In honor of Thanksgiving, I decided to post a new story I started months ago. This story is set in the middle of season 3 of Arrow after "The Climb". However, Oliver does NOT survive the battle with Ra's al Ghul. He will not be in this story. This is a darker Arrow story that focuses on Felicity. It is about five seasons after BTVS. I plan on this being a Felicity/Xander pairing. This story isn't for Olicity fans as there is no Olicity at all in this story. However, chapter one does focus on the real feelings between them before and after Oliver faces Ra's.
Chapter 1: After the Climb
******Verdant******
Felicity couldn't believe it'd been a week since Oliver had stood in front of her telling her that he loved her before walking to face down Ra's al Ghul. Her fear for his safety was so all-consuming that she never even said it back. By the time her normally agile brain had registered that he was leaving to fight a battle to the death, he was gone. She'd been too upset to chase him down and say a proper goodbye. God, she hadn't even kissed him! She didn't know if she could let him back in again only to lose him. The fact that he'd been gone a week and they hadn't heard from him made her think she'd made the right choice. Something bad had happened to him. Felicity could feel it. There's no way Oliver would keep them waiting like this if he was okay. He was either seriously hurt or he was dead.
Roy and Diggle came downstairs. "Man, things are getting seriously bad outside!" Roy said. "It's like the bad guys know Oliver's gone."
"We don't know that he's gone," Diggle said with disapproval. "Oliver will be back. You'll see."
Felicity was silent when Diggle looked to her for her support. She knew what he wanted from her, but she couldn't give it. "I'm not so sure, Dig," she said, her eyes full of sorrow. "I have a bad feeling."
Laurel came down and noticed the silence. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" she asked, looking from Felicity to Dig to Roy.
"I think we should go look for Oliver," Felicity said. "We haven't heard a word, and it's been a week. Something is wrong."
Roy noticed the computer screen that had the security cameras displayed. "Someone's at the backdoor," he said. When the person raised their head and looked directly at the camera, they all knew who it was.
"Nyssa is here," Felicity said in alarm. The sick feeling in her stomach spread as the four of them quickly went to the door to greet the demon heir.
As soon as they open the door, they saw League members behind Nyssa. Wary, Diggle moved in front of Felicity—always the protector. "Do you have word about Oliver?" he asked her, not wasting time on niceties.
Nyssa was solemn as she moved aside. The men behind her parted and more were revealed. Felicity gasped as she realized they were holding a litter with a body on it. Since the body was completely covered, she drew the obvious conclusion.
Laurel moved forward. "Is that Oliver? Is he okay?" she asked.
"He's dead, isn't he?" Felicity asked, her eyes dry. She had known. Somehow, she'd felt his light go out of the world. The man she'd loved, who loved his sister more than his own life, was dead.
"Yes, he is," Nyssa said. "He fought with honor. Sara can rest in peace."
"Oliver didn't kill her! Surely, you know that!" Laurel exclaimed.
Before Nyssa could say anything further, Felicity spoke up, "Oliver's dead! He died because Sara was killed. It's enough. We've lost enough." She didn't want to think about what could happen if they discovered Thea had done the deed. Oliver wasn't here now to fight for his sister. It was up to them to protect Thea. Neither Nyssa nor the League could ever know the real truth.
Roy and Diggle stepped forward. Dig moved the cover back, revealing Oliver's face. It was true. He'd lost another brother. Pain filled him as he gazed down at Oliver's lifeless body.
"I can't believe he's gone!" Roy said, equally upset.
"How are we going to explain this?" Laurel asked, wiping her cheeks.
"Thanks for bringing him home," Felicity told Nyssa.
Roy and Dig took him downstairs for a final time, resting him on the metal table. The four of them stood there in silence, looking at his body.
"He's really dead," Dig said, a note of disbelief in his voice.
Roy turned away from the sight of his fallen hero. Oliver had given him a life, a purpose. Now he was dead. Rage welled up in him. He turned and threw a chair into the glass display holding Oliver's costume. Not even Felicity scolded him.
She was too numb. She walked over to his body, her hand pulling back the black cover further, exposing his chest. They all saw the gaping hole where a sword went through him. The bruising over his body indicated even more trauma.
