Chapter 54

Thea stayed outside alone only for a few minutes longer; she continued to stare where Viper had disappeared… but she saw nothing, only darkness and the flickering lights of the lot. Remembering the hunter's words about being safe, she dragged herself back inside. She packed the small pouch of knives away, and she had little intention of telling anyone what Viper had given her. All she knew was that the next chance she had she wanted to practice throwing.

Her best chance against the remaining hunters was to surprise them. They wouldn't be expecting a fight, but Thea refused to give in again. She had lost against Viper once and practically handed herself over then. Never again, Thea promised to herself, but she also had no intention of going to look for the fight. For now, she would follow Viper's advice about staying close to her brother.

Once inside, Thea watched as Felicity quickly exited what looked to be footage from outside, and instead of huffing about being spied on, Thea continued into the room where Oliver looked to be waiting. The look on his face said it all- he wasn't sure what to expect, and when she looked to Malcolm, he looked a tad bit hopeful until she glared at him. Viper said to let them help protect her, but she didn't say that Thea had to be nice to Mr. Merlyn.

"I think we should talk," Thea said after a deep breath. She indicated what he was wearing and the bow nearby on the table.

"I think so too," he said with a nod. He pointed to a back room away from prying ears, but before he went to follow Thea, he bent down and kissed Felicity on her head. He whispered to her, "Keep an eye on the cameras. The hunters…"

"It'll be fine," Felicity assured but she pulled up the feed anyway. "Good luck," she whispered after him before realizing that was probably a stupid thing to say. "Sorry," she quickly added, but his smirk told her that her words had made it better. She gave him a quick thumbs up, and then, he had disappeared from sight after his sister.

"Stop sulking," Digg muttered to Malcolm, who stared after them but did not follow as much as he looked like he wanted to.

Far from the others but not too far if things went wrong, the two siblings stood apart and uncertain. Unlike Moira, Thea was having a harder time accepting what her brother really was, and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to. But they were siblings, and those five years away from him killed a small part inside her. She wasn't sure she was ready to let go of another part and throw away her brother… but she needed to hear from him first.

"Look Thea," Oliver began, but she held up her hand and shook her head.

"I need to go first," she said. She turned to look at him, and her eyes were downcast. "When you came back from the island, I was so happy. I missed you and I kept praying for you to come back through that door. Then you did, and you weren't the brother I remembered. You were distant and uncaring… or so I thought." She frowned as she thought back on that first year. "But you weren't any of that. I wanted my original brother, and he was those things. You are caring, and you might be distant but I don't think it's because you mean to be, is it? You were protecting me."

Oliver nodded mutely. "I did not want you to know…"

"You promised you'd tell me eventually what happened to you on the island," she continued. "I think you need to tell me. Now." She needed to understand the man in front of her as this was her brother.

Taking a deep breath, Oliver thought back on everything that happened. He had not even told Digg or Felicity everything, but this was his sister. Leaning back against the stone wall, he ran a weary hand across his face, and when he looked up, Thea was patiently waiting. "I wasn't alone on the island," he admitted.

"Slade?" Thea asked, and he nodded.

"But he wasn't the first or last," he answered. "For an uninhabited island, it was a bit overcrowded. Even in the first few days I was there, I ran into other people… and Thea, they weren't friendly." He couldn't get the image of Yao Fie out of his mind or Fryers. "My scars…"

It didn't take a lot for her to put it together from here, and she took a shuddering breath to try and calm herself. She had seen Oliver once without his shirt, and from then on, he had always been careful to keep his door shut and locked. She had wondered at one point if it had been because she asked about his scars, but she hadn't exactly considered what they had meant until now. Her mother had heard the reports and seen him as well- how did their mother not know about this? Or did she?

"Why is he here?" Thea finally got out. She had heard their mother say that Slade must have been from the island, but that didn't explain why now was Slade here trying to kill and ruin Oliver. At least the hunters made sense in that aspect.

Oliver sighed and closed his eyes, Shado smiled at him in his mind. "He was my friend… and I failed to save the woman he loved. He blames me for it."

Thea, at first, wanted to scream at Oliver that this was all about a girl. That their mother had died because of a lost love, but as she stared at her brother's hunched form, she realized that this was all a lot deeper than that. Something more happened on that island that had led to this, and it was killing him more than the mercenary actually was.

When he opened his mouth to obviously explain more, Thea interrupted, "You don't need to tell me." That garnered his attention, and he stared a bit in shock at his younger sister. She had always wanted to know everything, but in this case, she was accepting of not. "He's insane… and he killed Mom. He's going to kill you, isn't he?"

Oliver took a shuddering breath and nodded. "We're on a tightrope here Thea… against him and the hunters."

"Hence Malcolm," she elaborated. "To protect me from both sides, you teamed up with him." She took a tentative step forward and did the only thing she could think to do now. She hugged Oliver, and she refused to let go. "Thank you… for protecting me."

