Ok wow here. Totally was going to post this weekend but apparently it's going to be now. Sorry school has gotten a bit hectic even though I literally just got back from spring break. But I aim (haha wow I just realized my pun) to post once a week maybe if I can twice and that is what I shall do.

(flashbacks/thoughts in italics)

Enjoy the angst muahahaha!


Oliver furiously paced back and forth across the floor, one hand continuously running through his hair and the other hand rubbing his fingers back and forth, wishing he could hit something instead of waiting. The waiting was killing him. Ignoring the hole he was digging in the floor he thought back to what had happened when they had walked through the door of Verdant.

He entered Verdant silently, his quiet footsteps natural after years of surviving by stealth. Diggle was behind him as well and closed the door behind him.

"She's gone." He heard Laurel say and his thoughts immediately raced to who they could be talking about.

Was it Thea? Lyla? Baby Sara? He knew Diggle would panic if he heard that but ever the calm one in the face of danger Diggle didn't make a sound behind him, eavesdropping in as well.

He heard someone take a breath and although he didn't know who he knew it wasn't a sigh of relief he was hearing and that made him tense up more.

We just got back and we now have more danger hanging over our heads.

"According to what my friend found she bought a plane ticket and then disappeared. She must have hacked Starling City Airport's system because her tickets location is not mentioned. He is still working through their system, discretely to see if he can figure out where she went. He also went through security cameras and found a possible match to Felicity in the airport. He's still looking though," It was Lyla who seemed to try to reassure whoever she was talking to and just hearing her voice made Diggle relax minimally behind him. "But other than that Felicity's gone."

He knew it was Lyla speaking. His brain heard that but all he processed fully were her final words.

Felicity. Airport.

Can't find her.

Felicity's gone.

Felicity is gone.

His Felicity.

"What?" He managed to force out from his rapidly closing throat. He told himself not to panic but it felt as if he was being strangled. He felt lost but if someone had taken her, God help them, hurt her…

They would pay.

Dearly.

Everyone in the room had frozen as he and Diggle walked in and after hearing his broken whisper Roy, Thea, Laurel, and Lyla turned towards them. Each had a mixture of shock, relief, and trepidation on their faces as they continued into the club.

Lyla rushed to John as he opened his arms to receive her hug. She then started to furiously whisper to him, most likely telling him the basics of what was going on. But Oliver didn't hear her quiet words over the blood rushing in his ears as his brain thought up the worst case scenarios. Thea ran to hug Oliver overjoyed to see him alive and well after leaving again. However, as happy as he was to see his sister again he barely reacted as his body stood stiff and he peered over Thea's head to Laurel and Roy who were sharing a heated look. They seemed to be trying to figure out who would give him the news.

He didn't care who the messenger was, he would do his best not to shoot them, but he wanted to know what he had missed. His sole focus now was finding Felicity.

He took a deep breath, willing his body to calm itself, then he spoke to Roy.

"What's going on? What happened while we were gone and what happened to Felicity." Although Oliver tried to be polite his request came out to a near growl as he gritted it out through his teeth and he instinctively took a step towards Roy, willing to use intimidation if he had to even though the logical side of his brain, which was being for the most part ignored, told him that scaring Roy especially wouldn't get the answer out any faster. He knew Roy worried about Felicity and was probably just as scared for her as he was.

Roy visibly swallowed and took a deep breath before telling Oliver what he knew. About the phone and tracker not working. Her apartment empty, even visiting Palmer Technologies. At the mention of Ray Palmer Oliver cringed but tried not to show it.

If he had anything to do with this…

Roy continued and started walking towards the lair door, talking about a security camera video but Oliver suspected it was to give his steaming rage wide berth. But at the mention of the video being from more than a week ago Oliver froze at the bottom of the steps. Roy, realizing Oliver's footsteps had stopped, he turned and braced himself for the anger as he watched the emotions flicker on Oliver's face.

"Roy she has been gone for that long and you haven't found her? Have you even looked? You should have called us!"

Now Roy was upset too. "Hey! What do you think we have been doing? I'm worried about her too okay! And you weren't exactly here okay and weren't in the position to be called!"

Oliver was now overcome with guilt.

He wasn't there.

Had he been there? Felicity had seemed distant but she had Palmer. But they were still friends he could have been there for her, talked to her. But no instead he had gone on a foolish mission back to Nanda Parbat only to have more problems placed on his shoulders. Then he comes back and the one person who had always been there to ease the burden was missing. He knew he missed his chance with her when he pushed her away but he vowed once he found her she was never leaving his sight again. He was now more determined than ever to figure out this whole League of Assassins mess because he wanted it to be over and survive it because he was done deciding for her and he wasn't going to die in this lair. But first he had to find her.

Roy, oblivious to his inner turmoil, continued shamefully, "Hey. I'm sorry I didn't mean that. We will find her."

