Hey guys! I'm back. I know it's been a long time since I've updated and I'm really sorry about that. But life has been going pretty crazy since last time. Plus, I've had to prioritize which fics to update so this one just kind of got put off for a while. But here it is finally! Chapter six. I hope you enjoy. Please R&R.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ARROW OR ANY OTHER THINGS IN THIS STORY.

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The next 'episode', as it were, opened with a scene on the Island. A rabbit stood in the distance in the forest- and was suddenly cut down by an arrow. Several yards away stood Yao Fei, bow in hand, with Oliver standing next to him. He indicated to the rabbit.

"Dinner." he said.

"That is disgusting," Tommy said staring at the dead carcass in disgust.

"And what exactly did you expect your friend to do?" Nyssa asked narrowing her eyes. "Starve?"

Tommy flinched as if he'd been slapped. "That's not what I meant."

Oliver looked at him, and then groaned. "Ah, come- hey, I got an idea, why don't you let me shoot that thing and you can go pick up the bloody, dead, disgusting animal." He whined.

"See even he agrees it's disgusting," Tommy said gesturing wildly to the screen.

"Son, sometimes, one must do what it takes to survive. It's a lesson I wish you had obtained," Malcolm said harshly while watching Oliver with intent. He was concerned. He did not want to kill Oliver. The boy was like a son to him. The son he wished he'd always had. But nothing could get in the way of his undertaking.

Yao Fei looked him over, and then indicated to his bow. "What?" Oliver asked, confused.

"Try." He said simply, handing the bow over. Oliver took it, unsure. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised. Everything, breathe. Breathe, aim, fire." He instructed. He handed him an arrow. "Here." He said, then pointed at a far off tree. "Aim that tree."

Oliver knocked the arrow and took aim. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised again, and Oliver took a slow, steadying breath. He released it, then shot the arrow- That went wide to the right.

Everyone in the room burst into laughter. Even Nyssa and Malcolm had to grin at the sight. The arrow wielding vigilante couldn't shoot a single thing to save his life at this point in the memory.

"I didn't realize he was such a terrible shot," Laurel said smiling.

"Yep, he was even worse than I was when I started out," Arsenal said smirking.

"You know I didn't know you at the beginning but I heard all about your first couple shots. They were terrible," Wally said elbowing his friend. Arsenal rolled his eyes under his mask as the recording started again.

"Nǐ huì sǐ de hěn cǎn" Yao Fei muttered.

"What does that mean?" Oliver asked, annoyed.

"You will die badly." He translated dryly. He pointed in the direction the arrow went. "Get."

Oliver sighed in annoyance, but walked off in search of the wayward arrow. He moved deeper into the forest, and he finally spotted it, sticking out of a fallen tree. He moved to get it, when suddenly a hand covered his mouth.

"Wait what's going on?" Thea asked nervously. She didn't want to see anything else happen to her brother.

Arms grabbed him and dragged him further into the trees. Soon his hands were bound in front of him, and he was led by three men in black tactical gear and ski masks to a pit covered by a makeshift bamboo grate. They opened the grate and shoved him into the hole. Oliver crashed down, barely able to break his fall, and turned over to see the men close the grate and secure it, locking him in.

"Wait, wait! You can't leave me here!" he cried out, grasping at the grate. One of the men smashed his fingers with the butt of his assault rifle. Oliver screamed in pain, letting go and falling back down. "Don't do this to me, please! Oh-oh! No! Please! I didn't do anything!"

"What's going to happen to him?" Laurel asked worriedly.

"My guess is they are mercenaries. It's a miracle he survived the experience at all," Nyssa said before Sara nudged her and mumbled something in arabic. "My apologies, Beloved. I shall try to be more sensitive to their emotions." Malcolm rolled his eyes while everyone else just stared at her oddly before looking back to the memories their worry for Oliver superseding any other comments they wanted to add.

The scene flashed back to present as Oliver was led out of a squad car in cuffs and into the SCPD headquarters through a sea of reporters.

