While I'm not very interested in Arrowverse anymore, this was something I got from some similar fics where Slade regained his sanity earlier and got over his Mirakuru rampage.
Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.
In the sinking fuselage of Amazo, Oliver and Slade rushed at each other, roaring before an explosion rocked the fuselage and some metal girders fell down, pinning Slade down as Oliver staggered on his feet, in one hand the arrow and other hand the syringe with the cure for Mirakuru.
"What are you gonna do, kid? Stick me with the cure?" Slade taunted. "It doesn't matter. I keep my promise! I'll take away everything and everyone you love!" He ranted. "Sara was only the first! She was only the first! Laurel, your sister, your mother—"
Oliver stabbed Slade in the neck with the syringe as Slade gasped, while the cure was being injected into him and his eyes widened. Slade was feeling weaker and weaker and Oliver backed away for a moment. Was that enough to get him to regain his sanity? Slade stared at Oliver in disbelief, even though he was still hazed from the Mirakuru-induced rage, he could feel it fading away slowly.
Next thing either one of them knew, there was another explosion that knocked them both out.
Slade was stirring and groaning, covered in bandages before he heard a voice.
"Father."
Slade opened his eyes slowly as he looked around, seeing he was in a medical ward before seeing a young man approach him and Slade recognized him instantly. "Joe."
Slade's son Joe looked at him worriedly. "How are you feeling?"
"How did I get here?" Slade wondered.
"Evac found you washed up on the Philippine coast. They said you were barely conscious. Just muttering someone's name. Oliver. Who is he?" Joe inquired.
Slade and Oliver were trading blows in the wreckage of Amazo before Oliver stabbed him with the cure.
"Someone who owed me a debt." Slade muttered.
"Everyone left you for dead." Joe said brokenly, his eyes getting wet. "But I knew you'd come back."
"I will never leave you again, Joe." Slade said as he and Joe hugged each other in tears. "I promise."
Slade was staring at the mirror, reflecting on his time on Lian Yu, pondering on his actions, which he would not have done if not for Shado… but was it really Shado who would have wanted for Slade to do all those horrible things? Then again, Oliver made his choice to save Sara instead of Shado… but Ivo was a psychopath and would Slade have believed the words of that psychopath anyway
Without Mirakuru warping his mind, Slade began seeing things in a much clearer perspective. Oliver loved Shado, but he felt guilty about protecting Sara and Ivo manipulated Oliver emotionally into feeling guilty for Ivo killing Shado and then used Oliver's guilt and the mental effects the Mirakuru had to turn Slade against Oliver. It just made Slade feel guilty for all those terrible things he had done to Oliver, Sara and the prisoners on Amazo, but Ivo got exactly what he deserved.
Slade and Joe were sparring with bamboo sticks, trading blows.
"Keep varying your pace." Slade said.
"My pace is fine, old man." Joe said.
"So you say." Slade smirked before he grabbed Joe by his arm and threw him down on the floor. "Dead. Come on. Get up."
Joe got up, eying Slade. "Thought you'd get rusty."
"Being cocky is never good." Slade said as they chuckled and Slade was about to resume sparring.
"Hold on a sec." Joe said as he approached his duffel bag on a bench and pulled out a glass bottle with a ribbon wrapped around the bottleneck and handed it to Slade, who looked at it reminiscently, remembering he had tasted it with Oliver and Sara. The Australian rum. "Here. Happy 'One year back from the dead' day."
Slade sighed before smiling at the good old days. "I can't believe it's been so long. Thank you."
"You might change your mind about staying home after you see this." Joe said as he and Slade turned to see a glass case with a mannequin with a mask and a body armor. "New prototype. Should be ready in a year. That's gotta be tempting, right?"
"Not in the slightest." Slade said, focusing again. "Enough distractions."
Slade and Joe then resumed their sparring session as Slade was getting reminded of when he trained Oliver and he smiled at reliving the good old times. With his mind getting clearer with the Mirakuru wearing off, his hatred towards Oliver was diminishing every day.
Slade was training with a punching bag, when he heard something that caught his attention and he turned to the TV.
"Oliver Queen is alive. The Starling City resident was found by the fishermen in the North China Sea five days ago."
Slade stared in shock and disbelief. So he made it… the fact that Oliver was alive after all those years flooded Slade with various emotions, nostalgia over the good old times they had as brothers… and shame and horror over the things he had done to Oliver and Sara and others under the influence of the Mirakuru. Slade didn't know how to feel. The Mirakuru had worn off by now, so all the hatred he had towards Oliver was gone… but… would Oliver even forgive him?
After a moment, Slade walked off.
