Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or anything you may recognize in this chapter.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Day
"I'm gonna kill all of you!" Hendrik shouted before Anatoli gagged him.
"This is not personal…well, it is little personal." Anatoli admitted smirking.
"It's not, it's about survival." Sara said as she stood up.
"Survival. What a noble word for murder." One of the prisoners scoffed.
"Slade give us no option. Hendrik for Oliver." Anatoli argued.
"And what gives us the right to decide that one person's life is more valuable than another?" the prisoner shot back.
"He is tied up, we are not." Anatoli shrugged.
"Once the boat is fixed, Slade will have no more need for him. So let's not kid ourselves, doing this is essentially sentencing Hendrik to death." The prisoner argued.
"He would do the same thing to any of us! In heartbeat. It is only option." Anatoli argued.
"What if it's also an opportunity?" Sara asked as a plan began to form.
"To do what?" Anatoli asked as they looked at her.
"To kill Slade." Sara said.
Queen Consolidated
Afternoon
"I'm busy with a meeting mom." Oliver said annoyed as he walked out of boardroom.
"And how is Mr. Rochev these days? Still angry that Dorothy dropped a house on her sister?" Moira asked before seeing Oliver's unamused face, "have you heard from Thea?"
"No." Oliver said shortly.
"You haven't returned any of my phone calls, so I'm forced to resort to seeing you in person to ask you if you'll be attending the debate tonight." Moira asked crudely.
"I told you I would publicly support your campaign. Anything else?" Oliver asked.
"It would be embarrassing for us both if you could not at least appear to be my son tonight." Moira said as she turned to leave.
"I have gotten pretty good at pretending to be someone I'm not," Oliver said and she looked over at him, "I learned it from you."
Ignoring her hurt look, Oliver turned around and walked back into the meeting.
Starling City
Night
"You okay?" Laurel asked Oliver as she sat with him and her sister in the front row of the debate.
"Mom and I haven't heard from Thea since last night, I'm worried." Oliver admitted.
"Roy did just break her heart, even if it was for the right reasons. I'm sure she's fine Ollie." Laurel said as the debate started.
"Now, we have next in our series of video questions submitted by Starling City voters. This one's from…Thea Queen." The moderator read off and it threw everyone for a moment.
The screen behind Moira and Blood fizzled before it showed a picture of Thea, terrified with dried tears on her face. Oliver jumped to his feet as everyone stared at the screen horrified. As Thea began to beg for help, a black gloved hand reached out and covered her mouth, sending gasps of horror through the crowd as Slade, in his mask, appeared on the screen. 'How much is Thea Queen's life worth to you?' appeared on the screen in big, white letters. Oliver stared at the screen, dread, horror, and fury welling up inside.
Queen Consolidated
Later
"Can you think of anyone who might want to get to you through Thea?" Pike asked as he and Quentin questioned Moira and Oliver.
"Just the families of the five hundred and three victims of The Undertaking." Moira said tearfully as she put a hand to her mouth.
"This isn't about the Quake." Oliver snapped as he paced the floor.
"How do you know?" Pike asked as Quentin shot Oliver a look.
"You just need to find the man in the mask!" Oliver snapped.
"Look, we're running down every lead." Pike said.
"What exactly are those leads?" Oliver growled.
"Oh god, how could I have let this happen?" Moira said as she put a hand to her face.
Hearing some tap on his office door, Oliver turned to see Walter outside the door. Oliver walked out and met Walter outside.
"Ms. Rochev asked me to tell you that the voting on the new officers is taking place now and it cannot be postponed. I'm sorry son, but she's right." Oliver growled at Walter's words.
"I can't even think about this right now." Oliver snapped.
"I know son, but you are the CEO, you have responsibilities. You could appoint some in your stead." Walter told him.
"Felicity, I need a pen and paper!" Oliver shouted and Felicity handed him one of each.
"What are you doing?" Walter asked.
"Congratulations Walter, you are now the acting CEO of Queen Consolidated. Don't let us down." Oliver clasped him on the shoulder before walking off.
"Mr. Queen? I need to talk to you about Mr. Wilson." Felicity called out as Oliver walked inside the room.
Arrow lair
Later
"Since the last place Thea was seen was Verdant, I've been looking at all the customers from last night," Felicity said as Team Arrow walked into the lair, "pinged all their phones, hacked into their photos. I found this."