'The police think they know who I am.' Oliver's' voice sounded, playing over his booking. 'They think I'm the vigilante. The man in the hood terrorizing the city's criminals. They also think they have me trapped. That I have no way out. They're only half right.'

"This is a mistake."

The scene had changed to an interrogation room, where Lance sat across the table from Oliver. Lance didn't even look up from his forms at Oliver's declaration.

"Dammit I have him!" Lance shouted standing up suddenly. "He can't weasel his way out of this one. That arrogant ass is going to rot in prison for longer than five years. I wish he'd stayed in hell…" Quentin was cut off by a knife embedding itself in the wall behind him.

"Don't talk about him that way," came a deep gravelly voice. Turning, Quinten saw a man dressed in mostly black. "He was a better man than you." Everyone in the room fell silent in fear with the exception of the League trained visitors and the 'supervisors'. Nyssa and Malcolm were on guard preparing for an attack.

"Arsenal," The man said not moving. He was clearly a little defensive as well. "Andrea called. She's sick."

"Really right now?" Arsenal said sighing. "Fine get someone to take over for me." With that, he grabbed his bow and marched out of the room.

The man in black looked around before his eyes landed on Diggle. He stared at the man for a few seconds, his masked eyes wide open in shock before schooling his expression. "I'll send someone else in a few minutes. Until then, don't kill each other." Finally the time travelers were alone with Wally having followed everyone else out.

"Ummm, what the hell was that?" Laurel asked looking around.

"Your dad just got told off by a scary dude in a black costume who likes to put pointy objects in people," Roy offered smirking.

"I'll be asking you a few questions, standard stuff for the report." He said. "Have you been arrested before? That's ok, I know the answer to that one, plenty of times." he put in sarcastically.

"Like I said, this is a mistake." Oliver repeated.

"Far as I can tell, the only mistake I made was not shooting you down at the docks when I had a chance." Lance snarled in reply.

"I am not who you think I am." He tried. Lance scoffed.

"Oh, you're exactly who I think you are." He stated. "You're a dangerous menace who doesn't care about who he hurts, except now you're doing it with bows and arrows instead of trust funds and yachts."

"Dad!" Laurel yelled at her father. "That is not ok. You can't do that to any suspect let alone the fact that Ollie already paid for what happened."

Oliver sat back in his chair. "Detective, you hate me. I get it. But that doesn't make me a vigilante." He reasoned.

"No." Lance agreed, and then pressed on. "The security camera footage of you at the UNIDAC auction with a green hood does that pretty well."

"And as I said again, I ran into the stairwell once I heard the shooting." Oliver stated, leaning forward. "I saw a duffel bag that I thought maybe belonged to the shooter. I grabbed it, looked inside and saw a hood." He finished.

Everyone sat there in silence for a second.

"Wow, and I thought Ollie was bad at lying on Lian Yu," Sara said listening to the horrible lie he was trying to give to the police.

"Wait you were on Lian Yu?" Laurel said in shock. "How?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Sara said looking away from her family. Nyssa gently put her hand on Sara's wrapping it around her petite limb.

"And what- you took it home with you? 'Cause we can't find it." Lance retorted. "And what about harassing Adam Hunt? That just happened to take place right across the street from your little homecoming bash."

"Those were coincidences." Oliver argued.

"No. When they pile up like that, it becomes evidence." Lance replied. He began to work on the forms again when a patrol man opened the door.

"His parents are here." The cop announced.

"Tell them to wait." Lance ordered.

"I want to see my son." Moira demanded, storming into the room with Walter right behind her.

"I'm in the middle of an interrogation here!" Lance yelled, getting up from his chair. "Detective Lance," Moira started, fury etched on her face, "I know you hate my family, but I had no idea that you'd go so far to arrest my son without any grounds whatsoever!" "I have solid grounds, and I have evidence." Lance argued coldly.

"You have circumstantial evidence. But there will be witnesses that place Oliver at the party on the night of Hunt's downfall." Laurel pointed out.

"But he was across the street," Her father protested.

"Do you have the exact time, because most of those people will just go off the fact that he was there. It's a flimsy basis for an arrest."

