Chapter 4

Advice From The

Dead, and Motivational Speeches

Disclaimer: I own nothing but what you see here. "Ouches and ow's, what a night this is going to be." William Regal on NXT Commentary

A lone figure could be seen running or at least attempting to run with a limp in a red hoodie, his face would make one think he might look great on the cover of some magazine. And if you asked one certain girl by the name of Sin, she'd say exactly that, if only to annoy him in the process. He was Roy Harper, Glades citizen, Arrow fanatic, and boyfriend of one Thea Queen. That last part still amazed him at times considering the fact they are from two very different worlds but neither of them cared all that much about it as the other is what counted as far as they were concerned. The fact Mrs. Queen seemed to like him was a nice thing too, and if he never had to have a talk with a dad again about honest intentions, it'd be too soon. And knowing his luck, it'd be likely to happen again for whatever reason while Robert Queen was still on the Earthly plane. If only to amuse himself anyway until he returned to the Afterlife. Now you might be wondering why Roy Harper is looking like he's fleeing the scene, and well, that's exactly what he's doing.

Mostly so that he's not caught on fire or worse due to some important information he had with him thanks to what is looking like a set up to cover some tracks. The whole thing is something the kid's glad about the fact that Oliver, Thea's older brother and apparently the hooded vigilante now known as the Arrow didn't know what he was doing. One arrow to the leg was enough thank you very much! As he made his way down the hall, a sudden clearing of the throat caught him off guard as he knew there just couldn't be anyone with him. Especially since he'd just passed the door behind him where the coughing was coming from! Pausing and hoping it wouldn't cost him, he turned around to see an older man in a military outfit with the name tag that said 'Shrieve' on it. "Umm… Hi?" Roy asked cautiously and ready to haul butt if need be.

He got a nod and a smile in return, almost as if the man found him amusing for whatever reason. And it made Roy think that this must be what it felt like for an animal that was prey to a predator. "Hello Mr. Harper, quite the escapade you're on tonight. Something tells me that girlfriend of yours wouldn't exactly be pleased with you if she knew what you were doing." He mused conversationally and making the young man wonder how the heck he knew who he was!

"Umm… How, how do you know my name? Or even know I have a girlfriend for that matter?" He questioned suspiciously.

That got him a laugh from the older man, serving to confuse Roy a bit in the process as well. "Well… By now I'm sure you know about the Ghost problem that's reared its little head? Consider me part of that." Shrieve informed him, much to the surprise of Roy. Though he wondered why this man would even visit him since the two had never met until now!

"I don't want to offend you or anything, but I'm pretty sure we've never met until now." He didn't say anything else, but it was implied.

Shrieve chuckled at that. "That is true son, however I'm only here to provide a little warning for you so you can avoid some problems later on down the line."

Trouble later on? What could garner him of all people a warning just to avoid something? "What kind of trouble? Cause if its coming, then I'm gonna want to know."

Shrieve shook his head in the negative at Roy, making him frown in the process. "I'm sorry son, but there's rules that prevent me from telling you that. Just know that me helping you is a part of my bid for redemption and if you listen exactly to my directions, certain things can be avoided." Admittedly, Shrieve was skeptical of the kid listening to him but he really didn't want to remain in Purgatory for the rest of his afterlife. Or possibly wind up in Hell for that matter either. And he admittedly was likely being selfish, but at least he was man enough to admit it.

Deciding to bite the bullet in the butt despite his mild dislike of authority figures, Roy asked the man what he needed to do. Shrieve nodded in satisfaction and pointed towards a door several doors away behind Roy. The red hoodie loving teenager turned towards it to get an idea of what the older and no longer living man was referring too before looking back to him. "Now that you know where its at, right before you get there, I want you to try and do a duck and roll as quickly as you can past that door." He told the young man seriously to convey just how important this was that he did it.

