Chapter 4: The Fight

"I'm so glad to hear that Walter is willing to support your campaign!" Felicity said with a delighted grin. "Not that I ever thought he wouldn't" she added quickly. Oliver gave her a soft smile back.

Felicity and Oliver lounged in front of the loft's fireplace, Felicity curled into Oliver's side with her wheelchair sitting unused next to her. It felt good to take a moment together and Felicity felt herself relaxing with the warmth of the fire and the feel of her fiancé holding her.

The feeling of calm fled instantly as the loft's door flew open. Felicity and Oliver quickly turned to see Thea standing in the doorway. Felicity began to open her mouth to greet her future sister-in-law, but a glance at Thea had all of Felicity's words drying up.

Thea's eyes were aflame, her jaw tight. Thea somehow looked put together while appearing like she was absolutely falling apart. Always the picture of fashion, Thea's skinny jeans, flowy top, and converse were at complete odds with Thea's posture, which reminded Felicity of Thea's stance when she would go feral with bloodlust. Felicity felt her body freeze up with a sudden fear of attack.

Thea seemed to get hold of herself and some of the savageness faded, replaced by a stony firmness. Thea took a few steps into the loft, shoving the door shut behind her. Thea's very presence was so strong, the air thrummed around her with anticipation. "Felicity," Thea ground out tightly. "Do you mind if I speak to my brother?"

Oh damn, this was bad. Whatever this was. Whatever Oliver and Thea's issues were, Felicity had not been ready for a knock-down, drag-out fight when she woke up this morning. Felicity nodded quickly, taking a few scoots with her upper arms to the end of the couch and then transferring as adroitly as she was able into her chair. Felicity quickly urged her chair towards the other side of the loft and then realized her new conundrum – the entire first floor was open, and she was unable to get upstairs without Oliver's help. Which was unfortunate because Thea had already stalked further into the room, cutting Oliver off from Felicity.

Felicity could see Oliver's face. As Oliver stood up, his expression was wary but not surprised as he faced his little sister. Thea crossed her arms protectively over her chest. The silence hung heavy in the room. Then –

"I just had an interesting call," Thea said slowly, in a biting tone. "Walter said the two of you had lunch." Oliver neither opened his mouth to confirm or deny, nor allowed his face so much as a twitch in response. "You can imagine my surprise when he told me how happy he was that I had opened up to you about my 'past trauma'." Thea declared making sarcastic air quotes when she said "past trauma". Oliver's expression flitted to a brief look of guilt before returning to a neutral expression and Felicity wondered, oh Oliver, what did you do?

"And he apologized to me, of all insane things. There are a million people in this world I would love an apology from, but the last person who owes me a freaking apology for ANYTHING is Walter Steele." Felicity felt like her heart would pound out of her chest as the realization set in that she had somehow become a voyeur in a trajectory changing fight between the Queen siblings.

"He told me that he knew you would pass along the offer," Thea continued bitterly, "but he wanted me to hear it from him directly. That whenever … IF ever … I wanted, that he would give me all the evidence to press charges or to destroy as I chose." Thea paused, as if in disbelief. Oliver's eyes seemed to flicker with some type of emotion at Thea's revelation. Thea's voice began to rise in rage as she cried out, "Evidence. Fucking EVIDENCE!" Thea's voice ended in a broken yell. Felicity could feel the rage and hurt in Thea's voice and could see Oliver's expression beginning to break in the face of his sister's ire. Oliver held out a defensive hand towards Thea saying in a broken whisper, "Thea…"

"NO, Ollie!" Thea shouted, refusing to be soothed and refusing to be stopped. "How could you? How DARE you?" Oliver's second hand came up to match the first as if the two hands would quell the storm of hatred spilling from his sister, but it only seemed to stoke her temper.

"I told you that I didn't want to talk about it, you knew I didn't want to talk about it, so you went behind my fucking back to WALTER?" Thea's voice ended in a yell. "You had no right."

"Thea, I was worried about you," Oliver said firmly, pleading for her to understand.

"You weren't! You were nosey!" Thea shot back. "I am not in any danger! There is nothing to protect me from!" Oliver began to open his mouth to rebut, but Thea was not done. "My secrets don't kill people, unlike yours." Oliver looked like he had been struck, shocked by the accusation. "Slade Wilson entered our lives and kidnapped me, then killed our mother and you knew he was capable of it! And still, I have never gone poking around your past or dug into your scars or the things that you say would 'change how I see you'. Because I respect your fucking privacy."

Oliver shook his head in disbelief which quickly gave way into his own fit of temper to match Thea's. His anger loosed his lips and he fought back. "You say there's nothing to protect you from," Oliver began, tone challenging. "But did you stop to think about other kids, Thea? Did you stop to think that maybe I was following through because you left other girls in danger because you stayed silent?" Thea's body tensed up, her expression tight while Oliver took his opening. "You didn't, did you? I followed up with Walter because I wanted to know what happened to him." Thea's eyes began to sparkle with what looked like the first glimmer of tears. Oliver didn't seem to notice, or if he noticed, he was too fired up to care. "He's dangerous, Thea," Oliver declared. "If he could hurt you, don't you think he could do it to someone else?"