"Which you can present to Mr. Queen's attorney when he gets here." Walter countered. "Until then, this interrogation is over, Detective."

Lance looked at Moira and Walter, then down at Oliver, still seated at the table. "Sure." He said finally, walking out of the room "You have fifteen minutes." He closed the door, leaving the family alone in the room.

"Detective Lance appears to be on some personal vendetta." Walter noted.

"He is." Oliver agrees, looking at the man. "He blames me for the death of his daughter. He also thinks that I dress up in a green hood and shoot people with arrows." He finished dryly.

"It's really scary he can lie like that," Tommy said frowning at his friend.

"The important thing is not to say anything until your attorney gets here." Walter advised.

"Fine." He agreed. "I want Laurel."

Both Moira and Walter scoffed. "Brilliant." Walter muttered.

"Oliver I don't think your ex-girlfriend can be counted on to be objective here." Moira argued. Oliver looked at her, unflinching.

"She knows me better than anyone. She knows that I could never be this guy." He reasoned. He looked to his stepfather. "Walter, you say Lance has a vendetta?"

"Yes." He replied.

"I think Laurel can get him off of it." Oliver continued. "He raised her to do the right thing. That includes representing an innocent man. So Mom," He looked to Moira. "Please." He asked plainly. Moira sighed.

"Do you think you'll say yes?" Tommy asked looking at the girl he's had a crush on for years.

"Probably," Laurel responded.

The scene changed to CNRI. Moira entered and looked around, finally finding her target. "Laurel." She said, walking up to the attorney that was busily reading a file. Laurel looked up in surprise.

"Mrs. Queen!" she exclaimed, confusion on her face. "What are you-"

"It's Oliver. Something's happened." She began. Laurel looked at her sympathetically. "I know." She glanced at a TV that was re-airing Oliver's walk up the precinct stairs. "It's been all over the news."

Moira sighed. "These charges are ludicrous." She stated.

"I know." Laurel agreed, walking them back to her desk. "Can I ask you, who's representing him?"

Moira looked at her awkwardly. "Well, that's why I'm here." She looked at the younger woman. "He wants you to represent him."

"Me?" Laurel asked in confusion.

"Yes." Moira replied, slightly embarrassed. "I told him it was a bad idea, but to be frank, I am desperate. He says if you don't represent him, then he doesn't want any attorney."

"Mrs. Queen," she began slowly, "my father is the arresting officer." "Yes." Moira agreed. "And I don't think it's a good idea for me to represent someone who I've been involved with." she finished with a sympathetic look. "Listen, I am sorry for what your family is going through-"

"No apologies." Moira interrupted with a smile. "Your idealism, I think, is why my son, for all his mistakes, is so smitten with you." She sighed. "Regardless, it was a bad idea on his part, and I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Wow," Laurel said surprised. "I can't believe I didn't help him."

The scene shifted to the courthouse, where Oliver was being led into the courtroom by an officer.

"Docket 81941, People vs. Oliver Queen." The bailiff intoned. Oliver walked past his family, and Tommy, to sit at the defendants table. "Murder, aggravated assault, assault with intent, menacing and trespassing."

Judge Moss looked at Oliver, then looked around "Where's your attorney, Mr. Queen?" she asked. "I'm representing myself, Judge." He stood and replied calmly.

"That is a terrible idea," Laurel said shaking her head.

"Yeah he's making this a little too easy," Quentin said watching the recordings suspiciously.

"I'm not sure that's the wisest course, Mr. Queen." The Judge argued.

"I think it is." He countered. "I'm innocent."

"Then we'll consider that your plea," Moss said. "Thank you." Oliver said sitting back down. "Now, as to bail-"

"Your Honor," said District Attorney Kate Spencer as she stood to address the Judge."Mr. Queen's family owns a pair of private jets, and, well, on the subject of their wealth, I would point out that there is virtually no bail amount that can guarantee his presence at trial." She argued.

"So then I guess it's a good thing that the people's case is so circumstantial." Heads turned and Oliver allowed himself a satisfied smile as Laurel made her way into the court. She walked past Oliver's stunned family, and her even more stunned father, to stand next to the defendant's table. "Dinah Laurel Lance, Your Honor." She announced. "I'd like to file my appearance on behalf of the defendant."

