Note: Short and quick note! Surprise everyone! The new chapter of Hunted is here because Christmas came early! Happy holdiays to all of you and I'm going to wish you guys a happy new year as well because I don't know if I'll be able to post again before the new year.
This chapter is extra long and there are a lot of things happening, so I hope you guys are going to like it. Just know that this is not the end. Far from it actually, because we're only halfway through the story!
Enjoy! :)
Hunted
Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with.
Chapter 18: The Undertaking
Oliver laid flat on his bed in the Queen Mansion. He had been staring at the ceiling for the past hour, knowing that it was still too early to get up and begin his day even though sleep had long ago left his body. Instead, Oliver found himself thinking about the past month that had been filled with more Dark Ones than the two years that he and Diggle had been doing this alone.
Things were being set in motion and everyone on his team was on edge about it. Felicity had taught Tommy the best she could with the computers and this past week she had taken to coming out with him in the streets during patrol and have Roy join up with them so that she could use that moment to train with him as well.
The still-not-turned wolf and Felicity had been working on sorting out Roy's emotional problems as well, using the abandoned garage that she had transformed in over a month ago to let him work his issues out. Felicity usually kept her business with Roy to herself when it came to the others in the team, not wanting them to think too much about the details and all that, but she regularly gave Oliver updates on how things were going. According to Felicity, it was important for Roy to accept his past, which included the part where he had been abandoned by his parents to fend for himself. Felicity's meetings with him seemed to be helping because every time that Roy had joined them during patrols, he seemed to be more in control of himself. There were no longer any violent outbursts or spontaneous decisions made; he was calm and followed Felicity's lead, through whatever it was she was leading him through. Oliver had asked Felicity about it and whether it had something to do with her being his Alpha now. Felicity said that she didn't believe in one wolf being above the other, but that every pack needed someone who was more experienced to lead the rest. In her mind, since it was just her and Roy, she was the only one who could fit into that role at the moment.
A large part of him knew what she was saying made sense, but another small part couldn't help but feel a little strange about the way that she had expressed herself. Usually, Felicity referred to them all as Team Arrow and Oliver had just assumed that she would begin to refer to Roy as being part of that group. It would have been an easy thing to accept for Oliver, because it actually made a lot of sense for her to bring in the young wolf that she had taken under her wing into their operation. However, Felicity had instead begun talking about her and Roy being a part of a pack and for some reason, Oliver was feeling a little left out of it, which only made him feel like a jealous child. It was a feeling that he hated and he had been thinking about actually bringing it up to Felicity soon, merely because he knew that he should be able to without causing any problems.
The transformation that she had gone through when she had decided to help Roy and the emotions that had followed the moment that had transpired between the two of them down in the Foundry afterward, had only made Oliver and Felicity grow closer. For some reason, Oliver felt connected to her at a much deeper level and somewhere in his mind, he kept trying to tell himself that he needed to give himself some space and finally figure out what it was that he was feeling for the woman. They talked about things more and it wasn't just about work. Felicity had been a hundred percent right when she had said that they were two broken people who were taking comfort in each other, but after the things that he had begun to feel for her more strongly after her transformation, Oliver knew that it was more than that. Now, whenever he saw her, his mind returned to the way that they had held each other that night and he couldn't help but recall how she had allowed him near, even in her wolf form. He hadn't dared to ask her if she actually remembered it, but he knew by the way that he sometimes caught her looking at him that she did. Oliver couldn't remember the last time that he had allowed himself to actually bond this strongly with someone and he was well aware of the fact that this thing that was developing with Felicity, meant a lot more than some simple partnership.
His heart fluttered every time he saw her and chills ran up and down his body whenever she entered a room. He couldn't know for sure if she felt it too, but he was kind of hoping that she was, because maybe she would know what to do about it. The red-blooded male in him sure as hell knew what he wanted though, if his dreams that had become even more vivid since that night were any indication but Oliver once again forced all those inappropriate images of Felicity down and away from his mind.
There was a name for the feelings, and Oliver knew it. That, however, didn't by any chance whatsoever mean that he was ready to deal with them yet, even though he was aware of the fact that he needed to sooner rather than later. Felicity could be like an open book sometimes, but recently, she had been getting more and more difficult to read. Perhaps she was masking her face on purpose, not wanting him to see what was actually going on through her mind? That was part of the reason that Oliver wasn't ready to talk to her about it yet. He didn't want to ruin the good thing that they had going, by actually telling her that he had feelings for her.
That, along with the growing threat of Dark Ones in Starling City was definitely two of the reasons that Oliver found himself sleepless.
-§-
Felicity walked as quickly as humanly possible, balancing this quarter's financial and business reports in her hands as well as her bag while trying to hold on to her phone which was placed between her shoulder and her cheek and trying to calm Oliver over the phone.
"I just don't understand why you have to do this today," Oliver sighed, sounding more exasperated than ever. "With everything going on, everyone else has taken the day off from their daily jobs to work in the Foundry and try to locate the Master."
"Oliver, Tommy's daily job is working a nightclub, Diggle is pretending to be your bodyguard and since you decided to call in sick, he's pretty much excused from coming to work," Felicity said. "Besides, I'll be there as soon as I can."
"You're supposed to be my Executive Assistant, Felicity," Oliver said. "Isn't there some unwritten rule about you automatically having a day off when I'm not at the office?"
"I don't actually think there is," Felicity smiled, a small giggle slipping through her lips.
"So you're just going to drop off those reports and then you'll be here?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, I promise," Felicity said, hurrying to the elevator. "Hold it, hold it, hold it!" she called out when she saw the doors beginning to close. The person inside the elevator stuck their hand out, effectively stopping the doors from closing.
"Did you make it?" Oliver chuckled in her ear.
"Yes!" Felicity exclaimed as she got into the elevator, turning to face the person who had held the door open for her. "Thank you so much– Oh!"
"Felicity? What happened? Is everything okay? Felicity!"
Felicity heard Oliver's almost frantic voice in her ear,, though her eyes remained focused on Moira who was standing in front of her with something that at first sight looked like an unreadable expression. When Felicity focused a little more though, she instantly sensed that something was wrong. Every part of Moira was screaming out the fact that something was up and that the woman was on a breaking point.
"Felicity, what's going on?" Oliver demanded, sounding as if he was ready to jump through the phone in order to get to her.
"It's your mom, Oliver," Felicity said, catching Moira's eye as the woman stared at her, still looking shaken. "Everything is fine. I'm going to have to call you back though."
"My mom? Felicity?"
"I'm going to call you back, Oliver," Felicity repeated quickly again. "I'll see you later."
"Okay… I guess. See you later," Oliver responded, not sounding the least happy about how the conversation was ending.
As soon as Felicity shut off the phone, she turned to Oliver's mother. Before she could open her mouth to speak though, Moira had reached out and pressed the emergency stop of the elevator. The lights dimmed as the elevator came to a halt and Felicity looked up, only to see that it was stuck between two levels. She looked to Moira again, and the older woman was once again just staring at her, but this time, her eyes were slightly narrowed.
"Mrs. Queen?" Felicity asked quietly, her entire body tensing. Whatever it was that was going on, she didn't like it at all. Something was most definitely wrong.
"I need to have a very important conversation with you, Felicity," Moira said, her voice not showing the nervousness that her body was emanating.
"And you needed to do it here?" Felicity frowned, confused.
"It's the only place that I can be sure that he hasn't bugged," Moira replied calmly. "Let's just start this all off by saying that I know."
Felicity felt her frown deepening, "What?"
"I know, Felicity," Moira repeated. "I know what you are and I know what Oliver does when he's always running late to the office."
Felicity's stomach dropped as she stared at Moira. She couldn't be saying what Felicity thought she was saying, could she?
