Chapter 10

Assault On

Darhk Manor

Disclaimer: I own nothing but what you see here. Some of you may be disappointed with something in this chapter but I'm only going by what I've read in relation to Jewish Burial Customs. So fair warning right there. And to a guest reviewer, I wouldn't put it past them to wait til the 4 way crossover to resolve everything. As it is, I honestly think it'll take half a season before things are fixed. As for Oliver being in his drunk mode, well he did just lose someone very important to him so he's bound to be like that awhile. Its only natural with a loss like that that someone would want some kind of escape. I also think its obvious they've (Oliver and Felicity) already reconciled and its just as friends.

Something that's clearly a better path then lovers. And now… On with the show!

Thursday, April 21st, 2016 1:25 PM at the cemetery

A lone figure walked amongst the graves of the cemetery he was in. The very same cemetery where his mother, Tommy, and Rebecca were all buried. The very same cemetery that held not only them but now Felicity as well. Dressed in dark colors as he felt it was for the best, he finally came upon Felicity's grave that had no tombstone as per Jewish custom save for a small sign to indicate she was there. A big part of Oliver hated that Donna was obversing the Jewish Burial customs so heavily but kept his views to himself as he wasn't looking to start trouble over it. As it is, it'd been extremely hard on him to even come here but Digg and Laurel had told him he was dis-honoring Felicity by not going and visiting her grave. The fact she'd been buried so quickly as per Jewish custums while he'd been out getting drunk out of his mind to deal with his grief was another factor that had made it so hard for him to come. He truly felt like a right bastard for being a full on fool about everything. But grief did tend to make one do some really wild things.

A tear went down his face as he crouched down and looked at her grave. "I'm… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for having lost myself to all my grief and I hope that wherever you are now, you can forgive me for it. I could make you a promise but I honestly don't feel I'd be able to keep it. Not when I'm dealing with your loss. I love you Felicity."

More tears came down his face as memories of Felicity went through his mind and it was amost enough to make him miss the sound of Barry's arrival. The Speedster came up to the kneeling man and placed a hand on his friend and mentor's shoulder. "I'm sorry me and the others missed the funeral."

Oliver turned his head a little to look at him. "Zoom?"

"Yeah."

"There was a time when I would have thought this was my fault." Though a part of him did feel like it was his fault, but he knew better then that.

"That I brought this darkness upon us, but now I know its not my fault. Its my responsibility."

"Responsibility to do what?"

"To end it, I'm gonna kill him." He may not be able to prove it but he just damn well knew that Darhk had something to do with Felicity's death!

Hell, he was responsible for her being in that coma anyway! Donna in her grief had refused to allow an autopsy to be done on Felicity so any answers that could have been gotten didn't happen. Thankfully Quentin and the team hadn't pushed the issue as it would have just done more bad than good where the woman's state of mind was at during that point in time. "Is there anything I can do?" Barry asked and he would damn well do it!

As it was only right that he and his friends back in Central did what they could! "I want to be left alone."

Barry nodded and then sped off to visit with the rest of Team Arrow, making Oliver grateful that his friend had left as asked. And that he hadn't argued against his wanting to kill Damien Darhk for what had happened to Felicity. "I'm gonna kill Darhk Felicity, that is one promise I can make to you. And if I have to go down with him in order to get it done, then so be it. As it'll mean I'll be with you again."

He stayed where he was for a bit longer with more tears coming down his face and even hiding his eyes behind a hand. Eventually, he left the area and returned to the Bunker with the clear intention of another talk with the thing that claimed to be Shado. Who seemed to be having some issues as it is with drug withdrawal since she hadn't had any access to Darhk's loyalty pills. Which had made everyone realize that Andy had never exhibited the same reactions, causing Digg to realize the unfortunate truth that his brother hadn't been forced to join against his will. That realization had not gone down all that well for the man either and if it wasn't for Lyla and their child, along with their friends, Digg wasn't sure how he would have managed to deal with that. It made him glad that Carly and AJ would never know since it would forever ruin the image they had of Andy.

