Hey guys! Long time eh? Sorry this update took FOREVER. Like I said before, I'm back at school now so my updates are going to be uber slow because I'm piled with a lot of homework. But I made this chappy long enough to make up for the time I spent. It's about four chapters in one.
Just so everyone knows this chapter starts off from Oliver's perspective after he dropped by at Ray's house…
Songs to play: Into the Fire, The Loneliest Star, Thru Glass, Do no Wrong- all of the songs are by Thirteen senses. Check em out while reading this. :)
Enjooooy x (This chappy is probably darker than the previous one.)
-UPDATE-
Again, I'm so sorry my updating is so slow these days... Homework literally is compiling more and more, and my AP classes are getting harder, so I need to focus on school work a lot more. I 'm honestly not sure how soon I'll be able to finish this story up, but I do promise by the next time I upload I will have the rest of the chapters up including a surprise. ;) Please bear with me :)
Oliver sighed as he rode in the night on his motorcycle; he was patrolling Starling City as the Arrow like he did every night.
Wind blew at his hood while he revved the bike to go faster, as if to escape all his problems. He had planned to take Felicity to their new spot at the waterfall after dropping Diggle's burger and probably tell her his feelings... But that plan was shot down thanks to Ray.
Again.
It still amazed him how Felicity initially abhorred Ray when she first met him and now was perfectly comfortable to meeting his family. Ironic how life worked.
As he stopped at a red light he heard the comm in his helmet beep lightly.
Did Ray and Felicity get my burgers?
"Yes." Oliver said curtly, not wanting to dwell on the fact Diggle was helping Ray.
There was a pause. Diggle had probably heard the snap in his tone.
I hate to pry, but are you ok?
Oliver glanced at the light that turned green and drove on, "I'm fine."
If you weren't so full of crap all the time I might actually believe that.
Oliver almost smiled; leave it up to Diggle to call him out.
Talking about it helps. What's bothering you?
Oliver laughed sarcastically shortly, "The love of my life is getting serious with a guy she only met in four months. Of course I'm fine."
Aren't you exaggerating Oliver? It's only a family dinner.
"It's not only the dinner Diggle. The night we stopped at Ray's house for the microchip… I was looking at his pictures. In one picture it was him and Felicity, together, and they looked…"
In love?
Oliver's frown deepened, "That's what bothers me. I don't know."
Why?
"I saw the way Ray looked at his wife, I don't think he's over her yet. But I do know Felicity and Ray are starting to care about each other more than I expected."
So what are you going to do about it?
"For now. Nothing."
Because…
He sighed, "Telling Felicity how I feel about her now would just make things harder for her."
I hate to be the guy to say this, but you have a terrible habit of thinking secluding from your feelings to make someone 'safe' helps. But it doesn't. If you're going to play the nice guy, at least let Felicity know how you feel about her before making choices about the two of you on your own. You underestimate yourself too much.
"Thanks for the pep talk Dr. Phil." Oliver said dryly. He heard a deep chuckle from the comm.
It's a pleasure.
A smile tugged at his lips briefly, "So how's the baby?"
She's—
Static interrupted Diggle's reply, Oliver clicked the button on his comm. It was a police station transmitting a request for back up. The transmission was patchy but he patiently listened.
Department 405…we need back up on the rooftop… at the old Merlyn's Industry building…Count Vertigo and two archers have been spotted…The first team are all injured, and need medical attention.
Oliver frowned after it crackled into silence. He clicked his comm, "Did you hear that Diggle?"
Yeah, I wonder what Count Vertigo is doing with two Arrow want-to-be's
Olive's frown deepened. Diggle was right. Who were these two archers and what were they doing with Count Vertigo? Were they also working for him like China White? Or the other way round?
I'm on my way.
Oliver frowned as he sped to the direction of the old building for Merlyn Industries, "No. Stay home, you have a kid to look after."
But you need help.
"Just contact Roy and Sara for me. I can't have you in the field anymore. We'll be fine."
Oliver. The last time we fought Vertigo we all nearly died. You really don't think I'm going to let you go without back up, do you?
Oliver stayed silent as he sped on, his top priority now was getting Vertigo. The man who caused the first problem for he and Felicity. Oliver's hands tightened on the throttle, if Count Vertigo hadn't robbed that bank, Oliver wouldn't have almost killed Felicity. Then they might have still been together by now and if they were together Felicity would have never dated Ray and…
Oliver? Are you listening to me?
"Sorry Digg."
He turned the comm off before Diggle could shout at him. Thankfully, they weren't talking in person. He could already tell Diggle was probably going to be mad at his decision.
He parked in front to the tall glass building; there were three police cars with blaring sirens and an ambulance which had also just arrived. He became curious when he spotted Laurel speaking with two police officers. He adjusted his hood as he stepped off his bike and walked towards her. He noticed Laurel was in some sort of legal debate with one of the officers.
He saw Laurel cross her arms, "You don't have the experience the Arrow does."
"He has arrows, we have guns. We win by far."
Oliver cleared his throat to get their attention, he needed information quick.
A younger police officer stuttered, "H-hello. Mr. Arrow sir."
The older police officer scowled at Oliver, "Great, he's here."
Oliver frowned, that must have been Quentin's temporary replacement. That's why Laurel was here, to make sure the Captain followed her father's orders.
He noticed the younger officer holding a bandage on his arm, "What happened."
"I got shot with an arrow by one of the archers."
"Describe what they looked like." Laurel said.
"Well one of them was tall, their faces were covered because they were wearing black hoods like the Arrow. The other was shorter and more slender. I think the person was a young woman. She also had a sword with her."
Oliver glanced at Laurel who was arching her brow. "Friends of yours?" She asked.
Oliver shook his head, "No."
The younger officer winced at his wound before continuing, "Count Vertigo and his two new partners aren't easy to stop. I only narrowly escaped."
Laurel scowled at the Captain, "I tried to tell the last batch of police to wait for the Arrow but they didn't listen."
The Captain scowled back, "We can handle it. The Arrow had been going after this guy for months it's time to take things in our own hands."
"And get killed in the process and waste more innocent lives?" Laurel exclaimed, "My dad cut off the anti-vigilante team for a reason, so you have to learn to trust the Arrow whether you like it or not."
