Lian Yu

Shado inhaled a deep breath as she pulled the string of her bow taut, aiming the arrow between her fingers quietly and carefully. Once she was certain her quarry had completely let its guard down, she let go, watching as the projectile sailed through air before hitting its target. The head of the arrow punctured through the flesh of the neck with a piercing sound, the deer collapsing onto its side with hardly a peep.

Whispering a silent prayer for the animal that she just killed and would be feeding her and her companions tonight, Shado quickly darted to the newly-made game and started tying it up to the pole on her back, to help her carry it to the wrecked plane she and her friends called home. Once it was secure, she lifted it up and followed the markers back to her camp. She could just imagine how much their faces were going to light up once they saw how much they had to eat tonight.

It was a meager comfort. But after almost one year on this hell of an island, they took what comforts they could get.

When Shado arrived back home, Laurel and Slade were in the middle of training. They were doing an exercise that Slade had picked up during his time ASIS to improve a person's variable acceleration and overall reaction time, practicing with escrima sticks. Laurel had an expression of concentration as she matched Slade blow-for-blow, her speed slowly increasing as she got used to his rhythm. Eventually, she struck true with one of the poles, smacking him right across the face and knocking him down to the ground.

Laurel gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, while Slade laughed in amusement, impressed. "Good one," he complimented her, rubbing his cheek as he got back to his feet.

"Your skills have improved much these past couple of months," Shado noted as she secured the game to a nearby apparatus, letting it hang there so they could prepare it to be cooked later. "You should be proud, Laurel."

Her American friend blushed. "Thanks, guys." She glanced at the deer curiously. "I take it that's dinner?"

"It is. I got lucky — saw this one prancing around the forest, trying to find food. We'll be feasting tonight."

"Which means I need to get us more fresh water," Laurel declared, setting the escrima stucks to the side and taking her knife, stolen from Fyers all those months ago, and strapping it to her leg. She headed over and took two jugs with her, jogging out of the plane with a loud promise to return within an hour or so.

The other woman watched her go with a fond shake of the head, before a wistful sigh caught her attention. She turned around and arched a knowing eyebrow at Slade, who was watching the entrance where Laurel had exited with a longing expression on his face. "You know, one of these days you're going to have to tell her about your feelings, Slade."

Slade glanced at her with a slight glare before taking the sticks Laurel and him were using and storing them. "You know why I can't. She already has somebody else." They had both seen how Laurel kept fingering the necklace around her neck everyday they spent on this island.

That only caused Shado's face to scrunch up in an unimpressed and rather distasteful look. "Right. The billionaire playboy boyfriend." The more she heard about Oliver Queen and how he had treated her friend in the past during their relationship, the more she came to dislike him. For all that Laurel insisted there was more to Oliver than what he seemed to be, Shado still felt he wasn't good enough for her friend.

"She loves him, Shado," Slade pointed out with a bittersweet certainty and a touch of sorrow.

"Yeah, but does he love her? I mean, how many times did he cheat on her? He might've been drunk all those times, but that's no excuse. She's deserves better than him."

"And you think I could be better than him? I'm almost two decades older than her."

Shado rolled her eyes and gave Slade a disappointed look. "Age is but a number, Slade. And you two have gotten close over these last several months. We both know that you'll treat Laurel the way she deserves, so why don't you take a chance?"

Slade frowned. "We don't even know she could even feel that way about me. Especially when she's still hung up on him."

"So what? Even if Laurel does still love him right now, I'm sure that with time, she'll come to see that he's not worth it and see what a great guy you are. But you won't know if you don't present yourself as an option, my friend."

He didn't have anything to say to that. Shado went over to him and patted him on the shoulder in a familiar, comforting manner. "Just think about it, alright?"