Felicity put her hand on his cold chest. A shudder went through her. Then she bent down and whispered in his ear, "I love you, too." She kissed him for only the second time—the final time. Without speaking, she left.
She went home and cried alone. She cried for hours until she finally fell into an exhausted slumber.
The next few weeks were a blur. They went public with Oliver's death. Felicity felt that Thea deserved some peace. She didn't need to live in uncertainty like they had with their father. Oliver came back once before. Felicity didn't want Thea thinking that it would happen again. The city had become so violent since the Arrow had left that faking a stabbing from a mugging in the club's alley way hadn't been difficult. Having Laurel claim to witness it made Lance believe it. Making Dig put on the Arrow costume and fight with Roy and Laurel the same night preserved Oliver's identity as the Arrow for all time.
It hadn't been an easy decision, but it was one Felicity had insisted on. Oliver wasn't there to protect Thea, so it was up to them. If his identity as the Arrow came out, Oliver's enemies would be gunning for her. Felicity didn't want any excuse for Malcolm to draw her even closer.
A month after Oliver's death, Felicity introduced Ray and his suit to the team. The crime in the city had begun to escalate. After Oliver's death, Dig went out a few times in the suit so that no one would connect Oliver and the Arrow. However, by the third week, John just couldn't do it. It felt wrong. He would never be Oliver, and it felt like a betrayal to try. They hung up the suit for the last time. Felicity knew that they needed more help.
Laurel was fighting with Roy and Dig nearly every night. However, the criminals became more vicious. It was like they were all on some kind of super drug. Roy would even swear he'd seem them wearing their own frightening face masks a few times.
"Something isn't right!" Roy exclaimed as they returned back to the base. Ray had been with them a week now. His high tech suit was very cool. Roy was glad to have another fighter on the team because without Oliver it seemed like they were getting their asses kicked more than ever.
"What's wrong?" Felicity asked, turning in her chair. Ray was taking off his helmet.
"What's wrong?" Roy asked incredulous. "Everything is wrong! Oliver is dead! Thea doesn't know that her murderous father is the reason. I am still lying to her! The criminals on the street have gotten worse. It's like they've evolved into stronger, more evil versions of themselves. Everything is wrong!"
"He's right," Laurel agreed. "Something is very wrong. I could swear this guy I was fighting tonight had fangs."
"We wear masks, so now they've decided to wear their own. It's some twisted shit!" Roy exclaimed in disgust.
"It's normal for the criminal element to respond to what they post as a threat to their livelihood, which is us," Ray said.
"No, I'm telling you that it's something else. Things have changed," Roy said in growing frustration.
"Everything's changed," Felicity said sadly. She turned back to her screens. The hole inside her had grown bigger every night since Oliver had left. It was like a piece of her had died with him. Now she was just going through the motions. "Maybe we should just stop trying to save this city." She finally told them the thought that had been lingering in her head every night since they'd buried him.
"So you want to just give up? Throw in the towel? Oliver's gone so nothing else matters?" Laurel asked in outrage. "Well, this is my city! I grew up here. If you want to go back to where ever you came from, then go! I'll quit fighting when I'm dead. That's what Sara did. That's what Oliver did!" After her outburst, she left.
Her anger fueled her as she went out the back door to the club. It kept her distracted, so she didn't notice when four men surrounded her. Their superior strength had her pinned. Her screams weren't noticed because screams in the Glades were all too familiar.
Laurel Lance died in a dirty alley like her sister. Unlike her sister, however, her body didn't die. Her new friends were gleeful as they took their new play thing back to their lair.
Two days later, the city's newest evil went looking to punish her host's former friends. The first person she came across was Ray and Felicity in the lair working on something.
"Hello," she said, walking in. Laurel couldn't wait to see the look on their faces when she moved in for the death's blow. She knew Ray would be drained of his blood, but she was considering turning Felicity. It'd be so amusing to black the soul of little miss perfect.
"Hey, Laurel. Roy and Dig already left. They didn't think you were coming," Felicity told her.
"I got a late start tonight," she said easily. "What are you two working on?" Not that she cared. She didn't care about anything anymore. Only blood. It was so liberating.