The Queen siblings shared a moment, and even when the hug entered uncomfortable territory, Oliver realized that Thea had no intention of letting go. She had dug her face into his green hood, and she wasn't letting go. He allowed her to stay there for as long as she needed. The last few weeks had been a lot on them both, and the snowball didn't look like it had any intention of stopping soon.

When Thea pulled away, her eyes a bit puffy but otherwise looking unaffected, she smiled up at her older brother. Holding out his hand, he offered to take her back to the main room where they could plan what to do next. Their plans to attack Slade had obviously gotten delayed, and he wasn't sure if attacking head-on was the best idea now. If he, Sara, and Malcolm died in the attack, there would be no one to protect Thea… and now knowing for certain that Talia was breaking every code in the League and having teamed up with Slade, Oliver couldn't even consider leaving her alone. Then there was the whole new issue of Sebastian Blood. Before the night was up, the Arrow was going to make one more visit. If this army was real, he had to find it.

Felicity glanced up when the two entered, and she stood and greeted Thea warmly. "I'm Felicity, Oliver's executive assistant… or was until he was fired… but then again, I was only his EA to hide, all this." She waved her hand at the current set-up. "And well, this wasn't our original set-up. You should have seen it. It was nice."

"Where was the original set-up?" Thea asked.

Digg rubbed his face when Felicity answered happily enough, "Under Verdant."

"You put your super secret vigilante base under my club?" Thea asked, mouth agape.

"It was my club to start," Oliver pointed out.

"And it's not so super secret anymore," Felicity frowned.

Digg held up his hand and counted off how many different people now knew its location… the list was rather long… and he added without issue all of those people that had broken in or out. On the last part, he looked to Malcolm.

"Use better ties," the elder Merlyn offered helpfully. He looked to his daughter, but she continued to ignore him. Partially scowling, he kept himself back and out of the way.

"Don't worry, we learned our lesson. Next time, we'll tie you up better… not that I'm saying there is a next time… or that I want you tied up… I'm just gonna," Felicity started before trailing off to Thea trying to hold back a laugh.

Malcolm rolled his eyes and ignored Felicity. His attention was still drawn to his daughter. When she was ready, she would approach him. He had thought after revealing Oliver's secret, she would be more open to him; instead, it looked that she had gone the other way. She stood close to Oliver, and occasionally, her eyes were drawn to the bows scattered on a nearby table… one of which was missing.

"Where's Viper's bow?" Malcolm asked. When the hunter had stormed past, she hadn't grabbed it to his knowledge.

"Where's Sara?" Oliver asked when he turned to the table and saw that yes the bow was missing… but so was the younger Lance sister.

Talia had a hundred other things on her mind after calling her father; he had not been thrilled to hear from her. Nor did he seem particularly receptive to the idea that his second best hunter had turned against him, so she used the most plausible explanation. That it wasn't that Viper had turned to Malcolm but more that it was to stand against her. Ra's had always known how little they had gotten along, so she had used that explanation.

Finally after a few well weaved lies, Ra's had finally agreed with his daughter and ordered Viper's execution. He had made it clear that if she had sided with Malcolm then she deserved his same fate. While originally Talia had decided it was too time consuming in chasing Merlyn, she was half tempted to find the two Merlyns' and Viper just for the chance to torture and kill all three. They made her blood boil; none of this was supposed to be this complicated. After her last mission, she had planned to take "time" to herself and instead meet with Slade… then Malcolm had to rear his head in Starling and force all these changes.

Since now she was out of time to hunt and Slade was almost ready to launch an attack on the city, Talia had to come up with a plan for Thea and Malcolm. She had sent Kali and Reese to try and find Viper, but she figured the archer was already out of Starling. This was now less about what her father wanted and more about soothing her own ego. She had never failed in an assignment, and she had let them slip through her fingers.

Talia's future vision of the League would keep this from ever happening. While the hunters had kept most from running, people still did, and those the League went after did not have enough fear in them. The people who got in the way of League business deserved everything that came to them. Her father would see it when she brought him twenty, not just assassins, but soldiers. No one would ever stand in the League's way again.

And that included the Queens and Merlyns'. Hence why she was here, at the hospital, staring down at the unconscious body of Roy Harper. He was apparently Thea's lover, and she knew what mirakuru did to the mind. With a few well-said words, Roy would go after Thea like a bull, and while he might not succeed in killing her, either Oliver or Malcolm would be forced to kill the insane-driven boy. That would, in Talia's mind, fantastic. Thea driven mad with grief might actually do the hunters' work for them and kill one of the two archers. Talia could respect and thoroughly enjoy such an occurrence.

With a happy hum and a sadistic grin, she leaned down and pulled every IV line out of the young man. His resistance to sedatives meant she had little time before he woke up, so she shot the dying police officer a wink before leaning down.

"You don't know what you're doing," the officer coughed out, blood trickling from his lips. "He's unstable."

"That's what I'm hoping for," she purred just as Roy's eyelids began to flutter. "Thea," she whispered, and she watched as his muscles tightened unconsciously. "Has moved on. She doesn't love you. She doesn't care for you, and she sees nothing in you. You're a street rat compared to her. You're nothing to her. And she knows this."

