Sanctuary Secrets Sacrifice

by kayemen22

Katie and Oliver embark on a new journey together. One neither is sure they're ready for, but will face together. There was no time for mad men with neat magic tricks or secrets. How can two heroes find time to bring a life in this world while battling the criminals bold enough to come to their city? Love will be their greatest weapon...until that love is tested. Will they survive?

25. Two Sides of a Coin

Chapter 25

Two Side of a Coin

"Though lovers be lost, love shall not."

-Dylan Thomas

---

Pressure is what make the great one's great. At the moment Oliver seemed to be buried under the pressures of life. He felt stuck, with absolutely no idea where to turn. Right now as the water of the hot shower fell on his face, Oliver found himself mentally searching for a solution. It's how he spent all his free moments to himself lately. He needed to know what to do next, and for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out what that was. The cries of his daughter snapped him from his thoughts, and, Oliver's eyes glanced over to the baby monitor propped against the sink and he sighed before quickly stepping out of the shower.

Oliver quickly changed, before rushing into the nursery and pulling the baby into his arms.

"Oh, you're alright sweetie." Oliver cooed, placing a kiss to the top of the baby's head. He gently rocked her in his arms but her cries only got worse. He glanced around the room and sighed before hurrying out of the nursery and down to the kitchen. Oliver headed straight for the refrigerator, before maneuvering the baby in his arms so he could reach into the freezer to grab the teething ring. He slipped it into her mouth, and the baby's cries suddenly changed to a soft whimper. "That feel better, huh?" Oliver continued to rock Robyn in his arms, when he looked up to see Ari who stopped when she saw him. She just shook her head about to turn and leave but he called out to her. "Ari, wait!" she stopped and turned back to him. "I know you're upset about coming back back Star City-"

"You know that's just one thing on the long list of reasons I'm upset, along with my cousin who mysteriously disappeared-"

"She didn't-"

"Oliver I'm fifteen, so I'm actually not stupid enough to believe my cousin had to leave town on some work emergency. Especially since her resignation from her company has been on the news for weeks. You're lying."

"Ari, I'm sorry, I just-" Oliver shook his head before looking down to the baby in his arms. "I'm doing my best here." he looked back up to the teenager. "I'm trying to do my best here."

"Then tell me the truth. Where is my cousin? Why did my uncle fake his death? What was that weird light you walked into? Why did we have to come back here?"

"Ari!" Oliver snapped unintentionally causing the girl to jump slightly. He glanced down to the baby who also flinched slightly at this tone and Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry," he looked over to Arianna. "I'm sorry Ari, I know you have a lot of questions, but right now, there's way too much happening right now. I promise once things have settled I will tell you everything." Ari shook her head before turning to leave. "Ari, tomorrow-"

"Is my first day of school at Star City prep, I remember." she said glancing over to him. "Oliver I'm going to hold you to your promise, and if you don't keep it, I'll never forgive you." Oliver looked at her for a moment before giving her a nod.

"Then I'll keep it." he says and Ari looks at him a moment longer before turning and heading back to her room.

Oliver dropped his eyes back to his daughter who seemed content with the cold teething ring currently soothing her sore gums.

"I'm going to keep my promise to you too. We're going to get through this, and I'm going to get mommy back." he placed a kiss to the top of the baby's head before heading back up to the nursery, hoping to get her back to sleep.

The next morning, Thea stepped inside the Queen residence, stopping the moment she did at the mess. It had been a week since she last saw her brother, a week since he appeared at the house in Blue Hill without his wife standing beside him. She would never forget that look of sadness and failure that was etched in his face. The expression quickly turned to anger the moment he saw Jacob Robins there.

At the moment Oliver was angry with his sister. She knows that anger is rooted in what's going on with his wife, but she also knows she had a place in it as well. It's why she's here. To once again apologize and hopefully pull him out of his funk. In the week since their return to Star City, Oliver hasn't returned to bunker at all. Everyone knew what had happened, but no one knew what the next step was. That's another reason Thea was here today. She heard voices coming from the kitchen, and so she headed inside.

"You keep saying that, but I don't believe you!" Ari snapped in frustration as she stood across from Oliver who stood with Robyn in his arms. Oliver looked down to the teenager before glancing over to his sister. "My cousin has disappeared and I know you know what is going on. Something is happening with her, isn't it?" Oliver looked back down to the girl with a shake of his head.

"Ari, right now Katie would not want you worrying about her. She would want you to focus on school and getting back to a sense of normalcy after everything that has happened."

"Well we wouldn't know what she wants because she isn't here, and she isn't answering her phone." Ari says with a shake of her head before looking over to Thea. "Look I know something is wrong, and both of you know what it is." she turned back to Oliver. "I am not a kid. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

"I know you can, but for right now I just need you to trust me and believe that I am handling it." The doorbell rang and Oliver lifted his head and sighed. "That's Hank. You should go get your things before you're late for school." Ari stood there a moment longer wanting to argue, but she knew he wasn't going to give her any answers. She was just going to have to get them herself. Ari turned storming out of the kitchen, before moments later leaving out of the front door letting it slam behind her.

Thea watched her brother as he stood there and she hated that he had to go through this.

"Ollie-"

"You shouldn't be here Thea." Oliver said turning and slipping Robyn into her highchair. "I told you-""

"I know what you told me, which is why I kept my distance. But you're here, alone, and you need help."

"I'm fine, I can-"

"Oliver, look at this place?" Thea replied, glancing around the kitchen which was also a mess. There were dishes in the sink, takeout containers on the counter. "You need help. I know what's happening with Twinkie-"

"You don't know anything!" Oliver said turning back to her, and the look in his eyes broke her heart. "They told me the risks, they told me that it might not work, and I didn't listen." Oliver shook his head, his eyes looking back to his daughter who happily ate the cheerios that were in front of her. Looking at her, and looking at Ari just made him feel even more guilty, because it was like he was the one who took her away from them.

"Ollie, this isn't your fault. We knew this thing inside of her was strong-"

"I thought I was stronger." Oliver replied taking a seat at the table beside Robyn. "I thought I could save her. But I wasn't strong enough."

"Ollie, you sitting here in this pity party isn't going to bring Twinkie back. We need a plan. Has Constantine gotten back to you?" Oliver didn't say anything, because at the moment he didn't want to talk.

"Thea, you should leave." Oliver says, and Thea let out a sigh.

"Oliver, I told you I was sorry, but Jacob and Martin just showed up, and Ari had just seen you walk through that door of light, and then saw her now walking dead uncle and had passed out. I didn't know what to do." she shook her head and took a step toward him. "That night was beyond bizarre and I-"

"You let him in a room with my daughter. You let him hold her." Oliver says looking over to his sister. "All of our problems started with that man and-"

"He's her grandfather!" Thea replied trying to defend her decision. "Her only living grandparent. He's made bad choices, I get it, but he is still her grandfather, and whether you like it or not she should know him. I'm sorry that I made that decision without your permission, but at the time it just happened and I didn't stop it." he didn't respond, and Thea wasn't sure what else she should say. "Oliver you need help." he turned away from her words even though he knows she's right. "With the kids, with finding Katie, with all of it."

"I just-" Oliver shook his head, his eyes looking back to his daughter.

"I know, but that's why I'm here." Oliver turned to his sister just as she was sitting down her purse and pulling off her jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going help you clean this place up." Thea replied glancing around the kitchen with a groan.

"Thea, you don't have to-"

"I don't, but I want to." she said with a smile. "I fired your nanny after all." Oliver just shook his head. "I can't believe he did it again. He actually planted a nanny spy here."

"I can." Oliver muttered, letting a hand slide across his tired eyes. "Jacob will never change, and I will never trust him." he looked back over to his sister. "Any interaction between him and my daughter will be approved by me, understand?" Thea gave a nod.

"What about Ari? She's seen him too, and you cutting her out on all of this isn't going to end well." Thea replied. Oliver turned away, once again knowing his sister was right. "Ollie, I think you may have to tell her." he looked back over to her. "I mean she deserves to know the whole truth about what's really going on around her."

"I can't have that talk without Twinkie." Oliver said with a shake of his head.

"Well your little teenager is stubborn like her cousin, and if you believe she's going to just let this go, then you have another thing coming. She is going to go looking for answers, and I believe it will be better if they came from you." Thea watched the warring emotions happening inside of her brother at the moment, and wished there was something she could do to help with them. At the moment the only thing she could do was start with was cleaning. "Look right now, you should go get some rest, and I will start cleaning down here."

"Thea, you really don't have to do that. I can clean up around here." Oliver said walking over and picking up Robyn in his arms. "I just have to give Robyn her bath, and get her changed first, and then I'll start cleaning, and-" Oliver turned away spotting the brown paper lunch bag on the counter. "Ari forgot her lunch, I should-"

"Ollie, stop and breathe, ok. You don't have to do this alone." Thea walked over and plucked the baby from his arms. "Go, get some rest, I will take care of everything else."

"Speedy-"

"Will you go already!" his sister urged, and Oliver knew a losing battle when he saw one and so he turned and headed upstairs.

Rest. Oliver doesn't think he could close his eyes and just sleep right now. He's probably only gotten a couple of hours of sleep since returning to the city. He stood in his room, looking down to his made bed as flashes of himself and Katie there, laughing, having petty arguments, making love. He couldn't see himself lying in that bed without her, and so his back fell rested on the door and he slid down to the floor. He kept his eyes on that bed, as the memories of that night came back to him.

"Out of the bed, now!" Constantine ordered once again, and then she started laughing. Their eyes all turned to her, the woman still lying in that bed. She opened her eyes, and Oliver gasped jumping out of the bed at the sight of his wife coal black eyes.

"Aww, you look like you've seen a ghost dear husband." she said sitting up from the bed, and glancing over to Constantine and Zatanna. "Well if it isn't my saviors! You two were pompous enough to believe that you could defeat me." she lifted her arms above her head, and moaned as she stretched. She stood to her feet, all three sets of eyes still silently watching her. "Well it has been fun, but-" she stopped when her feet stopped at the line of candles that surrounded her bed. She lifted her eyes to Constantine and Zatanna and she saw the hope in their eyes that maybe, just maybe she wouldn't be able to cross it. That she was still too weak to combat their little spells.

"Twinkie!" Katie turned to Oliver who walked around, standing right in front of her, the candles separating them. "I know you're in there, I know you can fight this. This thing isn't stronger than you." it laughed again, this time louder, with a slight snort.

"Oh, Oliver your wife can't hear you anymore. You see I've trapped her in the prison she placed me in, and I've double bolted the locks." she replied, and Oliver took a step back when she took a step toward him, crossing the spelled line that was supposed to keep her inside. "Your wife is dead, Oliver." she laughed turning back to Constantine and Zatanna. "And you lost. Now if you'll excuse me," the woman turned and headed for the door, but instead of just opening it, she placed a palm on it for a moment. When the door opened, they all saw what looked like swirling black and yellow lights. She glanced over her shoulder once more and winked over to Oliver before turning and stepping inside. The door slammed behind her, and Oliver pulled out of his shock to run after her, but the moment he opened the door, all he saw were stairs.

In the moment, Oliver felt his heart race. His fist clenched at his side as the realization of what just happened sinks.

"Hey mate,-" for some reason, hearing Constantine's voice only angered Oliver even more. "We're not dead." Oliver turned to the man in confusion. "The biggest threat to that thing is the three people in this room, and it knows that, but she let us live."

"Or it wants us to witness what we caused." Zatanna replied before turning to Constantine. "We can no longer trap her, I believe what she says is true. If Katherine is locked away so deep inside-"

"Then we go back, find her and get her out." Oliver said looking between the two. "I have to save my wife from that thing."

"That's just it Oliver, there is nothing none of us can do any more. It's stronger now, and it now has the control. This only ends one way."

"No." Constantine shook his head, he turned away and began thinking. "This is not how this ends."

"Oliver, there is a blade-" Zatanna continued.

"No!" Constantine snaps at the woman. "We have not gotten to that point, yet."

"But we will." the woman turned back to Oliver. "At this point we don't know what it will do, but I doubt it will be anything good."

"We have to find her."Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "She can't be gone. We just have to find a way to save her." he looked back to the pair across from him, and he wished he saw optimism on their faces. "Look we were all wrong. We did this to her, and we will fix it. I am getting my wife back."