"I don't know what you're talking about," Felicity tried weakly, but the look of determination on Moira's face told her that it was no use. Instead of trying to deny it, Felicity felt something akin to fear grip her. She needed answers and she needed them immediately. How did Moira know? She was supposed to be an innocent – or as innocent as possible – human who had no idea about anything regarding the Dark Ones. Now she was telling Felicity that she knew about her and that she knew that Oliver was the Arrow. It didn't take very long for her fear to turn into determination. She needed to know what Moira knew and she needed to do so because she had to protect Oliver and the team at every cost.
Felicity's entire demeanor changed then. A calm settled over her as she took a step toward Moira with narrowed eyes. "Just what is it that you think you know?" she asked.
"About the People of Darkness," Moira replied, not looking the least phased. "I know that Oliver is the Hunter and I know that for some reason, he had been working with you, a hybrid."
"Well," Felicity clicked her tongue, "I suppose I now know why you hate me so much."
"I don't hate you, Felicity," Moira sighed. "I was trying to keep an eye on you for my son's protection. I had you pegged the moment you stepped into Queen Consolidated because I learned long ago how to see the signs of a Dark One."
"Oliver doesn't need anyone's protection," Felicity said firmly.
Moira sighed again, "Don't you think I realized that when I finally found out that he was the Hunter?"
"He's called the Arrow now," Felicity corrected without a beat passing. "So what does this mean then? Why are we having this conversation if you already know everything?"
"Because I don't think that you know everything and I want to come clean," the woman admitted. "I've seen the way that Oliver is with you and I see the way that you look at him when you don't think anyone is watching. You've saved Thea's life several times and I don't doubt that you've had a hand in keeping Oliver safe these past months that you've been here," Moira said. "He trusts you, which means that I have decided to trust my son's judgment and do so too. It isn't easy for a hunter to trust a Dark One, so if he truly does believe that you're good, I see no reason for me not to do so as well."
"We aren't getting anywhere with this," Felicity said, shaking her head. "You keep talking in code. Yes, Oliver and I trust each other, we have for several weeks now, months even! Why are you coming forward now?"
"Because I've been a part of something horrible!" Moira snapped. Felicity froze then, looking at her as Moira's eyes filled with tears. "I was scared and I thought I was protecting my children, but things have already gone too far. I'm going to turn myself in and confess everything, but I want you to know so that maybe you can make Oliver and Thea understand… They will never forgive me otherwise."
Felicity stared, "Moira… What did you do?"
As Moira began telling her story, Felicity felt as if she was going to be sick. The truth about Robert Queen, the plan that had been developing for years and all the lies that Oliver and everyone else had been told were coming out. Felicity knew that Moira had made mistakes and a part of her wanted to hate her for it, but they really were mistakes. She had thought that her children needed protecting from everything that was happening with the Dark Ones, though, she hadn't realized that everyone else was going to suffer as well.
"The Undertaking," Moira said, a tear rolling down her cheek that she didn't even bother to wipe away, "has already been set in motion. I'm sorry for taking this long to build up the courage to come forward with the truth, but I'm hoping and I'm praying that you, Oliver and the rest of your friends might be able to stop it."
"Moira, if you come forward with this to the press, you're going to be arrested," Felicity said, stepping closer as she placed a hand on the older woman's shoulder, trying to provide some comfort. "You should be the one to tell Oliver and Thea, not me. They will understand if you explain it the way you did just now, to me."
"It's already too late," Moira told her. "I've scheduled a secret press conference and in a few hours, everyone will know the truth. They'll be able to evacuate the Glades and maybe we can save the innocent people. I have to do the right thing."
"You had years to do the right thing," Felicity said, not being able to help herself. "You had years where you could have spoken up and maybe then things wouldn't have gotten this far."
"I was scared and for that I will always live with regret," Moira admitted. "Maybe if I surrender and give myself up to the police, I'll finally be forgiven for my sins."
"Who is behind it then? Tell me and give me a lead that we can work on," Felicity said. "I understand how it's all going to go down, but I don't know who the person behind it is."
Moira stared at her, fear once again evident on her face as she took a small step toward Felicity, leaning over so that she could whisper the name in Felicity's ear.
The files that Felicity had been holding all along, dropped to the floor.
-§-
Tommy didn't really know why he had decided to go back to his old family home. He had been living with Laurel for months now and not once had he felt the need to go back to the mansion that he had grown up in. Maybe it was the fact that he had decided to finally get some of his things, but he supposed that that couldn't be given as an excuse since he was just wandering around aimlessly, avoiding his own room.
Instead, he found himself walking toward his father's office. Despite not having much contact with his dad, he knew that something had been off with him for a good couple of weeks. Felicity had told him that she found his father to be a little creepy sometimes and even though Tommy hated him from time to time, he didn't understand why Felicity had felt that way about him. Ever since that day, Tommy had had a nagging feeling that maybe his father was hiding something. Whenever Tommy had called him, the conversations had always been curt and Malcolm had always been busy with other things, even during the latest of hours.
Perhaps it was the fact that he needed answers that had made him call first to check if his father was there of not. Perhaps it was also the fact that he had learned that his father wouldn't be coming in until much later that he drove up there under the pretense of coming to get his things, just so that he would be able to look around without being disturbed.
A part of him almost wished that he hadn't gone looking for answers, because what he found in his father's study was more than he would have ever expected. He had gone through the desk, only to find a small, hidden latch that opened up hidden drawer. There, records and receipts of purchases had been hidden and just by skimming them over, he had been able to tell that something wasn't right. What he had found next though, was the really confusing thing. He had found Oliver's notebook; the one that Oliver had had with him for over seven years, that his father had given him. The notebook that had put Oliver on the road to coming back to Starling City in order to right his father's wrongs and make the city a safe place again for everyone, but killing the Nightcrawlers. When he had opened it though, he had instantly realized that it couldn't be the same book, because Oliver had been crossing out names on the list for over two years and this list was intact. Why would his father have the same list that Oliver had? What did all of this mean?
Tommy got his answer when he later found a secret door, opening up an arsenal of weapons, most of which were bows with arrows.
Black arrows.
-§-
Felicity sped through the streets in her mini, trying to get to the lair as fast as she could. With Moira's confession, she knew that she needed to share the news with the rest of her team, so she had sent out a text message to tell everyone to be in the Foundry as soon as possible. She felt almost as if she was ready to collapse when she finally got to Verdant and into the basement, all because she had been going over everything that she had found out a thousand times in her mind, trying to fill in the missing pieces of when it was all going to happen.
"Felicity, what is going on?" Diggle asked, uncrossing his arms from where he stood leaning against one of the pillars in the lair. Oliver was looking at her worriedly as well as she sped over to her computer and started searching for something.
"Felicity, you have to talk to us," Oliver said. "What's so urgent?"
The door to the Foundry slammed open and they all turned at the same time, only to see Tommy standing there, panting. He held up a black arrow that they all immediately recognized and Felicity turned in her chair to look at him as he descended the stairs.
"My father," he said, still out of breath. "He's the Dark Archer."
"This day just keeps getting better and better," Felicity groaned, rubbing her temples as she stood up to stand in front of Oliver and the rest of them.
"Wait, what do you mean your dad is the Dark Archer?" Oliver frowned at Tommy.
"I mean that I found this along with the same list that you have been using for over two years to hunt down Dark Ones in his office," Tommy explained. "I came here as soon as I got Felicity's message because I had just been about to send you all one of my own to try and get everyone here." Tommy then turned to Felicity, "Why did you call us here?"
Felicity closed her eyes before turning to Oliver, "I have something to tell you and it's not going to be easy to hear. You're going to have to listen to me until I'm done and then you can say whatever you want, okay?"
"Felicity," Oliver stepped toward her, his expression worried. "You can talk to me."
"Tommy's dad isn't only the Dark Archer," she blurted out, eyes wide. "He's also the mastermind behind the Undertaking. Malcolm Merlyn is the Master."