Gulping a bit nervously at the tone in the man's voice, he nodded his understanding and hoped he would be able to pull it off despite his injured leg. "Well.. Here's to hoping." He muttered mostly to himself and looked towards the door he had to get past to avoid whatever problem it'd bring him. Though what that could be he just didn't know, much to his annoyance.

Breaking into a run and quickly ducking down as he got to the door, he went into a forward roll with a grunt and passed the door as it opened. Unfortunately for him, the individual behind it had damn good hearing and even some damn good catching skills. Skills the individual quickly put to use as he grabbed the hood from Roy's hoodie, yanking the young man down hard to the ground with a groan. Before Roy could do anything, he was knocked out with one punch. The figure, known to friends as Cyrus Gold looked at the other figure with a suspicious look on his face, one that couldn't be seen due to the black mask on his face. Shrieve himself was not happy as he had failed in what he had set out to do. But perhaps some early warning on his part to Queen would be the best choice in this whole thing.

"God speed son… God speed." He muttered before vanishing, much to the wonderment of Gold.

Foundry, Basement Level

A few hours later saw Oliver back at the Foundry to see where they were with his attacker's latest actions after what had gone down with Lance and his fellow officers. He'd also been feeling guilty for what happened to Lance's partner and other fellow officers despite the man basically telling him he shouldn't feel guilty over it. Unfortunately for the archer however, his mother and Thea had decided to tag along as they wanted to see just where he conducted his Arrow operations from. Sin had even come along too after Thea had talked her into it, much to the annoyance of Oliver, but she had promised to keep it a secret. Much like she had been keeping another secret that she didn't need to elaborate with him on, which had served to raise a lot of curiosity from Thea but had left it alone for the time being as she wanted to focus on getting to see where her brother operated from.

Needless to say, Thea wasn't too happy when she learned about just where he was operating his Arrow life out of. But he had informed her that the place was his first and still was technically. He just found it easier to let her run the place while he dealt with other things. That got him a frown and a glare, a frown from his mother over not being more responsible for things, the glare came from Thea for basically one upping her. The three arrivals had elicited a babble fest from Felicity that had managed to greatly amuse both Sin and Thea. Even Moira found herself slightly amused by it and was starting to see just why he had made the woman his EA. The fact his former bodyguard was involved with this spoke volumes to the older woman as it helped her to realize why he had wound up sticking around in the end.

Eventually she had left as she didn't want to further intrude on what her son and his friends were doing, that and she wanted to talk further with Robert while he was still around. Thea, after sticking around awhile and wondering where Roy had gone off too, had eventually gone back up the stairs to take care of anything else. And eventually wound up back down into the basement sometime later to pick the brains of her brother's friends as she was curious on why they helped Ollie out and what they thought of this whole Ghost situation that was going on. She'd been surprised by their answers, though had noticed how sad Barry Allen looked and wished she had been able to be of more help. Something Barry had appreciated the well meaning thought from the girl. It'd been around thirty minutes of archery practice with her brother, something she was still trying to get her head around as she'd always been the archery nut growing up, when a man in a military outfit suddenly showed up and bellowed loudly and scaring the crap out of her, Felicity, and Barry to an extent.

"ATTEN-SHUN!" Was the bellow from the man and despite not having been in the army for some time now had instantly made Diggle salute the newcomer before he could stop himself.

The color on Oliver's face drained away rapidly at the sight of the man who had an arrow aimed at him after his lovely intoduction. Not that it would do Oliver much good, but hey it's the thought that counts after all. "The Hell are YOU doing here!?" The archer growled out questioningly and Thea, along with Barry gulped at the tone they were hearing from him.

"I'm here because you are needed right this very second to save a life before he goes the way of Slade Wilson." Shrieve informed him, getting straight to the point and not giving a damn if it got him in trouble with the folks upstairs. He'd always been a man to do what was necessary and damn the consequences unless he wasn't caught.

