Author's Note: Please ignore the screwed up timeline here. I'm not following the episode exactly in that respect but the timeline as a whole evens out in later chapters.

True to his word, Slade began training Oliver during all the free time they had. The only times Oliver could catch a break was when they went to sleep, when Slade went hunting, or when he did a patrol around their plane, as he sometimes did to make sure Fyer's men weren't moving in too close. He thought he was catching on pretty quickly but Slade never failed to have him on his back in under a minute whenever they sparred. Although he was getting stronger, a solid three weeks of training was taking its toll on Oliver's patience. He didn't mind the hand-to-hand combat that much, even when he was losing, but the training with the bamboo poles mixed with Slade's sarcastic comments never failed to frustrate him. He was getting more and more irritated as the day wore on, so when Slade knocked him down, Oliver dropped his bamboo and decided that a good pace around the training field was probably a good idea before he honestly tried to kill his teacher, and he already knew that wasn't going to work.

Slade watched him silently for a moment before asking, "How did you survive here for six months?"

Oliver stopped pacing and sent a glare his way, trying his best to look intimidating.

Slade paid no attention and continued, " I know girl scouts that have more fight in them."

Oliver was pretty used to the sarcasm and could usually give it as well as he took it but he was annoyed and tired, so he only responded with, "Girl scouts now, Slade? Really?" He reached for one of the bamboo poles Slade was holding but Slade quickly smacked his hand away with it. Oliver yelled in pain and clenched his fist, "What the hell!?"

Slade was once again serious, "Listen kid, we have ten days until the supply plane lands. Ten days to turn you into at least half a soldier."

Oliver still had his teeth clenched, not ready to forgive him so easily.

Slade looked him right in the eye as he quietly said, "So start taking it seriously."

Oliver stayed silent as Slade handed him one of the bamboo poles he was holding but as soon as he grasped it he quickly swung it at Slade as hard as he could but just like every time before, Slade blocked, spun, grabbed Oliver's pole, and had him disarmed and on the ground. Oliver was tempted to just stay lying in the grass since it was a lot less painful than trying to stay on his feet. His anger won out though, so he pulled himself back up and turned to Slade, asking "What is the point of this?! These soldiers don't carry bamboo, they have guns!" Oliver knew by the look on Slade's face that it was probably a good time to stop talking, but he couldn't help himself. This was almost a month's worth of frustration that he needed to let out, so he continued yelling, "So what am I supposed to do if one of them jams a gun in my face, huh? Threaten 'em with my stick?!"

Slade waited for Oliver to finish before stepping close to him and holding the handle of his handgun out to him as he said, "Jam this in my face."

Oliver stared at him, not sure if this was yet another test. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say so he stayed silent, still not taking the gun.

Slade's patience was running out, he nudged Oliver with the gun handle and roughly told him, "Do it!" Oliver was still weary but took the gun. He looked at Slade a second longer before pointing the gun straight at his head. Before he could blink Slade twisted around, threw Oliver on the ground, and had the gun back in his own hand, pointing it at Oliver. Oliver rolled over to his back and sat up with his hands above his head as he said, "I give up. I give up."

Slade frowned and reached down, grabbing Oliver's collar and roughly hauling him to his feet. He pointed the gun at Oliver's chest and shouted, "There is no giving up to these guys! No crying or buying your way out of it!" Here he paused and moved the gun to point at Oliver's head. Seeing he had the kid's full attention, he continued in a low voice, "You have two choices. Escape...or die. So choose." O

liver glowered at him, he could see that Slade's finger was resting on the trigger of the gun currently pointing at Oliver's forehead, yet once again he felt no fear of him, his voice was even as he replied, "Escape."

Slade looked like he was seriously trying to regain his patience as he said, "Then let me show you how not to die." He shoved Oliver back, keeping eye contact with him as he did so. Finally, he holstered his gun and turned, walking back to where the bamboo poles were lying in the grass. Picking them up, he tossed one to Oliver and both got back into fighting stances before Oliver charged, trying to remember all the tips and tricks Slade had taught him so far.

By the end of their last training session, the progress Oliver had made was evident, even managing to get a few good hits in on Slade almost every session. This had earned him a smile and a "Nice job" which probably wouldn't have meant much coming from anyone else but Slade was just starting to warm up to him and treat him as something other than a nuisance so Oliver was feeling pretty good by the time Slade called it quits and he was allowed to go back to the plane.

Oliver followed along behind Slade, feeling more relaxed than he had since landing on this miserable island. It was the first time he could remember that he didn't have to watch his own back, knowing that if there were any danger close by, Slade would be aware of it long before Oliver was. He also didn't know why, but he already trusted Slade to protect him. It was strange, if he thought about it, how much trust he actually put in Slade considering he was the one who had a gun in Oliver's face mere hours ago. He couldn't explain it but he felt comfortable around him, and while it was too early to count Slade as a friend, he was definitely more familiar with him than he was with Yuo Fai. That made sense, he thought, considering Slade and him had been living and training together for almost a month now. They were getting to the point where they could read each others facial expressions and body language, communicating almost as well as if they were speaking.

Oliver smiled when he thought about that, remembering how he seemed to be perpetually confused while he was teamed up with Yao Fai. Oliver knew that if everything went according to plan, he and Slade would be going their separate ways in a couple days at most. He didn't know why, but that realization didn't make him as happy as he thought it would.

Just then, Slade glanced over his shoulder, calling to Oliver, "What are you doing back there? Stop lagging before I leave you in this God-forsaken jungle."

Oliver shook himself out of his thoughts, not noticing how far behind he'd fallen. He moved into a jog and fell back into step behind Slade, resolving to save his deep thinking for his trip home the next day.