Felicity Smoak took a deep breath and buried her face into her palms. She had always been one of those strong and stubborn people who didn't crumble in front of denial and underestimation. Instead of shedding tears or shrinking her self-esteem, she would just hold her head up high and prove to be exactly what she was: irreplaceable. But today at the Foundry something had shifted deep within her. Seeing Oliver and Digg sparring together was nothing new, not even with Sara in the mix, but the way they shut themselves into their own little world of battle scars and war stories made her feel like an incapable and left out child. She knew their smiles towards her and her rambling were meant to be kind and encouraging ones, but at the same time, she was able to see behind that deceiving façade.
"You're still cute", Sara's voice had echoed softly against the concrete walls.
The assassin's words had departed her lips with a smile but the message had reached Felicity as a hostile force. Bunnies and kittens were cute. All things fluffy were cute. But these fluffy adorable things were also weak and defenseless and that was exactly how their kind and understanding smiles made her feel; like a pet that needed to be put aside into a cage for its own sake. They weren't equals, she was not a partner in this new team arrow. She had no scars to match or war stories to share. She was just the IT girl who rambled around and sometimes made even the brooding vigilantes smile with her tricks. That's who she was to them, a mascot to the muscles.
So when her whole network system had combusted, thanks to the Clock King, not only her computers took some strikes, she felt beaten down too. The only thing that had made her feel confident and capable was took away from her and now she felt like a burden. Felicity laughed out loud. Her tired laughter sounded grim and unfamiliar echoing in the empty space. She was being an idiot. A selfish, childish idiot. Oliver and Sara had gone through hell on the island and Diggle had demons of his own. And here she was brooding in her own misery and feeling left out and unappreciated, especially when there were much more pressing matters at hand. After all, they were right; she was weak and defenseless compared to them. And those fine qualities paired with a stubborn head and some good amount of pride could only lead into trouble.
She raised her head and glared around. She was sitting on the floor in a dark gloomy room, which looked like a basement or storage container. There was one sad and dirty little light bulb working as the only source of light and it threw long shadows to the walls. The walls were stained with old paint and graffitis and air smelled like burned rubber and smoke. The place gave her the chills. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve once again and made a mental note to start carrying Kleenex packs along.
"This fabric is too pretty to be stained with sweat", she said aloud even though the liquid on her sleeve was too dark and thick to be sweat.
Felicity shrieked as the intercom in her ear suddenly squealed loudly and finally a muffled voice reached out.
"Felicity? Felicity are you there?"
She left out a hopeful mutter as she tried to find her ability to speak again. She knew that voice, she knew it even through the weak and screechy transmission.
"Oliver?"
"Felici- ", he continued but the sound of Oliver's voice was muffled under another much stronger voice that sent chills over Felicity's spine.
"Mister Queen is on the line I presume? Or should I call you Arrow? We've been waiting for you impatiently", William Tockman said and laughed softly.
Felicity hold her breath. She knew The Clock King had control of the intercoms. She knew Oliver could hear her only if Tockman wanted that. Her personal face to face interaction with the man had lasted only minutes, but during that short time she had learned that even though Tockman robbed banks to save his sister that didn't make him a good man. He was a psychopath to the core.
"Mister Queen we are in the middle of an unfortunate situation here and I'm sorry to inform you that your lovely assistant have crossed some boundaries."
Felicity felt a sting of conscience. She wanted to explain herself and her reckless behavior. Make Oliver understand that she really thought she was doing the right thing.
"What do you want Tockman?" Oliver's voice reappeared.
"I'm in the mood for games Mister Queen."
"And what if we refuse to play?"
Tockman laughed once again. His laughter was soft and carefree and it made Felicity's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. She was tired of games, playing and pretending. If some crazyass villain was about to end her he could do it with a straight face.
"Then I'm afraid the Queen will be knocked out of this chess board. Or maybe she's more like a pawn after all. Two Queens on the same side would make the game crowded", Tockman continued.
