Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
In the fuselage, Oliver was attempting to do a pullup on a bar as he grunted and fell down, while Slade said that Oliver had managed to do four pullups before falling, while Oliver noted that running was his preference.
"Well, he was quite out of form back then." Laurel noted.
"Maybe we should try a gym or fitness." Tommy suggested, realizing how good Oliver was as the Hood.
Slade got up on the bar and was more successful in doing pullups as Oliver said they should focus on trying to find another way off the island, while Slade replied that there was no other way, otherwise he would have found it.
Oliver protested that Fyers would find them and kill them and that they had to do something and Slade noted that he did have an idea once and Oliver looked hopeful, until Slade remarked sarcastically that they should collect as much bamboo as they could and build themselves a boat, like in "Gilligan's Island" show, which made Oliver glower in annoyance.
They all let out a quiet laugh, amused.
"I like this guy." Quentin said.
'You'll change your mind soon.' Sara said to herself, looking at Quentin and Slade sadly.
Then, Oliver turned his head to take notice of the radio as he examined it until Slade noted that it was broken and Oliver remarked that he could try to fix it, considering that he used to help Robert with plane maintenance, while Slade seemed skeptical. Slade pointed out that Oliver should work out in order to have a chance against Fyers's men, while Oliver got to work on trying to fix the radio.
"Well, if anyone has a chance at fixing it, it's Ollie." Thea noted as Tommy, Moira and Laurel nodded.
"I remember he used to fix smaller things when he was younger." Moira noted.
For days, Oliver was trying to fix the radio as he was putting wires together, when Slade returned with a boar on a pole over his back that he hunted down. Slade noted that Oliver should take a rest but Oliver was more focused on fixing the radio until, much to his own and Slade's astonishment, Oliver managed to make the radio work as they both looked hopeful.
"Yeah!" Thea cheered.
"They can call out for help!" Felicity hoped.
"Unfortunately, no." Sara said, much to their disappointment.
They heard a radio band as Slade picked up the mic and attempted to call out, asking for help. But then they realized that the mic did not work, which meant they could not use the radio to call out for help, leaving them still stranded on Lian Yu, much to Slade's frustration.
"They can't hear them." Diggle said as everyone sighed.
Oliver sat down, annoyed as Slade then fiddled with the radio, noting that it might still be useful until they heard a familiar male voice with British accent as Oliver got up and neared the radio, listening closely, realizing that Slade intercepted the soldiers' frequency.
"That's… clever." Felicity noted.
"Maybe they can find out what Fyers is up to." Tommy said.
Oliver and Slade heard Fyers talking to someone, as Fyers said that "Scylla" was on its way to him in hours.
Neither Oliver or Slade had any idea, who was Fyers talking to but Slade assumed that it was his employer or benefactor as he wondered what Scylla was and Oliver explained that Scylla and Charybdis were monsters from the Odyssey.
"Something codenamed after a monster…" Tommy trailed off.
"…does not sound good at all." Laurel finished, worried as they felt pits of dread form in their stomachs, worried.
"What exactly are Scylla and Charybdis in the Odyssey?" Roy wondered as he and Thea turned to Laurel and Tommy.
"Basically, it means "between a rock and a hard place"." Laurel explained. "Odysseus had to choose between two monsters, while passing through the strait. Charybdis would've meant passing through a whirlpool and losing his whole crew, while Scylla would've taken six of his crewmen because it was a six-headed sea monster."
"Odysseus chose the lesser evil." Tommy said as everyone looked worried what exactly was this "Scylla" Fyers was talking about.
Slade sheathed his swords on his back as Oliver picked his knife, about to take a look at this "monster" Fyers was talking about as they left the fuselage. They snuck onto Fyers's camp stealthily as Slade pulled out his binoculars and breathed out in concern before he handed them to Oliver and Oliver took a look to see a large missile launcher. A Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile launcher able to track up a hundred targets, while engaging at least a dozen as Slade noted that it could either shoot down a commercial airline or start a war.
"Holy crap." Roy said what everyone was thinking. "That's huge."
"What… what would Fyers want with that thing?" Quentin wondered.
"Considering how dangerous it is, it's safe to assume it's nothing good." Moira said, as her memory led her to Malcolm's earthquake device.
Oliver and Slade wondered what would Fyers want with such a large weapon but they knew for sure that they couldn't allow him to use it, otherwise innocent people would die. Oliver wondered how would they sneak past the soldiers to the missile launcher as Slade looked through his binoculars again and saw the soldiers carry crates of explosives, an idea forming in his mind. Oliver wondered whether they could ambush them by putting them in one place as Slade turned to Oliver, an idea forming in his mind.
