Season 3: Rebuilding

3x09: Abyss

Synopsis for Episode 9: Trapped on Lian Yu, Felicity struggles against her injuries and Slade's mental torture to stay alive. Meanwhile, Team Arrow receives news that Felicity's alive, and Oliver must face his own resolve about not killing when it comes to saving the life of someone he loves.

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3x09: Abyss

As Diggle entered the secret lair, he could feel tension fill the atmosphere. The air simmered with electricity and he slowed down as he saw the two men further inside. Oliver and Dick were standing on opposite sides of Felicity's workstation, facing each other with unreadable expressions. The room was quiet, except for the low humming of the computers, but much had plainly already been spoken. John wondered to what degree the two men had fallen out this time. Both of them were in great torment over Felicity's loss, and had different ways of dealing with it.

Where Dick preferred to shut the others out and wallow in the deepest recesses of his mind, Oliver had found a sliver of hope to which he clung like no other. It was one of few times Diggle had ever seen his friend fill with hope, and he couldn't help but be swept away with it to some extent. Whether or not Oliver was right and Felicity remained alive remained uncertain, and so John refrained from losing himself entirely to a hopeful state of mind.

Before they could address that issue, he needed to assess the situation before him and minimize the damage. Diggle carefully hedged around the men as he asked, "... Is everything alright down here?"

For a few long seconds, there was no reply as the stare down continued. Dick was the first to lower his gaze and turn to face the other man. His dark eyes shone with incredulous disbelief and something darker, as he voiced his anguish, "Oliver believes Felicity's alive."

John inclined his head in understanding. He walked closer towards his friends, prepared to act as mediator should he need to, and said, "So he tells me."

"… But there's no evidence," Dick growled. His eyes pleaded with the others to drop the subject and accept the cold, hard facts at hand. Hope, then, had no room in Dick's broken heart.

"Not yet," Oliver replied in lightning speed, unwilling to back down despite being the underdog of the conversation. They all knew it was true; there was nothing but Oliver's gut instinct to go on. Still, he refused to be beaten down in this moment. He wasn't sure what steered him on his path, but he needed to keep steering against the storm.

"And how much faith can we put in your feelings?" the disbelieving man questioned and whirled back to face Oliver. Queen took a hesitant step back as Dick verbally berated, "You weren't there when Slade took Felicity, you underestimated his reach. That should tell us exactly how reliable your gut instincts are, Oliver."

"Let's all take a breath here," Diggle stepped in between the men. The tension was too thick, and there was no pretty end in sight to complete their argument.

No one spoke for another minute, and John eyed Oliver from the corner of his eyes. The younger man stood immobile as a noticeable shadow passed across his features. Diggle wanted to say something, anything really, as he saw hope wither in the man's cobalt eyes. Before he could, however, Oliver let out a deep breath and visibly shrank back.

His eyes lowered to the floor and he breathed in a low voice, "He's right."

"Slade wanted Felicity," Diggle hurriedly disagreed. He could already see the guilt reassemble in his friends eyes and tried to dismantle it, "He would have found a way to get to her no matter what precautions you tried. This isn't your fault."

Oliver shook his head, his friend's reassurance barely scratching at the existing guilt. "I shouldn't have given him an opening," he sighed wearily, "I should have been with her."