Slade didn't get a chance to really think about it, and neither did she. Fyers's old proximity alarm picked up the appearances of several unknown men nearing the safe zone surrounding their camp. The three of them went to approach them, to see if they were potential friendlies or enemies, and possibly ask to hitch a ride on whatever mode of transportation they used to come to the island. As much as they had come to care for and even love each other as friends and family, they all wanted off Lian Yu and back to civilization so they could reunite with their other loved ones too.

It turned out that their hopes were little more than ash; the men were pirates, pirates with weapons and guns. Far more savage and violent than the professional mercenaries that followed Fyers's lead and obeyed his every command. A fight broke out immediately, and Shado found herself once again battling for her life. In the darkness, it was hard to see, so she didn't spot one of the pirates she had seemingly taken down rising from behind her, readying himself to take her out.

But Laurel did. Her friend charged the man with a scream, knocking him down to the ground and mounting his body as she rained punches down on his face. She was so absorbed in her rage that it was only when she heard both Shado and Slade shouting for her to stop that she broke out of her trance. Shado watched as Laurel uncurled her hands, staring at the bloody palms in horror and disbelief.

And then she got up and ran, ignoring all their calls for her to come back.

Starling City

Oliver tried not to fidget too much as his mother and himself sat down inside Jean's office, waiting for her to return with the copy of his father's will. After holding out for several months, it had finally been decided to declare him legally dead. His body had yet to be found, and as much as they hated it, it was time for them to move on.

Laurel herself had been declared dead about two months ago, with an accompanying empty casket funeral to match. Both Oliver and his mother had offered to pay for the services, feeling a measure of responsibility since she had died on the Gambit, but the Lances had politely refused them, feeling it was their responsibility instead. The Queens had still been invited to attend, however, as they were still close friends of the family and everyone knew Laurel would've wanted them to be there.

Oliver still had pinpricks in his eyes whenever he thought of that day, staring at the hollow casket wreathed in flowers next to the standing portrait of Laurel's beautiful, beaming face. It wasn't right. Some part of Oliver still believed that she was still alive, that she had to be out there somewhere, even though intellectually he knew it was highly unlikely. But the Lances had given up hope the more the months went on, and it wasn't his place to reopen the wound for them. So he hadn't said a word in protest, and had gone to the service anyway to support them. It's what Laurel would've wanted.

And it was ample preparation for when they held his father's funeral last week. Unlike with Laurel, Oliver didn't have that bone-deep ache that told him Robert was still alive. In his heart of hearts, something, whatever it was that kept that small hope that Laurel was alive, was also telling him his father was dead. So when his mother approached him with the possibility of finally declaring Robert legally dead, he had accepted the decision. As much as it hurt, it was time for their family to move on. For all of them to move on.

Truth be told, they had already started on the process. Sara had returned to college, more determined to focus on her studies than ever. She had told Oliver and Tommy during one of their outings that she had decided to declare herself as a pre-med major and intended to one day go to medical school to become a doctor. It was a direction in life for a girl who had been used to going with the flow, and Oliver knew that part of it was her own way of honoring her sister. Becoming a doctor, helping save people's lives, that's the kind of thing Laurel would've been proud of.

For Oliver, it was very much same. Both Laurel and his father would've wanted him to make something of himself, which was why he had opted to go back to college and get his business degree. Not Ivy League, however — the issues with Thea had made it clear that both his mother and sister need him at home as a pillar to lean on. So he had opted to go to Starling University instead, to stay close to his family. Not as prestigious as Yale or Harvard, but a decent enough school, one that allow him to go to a good business school later on for his MBA.

He still occasionally hung out with Tommy, of course. They were on different paths in life now, since Tommy was committed to being as much as an entitled trust fund baby as ever in complete spite of his father, but the man was still his best friend. It was him that always reminded Oliver that he couldn't focus on work all the time and needed to relax once in a while, something he desperately needed. As focused as he was on his future and setting a good example for his sister, he also needed to think about himself sometimes.