Felicity began retelling the story that Moira had told her, trying her best to explain everything that had happened since she got of the phone with Oliver about an hour or so ago. Oliver remained frozen where he stood, listening as Felicity told him that his mother knew about him being the Arrow and that she had cornered Felicity and confessed to being a part of the Undertaking. She watched as Oliver slowly lowered himself into a chair, staring blankly straight ahead. She could feel the emotional pain coming off of him and she hated that she was the one who was being forced to tell him about all of this.
"Your mom is planning on having a press conference today to reveal the truth on live television," she said. "She's trying to save the people in the Glades who will be the most effected by the Undertaking."
"Why would she tell you about all of this?" Oliver asked, sounding almost angry. Felicity stared at him again, sensing how he was about to lash out.
"She wanted me to explain it to you and to Thea, so that you would understand," she tried, but Oliver pulled himself up and out of the chair. "Oliver, where are you going?" Felicity asked when he angrily pulled on his jacket.
"I'm going to go and have a conversation with my mother, before she fucks up everything," he bit out, hurrying up the steps, ignoring his team when they called out after him.
When he'd left, Felicity turned to Diggle and Tommy, knowing that Oliver wouldn't come back until he made peace with what was going to happen to his mother after she confessed to her crimes.
"What are we going to do now?" Tommy asked, looking at both Diggle and Felicity.
"We're going to start working on stopping this thing from happening," Diggle said, turning to Felicity. "Until Oliver gets back, we might be able to get something done. We might not have much time left, so there's no point in losing even more doing nothing."
Felicity nodded, "We have work to do."
-§-
Oliver stepped into his mother's office quietly. He had gotten there as quickly as he could, Felicity's words echoing in his head as he tried to make sense of all the lies that he had been told over the years. He knew that he shouldn't be angry at Felicity because she had nothing to do with it and he hated the fact that the news had come from her and not his mother.
"She told you, didn't she?" his mother asked from where she was sitting behind her desk. "Of course she did, otherwise you wouldn't be here."
"She was supposed to, wasn't she?" Oliver managed to bite out, narrowing his eyes at his mother. "I can't believe it… So it's really true?"
He thought back to the moments before his father had killed himself. His words about how they were using the dark as cover… It made sense that it had all been a code that he had been expected to understand. This wasn't some Dark One that was doing all of this, but rather a human who was trying to destroy the Glades were most of the Dark Ones spent their time. If, however, Malcolm managed to do what he had been planning on doing, there would be innocents caught in the middle and there was no way for Oliver to save them all.
"Oliver, you have to know that I am so, so sorry for everything," Moira said, standing up from the chair. "I wish I would have had the courage to talk to you sooner about all of this, but I was just afraid."
"You're going to be arrested," Oliver stated. "The moment you tell the truth, you're going to be taken in and if I don't stop Malcolm, then he'll come after you."
"I know," Moira nodded. "I'm aware of the risks, but I have to do this. I have to make things right."
"When did you find out about me?" he asked then, his hands balling up into fists.
"I think a part of me might have always known," Moira admitted. "But I think the biggest giveaway in the end was Felicity. I knew what she was and from the way that you began talking about her as time passed, I knew that you must know of the People of Darkness. After that, it was the only thing that made sense."
"You can't tell the world about them though," Oliver said. "There will only be chaos then."
"Yes, I know," Moira said again. "I just want to save the humans. If there was a way to kill the Dark Ones without making the humans suffer, things might have been different…"
"Mom? Ollie?"
They both turned around to see a hesitant Thea standing in the doorway. Moira looked at Oliver, tears shining in her eyes again. "I called her and told her to meet us here. You should be the one to tell her about what you're going to do," Oliver explained.
Moira seemed to hesitate, but eventually she nodded, motioning for Thea to come inside.
Oliver watched as his mother sat his younger sister down and began telling her story again. He watched as both women cried together for what they all knew was about to happen and Oliver felt tears stinging in his own eyes. He was going to lose his mother for the sins she had been committing for years and there was nothing he would be able to do to stop it. Oliver believed in justice though, which made this all the more difficult for him. He knew that his mother needed to face the consequences for her decisions, but at the same time, he knew that she hadn't had a choice in anything. She wasn't completely innocent but at the same time she wasn't all guilty either. He could only hope that whenever things went to court, the punishment for her deeds wouldn't be as hard, if he was able to stop the Undertaking from happening.
When it was time, Oliver and Thea both went with their mother to the conference. Before she took her place at the podium, she embraced them both and Oliver couldn't help but hold on to her for a little longer, not knowing when he would be able to see her again, if he made it though everything that was about to happen.
"I am so, so proud of you, Oliver," his mother whispered in his ear before she pulled away from him and Oliver closed his eyes, as a single tear fell down his cheek.
-§-
"I have been a part of a conspiracy and lived in fear for so many years, that I can hardly remember a time in my life when I wasn't afraid for my life and the lives of my children. I am begging the police department to evacuate the people of the Glades in order to save as many lives as possible. There is an upcoming attack that will lay waste to that part of Starling City and the culprit behind the attack – the person who has been threatening me and my family for years – is Malcolm Merlyn."
Felicity watched the computer screen with Diggle and Tommy next to her. She could see the camera flashes going off and the press going wild and Oliver embracing a crying Thea as their mother was apprehended by the police. She could only imagine what they were going through and her heart ached for them both.
When her phone went off, she looked at it quickly, only to see a short text message from Oliver.
'Took Thea home. Call Roy. She needs to be safe.'
Felicity quickly called up the young wolf and told him what Oliver had instructed and Roy replied that he had seen Moira's confession on his TV at home and that he was already getting ready to head out to the Queen mansion. Felicity did the math in her mind and calculated the risks of them staying in the mansion, but her results told her that they would be safe there because the mansion was situated a bit further away from the city.
She could feel the anxiety coming off in waves from both Tommy and Diggle. It was only a matter of minutes until Oliver would be there and they set out to stop the Undertaking from happening. Felicity didn't know what she was going to say to him when she saw him, because she knew that he would be upset about his mother and angry about Malcolm. Then there was the whole Malcolm being Tommy's father. If they were forced to take down Malcolm in order to stop him, would Tommy hate them for the rest of his life?
The sound of the Foundry door opening snapped Felicity out of her thoughts. She turned her head in the direction of the door and looked at Oliver as he walked down the stairs, eyes downcast. Her stomach flipped and a lump formed in her throat when she saw the look of utter defeat and despair on his face when he was finally close enough for her to get a better look.
"Oliver, I'm sorry man," Tommy was the first one to speak, approaching his friend with some uncertainty that probably couldn't be detected by anyone but Felicity. "I didn't know about my father… I swear I didn't."
"It's not your fault," Oliver spoke, but there was something off about his voice. Felicity knew that he was trying to cover up just how devastated he was about his mother's fate, but she was also aware of the fact that there were other things they needed to focus on at the moment. Still, she couldn't just let Oliver hold on to everything like this on his own.
"Are you okay, Oliver?" she asked, despite knowing that it was a silly thing to question.
Oliver finally looked at her and she saw the pain flashing in his eyes. Even though she had told herself that she knew how to read him by now, the rawness and emotion managed to take her aback.
"I will be," Oliver said, "once we stop Malcolm."
His words hung between them for a moment as silence filled the lair. A minute later, Tommy spoke up once again. "I can try to go see my father," he said. "I can try to talk some sense into him."
"Your father is doing all of this because of what happened to your mother," Oliver told him. "He's still grieving and he thinks that by doing this, he'll be able to keep the rest of Starling City safe."
"Does it really matter? Why he's doing this, I mean," Tommy asked. "This attack that he has planned on the Glades won't only effect the Dark Ones, but it will be the cause of hundreds of innocent humans as well. We can't allow that to happen."