"There you are," Tommy said shaking his head.

"I knew you wouldn't leave Ollie out to fend for himself," Thea said laughing. Laurel rolled her eyes smiling.

"Yeah I had a feeling I'd end up doing something like this."

Oliver gratefully slipped over to the second chair so Laurel could take her rightful place at the table. "Mr. Queen's wealth should not deprive him of the right to be released on bail while under the presumption of innocence." She argued.

"He is a flight risk." Spencer countered.

"Then minimize the risk." Laurel reasoned. "The defendant is willing to submit to home confinement and electronic monitoring through the wearing of a UKG45 administered ankle device."

The smile fell completely off Oliver's face. "No, he wouldn't." he argued.

"That must factor into his plan somehow," Diggle realized.

"Yes, it appears that Mr. Queen will have to figure out another way to fool your courts," Nyssa said calmly.

"Sold." The Judge said, ignoring him.

"Your Honor-"Spencer tried to argue, but the judge cut her off, too. "Bail is set at $15 million. $5 million bond." She announced. "Defendant to see probation for the fitting of a GPS device." She banged the gavel to close out the hearing.

Oliver leaned back in his chair and looked at his ex-girlfriend. "I knew you couldn't resist saving my ass." He said with a smile.

"You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?" she asked wryly.

"No." he denied. "It's going to be like old times."

"Fortunately for you with the legal case, there's no way that you're this vigilante." She noted, closing her briefcase.

"I agree."

She looked him dead in the eye. "Because he's actually trying to make a difference. We both know that's not really your style." She stated, rising to leave. She didn't see the hurt look in his eyes that he masked almost immediately.

Laurel winced as she watched herself onscreen.

"That was a little harsh," Roy pointed out.

"To be fair, I haven't said anything yet," she defended weakly. "But yeah that was a crappy thing to say."

The scene changed to Queen Manor later that day, where Oliver was getting fitted with his ankle bracelet as Moira, Walter, and Tommy looked on.

"Mom." He said calmingly to his mother, "It's not that bad."

The cop finished. "Ok. This device has a direct line into the precinct. Stay on the property, you're golden." He instructed. "Any questions?"

"Yes." Oliver said immediately. "I'm having a sizeable get together here tomorrow evening, and there is a better than likely chance it spills into the outdoor pool." Tommy and Moira looked at him in disbelief. The cop didn't bat an eye.

"He's throwing a party?" Quentin asked annoyed. "At a time like this?"

"I think his plan was to have witnesses placing him at home while the Hood was spotted across town. The ankle monitor limits that option," Malcolm said watching the screen intently. "I'm actually quite interested in what he'll do next."

"Pool deck's fine." He said. "Step on the grass, they're sending a SWAT team to forcibly subdue you." He finished wryly.

"Thank you, officer." Oliver said. The cop showed himself out. "A 'sizeable get together'?" Moira asked in disbelief.

"I'm confined to this house for the foreseeable future. I might as well make the most of it." He announced. He looked over at Tommy. "And this party is going to be themed." He decided. "I'm thinking prison, uh, burning man meets 'Shawshank Redemption'. The invite says, 'come before Oliver Queen gets off'.

"That is a terrible idea," Laurel said staring at the Oliver on screen.

"Maybe a party's not in the best of taste, you know, considering the circumstances." Tommy said, trying to be the voice of reason as he sat down next to his friend.

"Tommy, the circumstances are why we're having a party in the first place." Oliver said. He looked at the three of them. "I want people to know that I'm not worried about any of this."

"Why isn't he worried at all?" Thea asked frustrated. "We just got him back! I don't want to lose him already."

"Yeah, they have pretty good circumstantial evidence," Tommy said. "And I don't want my best friend in a jail cell.

"Well, that makes one of us." Moira said archly.

The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where Quentin was having a 'conversation' with his daughter.

"Before you start yelling-"

"Why would I yell?" he asked harshly. "You're only defending the man that killed your sister."

"Oliver did not kill Sara!" Laurel exclaimed, exasperated.