The officer shook his head "I'm sending my team in and I'm going with them, I'm experienced."
Oliver turned to the Captain and stepped closer to intimidate the man, "The only people who go in the building is my team. When we get Vertigo, you and your men can handle the rest."
"I don't take orders from you." The officer said with a nervous frown.
"Then stand down, or be put down." Oliver growled as he turned to enter the building. Just as he was about to turn he heard to bikes speed behind him, he turned to see Roy and Sara in their vigilante suits.
"Wheres the party at?" Roy asked with a sarcastic grin. "Wherever the fighting is." Sara said with a smirk while bringing out her bow staff valiantly.
Oliver resisted the urge to laugh at his friends by arching his brow at them, "Let's just go."
''''''''''''''''''''''
"What is Vertigo doing on the roof of Meryln's building anyway?" Roy asked as they walked in the dark building.
Sara held her two staff pieces ready to strike, "And why isn't he leaving the roof top? He should know we're here by now."
Oliver glanced at them, "They can't be here to steal anything because the building is empty. I have a feeling they are doing this to draw our attention."
"They?" Roy asked.
Oliver nodded as they kicked down a door, "Count Vertigo has new partners. Both are archers, one male, one female."
"A girl archer?" Roy said with a scoff.
"Hey, maybe you can ask her out." Sara said dryly as they stepped up into the large rooftop.
Roy frowned at Sara, "Funny."
Oliver ignored the two and whispered, "None of you fight unless I say so. I don't want you guys getting hurt. Wait for my orders. Alright?"
"That sucks." Roy muttered. Sara glared at him as they followed Oliver up to the roof.
After they reached the top, Oliver set his bow ready to shoot, when he saw Count Vertigo in his green trenchcoat and two people in black hoods a few feet away.
"Ah. The Arrow and his posse finally received my message. It's hard getting the Arrow's attention these days…" Vertigo shouted with a grin, as though he was happy to meet the Arrow, "Although…aren't you missing two more?"
Oliver poised his bow ready and aimed at Vertigo's head.
"It's been a while since I've seen you." Vertigo said calmly to Oliver as though they were old acquaintances, "How's that police officer doing… Quentin right? I hope he liked my gift."
Sara frowned resisting the urge to punch the man, "Shut up."
Oliver ignored Vertigo's question, "Just cut to the chase. Why did you need our attention?"
"It mostly has to do with you and your little red sidekick over there." Vertigo said after he glanced at the two hooded people behind him.
"If he doesn't shut up this arrow is going in his leg." Roy said impatiently with a snarl while pulling a red arrow from his quiver.
Veritigo smiled because they knew he had the upper hand. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why the violence? I'm being friendly. You Americans can be so insolent at times."
Oliver took the time to quickly mentally note Vertigo's accent, he talked with an aristocratic enunciation, as though Vertigo was a European nobleman. Oliver narrowed his eyes at Vertigo's airy yet authoritative demeanor.
"He's stalling for something, raise your weapons."
Sara and Roy poised their weapons ready although they weren't as close to Vertigo like Oliver. Vertigo lifted his hand as though swatting a fly, green gas emitted from his palms. Oliver frowned as his hand started shaking uncontrollably.
Vertigo smirked, and stroked his beard, "Pathetic fool, you can't kill me. None of you can." Vertigo turned to Sara and Roy who wanted to fight. Vertigo wagged his finger, "If you two so much as flinch, the same thing will happen to you. So I suggest you stay put."
Roy and Sara glanced at each other and frowned that they couldn't do anything to help Oliver.
Sweat beaded Oliver's forehead as it became harder to concentrate, "W-what are you doing to me."
"Killing you. My drug plays with the mind, right now, one half of your brain thinks you're paralyzed while the other thinks you're drowning. Eventually depending on how strong you are your brain will give in and die with you as well."
"This wasn't part of the plan. I have business to deal with the Arrow." The man in the black hood gruffed.
"We do?" The younger woman in the mask asked her partner.
Though struggling to concentrate, Oliver could tell the man in the hood was disguising his real voice. But why? And what business? He's never met this archer before. He frowned, there was something familiar about the man's voice…
Vertigo ignored the man and frowned at Oliver on the floor trying to fight the drug, "I thought I killed you that day at the bank, usually someone exposed to a tenth of what I gave you would be going crazy right now…but something's never die… you for example…"
He crouched down and patted Oliver's cheek, "You're still fighting it. Remarkable…" he whispered examining Oliver like a pet rat.
Oliver clenched his teeth and tried to move but none of his muscles obeyed. The pain from the drug was becoming overbearing so he concentrated on the only thing he could.
Felicity.
His Felicity.
Vertigo frowned, "Your blonde-haired lady friend with the ponytail and glasses will be my next target after you as a gift. She's somehow managed to foil the plans of all my business partners, Randal Micheals, China White… busy woman isn't she?"
Oliver's eyes widened in horror. Roy and Sara glanced at each other wishing they could do something to help Oliver, but if they did they would go just as crazy as him.
Vertigo smirked and stroked his trimmed white beard, "Ah, he's in love with her… Even more delightful."
Oliver shut his eyes to ignore the pain and summoned the last ounce of his strength to choke Vertigo, "If you dare lay a finger on her, I'll—"
Vertigo waved his hand at Oliver's face to emit more gas. "What? Kill me? I'm afraid you aren't in the position to make that type of threat."
Oliver fell to the ground and clench his teeth as pain surged through his body.
Vertigo smirked sadistically, "I never got to tell her how thankful I am that she cured you so I could kill you slowly all over again."
"Vertigo, this wasn't part of the plan. Enough!" The man in the black hood commanded.
"That's it. Drug or not, we got to do something." Roy shouted raising his bow at Vertigo while Sara joint her bow staff to ram him. But as Roy was about to shoot, he saw two arrows from the man in the black hood skim past him to Vertigo's leg. Vertigo frowned; it was a trick arrow which tied his legs.
Vertigo fell down with his legs tightly tied and scowled at his partners, "What are you doing?"
"I don't like being double-crossed, but I had a feeling you'd do this. Which is why I came prepared." The man then shot a gas arrow at the Vertigo knocking him out.