"And if your father doesn't cooperate?" Diggle asked, looking at Tommy. "What do we do then?"
Tommy breathed in deeply as he closed his eyes. "We do whatever is necessary to save this city," he said, his tone final.
Felicity shut her eyes as well, feeling the finality in Tommy's words. It seemed like they had the clear from him to do whatever they needed to stop Malcolm, but she couldn't say that she was looking forward to it. The tension was still thick in the lair and Felicity knew that she had to move things along. Moira's confession was bound to force Malcolm into retaliating, and if he really had everything figured out, there was no way for them to pinpoint exactly when the attack would occur.
"We're going to need to go over it all, one more time," Felicity said, gaining the attention of the other three men. "We have to talk about Malcolm's plan and we need to figure out where he has that device hidden. Then we have to call Lance and get him to help us, because we sure as hell won't be able to do this alone," she told them.
"You're right," Diggle said. "We need to focus on figuring this out, as soon as possible." He looked to Felicity again. "So, how does it start?"
Felicity ran her fingers through her ponytail, removing the fake glasses she had forgotten to take off completely since she'd gotten back from the office. "Well, from what Moira told me, the first part of the Undertaking is actually pretty simple," she began. "Malcolm plans to let out a high frequency signal, that only Dark Ones would be able to pick up on due to their enhanced hearing. The police force – which by the way is apparently way more corrupted than I previously thought – has been ordered to drive around the city and inject the Dark Ones that are effected by the sound with vervain and wolfsbane that he has supplied them with and then gather them in an abandoned factory in the middle of the Glades that used to belong to Merlyn Global."
"Did my mother tell you anything else about that part of the plan?" Oliver asked. "She didn't go into much detail during the broadcast."
Felicity shook her head, "She didn't know when Merlyn was going to execute the plan, but I'm guessing that it'll be sooner than planned considering that he has people after him now that your mother warned everyone to get out of there."
"Felicity is right," Diggle said. "Merlyn will most likely move his plan up now that everyone knows. What I don't get is how the police force can be willing to risk the lives of so many innocents."
"That's because they don't know the entire plan," Felicity explained. "Moira told me that Malcolm lied to the force about the second part of the plan. They think that he's just going to kill the Dark Ones in the old factory by burning it to the ground, but what he's really planning on doing, is leveling the Glades with an earthquake machine that his scientists have spent several years perfecting."
"He's going to create an earthquake?" Tommy asked, looking sick.
"Yes," Felicity nodded. "He wants to make sure that the Dark Ones who reside in the Glades – the ones responsible for your mother's death – will never be able to hurt another person in Starling City."
"This is all messed up," Tommy said, running his fingers through his hair. "He's going to get everyone killed. If the vibrations spread… I don't even want to think about it."
"Evacuations have begun," Diggle pointed out, looking at Felicity's computer screen where the news had been left running. They all turned their attention to where the screen was and watched as people were driving out of the Glades at a slow pace, being let through by the police one at a time.
"It's going too slow," Felicity murmured, eyes focused on the screen.
Suddenly, her ears began ringing and a stabbing pain began throbbing in her head. She winced, covering her ears, but a strangled cry left her as her knees buckled and she fell forward.
"Felicity!" Oliver shouted, dropping down next to her as she shook with the force of the pain. Her heart was pounding and her vision was getting blurry. Whenever she tried to open her eyes, the sound in her ears only seemed to get worse.
She felt strong arms wrap around her as someone pulled her into their chest. On an almost subconscious level, she recognized the scent to be Oliver's but everything around her was drowned out by the noise. She knew that she was screaming, but she couldn't stop herself. It felt as if someone was stabbing her head, over and over again with a toothpick and she felt something warm and wet slide down the sides of her face and from her nose.
'Just let her go… You'll see. Let her do what she wants…'
"Make it stop, make it stop!" Felicity screamed, over and over again, eyes still squeezed shut. It felt like it had gone on for hours when the throbbing pain turned into a dull ache and the sound finally stopped. She couldn't breathe and she felt as if someone had just squeezed her heart until it stopped beating altogether.
"Oliver, you have to move," she heard someone – Diggle – say, just as she was lifted up from the ground. Her eyes were still closed because she feared that the pain would return if she opened them.
'You'll see.'
-§-
Oliver felt Tommy tugging him back and away from Felicity's body as Diggle lifted her up into his arms and effortlessly carried her to the medical table.
"Make it stop, please… Please, make it stop," Felicity continued to chant, her body twisting from side to side, clearly still in pain.
Oliver pulled himself free from Tommy and ran over to her side, clasping her hand in his immediately. "Felicity, you're okay," he tried, knowing that it wasn't going to help. She wasn't screaming anymore, but it was obvious she was still hurting. "It's over. You're going to be all right."
"What happened?" Tommy asked, coming to stand next to Diggle, opposite Oliver.
"That was most likely that signal that your father planned on sending out," Diggle stated. "Felicity was right about him moving things along faster than planned now that he has been exposed."
"Shit," Tommy cursed. "That was terrifying." He looked down at Felicity, who was still moaning in pain, tears streaming down her face and blood dripping from her nose.
Oliver moved his finger to the side of her head, where Felicity's claws had apparently dug into her skin, drawing blood as she'd tried to stop the noise that they hadn't been able to hear. He swallowed thickly when he saw the look of pain still on her face. "Felicity, please," he pleaded and all of the sudden, Felicity gasped, jumping up as her body began shaking violently, eyes turning yellow.
"We have to restrain her!" Diggle yelled, already running for the chains that Felicity had used when she had turned in front of Roy. As quickly as they could, Diggle and Tommy wrapped the chains around her body and the table while Oliver held her down. He hated that he was doing this to her, but the sound had obviously triggered her turn and there was no way that she was going to be in control after losing it like this.
Minutes that felt like hours passed and finally, Felicity's body went slack on the table. Oliver looked at her again before glancing up at Diggle and Tommy. They were looking just as guilty as Oliver felt and a part of him was glad that he wasn't the only one. Hopefully, Felicity wouldn't be mad at them for doing this to her, because they hadn't had another choice.
Oliver couldn't help himself when he reached over and brushed his fingers against her cheek. The panic was still coursing through him, even though Felicity had clearly settled down for a moment and wasn't spontaneously turning into a wolf. He leaned a little closer to her ear, resting his forehead against the side of her head, feeling her blood being smeared across his forehead.
"Felicity..." he breathed out in a whisper, so low that he knew that neither Tommy nor Diggle were able to hear him. He pulled back only slightly when he noticed the change in Felicity's breathing and saw that her eyes were slowly fluttering open. Her eyes opened slowly and Oliver instantly pulled away from her, wiping his forehead to remove her blood from his skin. "Get her out of the restraints," he told Diggle and Tommy as he got her a blanket and a wet cloth to clean her skin.
When he returned to them, Felicity was sitting up, looking as if she might be sick at any moment, but it didn't stop Oliver from wrapping the blanket around her body. As soon as he was close enough, Felicity's head dropped to the middle of his chest and Oliver didn't hesitate to hold her close to him, ignoring the fact that she was getting more blood on his shirt.
Felicity shivered against him and he held her a little tighter, knowing without a doubt that this was exactly what she needed in this moment. Soon though, he knew that they would have to pull apart because he needed to let Diggle check on her before they headed out. They needed to find Merlyn before it was too late and they needed to force him to tell them where he had planted his earthquake device. After a moment, Oliver pulled away from Felicity, brushing his fingers against her cheek again as he looked into her eyes, silently checking for himself that she really was all right. He could tell that she still wasn't completely fine, because there were tears in her eyes and her hands were still shaking where they were clutching his shirt. He bent down and pressed his lips to her forehead and Felicity exhaled, her warm breath hitting his chest just before he forced himself to pull away from her.
"We need to get Merlyn," he told her and she nodded back to him. Oliver turned to look at Diggle and Tommy. "Are you with me?" he asked them.
"I'm with you," Diggle said, no hesitation in his voice. "You're my brother. Until the very end."
Oliver nodded toward him before turning to Tommy, who also bowed his head in a curt nod. "Of course I'm with you," Tommy said. "I want to be there when you find my father. I have a few words I need to exchange with him."
"Okay," Oliver agreed before turning back to Felicity. "I want you to leave."
Felicity frowned, "What?"
"I don't want you down here," Oliver explained. "Verdant is ground zero of we fail to stop the earthquake machine and I don't want you to risk your life by staying here."
"I am notleaving, Oliver," Felicity said, her voice stern as she took a step toward him.
"The signal weakened you, Felicity," Oliver pointed out. "I can't be out there knowing that you're not okay down here."
"Weakened or not, I am not leaving," Felicity repeated. "I'm better already and I will not leave while you're out there. We're supposed to be a team and I will not leave you."
Oliver didn't know whether it was her confidence that made him do it, but before he had a chance to register what he was doing, he stepped up close to her again. His one hand fell on her neck, fingers tangling in her hair as his other hand settled on her waist, gripping the blanket she was still wrapped up in. Felicity's eyes widened when he pulled her closer to him, her chest pressing against his as he just stopped, looking deep into her eyes once more. He could feel her heart hammering away in her chest and he was pretty sure that she could feel his as it threatened to jump out of his own. His hand that had been on her waist trailed upwards and he cupped her cheeks with both of his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes as he stared at her intently.
Oliver swallowed thickly, knowing that he wanted nothing more in that moment than to kiss her. He wanted to feel her lips against his because he didn't know what would happen tonight and he didn't know whether either one of them would make it out alive. The look she was giving him, told him that something was changing inside of her too. He didn't doubt that she could sense what he wanted – whether it was because she felt the same or because of her heightened hybrid senses, he didn't know for sure – but something in her eyes told him that she wanted him to close that gap between them and just crush his lips to hers.
He couldn't though.
He couldn't do that to them. He didn't want to reduce this thing that had been built up between them – this emotion – to something as simple as a goodbye kiss. He knew that if he made it out alive tonight, he would regret it forever if Felicity thought that he had just kissed her because he thought that he wouldn't return. If it was meant to happen, it would and he didn't want to rush into things just because he might not be alive tomorrow. Oliver knew, deep in his heart that they would see each other again and then, whenever things between them progressed, it would be because they both wanted it, not because they were afraid that they wouldn't get another chance to do it.
He brushed Felicity's cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, his eyes flickering down to her lips when they parted slightly. He forced himself to look back up into her eyes because he needed to see that he wasn't just imagining things between them. It had taken him so long to admit to himself that Felicity was no longer just a hybrid to him, but also someone he cared about deeply. He couldn't imagine his life without her and he knew that that feeling had just grown stronger over the months that they had been partners. He cared about her more than ever and he wasn't willing to lose her and what they had.
"I will see you when all of this is over," he told her, his voice low but sure.
Slowly, Felicity nodded back to him. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers and Felicity's small hands lifted to cup his cheeks as well, mirroring his touch. Oliver closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose, wanting to remember this moment forever.
"I will see you again," Felicity said, her voice just as quiet as his and Oliver knew that whenever he came back for her, things were going to change between them forever.
-§-
When Oliver, Tommy and Diggle left, Felicity sat down by her computer. She rested her elbows on the desk and buried her face in her hands, knowing that she needed to get a grip on herself before she could do anything else.
The signal that Merlyn had sent out had weakened her far more than she had expected. She hadn't been ready for it and the pain had been excruciating, worse than any turn that she had ever lived through. Breathing through her nose, she tried to calm her rapid heartbeat, knowing that it wouldn't do her any good to think about it now. Her mind felt a little foggy, still, and she couldn't quite put her finger on why she was feeling as if she had missed something major.
A part of her wondered though, whether the reason that her heart was beating so quickly wasn't just because of that signal. That small part wondered if it wasn't also because of Oliver's actions right before he had left the lair with Tommy and Diggle.
Felicity had been so sure that it was going to happen; that Oliver going to finally break this unbelievable tension between them and just kiss her. It didn't happen and Felicity would be lying if she told anyone that she wasn't disappointed, but at the same time, she knew that if he had kissed her, she would never have been able to just let go of him. She would have gone out there with him into battle, despite knowing that they needed her in the Foundry. Her job tonight was going to be to contact Detective Lance and try to get him to help find the earthquake device and disarm it before Merlyn was able to activate it. It was their only hope to save the Glades and the innocent humans that resided there. The Dark Ones that hid there would be spared tonight and Felicity knew that they would be something that would need taking care of at some other point. For now, the only thing that they needed to focus on was finding that device and stopping Malcolm Merlyn.
Felicity sent a text message to Roy, asking him if he was all right or not. He responded with a short text that he was fine and that Thea was asleep and Felicity wondered to herself whether Malcolm's signal had only been meant for the Glades, like the device. Considering the pain that she had been in, it was difficult to imagine there being a place where the signal hadn't gotten through, but she supposed she might have just been one of the unlucky ones that had been effected because she had been in the targeted zone.
Pulling herself together and forcing herself out of those thoughts, Felicity put on her head-set as she began typing on the computer.
"Hello?" Lance's voice sounded in her ear after a couple of seconds and Felicity inhaled deeply. "Who is this?"
"Detective Lance," Felicity said. "My name is Felicity Smoak. We've met before, but this is an urgent matter so I'm going to have to be quick."
"Felicity Smoak? Queen's girlfriend?" Lance asked and Felicity ignored the way that her stomach fluttered at that.
"His Executive Assistant," Felicity corrected. "But does it really matter?"
"Unless you're going to get to the point, Ms. Smoak, I'm going to have to hang up on you. In case you missed it, there's a big evacuation happening and being a part of the police force, I'm in the middle of it." Lance sounded impatient and Felicity knew that she needed to get through to him quickly.
"I work with the Arrow," Felicity blurted, "and I'm going to need you to trust me tonight if we're going to try to save the city."
With the way that Lance paused, Felicity instantly knew that she had gotten his interest.
-§-
Oliver stood with Tommy and Diggle on either side of him, looking at the man that had been a friend to his family since he had been a child. Felicity had pinged the location of Malcolm's cell-phone and given them the directions to follow it after she had gotten a hold of Detective Lance and even though it was a wild shot, something had told Oliver that Malcolm wanted him to find him tonight.
They stood on top of Merlyn Global, facing Malcolm who was dressed in his Dark Archer suit, watching them with something that could only be interpreted as an amused face.
"So you found me," the man said, sounding nothing like the man that Oliver had known when growing up. "Can't say that I'm surprised that you brought back-up with you this time around, considering how things went the last time we fought. I just didn't expect you to bring my son with you."
"I'm no son of yours," Tommy spat.
Malcolm tilted his head, watching him, clearly amused. "You're right, Tommy," he said. "Your father died the day that your mother was murdered by those monsters."
"You don't have to do this, Malcolm," Oliver said, speaking through the voice-modulator. "You can still stop this from happening."
"There is no stopping this," Malcolm hissed, eyes wild. "This city is crumbling and the Dark Ones are going to take over everything if we don't stop them now! The Glades is only the first step before we clean out the entire city and then, slowly bur surely, we'll save the entire world!"
"Are you even hearing yourself right now?" Tommy asked. "You're willing to kill innocent humans in order to get rid of the Nightcrawlers. You're insane if you think that all of this is going to work!"
"It's a small price to pay…" Merlyn trailed off, fingers tightening on his black bow.
Oliver saw him move and quickly ducked down, reaching into his own quiver, nocking an arrow, "Watch out!"
