Italics are translated from Spanish.

Guest 1: Glad you enjoyed it. Glad to hear it. I'll certainly try.

Guest 2: Well, this is a much more emotionally stable Laurel, so it will end up going better than last time.

St. Mary's Hospital

Night

"Thank you for letting me come by so late," Blood told a nurse as he was led down the hall.

"Well, I can imagine how busy your schedule is. It's really sweet of you taking the time to come visit your aunt," she said as they stopped outside Maya's room, the nurse taking out some keys to unlock it. "I'm afraid her health has taken a turn for the worse."

"Of course, she's family," Blood said with a charming smile, seeming to ignore that news about Maya.

The nurse unlocked the door and opened it. Maya was sitting at the edge of her bed, holding a necklace in her hands when they entered.

"Maya, look who came to see you. It's your nephew, Sebastian," the nurse said and Maya looked up in alarm.

"Don't go. Please," Maya begged and Blood simply flashed a charming smile at the nurse.

"We'll be fine," he lied. "Thank you."

The nurse left, closing the door behind her. Blood walked over, noticing the necklace in her hands.

"Still worshiping the old gods I see," he said casually.

"They're the last thing I have from your father's. They protect me," Maya said.

"He was supposed to protect you," Blood said scornfully as he sat down next to her on the edge. "A few days ago, a woman came to see you. Laurel Lance. Do you remember her?"

"She's muy Linda," Maya said.

"Yes, she is. What did you two talk about?" Blood demanded.

"Nada. Nothing," Maya lied.

"You know I don't like it when you lie to me," Blood said with a sharp edge that had her flinching.

"I told her the truth. That you- you kill him. Your father. Mi esposo! I don't know what came over me," she said as she cried. "I am so, so sorry. I hurt you, mijo."

"Its okay, don't worry," he said blankly, no hint of emotion on his face.

"But you are my child, my son. And I hurt you," she said remorsefully.

"I forgive you Mama," Blood said as he rose to his feet, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I forgive you for everything."

Blood then silently walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Later that light, Maya was lying in bed, praying as she clutched the necklace to her chest. Then, suddenly, she was not alone.

"The gods are dead," the man in the skull mask sneered as he loomed over her.

Maya screamed in terror, the last thing she would ever do.

Starling City

Later

In the Glades, Louis cried out in terror as Oliver fired an arrow, which hit the machinery right next to him.

"The man in the skull mask, where is he?!" Oliver snarled.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Louis exclaimed.

In response, Oliver fired, his arrow hitting the ground, just south of his leg. Louis jumped, terrified.

"He's been experimenting on people in the Glades. He's leaving a trail of corpses with blood running from their eyes," Oliver growled.

"No, no, no, no, no. I deal in stolen merchandise, that is it!" Louis said desperately.

"Ask him what color his shoes are," Felicity said over the Comms, giving Oliver pause.

"What?"

"You want this guy to take a polygraph via Bluetooth, cool, but I need to hear him establish a base line. I need to hear him tell the truth at least once," Felicity explained.

"What color are your shoes?" Oliver asked after a moment.

"What?" Louis stared at him dumbly for a moment before looking down at his shoes. "They're blue!"

"He's telling the truth, he doesn't know anything," Felicity informed him dejectedly.

Angrily, Oliver turned and stormed out before Louis had even looked up.

Arrow lair

Later

"Sorry man, I thought he might know something," Roy apologized as Oliver hung his bow up.

"Not your fault Roy. Someone out there has to know something about the man in the skull mask. And I'm gonna find him," Oliver said darkly.

District Attorney's office, next day

Morning

Laurel was at her desk, doing some paperwork when Roy walked in.

"You okay? You look tired," Roy said as he noticed the bags under her eyes.

"Just been a long couple nights. What's up?" Laurel inquired. "I doubt you just stopped by to say hi."

"You're right, I didn't," Roy admitted. "Slade's in town. He has been for a while."

"What? How do you know?" Laurel asked alarmed.

"That guy who killed your dad's old partner around Christmas was juiced up on Mirakuru. And Sin, the girl that was staying with Oliver and Thea, was injected to," Roy explained and Laurel paled. "We've been stupid."

"I think that's an understatement," Laurel said with a sigh. "We thought Slade would come out with a bang when he showed up. But he's been in the shadows, all this time. We were stupid and careless."

"And he's not the only one in town we've been waiting for," Roy said, looking uncomfortable as Laurel looked at him oddly. "I probably should have told you this a few weeks ago. Sara's back in town to."

"What?" Laurel asked more sharply than she intended and Roy winced.

"Apparently she and Sin are tight. Oliver called her after Christmas and she just showed up in the lair the day after I joined the team. She's been helping Oliver keep an eye on Sin," Roy said and Laurel was silent for a few moments.

"Thank you for telling me," Laurel said lowly and Roy nodded.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Roy asked and she shrugged.

"I don't know. She's been in town all this time, clearly she doesn't want to see me or Dad," Laurel said quietly.

"I don't think she doesn't want to see you, I think she's just scared you'll think she's a monster and reject her. Sometimes, after so long of having no hope…you stay away because feeling pain is preferable to losing the chance of something else," Roy said gently.