Along the way back to the Bunker, Oliver called up Jessica Danforth and apologized for being MIA but thankfully she understood. Though he did tell her he was going to be gone a bit longer in order to deal with his grief as he felt it was for the best. Thankfully she understood that and told him that she and Alex should be able to handle things just fine until he made his return and any big decisions would be talked about with him before making any final decisions. Afterwards, he got a surprise call from William that actually managed to make him smile a little by the time they got off the phone with one another. That smile quickly died however once he got to his former campaign office and got into the elevator to head down into the Bunker. He didn't really say or acknowledge anything that was said to him by those present and thankfully they understood that considering where he'd been. Opening a door, he stepped inside and then closed it.

This room was where they kept the cells at for any special guests like Andy had been for a time. Oliver quietly made his way up to Shado's cell and the woman was shaking a bit and holding herself. A nearby bottle of Jack on a table was quickly grabbed, un lidded, and a large gulping of the contents was had by the man before he put it down. "Let's talk."

"A-already t-t-told you! D-don't know a-an-anything."

"Wrong answer! You were with Darhk for who knows how long so there's plenty you do know! And I promise if you don't start talking I will start doing things you WON'T like. And I won't give a damn if you look like someone I knew and loved when I start."

Shado looked at him in shock over that. "I a-am S-Sh-Shado! M-Master brought m-m-me back to b-be u-u-used against y-you."

"LIAR!" Roared the man as he banged a hand on the cell bars and not even caring if it hurt.

"N-never lie to y-y-you! Ever! Helped y-y-you deal with t-the aftermath o-of f-f-first k-kill, t-t-taught y-you Mandarin!"

The bottle of Jack ended up exploading after it was thrown in a rage towards Shado's cell. Oliver glared hatefully at her as she cowered in a corner. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THAT! DID HE STEAL THOSE MEMORIES FROM ME SOMEHOW!? TELL ME!"

Shado whimpered and Laurel rushed in to the room to try and get her ex to calm down or at least walk away before he did something he'd regret. But unfortunately for her, he was refusing to listen. "You know this isn't right Ollie. You know that!" The look he gave her when he turned towards her made her back up a little in slight fear.

It was a look she'd seen only once before during that prison riot during his first year back and that was a look she had never wanted to see it again. And yet, here it was and if anything, it was even scarier then what it had been the first time. He was about to tell her to get the Hell out when Shado started to speak. "N-nothing w-was s-s-stolen from you. They a-a-are m-my mem-memories!"

An actual growl escaped Oliver and Laurel was quick to get in front of him before he could do anything with her hands out towards him. "Ollie, don't."

"Give me one reason for why I shouldn't torture her til she BEGS for mercy!"

Laurel couldn't help but feel some horror over that. "Its… Its not what Felicity would want you to do."

"She's not here anymore so how would you know what she would want!? Huh!?"

"I know because she was my friend."

Oliver stepped up closely to Laurel with an angry look on his face but she held her ground. "Get out." Ordered the man and his tone implied that wasn't to be argued with.

And for once, Laurel wasn't about to argue and stepped around him and went towards the door and opened it, but before she left she turned her head to the side slightly. "Don't do something you'll regret Ollie. This girl may be a slave to Darhk but she doesn't deserve to be tortured for it."

She made her leave after that and had she stayed a few seconds longer, she may have heard him speak up once more. "Hah, I've already done plenty to regret. What's one more thing?"

Two hours later would see him coming out of the room with a blank expression on his face and Laurel would rush towards the room, only to come back out seconds later with a relieved expression on her face that he hadn't hurt Shado. Something he wasn't paying any attention too as he was looking right at Barry and Curtis talking about something or other. "Barry!"

"Huh? Oh, hey Oliver." Replied the Speedster as he made his way over to his friend and mentor.

"What's up?"

"I want you to head to Darhk's manor and scout it out without being caught. Then report back here with any information you get out of it."

"Oliver?" Asked Digg curiously.

Looking towards his friend and former bodyguard, the archer began to explain what he had in mind. "We've been at war with Darhk for some time now and I think its time we made a big strike of our own against him. And what better way to do that?"