Sara arched her brow, who were these mysterious two people? Were they friends? Or foe?
Roy blinked, "What just happened, I thought you were the bad guys?"
The young, masked female ignored Roy and walked towards Oliver. Roy frowned; there was something about the way she walked that was familiar yet… different.
She took Oliver's hand and felt his pulse, "The Arrow's still alive. Barely breathing, but alive."
"Good. We'll come back for him later." The man in the black hood replied before turning, "Let's go."
"Aren't you going to help us?" Roy exclaimed to the two who were about to jump off the building.
Sara frowned and turned to the hooded man, "Not so fast. Now I know why you're so familiar."
The man in the black hood stopped.
Sara stepped closer cautiously, "I recognize the style of that hood. The only people who wear that are from Nanda Parbat."
Roy arched his brow, "They are with the League of Assassins?"
The man laughed bitterly, "Not exactly."
"So who are you?" Sara asked with a frown.
The girl in the mask turned and scowled, "None of your business." The man in the black hood kept his back to them and turned to the girl, "Let's put your training to test and teach them a lesson."
Sara frowned as she split her bow staff in two, "Roy, you take the girl, I take the man. Let's end this."
"Finally some action." Roy said with a smirk to the masked girl. Sara rolled her eyes, "Just don't get distracted Romeo."
"Distracted? This will be easy." Roy said shooting arrows precisely, to slow the girl who was running with her sword towards him.
Roy frowned as the girl took out her sword and managed to deflect the arrows. He shot one more. This time it wasn't a perfect deflection, but she did it. This amazed Roy because he knew his arrow shooting had improved. This girl was good and feisty. She was now a foot from him, Roy swung his bow to hit her but she ducked and kicked him down.
She placed her boot on him and raised her sword to kill him. He noticed she heisted, she seemed as though she wasn't used to fighting or killing for that matter.
Roy looked back up at her and blinked. He scanned the girl; she was wearing all black in a long black leather jacket with black leggings, she had shoulder length cut chestnut brown hair. She wore a mask which covered everything but her eyes. He frowned, her emerald eyes, he knew them like the back of his palm. When she looked back into his blue ones, he could hear her gasp.
Thea.
"We need to go. Now." Shouted the man in the hood. Roy looked and saw the man had knocked Sara unconscious.
"No. Wait." Roy shouted while standing up to hold her as she backed away from him. Thea swung her sword at him as Roy ducked.
"Don't. Touch me." Thea shouted stepping on the ledge to jump.
"Thea? Is that really you?" He said stepping to her.
"Not anymore." Thea said bitterly. The wind blew at her hair before she shot a bungee arrow and jumped off.
Roy blinked and shook his head, what just happened? He turned and saw Sara stand up.
She rubbed her head, "I haven't lost a fight in a while. That guy definitely trained with Ra'as Al Gul."
Sara frowned when she saw Roy looking down the building, "You ok kid?"
Roy blinked, "I just saw—"
They heard a shout of pain from Oliver.
Sara walked to Oliver who was clenching his fists and hitting the floor, "Save it for later Roy."
She pressed her comm, "Diggle, we need help…now. Oliver's been poisoned." She heard Diggle sigh.
I was already on my way, I'll be there in a few minutes. How bad is it?
Sara frowned at Oliver who was screaming, "The drug is taking over his brain but he's trying to fight it off."
Sara walked over to the unconscious Vertigo. She noticed two small rectangular devices on the bases of his palms. That must have been the device he used to emit the gas from his hands.
"Bingo." Sara murmured as she plucked the two devices off Vertigo before walking back to Oliver.
In a few seconds Roy turned and saw Laurel join them and crouch next to Sara who was trying to calm Oliver down.
Sara shook her head to her sister, "Move back Laurel, he isn't stable."
Laurel nodded. "I stalled the police for a bit. But you guys need to get him out of here quickly. If the police come up here and see him, they'll make Oliver to go to the hospital, then everyone will find out he's the Arrow." She said while backing away from Oliver who was now trying to kick Sara off him.
"Easy said than done sis." Sara muttered as she ducked a punch from Oliver. She tried kicking him at his chest but he grabbed her leg and pushed her down.
"I shouldn't have taught you that trick." Sara growled as she jumped up to kick him down again.
After a few minutes Diggle and Roy joined Sara to stop Oliver.
"I told him he needed back up. Why is he always so stubborn." Diggle said with a frown as he and Roy wrestled Oliver to the ground.
Laurel frowned, "What's happening to him?"
"The Vertigo got in his system." Sara said solemnly as her and Laurel watched Diggle handcuff Oliver.
Laurel gasped, "Like dad?"
Roy nodded, "The drug is playing with his mind. He must think we're the bad guys."
Diggle turned to Sara, "Do you still have some knock out gas left in your bow staff? We had similar cases like this back in Afghan where people where in shock. Oliver being this agitated means he's in full 'fight or flight' mode. If we don't knock him out soon, the drug will kill him."
Sara nodded. Diggle stepped back as Sara pointed her staff to Oliver and pressed the knock out button. She frowned, Oliver wasn't dropping to the ground. In fact the knock out gas was making him worse. She watched Oliver take deep haggard breaths with his eyes wide open in anger as though he was a bull in a fighting ring.
"Ollie it's us." Laurel tried saying to calm him down.
Oliver ignored her and turned before started running to the ledge of the building while handcuffed. They were all too far from him to stop him.
Diggle's eyes widen as he held up his gun and shot Oliver's leg to keep him from jumping off the building. Sara ran to Oliver who dropped to the ground in pain. She grunted as she pinned her bow staff to his neck keep him from squirming.
"I'm sorry we have to do this to you Ollie."
She hit him with the bow staff hard on the head to knock him unconscious. She took a deep sigh of relief as Oliver slumped to the ground. Diggle helped her to carry Oliver down to their van. Diggle handed Roy his phone, "Call Felicity. She'll want to know about this."
Roy nodded and dialed Felicity's phone number as he entered the van.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Laurel asked.
"No." Diggle said closing the door after they had placed Oliver in the back of the van.
Sara turned to Laurel, "Just make sure the police put Vertigo in Iron heights jail."
