Oliver Vs Arrow

A/N Just something that entered my head when I saw the Oliver Vs. Arrow clip. Please review.

"Why do you keep fighting me?"

A new wave of dizziness engulfed the Arrow as he attempted to make sense of what was happening to him. His battle with the man who called himself Vertigo was over but it seemed the hallucination that tormented the Arrow would not be as easily.

"You're not real!" The Arrow tried to swat away at the hallucination. He, of course, hit nothing but empty air.

Oliver smiled evilly. "Just because I am not real that does not mean I don't speak the truth."

"What are you talking about?" The Arrow reached out and placed a gloved hand on a nearby post to keep himself from falling over.

Oliver shook his head in amusement and took a few steps forward. He had to bend down slightly to look the Arrow in the eyes. "After all this you still don't understand, do you? Even after the island, Hong Kong, and the Undertaking the truth still eludes you. Even after Slade nearly took everything from you, you still fail to grasp the reality you are faced with."

Everything was spinning now. Whatever it was that Vertigo had injected him with, it was far more potent than the original dose he had received all those years ago.

"And what reality is that?" The Arrow hissed through gritted teeth.

"That you cannot be both the Arrow and Oliver Queen." Oliver's reply was slow and mocking.

"I can be both."

Oliver grasped the Arrow by the shoulder. The hooded vigilante was startled that he could feel the pressure of the hand through the green leather. "No, you cannot. I maybe a hallucination but I still come from your mind. I am only saying what you have been so afraid to admit to yourself."

The Arrow tried to pull away but Oliver's grasp was firm and strong. "How many more must die before you give in? Will you let her die as well?"

The Arrow's eyes widened. Oliver had not said her name but they both knew who he was talking about. Felicity. "No, I'm going to protect her."

"As you protected her tonight? Where is she, this one you proclaim to love? Is she safe or is she lying on a cold table with blood all over her?"

The Arrow opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. He could not deny the truth of what the other was saying.

"Finally." Oliver let out a relieved sigh. "Remember back on the island when Shado died? Remember when Slade tried to make you choose between our mother and sister? They told you that you had to choose who would live and who would die. You have to make that choice again."

"I—I don't understand."

"Yes, you do. Only one of us can leave here tonight. Only Oliver or the Arrow, not both, never both."

The Arrow wanted to argue that Oliver was wrong but he was no longer sure. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he had asked himself those very questions so many times in the past. Each time he had convince himself that he could have some sense of normalcy in his life but hearing the questions out loud caused fresh doubt to course throughout him.

All he could think of was how right Oliver was. How long would it be before someone used Felicity to hurt him? He could not live himself if Felicity died because of him. He had already lost so much and he knew that losing the woman he loved would tip him over the edge. Over the last few months he had often asked himself if he was any different than Slade. If someone took Felicity from, would he act any different? Would he be the hero he claimed to be or would he be vengeance incarnate?

"There is no room in this world for Oliver Queen," Oliver said after a few moments of silence. "Your friends and family would be better off without me."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM?!" The Arrow screamed at the top of his lungs. What strength he had left began to seep away.

"What you have always done. I want you to kill me. I have failed this city."

The Arrow blinked in shock.

"Kill me, kill Oliver. The mad under the hood isn't important, remember? Kill me and only the Arrow survives."

"No…."

"DO IT! KILL ME!"

"NOOOO!" But even as he said that, the Arrow reached back and pulled an Arrow from his quiver and drove it into Oliver's heart.

Oliver began to spit out blood as he toppled to the floor. The Arrow did nothing but stare at the blood on his hands as the figure crumpled in a heap.

There was deafening silence after that. The Arrow stood, motionless as the dizziness began to pass from him. From the haze of his hallucination, the man formerly known as Oliver Queen emerged. He was focused as never before.

Imaginary or not, the hallucination was right. He needed to keep his promise to all those who had fallen. His friends and family would be better off without him. Diggle needed to stay with his family. Roy needed a mentor who would not lead him down a path of darkness and Felicity…..

Felicity would have a chance at a normal life. She was a beautiful woman and she would have no short of suitors. Perhaps one of them would give her the life she deserves. It was more than what he could ever give her.

Just like that the decision had been made. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Arrow took a life that night. Oliver Queen ceased to exist and only Arrow remained.

Without hesitation, he reached up and removed the communication device from his ear and dropped it onto the ground. He felt nothing as the device broke apart on impact.

He thought about just disappearing but he knew his former friends would never stop tracking him. No, he would tell them first. He owed them that much at least after everything they had sacrificed for him.

He could already imagine Dig's angry screams. Diggle would tell Arrow that he would be dead a thousand times over if it wasn't for him.

He could imagine the tears that would fall from Felicity's eyes as he told her that he could not be with her even just as friends. He had to prepare himself to ensure that his resolve would not break when he saw the pain in her eyes as he broke her heart.

After that, he would disappear from their lives forever.

A/N It's kind of short but I have an accounting test tomorrow Please review. I guess you can say that it is a prequel to the previous story. To the guest who left a request on the reviews, I'm working on it :)