Summary: Thea's bloodlust threatens to take her life and Team Arrow is running out of time. Oliver and Laurel aren't ready to say goodbye and are prepared to do whatever it takes so they won't have to. Sequel to Secrets (Arrow 4.12 Unchained/ 4.13 Sins of the Father remixed.)
Queen sibling fic. Thea Queen, Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper. Cannon Thea/Roy and Oliver/Felicity
Author's Note: This story is a sequel to Secrets. I wasn't intending to write a remix of two Arrow episodes, but I set my Secrets universe in the timeline prior to 4.12 "Unchained". When I realized I intended to continue writing the story of Thea's journey of survivorship (which will be continued in a sequel, Revealed in Time), I realized that there was a lot to dig into while expanding and changing bits of 4.12 "Unchained" and 4.13 "Sins of the Father". It was somewhat cathartic too, as some of the characters' reactions and struggles in this story parallel my own experience losing a much-loved family member. I hope that you will feel the same – that I have not wasted your time rewriting two episodes that you could just go watch, but that I have brought something new to this story.
Chapter 1: Bloodlust
9 Months Ago
Thea sat in the dark of the Loft scrolling through pictures on her phone. Filling her vision were images of her and Roy at Verdant, Roy grinning unabashedly towards the camera, and the two of them goofing off in a selfie.
Everything hurt. She had been so desperate for the last two days to get Roy out of prison, for Ollie to get off his ass and do something and … in the end they hadn't been fast enough. All because of the world of the Arrow that Thea had dragged Roy into just by being related to Ollie … and now Roy was dead.
Thea closed her phone and set it down, suddenly as desperate to forget as a moment ago she had been desperate to remember. Thea sniffled away another tear as she walked over to the partially empty bottle of red wine, poured herself some and quickly tipped it to her lips, willing it to work faster.
Through the fog of grief and alcohol, Thea caught a sound behind her. Thea realized she was not alone. She spun around, gasping as she came face to face with Ra's Al Ghul. Her wine glass dropped from her hand and shattered on the ground beside her.
Ra's stood, in complete control, outlined by the city lights through the window behind him. Almost gently, he asked, "Do you know who I am, child?"
Panic fueled Thea as she realized that that which she, Malcolm and Oliver had been running from all these months had arrived in her own home. She had no hope of holding her own in fight alone against Ra's - even her brother and her father were unable to defeat him in combat.
Thea did her best to keep her voice even. "You're the Demon," Thea stated.
"I am the Demon's Head," Ra's corrected. "As were those before me - and, very soon, your brother."
Thea was well aware that Oliver had turned down Ra's' offer to become Ra's' heir. The idea that this man would calmly state it like an inevitability gave Thea chills. Thea hissed out, "He will never take your place."
"He will," Ra's said calmly, unperturbed. "Once I've given him sufficient motivation."
Thea felt her pulse quicken, understanding dawning on her that Ra's intended to use her to motivate Ollie. Instead of the thought filling her with fear, it suddenly filled her with rage. "Oh," she said, teeth gritted. "My brother is going to kill you."
Ra's gave an amused scoff. "No," he dissented. He took a few steps towards Thea. "He's going to beg me."
Thea could feel the killing intent coming off of Ra's and knew her only hope was to strike out first. She turned around and grabbed up a large chef's knife from the counter behind her, hefting it perfectly towards Ra's' head. Ra's deftly raised his hand and caught the knife before it struck.
Thea took the moment of distraction to run as fast as she could towards the Loft's door. Thea was horrified to find that, while appearing to not have exerted himself at all, Ra's stood in her path. Thea used the momentum from her sprint behind her fist as she dove forward with a punch directed towards Ra's' head. He easily blocked her hand.
Thea pulled back and struck out with two more attempts, punching first with her left, then her right. Ra's dodged both strikes, then backed up to avoid Thea as she spun and attempted two high kicks. As she kicked once more, Ra's caught her leg. Thea took the momentum and swung her entire body around, attempting to land a fourth kick. Thea charged punching and kicking, each time Ra's stepping calmly out of her path without a single strike landing.