Laurel frowned at the unconscious man who poisoned her father, "Trust me, I'll make sure the court files enough charges to keep him in jail for life."
"Good." Diggle said as he entered the driver's seat.
'''''''
After they set Oliver on the steel table in the middle of the foundry and tied him to the table to prevent him from escaping, Diggle rubbed his neck took a deep breath. Felicity usually was the one who attended to Oliver's wounds, "Sara get me some bandages and first aid kit, I need to stop the bleeding on his leg. Hopefully I'll remember some of my medical training from back in Afghan…"
Sara nodded. Diggle rolled his cuffs as Sara came back with the bandages and other supplies. Diggle put on a pair of gloves, and started to attend to the wound. He noticed Oliver was bleeding a lot more than usual, Diggle grimaced, if he didn't act fast Oliver would bleed to death. While trying to extract the bullet, Diggle frowned when Oliver flinched.
Sara held Oliver's leg down as Oliver tried kicking the cuffs he was in off him.
"Great. He's waking up." Roy said darkly as he watched Oliver shouted in pain.
"This is hopeless. I can't pull the bullet out if he keeps moving! It makes his wound bigger." Diggle muttered as he threw the equipment down in frustration.
"I'm sorry, he's too strong. I can't pin his leg down well." Sara replied. Diggle sighed, "It's not your fault. I should have come with you guys."
Sara patted Diggle's back, "There was nothing any of us could do, Oliver confronted Vertigo so none of us would get hurt."
Roy nodded in agreement.
"Where is he?"
They all looked up when they heard the door swing open and saw Felicity and Ray walk in holding hands.
Felicity gasped and held her hand to her mouth when she saw Oliver screaming in pain as Diggle tried pulling a bullet out while Sara pinned Oliver's left leg down on the table.
A tear fell from her eye as she let go of Ray's hand and quickly walked to him. She winced, his face was paler than ever, and his usual icy blue eye's almost looked black.
She gulped and held his cheek, "Snap out of it!"
He growled and turned his head away from her touch.
"Oliver, please." She whispered as more tears dropped from her cheek. Oliver stopped screaming and took deep breaths as he gazed back into her blue eyes. She held one of his hands and stroked his pale, cold cheek to calm him.
"Whatever you're doing keep it going Felicity, the bullet is almost out." Diggle said, he turned to Sara, "Get the sedation injection ready and inject him."
Sara nodded and injected Oliver quickly.
Oliver gazed at Felicity as if she was the only one in the room. He weakly held her hand to his cheek and with his other hand stroked her cheek to wipe her tears away. She closed her eyes as she leaned in to his cold hand and held it.
"Shhh...I'm here now. Ok?" She whispered.
"I know." He weakly whispered back before slipping into unconsciousness.
She wiped the tear from her eye and placed his hand at his side before lightly kissing him on the forehead.
Sara placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder, "I got these from Vertigo, you might be able to reverse the drug and make a cure."
Felicity smiled lightly at Sara. Sara smiled back and hugged her, "He'll be ok Felicity. He's a fighter."
Felicity closed her eyes at her friends embrace, "Thank you."
Sara nodded and went to go talk to Diggle. Felicity looked around and noticed Ray had left. Why wouldn't he leave? She basically cried over another guy in front of him.
She sighed and sat in front of her monitor to search up components to cure the drug infection. Hours later in the night she came up with nothing. She tried to concentrate on researching but her eyes always wandered back to Oliver on the table.
…Maybe if she said yes to his request at Ray's house this might have been avoided...
She looked at the two rectangular pieces in her hand and clenched it, how could such a small device cause so much pain and havoc?
She was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey."
She turned to see Ray holding Starbucks coffee, that must have been why he left. Ray handed a chocolate mocha and a donut to her. She smiled lightly, he knew she was going to stay here for a while.
"Thanks." She whispered before sipping the mocha. Ray shrugged as he took a chair to sit next to her, "It's nothing."
After a few moments of silence Ray cleared his throat, "You really care about the Arrow. Don't you?
"He's the bravest person I know." Felicity said with a sniffle while typing.
After a few minutes of silence Ray glanced at her, it was odd seeing her so worried just for the Arrow.
"Can I help?"
Felicity shook her head sadly, "No. You should go home and rest, you have stuff at the office to do remember?"
Ray stared at her with a frown, "I guess you're right." He kissed her cheek, "Don't to come to work. Just figure out what's wrong with him. Ok?"
"Ok." She whispered.
Ray nodded and frowned when he noticed Felicity still staring at the Arrow on the table. He tried to ignore the way she was holding him. He could tell the two were close romantically…there was something about the two Felicity wasn't telling him, but that question would be for another day.
"Night Smoak."
"Night." She murmured while still staring at the monitor in front of her. She closed her eyes as heard him sigh before walking out the door and slamming it shut.
"He doesn't seem happy." Diggle said dryly.
"I know." She whispered guilty. As Diggle was about to ask her something, he turned to see Roy with a dark look on his face.
"Guys. I need to tell you something important."
Sara joined them, "What is it?"
Roy sat down and closed his eyes as he set down his hood and took of his mask, "The two archers who were working with Count Vertigo to draw our attention. I know them, in fact we all do."
Diggle arched his brow, "I don't remember ever meeting archers in black ninja suits and masks."
Sara frowned, "You mean you know the girl who fought you?"
Roy nodded solemnly, "She was about to kill me, then I looked into her eyes, and I recognized them."
Roy frowned and ran his hand through his hair, he didn't want to admit what he saw. But he had to.
"Who was it Roy?" Diggle urged putting a comforting hand on Roy's shoulder.
Roy sighed, "Thea."
Felicity shook her head, "Wait… what do you mean Thea? I thought she ran away for personal reasons. How and why would she learn to be a killer in her spare time?"
Roy gulped and looked at his hands, "I know it was her. She figured out it was me and freaked out when I stared back at her… I'm sure of it."
Sara pursed her lips, "Roy, she fought you well and nearly killed you. That doesn't sound like the Thea Queen we know. Where did she learn to shoot arrows and fight with swords in the past year? Defense class? It couldn't be her."