"Thea?" Roy groaned as he tried to fight his way to the surface. Talia smiled and grabbed his hand. In his current delirious state, he had no idea who was next to his bed.

"I never loved you," she continued. "I will never love you… I need you to kill me Roy." Feeling his hand tighten, Talia yanked away with a snarl. Straightening her uniform, she turned to leave only to see that the officer was still clinging to life. Since she did have a few more moments, she crouched down next to him and pulled out one of her shorter knives. Seeing his eyes widen and focus on her, she ran her tongue lightly on the flat end of the blade before she touched it to the officer's cheek. Holding his head still, she thoroughly enjoyed carving his face into an unrecognizable mess. Now that she had adequate paint, she stood and used the blood to write one large word on the wall: THEA. Reinforcement for Roy when he finally reached a truly awoken state.

That done, Talia turned and exited out the door. In the hallway, four more bodies littered the ground. A doctor, two nurses, and another police officer laid with vacant eyes, and their blood intermixing on the floor. When another doctor happened to step onto the floor, Talia drew her sword once more; a little more blood would coat the room that much better.

…..

"Wait!" Sara called out near the docks of the city. It was practically empty this time of night, save for one lone ex-hunter. She was leaning heavily against a stack of boxes, and she barely cracked her eyes when Sara rushed forward.

"What do you want Ms. Lance?" Viper hissed out, hand pressed firmly to her side. She had gotten farther then she had originally thought she would, but her energy had run its course. Another mile up the coast, there would be a boat waiting that she could take to a nearby airstrip. From there, she'd be able to get back to Nanda Parbet. By now, she had expected a hunter to catch up with her… she hadn't been expecting one of Oliver's teammates. When the Canary moved in, Viper couldn't help but tense up, thus sending more pain into her abdomen.

"You were easy to track," Sara explained stopping just short of the ex-hunter. "A blood trail?"

"And Oliver would have been just as easy," the ex-hunter growled. "It was not safe to stay. I have to return to Nanda Parbet, so whatever you want to do, get it over with. Kill me, drag me back… I am not up for such dramatics tonight."

"I'm not doing either," she admitted quietly. Instead, she approached more slowly and helped to balance the hunter against the crates. She pulled one of Viper's arms over her shoulder and took some of the weight. That's when Viper noticed her bow was slung around Sara. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," she sighed. "As I told Ms. Queen, it is not safe to return with me."

Sara didn't comment on Thea, but she pressed on otherwise. "I was once a League member, and in your state, you cannot make it back on your own. Not before one of the hunters catch up to you, and then, you'll be useless to us."

Viper frowned at that comment but admitted defeat. Getting this far had been difficult enough, and it was pure luck she hadn't been found. "If you return, Ra's will force you to swear your oath again, and this time, you will not be able to escape it."

"Oliver won't be able to do it." Sara had begun to notice this light inside of her ex-lover, and while she was grateful that he had found it, she still found herself in the dark. "The island changed us both. Oliver became a better person, and I became something else entirely. I'm done fighting it."

"You're a good person," Viper bitterly chuckled. "You're just an assassin. You can be both Ms. Lance."

"Which is why I'm coming back with you," she explained. "Hopefully, I can help convince Ra's what Talia is doing here and save your head while I'm at it."

"This has nothing to do with Nyssa?"

Sara paused before answering, "It has everything to do with Nyssa." Her love for the daughter of Ra's Al-Ghul had brought her to this moment. She was returning not only to help Oliver do what was necessary, but because she was done fighting what she wanted… that was to be with Nyssa. Being away from the League hadn't made her free; being with Nyssa had. "We need an army, Viper… it's the only way we can save Starling City."

"Then I hope you have an amazing argument for Ra's as he will not listen."

"Maybe not to us, but he might for Nyssa."

Note: Before I go into "expect this and this and this" I want to mention an amazing fic by Bloodsong 13T. It's an AU of chapter 51 of this story. It's a what if Viper had stayed on Talia's side, and thus Thea had been brought in for "blood for blood". It a major Malcolm whump with a M rating, but it's amazing. Bloodsong might have created a more sadistic Talia then I did, but this inspired me to get this chapter out quicker. So viola. Here's the link, so if you want to read what might have happened if team Arrow had lost: (s/10642212/1/Blood-for-Blood)

ALSO if any of you want to use the hunters or my version of Talia or Viper- go for it. Just give 'credit' back that it was off of this story in some manner. I don't mind, just send me a message. Not for permission, but so I can find it to read it. I love to read what other people say "what might have" happened. So thank you guys :)

Now expect Slade next chapter as I lied last chapter (things change and get longer), and now Viper won't be seen for a bit. I forgot I hadn't sent Sara off, so I made up for that here.
I hope you all like Thea and Oliver's moment. They needed to talk, and after everything, I saw them coming together and trying to overcome what lies ahead. Anyway, enjoy your weekend; next chapter should hopefully be up sometime during the week.