As Thea tried to elbow Ra's in the face, Ra's suddenly gripped Thea by the throat and sharply shoved her against a support column. Thea felt air forced out of her lungs with the impact and found she was unable to draw it back in due to the firm strangle hold Ra's maintained on her neck. It dawned on Thea with horror that Ra's was merely playing with her – and now playtime was done.
With everything left in her, Thea broke the hold and struck out with a high kick towards Ra's head, but as she came back down, she felt Ra's hand grab onto her throat. She met his eyes with her own fearful ones. Then she felt her body rise in the air and Ra's slammed her body onto the glass coffee table, shattering it into her back.
Ra's reached into his sheath and pulled out his long-bladed sword. Grabbing Thea by the shoulder where she lay stunned in the ruins of the coffee table, he pulled her body towards him to impale her through the chest on the stationary sword. In shock, Thea's hands reached out in front of her, scrambling at the sword hilt flush against her chest. For a moment there wasn't even pain, only shock. She choked as her body tried to come to terms with the foreign object fully running through her. Thea was only vaguely aware when Ra's began speaking Arabic in her ear as she gasped for air.
She felt herself falling back and watched in horror as Ra's stickily pulled the sword from her body and stood above her wiping her blood off from the blade.
The world faded into and out of focus as Thea coughed sickly and then tried to gasp for air. Her body felt heavy and she felt her strength draining out of her.
Thea didn't know how long since Ra's vanished or how long she lay on the battered shards of the coffee table. All Thea knew was that, as she lay there, observing herself fade, she suddenly felt a sharp prick of consciousness. She knew if she laid there, unmoving, she would die. Her only chance to survive was to get help.
Thea summoned everything she had within her and fought to turn from her back to her stomach. With a mighty effort, her body flopped over the edge of the broken table and Thea could feel the coolness of the Loft's tile floor on her cheek. Thea's sight grayed out and for a moment, unable to see a thing.
When her sight returned, Thea noticed the landline phone lying on the ground about four feet away. It was as if it taunted her, being so near and yet so far. Maybe it was: Thea was certain that the phone had not been there before Ra's.
Every inch that Thea moved herself took what felt like the last of herself. She knew she was moving closer – the phone was nearer – but the effort was eating away at the little energy she had left. She took a moment to breathe, closing her eyes against the spinning of the room. Then she scooted again, this time reaching out and her hand glancing off the edge of the phone.
Thea let her hand fall to the ground as she rested up enough to make another attempt.
The sound of the handle turning on the Loft door perked up Thea's ears. Then the most wonderful sound – Oliver, calling her name, gently. "Thea?" A moment passed, then Oliver's voice changed completely and Thea knew she had been found. "Thea?"
Footsteps ran across the floor. "Oh, my god, Thea! Hey!" Thea felt knees slide on the floor and glance off her side. This was it, help had arrived. Thea put her strength into trying to talk, but found the only thing that passed through her lips were groans.
Thea felt Oliver's hands grasp her by her shoulders and gently turn her so that she was again lying on her back. But unlike the last view she had lying on her back, of Ra's and his sword, her sight was filled by her big brother. His eyes were wide and panicked, but Thea felt soothed. He was here. She wasn't alone.
Oliver grabbed the phone to dial out, but all Thea wanted to do was talk to her brother. Choking on blood, she tried to call his name, "Oliver." She was aware that it sounded mumbled and indistinct.
The phone rang in Oliver's hand. It was important to her that her brother knew she had tried. That she had fought. She did her best to focus her eyes on Oliver and groaned out, "I …" she stuttered. "Couldn't … stop him."
Oliver acted as though he didn't hear her. When someone picked up the line, he ordered crisply, "I need an ambulance to 455 Merced, Unit 10. Please hurry." He vanished from her sight for a moment and when he reappeared, he shoved something against her chest. Everything erupted in pain and Thea gasped.
Through the flashes of agony, Thea thought she heard her brother's voice say soothingly, "Okay. You're going to be okay." The pain and the exhaustion was becoming too much. Thea had given everything she had to try to get to the phone and help had arrived. She could rest now. Her eyes drifted shut.
