A/N: Here's the theory chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Olive & An Arrow

There's a flash of silver in the shadows. A dark form is moving along the wall, body nearly invisible. I'm glad my dad trained me to hunt humans. I almost feel like I should be in that "The Most Dangerous Game" story that we read in English class last year.

An arrow is nocked in my bow, set perfectly in the groove, tip just waiting to maim my target as soon as he comes into the light. Just have to wait.

I almost feel like it's wrong for me to have to kill my own teammate. But he wasn't honest with us. He was playing them all before he even knew me.

Another flash of silver caught my eye. Thank God for the little slivers of moonlight that are seeping in through cracks and crevices. If if weren't for that little bit of light, I wouldn't even be able to see my target.

He doesn't even know I'm here. I smirk to myself and watch for the next flash of silver along the wall, waiting for sight of my target so I know it's safe to release the arrow.

And instead of silver, I see a glint of light reflecting off of blue.

Blue.

Water. Moving.

I turn only to find the other waterbearer's blade at my neck as the first snakes through the rest of the building, that glint of blue returning to meet me, another weapon of my demise. Not like I haven't seen enough of those in one week.

My arrow is at his gilled throat, his watery sword pressed to my neck.

"I'm almost wondering if this is a fair fight," I breathe, finding it hard to do so while trying not to get that smooth, sharp edge jabbed through my skin. My voice sounds a little weak and a little breathy, but I hope he can't hear it.

Kaldur watches me with those fierce silver eyes. "As am I."

When I got the assignment, I was almost surprised, but the pieces fit in. He had to have known about the mole before the rest of us, yet he said nothing? And he was never with us. He was always in Atlantis with his king. No one there could properly keep an eye on him; he was Aqualad for crying out loud. And from the gist of Wally and Robin's explanation of the team's formation, Kaldur was the only one of the three to be reluctant about going to Cadmus and proving themselves. Maybe he knew.

"Think we should do a rematch?" I smirk as my finger tightens on the feathered end of the arrow that impatiently waits for me to release so it can drive home and kill him. "This isn't a good way to start this sort of fun."

Why does it feel like I'm talking like Cheshire would?

He doesn't back away and instead gently runs his blade across the soft flesh at my neck, beads of red blood trickling down my skin.

I move one leg and wrap the tip of my shoe around his ankle and pull. The blade he has goes soft- water. He's off balance.

I'm flipping down out of the rafters, off of the catwalk, and down into the darkness where I know I can safely hide. And if I'm not completely safe, I know I'm close enough to safe. Better than having a sword stabbing into your neck.

It could be worse- the blood, I mean. My uniform's got a little bit of Kevlar around the neck specifically for these purposes. It wasn't strong enough to protect me completely, but it sure as Hell kept me from dying. I'm still pissed though because I'm vulnerable, I'm losing blood, and my uniform is going to have blood stains on it. That's just peachy.

Silver flashes to my left while blue passes to my right and ahead. It's hard to tell what's what because there are so many places for him to be at once with those waterbearers... They'll be the death of me if I don't kill him first.

"Come on, Kaldur." I keep my arrow nocked tight so it'll hit and kill him upon release. "Let's fight like men." I know I'm not a man, but I can fight most full-grown baddies. Bane. Ra's. My father. "I have homework to do once you're dead."

The silver and blue are flashing everywhere now, black shadows and forms moving through the darkness as if there's more than just Kaldur hanging around. And if there's more than just him, well... Let's just say things won't end well for me.

I have to take my chances. I fire of an arrow just ahead of all the moving shadows, using physics to calculate and the natural feel of the bow in my hands to guide.

I do hit him. In the arm. And it doesn't go far enough into his arm to pierce his heart.

Dammit.

He's still moving, but I can hear his footsteps now as my senses are acutely aware of his exact position as he circles from the shadows, not yet striking as the cobra always does. So I hit him again, this arrow with a heavier head for more force. If hits him a little lower: in the side. I could hear him fall this time, his body slamming into the ground with a heavy thud as I'd struck something vital. Something that could snatch the life right out of him.

I can still hear him breathing. He's not dead yet.

I move a little bit closer with an arrow already nocked and ready for fire as soon as he tried to attack again. I wanted an explanation for this one.

The file I'd gotten from Batman had his heritage on it, son of Black Manta. I wouldn't judge. I had Sportsmaster. What was the difference? And his whole "How I Became Aqualad" story. It was very anti-climactic. And then how he'd been talking with Ra's on identities and specific moves and abilities... It had very few details but plenty of evidence so the Justice League knew where to pin the blame.

He's speaking in Atlantean, and I can only figure that he's praying or something. Maybe threatening me, but he's staring at the rafters instead of at me. Kaldur doesn't even bother to look at me when he's finished saying his few words. He just looks at the tip of the arrow as if he's staring down the barrel of a gun and waits for me to end his suffering.

I do. My arrow drives straight through his chest.

I'm not a traitor. I don't tolerate traitors. He deserved to die. We can all make choices to define our lives. He chose wrong.

I hope he learned from his mistake.

A/N: There's more behind this theory, but too much thinking and not enough action would be… not action-y enough. For more details on why, I will refer you once more to my other story "Her Cheshire Smile". The… sixth chapter has theory details. Another thing I'll refer you to: Jimmy Candlestick's "Fragile Peace".

Anyways, review?

~Sky