Thea stood in tense silence, eyes large and welling. Felicity felt like she could actually see the outrage rising off Thea in waves. Felicity was shocked that Oliver didn't seem aware that he had thrown gasoline onto an inferno.

Into the silence, Thea's voice ground out low and emphatic. "You. Pretentious. Asshole." Hurt and rage leaking into her tone, a tone which Felicity had only ever heard directed at Malcolm Merlyn. Thea's voice quiet, but hard as rock continued. "You think I haven't thought that maybe I wasn't special? That maybe that was just what he did? That he was a pervert who liked to mess with little kids?" Oh god, Felicity's stomach clenched as she realized what this horrific fight was over. Thea spat, "Of course I did. I may not have known it was Walter who put him there, but I sure as hell knew he was behind bars." Oliver had the good grace to look a little ashamed, but Thea was not finished. "This. This is what I am talking about, Ollie. You trust yourself to handle your own secrets and won't let anyone else in, but you can't trust that anyone else has the right or the ability to handle their own shit."

Oliver seemed to realize he had lost the upper hand, rubbing his face before trying to interject, "Thea, that's not-"

"Stop, Ollie," Thea cut him off in a weary tone of voice. "Just. Stop." Oliver did stop at the change in tone and stood up straight to look at his sister. "I have a lifetime of people trying to do things to 'protect' me and hurting me more. This isn't the first time you've been one of them. But I swear to god, it's the last." Oliver's brow creased in confusion and concern at that statement.

Thea shook her head morosely. "I can't even look at you right now," Thea said softly, starting to turn away as if the sight of her brother was physically painful for her. Thea began to walk slowly towards the loft's door before she stopped and straightened her shoulders without turning around. The air around her stilled. Resolutely, Thea stated, "I can't be around you right now." She paused. "I won't give up patrolling, but I will not have you in my ear. I will communicate with Felicity, or Laurel, or Digg. Anything I need to know comes through them." She paused again. "I will still be at the campaign office, because I believe in what we are doing, but you are not to enter my office. Anything I need to know comes through Alex." Oliver's eyes were wide as he took in Thea's list of demands. "Understood?" Thea asked, still not looking at Oliver.

"Thea-" Oliver tried to start again, but Thea cut him off again. "Understood?"

Felicity pushed her chair forward, feeling protective of her distressed sister-in-law. "He understands," Felicity confirmed in a firm tone of voice. Thea nodded in response. After a moment, Thea walked slowly, like she had left every bit of fight behind her, to the loft's door opened it, and closed it softly behind her.

Felicity and Oliver remained frozen in place, both trying to grasp what had just happened. Felicity broke first and wheeled her chair to face Oliver, saying in a deep, serious tone, "The time has well and truly passed for you to tell me what happened on Earth 42 'in your own time'." Oliver didn't move, but his eyes flickered over to Felicity's face. "What the hell happened over there? And why, also in the hell, did it cause you to go behind your sister's back and talk to Walter?"

Oliver turned away from Felicity and let himself drop to the couch. He leaned forward to bury his face in his hands, scrubbing at his temples to ward off the beginnings of a headache. "Felicity, this is not the time," Oliver said wearily.

Felicity wheeled herself over to the couch in front of Oliver. "Oh ho, no, no. This is absolutely the time. I have never seen your sister direct vitriol like that at anyone outside of Malcolm. And he drugged her into killing Sara." Oliver shook his head within the security of his hands. "And if the decision-making process that got us to this point was set into motion because of what you experienced on Earth 42, then we will be talking about it."

Oliver changed tactics into pleading with her weakly. "Felicity, please. I already feel like I've been run over by something. I can't do this right now."

Felicity reached out and grasped Oliver's hand and guided it away from his face. "Oliver, I am on your side," Felicity said firmly. "First and foremost. Even when you screw up, we will work on fixing it together. Because we are a team."

"I screwed up," Oliver murmured lowly, bleary eyes raising to meet Felicity's.

"Yeah, buddy, you really did," Felicity confirmed sympathetically. "But Thea is your sister. If she can forgive Moira, and Roy, and hell, even a little bit Malcolm, she can forgive you. After you make it right."

Oliver sighed. "Everyone has their breaking point," he said darkly. Oliver caught Felicity's glance and asked sincerely, "How could I possibly make things right? She doesn't want to see me. She may never want to see me again. Who says those things to someone?" he said, and Felicity thought back on his harsh words accusing Thea of failing in some sort of responsibility to other innocents.

Felicity rubbed Oliver's hand in hers. "It wasn't great," she agreed. Felicity made her voice as gentle as she could. "I think if I understood what brought you to this point, that would shed a whole lot of light for me."

Oliver shot her a look that said he knew what she was doing, then shook his head with amusement. "Come here," he said, tucking his arms under her body to lift and deposit Felicity next to him on the couch. "Better?"

"Much," Felicity agreed. "Okay. Any time now," She prompted.