"Yeah," Oliver agreed, a new mission in his mind, "Yeah we will find her and bring her home."

He thought back on it and probably acted rashly towards Roy but didn't care. It could have been much worse but just thinking of her always made things easier.

Of course just because he had a new mission and his confidence was restored didn't mean his anger and bloodlust was sated. He had already broken a training dummy and had gone multiple rounds on the salmon ladder and had already snapped at everyone multiple times. He knew they didn't deserve it but they understood he was worried and really didn't want anything right now but a plan of action. Diggle looked about ready to make an intervention though.

He had already lashed out at Roy. Laurel and Lyla had stayed out of his way not wanting to deal with his mood. Thea, much to her chagrin, was warned by both Roy and Diggle to stay out of his way even though all she wanted to do was comfort him. There was obviously deep feelings between her brother and Felicity and wanted to know if Oliver knew of his feelings and if he was even okay right now. But after multiple warnings from Roy and Diggle she backed off, knowing when it was time to give her brother his space.

Oliver had snapped at Diggle as well and although he felt sorry for it he couldn't really focus on anything right now but Felicity. Even if he could tell it was getting on Diggle's nerves every time he and Roy engaged in an argument or every so often a shouting match. All Oliver kept thinking about was the minutes passing by and where she could be. They told him multiple times they were checking security cameras and that she had bought a plane ticket to where they didn't know. But anyone could do that and they still hadn't figure out the destination of the ticket and that just made him even more frustrated even though all signs pointed to her leaving.

But she wouldn't do that.

Right?

But Oliver then realized it was, as she always liked to say, her life her choice, and she could leave Team Arrow if she pleased. But she wouldn't do it without telling him, them. She had the ability to disappear off the face of the earth with just a key stroke but she knew with their lives she couldn't just vanish. She had to know that with whatever happened to her he would leave no stone unturned to find her.

But another part of his brain, the unselfish part as he liked to call it, should be glad she left. She would be safe from him and his darkness. She couldn't be killed by his enemies, wouldn't be murdered, chased, hunted, kidnapped because she was living a normal life, in a normal town or city, in a normal neighborhood, with her normal friends and family.

But unlike per the norm he wasn't listening to that side. He was listening to the lost little boy who was caught in the darkness of his past without a light to guide him.

He vowed he would find her no matter what the cost.

Just as he was about to snap again towards Roy who sat at Felicity's computers, and Oliver couldn't help thinking he looked wrong sitting there because he wasn't a bespectacled blond with an endearing rambling problem, Diggle came into his line of sight with a hard look in his eyes. But instead of releasing his anger his eyes softened at seeing the pain in Oliver's and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, "We will find her Oliver but you know panic won't solve anything."

"I just," Oliver paused taking in a shuddering breath.

"I need to find her Digg."

"And we will," Diggle reassured," You know as well as I do we will do everything in our power to make sure she's okay. I want to find her as much as you do."

Oliver sighed again, rubbing a hand over his face.

Diggle, as if sensing his thought process, spoke up to reassure him before Oliver could open his mouth.

"Don't go there man. I know you and I know her. No matter what she's done or where she is she probably doesn't want you blaming yourself for this. She always puts the heavy load on her back and wouldn't want you to feel this way. She's strong and if she left of her own violation we will do anything and everything to help reassure her that she has a place on this team, this family. And if instead she's been taken then, well," Diggle paused and gave Oliver a weak but friendly smile.

"Well then you can have the first punch."

At that Oliver chuckled and seemed to relax minimally.

"I just wish we knew something John."

At this Roy perked up and seemed to be lost in thought. Then he looked to Laurel and said, "Palmer."

Laurel seemed to understand yet Oliver and Diggle were clueless. But Oliver's face turned murderous as he muttered, "What about him?"

Roy, quickly turning to the monitors again to avoid Oliver's dark gaze, said," He seemed to be hiding something. He had machines everywhere in his office. Been working on whatever it is for way too long, hadn't even noticed Felicity left."

Realizing his words were having the opposite effect at the sour look on Oliver's face Laurel continued on.

"The point is that we are pretty sure he's hiding something, something big. And a big project like that looked like it involved a lot of technology. And who do we know that's the best with that sort of thing?"

As Laurel finished Oliver was already walking toward his suit, Diggle not even arguing to stop him as he grabbed his gun and van keys.

"I swear if he got her involved in something that got her hurt-"

Ever the one to prioritize, Diggle, interrupting Oliver from his dark thoughts, asked," Do you have any idea what it is? Who he's involved with? What he has planned for this project?"

Roy shrugged. "It looked like it involved weapons and some sort of weird suit that has obviously taken up the majority of his time. I don't know anything else."

"Well then if we don't have anything else then I go see Palmer and we have a conversation." Oliver says darkly, grabbing his bow.


Look at the length of that chapter. You all should be proud, my wrists hurt. Haha hope you enjoyed tell me what you think!