Tommy ducked away from the arrow that his father sent flying toward him and Oliver released his own arrow, stopping the next one that Malcolm had fired in his direction. Diggle began shooting toward Merlyn, trying to hit him in places that would disarm him, but Merlyn only charged at Oliver, firing arrow after arrow his way.
Before Oliver knew it, he was yelling at Tommy to stay away and he and Diggle were both engaged in a three-way battle with Malcolm. The punches kept coming and Oliver kept trying to dodge them all. He managed to get in a good hit on Malcolm, but the older man was trained well and retaliated with techniques that Oliver had only seen once or twice in all of his years. They made his moves difficult to predict and Oliver feared that even though he had Diggle with him, they wouldn't be able to get to Malcolm.
"Ah!" Diggle screamed when Malcolm managed to knock him over his head with his bow and Oliver bristled in anger when he saw his friend double over. With a kick to Diggle's stomach, Malcolm got the upper hand on him and kicked him again, making Diggle to roll over, looking as if he wasn't going to get up any time soon. Oliver couldn't look toward Diggle though, because he knew that he needed to beat Malcolm. Somewhere in his peripheral view he saw Tommy running up to Diggle and it was enough for Oliver's brain to register that his partner would be taken care of for now. Instead, he put all his focus on Malcolm.
Malcolm swung his bow toward Oliver's face and Oliver leaned back, just barely dodging it as he sent another punch toward Malcolm. The older man blocked him, hooking his bow around Oliver's neck to bring his face closer as he headbutted him. Oliver's head exploded in pain and he felt warm blood spill from his nose, but he kept going. He managed to land a punch on Malcolm's side, just under his jaw. Malcolm stumbled back, but didn't stop his attacks either. Oliver ducked again, just barely getting out of the way of an arrow that whizzed past him, but the arrow nicked his cheek and caught on his hood, pulling it back.
For a moment, Malcolm paused, his eyes widening as he took in Oliver's face. It just then occurred to Oliver that Malcolm hadn't been aware of the fact that Oliver was the hunter of Starling City and he wondered for a mere second if that was going to make a difference tonight.
"Well, if it isn't little Ollie Queen," Malcolm said, sounding amazed this time. "I sure did not expect that one, but I guess it all makes sense now."
Oliver turned off the voice-modulator, "Does this change anything?"
"No," Malcolm told him bluntly, "but I would like to ask you one, tiny little question though."
"What?" Oliver spat, glaring at him.
Malcolm smirked, "Did you know about that little bitch you pranced around with at all those fundraisers? Did you know that she's a hybrid or did she somehow manage to fool you into believing that she's a good little monster?"
"She isn't like that!" Oliver bristled, wanting to kill the man for just speaking about Felicity in that way. "She isn't like them!"
"That's what she made you believe!" Malcolm yelled back at him. "They're all the same! She's going to show her true face soon enough and she's going to stab you in the back!"
"She's already shown me who she is," Oliver told him. "Nothing you'll say here tonight will change how I feel about her."
At his words, Malcolm's eyes lit up. "How you feel about her?" he mocked. "Don't tell me that you've gone and caught yourself some feelings for the monster. This is just pathetic, Oliver. I knew that your father was weak and didn't have it in him to do what was necessary, but I thought that with what you've been doing for the past two years, you might be different. Apparently I was wrong because the apple clearly doesn't fall far from the tree. That's why you're going to be the one to die tonight, just like your father died seven years ago, and I'm still here standing."
Oliver charged so quickly that he caught even Malcolm by surprise. He knocked the man over and began punching him, over and over again, feeling as blood began seeping through his leather gloves where his skin was breaking on his knuckled. Malcolm managed to lift his arm though and deliver a swift punch to the side of Oliver's neck, knocking him to the side, once again getting the upper hand. Oliver let out a strangled sound when Merlyn lifted one of his black arrows over his head while holding Oliver down on the ground with a grip to his throat that felt as if it was crushing his windpipes.
"I'm sorry that it had to come to this," Malcolm said as he stabbed him once, straight through the shoulder before pulling the arrow out again, readying for another strike as Oliver tried to scream in pain. "You should know that I always cared about you, as if you were my own."
Oliver knew it was over then. There was nothing he could do. His body was tired and he could barely breathe. Malcolm was suffocating him and had the upper hand and he was going to kill him with a single strike when he pierced his heart with that arrow. Oliver's mind traveled to his mother and Thea as he closed his eyes, and he remembered his father's final moments. The last thing though, that crossed his mind before he stopped struggling, was Felicity's baby blue eyes, shifting to that golden hue that he had been falling in love with.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out and for a moment, everything stopped. Oliver opened his eyes and looked up at Malcolm, who was staring straight ahead, eyes widened. A second or two passed until the man finally toppled over, off of Oliver who gasped for air when his lungs were finally allowed the oxygen they craved.
Oliver stared up at the night sky finally being able to catch his breath, ignoring the pain that radiated from his shoulder and he pressed his gloved hand to it as he pushed himself into a sitting position, looking at Malcolm, who was laying on the ground next to him, pain etched across his face.
"It's over," Tommy spoke, walking toward Oliver, helping him up from the ground. Oliver felt his blood seep through his undershirt, but he knew he would be fine. It had been a clean strike, through and through and he had dealt with worse when he had been on Lian Yu. Oliver looked down and saw Diggle's gun in Tommy's hand, realizing then that Tommy had shot his own father in order to save Oliver's life.
"Lance found the device, guys," Felicity's voice sounded in their ears through the comm-link. "It's been disabled."
Oliver looked down toward Malcolm, who was still breathing heavily after having been shot in the back. There was blood pooling around him, but it would take some time for him to bleed out.
"It's over, Malcolm," he told him. "The device has been disarmed. Your plan failed."
An eerie smirk covered Malcolm's face as he stared straight up in the sky. "If there's one thing I've learned as a successful businessman," he gasped, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, "it's redundancy." Malcolm coughed again, his body shaking with the strength of it before he finally went still and stopped breathing, that smile still on his face.
Oliver let his words sink in for a moment before they connected and started making sense. "Felicity," he spoke into the comm-link. "There's another device somewhere. There were two of them!"
"Oh my God," Felicity said. "We're not going to make it, Oliver. There's no way we can find that other device and disarm it in time!"
"Get out of Verdant, Felicity!" Oliver yelled, fear gripping him.
"Lance is telling me that Laurel is still at the CNRI," Felicity said. "He's on his way there to try and get her out."
"Are you listening to me?" Oliver growled at her. "I am telling you to get the fuck out of there and get as far away from the Glades as possible!"
"I have to get Laurel," Tommy said from beside him, still trying to hold him up. Oliver noticed that his friend was looking at the body of his dead father – the one he had killed – and his hands were still shaking. "I can't leave her there because she doesn't know about the devices!" Tommy said, just as the ground began vibrating.
"Oliver, Tommy!" Diggle called out from the other side of the roof and they both turned around and watched in horror as buildings across the city began collapsing. The air filled with screams and chaos, sirens and crashes and there was nothing they could do but watch.
"Felicity!"
"Oliver, I'm fine! The quake isn't as strong as it would have been if Lance hadn't gotten one of the devices disarmed."
"I'm only going to say this one more time: Get out of there!" Oliver screamed at her through the comm-link.
"I'm telling you that I'm fine–"
The line was cut off and Oliver turned to Tommy and Diggle immediately. "You guys get Laurel," he told them and they nodded. "Will you be okay?" he asked Diggle, who once again replied with a short nod.
"I've been injured worse in the army," his friend said.
"Okay," Oliver said. "Let's go, we can't waste any time. Things are probably bad out there."
"What are you going to do?" Tommy asked. "What are we going to do with the body?"