Jean arrived with the quiet flourish she always did, straightening out her papers and seating herself down. She welcomed Oliver and Moira, and got on straight to business. The contents of the will were hardly surprising: both his mother and sister got portions of the family fortune through personal trusts and small stakes in the family company. Another portion had been set aside for various charities. The majority of Queen family's assets, including the majority stake of Queen Consolidated that Robert once held, had gone to Oliver.

They had already foreseen this — when his mother took temporary control of the Queen Estate, she and QC's board had quickly declared Walter Steele, the company's CFO, the interim CEO of Queen Consolidated. Oliver had met Walter himself and found him to be polite and kind, and what he read of the man's capabilities, quite competent. He had discussed it with his mother, and decided there was no reason not to make Walter the permanent CEO for QC. The only other option for the position was his mother, since Oliver had no real experience in business yet, and she had told him she would rather not carry on a job now that she was a single mother caring for a young teenager.

"In addition to that, your father left you a few tasks that he wanted you to conduct on his behalf in the wake of his death," Jean concluded the reading with, passing on an envelope to Oliver. Oliver took it and put it into a pocket inside his suit jacket, deciding to read the last words his father had for him in private.

With that final statement made, she passed them on three copies of the will for their own records — one for himself, one for Thea, and one for his mother. His mother took all three, promising to properly file them in her office. With that, they said their goodbyes to Jean and left.

As they were leaving Jean's office, Oliver decided to ask his mother that had been nagging him for the past couple of days. "Mom, forgive me if this is a bit abrupt, but where did you go Tuesday night? When I got home that night, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out to eat, but Thea told me you were already gone."

His mother froze. "Ah. Tuesday night. I… was out on a date."

Oliver stilled, feeling his blood run cold. "What?" A date?

"It was just a date, Oliver," Moira quickly defended herself. "It was nothing serious."

"Right. And the fact that we only just declared Dad dead a month ago didn't matter at all?" He tried to keep his voice level, but it was hard.

"Sweetheart—"

"No," Oliver cut her off. "Just… no. I can't deal with this right now. Tonight for dinner, tell Raisa to just send it to my room. I'd rather eat it on my own." With that final word, he left, heading directly for his car.

"I mean, how could she?" Oliver complained to his two best friends the next day. "I know Dad and her had their issues at times, but they loved each other! He hasn't even been gone a year, we only declared him dead last month, and she's dating now?"

Tommy and Sara exchanged a look. "I mean, your mom does have the right to move on, Ollie," Sara pointed out wisely.

The Queen scion sighed. "I know, but… so soon? I mean, just look at me — I haven't been able to look at another woman like that ever since I lost Laurel." He hadn't really tried, granted, but every time he imagined a possible significant other, all he could think of was her. He still had her picture in his wallet, slotted in a way so that it was the first thing he saw every time he opened the flaps. So I'll always be with you, she had told him when she had given it to him that fateful day, and he had always looked towards it whenever he needed a source of strength.

"I know what you mean, Ollie, but your mother moving on isn't necessarily a bad thing," Tommy said, swirling some of his soup. "I'm going to be honest with you guys, there are times where I wished my dad wasn't so devoted to my mom's memory. I love my mother and nobody could ever replace her, but if my dad had found someone else to make him happy, then maybe he wouldn't be such an asshole these days."

Both Oliver and Sara gave him a flat look. Tommy held up his hands in a defensive posture. "Again, I'm just being honest."

"Moving on…" Sara said slowly, turning back to Oliver. "Your dad left behind some things he wanted you to do for him?"

"Yeah. Most of its minor, like delivering some old keepsakes and letters, but there's one major thing—he's asked me to meet this one woman and her daughter who live in the Glades. I don't know why, but he was really insistent about it." Oliver rubbed the back of his head. "There's a second letter I'm supposed to read after I've met them."

"Huh. That's kind of strange," Sara noted. "What's her name?"

"Kazumi," Oliver revealed. "Kazumi Adachi. And her daughter's name is Emiko."