"Father?"
Slade turned to Joe, who looked at him in confusion.
"Where are you going?" Joe asked.
"To see an old friend. There's some… unfinished business we have." Slade said cryptically.
"What unfinished business?" Joe asked and Slade was silent and they stared at each other sadly, Joe realizing it was not going to be pleasant for Slade. "Are you going to come back?"
"I will. Eventually." Slade nodded before turning to the A.S.I.S. suit. "But I need to borrow this."
Over time, Slade was silently observing Oliver and was impressed by his skills improving and using them to save the city… but his reliance on his new partners seemed to make Slade question Oliver's state of mind at times, such as listening to his bodyguard and IT girl shifting his focus on small potatoes, such as a jewel thief or bank robbers. He had come a long way, Slade thought, but he still had a long way to go.
Slade was considering reaching Oliver and try to at least show he was not the same person anymore but the shame over being responsible for Sara was something he could not get over but then he saw an announcement on TV.
"My name is Moira Dearden Queen. I am the acting CEO of Queen Consolidated. And God forgive me, I have failed this city. For the past five years, under the threat for my life and the lives of my family, I have been complicit in an undertaking with one horrible purpose. To destroy the Glades and everyone in it.
But I realize now that my family's safety will mean nothing if I let this dreadful act occur but you need to know that the architect of this nightmare is Malcolm Merlyn. Yes, and I have proof that he has killed dozens in pursuit of this madness. Adam Hunt, Frank Chen, and my husband Robert. Please. If you reside in the Glades, you need to get out now. Your lives and the lives of your children depend on it. Please."
Slade stared in surprise. Well, this changed things. Oliver needed help.
Slade in his new suit entered the top floor of Merlyn Global Group and saw dead SWAT members and an open wall, behind it an Afro-American man lying on the ground, groaning and Slade recognized him as Oliver's bodyguard.
"Where's Oliver?" Slade asked.
Diggle didn't understand fully who was this guy, but, clearly, Oliver didn't have only him as a backup as he pointed upstairs.
With a nod, Slade rushed upstairs and saw Oliver in Shado's hood fighting the archer in black and holding a familiar black bow. Yao Fei's bow. Slade shook his head in nostalgia briefly before he recognized the outfit of the other archer, though he had thought it was just a rumor. So, Malcolm Merlyn was trained by the League of Assassins, no wonder Oliver couldn't beat him, even with Slade training him.
Oliver and Malcolm were trading blows with their bows before Oliver grabbed Malcolm by his arm and threw him away. Malcolm did a cartwheel as Oliver notched an arrow and fired. Malcolm caught the arrow inches away from his face but then the arrow beeped and exploded in sparks. Malcolm yelped in surprise as the explosion sent him to the ground and he recovered.
Slade had to let out an impressed chuckle, Oliver had come a long way.
Malcolm recovered and drew a sword as he rushed at Oliver, but much to Malcolm's and Oliver's surprise, another sword clashed with Malcolm's.
"I don't think so."
Malcolm and Oliver looked up at the man in the black-and-orange mask and Oliver recognized the similarities between the other mask he had seen years ago and the voice.
"Slade?" Oliver asked in shock.
Slade kicked Malcolm back. Malcolm glared before their swords clashed, the sparks flying upon metal hitting metal before the blades crossed.
"So you're the teacher, right?" Malcolm realized, seeing the similarities between Oliver's and Slade's fighting styles. "I must admit, you're more skillful than Oliver, but that's still not enough." He said arrogantly.
Slade ducked as Malcolm swung his sword and they were attacking and parrying with their swords until Slade grazed Malcolm across his arm as he hissed in pain and Malcolm kicked Slade back and Slade raised his sword to block but Malcolm feinted and reached for his belt and grabbed a knife, stabbing Slade in his side between the seams of his armor and Slade grunted in pain, but aside from that, he didn't let it stop him as he headbutted Malcolm, the helmet slamming hard against Malcolm's nose and breaking it and Malcolm staggered back, honestly impressed by Slade's swordsmanship skills.
"The people I trained with would be impressed by your abilities." Malcolm said before he attacked, only for Oliver to rush in and block with his bow before he pushed Malcolm back and Oliver and Slade looked at each other.
"We take him down together." Oliver said.
"You and me, kid. Like old times." Slade said and Oliver smiled.
Malcolm ran at Oliver but Slade blocked Malcolm's sword with his own before Oliver punched Malcolm in the face as he staggered back and ducked before Slade could cut his head off, getting behind Slade and kicking him in the back, causing for Slade to fall down.