Laurel frowned, considering his words as Roy walked out. A few moments passed until her assistant, Katherine, walked in.

"Ms. Lance? I have a call for you on line two," she said, breaking Laurel out of her musings.

"Thank you Katherine," Laurel said politely.

Katherine smiled, walking out as Laurel picked up her phone, patching the call through.

"Laurel Lance."

"This is nurse Downey from St. Walker's. You asked me to call if there was any changes in Maya Resik's condition. I'm sad to report she passed away," the nurse said and Laurel nearly dropped the phone in shock.

"What?" Laurel choked out.

"Her heart gave out on her, poor soul," the nurse said sadly.

Quentin's apartment

Afternoon

"So you think Sebastian Blood, who could be the next mayor of Starling City, killed his own mother?" Quentin said after Laurel had told him everything.

"I don't know. But too many things don't add up. Sebastian Blood was the last person to see her a few days after she told me that he killed his father. And the fact she was in the late stages of heart disease, it would only take a decent shock to make her heart give out. Everyone would just assume that it was natural causes and Blood gets away with murder. A second time if she wasn't just delusional. I know it sounds crazy," Laurel told him.

"After our trip through time, 'crazy' is no longer a word in my vocabulary," Quentin said dryly. "But no one is going to take the word of someone committed to an insane asylum seriously."

"I know. Why do you think I came here instead of going to the DA?" Laurel asked pointedly and Quentin nodded. "What do you think I should do?"

"Well, honestly, there's not much you can do from a legal standpoint. The cop in me says to just let it go," Quentin said and Laurel was visibly frustrated. "But the guy who went to the future says that there is another option."

The Glades

Same time

From a distance, Oliver and Diggle watched from a car as Sin walked the streets towards the clock tower where she lived.

"Has she said anything about the Mirakuru?" Diggle asked Oliver.

"Not to Roy and Thea. And Roy says whenever he brings up what happened at the rally, she shuts him out," Oliver explained. "She's not exactly comfortable discussing her feelings."

"Not like you and me," Diggle said dryly and Oliver shot him a look.

Oliver then felt his phone vibrate as he received a text. Pulling it out, he frowned as he saw it was Laurel.

'Meet at my apartment, need to talk. 911.'

Laurel's apartment

Later in the afternoon

"Laurel?" Oliver opened the door to her apartment as he walked in, finding it unlocked. "What's…"

He trailed off as he saw a crime board in the middle of the room, various strings of yarn attached to certain pictures. Laurel stood in front of it, looking at it intensely.

"Laurel, what is this?" Oliver asked lowly as he walked up behind her.

"Sebastian Blood," Laurel said as she pointed to a picture of Blood. "A few weeks ago, Thea and Sin asked for my help looking into the disappearance of Maxwell Stanton, who had gone missing from his blood drive."

Oliver kept his face blank as he saw the picture of Max that Roy has shown him. Clearly, she'd gotten it from Thea and Sin.

"So what, you're saying Blood killed him?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know, but too many things keep piling up. I keep digging, and Blood's name keeps turning up every time I turn over a stone. For example, Cyrus Gold," Laurel said as she pointed to a picture of Blood with a man who Oliver realized with a start was the man who had been working the man in the skull mask. "He was the man you fought on Christmas."

"I recognize him," Oliver said lowly.

"Well, Gold and Blood knew each other from the orphanage where they grew up. And a few days ago, I went to see his mother, who told me that he killed his father and covered it up, made everyone think she was insane so she wouldn't believe him. And today, I got a call that she died right after he paid her a visit," Laurel said as she turned around to face him. "I know how it sounds Ollie; I know I probably sound crazy."

"I've seen crazier," Oliver said. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm not sure of anything right now Ollie. All I know is that if I'm right, this man is going to be a mayor of Starling City," Laurel said and Oliver was silent for a moment.

"If you're right…then I'll stop him," Oliver vowed.

"So you believe me?" Laurel asked a weight lifting off her shoulders.

"I believe this is worth investigating," Oliver said as he walked over to the board, standing next to her as they both looked at it. "Tell me everything you know."

Starling City

Same time

Slade was drinking a scotch, staring out at the city from his office when the lights flickered before turning off. His eye narrowed as he heard someone enter the room. He calmly turned around in his chair, coming face to face with an Asian woman dressed in black.

"There are five ways I can kill you where you stand before you say a word. You have ten seconds to tell me something that interests me before I open your throat," Slade said and the woman smirked.

"We have a common enemy Mr. Wilson: Oliver Queen," Slade raised an eyebrow, silently gesturing for her to go on. "Like you, I wish to make him suffer."

"Sit down," Slade after a moment, a smirk crossing his face. "I believe there is much we have to discuss."

Being of a clearer head than in canon, Laurel realizes that the word of someone in an insane asylum should not just be taken like the word of God, but this is still being taken seriously due to the severity of the accusations. Whether that makes a difference, well, you'll see.

And now Slade and Emiko have met. Up to now, the ripples in the timeline have been pretty positive, minus Emiko going after Oliver a lot sooner. But coming up, you're going to see some of the more negative ripples.