Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow and intend no copyright infringement.
Sara was having a bad dream.
She knew it had to be a dream because Shado was in it.
The dream was not a The Walking Dead remix. Shado was looking perfectly alive, green hood, self-made wooden bow and all. And she was sitting on the edge of Sara's bed.
"We never really had the chance to get to know each other", she said. "Time ran out so fast."
Sara swallowed drily, nearly choking on the words she had wanted to say so badly... on the island and later, in Nanda Parbat. Even back here, in Starling City. A million times they had been on the tip of her tongue, but in the end uttering them loudly had always seemed ridiculously useless.
Now was her chance.
"I'm sorry", Sara whispered. "I'm terribly sorry Oliver chose me, not you."
Shado looked at Sara for what seemed to her like an eternity before she finally shrugged her shoulders. "I know. But that doesn't help anyone, does it?"
Sara thought to herself that it would help her quite a bit if Shado told her that she understood and that she wasn't angry with her. I know wasn't exactly a statement that indicated forgiveness. On the other hand, Shado was dead, killed and buried on that cursed island, while Sara enjoyed the privilege of breathing and sleeping with Shado's former lover so maybe asking for forgiveness was a little too much on top of everything else.
Speaking of...
"Just to get the story straight - Oliver was together with your sister, but had you accompany him on that boat trip. When he returned from the island he slept with your sister again although his best friend Tommy was clearly interested in her. And now you have returned and look who's in your bed...? If I were Nyssa, I'd be upset, too."
How did Shado come to know about Nyssa?
Ghost's privilege, probably.
"I didn't leave Nyssa because of Oliver. I wanted to check on my family after the earthquake. And I couldn't stand the killing anymore!" Sara was done whispering.
"But you replaced her pretty quickly, didn't you? Not to mention that you again waltzed right over your sister's feelings... and ignored Felicity's completely."
Felicity... Sara tried to reply something in her defense, but the only line of argumentation forming in her head amounted to something along the lines of "Oliver chose me, not her" and that, given the circumstances, would have been grossly insensitive.
"I'm not much into bad omens and all that, but last time you were with Oliver you got shipwrecked, spent a year in the hands of a mad scientist and became an international assassin. I might be biased here, but I'm not sure that bodes well for your second go around."
Sara jerked awake.
... ... ...
Not too long ago Felicity would have sworn black and blue that she'd never set foot into a gym ever again. Spending a year trying to get out of that membership had definitely been enough. But in the light of recent events...
She wasn't stupid, she could tell from the looks on the faces of the others that they found her attempts at becoming a little more able to defend herself amusing. Yes, they showed her stuff, especially Sara and Diggle, but Felicity had the feeling they mostly wanted to prevent her from hurting herself. And Oliver's comment "What are you wearing?", oh my, that had definitely been enough. If she didn't want to continue making a fool out of herself she needed to stop training at the foundry.
Under these circumstances the voucher for free self-defense training lessons with a personal coach seemed rather attractive after all. Felicity checked and double-checked but couldn't find the hitch. The gym in question was right around the corner from her home and they were not asking her to sign anything.
They didn't even have a problem with the odd times at which she wanted to meet. Since she was spending her nights with Oliver, at least sort of, sigh, and playing secretary for him by day, grrrr, there was not much wriggling space on her schedule. But the personal trainer, a young woman named Shiloh, with whom Felicity spoke directly on the phone, had no problems whatsoever adjusting their meetings to Felicity's tight time table.
Apparently Shiloh even made it possible for them to get together while the gym was officially closed. It was a bit eerie there with nobody else around and the gym could have really done with some proper cleaning, dust was gathering everywhere and the air smelt a little stale. There also seemed to be a problem with the room temperature, it was always a little cold in there.
But on the other hand: Free lessons with a really good trainer! And nobody around to comment on the way she dressed or suppressed an amused smile while she did her exercises.
And wow, what exercises that were! Not exactly the close combat instruction Felicity had expected, but they seemed definitely useful nevertheless.
Shiloh seemed quite young, Felicity guessed she was in her early to mid-twenties, and she was of Asian origin. The name Shiloh, indicating Native American heritage, was a bit odd, not quite what you might expect, but oh well, so were her abilities: Shiloh looked rather slender and petite, but she definitely could kick ass. Felicity once saw her break a two-by-for with a single well-aimed kick of her bare foot.
"It's all about focus and concentration", Shiloh told her. "And about making use of the dynamics of the moment. Distractions can be your downfall or your key to survival – it's up to you what you make of them."
