This is the penultimate chapter guys, so thank you to everyone for the reviews etc, this has really been therapeutic for me in dealing with my real life emotions so thank you everyone! I found this chapter a little harder to write, I think it has less emotions than the rest but I hope you still enjoy...

It was the silencing of the engines that stirred Oliver from his slumber, his eyes shot open. He tried to sit up but felt himself restricted; he looked around to see Felicity's sleeping form still beside him the belts strapping them down. He slowly unbuckled them, as the door slid open.

"Hey man." Diggle said with a sad smile.

"Did you buckle us up?"

"You were out for the count. Never even flinched when I did it, I thought you needed the rest."

"Thank you." Oliver said softly turning to Felicity.

"How is she?" Diggle asked stepping closer. Oliver gently took her hand in his.

"She woke up, she was talking earlier." He said softly. He tenderly ran his thumb over her hand trying to get her to wake. "Felicity." He said softly, "Felicity!" He shouted shaking her shoulder slightly. Panic over took him as he desperately stared at Diggle. He stepped forward gently checking for a pulse.

"She's alive, just." He replied clear pain evident in his eyes. Oliver closed his as he gently slipped from the bed before leaning down and placing a soft kiss to her temple.

"I promise I'm going to save you." He whispered into her ear. He turned to Diggle then as they both left the room. They made their way into the main body of the plane where Malcolm had an array of weapons.

"Where the hell did you keep all these?" Diggle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well John, there are a lot of places people don't think to search on a plane."

"I told you, you don't get to call me that." Malcolm shook his head as he unzipped the cover on one seat revealing two swords, he handed them to Thea, who crossed her arms over her chest in protest.

"We have to protect ourselves, as soon as we step off this plane we are at the mercy of the League." Oliver sighed as he stepped forward.

"He's right. Do you know a way in?"

"Several."

"Good I need you to get us in there unharmed."

"I can't guarantee that."

"No but once we're in, that's the hardest part done." Malcolm nodded still holding the blades to Thea; she glanced and Oliver then took them, securing the sheaths to her back.

Oliver scooped Felicity into his arms, she hung limp in them. He tucked her arms across her body keeping her as securely to his chest as he could. He knew this was dangerous, knew how wrong this could go but if he died trying to save her than he knew it was a worthy way to die. He stepped out into the plane to find the 3 all kitted out with weapons.

"Follow me." Malcolm said as he opened the door. "Don't stop, don't get killed, just. Follow. Me." The 3 nodded as Diggle turned to Oliver.

"Are you sure you can carry her man?"

"Yes, you concentrate on keeping us safe till we're inside then we'll switch." He gave a swift nod before Oliver turned to Thea. She looked a little paler than usual but determined as she gripped a bow and arrow in her hands. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll be better once this is over but we'll save her Ollie I promise."

"Just make sure you're safe." She nodded.

"I know how to handle myself, you've seen that." She smiled softly.

"Come on!" Malcolm shouted from the plane steps.

As soon as they stepped outside they were bombarded by a swarm of arrows. Malcolm dodged each one swiftly, taking out several of the assassins with his own arrows. Diggle managed to get a few shots in as they rushed in the direction Malcolm led. They kept on pushing, each fighting the hardest they had ever fought. Assassin after assassin seemed to slow them down but none faltered, even Thea managed to place punishing blow after blow to noses, shines, ankles. Oliver kept Felicity protected, his body shielding her tiny one from the arrows around them.

They were so close to an entrance when an assassin attacked Oliver from behind, kicking him hard in the knee causing him to drop Felicity as he fell. Oliver tried to scramble to his feet as he watched the assassin in front of him draw his sword high above his head to land a blow on Felicity. His body acted of its own accord before he even had a chance to think, he had his bow in hand and an arrow was flying through the air, then another and finally a third.

The first struck his hands causing him to drop his blade, another to the shoulder and the final to the thigh. The assassin dropped with a screech, Oliver pulled himself up as the others rushed back towards them. Diggle picked Felicity up as Thea and Merlyn ran to help Oliver. They darted passed the assassin on the floor, and the only thought that was running through Olivers mind was when he had last fired 3 arrows to protect Felicity, because once again he knew when it came to her; there was never a choice to make.

Malcolm led them through the caves, easily taking out the few League members they stumbled across. They were so close to Ra's rooms, to the place housing the waters Oliver so desperately needed, when suddenly they were ambushed. A group of assassins stood before them, a small younger one at the front. Oliver recognised her instantly as the one who Ra's spared last time he was here.