"By attacking him where he lives. You sure that's a road you wanna take man? It could bring more trouble down on us."

"I'm sure Digg, Darhk NEEDS to know we aren't just gonna be content to fight his forces every day and night. That we're more than willing to strike out where its liable to hurt the most for him. And if we can capture his wife tonight, so much the better."

Though if she ended up dead, he wouldn't complain all that much since it would be exactly what Darhk deserved. "I'm not so sure that this is a good plan Ollie. You're grieving and the last thing you need to be doing is making plans like this while grieving. It could lead to mistakes being made." Voiced Laurel concernedly.

"She's right man. This isn't the kind of call that you need to be making right now. Give it a few days and then we can discuss this when things aren't so emotional."

Oliver was pretty pissed off by that point but both Digg and Laurel were remaining firm in their views of the whole thing. Curtis was making himself look like he was busy doing something on the computers as he had no desire to get involved with that. "What about you Barry? And you Curtis? Think this is a bad idea?"

His tone was challenging but neither were about to back down and they both sided with Digg and Laurel that it was a bad idea to try and attack so soon. Oliver was not a happy camper about that either. "Didn't you ask me several hours ago if there was anything you could do?" Asked the archer to the Speedster in an unhappy tone.

Barry gulped over that reminder. But hey, he did pretty much offer and it'd be rude to go back on that. Letting out a sigh, he gave a nod to the older man. "Well, that's what I want you to do."

"Alright man, just calm down okay? I'll go and do it now if you want."

"That would be preferable." Gritted out Oliver and got himself a nod for it.

Barry was soon gone in a streak of yellow lightning while the others just looked on in disapproval. "Your disapproval and unwillingness to get involved in this mission is noted." Spoke the man as he waited on Barry to get back.

"Umm… You aren't gonna, you know, take Darhk's place on by yourself are you? Cause that's kinda like suicide." Spoke up Curtis worriedly.

"I may be grieving, but I'm not suicidal." Was all Oliver would say on the matter and making the others wonder what he had in mind.

It'd be around five minutes later when Barry made his return with his report. The knowledge that Darhk somehow had one of Brie Larvan's bee drones there was rather alarming but it wasn't about to stop Oliver any. Though a phone call to Quentin was made and it'd be his unfortunate duty to later report that it was apparent that the government supposedly took her into their custody, prompting Digg to ask Lyla about that and getting an adamant response that Waller had nothing to do with that. Making everyone think that either there was another branch of the government out there or that there never was any government involvement. Which was rather worrisome if Darhk could pull that off somehow. It'd be midnight by the time Oliver got to Darhk's and the man was more than ready to raise some Hell too. Unfortunately only Constantine, a reluctant Barry, and Vixen courtesy of Barry were with him for the whole thing along with fifty Bratva soldiers.

The others had refused to take part as they all felt it was highly suicidal to even try and attack the man's home. Oliver had even donned an old pair of red welding goggles and a tattered black hood in addition to the dark clothes he was wearing and more than one Bratva member had given a savage grin to the sight of him as a few of them remembered when he wore those things in Russia and the stories about him with those things had easily spread. They were surprised though that they had the likes of the Flash with them for this in addition to the two others but said nothing on it. Oliver also had his archery equipment with him but nothing that would allow the Bratva to connect him with the Green Arrow however. "Alright, the plan is two fold. Attack and lay waste to the entire house and if we can take Darhk down in the process so much the better. Even if we can't pull that off, we'll have shown the bastard we're more than willing to strike where it hurts him the most. Part two of the plan is to grab an item of Darhk's that will significantly cut down on his power. Now there may be a child in there but she is NOT to be sold into slavery or anything else is that understood? She will be taken to social services and hopefully placed with a proper family. Now… Any questions?"

None present had any questions and Oliver was glad for that, not to mention being glad none of them would argue against his order about Nora Darhk. One of the Bratva members however stepped up and spoke in Russian, saying that it was an honor to work along side the Red Eyed Ghost this night. Oliver gave a nod to the man before turning his attention to the manor. "Otkryto ogon'!" Commanded the archer in Russian and eight of the Bratva began to open fire on the manor.