Distractions were at the center of Shiloh's teaching. She made Felicity react to all sorts of different scenarios – a sudden intrusion from an outsider, a self-produced diversion, a coincidence…
"There's no tried and tested way how to respond to opportunities. In the end it boils down to improvisation. All I can do is show you options. Which one you choose in the end is up to you."
Shiloh was a strict teacher. One lesson that she kept repeating over and over was designed to disarm an attacker when he had you on your knees with your back to him and he was pointing a gun at your head. They went through that situation about a million times, or at least it felt like that to Felicity. "The moment you sense the slightest distraction roll over backwards, jump to your feet, kick the gun out of his hands… this is a move he won't expect."
Felicity learned it well.
… … …
Slade Wilson's motivation was easy to sum up in a single word: Revenge. He wanted Oliver to feel the same pain he had felt, the same agony, the same despair. And he had set up the perfect scenario to evoke exactly that: Sara and Felicity, captured by his troops, kneeling in front of him, with Oliver watching disarmed and helpless. An almost exact replica of the horrible incident on the island that had cost Shado her life.
Almost exact… Slade wasn't holding a gun in his hand, he was aiming at the women with bow and arrow.
"Time to choose, Oliver…"
Oliver had long ago lost count on how many times he had replayed this moment in his head. It had haunted him in his sleep and followed him in his waking hours. What could he have done differently? Had there been another way?
Felicity. Sara. He would not choose between them. He would not again make a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.
He had lost Sara too often already. He could not let go of her ever again.
Felicity. In another life, in another world… in one where he wasn't a vigilante, constantly threatened and constantly threatening… she would be his girl. He could not be with her, but being without her was no option either.
So better to end his life here and now than to lose another loved one.
"Shoot me, Slade. They've got nothing to do with this." Oliver went down on his knees. "Put an arrow through my eye. But let them live."
Slade's reply was a contemptuous laugh.
Sara hadn't expected anything else. Slade wanted to put an arrow through Oliver's eye, oh yes, but that was his grand finale. First he wanted to see Oliver suffer. And Oliver would suffer. She had witnessed his grief and guilt back on the island, after Shado's death.
Shado's death… And all the other deaths she was carrying around on her conscience… all those people she had killed to stay alive herself. Shado had been the first in a long row of human beings that had died in her place.
What had she told Nyssa? I can't stand the killing anymore. Maybe it was time to act on that statement. "Kill me, Slade. Without me Shado would still be alive."
Slade roared with laughter. Way too late both Oliver and Sara realized their mistake. Now that they had both offered their lives instead of Felicity's, he knew exactly how he could hurt them both the most.
He aimed at Felicity.
At the very same time an icy breath of wind suddenly washed over them, coming out of nowhere, vanishing again in the blink of an eye. To Slade it felt as if someone was touching him, deathly cold hands on his shoulders for the briefest of moments.
A distraction.
Felicity couldn't see his face, but she could sense the unexpected wisp of wind.
Roll over backwards, jump to your feet, kick the gun out of his hands…
Slade managed to release the arrow before he lost control of his bow, but it only grazed her arm. Oliver picked up Slade's bow with lightning speed, Sara wrested a gun from one of his henchmen's hands… They were still hopelessly outnumbered, but better this than playing Slade's game.
Suddenly Diggle and Roy were by their side, locating them had been a difficult task, but here they were… and out of nowhere there also appeared veiled sword fighters… Diggle had sent a message to Nanda Parbat, not sure if it would reach its destination… apparently it had.
It was a bloody battle.
… … …
"Somebody should stitch you up", Felicity repeated. "The cut along your leg looks bad."
"You first", Oliver insisted. He was exhausted. The events of the past few hours had practically drained him of all energy. But five years on the island had taught him that for the really important things there was always an ounce of energy left. With steady hands he finished working on Felicity's wound.
"My second scar…"
This time around Felicity had been so full of Adrenaline, there had been no need for "aspirins". She was of clear mind as she spoke.
Oliver bent over and kissed her forehead.
Sara, looking up from cleaning a gash on her stomach just in time to see Oliver kissing Felicity, smiled.
They were all going to live another day.
… … …
Felicity spent the following two nights at the lair, watching over Diggle, who had developed a slight infection, and in general just calming down, finding some peace in the company of the others.
When she finally returned to her apartment, she decided to make a little detour, stop by the gym and tell Shiloh how well her lessons had worked.
She met a construction crew, gutting out the floor where the gym had been.
"Do you have any idea where the gym moved?", Felicity asked, thoroughly shocked.
"I don't think they moved anywhere", the foreman replied. "As far as I know they went bankrupt three years ago."