Where do my Demons Hide?

Felicity did not know how many times she was injected with Mirakuru, two or ten she did not have an idea. All she could feel was the pain that she felt each time Slade injured her, broke her bones and left her body to burn as the vile drug ran through her veins but she did not give up. She could feel the drug having an effect on her thoughts and her memories of the people who mattered. Felicity was having trouble differentiating between reality and hallucination as time passed on. But one thought remained as clear as day, she was the cure to all this madness and suffering and she needed to take the person behind all of this down before she went under. When Slade came out of the menacing shadows again, Felicity kept on a look a of rage hoping and praying that he believed she was long far gone and had turned into a monster like him.

"Felicity, can you feel it coursing through your vein? Can you feel the rage? You need to channel the anger against Oliver Queen. He betrayed you and left you for dead. He left you at my mercy after all that you had done for him. He broke your trust and the promise to protect you so you need to fight. You need to show him that you are not to be taken for granted."

Slade stared into Felicity's eyes so she gnarled the best she could as she mimicked his words and repeated that she needed to release her rage on Oliver. Felicity never received the best actor award for her background performances in school plays, dis she mention background? So you know the reason why the awards never came pouring in but her undercover stint with Oliver always had wondering that maybe she could pull it off even though Felicity's world consisted only of numbers and algorithms, not lies and deciet; she was the IT girl for goodness sake; she still went ahead to render herself as a mirakuru-induced-meat bag as Slade wanted. And to her utter surprise Slade fell for her act. He gave her one last glance and unlocked her iron cufflinks. He helped her stand up from the chair; Felicity tried her hardest not to flinch at his touch; and leaning her weight against him walked her out of her dungeon with unsteady steps.

Oliver Queen knew that the Felicity Smoak he loves is brave beyond his imagination, one who did not know how to give up but as the hours ticked by and Felicity was missing for more than eighteen hours, Oliver's gut twisted into a knot which could not be undone. He knew that Felicity will stay alive no matter the circumstances but he also knew that Slade Wilson was as fierce as his name Deathstroke who could even bring men like him down to his knees. Oliver was growing restless by the hour and when their frantic search through the CCTV's yeilded no clue he became furious. He had to come with another way but his thoughts were slowly slipping into despair. And that's how Oliver found himself staring into the void with Felicity's phone clutched into her hand.

"Oliver, we are going to get her back; man. No matter what."

"Digg, she might be hurt. What if we are too late? All of this is happening because of me. She is in danger because of me. What will I do if I never get to see her again?"

"You can't think like that, Oliver. Slade and some of his are still out there so the fight is not yet over. I will call Sarah. Right now, we need all the help we can get."

Oliver nodded his head shut his eyes. He had to get those thoughts out of his head; Felicity would never blame him for anything. It's time he stopped blaming himself too, for her sake. Oliver began the tedious search again when Felicity's phone buzzed. It was Detective Lance.

"Hello, Detective."

"I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done. Is Miss. Smoak around? When I had spoken to her last, she sounded tense. I just wanted to make sure that she is okay."

Oliver hesitated. He knew the news regarding Felicity was not going to go down well with Detective Lance but as Digg had suggested they needed all the help they could get.

"Felicity is with Slade. Slade has her."

Oliver could hear Lance suck in a breath and forget to let it out. After a few minutes, when he spoke his voice was a mixture of emotions ranging from concern to anger.

"How long has she been gone?"

"Near to eighteen hours now."

"Do you have any leads?"

"No, we are running facial recognition but without Felicity this has been going slow."

"I trusted you to take care of her. She was the only thing in that team which was pure and now she is out there at the mercy of a madman. And you did not even tell me that she has been missing for almost a day now. Meet me at our usual place in 30. I will try to gather whatever I can till then."

"Detective, you are not in the shape. I will come to you."

"Don't lecture me. That girl out there is like my daughter and I don't give up on family. Don't be late."

And with that he hung up the phone. Oliver knew that Lance would give his best to get her back like the rest of them. So he suited up and made his way to the rooftop. The sun was fading away into the night and as Oliver looked over the city, he saw the fires which were being put out and the people being rescued. The city was working towards a stronger future by healing itself. Oliver knew that she was out there somewhere and talked to the city under the hood telling her not to give up; hoping the wind carried his message. She was a part of peoples' life in an unimaginable way; Diggle's younger sister, Thea and Roy's mother bear, Lance's family, Merlyn's salvation and his everything; so he knew that without her a part of the people to whom she mattered would break never to be repaired again. Just hang in there, Felicity. I will come for you, just remember me.

Oliver heard Lance approaching and he composed his face.

"You have anything for me, Detective?"

"Did you bring her into your team just to be your bait? Does she mean nothing to you? You gave her up to Slade without a fight. She deserved better."

Oliver voice was now a low growl. He would not need a modulator to sound like Arrow.

"That is not what happened, Detective. And she is my partner so I will fight for her every time. So don't taint my love towards her with such words."

"Sorry if I crossed my boundaries but she is like my daughter. I would go to any lengths for her. I have begun the search on my end but this is what I could salvage from Blood's office. These are his appointments and other personal belongings. Look through them and see if it helps."

Detective Lance handed Oliver a dairy and a few files.

"Thank you, Detective. I will get her back."

Oliver shot an arrow across and was ready to jump when Lance's words made him come to a stop.

"You get her back to me, do you understand? I still owe her a dinner from last time. So tell her, when you find her, that I am waiting right here, that I am okay and that I love her. You tell her that for me, Queen."