She pretended to listen as Ray went into some boring explanation. When she got close enough to him to touch, she went in for the kill.
Ray was completely unprepared for an attack from their friend. Felicity stared in frozen horror at his lifeless corpse a minute later. When Laurel's suddenly deformed looking face smiled in pleasure at Felicity, she finally unfroze and grabbed one of the guns they kept on hand.
"Stop, Laurel! I'll shoot!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. What the hell had happened to Laurel? "How could you kill Ray like that? He was good and kind and brilliant."
"Yeah, I know. He was a real drag," Laurel said, grinning. She moved toward Felicity. "Don't worry, Felicity. I'm not just going to kill you. I'm going to make you strong like me!"
"Don't come any closer! I'll shoot you!" she exclaimed.
Laurel just smirked and kept coming. Felicity closed her eyes and fired the gun over and over.
"Ouch! That hurt!" Laurel scolded.
Felicity stared in disbelief as Laurel kept coming. She knew that she had hit her. No bullets had ricocheted around the room. They had hit Laurel, yet she was still moving. It was like the bullets had no impact on her at all. A confused and terrified Felicity was at a loss. Finally, she shoved her computer chair at her. It only slowed Laurel for a second.
"What the hell is going on here?" Roy yelled, having ran down the stairs when he heard gun shot. "Who's shooting? We heard shooting!"
"Thank God!" Felicity exclaimed as Laurel stopped her progress, glancing warily at the guys.
"Are you okay?" Dig asked. He looked down and saw Ray. "What happened to Ray?" He checked his pulse. "He's dead."
Felicity was crying hard. "She killed him! Laurel killed him!" she yelled.
Roy didn't question her; he trusted her with his life. He pulled an arrow and pointed it at Laurel. "I don't know what you're on, Laurel, but don't move!" he yelled.
"We have to call Lance," Dig said, raising to his feet.
"Call my dad. That's funny!" Laurel said. She knew not to fight the two men and began to back slowly out of the room.
"She's lost her mind!" Felicity yelled. She looked down at Ray's body. Why would she do this? "She drained Ray's body of blood like a vampire!"
Laurel snickered. "That's because I am a vampire! For a genius, you're kind of stupid!" Laurel informed her before hitting Roy hard enough to have him fly back several feet. She used the distraction to make it to the stairs and was out the door.
Felicity knelt down at Ray's side, crying. First they lost Oliver and now Ray. It looked like they'd lost Laurel, too. "How could she do this? I don't understand," she said, grief choking her. The hits just kept coming.
"She said she was a vampire. Was she for real or is that the new gang? I've seen bad guys where these weird masks. I thought they were masks anyway," Roy said, trying to puzzle it out.
"When I was overseas, I heard locals talk about vampires, but I thought it was just ignorant superstition," Dig admitted.
"How are we going to explain this?" Felicity asked, looking up. "Ray's too high profile. Oliver had died once, and both his parents were dead. People weren't overly surprised to hear about his death. We can't cover this up."
"We must move the body away from here. Move him some place near his company," Diggle advised.
So that's what they did. Felicity felt sick when they left Ray in the alley next to Palmer's Technology. However, she made an anonymous 911 call so that his body would be discovered quickly.
Then she called in Laurel's father and tried to convince him that she had seen Ray die and that it had been Laurel. Felicity spoke to him from her office at Palmer's.
Lance looked at her in disbelief. "Is this some kind of sick joke? Laurel wouldn't kill anyone!" he exclaimed.
"Laurel's not the Laurel you know. She's changed. Considerably," Felicity said.
"She's not human anymore," Dig added. He'd been posing as Felicity's bodyguard since Oliver's death. It was what he did when Oliver first met him. It also explained why he'd be spotted near Felicity. Her higher profile job at Palmer's made it not so unusual.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lance demanded.
"Haven't you noticed that some of the criminals are not right? They're too strong. Some seem to be sporting fangs," Felicity informed him.
"I don't get out in the field like I used to," he replied, shaking his head. "But I know that you both must be working too hard. I know losing Oliver was hard on you both. It's normal to look for a reason. Sometimes bad things happen. There's not a reason. However, blaming my daughter for draining the blood of a man she barely knew is just crazy!"
