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pandoraimperatrix · 1 year

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Wandering Worlds

DickKory | Core Four Centric | Cannon Divergence | Longfic

Summary:

The story begins with the death of Dick Grayson. His life taken by his own brother, Jason. Consumed by grief, Rachel gives in to despair, losing control, a portal opens, but from it no destroyer of words come through. Instead a man who looks just like him, how can he be? The Titans, and especially Kory has to mourn their fallen leader and deal with this stranger with a lot of issues of his own. After that, when everything seem to be settling, Kory is forced to return to Tamaran, but she wasn't as alone in her destiny as she thought, neither her family of choice was willing to let her go that easily. But politics in Tamaran can be as complicated as travelling across universes.

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Part Four – Voyagers

Chapter Twenty-seven – I'd cut your name in my heart

He thought it was a dream when he opened his eyes and saw her.

A terrible dream.

The kind of terrible dream he used to have when he was hiding at the end of the world. The kind of awful dream that took him back to a life in which he had never held the lifeless body of the woman he loved, where he’d never felt that agony and had never violated his own soul by taking revenge murdering the his own father.

Or one of those absolutely heart-breaking dreams of a time he dared to believe that the past was truly gone, and the danger of losing her a second time was remote, to a reality in which asking her to stay was enough, where he was enough, and she had never flown away back to the stars.

The kind of dream that always ended, and was always that... just a dream.

And every time he woke up, he was still alone, and she was still gone.

But it when of her hot tears wet the front of his armour, and then she proved herself to me material, and there, and real, grabbing him, asking a million of questions, this was not an oneiric trick.

The last months flashed before his eyes with such violence that it took him a moment to start understanding what she was saying, and that what she was speaking was his own first language instead of her Tamaranean.

They had to break Rachel’s heart to get him here, they had to use Gar to do so.

For what?

And then he had to fight in another war that wasn’t his.

All for her.

Was it worth it?

He wanted to be angry, he wanted to shout, he wanted to ask what the hell had she been doing and thinking. He wanted to make her apologise for every tear Gar and Rachel had been dropping since she left. For putting him in a position that made him turn into a murderer again. He wanted a lot of things.

But he wanted her above all else.

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What that made of him? Did he even care? Did her?

So, after he managed to put in words a little of the kaleidoscope of questions he had in the form of a broken “we were happy, weren’t we?” and she touched his face.

Oh.

Oh it was.

He’d do worse things for her. He’d do anything. Even forgive her, even put himself in danger of being happy again.

In no time he her skin was under his lips, for he couldn’t stop himself, and he heard her sigh making him believe, even if only for a moment that she was so consumed by him as he was by her. All he had touched was her palms, and it was almost enough if enough were possible when it came for his hunger for her.

And right there, the realisation that he had been doing a poor job of playing himself hit him harder than any blow he had been stricken before.

Even after everything that happened, even though the bitter memories of the violence he had to perform to be able to cross the stars to get to her, something was crystalline.

There was nothing that woman could do to him, or make him do that would make him love her less.

“Koria?”

She pulled away abruptly and he felt like his centre of gravity was snapped, and it hurt, the lights became too bright, suddenly the hot herbarium, hot even for the stuffy tropical Tamaranean weather became chilly. Just as it had been in the Great Hall, it was like someone was screaming inside his head, so much that it became difficult to process Tamaranean, and Dick missed the start of the conversation she started having with the intruder Prince.

“This is… He is…” she pushed her tresses from her face, and Dick reached his arm to touch them, noticing they were different from the soft curls she had been wearing last time they were together “X’hal…”

“I know who he is. I can see, my lady.”

Koriand’r turned to look at Dick, and his hand fell, she didn’t seen to notice, returning her gaze to her promised one.

The Royal Couple exchanged a meaningful look, and jealousy ripped Dick’s already aching chest.

“Did you plan this?” Karras asked in a barely controlled voice, Tamaraneans, Dick became well aware in the last months, were not meant to suppress their emotions. “Did you tell your lover to infiltrate X’oyang’s forces and come here make a mockery of me on the day of our engagement?”

Koriand’r turned away completely from Dick, and all he could see was the glowing of her hair fading.

“What? Of course not!”

And then the Prince was breaking her personal space, far too closer than Dick was comfortable with, which was at least a few galaxies of space between them. He felt the adrenaline making his heart pump and his blood run faster but in a very different way from when he Koriand’r under his lips.