"Well here goes nothin' mates." Voiced Constantine to his two companions.

Each gave nervous nods and Vixen could hardly believe how her friend was acting and she could tell Barry wasn't too enthused over it either. They watched as Ghosts began to come towards Oliver and the Bratva and quite a few of them ended up dead thanks to the gunfire they were subjected too. Though it was apparent that some of them had at least a few smarts as they started to return fire while making sure to get behind things where they wouldn't get hit by any bullets. One particular Bratva member was known for carrying grenades on him and decided to make use of one by throwing it and making quite a few Ghosts go flying up into the air with a loud boom! Oliver made certain however that they were dead with a few arrows while they were in the air before focusing his attention back on to those who were ground level. "FLASH!" Called out Oliver and Barry gave a nod as he knew what that meant and sped off into the house.

A short time later saw him make way with Vixen to a less occupied area, along with the idol Darhk used in hand. Giving a nod to Vixen, he stepped back and let the woman do her part of the job they were there for. Stepping up to the idol, she cracked her fingers and looked down at it. "Here we go." Muttered the woman before channeling an animal spirit from her necklace to begin breaking the thing.

While that was going on, both Constantine and Oliver made their way through the various Ghosts and Bratva duking it out by either physically or with weapons. Once at the front door, they were greeted by Damien Darhk himself who was not looking too happy! "I believe you have something of mine that I would like returned. Now." The fact they had so rudely interrupted his quiet time with his family was another thing he strongly disliked!

"Sorry mate, but not gonna happen."

"And who might you be?"

"John Constantine at yuir service. Trouble consultant and Dabbler of the Dark Arts."

Darhk chuckled at him. "Ahh, I've heard of you Mr. Constantine. Quite a legend in your own right if I may say."

"Well, always nice to meet a fan. Though I try and stay away from the more barmy ones."

Any more that could have been said by either side was cut off when Oliver let loose with an arrow straight at Darhk, who was able to catch it thanks to his magics. Making the archer grimace as that meant Vixen had yet to break the idol. "Hmm, nice try there but I'm afraid you're gonna have to do better than that."

A fire ball threw him straight through his front door courtesy of a grinning Constantine. "How's that for ya?" Called out the magic man as he and Oliver stepped through the broken door way as Darhk was already getting up and dusting himself off.

He then chuckled as he continued to dust himself off before looking at the two. "Nice shot Mr. Constantine."

"Plenty more where that came from ya bloody bugger."

Oliver then charged at the man with the intent to hit him in the jaw but the man managed to dodge it, only to have to dodge again when Constantine came at him. The magic man kept up on his attacks, grateful for the small bit of training he'd gotten from the others the past few days and even lighting up his hands to add a little something extra to the fun. This allowed Oliver to move on from the two in search of Ruve as a heart for a heart exchange was sorely needed in the grieving man's opinion. As he made it up the second floor, he was attacked by Ruve herself and she was using a sword to do it too! Which made for an interesting time for the red eyed archer as he used his bow to block her shots. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Roared out the woman as she kept on attacking.

"I'll leave when I've accomplished my goals." Replied Oliver as he continued to face off with her and even noticing little Nora herself peeking her head out of a room.

Ruve sneered at him and managed to deliver a blow to his midsection that had him going back down the stairs rather painfully. He'd end up thanking his lucky stars too that he hadn't been knocked out from that when she tried to impale him with her sword and only getting the floor instead. Quickly getting up, Oliver kicked at her hands to prevent her from using the sword further and she decided to settle for using fisticuffs with him. "Uncultured heathen!" Snarled the woman as she attacked him.

Ruve was annoyed when he didn't respond to that and she was even further annoyed when he managed to knock her in the jaw with his bow! Which was something she soon took care of with a well placed fire spell her husband taught her long ago, surprising her opponent in the process and making her smirk when she saw it. "Surprised are we? I may not have the talent for magics like my husband does, but I can at least get by with a little knowledge."