"She tried to kill me, too, and she would've if Dig hadn't been there," Felicity said flatly. She was worried for Quentin. He was a good man, and she didn't want to see him dead at his own daughter's hand. She'd convinced Dig that he had to be warned.
Lance stood up. "This discussion is over. I'll go talk to Laurel. I'm sure she'll be able to account for her whereabouts," he said. He left.
Dig called Roy. "Follow Lance. He's going to see Laurel. I can't imagine it'll end well," Dig said.
Roy did as he was told, but no one answered at Laurel's. Frowning and muttering to himself, Lance left. Roy looked up at the hot sun and wondered if the stories he'd heard about vampires were true. Did they only come out at night? Was that why crime was so much worse at night?
Roy kept watch at Laurel's until the sun set. He wasn't overly surprised when she came out of her place. She was on the phone, but he couldn't hear anything. He called Felicity to give her an update.
"Follow her. I'm worried that she's going to hurt her father," Felicity said.
"She wouldn't do that," Roy said, frowning.
"She killed Ray without hesitation. She's like a different person, Roy. I don't think anyone is safe—not even Quentin," Felicity said grimly.
Roy followed Laurel, who did end up going to her dad's. He greeted her at the door. When Laurel hugged her dad, Roy relaxed. Surely, things would be okay. However, he moved closer to the window so that he could keep an eye on things. He heard Lance ask about her whereabouts. Roy was shocked when Laurel confessed to killing Ray.
"Why would you do that?" Lance asked in horror, his mind racing. "What did you take? We'll get you help, sweetheart. Don't worry. I'm going to take care of you."
Laurel smiled malevolently at him. "Sorry, Dad. There's no help for what ails me," she said. She moved closer to her dad. Roy debated on breaking through the window.
"Did Ray attack you? Is that why you killed him?" Lance inquired, looking for a reason that would make sense.
"No, Dad. He's too nice to ever hurt a woman," she said with a snicker. "I was hungry."
When she lunged for her father, Roy made his move, breaking through the window. However, she moved too quickly and had her father in a choke hold before Roy could release an arrow.
"Laurel, what are you doing?" her father asked, still not comprehending.
"I'm going to kill you," she said simply.
"No, you're not," Roy said as he aimed the arrow. However, she was using Lance at a shield, and he didn't have a clear shot.
"Can you believe that Thea's little street rat is the Red Arrow? He's the one that was helping Oliver try and save this city," Laurel revealed in disdain. "Too bad he doesn't seem to get that it's doomed." Before Roy could release an arrow, she snaps her father's neck.
As soon as she lowered the body slightly, Roy released an arrow that landed in Laurel's shoulder. "You missed!" she said with a smirk. Then she threw down Lance's body and escaped out the front door.
Moving to Lance's side, Roy checked his pulse. He was dead.
Unable to process what has happened, he moved slowly back to their base. When he told his team what had happened, they are too numb to say much for several minutes.
Finally, Felicity wiped her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening! Why would Laurel kill Ray and Quentin—he was her father!"
"Why would she drain Ray's body of its blood?" Dig questioned. "We know why." It seemed like they'd awoken in a real life horror film. Dig was shaken to his core, but he had a family to protect. Giving up the fight was not an option.
"So vampires are freakin' real?" Roy asked, still struggling to believe it. "But vampire or not, I don't get why she'd try to kill her friends and her father. He was the only family she had left."
They were so preoccupied with their own musings that they failed to notice two new arrivals standing at the foot of the stairs. A man and a woman stepped closer. The man spoke. "Your friend is dead. Now a demon is wearing her face and has access to her memories."
The three remaining members of team Arrow turned quickly. Dig instinctively pulled out his gun while Roy cocked an arrow.
Felicity frowned at the appearance of the two strangers. "How the hell did you get in here?" she asked them.
The man, who was wearing an eye patch and carried himself with the air of one who'd seen too many battles said, "That isn't nearly as interesting as why we've come."
The three facing him brace themselves, expecting more bad news.
*****Chapter End******
As you can see, this is a bit dark. I hope you'll want to read more. It's much different than other stories I've written, but I'm hoping to make it exciting to read. Reviews are very welcome and appreciated.