“Don’t lie to me, Koria!” the tone was unmistakably angry now, and then, to Dick’s horror, Karras grabbed Koriand’r’s face “I have been patient, I’ve done everything I can to keep you safe and protect you, and that… With no regard to my feelings or position, but X’hal help me if you’ve been lying to me!”

Dick didn’t think, his body just moved, he kicked the Prince who fell on the tall shelves of herbs, breaking the clay vases and spreading tiny flames all around the corner his backside hit the floor. Koriand’r screamed, and the Prince glowed red with anger, he rose his blazing hand and Dick saw a ball of fire coming in his direction, but before he could jump out of its course Koriand’r put herself between them, terror filled Dick’s soul, but instead of taking the blow, he used a starbolt of herself do deviate Karras’.

“Are you fucking crazy, Karras!? He’s human! You could have killed him!”

Dick chuckled bitterly, if only she knew how many of her kind he had fought and won. And the anger returned, for just like the day she left, she still didn’t trust him. She still thought she could protect him somehow.

“Guards!” Karras called, floating to a standing position. And Dick walked away from Koriand’r and advanced towards the Prince, grabbing his flaming arm and pushing it away before using his free hand to punch his mouth.

The Prince used his knee to strike Dick on his belly and it just didn’t break some ribs, because of the armour Dick was wearing.

“Stop it Karras!” Dick heard her cry before flying to tackle the Prince herself.

“Guards!” he tried again but the band was still playing at the Grand Hall, so loud that nobody was hearing the tragedy about to happen. He pushed away.

“Stop it!” She said again.

Dick saw Karras give her a disgusted look as, like Dick, he pulled himself from the floor.

“He harmed a nobleman, he’ll go to prison for that!” Karras spat.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I swear by my whole bloodline if you touch another hair on his head you’ll never sit on the Tamaranean throne.”

“The bloodline you’ve spoiled?”

Koriand’r blazed with anger.

“How dare you!”

That, and Dick couldn’t understand why, made him stop. Karras’ feet touched the floor, and the fires he caused died.

“I’m sorry, Koria, I didn’t mean, I-“

“Leave us,” she said firmly.

“Koria...” the Prince begged like Dick had.

“I meant, Dick,” betrayal, confusion and jealousy made his insides turn more than the Prince’s strike. “Leave us. I need to talk to my consort alone.”

Nothing had changed.

“No,” he managed to say despite the knot in his throat.

She sighed or sobbed, he couldn’t say, couldn’t understand, his head was pounding.

And then she was touching him again, her hands on his arms and shoulders, Dick’s head leaned automatically towards hers, their fronts touching, her soft hands on his cheeks, her smell everywhere, until she said another heart-breaking thing.

“I wish you were Tamaranean...”

“Kory,” he found himself begging again, and just like last time, she let him go.

“Karras is not an enemy, and I need to set things right with him.”

“Don’t do this-“

“You will understand, I know I have no right, but please, trust me, just this time, please, lover.”

As he heard the last word, he noticed, she was not speaking Tamaranean anymore, that he was hearing English. She had found a way of saying her mind only to him, and that lament about him not being Tamaranean suddenly didn’t hurt as much.

Dick stared into her eyes, noticing the urgency in them, and let her go.

She smiled, a twitchy fragile thing, and watched in silence as Dick walked away.

“I’ll be in the barracks,” he said also in English before threading out of the herbarium.

The headache only got worse as he walked away, hating every step that he took after so much sacrificed to get to her.

God, he was pathetic.

And to make things worse, his ears were ringing, so much that when he got to the barracks the sickness had grown too strong that he bent down and threw up on the silver grass that covered the Tamaranian grounds.

Something was wrong, something was very wrong with his body. Maybe he was dying. No human being was meant to be pulled across universes and galaxies like that.

Another hit of searing pain hit him, and then...

“Oh my god, finally!”

He blinked trying to clear his watering eyes and with difficulty stood up, looking around, but he was still in Tamaran, the two moons still high in the sky but getting paler and paler as the dawn approached.

“Dick!”

He took a raggedy breath and answered.

“Rachel?”

“Yes! He answered! Finally!”

“Rach is that really you?”

“Yes!”

“How?”

“How?!” she sounded flabbergasted. “How did you hide your soul for so long? I was terrified! I looked for you everywhere!” And considering Rachel’s powers, everywhere could mean the many interconnected webs of realities.