An errant fireball went flying past them and into a wall, making for a nice little fire to start up thanks to it. Oliver didn't bother to say anything and insteand lunge at her, starting their fight once more that made its way into the kitchen and had them crashing through the sliding doors rather painfully. Ruve quickly managed to get on top of Oliver and start wailing on him with her fists that he did his best to block. "You may or may not be who I think you are but I really don't care! You attack me and my family at our home and for that you deserve endless pain before death is finally granted to you!"

"Death may come for me, but I seriously doubt it'll be by your hands." Replied Oliver in a menacing tone as he forced a roll over that thankfully allowed him to get to his feet.

Sneering at him, she quickly got up and charged at him, only to end up on her knees rather painfully when he managed to grab a hand and force her arm behind her back none too gently. He leaned in and began to speak into her ear. "Your husband took something from me and its only right that I take something from him."

His deadly sounding tone made the woman begin to struggle out of his grasp but he was keeping a firm hold on her even as he reached for a knife that was in his boot. He then brought it up to her neck. "Any last words?"

"GO TO HELL!" Yelled out the woman and Oliver just chuckled darkly at her.

"You first." And with that, Ruve Adams was taken from this life by a cut to the throat.

Oliver let go of her after that and watched emotionlessly as the body of Ruve Adams slumped lifelessly to the ground. "Mommy!" Cried out a young girl's voice, causing him to look up and seeing one Nora Darhk holding a dolly and looking close to tears.

This apparently was heard by Darhk as he came rushing out to where his daughter's voice had been heard. And once there, he spotted his wife's lifeless body on the ground and staggered towards it while Oliver himself stepped away. A muttered 'blimey' could be heard as well from a certain British man but the archer paid it no mind as he watched as Damien Darhk fell to his knees and began to cradle his wife's body to his own. Tears could even be seen coming down his face too as he held his beloved Ruve in his arms. Nora approached her father slowly and asked if whether or not her mommy was okay. Making for her father to look up at her. "O-of course sweetheart, she's gonna be just… Fine."

It'd be then that the drone Barry had mentioned earlier showed up after crashing through a second story window and came up to the grieving man and his daughter. Its heavy foot steps could easily be heard and even had Darhk looking at it. "Drone 4, get my daughter to safety immediately."

A nod came from the drone and it surprisingly enough, gently picked her up despite her protests and hauled ass inside the house but Constantine didn't bother to chase after it as he had a feeling he was going to be needed here instead. Darhk continued to hold his wife for several more minutes as he looked at nothing in particular. "A heart for a heart." Came the voice of Oliver Queen coldly, making the former League member look his way.

"Is that so Mr. Queen?" Asked the man as he gently laid his wife's body to the ground before standing up and giving his opponent a menacing glare.

He then raised a hand up and allowed a fireball to form in it and he stared at it for a moment. "What you've done tonight has earned you and yours a death sentence Mr. Queen. ONE I WILL BE ALL TOO WILLING TO CARRY OUT MYSELF!" Roared the man as he threw the fireball at Oliver and managing to burn him a little in the arm as he made to get out of the way.

Constantine then joined in and the two started to trade magical attacks, something that distracted Darhk just a bit as it allowed for Oliver to get in hits of his own much to the man's growing rage. However he would finally get the drop on both of the two when he managed to use telekinesis to hold them up into the air and gave them a smile that promised nothing good. "I could rip you two apart so easily right here boys. But somehow, somehow I doubt it would be enough after what you've done to me tonight."

Grunts escaped the two as he continued to hold them up into the air and as he started to close his hands, it was becoming harder to breathe until he staggered a little and the two dropped to the ground. Darhk looked confused for a moment until he realized what had happened. "You little pests destroyed my idol!" Growled out the man unhappily.

"Yuir welcome mate." Spoke Constantine as he and Oliver forced themselves up and on to their feet.

That got him a glare, not that he really cared all that much. "You'll forgive me if I don't say thank you. But if you thought that was all I had when it came to magical power, you are sorely mistaken fellas as you don't get around like I do and not learn a few things."