"The authorities will deal with it," Oliver replied. "We have more important things on our hands right now." They hurried down the stairs as quickly as they could and Tommy and Diggle got into Diggle's van. Oliver reached his motorcycle and got on it.
"And where will you be going?" Tommy asked again through the window.
"I'm going to get Felicity," Oliver answered as he put on his helmet and revved the engine, speeding off into the night.
-§-
From the outside, Verdant didn't look much different.
Felicity had told him that the quake wasn't as violent as it would have been if one of the devices hadn't been deactivated, but from what he had seen of the Glades, he knew that enough damage had been done. Even though Verdant looked untouched, Oliver didn't know what he would find when he entered the Foundry. Felicity's link to the comm had been disconnected suddenly and Oliver feared that something had happened to him, but he hoped for all he was worth that she wasn't injured.
"Felicity?" Oliver yelled when he finally got the door to the lair opened and hurried down the stairs. The place was in chaos, with shelves knocked over and shattered glass all over the floor. Some of Felicity's computers had fallen over and been smashed against the floor as well, smoke coming out of them, but Felicity was nowhere in sight.
"Felicity!" Oliver screamed again, looking around frantically for her as he stepped over some shelves that had fallen down.
"Oliver…"
"Felicity?" he turned in the direction of her weak voice and walked in hurried steps. He didn't spot her until he saw the blood on the floor and followed the trail where she had crawled away from the rubble. He found her laying on the floor behind the med-bay that had fallen over, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her shirt ripped, with pieces of white wood sticking out of her stomach. Oliver knelt down next to her, his hands hovering over her belly.
"What happened?" he asked, surprised by his own calm considering how his heart was hammering away in his chest and panic was flooding through his veins.
"It was stupid, really," Felicity gasped, wincing when Oliver slowly pulled one of the wooden pieces out. "One of my own weapons… Who would have thought that the shelf would fall and one of the stake-bombs would detonate?" She sounded as if she was joking and Oliver wanted to scream at her for doing so. How could she joke when he was having an internal panic attack?
"I need to get these pieces of wood out of you," he said as he removed another small piece.
"I couldn't do it myself," Felicity breathed out. "I-I got some of the bigger ones out, but the small ones are a bitch. My fingers were too slippery."
Oliver glanced down at her blood covered hands and swallowed thickly, moving his eyes back to meet hers. He worked as quickly as he could, ignoring the way her pained cries felt like punches to his gut every time they escaped her mouth.
"Tommy's dad?" Felicity asked, clearly trying to distract herself.
"Dead," Oliver replied.
"Did you…?"
"Tommy did."
"Oh."
Oliver finally pulled out the final piece and Felicity coughed, wincing when her body shook.
"Next time I tell you to get out, you get out," Oliver told her.
"I said that I wouldn't leave, and you were still out there," Felicity replied, as if that justified everything. Oliver wanted to shake her and yell at her for risking her life like this, because damn it, if one of those wooden pieces had lodged themselves into her heart, he would have lost her forever. Instead, he remained quiet and reached for her hand. His gloves were soaked with her blood but he removed them quickly because he knew that he needed to feel her skin against his. Taking her hand, he closed his eyes for a moment and lowered his head to her shoulder. Felicity laid completely still and then squeezed his fingers.
"Take me home," she whispered. "I'm going to be okay. We'll both be okay… Just, take me home."
Oliver remembered how she had asked him to take her home once before. That time all those weeks ago when she had forced herself to turn into a wolf so that Roy would see what it would take to be one. That night he had brought her back here to the Foundry, but now, he understood what she had meant back then too.
He was supposed to take her home – to his home. That was where she belonged and that was where he wanted her, if not forever, then at least for tonight. Somehow, he got the strength to stand up and ignoring the pain in his shoulder and his still bleeding wounds, he lifted Felicity up into his arms and carried her out of the chaos.
-§-
Oliver didn't really know how he managed to get them both back to the Queen mansion and sneak them in without Roy and Thea actually hearing them. They got in through the backdoor and then he carried Felicity up the stairs, all still in his arrow suit. He prayed that neither Thea nor Roy would wake up and see them like this; all bloodied up, injured and him in his suit. It would be way too complicated to explain and Oliver really didn't feel up for it at all. Miraculously enough, he managed to get them upstairs without much noise and into his own room. There was no way in hell that he was going to take his eyes off of Felicity tonight. After everything that had happened, he wanted to have her close to him.
He placed Felicity on his bed, despite her protest of getting blood all over the sheets and then walked to his door and turned the lock. His phone rang and Oliver looked at the text message that Diggle had sent him. Tommy, Laurel and Lance were fine and Malcolm's body had been taken into police custody. Laurel and Tommy were going to spend the night at Lance's place and Diggle was heading home. He was dead and the Undertaking was over. There had been casualties, but there were no numbers released yet, though Oliver knew that there was nothing more that he could have done tonight, even if he had stayed. Oliver texted Diggle back and told him that Felicity was okay and that she would be spending the night at the mansion with him and after that, he turned his phone off, not wanting to get any alerts in the morning because he knew that there would be enough to deal with then.
He shared the information with Felicity before he walked over to his dresser and pulled out some sweatpants for himself, two clean shirts and two pairs of boxers. Walking over to Felicity, where she sat on the corner of his bed, he offered her one of the shirt and the boxers, ignoring the way that his own face heated up slightly.
"You should get changed," he told her softly as she took the clothes he was offering her. "I would get you something to wear from Thea, but I don't want to wake her up."
"It's okay," Felicity said.
"I'll change in the other room and give you some privacy," he said, turning around and walking to the other room that she had slept in that one time that she had spent the night here at the mansion. Oliver winced when he tried to remove the hood and his undershirt, his injury finally making itself known in full force when his body had begun relaxing. The material was sticking to his skin and he couldn't help but release a small hiss as he shut his eyes tightly due to the stinging.
"What happened?" he heard Felicity ask behind him and he turned around to see her standing in the doorway, seeming to wear nothing but the clothes that he had provided her with.
"Malcolm stabbed me," he stated when she walked toward him, clearly having gotten some of her strength back when she helped him remove the hood and the shirt. Oliver ignored the way that goosebumps covered his skin when her fingers moved across the wound that had stopped bleeding, but hadn't been taken care of at all. He would probably need stitches, he figured, though he couldn't move his eyes away from Felicity's face as she took him in.
"Oliver," Felicity said, skimming her fingers over his chest, only to rest her palm flat against his heart. "I can help."
He knew what she meant because she had offered it to him before. The thought of drinking her blood – any blood, really – had always disgusted him because in his mind, it was something that only monsters did. Since then, things between them had changed though and a part of him couldn't help but wonder, what it would be like to share something like that with Felicity.
"I don't know what you want me to say," he finally said, meeting her eyes. "You know how I feel about that…"
"I know, but it'll heal your wound," she told him. "You won't be in pain anymore. I don't want you to be in pain, Oliver."
The way she said it, so earnestly almost made him shiver. He covered her hand where it rested over his heart. "What about you?" he wondered. "I don't want you to be in pain either."
Felicity only stared at him and he wondered briefly if she understood what he was telling her. Hell, he didn't really know if he himself knew just what it was that he had suggested to her. He watched her swallow and her hand trailed down, to the hem of his pants. The world seemed to stop spinning, but only for a moment because Felicity spoke and interrupted his brain from reaching those impure thoughts of his.
"You need to change you pants," she said. "But leave your shirt off."
Then she just took a small step back and looked at him expectantly. Oliver stood there for a second before he finally unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off, without a struggle. Perhaps it was once again his adrenaline making it easier but Felicity's suggestion had without a doubt made him feel like he was high on some kind of hormone and he honestly couldn't wait to see where this would go. He knew what to expect, but at the same time, it was all so new and Felicity had a way of throwing curve balls his way. He pulled on the sweatpants and then picked up the leather pants, looking at Felicity again. She reached her hand out and laced their fingers together before she pulled them toward his room again. Once they were inside, he dropped the dirty clothes on the floor and Felicity locked the second door behind them, pulling him with her to his bed.
