Season 3: Rebuilding

3x23: The Darkest Hour

Synopsis: Malcolm Merlyn's plans come to a head with devastating results for Team Arrow and no one is left unaffected. With the arrival of unexpected friends and new allies, can Team Arrow prevent the worst from happening or is it already too late to stop Malcolm's plans from unravelling?

---

3x23: The Darkest Hour

"No!" Oliver cried as everything around him blackened by intruding fear. His fury had faded from his frame entirely by now, leaving only sheer panic and despair in its wake. He couldn't live through this again, not with her. He couldn't lose Felicity...

His eyes met hers across the space once more, and this time everything else seemed to fade into the distant background. Nothing else made sense, and nothing else mattered. The pain of her suggestion was clearly evident in her eyes, but there was a morose smile that seemed to make a brave attempt at outweighing the severity of it all. Oliver attempted to intervene once more, but his leg buckled and he collapsed onto his knees. He sat up and felt his eyes burn with unshed tears at his helpless state.

"I'm afraid it's still his choice, Felicity," Slade smirked as he heard his enemy's anguished breathing and held Oliver's gaze another second before he turned back to Felicity.

"You did it again..." she whispered and her breath trembled with emotion. Before Slade could decipher the true meaning of her words, she withdrew something small and sharp from her pocket and stabbed him in the shoulder with it.

Slade growled as pain invaded his limb and forced him to release his hold on the woman's coat. Felicity, who'd been balancing precariously as it was, started to fall backwards over the edge.

"NO!" Oliver cried loudly as he watched the inevitable happen before his eyes and he threw himself forward. It was too late, however. It was all too late.

Felicity's sapphire eyes widened in realization, but not a single syllable or frightened scream crossed her lips as she fell over the ledge and out of the building. Within a heartbeat she was gone from sight and the room empty and desolate.

Oliver fell to the floor as she disappeared out of his line of vision, his entire body aching from the unexpected twist. He felt as if something crushed his heart inside his chest and his wide-open eyes stared out at the night air, calm and quiet despite what had just happened.

Oliver slowly shook his head as tears ran down his cheeks and he tried to find the strength to breathe. "...Felicity."

Slade whipped his head around as he registered his nemesis' raw, soft voice. Slade tilted his head to the side and a victorious glint ignited his eyes as he breathed, "You lose, kiddo."

Oliver fought against the rough mist that threatened to engulf him, and held on to whatever sanity remained. Oliver blinked rapidly as he focused on the small, black item in Slade's left hand and frowned in confusion at the blinking red dot upon it. In less than a heartbeat Oliver recognized what it was; it was one of the explosive batarangs Dick had left for Felicity and Roy upon his departure.

Slade noticed the other man's wandering gaze and immediately noticed the same deceptive, crimson light. Reacting on pure instinct, Slade flung the small bat-like weapon out the open window. The batarang barely flew two yards straight out before it exploded with a fiery roar. The fires licked the sides of the building and the shockwave knocked Slade off of his feet.

As Slade hit the ground and the explosion settled, Oliver was kicked out of his reprieve. With a guttural growl, he threw himself forward. With each heartbeat, Oliver felt pain travel through his veins like he'd never felt before. His Felicity was dead because of the one-eyed man before him and there was but one way to achieve justice now. In the end, Oliver figured, this wasn't just about Felicity, but his mother, Shado and Sara on the freighter.