Lian Yu roared with fire. Adrian Chase's suicide had detonated a series of explosives wired together on the island. Despite over 50 detonations taking places in no more than three seconds Oliver could hear each explosion ring in his ears.
"Oliver," William Clayton asked, his voice exuding the combination of confusion, panic and dread that served as a punch to Oliver's gut. William didn't have to say anything else, Oliver knew exactly how his nine year old son felt.
"It's gonna," Oliver stuttered. "It's gonna be okay William. I need you to stay with me, stay by my side – do you understand me buddy?"
William nodded silently, deep down unsure of what else he could do. Oliver pressed the comms button on his Green Arrow outfit.
"Felicity," he said, both with a sense of urgency despite their being no energy in his voice. "John. Can you hear me?"
Nothing.
"Dinah," Oliver continued. "Nyssa, Quentin, Rene, Curtis. Slade! Anybody!"
Nothing. No reply. Complete and utter silence.
"Oliver," William repeated again, the single word serving as yet another punch to his father's gut.
Oliver Queen stared on at the island, filled not with rage or anger but just with shock. His friends were in purgatory.
Author's Notes: So this is it, Chapter One of Episode One of the start of "Ultimate Arrow" – a divergence of the CW's Arrow starting from Season Six. Stay tuned to see which of your favourite characters meet a different fate, enjoy your favourite stories and elements retold and enjoy new twists and turns. It's show time.