"Why do I have a feeling Ollie's going to put on that mask again?" Thea asked.
"Because he is." Sara said.
Oliver put on the soldiers' mask as he carried seemingly restrained Slade towards the soldiers guarding the missile launcher. The soldiers neared them, gleefully looking forward to get their payback on Slade until Slade suddenly pulled out his pistols and quickly shot the soldiers down as Oliver crouched and took cover.
"Nice." Diggle smirked, admiring Slade's marksmanship skills.
"Ollie was really lucky there was someone like him looking out for him." Laurel said.
Slade gave Oliver a smile as Slade picked a crate of explosives, while they planted them around the launcher, about to blow it up. Suddenly, an idea formed in Oliver's mind as he opened a panel at the back of the launcher, much to Slade's confusion, wondering what was he doing as Oliver pulled out the motherboard.
"Oh!" Felicity realized what Oliver was doing. "That's clever, at least it's subtler than blowing that thing up."
Oliver removed a chip that he explained that the launcher needed a circuit board to work and Slade laughed, realizing they could use it as a leverage against Fyers.
"They could use it." Thea smirked as everyone was glad that Fyers' plan was set back.
Later at night, they hid near the launcher as Slade handed Oliver a radio and he called out as Fyers was examining the disabled missile launcher, calling back as he threatened that his men would kill Oliver very slowly, once they found him because Oliver and Slade stole the circuit board, while Fyers wondered where they were. Oliver suggested a trade with Fyers, wanting a way off the island in exchange for the circuit board.
"Something tells me it didn't work out the way he planned it to." Tommy said.
"No." Sara shook her head. At this point, they weren't really surprised that Oliver seemed to have many chances to go home and miss them but still, it did not make seeing it happen any easier.
Oliver explained the details of the trade, while Fyers attempted to stall. Oliver taunted Fyers until Slade snatched the radio off his hand and glared at Oliver for his stupidity, while Oliver looked confused. Slade took charge of the negotiation, trying to reason with Fyers and ordering him to bring a boat before Slade hung up.
"Idiot." Quentin, partly in amused and partly in condescending tone as no one was sure whether to laugh or shake their heads at Oliver's impulsiveness.
Later in the morning, Oliver and Slade were in the forest, about to meet with Fyers, Yao Fei and the mercenaries as they proceeded with the trade. Slade noted that Oliver's principles and integrity seemed to be his strong suit, much to Fyers' satisfaction as his men dragged in Shado, who tried to struggle out from their grip as Yao Fei looked in horror, while they forced her on her knees. Fyers aimed his gun at her head, while Yao Fei protested. One of the soldiers hit Yao Fei in the head, with his rifle, knocking him down as Oliver and Slade glared. Fyers threatened to kill Shado if Oliver and Slade did not hand over the circuit board, while Oliver realized that she was the reason Yao Fei would not go with him and Fyers taunted them that Oliver certainly would not want an innocent woman's death on his conscience.
Everyone glared at Fyers as the phrase "if looks could kill" came to mind.
Slade aimed his gun at Fyers, demanding for him to release Shado but Fyers replied by ordering his men to execute her, much to Yao Fei's horror.
"No!" Felicity cried out, while Moira, Thea and Laurel gapped and Roy, Tommy, Diggle and Quentin tensed.
Suddenly, Shado grabbed the gun of one of the soldiers and hit another one in his hip and the first one in his chest, forcing them both to kneel before she grabbed one with her arms and another one with her legs, throwing them both down on the ground.
"Wow. I definitely didn't see that coming." Roy said as everyone expected that Shado was just an innocent defenseless woman.
Slade shot two soldiers with his pistols and Oliver rushed at another one, pushing him towards a tree as Yao Fei grabbed another one by his neck with his legs, choking him. Oliver struggled with his opponent as Shado hit Fyers in his neck and wrapped her legs around him before knocking him down and Slade looked impressed by her martial arts skills.
"Badass." Tommy remarked.
Oliver managed to knock his opponent down as he whacked him in the head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him out.
"Not bad." Diggle said as everyone noticed that Oliver's fighting skills seemed to be improving as they were curious about the progress he had made over the five years before he became the Hood.
Shado sent a barrage of punches to Fyers's face until the mercenary leader was too dazed to do anything before she got up and approached her saviors. But, to their horror, more of Fyers's men arrived, opening fire as Shado helped Yao Fei get up on his feet.
"Shit." Roy swore.