Felicity brought up a picture of a car and zoomed in on the license plate.
"I checked the license plate; it's rented to a Slade Wilson. It has GPS. Parked outside a bar. " Felicity explained.
"This doesn't seem easy to you, Slade renting a car in his name all of a sudden?" Diggle asked.
"I don't care, so long as it leads me to Thea." Oliver snapped as he turned away.
"My thinking exactly. I had Lyla bring these by," Sara held out an injection arrow to her husband, "Tibet viper venom. One of the most powerful sedatives in the world. Might give us an advantage."
"He might give us another." Oliver said as he looked over at Roy.
"You want me to come?" Roy asked surprised.
"Are you angry?" Oliver asked and Roy nodded, "use that rage."
"You always told me to hold back." Roy reminded him.
"Not tonight." Oliver said darkly.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Night
"Land mines?" Anatoli asked as he uncovered the bomb, "what kind of island is this?"
"Can you remove the explosive?" Sara asked.
"Certainly. Without it going off? Eh, less certain," Anatoli said as he put his hands on it carefully, "Ah, KGB. You have taught me many things. Japanese bomb, Russian bomb. Both go ….bomb."
Anatoli unscrewed it and lifted the detonator up, closing his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and looked back at Sara.
"Congratulations, we are not dead. Now what?" Anatoli said dryly.
"Slade takes Hendrik as we agreed, then when they're far enough away, we set it off." Sara said as he looked at her confused.
"We rig Hendrik with the bomb?" He asked.
"Peter's right, giving him to Slade is the same as killing him. And you're right, we have no choice. At least this way, we can take out Slade and then take the ship. What?" Sara asked when she noticed Anatoli staring at her.
"Just wondering…when did you become so scary?" Anatoli asked.
"When I washed up here." Sara said grimly.
Starling City
Later
The Arrow entered from side of the bar, The Canary and Roy entered from the other. All three spotted Slade sitting in an old chair, facing The Arrow.
"Where is she Slade?" The Arrow demanded.
Slade stood up calmly, not saying anything.
"The man asked you a question." Roy said before punching Slade.
Slade's head whipped to the side but otherwise he did not look like he even realized he had been punched. Slade spat and looked back at The Arrow.
"Where is she?" The Arrow growled.
"What are you gonna do kid? Kill me?" Slade asked as he walked up to them, "then who would tell you…where your precious Thea is?"
"Call Quentin, tell him to come here." The Arrow ordered after a moment.
"What, why?" Roy demanded.
"To arrest Slade Wilson." The Arrow ordered.
The Arrow then notched his bow with an injection arrow and fired. It hit Slade in the shoulder and he fell back in the chair as he was injected, unconscious within seconds.
Starling City Police Department
Later
"Did he tell you where Thea is?" Oliver demanded as he, Sara, and Moira met Quentin and Barnes in the hallway.
"This doesn't make any sense, Slade Wilson is a friend." Moira said confused.
"And he's been in Costa Rica for the past seventy-two hours. Mr. Wilson can provide flight manifests, phone record, and even some video so he can't have taken your daughter." Barnes explained.
"Then why did you arrest him?" Moira asked confused.
"He was apprehended by the vigilantes. Who then contacted Officer Lance." Barnes said as he shot Quentin a pointed look.
Realizing he had been played, Oliver slipped away. Oliver walked in and there was silence between them for a moment.
"They're calling you Deathstroke." Oliver began.
"A little flamboyant. I like it." Slade said.
"How'd you get off the island?" Oliver demanded.
"That is your first question?" Slade asked in disbelief.
"Well, you've made it pretty clear you're not gonna tell me where my sister is, so that is my first question." Oliver told him.
"I swam. But it wasn't without its obstacles. The currents dragged me under, the rocks and reef stripped me down to the bone. The Mirakuru restored everything…except for this." Slade pointed to his eye.
"It's just the two of us in here, so why don't you try being honest," Oliver said as he stepped away from the wall, "why are you doing this?"
"You know why." Slade told him.
"It was five years ago." Oliver snapped.
"It was yesterday. I tried to let go of the island, but it's still got a hold on me. Judging by the fact that you named your daughter after her, it's got a hold on you and Sara to." Slade noted.
