The End Of All Things (An Arrow: Season 8 Fanfiction)

Chapter 24: To Oliver Queen: A Memorial

BREAKING NEWS: OLIVER QUEEN DIES DURING WORLDWIDE CRISIS

'It's just such a strange thing to learn, that there's a whole other... world, I guess... where I died. The people that knew my son best tell me that when Oliver sacrificed himself during the crisis, somehow he's the reason that everything changed, that the world we're living in right now is a kind of gift from him. I don't know. I'm just trying to process it.' 

- Moira Queen 

'I - I think we're all still trying to process it, not only Oliver's death but what he leaves behind.' 

- Dinah Drake, SCPD captain

'It's a hell of a legacy. Not just a city of heroes, a world of heroes.' 

- Rene Ramirez "Wild Dog" 

'When I started this project, it was intended to explore the history and pitfalls of vigilantism in Star City. I never thought this documentary would have to be retooled to be a memorial.' 

- Marcia Pedowitz, director of "Emerald Archer and Athena" 

John and I sat together outside of a house, while the documentary crew interviewed us. 

'Nothing really ever, um - happens the way you expect it to, and that was certainly the case with Oliver and his mission. He always said he would go it alone and that the mission would never... be over. I'm glad he was wrong about the first part... heartbroken he was wrong about the second,' John said. 

'It's a lot to come to terms with, Oliver's death. It's not easy,' I spoke, wiping away stray tears. 'It's been an uphill battle, trying to accept this. I've been with him since the beginning, and when you come to know a sibling like that, when you're fighting a fight like this with them virtually all the time, the two of you come to know each other inside and out. And he understood me, and I likewise. The mission - it's over on Oliver's part, but we are still carrying on, and a piece of him still lives inside all of us.' 

'Thank you,' Marcia said, standing from her chair. 'That was very moving.' A cameraman came forward to remove the mics from our jackets. Rene walked forward half a second later. 

'Hey, hey,' he said. 

'Hey, man,' John replied. 'You all right?' 

'Everything good.' There was silence. 'Why do I get the sense that answer disappoints you?' 

'I just can't believe it, you know?' Rene looked around at the cameras. 

'Let's go.' 

We took a walk around the block. 

'When Oliver rebooted the universe,' Rene said, 'he fixed things. Ever since the crisis, crime in Star City disappeared overnight... literally. Dig, he - he saved this city.' 

'Yeah.' 

'Come on, you two. It's time.' 

The group made up of Dinah, John, Roy, myself and Rene raised our shots of vodka. 

'Prochnost,' John said, and we raised the vodka glasses, toasting Oliver. Roy flinched at the taste. 

'I didn't know you speak Russian,' Roy said. 

'No. That's what Oliver used to say every time he drank this stuff.' 

'What is this stuff?' Roy asked with a grimace.