Well, this has all just blown up royally.
Felicity takes a step back from Arrow duty to focus on work (and tone down her annoyance with Oliver. And make it a little easier to lie to all of them) and everything goes to hell in a hand basket while she's away.
After a few months hiding under a rock somewhere, Merlyn apparently got antsy and scuttled back to Starling City. And just in case Oliver came to his senses while he was gone, he returned with an ace up his sleeve.
The video, an absolutely wrenching account of Sara's murder at Thea's hands, is a fake, obviously. But it's a really good fake. So good that Felicity feels the need to secretly text Sara.
(You're still alive, right?
Pretty sure, Sara texts back. Rocket says yes.)
The fake is so good that Felicity can't prove it's a fake, at least not without, you know, spilling deadly secrets.
It's haunting, security-like footage of three arrows hitting Sara, then it pans over to a dazed looking Thea, bow in hand.
Oliver may not believe it, Merlyn argues, but Ra's will. And what does Oliver think Ra's will do to the girl who murdered his daughter's Beloved?
Felicity has to swallow her own inside information. Of course Ra's won't believe it. Ra's knows Sara is alive. But she can't say any of that. She's one thousand percent sure that Merlyn is behind all of this, and even the Foundry isn't a safe place to talk about it.
Oliver decides not to tell Thea about the video. Which, if she didn't know it was a total fake and Sara was still super alive, Felicity would be totally against. She learned that lesson with Roy; it isn't their decision to make.
But since it is a fake… Well, that makes it a little easier for Felicity not to speak up.
There is an upside to all of this. Thea learns (some of) Oliver's secrets. There's another person taken into the fold, someone else to roll her eyes with when Oliver and Laurel fight about the Black Canary. But then Oliver starts talking about how only the student can defeat the teacher. Merlyn is apparently convincing him that the only way for Thea to ever be safe is to kill Ra's al Ghul.
And Oliver is listening. Felicity considers banging his head against the salmon ladder.
Everything changes when the Queens return from Lian Yu. Thea is so haunted and broken, full of this awful idea that she has taken the life of a friend. And Felicity just can't stand for it.
She knows both Oliver and Nyssa are going to kill her for this (quite possibly literally in Nyssa's case), but she sees Thea burying herself in a bottle in a deserted Verdant, and she breaks.
"You look like you could use a little girl time," Felicity tries to be as casual as possible, just in case Merlyn is watching.
"Not now, Felicity."
It's pretty polite, all things considered.
"No, I insist. Movies and whatever ice cream you want. My place. Right now." She steps in too close and whispers, "Just trust me. And leave your phone here."
Thea looks at her, absolutely dumbfounded as Felicity down the rest of Thea's glass.
"C'mon! I got Rocky Road and Ten Things I Hate About You."
Thea still looks confused, but she plays along.
"Okay… Vodka too?"
"Of course. What kinda girls' night do you think this is?!"
When they get to Felicity's apartment, still keeping up the facade of girls' night until they're inside, Felicity closes her eyes and sighs:
"I apologize in advance for what I'm about to say but you need to take off all your clothes."
"What?!"
"I need to make sure that we aren't being followed."
One car ride, three trains, four taxis, and a million "What the hell, Felicity!"s later, they've made it. Thea, dressed in Felicity's clothes, asks:
"Are we finally here? And where the hell is here?"
Felicity is typing the usual "it's me, don't shoot" into her phone, and the door pulls open as soon as their booted feet hit the top step.
"You aren't supposed to be - Thea?!"
Felicity thinks she does a pretty good job catching Thea when she faints, considering she's the only one of them without League training.
Felicity is talking even faster than usual, but Sara thinks she is mostly keeping up even as she picks Thea up and carries her into the couch, avoiding tripping on Rocket. Her desire to kill Malcolm Merlyn is at an all time high, and that's saying something.
"Not that I'm not grateful for the company, but isn't this place supposed to be a secret?" Sara grunts, setting Thea down.
"I'm sorry, I panicked. I couldn't be one more person keeping something from her and messing with her head."
"I get it."
"I made sure we weren't followed. I didn't tell anyone."
"It's okay, Felicity, I trust you."
"Is Nyssa going to kill me? Or Thea?!"
"No, no. I won't let her kill Thea. She'll understand. Merlin is a slippery bastard, and Nyssa's known him a lot longer than any of us."
Thea is coming to, and as soon as she sees Sara, she leaps up and backs away.
"You're - you're dead. I-"
"You didn't kill me, Thea. You didn't even shoot me," Sara promises, holding out a calming hand and slowly approaching her. "It's a really long story, but I faked my death because someone, apparently Merlyn, was trying to kill me. But I am totally me and totally alive."
She finally gets close enough that she can take Thea's hand. At the contact, Thea's face completely crumples. Thea collapses against Sara's chest with a shuddering sob, and Sara presses a kiss to the top of her head and holds her close, rubbing circles on her back.
"It's okay."
"No, no, it's not. He's a monster," Thea gasps.
"I know."
"And he made me a monster. I let him."
"No," Sara soothes. "You didn't kill me. You didn't kill anyone."
"But I could have," Thea sobs. "I could have."
Sara just holds her a while longer, and Felicity puts on a pot of tea. Thea's tears slow and her breathing quiets until she finally says:
"Is that a dog?"
Sara laughs, hard, pulling away a little as Thea gets more steady on her feet.
"Yeah, that's Rocket. Why don't you sit on the couch with her? She's pretty great at cheering me up when I'm upset."
"Yeah, okay."
Sara settles her on the couch with the blanket, and Rocket crawls underneath to do her duty.
"Remote's on the coffee table if you wanna watch something."
Thea nods and Sara turns to go join Felicity in the kitchen.
"Sara?"
She turns back.
"Someone needs to put Malcolm down."
Sara takes a deep breath and nods.
"You okay with that?"
"Yes," Thea says, and the sobbing girl of moments before is gone, replaced with a woman with a will of iron. "Will you do it?"
"Yeah," Sara answers honestly. "I'm pretty sure it's gonna be me."
They all decide it is best that Thea stay with Sara for now, and Felicity leaves a copy of the video for Sara to pass on to the League.
Felicity can feel something big coming, and even little Rocket is subdued as she says her goodbyes.
"Just tell Ollie I'm safe, okay?" Thea asks. "And don't let him come looking."
Felicity agrees.
"Thank you," Thea says, hugging her. "For telling me the truth."
"Least I could do," Felicity smiles tightly. "I'm pretty sure Malcolm Merlyn should be absolutely terrified right now. You two together…"
Thea's face grows hard. "He better be."
"Have you seen Thea? I'm getting worried. I've looked everywhere - her place, here, Roy's, the mansion. I can't find her."
"That would be because I hid her," Felicity says matter-of-factly, turning in her chair to face him. She's never really thought the Queen siblings look all that alike, but he is making the exact same dumbfounded face that Thea made last night. Guess they get it from their mother.
Felicity is tired: getting to and from Coast City in the most convoluted way possible leaves, like, zero time for sleeping. Oliver is still staring, wordless.
"She's safe, and she told me to tell you not to come looking for her, okay?"
"I - Felicity! The League could find her! Who will protect her?"
"Okay, so - One: Believe me, the League is not going to be a danger where she is. Two: She is pretty good at protecting herself, and she has back-up. Hardcore back-up. Three: She wants nothing to do with Merlyn and all this crap after what he's done to her. And I'm not telling you anything else. Because you are working with the man who admitted to orchestrating the murder of a woman you say you loved."
"Felicity -"
"And he used your sister to do it. So he has now attacked two women you love, and who knows what he's done to your mother. So no. I'm not gonna tell you where Thea is. He's poisoned you."
She hadn't realized how angry with him she is until it all comes pouring out. She's scaring even herself with how calmly she lays it out.
"Frankly, Oliver, it's pretty terrifying to be a woman you love right now, with Merlyn lurking around. So. Thea is safe. That's all you get to know."
She stands and tosses her phone into her purse.
"I'm going home."
Thea takes a while to warm up, but by the afternoon, she's asking lots of questions, and Sara figures she's deep enough into this already that she deserves honest answers. Plus, it's kinda nice to tell someone all of this.
"So let's back up," Thea says after they've covered all the important parts, tucked on the couch and sharing a few beers. "You're dating Ra's al Ghul's daughter."
"We're together, yes," Sara laughs.
"I've seen her around. Super hot. Nice work," Thea says, raising her bottle in salute. "And you've been together for, like, forever."
"Yep."
"Except for that time you came back and were with my brother."
"Yeah. That's a bit of a sore subject."
"I'm surprised Ollie's alive, honestly."
Sara laughs again.
"So you're still with the League?"
Sara nods.
"I have a feeling that I'm going to be pulled off the benches soon. Merlyn trained you?"
"Yeah."
"Wanna see how you measure up?"
Thea grins.
She measures up pretty damn well, considering the short length of her training. And it's great to spar with a real person, rather than just wailing on her training dummy while Rocket looks on speciously.
After a couple hours, they order in subs, and Sara resists the urge to obsessively check her phone.
Communication with Nanda Parbat is purposefully difficult, and Nyssa checks in at designated times. Sara already sent a text message, just in case Nyssa is somewhere other than Nanda Parbat, but there's been no response, so all Sara can do is wait until tomorrow afternoon.
And worry.
For someone who used to consider herself the consummate free spirit, she's gotten really good at worrying.
The attack comes at night. The assailant does not get as far as her bed chamber. She is no fool.
But there is a League assassin, not an imposter, laying wheezing at Sarab's feet outside her door.
"Who sent you? Who turned you?"
She is cold, hard rage this time, steel not fire.
"Al Sa-Her," he gurgles. "I serve the League's new master."
"Make his final moments agony," she orders.
Sarab nods and drags the traitor away. Bow in hand, she tracks down her father. He is outside his study, wiping his blade clean.
"Al Sa-Her grows more desperate," she notes.
"Displayed his hand too soon," her father agrees. "Still, I am most troubled that he has been able to turn so many of our ranks."
"Any survivors?"
"None, but they died with his name on their lips. Sentries report another twenty somehow escaped under the pretense of a mission."
Nyssa's blood is boiling. She considers going back and finishing the job she sent Sarab off to do.
"The Traitor is amassing forces."
"The Traitor is calling us out." He slides his sword back into his best. "Retrieve your Beloved, daughter. The war has begun, and I promised Ta-er al-Sahfer she could go hunting."
tbc