"Rami Al-Sahem Al-Akhdar." She said nodding in Olivers direction, before she shouted and the group charged.

Malcolm fought off the most in hand to hand combat, Diggle managed to somehow mow down a few with his Glock whilst holding Felicity. Thea took on the female assassin, both seeming to be matched in their skills. Oliver was unrestrained he allowed his anger and pain to take over as he took on each assassin, the training with Malcolm apparent in every blow he gave with and without his blade. They fought hard, till eventually there were just too many. They were surrounded, blades entrapping them all as their chests heaved from the exertion. But Oliver wasn't bothered they had managed to get this far and the rest was now up to him, and him alone.

They heard footsteps coming towards them, and all looked up to see Ra's in all his glory. The ornate jewels, the exquisite darkened cloak covering his simple clothes underneath, all making him seem more powerful, more commanding and somehow more menacing, in the dimmed lights. He merely raised a hand, and all the assassins surrounding them dropped their blades standing aside.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of Mr Queen and his comrades?" Ra's said his calm voice echoing off the walls.

"I'm here just like you planned." Oliver said taking a step in front of the group.

"I gave you an offer."

"No, you made it appear as an offer, all those things you said about the city turning against me, everyone turning against me-"

"They all came true." Ra's replied a hand on his blade.

"Only because you made it so."

"I don't know-"

"I don't care." Oliver stood straighter, finding the strength from the woman he loved lay in the arms of his other partner. He was doing this for her. "I come to you now to accept your offer, on 2 conditions."

"We do not do conditions Rami Al-Sahem Al-Akhdar."

"Then I won't become the next Ra's Al Ghul." Ra's stood there in an eerie silence, his expression unchanged. "I'll leave here, and I will never return. I will go back to Starling and face all those crimes." He heard Thea's heavy intake of breath behind him. "I will let myself face the justice I so clearly deserve." He matched Ra's stoic expression giving nothing away. Everyone stood there in silence. All that could be heard was the flickering of candles, of wood and coals crackling, and to Oliver hearing the shallow breathes of Felicity. He let himself focus on her, on her alone, he would do whatever it takes for her and this would be the defining moment.

"What conditions?" Ra's said breaking the quiet.

"That my team," he gestured behind him, "that they are free to roam this place for as long as I'm here, they won't be attacked, threatened, or anything, they will be welcomed." Ra's frowned.

"We don't accommodate for guests, only members of the League or those training."

"Well there can always be an exception." He said standing even taller.

"And your second?" Oliver turned around walking towards Diggle; he pulled the blonde up into his arms with relative ease. He watched her chest slowly going up and down, each breath becoming shallower than the previous. He turned back to face him.

"Save her."

"I am not a doctor."

"No but those waters, your waters could save her, could bring her back." Ra's snickered slightly.

"Love makes you weak."

"That might be your opinion. You said I loved a woman I could never have. Well she might be my weakness but she is also my strength. If she dies..." Oliver took a deep breath trying to compose himself. "Everything about who I am is thanks to her. So if you want Oliver Queen as the next Ra's Al Ghul, then Felicity Smoak has to live." He could feel Ra's eyes boring into him, deep down into his soul. But he knew that all there was right now was his love for the woman in his arms. He didn't know what would happen and what would become of him, but all he knew was that he would never be able to find peace again if she wasn't in the world.

"Out, show our guests to their rooms." Ra's said in an even tone not once breaking eye contact with Oliver.

"I'm not leaving you man." Diggle started to protest. Oliver turned his head slightly to glance at him, Thea and Malcolm.

"It's fine, we'll be okay." He said with a swift nod. He could see the hesitation in Thea and Digs faces but they reluctantly left the room. As soon as the last person left Ra's spoke again.

"Maybe I should have just gone for her." He said solemnly.

"If you ever even harm a single hair on her head I won't hesitate in destroying you or anyone that gets in the way." Oliver said bitterly, feeling the anger coursing through his veins. "I might not be able to have her Ra's but everything I do is driven by a need to protect her and every single person I love." Ra's stared at him briefly before he turned his back to him.

"Follow me." Oliver did as he was asked, they wandered through the rooms in silence, until they reached the one he remembered most. The stone pool, taking the focus of the area, with steps either side leading up to it. The water was cascading down the rocks causing ripples and bubbles, with the candle light surrounding them, the whole room seemed calming. "There was once a time when I loved a woman, but it was not meant to be. I couldn't save her. That is why love is a weakness."

"I can save Felicity."

"Until someone else uses her to get to you."

"I won't let that happen." Ra's shook his head. "You might see her as only a weakness, as being used to get to me but I see her as a person, a human being who shines so brightly in this world she blinds everyone with her belief." He took a step closer then. "It's her belief in me that made me the man who survived. When I was saved from your blade, from death, it was the image of her, the thought of returning to the people I love that saved me. That pushed my will to live. They, she is my strength. So either save her, or watch me walk away and destroy your legacy with me." Ra's stared at him for a moment.

"If I do this, you are to do exactly as I say, train as I say... Be willing to do anything and everything for this cause."

"As long as she's alive..." Oliver replied instantly.

"Fine, these waters have a healing quality. The extent of her wounds means the... Side effects could be worse."

"Side effects?"

"Simple wounds without bathing can be healed quickly but bathing in there especially for the first time and severely injured, it could be... Unpleasant."

"Which means?"

"The woman that comes back might not be the woman that you love." Oliver frowned. "It is her inner strength, if she wants to come back then she will. Sometimes it takes longer than others."

"If there is any chance she can survive, then I'll take it."

"Very well Mr Queen, you need to place her in the water."

"How long for?"

"For as long as I say." Oliver nodded walking up the steps; he lowered them down and gently placed her at the edge of the water.

He rolled his jean legs up and gently placed them in the pool, it was warmer than he expected. He slowly lowered Felicity in; he held her head as she floated on the water's surface. He watched the clear liquid surrounding her as it slowly started to turn a light shade of green. He watched with fascination as her breathing became less shallow, as her skin started to gain colour, the blood in her hair washed away, as the waters slowly seeped into her skin. He could literally feel the life returning to her as it warmed his own body, he felt it in his soul, his blood, his heart it finally felt like he was able to breathe again.

"Now." Ra's said softly. Slowly Oliver pulled her out and suddenly he was being dragged away, as Felicity was too.

"Noooooo!" Oliver screamed. He fought hard, it was the sting of a needle in his neck that finally stopped him and he dropped to the floor in a heap.

He was staring into her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes. They were more than that, they were full of joy, of happiness, of a painful life she had survived, but most of all they were full of life. They literally were the windows to her soul.

"Felicity…" Oliver said gently.

"Hey... It's okay." He frowned slightly as the voice didn't match.

"Felicity?" Suddenly the beautiful blue eyes transformed into something dark, something hollow. He bolted up right.

"Hey Ollie it's okay." Thea said kneeling beside him. He looked around to find himself in an unknown room, Diggle, and Malcolm stood watching too. He jumped to his feet wobbling slightly.

"Where is she?" He practically growled. Diggle was by his side in a second.

"Man, come on sit back down."

"No they drugged me where the hell is she Dig?"

"She... She's safe." Oliver frowned pulling away from him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ollie, she..." Thea hesitated slightly.

"The woman you loved is gone." Malcolm said from where he was leaning against the wall.

"No!" Oliver spat out.

"She isn't gone!" Thea said turning her head to glare at Malcolm. "They said that the effects of that thing have altered her."

"What does that mean?"

"It means Oliver that the Lazarus Pit was strong enough to heal her but now the rest is up to her." Malcolm replied once more. Oliver shook his head.

"Will someone please just tell me what is going on?"

"We'll show you." Malcolm said extending his arm.

"Oliver that might not be the best-"

"Diggle I don't care I need to see her!"

Malcolm led them down a darkened corridor to rooms very much like where he and Diggle had been chained the last time but this was smaller, darker. They came to a heavy iron door, one that looked oddly out of place. The two guards looked at the gang before Malcolm said something. Slowly they opened it. Oliver walked in first; there in the corner of the room was Felicity, her blonde hair now dry in messy curls hiding her face. She was wearing the same white gown, and then he noticed the chains around her wrist, noticed the way she rocked gently back and forth. He frowned as he took a step closer. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Felicity?" He said so softly, but she didn't even look. He stepped closer and closer, and then crouched down in front of her. He gently touched her arm and as soon as he felt her skin, which was freezing cold, her eyes snapped to his. The beautiful blue was gone, replaced by nothing but black, he'd never seen something so dark, not even the scariest days of his life compared to the chill he felt run down his spine then. It was as if her soul was completely full of darkness. She lacked any colour, and when she started screaming he recoiled falling back into a sitting position. She went to claw at his face, continuously screaming, nothing making any sense. Diggles arms on his shoulders pulled him away from her against the wall opposite. She quietened down sitting back in the same position.

"What? Who?..." He stuttered out.

"She's okay." Diggle said kneeling beside her.

"Really?"