Oliver's phone vibrated, and he lifted his head to see the screen light up from it's spot on the bedside table. He stood to his feet. Whenever his phone made any kind of noise, he quickly went to it, in hopes that it was Katie or news from Constantine. Oliver stared down to this phone and and just sighed. It was Diggle. Oliver just shook his head before tossing the phone on the bed without even reading it before heading into the bathroom.

Thea dropped down on the couch with a huff. It took a couple of hours, but she was able to get the house cleaned. She glanced over to the play pen where Robyn was still asleep and Thea smiled. She figured now while the baby was still napping would be the perfect time to catch a few zzz's herself. And so the woman kicked off her shoes and spun around to lay down. She'd only closed her eyes before she felt her phone vibrating in her purse. She groaned before turning and reaching inside. She saw Diggle's name and quickly answered.

"Hey, what's up?" Thea asked and that's when John told her some very big news given from his brother. Thea glanced over to the baby, before glancing back toward the stairs. "And Oliver didn't answer the phone?" she sighed with a shake of her head. "I'm still here, I will talk to him." Thea ended the call before standing to her feet. She was about to head upstairs, but she was stopped by the sound of the doorbell. She paused for a moment. It was rare that the Queen household had many guests, at least none they didn't know were coming. Thea took a few steps into the hall, before turning at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. She watched as her brother rushed down. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No." was his hurried reply. He pulled open the door, and the slight hope he had dwindled away at the sight of someone he didn't have the patience for. "Mr. Carroll, what are you doing here?" Micheal glanced behind Oliver, who only pulled the door a bit to minimize the man's view inside the house. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to Sweets." Michael said, his eyes glancing behind Oliver. "Sweets! I know you're in there, we need to talk!" the man attempted to push his way inside the house, but Oliver stepped forward and gave a hard push back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Oliver asked, and at this moment a surge of anger struck him and all he wanted to do was hit something, and since Michael was here. Oliver took another step forward, but a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder to pull him back.

"Not a good idea." Thea said moving around her brother, placing herself between the two men. "What do you want with Katie?"

"It's none of your business." Michael replied, turning his glare back to Oliver. "It's about the company."

"Which she is no longer apart of, so why are you here?!" Oliver snapped once again taking a step forward, but Thea pushed him back.

"Because this is her chance. Our stocks are plummeting, sales have gone down, and our public opinion rating are at an all time low, and they all happened the moment it was announced that she would be stepping down as the CEO. If I can get her in front of the board now, have her convince them that letting her back now is what is best for the company, I can get her back to where she belongs.

Where she belongs. Oliver thought to himself. She belonged with him, home with their kids. Oliver turned away because the thought on brought emotions that he was trying his damnedest to hold inside.

"So I need to talk to her."

"She's not here." Oliver said turning back to the man who huffed.

"Well can you call her, because I've tried and she's not taking my calls."

"No, she's-" Oliver was tired of explaining this. Tired of saying the words out loud, reminding himself of how much of a failure he truly was.

"She's what?" Michael questioned as he looked over to the man and something about the way Oliver looked made him nervous. "where the hell is she?" the man turned to Thea in hopes for answers. Thea glanced over to her brother before turning to Michael and said the first thing that came to her mind.

"She's not in the country." Thea said and Michael's brows knitted in confusion. "She's...she signed up for another tour with Doctor's Without Borders." Michael stared for a moment, his eyes glancing over to Oliver and he just shook his head.

"Doctor's Without Borders?" Michael turned back to Thea who simply gave a nod. The sudden sound of Robyn's cries spilled outside and they all turned. Oliver simply turned, hurrying inside to check on his daughter. "Robins Incorporated just opened an internal child care facility." Thea turned back to the man with a quirked brow. "You see to get Sweets to finally come back to work, I brought up the idea of the facility figuring that being away from her daughter was the reason for her hesitation in coming back." Thea turned away slightly. "So I find it hard to believe, that my Sweets would go to another country, putting thousands of miles between her and her daughter." Thea turned back to meet his eyes. "Where the hell is she?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Carroll, but Katie isn't here right now, but I'll tell her you stopped by when I speak to her." Thea turned and headed back inside. She stopped at the door and glanced back to the man who hadn't moved from his spot. He glanced back inside the house and then turned back to Thea, taking a step forward, but stopping himself. Michael looked back to the woman and just gave a nod.

"Ok." he turned and headed back toward his car. Thea watched until he was gone before stepping back into the house with only one thought. She walked inside to find Oliver in the kitchen, cradling Robyn in his arms as she chewed on her teething ring.

Oliver glanced over to her.

"He's gone, but Ollie-" she sighed with a shake of her head. "I don't think he's dropping this. He may look deeper into this and if he finds out that it's a lie."

"Thea-" Oliver interrupted her. "Right now, this moment, I'm holding my daughter. She's teething, and it's very uncomfortable for her, so right now I'm just going to hold her, and let her know that I'm here. So what Michael does or doesn't do, isn't very important." the man began heading out of the kitchen toward the steps.

"John called!"

"I know."

"Yeah, he said you ignored his call, but Ollie it's about Darhk." Oliver stopped and turned back to his sister. "Malcolm approached Andy about some job to steal missiles. We think Malcolm is planning something, we're just not sure what."

"And you think this is about breaking Darhk out of jail?"

"I think that it's a very good possibility." Thea turned to her brother. "Right now we need your help. We need to figure out a way to stop this." Oliver's eyes looked down to his daughter in his arms and Thea saw that hesitation. "Ollie, I think the last thing that needs to happen is for Darhk to get out a prison, and find Katie in the state she's in right now." he looked back over to his sister and knew she was right. Before Oliver could open his mouth, the front door opened, and Thea took a step back to see Ari who walked inside, tossing her back pack on the floor before heading into the kitchen. Ari stopped, looking between Oliver and Thea and just knowing she interrupted something serious.

"What?" she asked, looking over to Oliver. "Is it Katie? Did she call?" Oliver saw the hope in her eyes and felt guilty.

"Um, no-" Oliver glanced over to his sister and sighed. "Ari, I have to leave for a little bit." he turned back to the confused teen. "I won't be gone long, there's just something I have to take care of."

"Let me guess, I don't get to know what this something is?" Oliver didn't say anything and Ari just shook her head.

"You know what, whatever." she turned about to head upstairs.

"Ari-" she stopped and turned back to the man. "Thea and I are both leaving, and we're not leaving you here alone." Oliver glanced over to Thea who thought for a moment before getting an idea.

"How about Donna?" Oliver looked unsure. "I mean I don't think she'd mind."

"I don't need a babysitter. I'm almost sixteen." Ari replied turning a glare to Oliver. "I can stay home alone. Just keep the suits outside and I'll be fine." Oliver looked at her for a moment before looking over to his sister.

"Call her." Oliver said before turning to the angry teenager. "I won't be gone long, just be on your best behavior." he looked over to his sister. "I'm going to pack up Robyn's things and then we can go." with that, Oliver turned and headed upstairs.

"You guys can't keep me in the dark for long." Ari said looking over to Thea. "My cousin wouldn't up and leave. She promised me that she would always be there for me and I refuse to believe that she would break that promise." Thea looked at her for a moment before nodded.

"You're right. She wouldn't. Ari, we can't tell you everything right now, but know that Katie is coming back. You should grab some stuff to take to Felicity's to keep you from getting bored." Ari simply shook her head before turning and heading over to grab her back pack. She glanced over to see Robyn's car seat, and the stuffed banana the baby just seemed obsessed with and suddenly she had an idea. Ari glanced over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear before snagging the toy.

Lyla Michaels was nervous. She stood on the elevator, her hands fidgeting at her side dreading the moment the doors would open. Lyla wasn't supposed to be nervous. Waller didn't choose her to be her replacement because she got nervous. She was a strong minded, intelligent woman who should not be nervous right now, and yet the moment the doors pulled opened, her feet froze. She looked out, her eyes looking over to the men and woman who rushed about. She usually didn't come to this floor. She'd come to an agreement with Jacob Robins when Waller was gone, that she would allow him to continue his work as long as it didn't interfere with any ARGUS business. Right now ARGUS satellites were being used, and when she asked her techs why, none of them had an answer. Only that those satellites were currently being utilized by Agent Jacob Robins. Lyla took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back and stalked off of that elevator. Any nervousness she felt now was pushed down internally and externally only annoyance showed. She stalked toward his office, just as Martin came rushing out. The moment he saw her he came to a stop.

"Oh, Ms. Michaels-"

"Director Michaels." Lyla corrected. "Tell me why I'm here Mr. Ellis?" the man sighed folding his arms over his chest.

"The satellites."

"Yes, the satellites. Any satellite use in this building must be approved by the director." she took a step toward the man. "Right now our facial recognition satellites that are linked to every government agency in the world is being used, and I didn't approve a damn thing."

"I'm sure you're aware, Mrs. Queen-"

"Katie is missing. I know, and I also know that there are a lot of people lookning for her, and if Jacob wants to use some of our resources than fine, but all of them throws up red flags. All of them draws attention to an agency that's not supposed to exist. Using all of them to find one woman is reckless, and Jacob knows that." Lyla moved around the man to go into the office, only for Martin to take a step to the side to block her. "You have five seconds to move out of the way before I hit you and then fire you Martin."

"Ok, we'll dial down on the satellites, and try not to draw too much attention. I will assure that happens, but you going in there right now is not a good idea." Lyla looked at the man for a moment and just shook her head.

"How far off the rails is he?"

"Close enough to still have a weapon, far enough that you should probably have one if you're in a room with him." Martin replied and Lyla glanced over to the door. "Right now his decision making skills aren't the best which is why I'm here."

"Jacob Robins has never gotten overly emotional with a case. I remember with Grace-" she looked back to Martin and shook her head. "We all thought it was strange how only after a few weeks he was back as if nothing had happened."

"Well we all wear masks, Director. It's just with our children, it's a lot more difficult." Lyla simply gave a nod before once again looking up to Jacob's door.

"Keep him on the rails, scale back on the satellites." she turned back to the man. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Well there was something we could use. Waller has some journals that belonged to Grace Robins, I believe they're here somewhere. They may help us in our search." Martin replied.

"I'll check around for them, and if I find something I will send them down." Lyla said with a nod before turning and heading back over to step onto the elevator. Martin looked back to the door, and sighed before heading off as well.

A blinding bright light appeared out of nowhere, filling the room causing everyone to turn away. After a few seconds the light was gone and they all turned to see Oliver standing there alone. It was Jacob who took a step forward, his eyes looking to Oliver and not his daughter who is supposed to be standing beside him.

"No." Jacob muttered with a shake of his head. "Tell me it worked?!" Oliver looked over to the man in confusion not expecting to see him.

"Ollie-" Thea rushed over to her brother, placing her hands on his arms. His eyes didn't look at her at first, and so she gave him a slight shake. "Ollie?" he looked down to her. "What happened? Where's Twinkie?" Oliver didn't answer. He lifted his eyes to Jacob once again, and an anger inside of him seemed to just burst out.

"You kept secrets from her!" Oliver snapped attempting to walk over to the man, but Thea pushed him back. "You could've prevented all of this if you were just honest! You should've told us how dangerous it was for her to be near Darhk."

"I did." Jacob turned, his hand going to his chest, suddenly feeling it difficult to breathe. "I-" he stumbled back, falling to the couch behind him. "I tried, I-" he looked back over to Oliver. "It didn't work. She's-"

"Ollie, where is Twinkie?" Thea asked again and Oliver turned back to his sister and he suddenly felt the lump in his throat that stopped the words from coming out of his mouth. "Wait, is she-"

"No," Oliver shook his head. "She's-" he glanced over to Jacob once again and shook his head. "It has her now." he turned back to the shocked eyes of his sister, and he felt that pang of guilt once again.

"I thought-" Thea shook her head, her eyes watering at the implication of his words. "This was supposed to be it." she looked back to her brother. "I thought-"

"It didn't work." Jacob muttered. "I should've known that British bastard wasn't going to give it up." he looked over to them. "And you let them do it." Oliver growled taking a step, but his sister once again pushed him back. Jacob stood to his feet with a shake of his head. "You don't get it, do you? We can't stop this thing. That's why it wasn't going to work. You, Constantine, Zatanna , going in there, trying to kill it, that was a long shot. A very slim chance of success." Jacob slid a hand over his eyes, hoping a next step would just materialize, but all he could think about was his daughter. His baby girl out there, with this dark thing inside of her, doing God knows what. He shook his head before stalking toward the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Thea asked and the man stopped and looked back to her.

