for him. Sometimes he would seductively play with her just to get favors. They had a special relationship. Dick was a person of many women, but he was always loyal to the girl in turn. He was like that with Zatanna, and she wanted to help him.

M'Gann could feel the deepest despair coming from the apartment. It hurt her. That little boy she met five years ago was now in so much pain and she didn't know how to fix it. She wanted to be of help, but after everything she's done, she didn't know how to. In a way, she knew Dick felt responsible for Wally, just as she did.

Artemis felt sympathy. Dick was like a brother to her. They had both loved Wally deeply. She would remember those Wednesdays they would share dinner and enjoy a good bonding time. And it hurt her that Dick was feeling this way, because she felt that way too. She was trying to get grips to sanity, but it was hard. Losing Wally took a toll on both of them, and they might never heal.

And Roy felt so useless. Dick and Wally had been brothers. Losing one was a terrible blow, one he might never recover from. But he was decided he wouldn't lose the other one. They were all they had. So Roy was going to do for Dick what Dick did for him: be there in his most despaired moments.

They opened the door of the room, just to find a very disheveled Dick lying in bed, bags on his eyes, and looking up in despair.

"Dick…" said M'Gann with pain as she saw her friend in such a state.

Dick looked at them a laughed bitterly. "So you have all came to do some shrink wrap with me. Nice…"

Tim was the next one to step forward. "We've come to help you…"

"Sorry little brother," said Dick sadly. "You can't help me. You can't save me. No one can…"

Artemis then felt a surge of rage and screamed at Dick. "You are a real asshole, did you know that? I also lost my boyfriend! The guy I was in love with! But you don't see me giving up! I'm trying to move forward…"

Dick stood up and clumsily walked to Artemis, and she could smell the booze on his breath. He gave her a BatGlare. "I know you're hurting. But you don't know how I feel…"

Conner pushed him. "Then tell us! You don't hide in here and wait for you to die! You talk to us!"

Kaldur pulled Conner back gently. Then looked at Dick compassionately. "My friend, the loss of Wally… it hurt us a lot. But you can't give up…"

Dick growled. "If only you knew half of what goes into my mind! You'd understand!"

"Help us understand, then!" screamed Barbara in rage. "Talk to us, to me!"

"No," said Dick decidedly. "You wouldn't understand! None of you! I lost my sanity a long time ago, and the only one keeping me from the edge is now gone! So back off!"

Roy pushed him into the bed. "You're being a royal ass, you know that?"

"I didn't ask you to come," said Dick, and then his eyes filled with tears. And that struck them, all of them.

Aside from Roy, they had never seen Dick cry.

"Please, go away… just go away…" said Dick and he started to cry silently.

Tim took Dick's hand. He knelt in front of his brother and looked at him sadly. "No. Not until you talk to us…"

"If only, Tim. If only talking would make you understand…" said Dick without breath.

Then M'Gann stepped forward. "Then show us. Let us see what you see. Feel what you feel. I can link us all, dig deep into your mind… share your memories, your pain. And then… we'll understand… we'll help you…"

Dick looked at M'Gann dubiously. "You could do that, but you wouldn't come back like before. You'd know my pain and you'd… change… or you'd look at me differently."

Finally, Zatanna walked forward and kissed him on the lips. "We'll do it, for you…"

The ebony looked at his friends. They all seemed willing to do that. They all seemed to be willing to help him. Dick was afraid. He was about to open up all his secrets and dark thoughts to his friends, to his family. He would feel naked. He would feel unprotected. They would see the real him and it scared Dick. "I'm afraid…"

Roy touched his shoulder. "Don't be. We'll find our way."

Dick breathed deeply, and then nodded. "Fine. But I promise you, what you'll find… you won't like…"

With a nod from everybody, M'Gann used his psychic powers to link them all and delve inside Dick Grayson's mind.

Suddenly, they were all falling into a mental vortex of memories…

She's lost in the darkness, fading away

I'm still around here, screaming her name

She's haunting my dreamworld, trying to survive

My heart is frozen. I'm losing my mind

Help me, I'm buried alive

Thanks for the review I know I'm going to get! The song is "Lost" by Within Temptation, it is truly a masterpiece that gets you the feels. In the next chapter, the Team is going to find themselves in Dick's childhood, a very joyful place called Haly's Circus...