"Malcolm must have taught her, I know it. That must have been why Malcom used Count Vertigo to get to us." Roy spat.
Felicity gasped, Oliver wouldn't believe this, her lips quivered, "You mean this whole time Thea disappeared… she was with Malcolm? You mean the Malcom Merlyn who Oliver killed … but … how?"
"Are you sure the Vertigo drug wasn't messing with your head," Diggle said concerned.
Roy slammed the table, "I think I would recognize the love of my life when I see her. I don't know what Malcolm did to turn her against me but she was different. Bitter. Angry. "
Sara frowned, "The Lazarus Pit. Malcolm must have found it somehow. It's in Nanda Parbat. That's how Ra'as Al Ghul has lived for so long."
Roy frowned, "How old is he?"
Sara looked away darkly, "6 centuries at most."
Diggle scoffed in disbelief, "You're kidding right? I heard that place was only a myth."
Sara frowned at Diggle, "I wish I was Digg."
Felicity glanced at Oliver, "Does Thea know if…Oliver's the Arrow?"
Roy looked up with a cold face, "No. All she knows is Malcolm needs his help."
"Why would Malcolm need the Arrow's help?" Diggle asked. Sara's frown deepened, "I have a sinking feeling it has to do with Ra'as Al Gul."
Roy shook his head, "Can't you just tell your boss to call off the feud?"
Sara shook her head, "It's not easy. That must be why Ra'as sent me here to kill Count Vertigo and Randal Micheal. Ra'as always plans ahead. He must have known the Arrow's reputation as the protector for Starling and knew Count Vertigo and Randal Micheals would distract him so he could deal with Malcolm. "
Roy gasped, "You mean Malcolm has the audacity to drag Thea into his stupid League of Assassin squabble?"
Felicity closed her eyes, "He must not have told Thea Oliver is the Arrow because he wants to use her as leverage for Oliver to help him."
Diggle nodded, "And most importantly, when either Oliver or Thea figure out each other's secret it won't be pretty. For either of them."
Sara frowned, "Most importantly isn't about the sibling feud. If Malcolm's alive and came to Starling for help, someone must have told Ra'as he's alive."
"So Ra'as Al Ghul is possibly in Starling City?" Felicity said in horror.
Sara looked down and frowned, "I hope not. Because if he is. There will be consequences for the whole city, not just Malcolm. Ra'as Al Ghul is a conqueror, and he'll use Starling City as his ground for battle if he has to."
"Oh no." Felicity gasped.
'''''''''''
Three days later Felicity was still searching for a cure.
She sighed as she walked around the lair. She looked at his glass case where he usually kept his Arrow suit. Strangely even though he was right behind her, she missed him. She placed her palm on the glass gingerly. Oliver's condition was deteriorating because he was usually unconscious and couldn't feed himself. When he was awake he was usually grimacing in agony. It hurt her watching Oliver in pain almost as if she felt his pain.
"Smoak, it's 1 in the in the morning."
Felicity turned startled to see Ray staring at her with a concerned frown.
"I know."
She sighed, he drove all the way to the lair just to see her, which probably made her feel more guilty.
Ray sighed and put his hand on her arms, "You need to take a break. This is the third time in a row you've done this."
Felicity groaned and set her tablet next to her keyboard for her computer. She ran her hand through her hair, "I'm not taking a break until I figure out the cure for this stupid drug. Captain Lance and the Arrow both need the cure right now and I can't think of anything."
Ray pulled her into a hug.
Felicity stayed silent before wiping a tear from her eye and letting go of him to sit on her chair. "I mean I don't get it, I found out where Vertigo's computer files are and hacked into it searched it over five times and found nothing." She laughed bitterly, "But who am I kidding. What villain carelessly leaves his cure lying around?"
"You'll figure it out Smoak."
"I'm scared Ray. What if I don't?"
Ray sighed, "Maybe you need a break. From here. From him."
He sat next to her and took her hand, "Tell you what, I'll take you to any restaurant you want. It'll take your mind off things. Plus.. it'll be fun."
Felicity smiled shyly at Ray's attempt to cheer her up. "I'd love to… but…not until he gets better." She whispered after glancing at Oliver's motionless body.
"Right." Ray said curtly, "I'm gonna head home."
''''''''''''''''
The next day Ray stopped by from work to drop lunch for Felicity.
"Thanks." Felicity mumbled while typing. Ray crossed his arms, "Smoak."
She didn't answer him. Ray took her hand away from the keyboard.
"Let go Ray, I'm busy." She said narrowing her eyes at him.
Ray sighed, "Smoak, you're doing it again."
She blinked innocently, "Doing what?"
"Worrying."
Felicity fiddled with her hand in his, "I can't help it."
Ray twirled her ponytail in his fingers, "Then maybe I should help you to think about something else for a while…"
"I don't know, I'm not really mmph—"
Felicity's eyes fluttered closed as Ray kissed her lightly before letting go of her face. He smirked as he stroked her cheek, "See?"
Felicity rolled her eyes and grinned, "Very funny Ray."
He wiggled his brow, "I'm amazing right?"
"Sort of," she said with a smirk.
"We'll see about that." He murmured as their noses touched.
"Stop it." She murmured with a laugh while he kissed her again. As her fingers entwined in his hair she smiled, Ray was right, he definitely did calm her nerves down…
Felicity widened her eyes and placed her index finger on his lips, "Wait a minute!"
"Huh?" Ray said while playfully flicking her finger off his lip.
Felicity stood up and snapped her fingers, "Ray you're a genius!"
Ray arched his brow, "I'm a bit offended you only realized that now for the whole time you've known me."
Felicity clapped giddily before sitting down and typing on her keyboard, "I can't believe it. No wonder he was so calm when I held his hand…The cure is so easy. How could I have missed it!"
Ray raised his brows even more at her sudden burst of happiness, "Smoak, slow down. You're losing me in your rambling."
Felicity smiled at him, "I think I know how to cure the Arrow and Captain Lance."
"How?"
Felicity blushed, "Well when you kissed me it reminded me of something. It's an old psychology term I learnt back in high school. You're a scientist, what chemical reaction happens in the body when two people kiss?"
"Serotonin also known as a monoamine neurotransmitter."