"We have to find her, before it does something she can't come back from." and with that the man stalked out of the door.

Jacob ran his hand across the stubble along his chin as his eyes bore into the monitor in front of him, each showing a current facial recon search for his daughter. It had been weeks and there was no sign of her, but he knew she was out there. This thing inside of her was smart. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I don't know what to do, Grace. I promised I would keep her safe, I promised I'd keep her away from him, and now I don't know what to do." he opened his eyes and looked up to the ceiling, just as an unexpected breeze blew through the room. Jacob turned around noticing a picture on the shelf had been knocked down and so he walked over and picked it up. It was a picture of Grace holding a two year old Katie in her arms rocking her to sleep. Jacob remembers the memory so vividly. He'd just walked into the house, and when he found his wife and daughter, there was something about the sight that just made his heart swell with love. He quickly grabbed the camera, and took a picture wanting to be able to remember this moment in the future. Jacob smiled at the picture, before his eyes caught something he never noticed before. There below the rocking chair, next to Grace's foot looked like the spine of a book. Jacob lifted his head, because he recognized the book. It's a book Grace absolutely didn't want in the wrong hands, which is why she had it secretly delivered to an old friend back in Nanda Parbat. Jacob looked back down to the picture before pulling out his cell phone. "Yeah, I need a plane as soon as possible."

Oliver's eyes looked down to Damien Darhk's reassembled idol that was securely in cased at the bunker. John went over the story again that Andy had told him, about Malcolm coming to him about stealing missiles. He glanced down to the baby monitor, glad Robyn was still asleep.

"First, kidnapping, then stealing missiles." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "Merlyn's trying really hard to be friends with Darhk."

"Malcolm's convinced Darhk is on the winning side." Thea said looking over to her brother. "He's even trying to protect me from whatever he's planning."

"The only thing Darhk should be planning on is getting convicted at trial." Oliver replied, his eyes once again glancing down to the baby monitor. They'd all noticed his eyes looking down to it, and how much he didn't want to be dealing with this right now. Oliver's eyes looked back up to that idol, unable to not look at it.

"Why does that thing creep me out the way it does?" John asked noticing Oliver's lingering staring figuring that was his thoughts as well.

"Because it's creepy." Laurel said.

"There's something that I haven't told you guys." Oliver said suddenly and they all turned to him. "Shocker." Thea muttered, but Oliver heard her and looked over to her making her feel instantly guilty. "Sorry."

"I've seen this idol before." he continued.

"What? Where?" Laurel asked and Oliver glanced over to her and sighed.

"Lian Yu."

"You really love not talking about that place, don't you?" Laurel commented and Oliver chose to ignore it.

"Thea mentioned security upgrades." Oliver said looking over to John. "How's that coming?"

"Everything's in place. We're good to go." John assured him.

"Because Merlyn knows the bunker's location. If he's working with Darhk- "

"Then that means we have to worry about him coming down here and stealing this creepy stone thingy." Thea said looking down to the idol as well.

"And what about his plan to hijack the missile shipment?" Laurel asked.

"Oliver, I think-" the sound of Robyn's cries came from the baby monitor, and Oliver looked down to it for a moment before turning and heading off to check on his daughter without a word.

"Should we be worried about him?" Laurel asked looking between Thea and John. "He just seems-"

"Like he's barely holding on, well that's because his is." Thea sighed. "The not knowing where Twinkie is, or what's happening with her is getting to him."

"Well it's making me nervous as well." Laurel replied. "The last time this thing inside of her was in the driver's seat, I ended up in the hospital."

"Has Felicity found anything?" Thea asked looking over to John.

"Wait, where is Felicity?" Laurel asked.

"I told her what John told me and about us meeting."

"And she decided not to come?" Laurel asked, just as the elevator doors opened and out walked Bruce. "Never mind."

"Sorry I'm late." Bruce said, glancing between them before glancing around the bunker.

"She's not here." John said and Bruce turned to him. "I told her you were coming and-" Bruce simply gave a nod.

"So you've been in Star City this whole time and none of us have seen you. What have you been up to?" Thea asked looking over to Bruce.

"I've been searching for Robins." Bruce replied. The moment he got the news of what had happened, Bruce couldn't believe it and yet a part of him expected the news at some point.

"Anything?" Laurel asked, and Bruce shook his head.

"Where ever she is, she's staying underground."

"I don't get it. The last time this thing had taken over, it's motives were very clear." Thea said with a shake of her head.

"Were they though?" John asked. "I mean we never gave her a chance to leave. Who knows what she would've done if she got out of here that day."

"I guess we're going to find out if we don't find her." Laurel muttered.

"So what is the plan with this whole Malcolm/Darhk situation?" Bruce asked looking over to John.

"Well we were getting to that part, but Oliver had to go check on the baby." John said and Bruce quirked a brow but nodded. "He's-"

"Yeah, I know. What do we know about these missiles Malcolm wants to steal?" Bruce asked.

"Not much, which is why I think we should let Andy stay right where he is." John said. "That way, we have someone on the inside."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Oliver asked and they turned to see the man standing behind John.

"Well, he's out from under the influence of Darhk. We can trust him." John explained.

"Trust is one thing." Bruce said. "Installing him as a double agent, that's another. That's a lot of pressure to put on someone, especially someone that is still in recovery."

"Bruce is right." Oliver said.

"Guys, Andy is a standup guy. He's got this." John said, just as Thea's phone vibrated. She pulled out her phone and frowned.

"What is it?" Oliver asked and Thea walked over to him to show him the notification that appeared on her phone and he sighed. It was a reminder about Ruvé's acceptance speech.

"You could blow that off. You don't owe Ruvé Darhk anything." Laurel said looking over to Oliver who she could tell didn't want to go.

"Tradition. Loser attends the winner's acceptance speech." Oliver replied. He had no intention of attending when they were in Blue Hill, but now that he was back and people knew he was back he knew not going would gain too much attention.

"You didn't lose. You pulled out of the race because of her husband." Laurel stated and Oliver glanced over to her. "You in front of the press right now when you're-" she sighed. "This thing with Twinkie is affecting you, and-"

"I'm fine." Oliver said looking down to the baby monitor. Thea watched the man and suddenly an idea struck her.

"Bruce can watch Robyn!" Thea suggested and they all turned to her. It was an unexpected suggestion which the woman seemed to be doing a lot of lately. She turned to Bruce who stared in surprise. "C'mon, he's watched her before."

"Yeah, with-" John was about to say with Felicity, but thought he probably shouldn't.

"Look at this point what other choice do we have. Me and Ollie, and the assistant D.A. have to be at this speech. John has to fill in his brother, so that leaves us with Bruce."

"Not exactly." Laurel said looking over to Thea who glared. "I mean never mind." Thea turned back to her brother.

"We won't be gone long, and he's right here." Thea said looking over to Bruce who just shook his head before turning to Oliver.

"I feel like I'm going to regret this, but sure I'll watch her until you get back." Bruce said, and Oliver looked unsure himself.

"Look, we'll just stay until the end of the speech and then we're coming right back."

"We'll be fine." Bruce said.

"Well you better." Oliver said seriously before nudging his head. "C'mon, there's a list of things you should know if my daughter's life is going to be in your hands."

"A list?" Bruce chuckled, but stopped when he saw the annoyance on Oliver's face. "You're serious?" Oliver simply quirked a brow and Bruce just shook his head before following after the man.

"Batman the babysitter." Laurel said in amusement before glancing over to Thea who was typing away on her cell phone. She and John walked over to see what she was doing and their eyes went wide. "Thea, what are you doing?"

"Taking a page out of Felicity's universal meddler book of meddling." Thea replied before sending the text. She looked up to Laurel and John who both just shook their head. "What?"

Ari sat on the patio of Felicity's apartment, staring down at the tablet in her lap.

"So I ordered pizza and it should be here soon." Donna says walking out and taking the seat across from the teenager. "Whew, it's chilly out here, you sure you don't want to go inside?"

"I'm fine, I like being outside." Ari says, her eyes glancing back down to her tablet. Donna looked at her for a moment and shook her head.

"You remind me of Felicity." Ari looked over to her with a quirked brow. "That girl was always staring at a monitor, doing something, decoding something-" Donna shook her head. "I thought for sure she was going to be some kind of hermit because sometimes she wouldn't even come out of her room because she was glued to that thing. I'm so glad I was wrong. I mean there were some run ins with a couple of government agencies, but-" Donna noticed the surprise on Ari's face and realized maybe she was oversharing. "How about a movie?" Ari looked at her for a moment before glancing down to her tablet. She typed a few keys turning off the screen before looking back over to the woman.

"Sure." Ari said before they both walked back inside. "Do you guys have popcorn?"

"Absolutely, I'll got get some popped, and you can choose the movie. Just nothing too gory alright. I can't take the blood and guts." Donna replied before heading off to the kitchen. Ari waited until the woman was out of sight before stuffing her tablet into her book bag before tossing it over her shoulder.

"I'm actually going to go to the bathroom!" Ari called.

"Ok!" Donna replied.

Ari grabbed her jacket as she quietly hurried toward the door. She cast one final glance to make sure the coast was clear before she carefully opened the door and slipped out without making a sound. Ari stood in front of the elevator nervously waiting for the doors to open. There were no guards outside the door, which meant they were probably doing their rounds. Ari was lucky, but that luck would run out if the elevator didn't open soon. She glanced down the hall hoping she wouldn't get caught when the doors finally opened and she quickly slipped inside. Once inside, Ari pulled on her jacket and pulled her tablet from her back pack. She turned on the screen and looked down to the aerial map of the city, her eyes locking on to the blinking red dot.

In all honesty, Bruce wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be when he was finally left alone with baby Robyn. She did stir awake, but he picked her up in his arms, rocked her a bit and she just drifted off back to sleep. He held her in his arms for a bit to truly ensure she was asleep. As he looked down to this child, Bruce couldn't help but feel the pain of loss. Sure there was no child to lose, but there was a possibility. A very strong possibility that after he married the love of his life, they would one day have a child. And now that possibility is gone, and it's all his fault.

Bruce's head lifted at the sound of footsteps. He snarled because he knew the team wasn't back that soon, and he also knew that there could be a possible attempt to steal the idol. Bruce carefully lowered the baby back to the bassinet before he quietly headed toward the door. He pulled opened the door slowly, hoping to make whoever was in the bunker believe there was no one here.

Bruce slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He listened for the footsteps and they seemed to be getting near. He clenched his fists at his sides, and a took a step forward, only to freeze at the sight of someone he didn't expect.

"Felicity, what are you-" he hadn't seen the woman in weeks. The last time he saw her was that night of the fake wedding. A lot of emotions filled that night, and those emotions seemed to be just as strong in this moment as his eyes looked at her and couldn't fathom the idea of looking away. She stalked toward him with a glare on her face.

"What the hell was Oliver thinking of leaving you here with my god daughter?" Felicity asked angrily about to push him out the way to check on the girl when the sound of the elevator opening again made them pause. Bruce took a step forward in front of Felicity, once again going on the defensive.

"Felicity, go into that room and lock the door." Bruce ordered before taking a step only to once again stop at the sight of yet another face he didn't expect.

"What is-" Felicity stepped aside, her eyes going wide. "Ari?"

Arianna Locke wasn't sure what to expect when she walked into Oliver's old campaign office. When she walked inside, she didn't see anyone, but this was where her locator says they should be. Well where Robyn's stupid sombrero wearing banana stuffed animal should be which currently held her cell phone. The teenager walked around a bit before finding a hallway. She'd remember many times coming here, and Oliver walking off, always toward this hallway. She never thought much about it, it never really mattered. When she stepped into that hallway she looked around unsure of what she was actually looking for. She was about to turn around when suddenly the wall in front of her opened up, revealing a secret elevator. A short ride later, and now here she was, standing in front of display cases all holding the suits of Star City's heroes.

"Ari?" her name was called again, but she couldn't turn away from the suits. Her eyes currently looking to the suit of the Guardian. A hand touched her shoulder and she looked over to see Felicity.

"My cousin is the Guardian isn't she?" Ari asked, her eyes turning back to the suits. For some reason that seemed so obvious only at this very moment. Her eyes drifted to the suit beside it, and her eyes widened. "And Oliver is the freaking Green Arrow!" she turned back to Felicity who seemed stunned in silence, unsure what to say.