Oliver rushed at Malcolm and climbed on him, slamming him to the ground with Hurricanrana but as Oliver staggered on his feet, Malcolm slid away and got up jumping at Oliver and spinning from an arm bar to a reverse choke. He reared back, cutting off Oliver's air. He reached back and ripped off Malcolm's hood, trying to find something to hit, but he couldn't. Diggle, who had managed to drag himself up the stairs, looked on in horror.
Slade was getting up on his feet and turned to see Malcolm holding Oliver in chokehold. Slade was about to intervene as Malcolm tightened his grip as Oliver repeatedly punched him and ripped his mask off.
"Take one more step and I'll snap his neck." Malcolm warned, causing for Slade to stop, while Oliver fell on his knees and Malcolm turned to Oliver. "Don't struggle. It's over. There was never any doubt in the outcome. Don't worry. Your mother and sister will be joining you in death."
'Survive.' Robert's words echoed in Oliver's mind as he saw one of Malcolm's arrows in front of him.
Slade was looking for an opening before he saw the look in Oliver's eyes, realizing what was he going to do as he saw Oliver looking at the arrow on the ground. Oliver reached out for the arrow and drove it through his shoulder, piercing Malcolm's chest, who gasped as he let Oliver go as they both fell down. Oliver grunted as he got up on his feet, groaning.
"Thank you for teaching me what I'm fighting for." Oliver said before he turned around to face Malcolm. "But my father taught me how."
Oliver punched Malcolm in his face as he fell down before Slade approached.
"I must say, you've come a long way… but you still need me to save your arse as always." Slade said and Oliver laughed, missing his dry humor.
"Oliver, Lance did it." Felicity said over the comms.
"It's over." Oliver sneered down at Malcolm, only for him to laugh in his dying moments.
"If I've learned anything as a successful businessman, it's…" Malcolm coughed. "Redundancy."
With one last breath, he collapsed to the ground and Oliver let his last words sink in before the horror and realization filled him.
"Oh, the second device?" Slade asked, turning to Oliver as he took off his helmet. "You're not the only one who was going through Merlyn Global Group servers, kid. I still have some contacts in A.S.I.S. It's done."
Oliver relaxed in relief before he looked at Slade cautiously. "Why did you come here? You seem…"
"What, in possession of all my marbles?" Slade asked. "The Mirakuru wore off few months after you cured me on Amazo. After our fight, my son, Joe, and A.S.I.S. found me. I was home with my family. Had a lot of time to think about what had happened." He looked down in shame briefly and Oliver could tell how haunted he was by his actions, given that Oliver himself had been haunted by what he had done to Shrieve, killing Taiana and all those things in Russia. "The Mirakuru, it was like a storm I couldn't control. And as for Sara and Shado… now I realize you were only protecting whoever Ivo was going to kill. He made you feel guilty."
Oliver looked down in shame before Slade held Oliver by his shoulder and gave him a look Oliver had not seen in years.
"We are both haunted by our pasts, kid. The only way to bury that ghost is by forgiving yourself." Slade said.
"Forgive myself? For what?" Oliver asked, as if he wanted Slade to humor him.
"You blame yourself for your father's suicide and everything wrong that has gone wrong since. You need to forgive yourself for your sins." Slade said.
"You say that like it's easy." Oliver said skeptically.
"It's the hardest thing in the world." Slade pointed out as Oliver looked him in the eye, realizing that Slade wasn't talking only about Oliver.
Oliver could tell that Slade was not the man he had become after Mirakuru anymore, but… what happens now?
"I can't change what I've done, kid. And I'll have to live with it. But neither one of us is that monster they were anymore. Look at how far you've come since the island." Slade said as he turned to leave.
"Where will you go?" Oliver asked.
"Home." Slade said before giving Oliver one last advice. "Never give up on family, kid. Remember that."
Oliver nodded after a moment as they shook hands before Slade turned to leave and Oliver smiled, happy to have his brother back.
Joe had exited the subway station as he saw Slade walk down the alley.
"The other device wasn't easy to disarm, but it's done." Joe said as he looked at Slade. "You have to tell me one day everything that had happened on Lian Yu with this… Oliver."
"One day, kid. I promise." Slade said, smiling.
Even with Slade cured, who knows how long before it would take effect and fully burn the Mirakuru out of his system, so in the beginning the physiological and psychological effects of the Mirakuru still lasted briefly after Oliver cured him, but over his time at A.S.I.S. they wore off, so I hope it makes sense.
Well, it's always fun to write what is great about Arrowverse, I might come back in bigger scale to this franchise at some point, but my interest in it outside of crossovers, one-shots, shorter stories and crack fics has greatly diminished.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter
