AN: Thank you everyone for the 211 Reviews so far! It is Amazing and I really appreciate your support!

Thanks goes out to my own Team Arrow, Rennie75 and Mic RiddyBanon. Rennie, thank you for your beta assistance! You guys are amazing friends and I am so blessed to have you!

Disclaimer: Seeing as the Arrow cast were shooting all day for CW it's kind of clear that I don't own it! :( (I am, however, extremely anxious for the premier!

Felicity felt her momentary relief turn again to dread as the door to the torture room, as she now called it, opened again and she let out a small cry at who Slade was bringing through the door. She knew that this would give Oliver even more determination, but it worried her because she knew still more of what Slade had planned.

"No!"

Chapter 21 – Twenty Five

Oliver was angry, no, not angry, he was furious. He knew that Slade had taken Thea and was holding her, but when he brought her into the room where Slade was torturing him that was the last straw. He determined then and there that despite the pain he was feeling he would defeat Slade through whatever means necessary.

Lance looked to Oliver as Thea was brought in and tied to a chair in front of the younger man. He noticed the instant Oliver's determination returned and he shuddered to think what would happen if Oliver was released right this moment. I have no doubt Slade would be in some serious trouble. He thought as he knew Oliver had a fierce protective streak when it came to his sister and Slade had captured her, twice now.

Thea was shaking with fear. She had been really scared when Slade had started to whip Oliver because she didn't see how anyone would be able to survive being treated like that. Her fear had grown when Slade came and removed her from the room with Roy and took her into the room with Detective Lance and Oliver before leaving them again. Her heart dropped when she saw her brother in person. She knew that it would be bad just based of the video feed she had seen in the other room. She was not prepared, however for how he looked in person though. He had a bruise on his jaw, a bruise on his side, she saw blood dripping down his back and around his side from the whip, and then she noticed the puddle on the floor. It was all she could do to keep from retching right there.

"Thea, are you okay?" Oliver asked his sister. He was worried for her, especially as she looked like she was about to lose the contents of her stomach.

"Me?" Thea asked incredulously. She could not believe that Oliver was asking how she was doing when obviously he was the most injured. "Why are you asking about me? I should be asking how you are!"

"I'm fine Thea." Oliver replied as calmly as he could. He didn't want Thea to worry any more than she already was, he was trying to calm her down.

"How can you be fine Ollie?" Thea asked, her voice getting louder as she still could not believe that he wasn't there cringing in pain right now. "You obviously are not fine."

"Speedy..." Oliver started to reply, but was interrupted when the door opened again and Slade returned.

Lance listened to the exchange between the siblings and chuckled quietly to himself when he heard Oliver use the word 'fine' and Thea's response. She obviously hasn't learned Oliver's definition of fine. He thought just before Slade came back in. Lance could not help but be worried about what was going to happen next. He watched Slade as the man walked silently to the wall behind Oliver. He reached out and pressed on the wall and suddenly the wall started to rise, revealing a wall of mirrors behind Oliver, before moving to each side and raising panels at the back of those walls as well. There were now mirrors covering the back wall directly behind Oliver as well as the side walls, beginning where Oliver was hanging and going to the back wall. The room was now half mirrors. Oh this isn't going to be good. He thought as he got a good look at Oliver's back through the mirrors for the first time as well as heard Thea's strangled cry as she saw the same thing.

Oliver heard the cry from Thea and saw the look of horror on the Detective's face and wondered what Slade had done behind his back. Whatever it was, it was not good. He watched Slade walk back around in front of him and back to where the whip was hanging by the door before turning around again. He again tried to prepare himself for whatever Slade had planned next. I can not let myself cry out. I can't let Thea hear that. Oliver thought, more determined than ever to keep silent. He refused to expose his sister to that as he knew how it would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"How are you feeling brother?" Slade asked, practically spitting out the last word, contempt clear in his voice.

Oliver turned and glared at Slade, staring him in the eyes, almost daring him to do his worst.

"Have you had a chance to chat with your sister yet?" Slade asked as he curled the whip in his right hand as he walked towards Thea. "She got to enjoy quite the show just before coming in here, didn't you?" He asked her as he placed the curled whip under her chin, making her look up at him. "Did you tell your brother what you got to see?"

Thea was still scared. She watched silently as Slade picked up the whip and talked to Oliver, but she looked down when he turned and walked over to her. When Slade placed the whip under her chin she could see the dried blood on it and it caused her to let out a small whimper. As she looked at Slade she started to shake slightly.

"Well?" Slade asked louder, determined to get an answer out of someone.

"No." Thea cried quietly.