"It drives them mad." Malcolm said bluntly. "The healing process, it makes them like this." He gestured to her.

"Will she come back?"

"That's up to her." Oliver looked up at Malcolm them. "She has to fight; she has to want to come back. Every individual is different. Only time will tell." Oliver nodded staring back at her.

This wasn't the woman he loved. This wasn't the woman who had not even a day ago told him she had loved him. His heart ached then as he looked at her. He thought her death was painful, but this was so much worse. He was watching the body of the woman he loved be completely consumed by madness, by darkness, she was alive but she wasn't. He closed his eyes as regret flooded him. He had given up everything for her return and now she wasn't that light anymore, she wasn't even herself. He stared at her form, stared at the monster he had created. Then he frowned at himself, sitting a little straighter as he realised something.

"Come on Oliver." Diggle said standing up and holding out his hand.

"No I'm fine here."

"Oliver you can't just sit here." He looked into Digs eyes then, and smiled softly.

"I'm not leaving her."

"But that isn't her." Oliver shook his head.

"I refuse to believe that. John, she has never given up on me, even when I have made some terrible choices she has alwaysbelieved in me, always been there. So now it's my turn. She's going to come back, and I am going to be here with her because I promised her she wouldn't lose me, and I'm not leaving now just because she doesn't remember... yet."

"Oliver..." He said it with such hesitation and Oliver merely smiled.

"I love her John and I'm not giving up on her." He nodded then as he recognised that same devotion in his eyes that he felt for his own wife and daughter.

"I'm right here for you man if you need anything." Oliver nodded his gaze falling back to Felicity.

It had been 3 days, and Felicity was still the same. Oliver never left the room, never left her side just like he said, he hadn't even slept. Thea and Dig regularly checked on him and fed him, they talked to him. But not once did he give up hope. He talked to her constantly, told her about how they met, all the things they had done, the good and the bad, all the arguments and fights, all the smiles, all his hopes, all his fears but her eyes remained dark.

It was later on the 3rd day when she lay down, the rocking finally stopping. He watched her tentatively, with fascination. For the first time in 3 days he approached her slowly shuffling closer till his hand touched her arm. She didn't move. She didn't make a sound. But her skin was warm, and Oliver's heart hammered in his chest.

"Rami Al-Sahem Al-Akhdar." He snapped his head to the door as he heard the familiar name used to call him. His eyes landed on Maseo standing there.

"Maseo?" He asked with a frown.

"It's been 3 days Oliver, there is no improvement..."

"No. I know what you're going to say but no."

"This comes from the demons head."

"No."

"Oliver, please."

"I am not giving up Maseo; I am not ready to give up on her."

"It isn't that simple. He expects-"

"No!" Oliver growled this time. "The deal was as soon as she was alive."

"She is alive." He replied bluntly.

"I don't care; I'm waiting for her to come back."

"She might not; I've never seen anyone go this long. It normally takes hours not days." Oliver shook his head in disbelief turning back to Felicity. His heart stopped. She wasn't breathing.

"No! Not again! No!" He span her body around, before he started pressing on her chest. "I am not losing you, NOT AGAIN." He pushed her chin up before pressing his lips to hers, filling her lungs, she still tasted as he remembered. But nothing happened. He carried on the process. "Please Felicity please. I've already lost you once, I need you Felicity." His vision blurred as the tears fell from his eyes; his heart was breaking all over again the pain making his whole body ache. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Oliver it's too late." Oliver started to slow down his actions as his sobs filled the eerie silence.

"Felicity, I love you so much. You complete me; I don't want to do this without you. When you told me you loved me back..." He sobbed harder. "I never, ever thought I'd hear you say that and I never thought I could be enough for someone to love. But you, you loved me even the broken parts, even the damaged, stubborn, selfish parts." He leant forward then placing a soft kiss to her lips before whispering into her ear. "Please... Come back for me." He watched her body for a second before he let his head crumble into his hands. He heard running footsteps, he knew it was Thea and Diggle, he heard them enter the room. Heard Diggle drop to the floor beside him, his own sobs filling the silence, even Thea cried as she wrapped her arms around Oliver. He felt numb. Nothing felt real anymore. He had been an idiot to think this would work, to think he could save her.

There was a noise, a loud sudden intake of breath, Oliver's head shot up, it was Felicity. She was breathing fast and loud, her eyes searching the room. He automatically grabbed her hand leaning over her. Her eyes instantly snapped to his, big, bright, and blue. The relief instantly washed over him and he smiled softly as the tears rolled off his cheeks. Her hand rose to his face as she whispered.

"Oliver..."