Oliver and Constantine looked at one another for a moment, each of the two thinking that just didn't sound good at all. The two readied themselves for whatever he was about to do next, only for a loud scream to erupt through the area, bringing them to their knees. Darhk then got himself an arrow to the shoulder much to his pained annoyance. Looking up, he and the others spotted the Black Canary, Spartan, Speedy, and Arsenal and they were all ready to attack at a moment's notice. "The cavalry has arrived I see." Remarked the man as he pulled the arrow out with a grunt.

Standing up, he looked at the group with a glare. "But you'll have to pardon me as I have other things to be doing then deal with you pests at the moment." Even though all he wanted to do at that moment was tear them all apart but his daughter needed him more then anything else.

Arsenal and Speedy decided to shoot more arrows at him and Spartan even added a few gun shots to it all that had the man moving quickly so as not to get hit. Their rapid fire kept him from retaliating much to his annoyance as the power loss was affecting him more then he liked. An idea then thankfully occurred to him then and there. A smoke pellet, and even he had to admit it was cheesy but oh so effective was used, allowing for him to make his escape thanks to the smoke. And when it was finally cleared, the team realized that good ol' Damien Darhk had escaped, but his wife's body had been left behind thanks to the trio of attacks on him much to his regret. Oliver wasn't too happy but the fact he had been successful in two of his goals tonight was something to be happy about at least. Police sirens could then be heard and shouts of retreat in Russian could be heard. "I think it best we get the Hell out of here." Called out Diggle and the others agreed with that.

Leaving Ruve's body and a ruined manor behind in their wake and it wouldn't be until they got closer to the Bunker that Oliver asked a certain question on his mind. "Thought none of you were interested in getting involved on this one?"

Even Barry was curious about that as he listened in on the intercom next to Curtis in the Bunker after having sped there. "I convinced them it was stupid to leave you to your own devices." Spoke up Thea and getting nods of agreement for it.

"Oh."

Once in the Bunker, Oliver made his way to the cell room and took off his red tinted welding goggles and left them on a nearby table. His entrance had awoken Shado and she was looking at him expectantly. "Thought you should know that your master's wife is dead."

Her eyes widened in surprise over that as she stepped up and gripped the bars of her cell. "A-a-and my p-p-pills?"

Leaning in with an emotionless look on his face, he told her he didn't have anything for her. "But… Y-you promised m-me."

"I lied." Replied the man simply enough before walking away.

As he did so, Shado began to yell out as she thrashed up against the cell in anger over having been lied too. But the archer paid it no mind as he left the room and went back to the main area of the Bunker. It'd be then that Curtis and Barry would turn to him with worried expressions on his face. "What?" Barked out the man, making everyone else look their way.

It'd be Barry who would speak up first after clearing his throat. "We uhh, we ran a blood test on your guest."

"And?"

"It confirms that she's a hundred percent match for Shado Fei."

That caused the archer to stumble back in shock. "N-no… That no. That can't be! SHE DIED ON LIAN YU!"

Everyone flinched at his loud voice. "Ollie… If they can bring back Tommy and dad, why not her too?" Voiced Thea while biting her lower lip.

She got a shake of the head in denial from her big brother and it wasn't long before the man stormed off with Digg chasing after him to make sure he didn't do something he would regret later. As the last thing he needed was to have even more regrets piled on him while dealing with the loss of Felicity. The fact he had murdered Darhk's wife had been shocking as Hell and they weren't quite sure how he would come back from that action. But they would try their best to be there for him rather then judge and abandon him.

Author's Notes: Well that got a bit brutal. Wonder if I should up this to an M rating now after that scene with Ruve? I would like to also mention that this more than likely will be my last Arrow fic unless season 5 wows me or I decide to do something with one of the Possibilities ideas. That fic is something I will continue to update however so no worries there. As for Shado's stuttering, not a lot was shown with those loyalty pills like after effects of not having them, but I figured coming off it could possibly result in something like stuttering to happen. Up Next: A look at what exactly happened with Brie Larvan after Darhk took off with her. R and R!