Felicity nodded eagerly, "Good, and what does Serotonin do?"
Ray shrugged, "Simple. It makes the body happy and calm."
Felicity searched up an example, "If we can find a medicine to replicate the functions of Serotonin…"
Ray glanced at the monitor while continuing her sentence, "Then you'll be able to lower the stress rate in his body…"
"Which will counteract the Vertigo drugs negative affect and cancel it out."
"Aren't we the team." Ray said sarcastically as Felicity turned to her computer to search up more information. Felicity bit her lip as she read through the web page, "Got it! The cure should be Psilocin. I'll go check in our medicine section to see if we have it."
Ray smirked at Felicity, "Good thinking Smoak, I'm impressed. Again."
Felicity smiled back, "It almost hurts me how much you underestimate me."
"That's because I'm smarter than you." Ray shrugged as she scowled at him, "Hey, you admitted it."
Felicity arched her brow and stood up, "Let's save that debate for another day, shall we."
Ray smirked as he watched Felicity search through different cupboards, "So… if the cure works on the Arrow… when do you think we'll get time for our date?"
Felicity sighed as she poked her head into another cabinet to search for the Psilocin, "I don't know. Um. Could we talk about our date later?"
Ray arched his brow at Felicity who was inserting the medicine into an injection. The door swung open with Diggle, Sara and Roy entering.
"Hey guys." Felicity said with a grin.
Diggle grinned back, he knew the smile on her face meant good news, "You figured it out didn't you?"
She nodded happily, "Ray helped me."
"How?" Roy asked surprised.
Ray whistled as Felicity blinked rapidly and blushed, "Kissing."
Roy arched his brow, "Um… ok…that's a first…"
Diggle shook his head with a dry smile and accepted the injection from Felicity, "Let's test this bad boy."
Ray stood up, "Smoak. I hope you know this is a 50-50 chance of working right? If this doesn't work the Arrow's going to die."
Felicity winced and ignored the thought of Oliver dying, "We have to try something Ray. I can't stand seeing him in pain anymore."
She walked to Oliver and held his hand as Sara switched the IV drip off to stop the sedation. Diggle inserted the needle into Oliver's wrist and stepped back. Felicity bit her lip while watching Oliver twitch; she squeezed his hand more as though giving him strength.
"Come on." She whispered while stroking his cheek with one hand. Felicity gasped as Oliver's eyes jolted wide open and took a deep inhale of air.
He shouted. Pain surged though Oliver's body, as though one part was fighting the other. He clenched his jaw, "I can't take it anymore Felicity."
She frowned as Oliver's eyes started to droop shut. "Yes you can!" She commanded, "Don't you dare give up on me."
"Do it for me Oliver." She whispered.
In a split second she saw him pause and nod tiredly, "I'll try."
"Diggle he's dying!" Felicity said shaking Oliver's arm nervously while wiping her tears as more fell.
"Keep him awake!" Diggle shouted as he and Sara ran to get a shocker to keep his heart beat pumping.
Oliver tried to keep his eyes open. He ignored the pain by focusing on staring into Felicity's blue eyes, but suddenly his vision was becoming foggy…
"Felicity, if anything happens to me, just know I—"
Felicity shook her head furiously, "Don't even finish that sentence. You're not going to die. You can fight it. The same way you did to Malcom Merlyn, the same way you did to Slade and many others. I know you can." She urged.
Oliver stroked her cheek and kissed it before leaning back. He was tempted to tell her he loved her, that she was the most bravest woman he knew, that her smile brightened his day and a lot more, but if he couldn't make it, he couldn't put her though the pain that Ray had. So he smiled at her, remembering her face, he looked to his friends huddled around him.
His vision started to darken, before he eventually closed his eyes. She ran her hand through her hair, "No, no, no, no no. You can't die Oliver. Don't do this to us. Please."
More tears fell from her cheek, she shook her head in denial as Ray solemnly tried to pull her from Oliver.
"He's not dead." Felicity snapped as she hit her hand against Oliver's chest. He couldn't just die. Not this way. Not now. Not when she loved him. "You can't leave me, or the team, or Starling. We need you. I need you. Do you hear me?"
"Come back to me." She hit his chest again, "Please."
No movement came from his body. He was cold against her warm touch.
After a few seconds of silence Felicity sobbed on Oliver's chest. She never thought the day would come when she would lose the love of her life.
Suddenly she felt warm arms wrap around her, she looked up to see Oliver grinning, "I didn't die again. Cool."
Felicity wiped the tears from her eyes and laughed before kissing his cheek, "You idiot."
Everyone in the room sighed out of relief. Diggle wiped the sweat of his forehead and shook his head, "Welcome back solider."
"Where I'm I? What happened?" Oliver groaned as Felicity hugged him to death.
"You're alive, that's what matters." Sara said wiping a tear from her eye quickly.
Felicity nodded with a grin and stroked his cheek, "Tell me, how do you feel?"
Oliver held her hand on his cheek and stroked it, "A lot better."
Her heart skipped as he smiled at her wearily. His eyes didn't leave hers. She smiled back at him, "Any other feelings?"
"I'm tired. Very tired." He murmured.
"Do you remember anything that happened a few days ago?" Diggle asked.
Oliver shook his head, "All I remember is Count Vertigo poisoning me."
Diggle looked around, "Well I think we should leave him to rest…"
Everyone nodded and started to leave the room. Ray looked at Felicity who closed the door for Oliver to have some time to rest.
"You coming?" Ray asked.
"I think I'll stay for a bit." Felicity said looking away from Ray.
After a moment of awkward silence Ray cleared his throat, "I see. Since I'm not needed anymore, I'll be going back to work."
Felicity sighed and looked up guiltily, "I'm sorry Ray."
"Whatever." Ray said with an arrogant shrug. Felicity walked to him and held his hands, "Hey."
Ray rolled his eyes, "What Smoak."
"I'm not going anywhere. After I get the Arrow back to health, we can talk all we want about dating. I promise."
Ray arched his brow and frowned, "Don't make promises you can't keep Smoak."
She furrowed her brow as Ray kissed her cheek and left.
'''''''''''''''
Felicity spend the next three weeks nursing Oliver back to health.