"What do you want", Oliver said again. His voice was tense but controlled.
"Miss Smoak if you would be so kind?" Tockman said and Felicity jumped as she saw a dim light on the other side of the room. She rose from the floor to her feet and took a hesitating step towards it.
"Mister Queen we're going to play a game. Miss Smoak here is going to be your guide and if you two make a good team you just might live through it."
Felicity reached to the source of the light and picked up a small tablet from the floor. She knew she was supposed to hate the device that was used for these uncanny purposes but the tablet's dim light gave her surprising comfort.
"Miss Smoak I want you to tell Mister Queen what he must do."
Felicity stared the empty screened tablet with horror.
"I- I don't understand", Felicity said and hated the sound of her trembling voice.
"Felicity do whatever he asks", Oliver shouted through the intercom.
"Oliver, I don't understand. I don't know what to do!" She continued as the tremble in her voice slowly started to transform into anger and panic.
"Miss Smoak I think you need some persuasion to reach the top of your game. That's all I'm going to tell you. The rest is up to you. Good luck. The clock is ticking."
Felicity heard a soft click and the line was dead. On the other hand, the room was filled with soft hissing noise and she turned and turned around trying to locate its source. Then she smelled something burning and realized little holes in the ceiling that were pushing thick smoke into room and starting to fill the air around her. She started coughing. Panic arose within her and she launched herself to the floor where the air was still clear of the smoke.
"What do you want me to do, you psycho!" She yelled while trying to maintain her breathing steady. She was seriously starting to lose it. How in hell did she end up laying here, in some unknown place, on the floor and dying. Because that's what was happening, she was dying. She was still holding the tiny tablet in her hands when Oliver's voice brought her back.
"Felicity! What's happening? Can you hear me? Talk to me!"
"Oliver?" A sudden rush of adrenaline kicked in and she shook her head violently trying to clear her thoughts. She was not going to die here. Not as a part of some sick man's mind game. "There's smoke in here. I'm in a room. Looks like a container or a basement. And I have a tablet. It's getting hard to breathe in here!"
"A tablet Felicity?"
"Yeah a tablet, and it's very dark here and I can't really see…"
"Felicity! The tablet! What's on it?"
She felt like someone just hit her head with a hammer. She rolled to her back on the floor and raised the tablet to see better.
"Oliver? It's empty. And I mean empty. There's nothing except one text file."
"What's on it?"
Felicity's fingers pressed the tablet's warm surface, and once the file opened in front of her eyes she stared the device with a blank face and sick feeling to her stomach.
"Felicity?" Oliver's voice was softer this time. It almost sounded like a plea.
"It's a riddle."
"What?"
"It's a riddle Oliver. This is the game he wants us to play." As the words flooded out from her mouth, the sudden realization of the whole situation and its series implications finally hit her. This truly was a game and she had to keep playing along or give up right now.
"Read it to me." Oliver demanded and his words triggered something in her. She needed him to understand.
"Oliver this whole thing is sick. I can't do this. I won't do this. I really thought I did the right thing and I'm sor-"
"Just once do like I ask Felicity!" The softness of his voice was long gone and replaced with anger.
Felicity felt something fiery rising within her. This might be her own fault but she truly didn't deserve a lecture during her last moments on earth.
"You have no right to tell me what to do! I'm the one locked up somewhere into smoke prison! I'm the one dying, so shut the fuck up!"
The line was dead silent again and Felicity felt bitter tears trying to push through her closed eyelids. She gulped down a sob and wiped her eyes with her palms. Oliver answered with a deep sigh and finally, after what felt like minutes, broke the silence.
"Felicity…Please, I need to know. We will find you. We'll figure this out together."
She looked up to the ceiling where the smoke still kept filling the air. She took a deep breath and swallowed loudly.
"Since you asked so nicely. The riddle goes: I am the beginning of the end, the end of every place. I am the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space. What am I?"