"Why don't you tell Oliver what you got to see then." Slade suggested, more like demanded.

"I..." Thea started before her voice broke. At another insistent nudge from Slade's whip she continued. "I watched him whip you Oliver." She said quietly through her tears.

Oliver could not believe what he was hearing. How did she see that? He thought before realizing that it must have been broadcast to wherever she had been held from the cameras in the room. His heart hurt for his sister as he knew those images would haunt her for a very long time. He kept his face a mask as Slade turned back to him.

"You see," Slade started as he walked back towards Oliver. "Those cameras are sending a live feed to the Foundry so that your team can watch you suffer." Slade said with a bit of a laugh. "I wonder how they're taking it." He said as he grabbed the cane handle of his whip before quickly hitting Oliver in the side with it again. "I wonder how your lovely Felicity is doing." Another hit to Oliver's other side. "As she watches you suffer." He spat in the kid's face.

Lance watched as Slade hit Oliver yet again with the handle of the whip and could not help but flinch as he still remembered the feel of the whip on his now bruised and broken body. He looked across to Thea and could see that the younger girl was crying. She's never seen Oliver get hurt like this before. He thought. At least I know a bit of what he can handle from when we were held by Merlyn. She's never had the chance to see just who Oliver really is and what he can survive. He realized.

"Well, time to get on with the show." Slade said after a moment. "Since you are not able to see, Oliver. I have removed panels from the walls behind you uncovering walls of mirrors. This will allow Mr. Lance and your sister to have a better view of what is going on. I hope they enjoy the show." He finished as he walked behind Oliver again. "Now. Where were we? Oh yes, twenty five lashes. Are you ready for twenty five more?" Slade asked as he uncurled the whip and delivered another lash to Oliver's back with a harsh crack.

Thea jumped as the whip sailed through the air and landed on Oliver's back with a resounding crack. She knew that she would never be able to get that sound out of her head. She watched, mesmerized, as Slade delivered more lashes to Oliver's back. She was unable to stop the tears streaming down her face and her voice grew hoarse as she begged Slade to stop.

Oliver knew that his sister was having an extremely hard time seeing him like this. She had never really seen him injured before, except that one Christmas he was in the hospital, but that didn't really count as he had already been bandaged up. He looked to her for a moment, trying to catch her eye so that he could try and let her know that he would be okay. He noticed, however, that her gaze was fixed to the mirrors behind him and he then knew that she would not be able to look away. That was when he decided to try and think of something else, someone else, to help him bear the pain. He thought of Felicity, watching on the screens in the foundry and unable to do anything. I have to hold it together for Felicity. He thought as he lost count of the number of lashes he had received this time as the burning heat in his back from the whip was threatening to overtake him. Oliver focused all of his remaining energy into keeping silent and not allowing any pain to show on his face.

Lance looked on, alternating between the mirrors where he could see exactly what damage the whip was doing to Oliver's back, and watching the young man's face. He was starting to see the mask that Oliver usually had start to slip. He knew the younger man had to be in an incredible amount of pain and was again surprised that he had held on this long.

Lance had tried to keep track of how many lashes Oliver had received this time. He didn't think the kid would make it to twenty five again as he was already weak from the previous lashes from Slade. He had noticed that Slade had a different approach this time than he had last time. He was delivering the lashes slower. Probably wanting Oliver to feel the pain from each lash individually. I bet if you do it too fast then it all just blends together. He thought to himself.

Back at the Lair the Team watched the video feed in relative silence. After five lashes with the whip Laurel had started to cry quietly in the corner, still unable to look away from the screen.

Sara was pacing. She was furious with Slade and would kill him now if she could. She glanced quickly to the other monitors to see if any of the searches had come up with any clues and was irritated when she realized that they had not.

Diggle was angry. He was standing by Felicity, lending his silent support, as they watched their partner, his brother being tortured again at the hands of Slade. As he watched Oliver's control slowly starting to slip he simply hoped that Oliver would survive long enough for them to get him out of there. He placed a hand gently on Felicity's shoulder as she started to cry, again.

Felicity could not believe it. Slade was using that stupid whip on Oliver, again. She couldn't help the tears and shakes that overcame her. With the mirrors that were now visible in the room they were able to see, in even more detail, each and every cut the whip made on Oliver's back. She knew that these were more scars that she would never forget, that she would see even with her eyes closed.

Focusing on Oliver's face she could tell the moment he started to slip. She knew that he would do everything in his power to keep silent, to not show any pain on his face, but she knew that it was taking all his strength to do so.

Felicity was relieved when mercifully Oliver passed out after another twenty lashes.

AN: So, what do you think? Leave me a review and let me know.