"Guess what I brought us for lunch." Felicity said popping her head into Oliver's room where he was resting.
"Pizza?" Oliver said hopefully. Felicity had been regulating his "diet" because there were certain ingredients his body couldn't handle yet until he fully recovered.
"Of course not." Felicity said with a smirk.
"Then what's the food?"
"Soy patties! Diggle made them." She patted his arm, "Your body needs it. Good for the muscles and such."
Oliver frowned, "You're acting as if you're my wife."
"For now, deal with it." She replied keeping her smirk firm after handing him his food.
Oliver arched his brow, "It's not real food."
Felicity laughed, "Of course it is. Come on. It's not as bad as the pumpkin pie you hated yesterday" Oliver shuddered, "Don't remind me."
She sat next to him, "Close your eyes."
Oliver obeyed.
"Say Ah."
Oliver frowned as he obeyed reluctantly trusting she was right as he bit into the patty she held for him.
Oliver opened his eyes in surprise, "This is…"
Felicity looked at him expectantly and nodded eagerly, "It's what? Amazing right?"
"No. But it's decent" Oliver said with a smile.
Felicity rolled her eyes, "What I'm I going to do with you Oliver?"
Oliver chuckled and took the patty from her hand, "I'm eating it only so you'll stop badgering me."
"Good." She said with a nod.
"What are you eating?" Oliver said looking curiously at her. She smirked, "Good ole friend chicken."
Oliver frowned, Diggle, what a friend he was, "Can I have some?"
"No." She stuck her tongue at him as she bit into her food and set it on her plate, "Mm… this is amazing."
Oliver took the chicken from her plate and bit into it, "This is good…"
Felicity arched her brow at him as he smiled sheepishly at her, "Oliver, this isn't funny, if you eat the wrong food your body could react to it."
Oliver shrugged as they finished eating, "I've been through worse."
"Well I haven't." Felicity said frowning at him. Oliver stopped what he was doing and stared at her.
"Oliver, I thought you died. Do you know how terrible I felt?"
He held her hand, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
She sighed, "I mean, you always tell me you broke up with me because you don't want me to get hurt. And I think I might strangely understand your decision a bit now."
"You do?" Oliver asked.
"Only a bit." She said with a frown.
Oliver sighed and put a hand on her cheek, "Felicity, you know I do that to keep you safe."
"But haven't you ever stopped to think about how I feel? You honestly don't know what I go through? Every time I see you step out the door as the Arrow is another moment of worry for me. There are so many times you could have died, and I would spend the night wondering if you were alive or not."
Oliver sighed, seeing that again she went through a lot for him. He never thought of it that way, he always focused on how he could protect her.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." She murmured while holding his hand on her cheek.
"Me neither Felicity." He said calmly while he gazed back into her eyes. While he was contemplating on whether to tell her, they both turned up to see Diggle clearing his throat.
Oliver and Felicity removed their hands from each other's face.
"Don't you knock?" They asked nervously at the same time.
"Oh I did, three times, you just must not have heard me." Diggle said rolling his eyes with a smirk.
Felicity almost smiled at the weird feeling of déjà vu.
"I need to talk with Felicity… in private."
"Ok." Felicity said nodding hoping they wouldn't see how red her neck was.
Diggle closed the door as they walked to back to the main lair space. Felicity noticed Laurel was talking with Sara while Roy was gearing up.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"We can't tell Ollie about Thea yet." Laurel said while holding a file on Thea's possible whereabouts.
"And knowing him, he'll freak if he knows Malcom Meryln is not only alive but is training his sister to be a killer. And Ollie isn't in the condition to fight." Sara answered.
Diggle nodded and placed his gun in his holster, "So we need you to keep him distracted for the week while we track down where Thea and Merlyn are. If we need help tracking her down, we'll contact you."
"Um. Ok?" She said as she watched her teammate leave. She sighed, this was going to be quite a week.
'''''''''''
As Felicity walked into the lair she saw Oliver on the salamon ladder, she put her hand on her hips, "Oliver what in the world do you think you're doing! Are you trying to kill yourself?" She shouted up at him.
"I'm bored. Getting in shape is the only way to distract me." Oliver said with a grunt as he advanced to the higher bar.
She frowned, "In your condition?"
"I'm fine Felicity."
"Oliver get down here right. Now."
Oliver rolled his eyes and sighed before jumping down.
"Agh." He said with a wince as his feet hit the ground. Felicity set her bag down and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Serves you right." She muttered as she helped Oliver who was chuckling while he limped to a chair. "Is your leg better?" She asked dryly.
Oliver waved his hand dismissively, "I mean… I can walk. I've had much worse than this."
Felicity stood up and offered him a hand, "Let me guess, from the island?"
Oliver smirked, "Where else?"
After they stood up Oliver hugged her, "You don't have to do this for me you know."
She tilted her head, "What do you mean?"
He sighed, "Being with me."
She put a firm hand on her hip, "Of course I do. Sara, Roy and Diggle are busy, and someone needs to make sure you don't kill yourself."
"You haven't gone to work for three weeks."
"You'd be surprised Ray's actually pretty insistent on me nursing you back to health."
Oliver rolled his eyes, "You mean the Arrow. Not Oliver Queen."
Felicity smiled wryly, "Same thing."
Oliver smiled back, strange how she didn't put a difference between him being Oliver Queen and the Arrow at the same time. He always regarded his two alter egos as two different people in the same body. Maybe Diggle was right, maybe it was possible for someone to live two lives at the same time. Maybe.
Oliver glanced at her bag and car keys on the table, "We should go to the movies."
"I'm not sure Oliver…"
"Come on, I've been in here for a week. I need to get out of here and do something. I'm bored.
He grabbed her car keys from the table and dangled it in front of her, "Let's go."
She sighed giving in and snatched her car keys from his hand, "Fine."
''''''''
"Why did I agree with you in picking that movie?" Felicity said with wide eyes as they walked out of the cinema to the park beside it.
Oliver smirked as they sat down on a bench; Felicity spent the whole movie hiding her face in his chest. "It wasn't that scary."
"You did that on purpose!" Felicity exclaimed.