"Thea never did anything to you, I did. Shado is dead because of a choice that I made. You want me to beg, is that it? Fine, I'm begging. You win. Just please, please tell me where she is." Oliver begged.
"That must have been hard for you to say," Slade noted surprised, "very well. Thea is, well Thea-"
Whatever Slade was going to say is cut off as the door opens. Oliver seethes as Barnes walked in.
"Mr. Queen, who let you in here? Mr. Wilson, you're free to go with the department's deepest apologies." Barnes said as he cuffed Slade.
"I understand, you have to run down every possible lead." Slade said as he stood up.
"Still, you should know that officer Lance is facing some pretty serious charges." Barnes told him.
"Well, don't pursue them on my behalf. I'm not one to hold a grudge." Slade smirked at Oliver as he walked out.
"I've got the follow." Diggle said as he followed Slade's car in his own.
"The GPS in his car is active. Roy, he's coming up on your position." Felicity said through the comms.
"I've got eyes on him." Roy said as the car stared coming his way.
"I see him, heading north," Diggle said before a car pulled out in front of him, forcing him to stop, "damn it, I lost him!"
"It's alright; I still have eyes on him. Sara, cut right into Downey." Felicity said.
Sara drove in on her motorcycles and went after who she believed was Slade until they stopped at a light and looked in the window.
"Negative, negative it's not him." She told them.
"Oh my god, he cloned the signal. Roy. You've got to move!" Felicity shouted.
Roy took after Slade but quickly lost him.
Arrow lair
Later
"So, now what?" Felicity asked as Team Arrow, minus Oliver, stood in the lair.
"We wait for Ollie so we put our heads together. Try to figure out what our next move will be." Sara ordered.
"You mean, we wait for you two to tell us what to do. We can't make a move without the king and queen's permission." Roy snapped.
"You're out of line Roy." Diggle told him.
"Let's calm down, Slade outplayed us. It happens." Sara tried to play peacemaker.
"It only happened because the police let Slade go. After we handed him over to them. Because they told us to!" Roy snapped as he pointed at Sara.
"What would you have done differently Roy?" Sara challenged.
"He's Special Forces; I'm as strong as Slade. Between the two of us, we could have gotten answers out of him!" Roy shouted.
"Slade was trained to withstand torture before he was injected. Nothing we did was gonna make him talk." Sara cut him off.
"Of course you'd defend him. A Queen has to defend the King." Roy snapped.
Queen Mansion
Same time
"You remember how she loved to color?" Moira asked as Oliver walked up to her, "your father would buy her boxes of crayons but she could never get enough. She'd draw on the walls and I could never get angry because it was just so adorable."
"You should try and get some sleep," Oliver said as he turned away when he heard her say something, "what?"
"Is my baby still alive?" Moira asked brokenly.
"Yes." He told her.
"I woke every day for five years the mother who lost her son. I can't…I can't do it again. Now you hate me and you have every justification." Moira said as she turned to face him.
"Now's not the time." Oliver told her.
"Yes it is. Now's exactly the time. I've told you these lies were to protect you, to keep our family together, but you were right. It was an excuse to justify my actions. It was the biggest lie of all and I told it to you, to Thea, and even to myself. Because I was too weak to face any kind of truth." Moira told him.
"What's happening right now isn't your fault." 'It's mine' Oliver added silently.
"From the moment your children are born," Moira began as she turned back to the window, "you worry what the world might do to them. You never wonder what you might do to them. That you might be your own worst enemy."
Lian Yu, five years ago
Night
Oliver was brought into the fuselage by two of Slade's men. Sara was horrified by the cuts and cruises that littered her beloved's face.
"What did you do to him?" She demanded as Slade walked in, pushing Ivo in to.
"Not enough." He told her as his men pushed Oliver towards her.
Oliver stumbled and she caught him just before he fell to his knees. Slade walked over to the unconscious Hendrik as Sara helped Oliver sit down on a crate.
"What did you do to him?" Slade asked.
"Just knocked him out. He wasn't exactly a fan of the arrangement." Sara told him.
"I can imagine." Slade said dryly.
"Hendrik's all yours." Sara said as she turned back to Oliver.
"I know." Slade said as his men grabbed the unconscious prisoner.
As they led Hendrik to the exit, Slade turned.
