Chapter 6 - Arsenal

Roy had been a loner long periods of his life. To stride around the city by himself suited him, as it provided time for him to have some me-time and think. He had always thought of it to be his personal sanctuary.

Until this day, that is.

Because staking out the city all by himself – when he usually has a green shadow to compete over the rooftops with – isn't very fun. The lack of companionship at a time like this also leaves room for way too many thoughts to run amok and draw up images in his mind; scenarios he don't want to see.

His mind wouldn't stop thinking about Oliver.

Roy's thoughts were momentarily shifted, as he had to stop two kids from mugging an old lady of her purse. The two were easily stampeded however, leaving him with the dame who happily told Roy about her appreciation of his actions. The 85-year-old woman then remembered she was late to her date with an older gentleman she met on the bus the other day, so she hurried along. Roy smiled as she vanished down the alley muttering about how she would bring her cane next time, and any other crook messing with her wouldn't stand a chance.

He was just about to mount the closest building when his phone vibrated. For the second time that day, he picked it up and the display read 'THEA'.

"Hey, I-" his stomach dropped as he was greeted by sobs from the other end of the line. "Thea – what's happened!? Where are you?" He could make out what he thought was the word 'Verdant' before she sobbed uncontrollably again. "You're at the club? I'm on my way!"

Unfortunately neither Felicity nor John were at the Arrowcave; the first was at her 'real' work at Palmer Industries and the latter had gone to have some father-daughter time with baby Sara, which was well deserved after his confrontation with Thea earlier. Luckily Roy had been on the right side of town, so he himself was mere minutes away.

After breaking numerous speed limits on his bike, he arrived back at the lair, threw of his red Arsenal-suit and went up to find Thea. He didn't need to search hard though; he could simply follow the sound.

She had collapsed inside the supply-room. As Roy opened the creaking door, her face shot up; revealing her wet face. Her make-up had since long been smudged out all over her face by tears.

Almost before the boy could react, the sad girl had flung herself around his neck and sobbed into his shirt.

It took a while for Roy to get any coherent information. At first all he got was names and words like 'Ollie... Dig... Sara... fault... League... dead... Dad... Laura... video... Arrow...'. When the pieces of the puzzle started to come together, and he realised she had been told about the identity of Sara's murderer, Roy could begin to comfort her.

"It's not your fault." he spoke gently while stroking her soft hair. "Sara's death is only on your father. You didn't know what you were doing. No one blames you."

"B-but Dig... He said-"

"He probably said something which he now regrets. What you must understand about John is that he's an extremely caring fellow, which only a very few people know. So when someone he cares about is in danger, he can sometimes let his emotions get the better of him. Approximately the same way as you are doing now."

Thea glanced up in surprise and was met with that smirk which only Roy can give people. She whipped her tears away with the back of her hand and had to smile back – that smirk of his always made her smile.

They sat quietly for a while, listening to the sound of the ventilation system buzzing above them.

It suddenly struck Roy that he didn't want to be alone anymore. There was a time when he had craved for it, but now he didn't wanted the loneliness anywhere near him. He didn't want to lose Thea again. This time, there would be no more lies between them.

He rose, offering Thea his hand. She took it and was pulled up.

"Thea, you know that I love you." Roy spoke slowly, while staring deeply into her eyes. "I don't want to keep anymore secrets from you."

With that said, he led her along. They reached the door to the basement, which was said to be impossible to open. Roy easily unlocked it and guided her down the stairs into the dark room. As they reached the bottom, he turned on the lights.

Thea gasped as the room illuminated. Weapons, training equipment, several computer-screens... The place was filled with things, which she only could connect with two individuals.

In his rush to get to Thea, Roy had dumped his Arsenal-suit in a red heap on the floor. He strode over to it and picked it up. Turning back to Thea, he handed the mask over.

"I guess you've suspected a lot of this, but I want to confirm it for you." he half whispered, before taking the reminder of the suit to its usual storing area.

Thea glanced at the red mask in her hands. She had indeed known about Roy's part in this vigilante-group for quite a while. Now she also knew the identity of the Canary – or more correctly – the now deceased Sara. She walked up to Roy and gently placed the mask on his face.

"So you are Arsenal. Sara was the Canary. Dig – and most likely Felicity too – seem to be involved in all this." She counted them all on her fingers and received a nod in response for every single one. "Does that make my brother the Arrow?"

Roy looked over towards the empty rack and nodded once more.

"Oliver would probably be pissed if he knew I told you abou-"

"But you didn't! I figured it out by myself." she replied proudly, adding a cocky smirk.

"You're right." he smiled warmly back at her. "You should know that he only kept all this a secret from you for one reason. Whenever he has shared it with someone else in the past, they've almost always been hurt or died. He couldn't see the same happen to you. That's why he kept you out of this; to protect you."

"That definitely sounds like my big overprotecting brother…" she stated before allowing her mind to wander away to wherever her brother currently was. "Don't worry, Ollie... We will find you."