Oliver's eyes widened at that as the thought of someone else becoming like his old friend scared him more then he wanted to admit. Deciding to get straight to business himself while knowing better than to trust the man. "Why do you even care? You tried to wipe out Hong Kong so something like this would be beneath you." Shrieve frowned at the reminder of that, not to mention the nasty business he and Queen had that involved torture. Yamashiro shooting him was a damned mercy and something to thank him for. Not that he was allowed to go anywhere near that man due to rules and all.

Those in the basement had wide eyed expressions of shock at hearing what this man tried to do to Hong Kong. For Thea though, it made her question this because if Ollie was in Hong Kong… Then why did he not come home!? That was so something she was gonna talk with him about! "I care cause I am trying to make up for the mistakes of the past. I see now that doing what I thought was best for America was wrong. Especially in the way that I did it. Besides… Do you really want your little sister over there to lose her boyfriend to the madness your friend Wilson succumbed too?" He asked, causing Thea to gasp in shock and fear.

For her, it was the Savior incident all over again and all this talk about some Wilson guy going nuts and Roy going in his direction really didn't settle well with her. Turning to her brother with tears starting to build up in her eyes, she pleaded with him to go save her boyfriend. Giving his sister a solemn look before nodding and hearing a sigh of relief from her because yeah, even if she wasn't with the kid, he'd still go rescue him anyway. He quickly went to go get ready, while Diggle did the same as he wasn't about to let his friend go at this alone. Oliver wisely kept his mouth shut as he really did appreciate Digg's support on this. After several minutes of quick readyness, the two were ready as everyone else watched. Digg had a feeling this would be the pivotal moment for his friend as well concerning these ghosts as maybe the message they were trying to tell him would finally be heard. Which was something he knew Oliver needed since the whole thing was messing with his head in a lot of ways. Oliver turned towards Shrieve and demanded to know where Roy was being kept, and the man quickly told him and soon the two men were gone. Leaving Thea to be embraced by Sin as she too was worried for her friend's life.

"He'll get Abercrombie back safe and sound." She re-assured the girl who was becoming a friend in her eyes.

"Yeah if anyone can do it, its him." Barry added in with his own re-assurance, making Felicity smile at him for doing it and adding in her own two cents and babbling a little til Barry managed to stop her with a smile of his own directed at her.

Thea gave a watery smile, appreciative of everyone in the room. "Thanks guys..." She told them. Unknown to them, the ghost of Tommy Merlyn was watching from a dark corner before vanishing to go and do what was needed where his best friend and brother in all but blood was concerned.

Crescent Circle

It thankfully hadn't taken long for Oliver and Diggle to get to Crescent Circle and breach the building. Oliver from the front and Diggle from the back and both taking out any resistance as they went through the building. And thanks to intel from Felicity and Barry, Oliver eventually wound up crashing through the floor and down into the basement where Brother Blood was holding Roy. Quickly firing off an arrow into Langston and instantly felling him after he pulled a gun and then quickly fired off another into the masked man's hand that held the Mirakuru and causing him to fall to his knees in pain, he then went to untie Roy but was stopped by the menacing figure known as Cyrus Gold. Diggle appeared not long after and rushed over to Roy to help untie him as the archer and Gold fought. "Thanks man, I REALLY didn't want to get stuck with whatever that junk is." Roy muttered to Diggle as they got the heck out of dodge so that Roy could get to safety.

Their leaving left Oliver and Gold to it and so far the archer was getting his butt kicked by the guy while Blood also took off in another direction, not realizing that the arrow had pierced the Mirakuru delivery system when it had gone through his hand and allowing a drop of it to enter his wound. As Oliver struggled to catch his breath and try to fight back, he found himself realizing that maybe, just maybe this was it for him and that this is what Shado had warned him about. Guess… Guess maybe I should have listened… But then Roy… Came the thoughts through his mind as he imagined how things could have turned out for the kid. Thea never would have forgiven him for not saving him when he could have.

"Get up Oliver." Came a voice that was hauntingly familiar to the archer, making him look up at the sight of a grim faced Tommy Merlyn!

"T-Tommy?"