"Wait," Slade called out and they stopped, "it's an interesting thing this Mirakuru. Not only does it give you strength, it heightens your senses as well. TNT has a particular smell."
Slade reached out and ripped the explosive pack off Hendrik.
"How long before it goes off? Sixty seconds, ninety seconds?" Slade demanded as he held it out in front of Anatoli, "you were probably thinking that the blast would kill me but I disagree. Not that I can say the same for you lot. I am tempted to see this tear you to pieces."
Slade then ripped out the cords from the pack before drawing his pistol. Slade took aim at Sara and she stepped back.
"Or I could just shoot you the same way he shot Shado." Slade sneered.
Oliver, to the best of his ability, stood up and stepped in front of Sara, using his body as a human shield.
"No." Oliver said as they glared at each other.
Arrow lair
Later
"Where do you think you're going?" Sara said as she blocked Roy's path.
"Sitting around here isn't helping Thea." Roy snapped.
"Neither is you running off half-cocked." Diggle said as he walked up next to Sara, a hand discreetly on his gun.
"I know you think that this is the Mirakuru but it's not. I'm right and you know I am, so why don't you get out of my way." Roy growled.
"Calm, it's what Thea would want." Felicity tried to reason with him.
"She's right, now let's just-" Diggle put his arm on Roy's shoulder.
Big mistake. Roy grabbed Diggle and slammed him down onto one of the tables, causing Felicity to jump up. An arrow hit one of the pipes and Roy looked up to see Sara aiming a bow and arrow at him.
"Next one goes into your chest. Let him go." Sara told him.
"You'd kill me because I dare question you and your mighty king?" Roy sneered.
"I'd kill you because you're out of control, just like Slade. Let. Him. Go." Sara ordered.
"Let him go!" Oliver ordered as he walked in and Roy finally complied, "what the hell is going on down here?"
"I'm done, that's what's going on. Thea is out here, scared and hurt because of one person and that is not Slade Wilson!" Roy snapped.
"Roy-"
"I believed in you. There's nothing left for me here." Roy said before storming passed him.
Oliver's phone went off. Digging it out, he saw who it was and answered it.
"Hello? Walter, slow down…what?!"
Queen Consolidated
Later
"I'm sorry Ms. Rochev but he was very…insistent." A security guard said as Oliver burst into the room.
"Could you give us the room please?" Isabel asked and the board members stood up and walked out.
"What have you done?" Oliver demanded.
"Me? Very little, you made it possible when you made Walter CEO. It was only temporary but it was all too easy to manipulate him into calling an emergency board meeting. He had no idea what I was doing of course, by the time he figured it out, it was too late. Missing almost all board meetings save for one in a month, handing over the company to your step-father like a child, the board has no faith in you. As of thirty minutes ago, they gave the company to me. Maybe you should have focused a little less on your…evening activities." Isabel smirked as it all clicked.
"Slade. You're working for him." Oliver said slowly.
"With. He knew planting me in your family's business would draw you back to Starling. I was skeptical but-"
Oliver suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her against the wall.
"Why are you doing this?!" Oliver demanded.
"I think it's sad you don't know. The sins of the father are the sins of the son." She told him quietly.
She suddenly leapt up, wrapping her legs around his arm and spun them to the floor. They both stood up and she swung a kick at him. Oliver blocked it with his elbow and it took mere seconds for him to grab her by the back of her neck and slam her face first onto the table.
"You are gonna tell me where my sister is or I am going to kill you. Where is she?!" Oliver suddenly shouted.
"At a storage depot just outside the city limits. Tosca Cartage." She told him.
"How do I know you're not lying?" Oliver growled and she laughed.
"It's cute how you think this isn't going exactly the way I want," She mocked and he let her go and went to the door, "he wants you to come alone. If he even smells Sara or Mr. Diggle, he will cute little Thea like a trout."
Sneering, Oliver stormed out.
Arrow Lair
Later
"Oliver, let us at least surround the perimeter." Diggle pleaded.
"Isabel was very clear: I come alone or Thea dies." Oliver dismissed.
"Ollie, this is another one of Slade's mind games." Sara tried to reason with her husband.
"I know okay?! But what would you do if it were Laurel or Quentin or Shado?! I will not be dragged into this same debate over and over again?!" Oliver shouted before storming out of the lair.