Oliver whirled around when he heard his name but by that time Lance was gone. I guess there were some people which could never be fooled.

Felicity's plan was working extraordinarily well and that's what got her on edge. She had made it put of get captivity and was now seated in what she assumed was Slade's vantage point over the entire city. This was definitely better than the rat infested sewer he had her chained in. Felicity stood next to the window towering over Starling City and looked over the beautiful sunset when her thoughts were interrupted by a female, a voice she knew too well. Isabel Rochev. Felicity really should have run over her with her van after she was buried because in this city murderers were being blessed with too many freaking lives.

"Isabel Rochev, last I remembered you were buried in the grave I dug for you."

"All that sass. I guess there are some things the Mirakuru can't fix, can it?"

"At least I have a mouth of my own and I am not just someone's play doll."

Isabel moved dangerously close to Felicity invading her private space but Felicity held her ground. This bitch was not going to intimidate her anymore. Isabel held onto Felicity's jaw with a death grip.

"You listen to me, bitch. I know that you might be thinking that you are important right now but once Slade is through with you, I am going to drive a blade through you again and again till every bone in your body is broken, do you understand?"

"I would love to see you try."

"Ladies, play nice. We are all on the same team now. Let's learn to work together, shall we?"

Isabel let go of Felicity's jaw and stepped aside. Yup, that lady just topped her 'people-who-annoy-her-and-deserve-to-die' list.

"I was just telling her the rules around here were going to be tougher than her previous gang."

"Isabel, Felicity is one of us now. She has enough Mirakuru in her system to take down you and me in a fight."

"I don't see any of it, honestly."

Felicity was now getting nervous. She did have the Mirakuru in her system but now it's effects were wearing off. Her body had healed because of the drug but did not make her impermeable to pain. She felt human. The drug, no matter given in how many doses and how many times was not turning her into another Slade or Isabel. But if she needed to play the part of a Mirakuru juiced up moron she needed to be strong. She just hoped that the situation did not come down to her demonstration of strength. That's why Felicity asked her next question choosing her words carefully.

"When are we going to take down Queen?"

"Well, aren't you a eager one? How can you change loyalties so fast? That's surprising."

"Because, Isabel, he left me here to rot after all that I had done for him so all I can feel right now is the anger I felt when I waited for him to come but he didn't. The Oliver Queen I remember now is not a Hero."

"Good things come to those who wait, my little soldier. You need to have patience. Isabel, what news do we have of him?"

"All of them are still searching through camera feeds and it looks like that they are having a hard time. And Oliver met with that Detective, the one that bombed one of our soldiers."

And that's when everything suddenly became clear as day in Felicity's head. They were being watched the entire time. Slade must have tapped into their phones and communication links. That was the only explanation for him knowing all of their secrets.

Oliver got back to the lair only to be greeted by broken computers and broken cell phones. What the hell? Digg, Merlyn and Roy sat on the training mats looking through some camera feeds on a tab.

"Digg, what the hell is all of this?"

"Ask Merlyn!"

"Merlyn, what did you do?"

"I just saved this operation. Everything was hacked into and all of your phones were being tapped."

"How did you even know that?"

"In case it escaped your mind, Mr. Vigilante, I was the head of Merlyn Cooperation. I know some things about security. I should have seen it earlier but it was carefully done. Besides, that explains how Salde knew where Felicity and Thea are going to be, when and how the cure was going to come yada yada, you know how it goes. He is surely tapping into your communication frequency too. You guys should seriously consider about using a new one."

Oliver had been the one to kill Merlyn one and a half years ago and even though Oliver knew that him saving their lives did not change the fact that he was murderer, Oliver was beginning to feel that saving Felicity went beyond than paying back the debt. It looked to him as if he actually cared about Felicity. Oliver guessed that's what her superpower was. She could bring out the best even in the worst; eating away all the darkness and replacing it with her light. Oliver started searching through Blood's belongings. Nothing struck him as odd and that's when Digg showed him a scribble on a notepad. It was a address of a building in Starling's elite real estate. But what struck Oliver as odd was the sentence written below the address. 'Meeting with dad at 4.' Blood did not have a father since he killed his own father.

"As long as I recall, Oliver, Blood killed his own father."

"I know, Digg. This building is mot far from QC. Let's go and check it out."

"I am coming too."

"No, Roy. I need you to stay here or go to Thea. I am sure she needs you right now. Besides there is no Mirakuru in your system anymore."

"I already met her and she literally chucked me out of her room asking me why wasn't I bringing Felicity back. So I am coming and I don't need your approval. Felicity has protected and cared for me like no one has and taught me how to fight for the people I love with or without the Mirakuru in my system so I am coming."

"Fine but you get out when I tell you to, do you understand?"

"Fine."

"Anyone else wants to join us?"

"I can't believe I am doing this right now. I am coming too, Queen."

"Merlyn, don't try anything funny."

"Funny is my middle name, boys."

And with that all four walked out with a mission.

So this chapter was just a look into all the lives Felicity has been a part of one way or another and why she is so important. So this has been low on action and a little up on the emotional side of things just to show that why is she worth fighting for. I especially loved the way Detective Lance expresses his love for her and asks Oliver to bring her back. It's what we can except from someone who loves her like her own family. And even Roy loves her the same way. Roy also needs someone in his life and since the time he has met Felicity the void has been filled. Next chapter will be all out entertaining I hope. =D