Oliver had to force himself not to roll his eyes as he watched Ruvé's speech. The press was in the crowd, probably waiting for him to be caught off guard. He suddenly remembered what Laurel said, about him not being in front of the press because the fact that his wife was missing and inhabited by an evil entity was affecting him. The truth was, it was affecting him, more than they knew, and yet he kept it hidden because he had to.

That woman standing on the stage was the wife of an evil man and for some reason him behind bars didn't scare her or make her nervous. Oliver couldn't help but feel as if there was something more going on that he just hadn't seen yet. Oliver saw the smile on her face and just shook his head. His eyes turned to her staff behind her, and they stopped on the man who'd visited his home earlier tonight. Michael stood behind Ruvé with a look of hidden annoyance. Oliver had read that after Katie stepped down, Robin's Incorporated decided to back Adam's campaign which he's sure added to their downfall. Michael's eyes turned, spotting Oliver and the two men's gazes were locked on each other. Oliver turned away from the suspicious glare being sent in his direction.

"We worked hard to get to this moment, but now the real work begins to make this city great again." Ruvé smiled and waved. "Thank you." the woman stepped down from the podium, and was immediately questioned by the press.

Oliver turned to leave, but stopped at the sound of his name.

"Mr. Queen-" A reporter stepped forward, recorder extended toward Oliver. "have time to answer a few questions?"

"I'm not a candidate any more." Oliver replied with a polite smile. The last thing he wanted to do was answer any of the press' questions right now. "I'm just here to support the new mayor."

"So no comment on the write-in results?" the reporter asked

" Uh, what write-in results?" Thea asked.

"48% of the electorate wrote in your brother's name on their ballots. That's a historic showing for a candidate who pulled out of the race." Thea glanced over to her brother who looked surprised. The reporter turned noticing Ruvé headed in their direction. "I'll let you and your former opponent catch up."

"Well, thank you for coming out tonight, Mr. Queen." Ruvé said, a smile on her face. Always in front of the cameras, she thought as she held out a hand to Oliver. "It's a very gracious gesture." Oliver shook her hand despite his desire to just let her hand just hang there.

"I am always gonna have this city's best interests at heart." Oliver replied with his own smile.

"Well, let's hope the same can be said for your friends." Ruvé said before turning to Laurel. "Miss Lance, I am so pleased to meet you. I was very impressed by your handling of the Damien Darhk hearing." Laurel wanted to sneer at the woman's tone, but she wouldn't reveal her true feelings.

"I was just getting warmed up."

"Well, my hope is that you'll be too busy to handle the trial. District Attorney Remirez has taken on a new position as my deputy mayor, and I would like you to succeed him as D.A. Think about it. I think that we could do great things for this city if we worked together." Laurel seemed taken aback by the offer. "Think about it." Ruvé turned back to Oliver. "Oh, and give my best to your wife." the smile of Oliver's face fell, and Thea noticed the expression change and moved in closer to her brother. "She's been out of the spotlight since stepping down from the company, I hope-" There were sudden murmurs and they all turned as the press seemed to move toward the door, their cameras flashing as they all yell out questions. It didn't take long for them to realize what had caused the frenzy.

"Twinkie." Oliver whispered taking a step forward. Katie was right there, a bright smile on her face as she waved and laughed with the press. Her eyes turned to him and her smiled widened as she walked over to him, grabbing his jacket and pulling his lips to hers. Oliver wasn't sure what was happening, but he was sure of one thing, this wasn't his wife. Even while knowing that fact, Oliver returned the kiss, and even brought his arms around her as the cameras flashed.

Thea and Laurel shared a look of confusion before turning to the couple of who finally came up for air.

"I'm sorry I'm late, honey." Katie said reaching up to wipe Oliver's now stained lips. She looked over to Laurel and waved with a smile to which the woman stood a bit straighter. Katie glanced over to Ruvé who seemed to be watching her as everyone was. "Oh, Ms. Adams, I missed your speech, my apologies."

"No need." Ruvé replied a smile on her face, but she watched the woman warily. She remembered the last time she saw her, and the power the woman in front of her held. She held out her hand to Katie who looked down to it, and just shook her head, tossing her arms around the woman in a tight hug. The cameras once again lit up at the sight.

Thea nudged her brother who glanced over to her and just shook his head.

"Well I want you to know I wish you and your new role in this city the best." Katie pulled from the hug, not missing the slight suspicion on the woman's face. "Being the mayor is a big job and can be very dangerous." Katie sent one final smirk to the woman before turning back to Oliver. "My car or yours?" Oliver looked down to the woman before bringing his arm around her and pulling her toward the door, Thea and Laurel close behind.

"What's going on?" Laurel whispered over to Thea who looked over to the woman and shrugged.

"Hey, Sweets!" Michael stopped them before they could get into the car. He ran over to Katie and she turned a smile to him. "So I heard you were out of the country?"

"Who told you that?" Katie asked and Michael glanced over to Oliver and Katie followed his gaze and shook her head. "I mean, it's just not something I wanted to get out." she turned back to Michael. "It was a short stay, but now I'm back."

"Great, look I think right now is the perfect time to put you back in front of the board. They're now realizing that you were more than just a name on that building. I can set up a meeting and-"

"Michael," she placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "It's over. It's time for you to move on." Katie turned back to Oliver who pulled open the passenger side door to let her in. Michael stood there for a moment in confusion. He glanced over to Oliver before turning and stalking away. Oliver was about to head over to the driver's seat before turning to his sister and Laurel.

"Can you two find a way back to the bunker?" Oliver asked and Thea shook her head.

"Oliver, we're not leaving you alone with her. I know you want to try and save her, but that thing inside of her makes her very dangerous."

"I know that, but somewhere underneath all that darkness is my wife, and I'll fight til my last breath to find her." Oliver glanced over to Laurel. "I'll meet you back at the bunker." with that the man walked around the car before stepping inside, and speeding away.

Thea and Laurel stood there watching the car get further away before Thea's phone rang. Thea pulled out her phone, glancing down to the caller ID and groaning before bringing it to her ear.

"Hey Donna, what-" Donna's hysterical crying was incoherent, but what Thea could make out of it made her turn to Thea with wide eyes. "Don't worry, we'll look for her." Thea hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Laurel asked.

"Ari is missing." Thea replied and Laurel's eyes turned back in the direction that the car had sped of in. "The last time Ari went missing that thing inside of my sister went homicidal." Thea sighed before looking down to her phone. "I'm calling Felicity."

The drive was silent. Almost brutal. Oliver kept his eyes ahead, even though every fiber in his body wanted to turn to her, look at her, but he doesn't think he could do that. Look at this wife, and not see her staring back at him. Right now he knew this darkness was powerful and unpredictable, so he needed to play this smart.

"Why are you here?" Oliver finally asked.

"You're my husband." she chuckled glancing over to him, noticing the grip he had on the stirring wheel. "And here I was thinking you'd be happy to see me."

"I'll be happy when I see my wife." Oliver sneered glancing over to her, but only for a second before turning back to the road. "I'll be happy when you're finally gone." she laughed with a shake of her head.

"You still don't get it, do you?" she asked looking over to him. "You think I'm the product of some rose pedals slipped under a door." Oliver glanced over to her once again before looking back to the road ahead. "The truth is, I've always been here. I've been with your little Twinkie through all of the troubles that swallowed her up and spit her out. You only saw a peek of it when you were up in the ole noggin." they stopped at a light and Oliver took in a deep breath before turning back to the woman, now looking at her, seeing the lights shine on her, and it was painful. The woman sitting beside him looked the same, looked like his Twinkie, and yet it wasn't. "The only difference now is that I'm no longer suppressed, or buried deep inside of her any more. Now I'm free." she laughed before turning away from his eyes. She pointed ahead. "Light's green, Oliver."

When Laurel and Thea arrived, they spotted Felicity and Bruce standing in the middle of the bunker staring out to something. They walked over, and their eyes widened at the sight of Ari standing there looking up to their suits.

"How long has she just been standing over there?" Thea asked.

"Too long, I'm going to -" Bruce took a step to go over to the girl, but Felicity grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I don't think so. Right now she doesn't need to be scared or lied to which seems to be the only thing you can do. Plus this is a Twiver talk. Where's Oliver?"

"He's with Evil Twinkie." Thea said looking over to Ari.

"As in, the Devil stole my body, Twinkie?" Felicity asked and Laurel gave a nod. "She saw you and didn't try to kill you again?"

"No, she just said hi." Laurel replied with a shake of her head. "It was kind of unsettling."

"It was completely unsettling." Thea said. She looked over to Bruce who seemed to be deep in thought. "A penny for your thoughts." Bruce turned to her, and then to the eyes on him. He turned to Felicity who watched him as well and he just shook his head.

"I should probably go." Bruce said before turning.

"If you know something Bruce, you should tell us now!" Felicity called after him, and he stopped walking and turned back to her. "No more secrets, no more lies. Just tell us." the man looked at her for a moment, and even now was so tempted to just tell her the truth, and yet he knew the danger surrounding this secret was still there, still impending, and he would prolong that for as long as he could.

"If there's a plan to break Darhk out of that jail, we need to stop it before it happens. Call me when Oliver returns, and we can figure out how to come at this." and with that the man turned and stepped onto the elevator. Felicity's eyes stayed on that elevator for a moment before she turned back to Thea and Laurel.

"Should we be worried about Oliver?" Felicity asked. Both Laurel and Thea shared a look before turning back to Felicity with a shrug. "So I should probably track him." Felicity moved around the women to head over to her computers. "And someone should talk to Ari." Thea and Laurel shared another look.

"I tried and failed explaining any of this to her." Thea said as they turned their gaze to the teenager.

"We have to tell her something, and there is no telling when Oliver will be back." Laurel sighed. "She's standing right here in the middle of this. The truth is the only thing we can give her right now." Laurel began walking over and Thea just shook her head.

"Ollie is not going to like this at all."

When Oliver pulled the car to a stop, Katie glanced out the window and rolled her eyes.

"Is this quarry magic now?" she asked dropping her head back on the seat as she looked over to the man who turned his gaze to her fully now. "You think it will make me who you want me to be, but I'm sorry to break it to you Oliver, but it won't."

"Do you want to know what I realized?" Oliver asked and the woman looked over to him and awaited for him to answer his own question. Instead he turned and stepped out of the car, and she just laughed.

"Pathetic." she muttered glancing out the window, before stepping out as well. "Fine, I will bite. What did you realize?"

"That little trip into my wife's consciousness, I saw all the terrible things that happened to her." he turned back to the woman. "All the terrible things you've been feeding off of."

"Your point?"

"I didn't see any of the good things. That's how you can be here, isn't it." he took steps toward her. "You're pushing the bad things to the front, making her relive them, making her experience that pain over and over again. You're trying to make her forget the good things. Us, our daughter, Ari, the lives she's saved as a doctor, the people's she's helped running her company." His last step placed him right in front of her. "Twinkie, if you can hear me, I need you to know that all the bad that's happened to you does not have the ability to steal you away from me. The good in your life outweighs the bad, and you need to realize that and fight this." he looked at her for a moment as she stared back to him and he wondered if his words touched anything inside of her.

"I expected this. You were always going to be the toughest one to convince, but I think you should know Oliver, that I will convince you. Your wife is gone, I'm here now and I have a lot of work to do. I only came here to let you know that we're on the same side of this fight, we're just going to go about it differently. All I ask is that you don't get in my way and I won't get in yours." she turned to walk away.

"The night of the fireworks." Oliver said, but the woman just kept walking. "Before the police, and before all the crap that came after, you told me that you were glad that I was your friend." she didn't stop and Oliver began stalking after her. He needed his words to touch something inside of her. He needed to know his hope was warranted. "And I didn't say it out loud, but I wish I had. I wanted to tell you that being your friend was the highlight of my life." she kept walking, not turning back to him, and he continued to follow after her. "I woke up everyday to experience life with you." with those words she finally stopped. Oliver stopped as well, that spark of hope burning now. She didn't turn, and say anything back to him, but he knew something inside of her felt the truth of his words and it did something. "Twinkie?" she turned to him and shook her head.

"Nope, still just me." she replied with a half smile. "Oliver, I don't think you quite understand what I am. I am strong, so your words though she hears them, won't make a difference. I'm going to say this once again in hopes that you hear it." she took a step toward him. "Your wife is gone. You need to believe that and accept that because if you don't, if you waste your time trying to strike a nerve, in the end it's you that's going to be hurt." she turned to leave.

"You know I can't do that."