"Next time you can pick the movie." Oliver said with a chuckle.
"If there'll even be a next time." She mumbled.
"I'll be right back." Oliver said standing up. Felicity nodded and heard her ringtone. She checked her caller ID.
Ray.
She groaned and hit her head, and ignored the pang of guilt. They never got a chance to talk about their date. She took a deep breath and answered her phone,
"Hey Ray."
"Is the Arrow's injury that bad that you have been gone from work for three weeks?" Ray asked ignoring her greeting.
"Yes."
"And do you happen to know where Oliver has been for the past three weeks as well?"
Felicity bit her lip as Oliver walked towards her with two ice-cream cones in his hand, "Nope. No idea at All."
"I got you your favorite flavor. Chocolate " Oliver said with a grin.
"What that Oliver I just heard?"
She blinked rapidly, "Um. N-no. Of course not."
She heard him stay silent for a while.
"Mind if I ask you a question."
"Sure."
"You and the Arrow… were you ever…a thing?"
"Why do you ask...?"
"I have my suspicions."
She blushed, "Um…yes?"
"Wow. I never took you for the player type." She heard him say dryly.
"That isn't funny."
"If you plan on breaking up with me, try tell me in advance"
"Of course not. Why would you think that?"
She heard him stay silent again.
"Anyway, I was thinking we could go to this new restaurant that opened up on Thursday…"
She put the phone , "I don't know… I'm kind of busy on this week…"
"Why?"
"Arrow stuff."
"Even Saturday?"
She bit her lip, "Dentist appointment. Maybe…next week?"
"I have a business trip."
"Then the week after that?"
"Another business trip."
She frowned, "What's with all the trips?"
"I'm working … on a personal issue…What about tonight?"
She glanced at Oliver who had finished his ice-cream; he should be ok without her for a day, right?
"Sure."
"Perfect. Meet me at the Osteria Mozza restaurant at 8."
"Cool."
Awkward silence.
"Mind if I know what personal issue you're dealing with?"
She heard him hesitate.
"Not until you tell me the truth if that wasn't Oliver I heard in the background."
"It wasn't." She said weakly.
"Whatever you say Smoak. You really suck at lying."
Cut of line.
She closed her eyes, Ray was right, not only was she a terrible liar, she really did suck at being a girlfriend. But she was going to make it up to him today. Hopefully.
After she parked in front of the place where their lair was, Oliver got out. He turned and noticed Felicity wasn't getting out of her car, "Aren't you coming." Oliver asked curiously.
"I have a date with Ray tonight." Felicity said apologetically.
Oliver nodded, "Oh. Right. Well. I'll see you… later Felicity."
"Bye Oliver." She whispered while watching him enter the lair. She hit her head on her steering wheel, why did life have to be so complicated.
'''''''''
As she entered her house she felt strange. It was as though she hadn't been in her house for ages because of how long she was with Oliver.
After she got ready she followed the instructions on her GPS to the restaurant Ray mentioned. When she entered she arched her brow and she whistled as she looked around, the place was classy with a capital C. She noticed that the restaurant was empty, she tapped a waiter's shoulder, "Is this the Osteria Mozza?"
The waiter nodded, "Yes ma'am."
She gestured to the empty chairs, "Where is everyone?"
The waiter smiled, "You might want to ask your boyfriend."
She noticed Ray who was sitting at a table in the middle and reading a menu. She walked to him, "This place is way above my paycheck."
"Nice dress." Ray said politely ignoring her comment.
Felicity rolled her eyes as she sat next to him, "Aw, you complemented me."
"That's what boyfriends do on dates right?" Ray said arching his brow.
She smiled, "Uh-huh." She looked around, "But why's the place so empty?"
Ray shrugged, "I might have accidentally bought out the restaurant so no one disturbs us."
Felicity laughed, "You're such a jerk."
He frowned. Felicity put her hand on his, "In a good way." She paused, "Ok. That made a lot more sense in my head. I'm going to stop talking now."
Ray tilted his head, "Did you always talk this much as a kid?"
"Yup."
"Bummer." He said sarcastically.
As she laughed her phone rang, as she was about to open her purse to pick her phone Ray placed his hand on hers.
"No phone calls."
She arched her brow, "What if it's important?"
"At the moment, I'm important." He said simply while skimming through his menu.
Felicity rolled her eyes and smiled, "Whatever you say Ray."
She blinked and glanced down at her phone which rang again. Why would someone be calling her repeatedly like this?
Her heart skipped when she checked her caller ID. Looking back up to Ray, she knit her brows. "Mind if I take this?"
"Oliver?" Ray asked as if he could tell from the look on her face.
She nodded guiltily.
"You don't need my permission to talk to him." He said with a sigh.
She held her phone to her ear, "Oliver."
"You're hiding something from me."
Felicity frowned, "Wait...what?"
"I'm starting to remember right before I fell unconscious, the two hooded people. They sounded familiar. Too familiar. You, Diggle, Roy and Sara have been acting strange. And I found a file on the table of information on Thea."
"Oliver I—"
She heard him sigh.
"She was the archer… wasn't she?"
Felicity closed her eyes, she couldn't lie to him. "Yes." She whispered.
The line cut.
Felicity looked from her phone to Ray who was frowning, "I'm sorry Ray, I have to go. Oliver needs me."
"I guessed as much."
"Remind me that I owe you a date." She said with a small smile at Ray's skeptical frown.
"Whatever." Ray said dryly as Felicity pecked him on the lips before standing to leave.
She smiled sadly at Ray before turning. As she entered her car she took a deep breath, she had to find out wherever Oliver was heading before he did anything rash.
I'm still evil I'm I not? *twirls evil mustache* Regardless of which ship you are in this story, I just want to say I promise, I'm not bi-polar. I do these things for a reason. Patience.
Sad news this story is ending in 2-3 chapters, good news will be reveal in one of the latter chapters.
So, comments on Olicity? Raylicity? Thea and Roy (Theroy)? Any other characters? The season spoiler/ comic Easter eggs? Feel free to comment :)
Anyone excited for Malcom, he was one of my fav villans on the show, plus Ra'as is coming dun dun dunnnn sooooo it'll be fun incorporating him in here. :)