She climbed on top of it and tugged on his hand, showing him that she wanted him to sit with his back toward the headboard. Oliver swallowed thickly, but wordlessly followed her silent order, never once letting go of her hand. Felicity seemed to hesitate when she let go of her grip on him and walked across the room to where he had discarded his quiver and she took out one of his arrows before walking back to the bed and getting on top of it again.
She made her way over to him and he couldn't help but watch the creamy skin of her legs and the way that her hair fell, framing her face. Her baby blue eyes were piercing and Oliver failed to stop a shudder from wracking his body when she swung one of her legs over his body and straddled his waist. His eyes widened and met hers when he placed his hands on her hips, the material of the shirt she was wearing bunching up slightly to reveal the boxer briefs that she had put on.
"How do we do this?" Oliver asked, his voice hoarse.
"I cut myself a little," Felicity explained. "And then… Well, I think you'll get the hang of it anyway."
"And you just… bite?" he wondered, searching her eyes.
Felicity nodded slowly. "I've never done this before," she admitted. "Shared blood with someone."
"You've never…?" Oliver trailed off, his grip on her hips tightening somewhat. It made him feel good that no one had ever done that with her. He was the only one and the possessive part of him wanted to be her first in this and also her last. But she wasn't his to control and he knew that the thought was wrong, as soon as it had crossed his mind. Felicity stood for freedom and everyone's right to choose. It would go against everything she believed in for him to just say that he wanted her to belong to him.
"Do you want to begin?" she asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Can't we do it at the same time?" he frowned at her.
"I suppose we can," she shrugged, moving a little closer to him so that her chest was pressed against his. He could feel the heat of her body through the thin material of the shirt, the softness of her breasts against his hard chest. "I'll just make the cut," she said, lifting the arrow to the side of her neck. She must have seen the silent question in his eyes when he saw which place she had picked and she quickly explained herself. "It's the easiest place to access the blood." He nodded and she offered him a small smile back. "If it becomes too much, just pull away and I'll stop… I promise."
"Okay," he said. "I trust you."
Oliver watched as Felicity pressed the head of the arrow against her skin, breaking it. A small drop of blood trickled down her skin, toward the shirt she was wearing and Oliver didn't know what it was that came over him, but he leaned down and licked it off her skin without thinking. Felicity gasped against him, dropping the arrow as she gripped his shoulders. The coppery taste wasn't unfamiliar in his mouth because he had injured himself too many times to count, but there was something under the metallic taste as well… Something almost sweet.
Oliver moved his lips over Felicity's skin, across her shoulders until he finally reached the small wound that she had made, his lips latching onto it as he sucked. Felicity's fingers grasped his short hair and he felt her lean down to press her forehead against his pulse point for a moment, allowing him to take in her blood and just get a hang of it. He felt her nuzzle her nose against him, her hot breath fanning across his neck, making the hairs stand on his arms. The familiar feeling of something sharp crazing his skin caused him to tense, but only for a moment before he remembered what it was that they were doing.
When Felicity's fangs finally pierced his skin, he didn't even feel any pain. Instead, the taste of her blood in his mouth only seemed to intensify and he felt as if his body was floating. He could feel blood rushing to the place in his neck where Felicity was suckling softly, and he closed his eyes, letting out a moan against her skin.
Everything was so intense. It felt as if they had melted together and he could sense everything that she was feeling too. Pain, pleasure, relief and lust, all mixed together, but still not being the dominating emotion. Oliver felt as if he could see right into Felicity's mind as images of the night flashed before his eyes. He could feel the pain when she had been injured, the panic when she had learned that there was more than one device and the fear that had gripped her when she had thought that she might lose him. His mind was foggy and for some reason, it only made him suck harder against her skin, his tongue darting out as he licked at the wound.
When Felicity rocked against him – he wasn't sure if she had meant to, or if it had been a natural reaction – Oliver suddenly realized just how much the blood sharing was effecting him. His boxers felt a lot tighter and there was no mistaking the bulge in his pants that Felicity rubbed herself against. He needed to stop, but he wanted to continue. His hands found their way under her shirt, his rough fingers brushing against her sides before reaching upwards, just barely touching the underside of her breasts. Felicity groaned against him and once again rocked herself against the hardness in his sweatpants and he could swear that heat was radiating from every piece of her body.
"Felicity," he moaned against her skin, trailing soft kisses against her throat when he finally stopped sucking on her wound. He opened his eyes and glanced down at the cut, watching amazed as the cut healed in front of his eyes. Removing one of his hands from under her shirt, he tangled his fingers into her hair and pulled at it a little to tilt her head back before once again attaching his lips to her throat, pressing a soft kiss there.
"Oliver," Felicity whispered, pulling her head back slightly and when she opened her eyes, Oliver was finally able to take her all in.
She was beautiful.
Her eyes were glowing golden and her fangs were still extracted, his blood coating the tips of them. With rosy cheeks and a rapid breath, she met his gaze and Oliver continued to watch her as her face slowly changed back, the black veins that had been surrounding her eyes disappearing as her irises turned blue and her fangs changed back to normal human teeth. Oliver couldn't help but reach up with both hands and brush his thumbs against her cheeks again, much like he had done in the Foundry before he had left her there. Felicity clasped her fingers around his wrists, closing her eyes for only a second as she leaned her forehead against his.
"I thought I would never see you again," she admitted silently.
"I promised that we would see each other again," Oliver reminded her. "I promised that I would be back."
"I'm glad you're here," Felicity said. "I'm glad that you brought me here with you."
"I want you to be here," Oliver told her, pulling away so that he could press his lips against her forehead. "Stay here with me tonight. Sleep here."
"Okay… Okay," Felicity nodded against him, looking down at the side of his neck. "The wound has healed," she told him and then pressed her hand against the place where Malcolm had stabbed him. "This too," she said.
"What about you?" Oliver wondered. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes," Felicity nodded, pressing her lips to the side of his neck again where she had previously bitten him. "I'm feeling much better."
Oliver could feel himself twitching in his pants and he knew that he needed to get some control over the situation before he took things too far. His mind was still a little foggy and he couldn't believe that things had turned out the way that they had.
He had shared blood with Felicity and he felt alive for the first time in forever. He felt as if he could do anything, but at the same time, he was very, very tired.
"We should get some sleep," Oliver told her.
"We should," Felicity agreed.
Oliver couldn't help but notice the reluctance in her eyes when she got off of him and laid down on the bed next to him. He kind of hated the fact that neither of them chose to acknowledge just how intimate the share had been, but he supposed they could talk about that tomorrow. Oliver pulled the comforter from under Felicity and got himself under the covers as well. He didn't think twice about wrapping his body around hers, still painfully hard in his pants, but Felicity didn't seem to mind at all when she wiggled back against him. Oliver wrapped his arm around her body and Felicity rested her head against his other arm and she took a hold of his hand, lacing their fingers together once more. He lifted himself up enough so that he could lean down and press his lips against her cheek one more time, though he couldn't help but be a little startled when Felicity turned her head and kissed the corner of his mouth, just barely missing his lips. He tightened his grip on her and she offered him a small smile and nothing else.
"I have to talk to you about something tomorrow," Felicity whispered tiredly.
"Tomorrow," Oliver agreed, pressing his nose against her hair, breathing in her scent as sleep finally took over.
Note: Sorry for any spelling mistakes! I didn't have time to read through it because I wanted to get it out there ASAP! Once again, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year and don't forget to drop a comment and tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and for all the wonderful support I've gotten from you guys. I would be nowhere without you!
Much love,
Spicy xx