"You're right, I do." she glanced over to him. "You're not gonna stop until I rip your heart out of your chest. Which I will if I have to." Oliver saw the flicker of her eyes as they changed. "Like I said we're on the same side here, fighting the war that's headed this way. Right now that's what you need to be focused on, because that's the fight you have a chance at winning." with those words, she turned and walked away, and this time Oliver didn't follow after her. That spark of hope that burned inside of him had reduced to a flicker, but not completely burned out.

Returning back to the bunker, Oliver already knew the troubles of his day weren't over. He'd listened to numerous voice mails from his sister, and from Felicity, and the latest was from John. Oliver rode the elevator down, his eyes closed.

"So is your head gonna be attached to my stomach for the foreseeable future?" Oliver didn't move an inch as he kept his ear pressed to the pregnant belly of his girlfriend. "You've felt her kick before. Is this about your bad dream." Oliver didn't say anything because he really didn't want to rehash the terrible nightmare of some of his past enemies somehow finding them in Coast City, bursting into their house and torturing them. He wasn't sure what spurred the thoughts, but the moment he woke up, he brought his arms around her, and dropped his head to her stomach, needing the reassurance that their daughter was alright. "Liver-" she lied back on the bed, and brought her hand to rest on the side his head. "We're alright. We're right here and we're not going anywhere." Oliver felt the kick in that moment and he let out a heavy sigh before lifting his head and placing a soft kiss right above her belly button. He moved so his face now hovered above her, his hands still wrapped around her. The room was still dark, the only light coming from the glow of the moon, but he saw those eyes. The eyes that would always be the controller of the air that flowed in and out of his lungs. She placed a hand on the side of his face.

"I love you." he whispered the words that would never fully encompass the feelings he had for this woman. He dropped his lips to hers, making a silent promise to never let that dream come true. He was going to protect her and his daughter until his very last breath.

The doors to the elevator opened, and so did Oliver's eyes as the memory faded. He took a deep breath before taking a step out. His eyes looked ahead where he saw Felicity behind her computer. His eyes glanced over to where he spotted Thea and Laurel standing in front of Ari, their eyes on suits he never intended for her to see.

"How did it go?" Felicity asked standing to her feet and walking over to the man. "I pinged your phone and saw that you went to the quarry. Any luck finding our Twinkie?"

"I'm not sure." Oliver says his eyes still on the three girls on the other side of the bunker. "But I'm not giving up."

"Well of course you're not." Felicity replied giving the man a slight nudge before following his eyes. "So how do you plan on handling this situation?"

"I thought Twinkie would be here. We'd do this together. I guess that's not possible now." he glanced over to Felicity who gave him a nod.

"Well, good luck. Little Robyn is still asleep, and for future reference, Bruce Wayne doesn't babysit her, call me and I will drop whatever, ok." Felicity said, and because Oliver knew right now she needed him to just agree, he did. He gave a nod, but not actually promising her anything. He knew this whole thing with Bruce was still a very sensitive subject and so he would appease her. "I should be getting home, I will see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Felicity." the woman simply gave a nod before glancing back over to the girls and loudly cleared her throat causing them all to turn. They all glanced over to Oliver who began walking over.

"I guess I should be headed home." Laurel looked over to Oliver and gave him a small smile. "See you tomorrow?" the man simply gave a nod before turning his eyes back to Ari who was now glaring at him.

"I guess I will go get Robyn all packed up to go home." Thea said before scurrying off as well. Soon it was just Ari and Oliver, and the tension that danced between them.

Oliver wasn't quite sure how to actually start this conversation. He thought he had more time before he revealed all of this to her. He wasn't actually sure he ever would honestly. This life, this part of his life was dangerous, and he didn't want Ari or Robyn in it at all. But it would seem that wasn't even possible. And so right now he would do the only thing he could do, and that was tell her the truth. He walked a bit closer, so he was standing beside her, his eyes looking up to their suits. Ari turned as well, her eyes looking to them, still finding it hard to believe what she was seeing.

"Arianna, I am the Green Arrow." Oliver finally said, and he glanced over to her.

"Why?" she turned to him shaking her head. "How?" She wasn't sure what she wanted to know first because the questions were now cluttered in her head wanting to get out.

"The hows and whys of this would take a long time to explain. I mean there's a yacht accident, and then a couple of years on an island fighting for my life, add in a shady government agency, and in the end you got me putting on that hood and trying to protect this city." Oliver said looking over to the girl. He knows it doesn't completely answer her question but it seems to be enough as she turns back to the suits.

"And my cousin. She-" Ari's eyes look up to the suit of the Guardian and she sighs. "Darhk had me and I called her and told her to find me and she-" the girl turned back to Oliver with a shake of her head. "I thought you guys had connections with the heroes in this city, but I didn't know you were the heroes. She came for me."

"She did. There was absolutely nothing that was going to stop her from coming for you." Oliver said with a smile, his eyes going to the suit as well.

"Where is she?" Ari asked finding now would be the best time to ask another question she needed answered. "She's not gone for work. She wouldn't-" Ari shook her head. "She wouldn't leave us."

"Ari, I-" Oliver really wished Katie was here. He wasn't ready for this, ready to completely destroy this girl's entire world with the knowledge of heroes and villains, along with Metahumans and the mystical world. "You're right, she wouldn't leave you. It's just...something has happened."

"What?" she turned her attention back to him. "Is she alright?" Oliver should lie. As the parental figure whose job it was to ensure this girl's mental and emotional wellness, he should tell her that everything was fine and that her cousin was fine. "Don't you dare lie to me." Oliver turned his eyes back to the girl and let out a deep breath.

"Come sit down." Oliver walked over to sit on the steps, and Ari watched for a moment before walking over to sit beside him. "What I'm about to tell you will be hard to believe, and I want you to know that I'm only telling you this because I trust you. I trust you with all of this because I know you know how important this secret is and how dangerous it could be for all of us if it ever got out." Ari looked at him, before glancing around the bunker and it hit her just in this moment exactly where she was and what all of this really meant. "Ari, your cousin she's..." Ari turned back to face him and the only road for him right now now was honesty. "She's not alright."

There was a small window that let in only the smallest glimmer of light. At the moment, that window was the closest Darhk would be to the outside world. At least for now. And so he laid on his uncomfortable cot, his focus completely centered on that window as a smile curls on his face at thoughts of this city's impending fate.

There was a sudden chill in the air, and Darhk became aware of his surroundings once again. He jumped to his feet and walked over to the bars of his cell, and glanced up noticing the flickering of the lights before they suddenly just shut completely off. He heard the yells of the other inmates, but he remained aware of the sudden presence he felt. He just didn't know who it was or where they were.

"So I like your digs." Darhk whipped around, the voice startling him coming from inside of his cell. His eyes searched the darkness, but he couldn't see anything. "It's small and quaint." That voice. He recognized that voice, and a smile once again curled on his lips.

"Oh Katherine." Damien said taking a step forward. "I see you're coming into those powers quite well now aren't you? You know I've been dying to see you again." he heard her laugh.

"Careful with your choice of words." she replied and the man spun around because it seemed as if the direction of her voice changed. "I'm here to give you a friendly warning. And by friendly, I mean the opposite." something touched his back and Damien whipped around still straining to make something out in the darkness.

"No you're here to finally figure out what that thing between us is." he said, that smile still on his face. "Did you get my message from Ms. Lane?"

"I did. Apparently I am yours." Katie replied in amusement. "What does that mean exactly?"

"Oh I would love to tell you. But this is definitely a wrong time and place kind of conversation. No, I think I'll save that for when I can really use it."

"Always playing games, even now. Even when your life is completely over. There are no more moves to make." Damien laughed.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong. As long as there is a breath in my body, there will always be moves to make and there-" he was in the middle of saying something witty and cunning, but the words died on his lips without his permission. It happened so suddenly, that he didn't even know what was happening at first. But what he was extremely aware of was the fact that his lungs were no longer filtering air in and out of his body.

"As long as there is a breath in your body huh?" she laughed as she listened to the unsuccessful gasps the man attempted. "Funny isn't it. One minute your body is working how it's supposed to, and the next it's just being a little bitch. Much like you did for Ari if I'm not mistaken." Damien's hand reached up and wrapped around his neck unsure what was actually happening to him. "You see I could end your life right here, right now. It's actually what you deserve, but I have the feeling that you dead won't stop whatever you've put in motion in this city. So unfortunately, you get to live another day, but I promise you won't get many. Once I find out what you're planning, once I find out exactly what part your wife plays into it, I'm going to end you. Both of you. But for now...breathe." the man coughed furiously as air came crashing back in to his lungs. "So here's that not so friendly warning. End whatever plans you have for this city because if you don't, I promise you, your death will be..." she laughed as she let the thought linger. "It will be the things nightmares are made of."

Suddenly the lights switched back on, and Damien's eyes darted around his cell, but he saw no one there.

The next morning, Oliver awakened from his place on the living room couch. His eyes snapped opened, a bit surprised at the fact that his normal alarm clock/ daughter hadn't woke him up. Oliver quickly jumped to his feet about to head up to check on her, when he stopped at the sound of something from the kitchen. Oliver narrowed his eyes, before cautiously proceeded toward the kitchen to check it out. He pushed opened the kitchen door surprised at the sight of his sister at the kitchen table where she was feeding Robyn.

"Hey, morning." she said with a smile before pointing over to the stove. "I made pop tarts and coffee if you're interested." he walked inside, heading over to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"You didn't go home?" Oliver asked walking over to sit beside his sister.

"Well this is home." Thea replied looking over to him. "And I told you, you don't have to do all of this alone."

"Thea-"

"If you're about to tell me that I don't have to, I know that. This isn't something I feel I have to do, but it's what I want to do. Despite what's actually happening right now, you're kind of a single dad and being the only parent to both a baby and a teenager seems to be very hard."

"Tell me about it." Oliver muttered before taking a sip of his coffee. He glanced over to the steps. "Anything from Ari this morning?"

"Not a peep. I was going to go check on her, but I wasn't sure. She seemed pretty quiet after your talk last night."

"I know, but telling her the truth was the right thing to do. She's old enough to understand what is happening around her right now."

"And you really trust her not to go blab all of this?" Thea asked and Oliver turned to her and shook his head.

"Ari is a good kid, and she knows how important this is. I just hate that she's being put in the middle of all this."

"Well she's apart of this family. It was bound to happen." Thea turned a smile to her niece. "At least this is practice for when you have to have the hero talk with this little cutey." Oliver turned to his daughter and smiled as she happily ate her cereal.

"That conversation is a long way away."

"So tonight. This missile transport, can we count on the Green Arrow to head up this mission?" Thea asked and Oliver turned back to his daughter. He actually hadn't dawned the suit since returning. Maybe he still had hope that he could help his wife and they could return to a nice, peaceful life as they had found in Blue Hill.

"I don't know. I feel like I should really be focusing on Katie right now. There's just something about last night. Her showing up to Ruvé's speech. Wanting to meet with me to tell me that we were on the same side." Oliver shook his head. "I'm not sure what to make of it, but I feel like there's something there."

"Have you talked to Constantine?"

"Yeah, I called last night. He says we shouldn't trust her, that he couldn't sense Katie at all when she woke up, which means this person walking around in her body is unpredictable. He and Zatanna are still looking for a way to bringing Katie back." Thea noticed the look in his eyes, and she could see that hope he had dwindling.

"Ollie, what would Twinkie want you to be doing right now?" she asked and Oliver turned to her before looking to his daughter. He didn't say anything for a moment because he didn't like the answer and how obvious it was.

"She'd want me to ensure Damien Darhk got nowhere near our daughter." he looked back over to his sister and gave a nod. "Have Felicity send me the route the shipment is moving." Thea smiled with a nod before standing to her feet.

"Will do. Now, me and my little niece are going to take a bath." she picked the baby up in her arms before turning to her brother. "And maybe you can talk to Ari. See where her head is this morning." Oliver nodded before watching his sister and daughter as they headed out of the kitchen.

After talking with Ari the night before, and telling her about Katie, she didn't have as many questions as he thought she would have. Oliver wasn't completely sure what to make out of it, but he knows it's something the girl has been locked in her room thinking about.

Oliver stood outside Ari's room for a moment before lifting a fist to knock.