"Come on, get out of there!" Felicity exclaimed.
Slade fired at them with his rifle as the group started to run down the woods. Yao Fei was shot in his leg as he stumbled before Oliver helped him on his feet as they took cover, while Slade continued firing at the soldiers. Yao Fei ordered them to get his daughter to safety and leave him behind because he would only slow them down. Shado did not want to abandon her father but Oliver dragged her away as they and Slade continued to run, leaving Yao Fei behind.
"Damn it!" Diggle swore.
"They can't leave him behind!" Tommy protested.
"If they stay there, they're as good as dead, at least he bought them some time." Quentin pointed out as everyone was worried about Yao Fei.
As the night came, they came to a stump, where Oliver and Slade stashed the circuit board, only to find out that Fyers' men had managed to find it as they were meeting with Fyers.
"Son of a bitch!" Felicity said as everyone looked worried about what was Fyers planning.
Slade grabbed Oliver by the collar of his shirt, cursing Oliver's naivete as Oliver realized that Fyers was never going to uphold his end of the bargain and let them leave the island.
"Obvious but I can't blame him for hoping for that." Quentin said and Diggle, Roy, Laurel and Moira nodded.
Shado confirmed Oliver's realization as to his and Slade's surprise, she spoke up in English as Oliver grumbled that they had no idea what Fyers's plan was with the missile launcher but Shado said that she had an idea, much to the men's surprise.
"What was Fyers… never mind." Quentin shook his head, realizing that they would see soon enough as everyone chuckled, while Sara smiled.
Later, in the middle of the day, Slade and Shado were sparring in the fuselage. They appeared to be evenly matched as the fight ended with Slade and Shado in a stalemate as Shado knocked Slade on the ground, while he had a knife to her hip, both of them impressed by each other's fighting skills and Oliver was playing with Shado's bow absently before Oliver looked at them, glowering and seeming jealous, while Slade and Shado got up, taking a break.
"OK, is it just me or does it look like Oliver's jealous that Slade and Shado are growing close to each other or that he's nowhere as good as them?" Felicity wondered, not helping herself but enjoying the look on Oliver's face as she smiled a bit.
"I'd say both and it's not just you." Tommy said as he and Roy could not help themselves but snicker, while Quentin, Moira and Diggle chuckled, amused and Laurel, Thea and Felicity giggled quietly.
Slade commended that Shado really was Yao Fei's child as Oliver tried to pull the bowstring. Shado cautioned that Oliver shouldn't pull the bowstring too much, otherwise he'd break the bow and get shrapnel in his eyes and Oliver quickly put the bow down, while both Slade and Shado took a drink, while Oliver pointed out that they should focus on stopping Fyers and saving Yao Fei, while Shado noted that Oliver seemed to whine a lot, a fact that Slade acknowledged as Oliver rolled his eyes and shook his head in annoyance.
"Like a little brother." Tommy said as everyone seemed amused.
Shado asked about Oliver's fighting skills, while Slade said that they weren't very good but Oliver reminded that he was listening. Shado offered to train Oliver as Slade laughed, amused.
Shado filled a bowl with water as she ordered Oliver to slap the water with the palm of his hand, much to Oliver's confusion and later, annoyance before Shado said told him a quote from Laozi. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Oliver continued to slap the water on her insistence until the bowl was empty before he refilled the bowl and continued to slap it.
"OK, what's the point of this if all he does is slapping the water out of it?" Felicity asked before she quickly turned to Sara, who was about to open her mouth. "And, please, don't say it, I want a short, logical explanation."
"It's to build up Ollie's arm strength. It seems like an annoying form of training but it's very helpful. You… just keep watching." Sara quickly corrected herself and they sighed, getting a little tired of Sara saying that they would see soon enough but could understand that.
Later, Shado was doing a handstand, with her legs folded in a lotus position in front of Oliver, much to his impression as Oliver said that his mother was doing yoga.
"Trying that, I'd probably break my bones." Moira said, impressed by Shado as well.
"Oh, I'd like to be that flexible too." Laurel noted and Sara winced, painful memory from Laurel becoming the Black Canary coming back. While Sara was glad that Laurel decided to honor her memory, considering what it ultimately led to… she quickly masked her feelings and got ahold of herself before anyone would notice how sad she looked.
Oliver mentioned how did he and Slade rescue her before Shado remarked about who rescued who, while Oliver corrected himself that they rescued each other.
"Oh, Ollie." Laurel smiled, amused.
"It's always amusing when he blurts out something that makes him feel embarrassed." Thea giggled as everyone chuckled.