The man nodded at him as he knelt down, hoping to quickly inspire his best friend before the super freak in the mask went on the attack again. "This is not the moment you die, not down here, not by his hand. So get up, get up and fight back!"

Unfortunately for him, Oliver was in too much shock at the sight of his formerly living best friend. "I let… I let you die." Tommy shook his head in the negative at that.

"No Oliver, you didn't. I went to CNRI wilingly to save Laurel and that was my choice and you couldn't have known my dad had a second device to use. You're a hero bro, a hero, a fighter, and a survivor and I was wrong to call you a murderer cause you aren't one. You saved me and so many other lives Ollie and continue to do so where as a murderer never would do that. So get up!" Tommy told him forcefully.

And for Oliver, it was just what he was needing to hear as it bolstered him to continue on. "Thanks Tommy." Was his grateful response, and earning a smile from his best friend.

"You would have done the same for me bro, now… That weirdo's coming so go kick his ass!"

And so Cyrus was as he had enough, though as he charged him he felt bullets hitting into him from behind. Turning to see who did it, he saw the Arrow's partner and went to go after him, but a hit from behind by the Arrow himself sent him stumbling. "Your fight's with me." He growled out and quickly ducked a swing from the man when he charged at him.

He then crescent kicked him and the blow was enough to knock him into the centrifuge, knocking it down in the process thanks to his oncoming arrival and with him on top of it. Acting quickly, Oliver pulled out an explosive arrow and fired it into the centrifuge to destroy it so that nobody else could use it to potentially make more of the Mirakuru serum. The result was instantenous as its blowing up caused a section of the floor it was on to crumble below it, sending it into the sewers below with Gold along for the ride and screaming in pain as well from all the chemicals that had been in the centrifuge. Thankfully Oliver didn't go along for the ride down below.

"Died on a Saturday and buried on a Sunday." Oliver muttered, reciting the poem about Solomon Grundy. Not having a clue that the man would one day come back to haunt him.

"Couldn't have done it better myself buddy." Tommy joked, earning himself a shake of the head from Oliver.

Turning to look at his departed friend with a solumn look about him. "Thank you Tommy, your words saved me today."

"Your my best friend, even in death man and I wasn't gonna leave ya hangin' like that!" He responded jokingly but a hint of seriousness to his tone as the two started to walk away and out of the building and meeting up with Diggle along the way.

At the Foundry with Felicity and Friends.

While this was going on, Thea was crying tears of joy after having heard all of what went down thanks to Felicity running coms. "See? I told ya Greenie had it in the bag." Said Sin jokingly and making Thea roll her eyes despite her tears.

"Oh please! You were just as worried as I was!" She challenged and Sin didn't deny that.

Shrugging her shoulders with a smile on her face, "Yeah, but I'm a Glades girl and therefore more bad ass about this sort of thing." Informed Sin with a mix of snark and sarcasm, making Felicity and Barry laugh a little at her words.

Thea gave her a watery chuckle and hugged her before going off to freshen up as she heard Ollie saying it wouldn't be long before they got back to the Foundry and she wanted to look her best for Roy when he got there. Even though she knew he'd think her being in a burlap sack for example wouldn't be a bad thing at all in his view. He was surprisingly and wonderfully simple like that and she figured it came from growing up in the Glades. Her leaving left Sin to herself with the two adults. "So… Typical night?"

Felicity smiled at the girl. "Well… Not exactly but close." Sin nodded at that and wondered if any of them, including Sara would let her join them. Of course she had a feeling it wouldn't happen except to help with keeping them informed at the most and if that was the case then she was all for it if it meant helping to improve the Glades.

"Yeah, sometimes they kidnap people during a crisis." Cut in Barry with a smile of his own and got an elbow to the side in return that also included a glare.

Sin raised an eyebrow at that and figured the guy must have been talking from experience. Not that she was going to ask cause it was none of her business and figured it had to have been one heck of a crisis to do that to him. "I'm gonna go uhh… I'm gonna go make a call." Barry said hurriedly as he really didn't want to face that glare any longer then he had too!

That got a smirk from Felicity while Sin watched on fairly amused. Sin walked over to her as Barry quickly went up the stairs. "So this is where it all happens huh?"

She got a nod and smile in return. "Yep!" Came the reply while popping the p letter."

"Wanna learn it?" The IT girl asked with a grin, surprising the younger girl.

Sin shrugged with a big grin of her own as she definitely wouldn't mind. "Hell yeah!" She responded enthusiastically and came over to her and soon the two were happily going over the system Felicity had brung together.

Meanwhile, Barry had dialed a number he had come to know by heart and it didn't take long for him to get an answer in the form of one Iris West. His long time best friend and the girl he'd been in love with for years. "Hey Bear!" She answered happily, causing him to get a big smile on his face.

"You do know you are in big trouble right?" She asked him rhetorically as she already knew her best friend had likely already known that. Barry had to wince there as oh yeah, he knew he was!

"Oh I know Iris, but its been totally worth it."

The girl was honestly surprised by that and figured that for once something of her Bear's search for the Impossible must have actually turned out something pretty good. "Oh is that so? Worth it even through a lecture from dad? And likely from your Captain?" Barry nodded even though she couldn't see him.

"Absolutely worth it even if no one is likely to believe me on any of it. Not to mention would get me in trouble but God Iris, its worth it!" He exclaimed happily and for Iris, she was happy for her friend's excitement and with this she at least could understand what he was talking about for now. Though she was a little worried over the trouble bit but figured she'd wait til he got home to get him to spill the beans. After all, they never keep secrets from one another.

"Well I'm happy for you Bear, and you know I'm always willing to hear your stories of the impossible." She told him warmly, making him smile again.

"And I've always appreciated that a lot Iris. But even this one is gonna be hard to even accept considering certain facts of life." That made her raise her eyebrows at that and honestly found herself looking forward to hearing about it.

"I can't wait to hear all about it! And speaking of hearing about it… When are you coming home?" His not being around honestly sucked in her opinion and she could do less with him not being around.

Figuring that now would be the perfect time to tell her he had something important he needed to talk with her about when he got home before he could talk himself out of it, plus her knowing he had something important to talk about would have her on him until he actually told her. So it more or less worked out for him despite the fact he was scared as Hell to tell her how he felt, but he was going to try to honor his mother's wishes. "Now that things seem to be wrapping up around here, I plan to be back before or by the afternoon. And um… Well…. There's something I need to tell you after I get back, something important." He had stressed that last word so that she would get the implication of just how important it was to talk with her. And it immediately had her curious and wondering if maybe she could get him to spill the beans right now.

As after all, if she got him to talk about it now, she could think it over and then discuss further options if there was any when he got back. It was win win in her book. "You've got me all curious now Bear, is there no way you can tell me now?" She asked leadingly and hoping it wasn't going to be something she didn't like.

But Barry, being wise to her tricks due to the years spent around her wasn't gonna budge to that. "No, this is really the kind of thing that needs to be talked about in person. Even if it is likely to cause a problem.." He softly muttered but Iris still heard it anyway and it was something that worried her.

Whatever it was though, she and her Bear would get through it no matter what. Besides, its not like he was going to tell her he's in love with her or anything right? For all she knows, he got a job offer or something and is considering it despite the fact it would take him away from all he knows. His coming to her is his way of trusting her and maybe even causing her to talk him out of it for one reason or another. Iris really didn't think a girl was involved in whatever the important thing was as her Bear would have been unlikely to have found someone over in Starling City. But then again things can happen. And there was no way he was dating someone here in Central cause they just didn't keep secrets like that!

A pang in her chest at the thought of Barry dating anybody else confused her, but she figured it was a case of not wanting to share more than anything else. "Oh you worry too much! It would take something really, and I mean REALLY bad to drive us a part if that's what you're worried about." Her optimism was one of the things he always did like about her.

"Guess I'm worrying for nothing then huh?" He asked jokingly, and then heard noises coming from the entrance which soon revealed to be Oliver, Diggle, and whom he assumed was Roy.

"I better go Iris, some new friends of mine are back and if its possible, could you not tell your dad when I'm gonna be back? I'd like to not face his wrath so soon." Though he was joking, he was also being totally serious at the same time. Something that earned him a laugh from Iris.

"Hah! I'll do my best where dad is concerned. And I guess… I'll see ya soon." Reluctant was a word to use in not wanting to end the phone call with Barry so soon.

Something Barry himself was reluctant about. "Thanks Iris, I'll make it up to you. And real soon I hope." And with that, he reluctantly hung up.

Turning to the arrivals with a smile on his face. "And I see you guys are back successfully." He started off cheerily, making Roy instantly paranoid over the stranger. And hey, given how things were going earlier who could blame him!?

"Uhh.. Who's this?" He asked suspiciously and ready to defend himself or haul ass if need be. The thought he might be a ghost hadn't even entered his mind.

Oliver would have rolled his eyes at the kid's suspicious nature, but he could understand where he was coming from. "This is Barry Allen, someone who's been a big help recently." He told Roy while more or less giving Barry a compliment.

"Yeah, he's also why we see ghosts too." Diggle joined in jokingly, causing Roy to look at Barry again in surprise.

Barry had to wince at that one even though he could tell Mr. Diggle was joking. "I so did not mean for that to happen. I mean how could anyone have thought that would happen with rat poison of all things? Its verging on impossible and I should know cause I chase after the impossible." He might have kept rambling on if Oliver hadn't of cleared his throat.

"Rat poison?" Roy asked curiously, wondering just how in the Hell rat poison of all things could start a near Ghost epidemic.

Oliver took this one however. "It was a life or death situation at the time for me and it was the best option." His explanation was short and to the point, though it left Roy with the distinct impression there was a whole lot more to the story.

Naturally, he didn't have much time to think about that as a brunette force slammed into him with a tight hug. Said brunette force? Why none other then Thea Queen of course! "Roy! Thank God you're okay!" She cried out happily.

He quickly hugged her back just as tightly, happy to have her in his arms once again. "If it wasn't for your brother, I don't know where I'd be right now." He told her solemnly as the two hugged, grateful to still be living and in this moment with Thea.

Felicity and Sin had come upstairs quietly and were observing the scene with the others with smiles on their faces. On one of the higher platforms Shrieve and Yao Fei could be seen watching the scene as well. "You do good." Oliver's former mentor commented, leaving Shrieve to nod in agreement. Happy that everything had worked out well.

Shado then appeared next to them. "Though I am happy Baobei survived what I feared he wouldn't, there is still the coming danger I greatly worry about." Both of the men could definitely understand that, considering who she was talking about was damned formidable and had been stewing in his hatred and rage towards Oliver for years since their last encounter.

"He strong, his friend's words renew his strength. Oliver not fail when stopping Slade." Commented Yao Fei, who strongly believed what he had just spoken.

Shrieve had to agree with that as he knew from experience that nothing could really stop the kid when he was determined. Shado, while she believed in her father's words and had seen Oliver's progression over the years still worried none the less while strongly wishing she could be by her Baobei's side in the days to come. But she was happy in the knowledge that he had friends and family that he could depend on as those days came.

Author's Notes: Whoo! Finished with this at long last! I really hope all of you like this one and apologies for the unintentional wait on it! Today is also my birthday so yay for that! I originally had thought about including the roof top scene with Quentin and having it to where Alive!Slade showed up to confront Oliver while at first he's just thinking the man's a ghost. But in the end decided against it. There will be one more chapter and then this will be done. Baobei also means baby or dear and considering the closeness Shado and Oliver had, I felt it was appropriate for her to use that here.

Also, for any fellow wrestling fans… If you haven't yet, go watch Lucha Underground's Ultima Lucha! That's just all kinds of greatness! Anyhizzles… R and R! And see ya next time!