"Hey Ari, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Um..." the girl said, and Oliver heard rushed movement from the other side of the door. "Just one minute." he waited for a while before grabbing the door handle and finally walking inside, just in time to see the girl quickly close the storage trunk in front of her bed and sit on it. "I didn't say come in!" she said a bit breathy. Oliver glanced around the room before turning back to the girl who watched him as well. "What's up?" Oliver walked over to the girl and stared down to her and she just shook her head. "It's nothing. Just drop it." Oliver was taking a page out of his dad's play book at the moment and continued to stare at the girl hoping that same feeling twisted inside of her as it always did for him. "Ugh...fine." she stood to her feet and flipped open the trunk, and pulled out a bunch of papers, along with her laptop. "I was researching," Oliver looked over to the girl in confusion before taking the papers from her hand. He read over her notes and things she'd printed offline and they all seemed to be information about body possession. "I know what you're going to say."

"Ari-"

"You're going to tell me to not worry about this, that you're going to find a way to help my cousin."

"Ari-"

"And I would believe you if it hasn't been weeks and no one has a clue how to save her." Ari shook her head before taking the papers out of his hands. "She wouldn't have been on the beach if I hadn't snapped on her and left. She was trying to help me."

"Ari, what happened to Katie isn't your fault at all. Look this thing inside of her was there for a while and now it's stronger, and we're working on a way to undo it, but you shouldn't be worried about this." she looked over to him and scoffed before walking around and taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "Ari-"

"You can't tell me not to worry about her." Arianna said turning to him. "Despite what you would like right now, I am very much aware of how serious this is, and you can't coddle me, or double talk your way into making me believe otherwise."

"You're right." Oliver sighed before walking to stand in front of her. "It is serious and you worrying makes sense. I'm worried too. I just-" Oliver shook his head. "This problem is very big and dangerous and the last thing Twinkie or I want is for you to be tangled in it."

"Except I can't know all of this and pretend that I don't." Ari shrugged. "I want to help bring her back." Oliver turned away, knowing that telling her no would probably have the same outcome as it would with his stubborn wife. Oliver let out a sigh before turning back to the girl.

"Tonight I have to be the Green Arrow and at the moment since we no longer have Gloria you're going to have to come to the bunker with me." he saw the way her eyes lit up. "But you will listen to everything I tell you, ok?"

"Absolutely!" she agreed with a smile and Oliver can only assume she thinks this is something it really isn't.

"Ari, this isn't-"

"I should get ready for school." she said before rushing off to her bathroom. Oliver stood there for a moment and let out a heavy sigh.

"Twinkie is not gonna let me hear the end of this." he muttered before turning and heading off to check on Thea and Robyn.

Ari was anxious the moment school was out. Hank was waiting outside of her school, leaning beside the car as he always did. Today she actually hurried over to him, to which he looked over to her in confusion.

"There's something going on with you." he noted as he walked over to open the car door for her. "You're weirder than normal."

"Yeah, well you're weird all the time." Ari said, stopping before actually stepping inside the car and looking up to the man. "Oliver told you I'm not going home, right?"

"He did. I'm supposed to be taking you to his old campaign office. He didn't say why though. Maybe you would-"

"Don't be nosy Hank. Just drive." and with that the girl slipped into the car. The guard just shook his head before closing the door.

It was a sight the made John Diggle chuckle. He stood across the bunker watching as Oliver stood above Thea's shoulder going over the aerial map of the missile transport route. What made him chuckle was the fact that Oliver was completely focused, going every detail of the route and the plan while simultaneously rocking a fussy Robyn in his arms.

"What's so funny?" Laurel asked looking at the smirk on the man's face. She followed his eyes to Oliver who held the baby to his chest as she seemed to be chewing on the collar of his shirt and she couldn't help but smile as well. "Of all the sights I ever thought I would witness in this place." Oliver glanced over to them, finally noticing them staring and the looks on their faces.

"What?" he asked in confusion. Thea turned as well unsure what was happening.

"Do you remember that time, in the old hideout when I had to bring baby Sarah with me, and you totally freaked out about her being here, and how you wanted me to find somewhere else for her to go." Oliver looked down to his daughter and smiled. "New perspective now, huh?"

"You could say that." Oliver replied.

The moment the car came to a stop, Ari jumped out of the car and rushed toward the door.

"Hey!" Hank called and she came to a stop and turned back to him. "So not even a hint?" the guard glanced over to the building. "Is he like planning on stepping back into the mayoral race?"

"Stop being nosy!" she called before finally running inside, She continued running, almost sliding to a halt in front of the elevator where someone was already waiting. "Uh, hi, Mr. Wayne." Bruce chuckled as he glanced down to his phone once more before sliding it back into his pocket.

"You know you can call me Bruce, kid." the man said just as the elevator doors opened. He stepped aside to allow her to enter first. She gave him a polite smile before stepping onto the elevator. Bruce followed behind her. The ride was mostly silent, before Ari finally let another question slip though her lips.

"Which one are you?" she asked and Bruce turned to her with a furrowed brow. "Oliver is the Green Arrow, my cousin is the Guardian, uh I think Thea is Speedy, and Laurel is The Black Canary, John is Spartan, so that makes you..." Bruce chuckled as he turned back to the doors. "I won't tell. I know how important this secret is. I know-"

"Except you don't." Bruce said with a shake off his head before turning to the girl. "You can't. Not really. Arianna, I'm not sure what you think this is, but I'm positive you're wrong. You being here puts you in danger, and it puts us all in danger."

"But Oliver-"

"Oliver is an idiot, and he cares a lot about you and with everything that is happening right now, he's not making the best decisions lately." Ari turned away from him, thinking on his words, now suddenly a bit more aware of what exactly she was getting herself into. The moment the doors open, Bruce took a step to get off, but stopped when he noticed the teenager didn't move. He looked over to her, and noticed the dazed look on her face, and immediately felt guilty for what he had said. He opened his mouth to try to ease the situation, but he never got a chance.

"Ari?" Oliver walked over standing beside Bruce, Robyn latched in his arms. His eyes went from the man to the girl who stood in the elevator clearly upset about something. "What happened? What-" he noticed the look on Bruce's face, and sighed. "What did you say to her?"

"I didn't—I just-"

"I shouldn't be here." Ari said before reaching forward to press the button to close the elevator. Oliver quickly slipped inside before the doors closed.

"Ari, I don't—ow!" he looked down to Robyn who'd just bit his shoulder. He looked over to Ari who stared in confusion. "Ari I don't know what Bruce said-"

"He said me being here is dangerous. That I can be in danger and that you guys could be in danger too just by me being here. If I mess this up-"

"Do you want to know how your cousin ended up joining the team?" Oliver asked. "She'd returned to Starling, and she'd been the target of numerous attacks, and I was trying my hardest to protect her, but she made it so hard." Oliver turned away and smiled down to his daughter in his arms. "She refused to be scared into hiding. And when she found out about all of this, she wanted to join, and I refused."

"Seriously?" Ari asked and Oliver looked over to her. "You usually do whatever she wants. I thought that was something that happened all the time."

"Not when it came to keeping her safe." Oliver replied. "I didn't want her tangled in any of the vigilante stuff. I wanted at least one part of my life, one person safely untangled in whatever mission I thought I was on. She was-" Oliver sighed as he looked back down to his daughter. "She was my Twinkie, and I just wanted to keep her safe."

"Why did you change your mind?"

"Well she was stubborn, but beyond that, it was totally out of my control. I loved her even though I didn't know it at the time, I knew that if this life, this mission was going to be apart of my life, and if I wanted her in my life, then I knew I couldn't fight the inevitable anymore." Oliver looked back over to the teen just as the elevator doors opened. "Ari, look I'm not going to lie to you, this is dangerous. Everyone here knows that and has accepted what that means for them and their family." the girl turned away. "I've accepted that and so did Katie, because we knew that we could do this and protect both you and Robyn. But right now you choose for you. If you want to step out of this elevator, and just go home I will absolutely understand, and also be very happy." Ari turned back to him. "I would love nothing more than for you and Robyn to be as far from all of this as well. I would love nothing more for you two to be two things in my life that are completely untainted by what I chose to do for my life. But like I realized all those years ago with Katie, some things are just out of my control and that includes this moment." Ari turned away from him, looking back into the hallway. She's sure that stepping off would make her life so much easier right now. She could try her hand at just being a normal teenager who did normal teenage things, but even she didn't believe that was possible at this point. Ari took a step back and Oliver let out a sigh.

"Ari-"

"I get it." the girl said turning to him. "Like I really get it. Thank you for making this my decision." Oliver gave a nod before taking a step back and watching the door close again. "My cousin would have never done that." Oliver looked over to her in confusion. "She's actually probably gonna kick your ass when we get her back and she finds out about all of this." Oliver turned away from her and shuttered a bit at the thought.

"There's no probably about it." Oliver muttered as the doors opened and the pair stepped out. It was Bruce who was the first to take a step toward them, and Oliver in turn took a few steps forward to step in front of Ari blocking the man from the girl.

"Oliver-"

"No." Oliver said seriously. "We will talk about this later, but right now you stay away from her, and you definitely do not talk to her. Do you understand?" Bruce saw just how serious the man was and knew there was only one answer he should give.

"Yep." he replied before turning and heading back over to the computer to look over the route.

"Ok." Ari said taking a step forward. "Now that, that is all taken care of, what's happening tonight." Oliver turned to her and she could tell from the look he was giving her that she probably wasn't going to like it. "It has to do with Darhk. But he's in jail. Wait, he's not-"

"No, he's still in jail. We think some of his associates might be trying to help him escape." he noticed the hitched breath and he bent down to meet her eyes. "But we are not going to let that happen." Ari saw just how certain those words passed his lips, and she couldn't help but believe him. She gave him a nod before watching him walk back up to his sister. Ari stood there for a moment, unsure what she should be doing. She didn't want to get in the way. Not with something so important. She suddenly felt very small compared to the others in this room. She was currently in a room filled with heroes who all have probably saved hundreds of lives.

"And you're sure you want me and Thea to stay behind on this?" Laurel asked and Oliver gave a nod.

"Yeah, right now there needs to be someone here in case someone comes for Darhk's idol." Oliver glanced down to his daughter in his arms and placed a kiss on top of her head. "And I also would feel better with the both of you here with Robyn and Ari." Laurel simply nodded in understanding before looking back to Ari who seemed planted in the same spot since she walked in. Oliver followed her eyes and sighed. "Was this a bad idea? Bringing her into this?"

"We don't know that yet." Laurel said giving the man a nudge. "You made a parenting choice, and you have to give it time to see if it was a good one."

"Well it better be a good one, because if it's not Twinkie is going to kill me." Oliver said and Laurel turned to him at the mention of his wife. She could see the way he seemed to deflate as he remembered that Katie wasn't here right now.

"Oliver, we're going to get her back." Oliver looked over to the woman. "I'm not sure how at the moment, I'm sure we will." Oliver gave the woman a smile before he felt the sharp prick of his daughter's teeth once again.

"Ow!" he dropped his eyes back down to his daughter.

"Did she just bite you?"

"Yeah, she's been doing that a lot lately." Oliver said before holding the child up a bit so they were eye to eye. "Someone is liking their new teeth, huh?" the baby seemed to laugh at her father, who couldn't help the smile that came to his face at the sound. He placed a kiss to her cheek before finally walking over to Ari, only to stop when someone else decided to check on her.

Ari lifted her eyes to John and sighed.

"You're not moving." he said.

"Yeah, I don't want to be in anyone's way."

"Want to know a secret?" Ari just gave a nod. "This place is huge, but at some point, someone is always in someone else way. We just keep going though."

"Are you going to tell me that I shouldn't be here either?"

"Is that what Bruce told you."

"More or less."

"Well Bruce has been working alone for a very long time. He thinks it's the only way to do this job. Not a lot of us feel that way."

"What if I don't belong here?"

"You won't know until you know." John replied before placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't just stand in this spot. Move around and if you get in someone's way, apologize and keep going." and with that the man turned and headed back over to the command center where Bruce was looking over the map.

"What exactly should I be doing?" Ari called after him.

"Homework!" Oliver answered her instead and she turned to him. "The first thing you will always do when you come here is homework. There is a table over there for you to work on." Ari glanced across the bunker to the table that seemed to be away from anything that looked remotely interesting. She quirked a brow before turning back to the man. "And don't forget I went to Star City Prep back when they were just Starling Prep. I know the amount of homework they give and I also know you'll be occupied for a while."

Ari shook her head before hiking her back pack on her shoulder and heading over.