Lian Yu

Shado and Slade find Laurel by the river in the morning, in the midst of dry heaving and doing her best not to throw up. With food in such short supply on the island, she really couldn't afford to. Upon seeing her friend in such emotional distress, Shado turned to Slade and tried to push him into talking with her, but the man refused to budge.

"I'm not good with these sorts of things," he had claimed awkwardly. "I'm not the person to talk to when it comes to something like this."

For a man who had charged into an army of armed mercenaries with nothing but a sword and a grin on his face, Slade could be such a coward at times. Shado simply shook her head, and headed towards Laurel herself. If Slade wasn't going to step up, then it seemed she would have to in his place.

"Laurel."

Her friend turned around, and her eyes were shiny. Laurel had gotten better about holding back her tears, but she was honestly the most emotional and empathetic out of all of them. It was one of the things Shado liked the most about her, but it didn't come without its downsides. "Shado?"

Shado didn't say anything at first. Instead, she sat herself down next to her friend, her best friend really, and saddled up next to her, taking one of her hands into her own. "You saved my life, you know."

Laurel sighed. "I know. I keep telling myself that, but…"

"You're scared," Shado surmised. "You're afraid that everything that's happened to you these past several months is turning you into something terrible."

"I am," the other woman admitted. "I'm scared that even if we get off this island, it's something always going to be. And I don't if I could ever face my loved ones, knowing that."

It was an understandable fear. The kind of fear they all had. The young archer turned around a little bit more, so Laurel and her were face-to-face. She took her friend's other hand, and grasped it tightly. "Laurel, we all have this darkness inside of us. Just like we all have a light inside us as well. After everything you've been through since arriving here, and even before that, it's understandable why your darkness get the best of you in the heat of the moment."

The other woman swallowed. Shado pressed on. "There are always going to be moments where our darkness comes out. That's just the nature of life — it's not always that kind to us. But as long as you don't let your darkness consume you, you will be fine. You just need to remember to keep on following the light inside of you instead."

"But what if I forget?"

Shado smiled. "Then I guess that's what Slade and I here for, right?"

That seemed to do the trick. A small, genuine smile tugged at Laurel's face, and a moment later they were sharing an embrace. "Thank you, Shado," Laurel whispered into her ear.

Shado didn't say anything in return. She simply hugged back.

Laurel and Shado have such a strong bond, and I enjoyed writing from Shado's perspective. She really does deserve more love and to be more of a character beyond being Slade's obsession.

Speaking of Slade, the culmination of the changes in Year 1 with his character has finally been revealed — in this AU, he ends up falling in love with Laurel instead of Shado. This is for several reasons: he met Laurel far earlier than he did Oliver in canon, meaning he got to spend far more time with her than Oliver did and bonded with her easily since she was slightly more competent and far less spoiled. By the time he met Shado, Laurel and him had a solid bond that his feelings built off of.

Secondly, Laurel shares many of the same qualities that caused Slade to fall in love/become obsessed with Shado: a fierce spirit, a strong will, and intelligence. Not to mention being very beautiful. However, she also had a certain vulnerability to her that Shado lacked that appealed to Slade's protective instincts. Laurel is also more emotionally "accessible", since she's always been someone to wear her heart on her sleeve, meaning that Slade had an easier time confiding in her about certain troubles and receiving comfort in return.

Needless to say, this is going to change a lot down the line for both this year and in Season 2, especially since there's no Sara equivalent on the Amazo with Ivo right now. But that's for the future.

Meanwhile, back in Starling, everyone is reluctantly beginning to move on with their lives. Both Oliver and Sara are going back to college, and Oliver is officially made head of the Queen Family, even if his mom is still somewhat calling the shots behind the scenes. And of course, Oliver isn't happy to hear Moira is dating, but it's understandable considering how soon it is after Robert's "legal" death.

Of course, that's not all on his plate, considering he's about to meet Kazumi and Emiko. And what fun that's going to be.

Next Chapter: Laurel and co. meet Ivo for the first time, while Oliver meets the Adachis.