Tosca Cartage
Later
The Arrow pulled up and got off his bike and walked in cautiously. He wasn't there long when he encountered some of Slade's men. Immediately striking back, The Arrow found himself surrounded by Slade's men. He fought back crouching down and using his bow to knock three of them off their feet before shooting to his feet and using it to knock out two more. Hearing one coming at him, He jumped up he didn't need to. He the man went down and a strange shape stuck out of his back. Behind him stood a man dressed in a black uniform with a black cape and a helmet that resembled a bat.
"Who are you?" The Arrow demanded.
"I'm Batman. And I'm here to help." Batman told him in a raspy voice.
They were confronted by more of Slade's men and didn't have time to talk. Batman took out some of Slade's men near them while The Arrow shot off an arrow at one above them; it landed in his shoulder, sending the man falling to the ground as his rifle went off. Hearing one behind him, The Arrow fired and it made one go down with an arrow in his side.
"So you actually exist? I always thought you were just some urban legend from Gotham." The Arrow said as they moved out.
"I'm real. We have an enemy in common: Deathstroke. He's been causing trouble in my town for months; I tracked him here when that video of Thea Queen went viral." Batman said.
"We can talk about him later; we need to save Thea Queen." The Arrow said as more of Slade's men came at them.
They fought back to back, easily taking out every single one of Slade's men, with ease. The Arrow shot an explosive arrow at a locked room. It went off, destroying the lock. The two vigilantes entered the room and were stunned to find it empty.
"We have a problem, she's not here." The Arrow said into his comms as Batman looked over at him.
"She walked into the precinct five minutes ago." Felicity told him and he froze.
"Is everything okay?" Batman asked and he came out of his shock.
"Thea Queen walked into the precinct at Starling City five minutes ago." The Arrow said and Batman was silent.
"Why would he let her go? It doesn't make sense." Batman said.
"I don't know." The Arrow said frustrated.
Starling City Police Department
Later
"Is she okay?" Oliver asked as he was met by Diggle and Sara.
"He didn't touch. He was busy elsewhere." Sara began.
"Iron Heights reopened a wing damaged in the quake. There was a prison transfer, Slade hijacked it. Soldiers for his army." Diggle finished.
"Abducting Thea was only a diversion." Sara finished.
Seeing his mother rush over, they broke up as Oliver and Moira rushed in to see Thea. They both rushed over, wrapping her in a hug.
"He told me. Mr. Wilson, he told me your secret," Thea said as she turned to a stunned secret, "how you've been lying to me for years. How could you not tell me Malcolm Merlyn was my father?! I believed in you."
Stunned, Oliver almost didn't react until Thea was at the door.
"We were trying to keep you safe." Oliver said as he turned to her.
"Do you know who you sound like? You sound like her." Thea said bitterly as she walked out.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Night
There was a stare down between Oliver and Slade for several seconds before Slade spoke.
"Death is too good for you. This island should be your punishment…your prison, for the rest of your days,," Slade said as he backed away, "get him out of here."
"Slade, I can help you." Ivo rushed forward and Slade shoved him back.
"You can live or you can die, your choice," Slade shoved him back before he looked over at Oliver and Sara, "would you like me to send a message to your families? Because as soon as this boat is fixed, I'm paying them a visit."
Slade then turned and walked out as Sara and Oliver exchanged horrified look.
Oliver and Sara's loft
Later
"At every turn, I made the wrong choice," Oliver said as he looked over the balcony with Sara, "with Roy, with the company, with Thea. Why didn't you stop me?"
"When you set your mind to something, there's no stopping. I tried but you wouldn't listen." Sara pointed out and Oliver sighed.
"You're right." He admitted.
"But you always learn from your mistakes. Now what do we do when we hit our lowest point?" Sara asked.
"We get up…and we fight back." Oliver said firmly.
"And this time, we do it together." Sara told him and he nodded.
Thea's spare apartment
Same time
"What do you want?" Thea asked as she walked in to see Slade sitting on your couch.
"Your brother isn't the man you think he is." Slade said as he stood up.
"No kidding." Thea scoffed.
"He is The Arrow." Slade completed and Thea stared at him, shock written all across her face.
Slade then walked out, leaving her to her thoughts.
So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.