"I guess I should find my own Twinkie to do my homework like you did." she muttered.

"What was that?!" he called after her and she just turned with a sweet smile as she shook her head.

"Nothing." she replied before continuing to the table.

Oliver was right, this school did give a lot of homework, but Ari was the weird kid who actually liked doing homework. Pair that with the fact the Havenwood was ridiculously more advanced than SC Prep, much of her current homework wasn't even all that tough. Ari was so focused on her homework, that she jumped at the hand that touched her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes going wide at the sight of Oliver now dawning his Green Arrow suit.

"I don't think I will ever get used to seeing like this." she said with a shake of her head before glancing over to see John who also had on his Spartan suit. It's the third masked figured that made Ari nearly fall out of her chair.

"That's-" she pointed across the room and Oliver followed her eyes. "That's-" the girl stood to her feet, eyes still locked on the man across the bunker. "That's-"

"That's Batman." Oliver said still unsure why the girl was being strange. He knew seeing everyone in their gear might be a bit surprising, but at the moment the girl seemed a bit star struck.

"That's Bruce, and Bruce is-" the girl seemed to smile with a shake of her head. "Bruce is Batman. How—" she turned back to Oliver. "How is Bruce is Batman? He's so annoying and the Batman is so-" her eyes drifted back to the masked vigilante and Oliver soon realized what he was witnessing and suddenly felt the need to stop it and so he quickly took a step in front of Ari to block her view of the man.

"Right, well we were about to leave, so you're going to be staying with Thea and Laurel." Oliver said before pulling out the baby monitor and passing it to her. "And you're also on Robyn duty. She's asleep in the back room, so make sure you pay attention to the monitor."

"Wait, so I'm babysitting? Of all the things I can be doing in a super secret hero cave, I'm babysitting."

"And doing homework. Make sure you finish all of your homework." Oliver was backing away as he grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows before glancing over to Thea and Laurel before turning back to Ari. "And you better not leave the bunker for any reason at all."

"Wouldn't dream of it." she said watching as the guys left. Once they were gone, Thea and Laurel looked over to Ari who stared back to them in confusion. "I'm going to go back to finish my homework." and with that the girl turned and headed back over to her table.

Oliver was getting impatient. He and John sat staked out in the van waiting for the transport to begin. Bruce was on top of the building across the street being the eyes from up above.

"So how are you doing?" John asked, breaking the silence. Oliver glanced over to him. "You saw your wife yesterday, and she wasn't quite your wife." Oliver let out a sigh before turning away. "How was that conversation?"

"I'm not sure." Oliver replied. "You know after everything Constantine said would happen to her if this darkness ever took over-" Oliver shook his head. "It's just not what I expected."

"She's not as homicidal as the last time this thing was in the driver's seat." John said.

"No, it's like it's-" Oliver looked over to his friend. "It's planning something. It told me that we were on the same side and that I shouldn't get into it's way."

"So after we prevent Darhk from escaping, we should probably focus more on the she has."

"It." Oliver corrected turning back to look out the window. "That thing isn't my wife. It's not a person, it's just a parasite and I will figure out a way to get it out of her." John looked over to his friend and could see how certain he was of those words. The thing is John wasn't so sure, but he'd never say the words out loud. Oliver glanced down to the clock and sighed. "It's past 11:30."

"It's the U.S. Army, man. Late means on time." John replied and Oliver looks over to John knowing vocalizing his thoughts on Andy's loyalties could end badly. Although he knows that in any other situation, it would be John who'd tell him the truths he didn't want to hear.

"Are we sure this is happening?" Bruce asked through the comlink.

"We're going to give it a little more time." Oliver replied.

"Oliver, about Ari-"

"We're not having this conversation right now." Oliver let out a huff before bring the binoculars back to his eyes. "What if we're staking out the wrong place."

"If Andy says this is where it's gonna be, this is where it's gonna be." Oliver saw the certainty in John's eyes and how the only thing that could convince him right now would be seeing it for himself.

Thea let out another huff as she looks down to the monitor. Laurel stood beside her, intently watching for any movement.

"How's Ari doing?" Oliver asked through the comlink. Thea glanced over to where the girl was earlier only to notice that she wasn't there.

"Um, she's..." Thea began looking around the bunker for the girl. She glanced across the bunker noticing the door to the back room where Robyn was now open. "Checking on Robyn."

Ari hummed as she rocked the baby in her arms. She heard the light whines of the baby earlier and came to check on her. After a quick diaper change, she paced around the room rocking the child in her arms.

"You probably miss her too, huh?" Ari said looking down to the girl in her arms. It was strange how over the course of a few months, this little girl kind of felt like a little sister to her. "I miss her too. I mean sure she was annoying sometimes. Always wanting to talk and telling stupid jokes, but she was..." Ari closed her eyes and sighed. "She was ours. And now she's...I think she's lost and now one knows how to find her." Ari looked down to the girl whose eyes were once again closed and she cracked a smile before walking over and laying the baby back in the crib. "I think your dad is going to find her though. At least I hope he does."

Something suddenly crashed from outside of the room, and Ari whipped her head toward the door. She glanced back down to the baby before easing toward the door where she heard what sounded like fight with clanking and grunts. When Ari stepped from the room, the last thing she expected to see was Laurel engaged in a fight with two mean dressed strangely. There was another crash from the other side of the bunker, and that's where she saw Thea fighting as well. Thea got the drop on the man, getting him on his back, and trapping his neck underneath her swords. The man she was fighting looked oddly familiar. Ari took a step forward, for some reason unable to turn away. She noticed how Thea hesitated, and that hesitation was enough for the man to push her off to the side. He stopped the moment he sees Ari standing there staring. He looks surprised to see her, but it only lasts a second before he turns and grabs something she hadn't noticed when she walked in here. The man grabs the idol and the moment it's in his hands, Ari turns, running back into the room, locking it behind her. She quickly scoops Robyn into her arms before running into the closet, and sliding the door closed. Ari slid down on the floor, clutching the baby to her chest, her eyes closed, shaking uncontrollably.

Soon she heard the distant sound of someone knocking at the door, but she didn't move. She continued holding the baby in her arms. The knocking got louder and more frantic, but Ari couldn't find it in herself to move.

Thea dropped her head against the door, a hand pressed against her sore head.

"Should we just break it down?" Laurel asked and Thea shook her head.

"I don't want to scare her even more than she probably already is." Thea sighed lifting her head. "Ari, everything is ok, you can come out!" they listened for a response, but didn't get one. "This is not good." Thea looked over to Laurel who looked just as exhausted as she.

Moments later, they heard the sound of the elevator opening, and watched as Oliver stalked off, bow up at the ready. John came in from the other side of the bunker in case any other league members were still here.

"You two can stand down." Laurel says taking a step forward. " He's gone." Oliver noticed them standing in front of the room and quickly ran over.

"Where are Robyn and Ari?" Oliver asked.

"Ari locked them inside of the room." Thea said looking up to her brother. "After seeing the attack." Oliver's eyes darkened before grabbing the door knob and turning. "She's not answering and-" Oliver jerked his shoulder into the door, popping it open. He eased into the room, his heart racing when he didn't see the girls. His eyes glanced over to the closet and sighed before turning back to his sister and signaling for her to stay back. Oliver walked over to the closet and slowly pulled it open and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw them.

"No!" Ari scoot as far away as she could, and Oliver quickly crouched down in front of her.

"Hey Ari, it's me." Oliver said, and Ari looked up, seeing the man and quickly jumping into the man's arms. "Everything's fine, they're gone." Oliver closed his eyes, letting out another sigh unable to not think about how bad this could've gone. "I'm taking you two home. Right now. I'm going to change, and I want you to get you and Robyn's things packed up and then we're out of here." she nodded before walking over and placing the baby back in the crib before going about packing the baby's bag. Oliver stood there for a moment watching her, noticing how nervous she seemed even though he was standing right there. He let out a huff before turning and stalking out of the room. He went walking over to get his clothes when his sister rushed over.

"Are they alright?" Thea asked.

"Ari scared to death, but other than that-"

"Oliver I'm so sorry." Laurel said walking over as well and Oliver just shook his head.

"It's not your fault. It's not either of your fault. This was Malcolm. Malcolm brought danger near my kids."

"I'm going to hit the streets." Thea announced about to turn away.

"Thea no one is going to give up Merlyn." Oliver said and Thea just shook her head.

"Well then I'm going to hit people!" she snapped angrily. "There were children here and he just-" she growled. "I can't just sit around here." she turned and stalked off to change into her gear.

"I'll check with Andy, see if he can get a 20 on Merlyn." John suggested figuring his brother could have insight they could use. Oliver turned to him, a bit hesitant about the idea.

"Uh, John. Andy has already risked a lot. I don't want to put him in a compromised position." Oliver replied not saying what he really thought in fear of offending John. But there was something about this night that just didn't feel right. The missile shipment seemed too easy and was looking more and more like a distraction. Oliver felt like they were being played, he just didn't know how to tell John he thinks it's his brother who is behind it.

"Oliver, he's already in a compromised position. There's a direct line between him and the man we are looking for." John couldn't see the dots that were aligning. Oliver didn't expect him to and at the moment he had no proof either ways and so he wouldn't push. "Let's use that."

"Yeah." Oliver gave a nod. John glanced up to the door of the back room. "I'm taking them home and I will talk to Ari."

"Alright, call me if anything else happens tonight. And I'll call Bruce, see if he picked up anything on Malcolm's trail." John replied before turning and leaving.

Laurel had known Oliver long enough to know that certain expressions on his face spoke volumes and right now he was wearing one.

"Talk to me." Laurel spoke and Oliver turned to her and sighed. .

"This missile job was too easy. It was like Merlyn's men weren't even trying." Oliver shook his head before glancing back to the door behind him. "Meanwhile, it pulled our focus, Merlyn was able to come down here and get exactly what he wanted. He took the idol and brought a sword fight to my kids."

"You think Merlyn played Andy?" Laurel asked and Oliver shook his head.

"What if Andy is playing us? " he asked and the thought made Laurel pause and really think about the implications behind that accusation.

"Look. I'm not saying it's not possible, but this is John's brother we're talking about. I mean, he's done so much for us. He-he saved Lyla."

"Should I just trust him outright?" Oliver asked. They'd given Andy so much access to them, he was a possible threat.

"No, but you better be sure before making an accusation that you and John can't recover from." Laurel replied before he cell phone rang. "It's my dad. I have to take this."

Quentin needed to meet with Laurel and soon she was gone as well. After Oliver changed he headed to got get the girls to get them home when the sound of the elevator opening caught his attention. It was the high heeled feet he heard first and so he began walking toward the sound. He stopped the moment he saw her. It was strange. He'd seen her only yesterday, but for some reason seeing her here was unexpected.

"Twinkie, what-" she glanced up to him before turning and walking over to the case that used to hold Damien's idol. She looked at the empty space and let out a sneer. "Malcolm-"

"I know." she interrupted before turning back to face him. "I mean I didn't want to know. I thought that buzzing I felt was just a figment of my imagination, but then I realized I recognized it. It's not strong because it's missing a piece, but there's still an energy emitting from it. So that's the plan. Malcolm gives Darhk his idol and Darhk breaks out of jail." Oliver didn't say anything as he just stared. "I can find it you know. I'm drawn to the power, it's weak, but I could do it. It could lead me right to it and Malcolm. I could probably end our Malcolm problem once and for all. I've been dying to have that man's blood coat my fingers, and hear him scream again."

"Then why haven't you?" he asked taking a step toward her. "Why come here? Why not go directly to Malcolm, kill him and take the idol back?"

"You think I won't?"

"I don't think you can." Oliver said a smirk now on his face. "I think that hold you think you have over my wife is not as strong as you think it is. She's fighting you."

"She's not fighting Oliver. I've already told you, she's dead." Oliver knew that wasn't true. He knows he would feel it if it was true and right now he doesn't feel it. That doesn't mean he likes hearing those words come out of her mouth. "No I'm here because-"

"Katie?" they both turned their heads to see Ari standing there. She'd just finished packing their things when she heard the familiar voice. The last thing she expected was to walk out and see her cousin. A smile came to her face and practically ran over to Katie, but Oliver was quick, grabbing her and pulling her to stand behind him. "Oliver, what are you doing?" Oliver simply watched the woman standing across from him. Her eyes going from the teenager, the man currently acting as a barrier. The sounds of distant cries carried into the space around and she whipped her head at the sound. She took a step back.

