How insane was the last episode of arrow?! I hope this chapter fills your souls during the week long wait for the season finale. I'm loving all the reviews too! Thanks everyone!

Enjoy!

There was only one room left that they hadn't raided and Oliver and Diggle thought it best that Barry entered first. Slade wouldn't expect Barry at all and the element of surprise was what the team were counting on, since Slade already knew that Oliver and Diggle would be on their way.

The wall crumbled like sand and Barry bolted inside. He hadn't thought much about what he would do once he came face to face with the monster that held Felicity; he just knew that he was the distraction. In any other case, he'd be furious that Oliver was practically using him as bait- but he wasn't about to let Felicity get hurt. She'd been through enough.

Barry saw Felicity hanging by her arms, her head hung while her glasses lay broken by her feet. Having seen Slade in StarLabs earlier, wasn't as scary as it was now. Now Slade knew of Barry's presence, but not of his plan.

"Kid," Slade muttered, shaking his head at Barry who was trying to calculate what angle he should run at Slade. "I thought I paid the guards to keep staff out of here." Barry realized then that Slade must have thought he was working for the prison. As Slade turned his back to pick up something from his chair, Barry ran towards him. His feet a blur but his moves swift and concise, he shoved Slade back into the cement wall and heard it crack.

Never in a million years did simple Barry Allen think he could take on a tank like Slade, but the storm had changed him. Barry had powers that could help people, he had the chance to make a difference- simple wasn't part of Barry's identity anymore. Barry was strong- but Slade was quickly gaining the upper hand.

Oliver rushed into the dark cement room, Slade and Barry battled furiously with each other as Oliver aimed his arrow at Slade. He tried not to look at Felicity's figure hanging in the corner because he knew that if he did, he would run for her and it would all be a trap. Oliver could only get to Felicity once Slade was dead. Emotion was something that Slade was counting on but Oliver wasn't going to give in. Felicity was too important.

"He's your boy scout is he?" Slade called as he ducked one of Barry's punches and sent him flying across the room. He walked towards Barry who was laying on his back, dazed from the impact. "He's strong," he pulled Barry up by his collar, "but he's all over the place. He's got some guts though, I'll give him that."

Barry's head hurt from the fall, but what hurt more was what he could see. He'd never killed anyone before; he'd never even punched someone before he met Oliver. But as he looked at Oliver, the man who'd given him nothing but grief and sarcasm since he'd arrived in Starling City, he knew what he had to do for the woman that would never be his. Because the only way Felicity would be happy was if Oliver didn't have to worry about Slade.

He sped towards Felicity and untied her hands as she sagged to the ground in a heap. When he noticed her closed eyes, alarm bells started to ring. He was saying her name, whispering then calling it, but no response was given. His heart jumped to his throat.

"She's not moving!" Barry called out in a panic as Slade howled in laughter. Oliver couldn't handle the anger building up inside his chest. His heart was pounding so heavily that each beat felt like a punch.

Slade could see that Barry was trying to wake Felicity, he knew it wasn't going to work because he'd given her a sedative that would last at least an hour. An hour was long enough for Slade to do his damage. And when he defeated Oliver, Felicity would wake up and he'd make her rewire the machine. He'd strike Oliver hard, one last time.

"You're too late, kid." Slade said to Oliver. "It's a shame, she had a lot hope in you and you failed her." Oliver and Barry looked up from Felicity's body, enraged and seething at the words he was hearing. As Oliver leapt forward with his arrow in hand, Barry jumped high enough to pull the giant metal pipe above them, from the ceiling. He pulled it down hard and fast and turned on Slade before he could blink.

When Oliver saw the pipe give way, he ducked and ran towards Felicity. He didn't want to believe Slade but as he approached her still figure, the lump in his throat thickened.

Gunshots fired and Diggle burst into the room with a gash on his cheek and another on his arm. Barry threw the pipe at Slade, making Slade fall to the ground. But Barry wasn't done with this monster yet. He reached for another pipe and this time, drove the pipe through Slades chest.

Slade squirmed as blood started to erupt from his mouth. Barry had never seen anything like this before; the movies weren't even this vulgar. "It's not over, Oliver." Slade warned as Oliver aimed his weapon at Slade once more. The point of the arrow sat directly between Slades eyes, ready to protrude. "I have a whole army waiting for you."

Oliver shook his head, "It's over, Slade." He brought his elbow back and let go of the arrow, sending it straight into Slade Wilson's brain and sending Slade straight to hell.

Barry collapsed to the ground as Oliver ran back to Felicity. He rolled her onto her back and saw her bleeding lip, her exposed breast and her marked wrists. He felt his eyes watering, threatening to bring him down for all he was worth. He brushed her hair from her face and with a final whim of hope, felt for her pulse.

She was alive.

He didn't believe it, he thought maybe it was the adrenaline making him imagine things.

"Felicity?" Oliver spluttered, feeling the steady beat of her pulse one more. She was alive.

Diggle looked to his best friend. The girl he came to save. He thought he'd failed. He didn't know that her pulse ticked away under Olivers fingers. All Dig felt was disappointment and great guilt. He was supposed to keep her safe, that was his duty and he failed. "Let's get her to the foundry." Diggle mumbled, a tear dripping down his cheek. "I'll call her family and tell them there was an accident."

Oliver looked up to Diggle confusedly, "No," he swallowed, "She's alive, she's just been drugged."

At first Diggle thought Oliver was in denial, Dig knew that even though Olvers and Felicity's relationship was new- Oliver already loved her more than anything. But as Diggle drew close he saw the rise and fall of her pale and scarred chest. His body shook with relief and tears started to flow. He took off his jacket and handed it to Oliver.

"Put it on her." Diggle said, looking away as Oliver covered her.

"I'll get the car and meet you on the back street."

Barry sat on the floor, looking at Oliver's team, and that was just it. It was Oliver's team and not his. He wanted to hug Felicity and tell her she was okay, he wanted to be there for her- but all her could do was give her and Oliver some space to come to terms with what had happened.

He looked at Slade, feeling proud of what he'd done and knew that with out his own help, Felicity wouldn't have survived any of this. But why did he feel like his regular old self? Did some part of him expect that Felicity would beg for his help and run into his arms? Why did he feel so left out and so deflated? Why did he feel like the same old Barry Allen?