“I lost my memories.”

“Oh... She said it could be that.”

“Who is she? Where is Gar? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Are you?”

The tiniest drop of relief relieved him. He could only hope that was real and he wasn’t just going absolutely mad.

“Rachel, who is her?” he asked again.

“You are not going mad, it’s really me! Oh, and while we are at it I can hear you thoughts kinda? Please don’t think anything disgusting.”

Well, that was new.

“I know right?! Do you remember how we were trying to find Lilith? Well, when you disappeared we got desperate and contacted Bruce, and he sent us Zatanna, she’s training me!”

“Bruce helped?”

“Yeah, he said he was sorry.”

Isn’t he always? He didn’t hear it, but he somehow felt Rachel sighing.

“Don’t worry, I’m pulling you back.”

“No!”

“What? Why? He doesn’t want to come, stop Gar, I can’t hear him with you having a fit-”

“She’s here,” he said out load, he didn’t know if it helped instead of just thinking, but it was less weird somehow.

“What?”

“Rachel, I found Kory.”

“Oh... How is she?”

“Engaged.”

“ENGAGED? TO WHOM? I’LL KILL HER!”

His ears ringed again.

“Rach, Rach, you’re going to explode my head...”

“Sorry, sorry... I don’t know what to do now...”

“What you mean?”

“The plan was to bring you back... I think I’ll have to find a way to take Gar and myself to you, gonna have to find a way around The Red to do that. I don’t know if I can.”

“What is The Red?”

“Long story. But we won’t have to do that stuff we did before. Zatanna was super mad when we told her. Her way is so much more easier.”

The image of Gar’s lifeless body as Dick choked him flashed bitterly before his eyes, and Dick noticed, that thought wasn’t his. He couldn’t bring his children to this place.

“Rachel, it’s dangerous here.”

“Because of Kory’s fiancé?”

“The whole planet is at war, there are enemies everywhere, you wouldn’t be safe.”

“Just like Earth, then?”

“Rach...”

“Is it as bad as your last world?”

Dick never though in those terms, not really.

“No,” he answered begrudgingly, but honestly.

“Then we’re going. Hell, we were going even it was worse than the place I pulled you from. We’re not abandoning you. And don’t you dare to pull a Kory on us, we make our own choices, Dick!”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Tejan’g” X’oyang was standing behind him with a concerned or suspicious expression.

Rachel’s presence was gone. Dick felt like a part of him was taken.

“Ajik, I went looking for you at the herbarium and I found the place trashed and now I see you talking to the wind. Are you going insane?”

Dick sighed.

“Tejan’g, I need to tell you something.”

The concerned look of the General turned suspicious.

“What?”

“My story.”

“You remember now, then?”

“Yes, I remember everything, but…” Dick clenched his jaw. “What I am to tell you… It might be treason.”

“Ajik, what are you talking about?”

“Tejan’g, please-“

“Good evening, gentlemen,” he was interrupted by Koriand’r’s suddenly appearance.

“Your Majesty,” said X’oyang kneeling down and trying to pull Dick with him. “This is Ajik, he’s not brethren, and doesn’t know our customs, but fought bravely alongside our forces.”

“There is no need for this, please stand up…” and then she squinted, and approached Dick.

“You are pale, have you eaten anything?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine, lover.”

Lover she said. That woman would drive him completely mad.

Dick swallowed and contained the impulse of scream or drag her with him to somewhere far away.

“He speaks English.”

She frowned.

“Who?”

“The General.”

She covered her face with her hands.

“X’hal…”

“Whatever is going on here,” X’oyang said in a serious tone, “I’d not choose to take part, but since I have no choice, let us at least talk hidden from prying ears.”

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I think that extra chapter about Rachel and Gar’s POV is finally coming because my brain just refuses to write another flashback on Dick’s perspective.

And guys… I think I kinda made DickKory a little sick hahahaha I don’t care, I want it crazy and not always pretty, I want it desperate and suffocating, I’m tired of lukewarm romance.

So… Thank you brave soldiers that are still here, and the new ppl that leave kudos to this fic, don’t be shy, say your mind in the comments, I love to chat!

#dickkory #Dick Grayson #Koriand'r #Nightwing #Starfire #Kory Anders #Richard Grayson #WW #Wandering Worlds #my fic #canva is fucking me over and that's why the cover is weird #thank fucking god graphic design is not my passion

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