"They were here when Malcolm-" she met Oliver's eyes and he saw the way her eyes flashed to a cold black and in that moment he knew the thing standing across from him was not something to be in the same room as Ari.

"Ari, go back into the room, lock the door and don't open it until I knock."

"But-"

"Ari now!" he heard her groan but heard her feet start moving. The girl stopped and looked back to her cousin who stood just a few feet away. She didn't understand what was happening, why her cousin was standing there and not looking at her. She remembered the story Oliver told her about this mystical evil thing now over taking her body but in this moment she just didn't see it.

"I know you're in there!" Ari said suddenly, but her cousin didn't meet her eyes.

"Ari-

"And I know whatever this thing inside of you is strong and you feel like you can't beat it, but you once told me that you can't run away from the things you're afraid of. I know that thing is scary, but you can't run from it. You have to fight it."

"Ari go!" Oliver once again urged. Ari only stood there for a moment longer before turning and locking herself inside the room, as best she could anyway since Oliver broke the lock earlier. Oliver looked to the woman wondering if her cousin's words had touched something inside of her. "Twin-" the words died on his lips as he felt a suddenly pain in his chest. A pain so excruciating that it brought him to his knees.

"Look I get it. You're stressed out. Damien Darhk is trying to escape from jail, Malcolm Merlyn is causing mayhem and to top it off-" she walked toward him, the sight of him in pain on his knees not bothering her at all. "Your wife is dead. And I get that is a lot for one man to handle and things can slip, but what will never slip is you keeping those children safe." she bent forward towards him, her eyes become black as coal. "If anything ever happens to them, I will kill you. That is a promise." and with those words she turned around, the pain was suddenly gone. Oliver quickly jumped to his feet, placing a hand on his chest above his heart that only seconds earlier felt like it was being squeeze. He watched as she stepped back onto the elevator. "And get better security for this place!" Oliver stood there, clenching his teeth before turning to get the girls.

Later that night, Oliver peeked into Ari's room, finding her finally asleep. She had questions as expected. He hadn't expected the thing inside of his wife to show up tonight, he didn't expect Ari to see her and give her some false sense of hope. Getting his wife back was not going to be easy. He could accept that. He could look into that things cold dead eyes and still hold on to the hope that one day he was going to get his wife back, but what he didn't want was for Ari to see her. To have the memory of her cousin tarnished by this thing. He wanted to protect her from that. Oliver reached forward and pulled the door closed before heading down the hall to peek into Robyn's room to find the girl wide awake and staring up to the mobile above her.

"You can't sleep either?" he asked before scooping her into his arms and heading over to sit in the rocking chair. "Well neither can I." he placed a kiss on top of her head before gently rocking the chair back and forth. "Your dad is kind of a mess right now. He really misses your mommy, and—ow!" he looked down to the baby who'd just bit his arm. "Ok, I'll stop referencing myself in the third person." he chuckled before sitting her up in his lap so her eyes could look into his. "We gotta stop the biting sweetie." she simply laughed and he only smile. Her laughter seemed to morph into baby gibberish, but there was something that came out of her mouth that he understood clear as day.

"Dauh, dah." his eyes widened. At this moment he wasn't even completely sure he'd just heard her say that. He needed to hear her say it again, just so he knows he's not going crazy.

"What was that? Did you just say dah dah?" a smile broke out on his face as he lifted her up into the air. "Can you say it again. Can you say dah dah?" she only laughed at him and he shook his head. "C'mon, say dah dah. Say-" the sound of the doorbell interrupted him and he sighed before turning back to her. "We're so not finished here." he placed a kiss to her cheek before standing up and placing her back in her crib.

Oliver came down the stairs just as the door bell once again rang and he hurried to pull it open.

"I said text when you got here." Oliver said in annoyance.

"I did, and you didn't answer and so I was forced to ring the door bell."

"Well just be glad you didn't wake anyone up who wasn't already awake." he replied before taking a step to the side to let the man in. "We need to talk. Where's Jacob?"

"That is the million dollar question isn't it?" Martin sighed walking inside and glancing around the place.

"What?"

"Nothing." Martin says turning back to the man. "What can I help you with?"

"Malcolm broke into the bunker and took Darhk's idol." Oliver said and Martin let out a groan as he slid a hand over his face. "And from that sound I'm assuming you don't know where he is."

"Jacob has most of the men under his order out searching for his daughter. There are eyes on you and the kids, but I wasn't informed about any of this." Martin shook his head before taking out his cell phone. "I hate these dumbass newbies who can't follow simple orders like report when assassins come near the bosses niece and granddaughter. Don't worry I'll get another detail, someone with half a brain." Martin started to head for the door.

"That's not why I called you." Oliver said and Martin stopped and turned back to him. "It showed up too." Martin was confused for a moment before he realized who he was talking about. "After the attack, It came to the bunker, It knew the idol was gone."

"What did she say?"

"It said It could find the idol. That It could find Malcolm and kill him if It wanted to." Oliver said and Martin turned away in thought. "If that were true why would It-"

"She's taunting you." Martin replied. "Forcing you to look at her and not see your wife. Forcing you to listen to the evil thing she says and not hear your wife."

"It," Oliver corrected. "That thing is not my wife, it's not a woman, not a person, it's a thing."

"Well It came to you tonight because It wanted you to know It's plans before It does them."

"You think It's going after Malcolm and the idol?" Oliver asked. "I still don't understand why It needed to tell me this before. I swear It was trying to convince me of the type of evil things It could do."

"It needs you to believe it. It needs you to believe your wife is gone so you will stop fighting, which I hope you know means you can't stop."

"Absolutely, but why do I get the feeling that if It kills Malcolm, me trying to get my wife back will be that much harder.

This city and it's abundance of ominous abandoned warehouses was disturbing. Malcolm Merlyn and a couple of his assassins had set up shelter in an abandoned factory. Hours earlier they stole Darhk's idol from Oliver's bunker and he couldn't believe how easy it was. He couldn't stop thinking about that fight with his daughter. She had him. Thea had that sword to his throat and could've ended this entire thing once and for all. But she didn't, and the fact that she didn't had created a pit in his stomach he was refusing to acknowledge. That pit didn't erase his mission. Oliver Queen stole his ring, took the power of the demon away from him and Malcolm vowed to make him pay.

Malcolm's eyes stared at the idol deep in thought. He thought today would be the day. He took the idol to Darhk, but apparently there was a piece missing. That was a job for Mr. Andy Diggle to figure out. Now he just had to wait. There was a sudden chill and Malcolm lifted his eyes to the ceiling. There was someone there. He eased toward his sword, grabbing it quickly as he kept his eyes searching the shadows. But then he felt the presence behind him and he slowly turned, his sword up and ready. He didn't expect to see her.

"Katherine-"

"I'm sorry Malcolm, but Katherine isn't here at the moment, but if you leave a detail message she promise to give you a call back at a later time." she chuckled as she turned and looked down to the idol. Malcolm tried to move to stop her, but his limbs seemed to be against him at the moment. Nothing would move. Not his hands or feet. He was just stuck. "You know I never pegged you as a follower Malcolm. You're the type of guy who likes to run the show. So how'd you end up on Darhk's coat tails?"

"I knew there was something about you." Malcolm grit through his teeth, still straining to move. But nothing would, not even his eye lids would blink. "Something special, but I didn't expect this."

"Do you remember those stupid magic tricks you'd do when you'd have dinner at the Robins' residence all those years ago. Back when you and Jacob pretended to like each other. I know you noticed the way Grace rolled her eyes whenever you did them. You assumed it was because she thought your tricks where childish, but in truth she found them offensive. The world is full of frauds who call themselves magicians because they have quick hands, and the people give their ooh's and aah's when in reality they'd fear the things that can not be.

"Grace, she-"

"She was foolish. Pretending to be something she's not when she should've accepted who she was and fought the monster who threatened the life of her family." She walked around and stood in front of the idol, her eyes looking down to it. "He stole this you know." she looked back up to Malcolm seeing the watering of his eyes as the need to blink seemed to be overtaking him. "The power it possesses never belonged to him, and now he wants it back. The greedy bastard. He doesn't know how lucky he was to have this thing taken away."

"And why is that?"

"Because now he's human, and humans aren't very fun to kill. But if he gets this back-" a smile curled up on her lips. "I may actually get a crack at him." She placed her hand on top of the idol and Malcolm noticed the light that illuminated from her hand as she muttered something he couldn't quite discern. Suddenly she stopped and a smile broke out across her face before she looked back up to him. "It's your lucky day Malcolm, because I'm not not going to kill you today. You're a cog I need to spin to get the outcome I desire." She walked around and stood in front of him, hearing the groan escape his lips figuring at this point his eyes were probably in pain. "You broke into the bunker tonight. A visit that erupted into a sword fight I believe." She looked at the sword he gripped in his hands but couldn't move. "There were children in that bunker Malcolm." she placed a hand on his cheek, the smile falling from her face.

"I didn't know they were there." That was the truth, even though he's also sure it would've effected his decision either way.

"Oh, you didn't know." she snatched the sword from his hand and placed it against his jugular, and he was forced to do nothing but stand there. His Adam's apple bumped the blade and he felt the slight cut . "You don't know a lot Malcolm. You think you do. You think hurting Oliver and ruining his life will somehow fix the total fuck up you are, but it won't. It won't bring back Rebecca, or Tommy-"

"Stop talking!"

"It won't bring that ring back or the hand you wore it on. This is all pointless because Damien Darhk is going to lose, because I'm going to kill him." she shrugged. "I mean the whole patricide of it all is kind of cliche but that bastard needs to be stopped and as it turns out I'm the only one who can." she slid the blade of the sword against his throat. "Now you make sure when you get that last piece you deliver that idol to Darhk. Make sure he soaks up as much power out of it as possible." she tossed the sword to the ground before moving around the man. "Oh, and you should fire your lackeys. They're supposed to be keeping watch, not sleeping on the job." the last thing Malcolm heard was the cackle of her laughter as she left. The moment she was gone, it was as if all motor function returned to him. He began rubbing his eyes, before rushing over and grabbing a bottle of water and pouring it over his face, his breaths now rough and jagged. He whipped around making sure she was truly gone, before he realized her words.

"Patricide." he said before his eyes turned back to the idol in front of him. "Darhk is her father?"

---

Author's Note:

Gah, sorry! I'm still here, there's still a story to tell, and I'm going to tell it!

Review Replies

Jason Hunter: OMG thanks for some great ideas! I am definitely going to be referring to them for some inspiration when I begin writing chapters for season 5.

Panther-10- Actually I am, but it may happen in the next story. I'm still trying to think of a concept on how this could actually work, but I really am thinking about it.

Guest: Yes! That is a great idea! Any other ideas for Earth X Katie is always welcomed. I haven't gotten that far ahead, but I love hearing all of you guy's ideas for some inspiration. Thanks!

Jay Thunder: We're actually getting close to the end, so I don't want to spill what happens, but I think Damien's death will happen in a way that makes sense with this story. The means what happened on the show won't happen here. You'll see what I mean when we get to it.

Crazy-Panda-99: So Katie's suit is all black, with yellow/ goldish embellishments. In my head I see it being close to Marvel's Black widow's black body suit paired with a black kevlar vest. She wears a domino mask, and she has her weapons strapped to holsters on her waist, and throwing knives strapped to her vest. Her Modulator I was say would be close to that of the Black Canary. It makes her voice deeper than her normal voice. I'm glad you like the chapter!

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Thanks! So sorry I didn't get this posted sooner. I know how much sporadic updates can suck, and I'm trying to get better.

Adela: Thanks! Ari's starting to learn more and more about her cousin and Oliver.

Tiger-11: For this story I've been actually using the Christian Bale Batman.

Guest: No Spoilers... I'm just going to say, Damien Darhk is going to stab someone, whether that person lives or dies...well, you'll see.

Guest: I've actually been using Smallville's Lois and Clark...why...I have no idea. I just see their faces when I tell this story.

Well once again, so sorry for the wait! I appreciate everyone that's still holding on with me. As I've mentioned before this story is almost over, I'd say maybe two or three more chapters left. So just hold out with me a little bit longer.

As always, I leave you with a sneak peek...and it's only one line because I don't want to give too much away about the chapter.

"This city, this—universe, it's quite unfortunate how far it's fallen since the reign of my people." she smiled at the sight of a bird that stopped on branch just outside the window. "I think it's time I fixed that."