"He's still not answering, John," Felicity said, her voice low with worry. She darted a glance over at Digg as he drove his SUV as quickly as he could from the Loft to Star City General.
"Try Thea again," Digg ordered, hoping in the face of contrary evidence that one of them would answer. He hadn't gotten more than a glimpse of the Loft around the Star City police officers securing their crime scene, but he saw enough to know something had gone down inside and that Oliver, Thea, or both, were likely in a lot of trouble. With no idea where else to turn, Felicity and Diggle raced to the hospital.
Diggle and Felicity rushed in the direction the receptionist had indicated was Thea's room. As they turned a corner, Diggle caught his first glimpse of Oliver.
Oliver sat on a bench tucked against one side of the hospital hallway, dried blood covering his neck and the shoulder of his shirt. His leather jacket was draped over his arms like a blanket. He didn't look noticeably hurt, but he was still.
As soon as Felicity saw Oliver, she began to jog over to reach his side. She murmured, horrified, "Oh my god." Trying to get his attention, she called out, "Oliver!"
Oliver made no sign of having heard. He gazed straight ahead of him as if he were in shock.
John tried to get a response, "Oliver, we came as fast as we could. What happened?" They had found a crime scene and knew Thea had been admitted to the hospital. Everything else was still a question.
Felicity lowered herself to sit beside Oliver, facing him, and tried to read the situation from his lack of expression. "Oliver," Felicity breathed out, her voice sounding like a plea.
Oliver's expression didn't change as he murmured, "They just left her there. To die."
Diggle's heart sunk in his chest. Dreading the answer made Diggle fight himself even to ask, "Oliver, is … is she-?"
Without a glance towards them, Oliver said softly, "It's bad."
No. This loss. This would be the one that would break Oliver. John was sure of it. Felicity's eyes began to well with tears. Silence fell over the somber trio.
For the first time, Oliver showed some sign of life as he slowly gazed towards the window at the end of the hall. He slowly stood up, letting his jacket drape from his hand onto the ground. "What is it?" Felicity asked.
"Smoke," Oliver ground out, voice cracked from underuse. John looked out the window and now could see what had caught Oliver's attention. Purple smoke plumed over the rooftops of a high-rise in Star. It looked like a League of Assassins' smoke signal.
"The League?" John guessed. Oliver said nothing. "Screw 'em." Diggle intoned. "At least until we get our bearings, Oliver." As far as John was concerned, the only focus right now should be Thea. The League would wait. "Come up with a plan."
"He's won," Oliver stated in a defeated tone. "There is no plan." Oliver turned and, still without a glance toward either of his friends, began to make his way up the hall. He talked as he walked away, "Stay here with Thea."
In Oliver's wake was silence. Felicity fixed watery eyes on John as if she were searching for answers. But John had none. "Come on," John said heavily. "Let's see Thea."
Digg pushed the door open. Thea lay completely still, tucked into a hospital bed. Covering her mouth was a tube connected to the machine which pumped and hissed in perfect time as Thea's chest rose and fell. Diggle knew the sight of a ventilator when he saw one and his heart sank.
As he took in the scene, his eyes landed on the unwelcome form of Malcolm Merlyn. "Merlyn," John hissed, freezing where he stood. Felicity skirted around John and, ignoring Malcolm, took a seat next to Thea's bed.
Malcolm turned in his seat at Thea's bedside to affix Diggle with a piercing glare. "Mr. Diggle," Merlyn said, voice biting but weary. "I would ask that you respect that you are at my child's deathbed and leave whatever grievances you have at the door."
Felicity's cracking voice asked, "She's dying?" Diggle looked over at Felicity and saw she had taken one of Thea's hands in her own. Malcolm turned away from Diggle to look back over his daughter.
Malcolm said softly, "She's braindead. It's just her body left. The doctors told Oliver he should consider taking Thea off life-support." Felicity began crying in earnest now.
"What happened?" John demanded.
"Ra's Al Ghul happened," Merlyn said sharply. "Just like I said he would. I told Oliver that Thea was not safe at their Loft, but he was stubborn. He wouldn't listen."