"Well," Oliver started. "You know how it started. Barry and Cisco were here to help find the Breacher."

One week earlier

"I just don't understand why your 'breachers' would make their way to Star City," Diggle told Cisco Ramon doubtfully, looking at the screens Felicity and Cisco were studying.

"They're not so much our breachers, as the universe's breachers." Cisco stated, not even looking up from his quick typing and clicking. "Frankly, it was just a matter of time before we started getting more frequent visitors as more people in the multiverse discover how to travel between worlds."

"But why here?" Diggle continued, clearly feeling that this should not be a Team Arrow problem. "Wouldn't they want to connect with people with similar technology? … Like Star Labs?"

"Man, I don't know," Cisco finally snapped back. "You called us to help, remember? That's all Barry and I are doing. Help-ing."

"Okay, Green Arrow, Flash," Felicity called through the coms. "Your target should be in the building ahead."

"Green Arrow, I'll circle around and enter in the back." Barry Allen's voice crackled over coms.

"Copy. Breaching the door in three," Oliver responded.

A beat passed, then Oliver's back over coms. "Wait, what the -?" followed by a woosh noise, then crackling over the coms.

"ARROW!" Barry's voice screamed over coms.

"Flash, what's happening? Green Arrow?" Felicity called, voice increasingly frantic.

"Oliver, he's … gone." Barry called through the speakers. "The breacher pulled him through a breach. It's closed. He's gone!"

Once the spinning stopped, Oliver found himself deposited onto the concrete floor of a building appearing similar to the one he had just left. Oliver stood up quickly and looked around him, trying to mark where the figure who had dragged him through the breach had retreated to. Oliver heard sounds of metal clinking coming through a partially opened door and began to cautiously make his way towards it.

Oliver could see a figure through the door. They were faced away from Oliver, appearing to tinker with a large machine seated within the middle of the large room of the cold warehouse. Oliver slipped through the door and made his way closer to the figure.

Oliver knew he had made barely any noise, but the figure froze, then spun around, hurling a hefty wrench into Oliver's direction which he only just managed to dodge. Upon looking full on the figure of the person who had turned around, Oliver froze in shock.

"Tommy?" Oliver murmured in disbelief.

Spinning around to face him, was none other than Tommy Merlyn. Instead of well-groomed short hair and clean-shaven face, this Tommy sported mussy, unkempt hair with a full beard of dark hair. His clothes were similar to Oliver's own leather uniform except shades darker, completely midnight black. His eyes held none of the warmth and optimism that Oliver had come to expect from Tommy. No, these eyes were cold, piercing.

Tommy looked back at Oliver, eyes narrowing, trying to determine who would call him that. Oliver slowly reached a hand up, pulled off his mask, and lowered his hood.

Tommy's expression slowly devolved into shock. As Tommy stepped towards Oliver, Oliver was able to see what Tommy had been working on: a large device that looked far too familiar. It was a much larger version of Malcolm Merlyn's earthquake device.

"Tommy?" Oliver asked cautiously. "Is … is that… is this the Undertaking?"

Tommy's mouth dropped open, further confused. Finally he whispered, "A ghost? On the night it all ends? Are you kidding me?" Tommy began to muse, clearly to himself, "If I was going to see a ghost, why couldn't it have been her?"

Oliver took a step closer, holding a hand towards Tommy in caution. "Tommy, I'm not a ghost, I'm-"

"Not a ghost?" Tommy demanded. "You had better be a fucking ghost, because if you fucking left me here for eight years, let me lose her while you were off doing god-knows-what for eight years … oh, we are going to have much bigger problems, my friend." Tommy said, eyes flashing.

Oliver tried to explain, "Tommy, I'm real, I just am not from-"

Tommy shook his head in denial and said firmly, "I don't want to see you, Oliver. What's done is done, you can't stop this. Starling City will burn for her sins and I, Moira, my father, everyone who is culpable, will burn with it. This city is too far gone for redemption. Her blood will be avenged tonight and then she can rest in peace." Tommy's voice suddenly softened with a new thought, saying, "Oliver … if you are there with her, can you tell her …" His voice was laden with sadness. "Can you tell her I am so fucking sorry? And I will make it right. I swear it."

Oliver walked over to Tommy and clasped his shoulder, proving he was solid and real. Tommy froze and then slowly turned towards Oliver, face bloodlessly pale. "You … you're … real?"

Oliver nodded and opened his mouth again to explain this was not his world. Before he could, Tommy had pulled away, his eyes flashing in anger.

"No. NO! How are you here? Where have you been? How could you have stayed away? You were meant to protect her! How are you here?" Oliver could scarcely gape in shock, much less answer as Tommy walked a few steps away, pulled out a bow, and, pointing an arrow straight at Oliver's head, demanded, "Start. Talking."

The next thing Oliver was aware of was a pressure on his arm and the feeling of being spun around at a high rate of speed and deposited in a warm, well-lit apartment that Oliver was familiar with. It was Laurel and Thea's apartment and there before him, was Laurel.