Oliver asked Shado what was Fyers up to as she got up on her feet and took a drink from the jug of water in the corner of the fuselage as she explained that because Yao Fei was exiled on Lian Yu by Chinese military because they used him as a scapegoat for a massacre that Fyers had claimed that Yao Fei was responsible for, when in fact the Chinese responsible for it and Fyers intended to use him as a scapegoat too for whatever plan Fyers had. Then she explained that she had been searching for her father for years until months ago, someone entered her apartment, claiming to have information about his whereabouts until they knocked her out and brought her to the island.
"Bastards." Quentin sneered as everyone's blood boiled but he and Moira in particular were angry that someone was using someone's child as a leverage.
"Who was behind all this?" Roy wondered.
"Year three." Sara explained. "It's gonna take a while before we get to it."
Then she admitted that she was worried what Yao Fei must have gone through on Lian Yu and how it must have changed him before Oliver assured her that her father was still a good man, considering that he saved Oliver's life.
Shado smiled as she ordered for Oliver to resume his training until late night, when Slade entered with dead rabbits in his hand as a dinner, amused by Oliver's seemingly pointless training as he gave a remark about Fyers better being careful with his bowls of water.
They all smiled at Slade's dry humor.
Oliver grumbled that this wasn't a real training until Shado started to tell another tale about a boy studying Kung Fu in a shaolin monastery and when the boy returned back to his family, he admitted in shame that all he did was slapping water in a barrel for a year and then the boy hit the table on which the family were eating, in half, when the family did not believe him.
"Wow…" Tommy gapped.
"Don't tell me Oliver is actually able to do that after what he had gone through." Felicity said, stunned as everyone else wondered where was she going with this.
She instructed for Oliver to pick the bow and draw the bow. As she corrected him on his posture, Oliver was able to effortlessly pull the bowstring, much to Shado's and Slade's impression.
"Well, I'll be." Diggle said, impressed as everyone else looked in astonishment.
"Amazing…" Felicity trailed off.
"Huh. I honestly thought she was just messing with Oliver and trying to make him look like an idiot, not that he didn't deserve it a little." Quentin said and he couldn't help himself but laugh softly in amusement a little, ignoring the quick glares Tommy, Moira, Thea and Laurel gave him as they remembered how Slade observed Oliver trying to make fire.
"You're not the only one who was thinking it that when they were watching this the first time." Sara admitted, smiling as in another part, Slade laughed softly too.
Oliver turned to Shado, asking her what was the next step, when she told him that she was going to teach him how to shoot.
"Awesome." Roy said, excited to see Oliver shoot as he and Tommy wondered, whether Oliver could teach them.
Later, in the morning, Oliver took a look at the now worn off picture of Laurel as Slade and Shado were trying to devise a plan how to rescue Yao Fei.
Laurel again felt touched that he held onto the memory of her.
"You were one of the few things keeping him going." Sara said.
Slade pointed out that with him and Shado infiltrating, no one could provide cover, while Shado remarked that Oliver could with bow and arrows but both he and Slade pointed out that Oliver was hopeless with a bow. Shado said optimistically that she would be able to teach him how to shoot from a bow until sundown.
Oliver and Shado went outside as she was training Oliver archery. She instructed for Oliver to hit a tree but Oliver missed his mark, much to his annoyance. Shado patiently ordered Oliver to keep trying as he notched another arrow, steadying his aim due per her instructions.
Laurel and Felicity looked closely, seeing the attraction forming between Oliver and Shado, not sure whether they should be glad Oliver found someone jealous, with whom he could have a bond on a possibly romantic level but Felicity's mixed feelings were stronger than Laurel's as she sighed a bit, hurt and disappointed that Oliver has not shown any stronger feelings for her since he let her into his team with Diggle.
Slade then appeared, making a derisive comment about Oliver's marksmanship skills.
"Oh, come on, give him a break! Why does Slade have to be such a dick to him?" Felicity snapped, having enough of Slade's snippy comments.
"Can this guy lay off?" Tommy grumbled.
Thea glared at the screen as well. "I get that he's had it rough but…"
"This was nothing. In Year Two it got much worse." Sara said grimly and everyone looked worried what was going to happen later.
Slade left as Shado and Oliver continued training and fired before Shado noticed that Oliver seemed distracted and picked the bow. They looked at each other for a moment as the attraction seemed to grow…
"Aww." Thea, Laurel, Tommy and Felicity said, not helping themselves.
…until suddenly, Shado spun around, firing an arrow above, shooting down a tree branch before she quickly fired another arrow, splitting it in half in a blink of an eye.
"Wow." Laurel said as everyone looked impressed.
Shado handed the bow to Oliver he felt jealous and inferior due to her superior archery and fighting skills as she explained to him how to shoot. They stared at each other and the attraction and tension seem to grow as they neared each other…
"Oh, come on." Felicity grumbled as she and Laurel felt jealous and hurt.
…as Oliver and Shado kissed before they pulled away, both of them feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed.
"Well, at least it was a Fantasy Island for a time." Felicity quipped and suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop as Quentin, Diggle and Sara whirled on her with fierce, deadly glares as she could feel herself shrink, while Roy, Laurel, Tommy, Moira and Thea shifted away uncomfortably as they noticed the looks Quentin, Diggle and Sara were shooting towards the blonde with glasses.
"This isn't funny, Felicity." Sara snapped.
"I get why you might think that but that's quite tactless." Diggle sneered.
"What… what did I say?" Felicity asked, not understanding, like an innocent little kid, who just did something stupid without even realizing it.
"You're not a cop or a soldier, so maybe we should explain it to you." Diggle said. "Just because Oliver met a beautiful woman on the island, it doesn't mean it was a Fantasy Island. You've just seen how rough it has been for Oliver so far, fighting and running like if his life was depending on it. To say it was a Fantasy Island, is insulting and disrespectful not to just Oliver but to any other soldier who was overseas, going through similar things Oliver has gone through."
"Just because he met a pretty girl there, with whom he likely had been through some good times too for a while, does not make what we've just seen, any less of a Hell than it apparently was, if you consider how bad it must have been for him from the scars you saw he had." Quentin added.
"OK, I get it, I'm sorry. Really. I take back what I said, OK?" Felicity raised her hands in surrender, having the decency to look ashamed, guilty and remorseful as Sara, Quentin and Diggle nodded. This made Moira, Tommy, Thea and Laurel reflect on their own thoughts about how they had been treating Oliver the first few months after he got back, thinking that Lian Yu wasn't really that bad as they felt ashamed and remorseful because of their previous treatment towards him and treating Oliver like the same person he was before the Gambit. [1]
"Can we go on?" Roy asked after a moment of silence as Sara resumed the recording.
Oliver explained to Shado that there was Laurel for him back home and that he needed to return back home to tell her how much he loved her.
Laurel again felt touched that Oliver kept thinking about her any chance he could.
They returned back to the wreckage, resting before they heard footsteps, looking around in alert before Yao Fei entered as Shado rushed to him and embraced him, with her and Oliver glad he was alive.
"Wait. Something doesn't add up." Quentin said.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Tommy said uneasily as they all saw that something seemed… off about the whole situation.
"I think we all do." Roy agreed.
Shado backed away when her father did not return any form of affection as Oliver and Slade eyed at him carefully as Slade wondered how did Yao Fei escape. Yao Fei replied that he did not as suddenly, the soldiers entered, surrounding them all as the trio realized that Yao Fei had led them to them.
"Oh, no." Diggle whispered.
"What the hell?!" Tommy yelled.
"That bastard!" Quentin snarled, realizing Yao Fei had betrayed them as everyone looked shocked.
Slade glared at Yao Fei, about to lunge at him before one of the soldiers whacked him in the face with his rifle, knocking Slade out, while Yao Fei said grimly that the trio's time on the island was at the end.
"What?!" Thea exclaimed, outraged.
"He sold them out?! After everything they were trying to do to save him?!" Felicity demanded as she, Thea and Tommy glared at the screen, while Roy, Laurel, Diggle, Moira and Quentin were wondering why did Yao Fei betray them.
"I'm guessing he did not have a choice, did he?" Moira realized as she turned to Sara, who nodded.
"The first year is nearing the end. It's all going to be explained soon enough." Sara said.
Author's Note:
[1] I thought that it would be fitting for either Felicity, Tommy or Thea to make the remark about the Fantasy Island. I'll be honest, in 2x09 "Three Ghosts", the first time I watched it, I didn't care that much about Felicity's comment about Fantasy Island, until some people have pointed it out in their stories, mainly rewrites of Season 2 or watch-it fics of Arrow. But, just because Oliver had some romantic relationships on Lian Yu, considering how hard it was for him throughout the five years he was gone, does not make the Hell he had been through, any easier and the remark about Lian Yu being Fantasy Island is tactless and inconsiderate and Felicity needed to be called out on it.
The next chapter is going to be the end of Year One before the viewers get a small break.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.