"I don't understand," Felicity said, voice quavering while tears shimmered on her cheeks.
Malcolm explained in a voice rough with emotion, "Ra's attacked Thea in the Loft. He ran her through with his sword. She lost too much blood and her heart stopped for too long. Her brain was without oxygen. There's nothing left of her."
"Then maybe you can tell me," John said in a gruff voice. "What would the League want with Oliver now?"
Malcolm's reddened eyes gazed hard at Diggle as if he were thinking through a mind fogged with grief. Malcolm blinked slowly and then said, "They'll make their deal again – Oliver will become Ra's."
"And why would Oliver join the group of assassins who just murdered his sister?" Felicity asked sharply.
"He would," Malcolm said softly, gazing back at his daughter. "If he thought he could save Thea."
Present Day
"I'm not interested in anything you have to say unless you found a cure for my bloodlust," Thea announced in a sing-song voice, not even turning her head from her firefly pose. Hands planted on the ground, Thea held her legs out in front of her, focusing on her core to keep her body balanced.
Malcolm silently approached and stood next to her, taking in the view of Star City from the rooftop of Thea and Laurel's apartment complex. There wasn't technically resident access up here, but that made it all the better as a place for complete solitude while she spent time with some yoga and meditation.
Malcolm failed to take her warning to heart and waited in silence for Thea to start the conversation. With a long, loud sigh, Thea pulled out of the pose and stood next to her father.
"Is yoga helping?" Malcolm asked casually as the two took in the dark evening, lit up by the city lights.
"It's not not helping," Thea snapped. Any amount of clarity and relief she had found from the cravings of her bloodlust was gone after mere seconds in Malcolm's presence.
Malcolm seemed unbothered by the bite in Thea's words. "Did you know Damien Darhk has been alive for over a hundred years?" Malcolm asked casually.
Thea turned around to look at Malcolm in shock. "He …" Thea drifted off, not knowing what to ask next.
"Look at this dapper fellow," Malcolm said, pulling a photo out of a group of men in Nazi uniforms. "Look familiar?" Thea gaped looking at the image of Damien Darhk in black and white, looking exactly as he had a month ago when they had saved his wife and daughter from Lonnie Machin – before he had disappeared.
Thea turned to look at Malcolm. "How?" she asked.
"Turns out our friend has been around for a few hundred years. He was even a member of the League of Assassins, long, long before my time."
"So he's using the Lazarus Pit," Thea surmised, staring at the image before Malcolm flicked it away.
"It appears that he is using some component of the Lazarus Pit," Malcolm agreed. "I promise you, he has not taken a dip in the pool since I have been Ra's, and I would seriously doubt he was allowed to before me."
"If he's just another person who has used the Pit, then why would him touching me have blunted the bloodlust?" Thea asked suspiciously.
"There's certainly something more to it, likely having to do with however he got the magic he uses to kill people," Malcolm mused. "I don't have all the answers yet. But I thought you might appreciate knowing that some progress has been made."
Thea met Malcolm's eyes, torn between being angry due to the bloodlust flaring in her chest, or being gracious that he was trying. With utmost effort, Thea said abruptly, but truthfully, "Thank you. For looking."
Malcolm nodded and turned to walk away. "You may not believe it," Malcolm said, facing away from Thea, "But I do actually want you to live healthy and well. You may not consider me your father, but to me, you will always be my daughter." Malcolm vanished into the night.
Thea turned to ensure she was alone again and then looked back out over her city. Every part of her body and mind felt heightened, like she was constantly filled with adrenaline. It was exhausting finding ways to keep herself calm and centered. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her bloodlust at bay.
She felt the blood thrumming through her body and she clenched a fist, trying to settle her heart down. She drew in a long deep breath, held it, then released it. As she did, the world grayed for a moment and Thea felt faint. Thea blinked her eyes quickly to shake away the feeling. The feeling faded, and, with a second breath serving to bring her more control, Thea effortlessly flipped up onto one hand and held herself steady in a one-handed tree pose. Her muscles began to burn, but she couldn't stop. She was going to hold on.