"If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have been on that boat." Quentin shot back.

"Dad," Sara said looking at her father. She couldn't believe he was acting this way. "I chose to go on that boat. Oliver didn't make me. I was young and stupid, yeah. But, you can't make Ollie suffer because of my choice."

"But he could have said no," Quentin said trying to defend his actions.

"Yeah, but so could I. Plus, what Ollie went through the next few years… at least I had Nyssa," Sara responded leaning onto her lover's side. "He had no one."

Have you considered the possibility that that's the reason you're trying to make him out to be this- this menace?" Laurel reasoned hotly.

"No." Quentin denied. "It is the videotape; it's the suspicious timing, that is the reason!" "This is Oliver Queen we're talking about." Laurel exploded. "He wrecks fancy cars and he dates models. He doesn't kill people."

"No, he just uses them, like he used Sara and like he used you, and he's only asked you to be his lawyer to get at me." Quentin stated angrily.

"No, he asked me to be his lawyer to get through to you." Laurel explained. "You hate the Hood and you hate Oliver, and you want more than anything for them to be the same person. But Oliver isn't the reason why Sara died. Or the reason mom left." She added.

"I don't have to listen to this." Quentin said, storming past her.

"And by the way," she added, "You're not the only one who misses them."

Quentin sighed, and then left as Laurel looked on sadly.

Quentin winced at his daughter's words. As much as it pained him to admit it, she was right. After Sara had been presumed dead and Dinah left him, he spiralled down. Laurel was always there trying to help him back on his feet. Cutting him off before he drank himself into oblivion. But he'd always been so focused on what he lost, he nearly forgot that Laurel lost them both too.

"Laurel… sweetheart," he said closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

A small tear fell from Laurel's face but she quickly wiped it away. Standing up she walked over and engulfed him in a hug.

"It's ok daddy," she said clinging onto him tightly. "I'm still here."

"So am I," Sara said kneeling down next to her family. "I'm here, I don't want to leave you again."

The family stayed there for a while, all of them in tears as they finally got the closure they'd been needing for years. When they all returned to continue watching, Laurel sat next to her dad her head on his shoulder.

The scene changed back to Queen Manor. Oliver was in his room, working on his laptop and looking through the notebook when there was a knock on the door. "Yup?" Oliver called. Diggle opened the door and walked into the room. "Thank you for coming." Oliver said, and then added quietly "Shut the door."

Diggle did so and walked over to Oliver. "I guess it was just a matter of time before the police caught up with you."

"Except they didn't."

"Oliver, they got you on video." Diggle protested.

"I knew the security camera was there, just like I knew the police would review the footage and arrest me." Oliver explained. "All part of the plan."

"So you wanted to get arrested?" Digg asked, confused.

"Well, I returned to Starling City and a few days later, the vigilante appears." Oliver reasoned. "Sooner or later, somebody was going to make the connection."

"I honestly can't believe no one did sooner," Malcolm explained shaking his head. "It pains me to know that not a single person was able to piece together his identity."

"He was pretty good at keeping all of this underwraps," Diggle said. "I mean so far only one person managed to find out. Me. And that was only because he chose to save me."

"So what part of serving yourself up to the cops will help you avoid going to prison for the rest of your life?" Digg demanded.

"There's more to it."

"Well, there better be, for your sake, because your family is freaking out downstairs." He said, and then added "Oliver, your mother and your sister just got you back, and now you're going to put them through a trial, maybe even worse? Don't you care?" he pleaded.

"Of course I care." Oliver stated, looking at the man. "The mission comes first."

Thea recoiled at the sheer lack of emotion in her brother's statement. Did he really prioritize his mission to his family? Did she not matter to him?

"He doesn't mean that does he?" she asked shakily.

Diggle thought carefully about how to answer that. He'd still never met Oliver, only seen him in the flashbacks, so he didn't really know about their previous relationship. But he knew war. And he also knew that Oliver meant what he had said. But it wasn't in a cruel way. He probably was just having trouble readjusting to home life. It was something every soldier went through. Not to mention, Oliver's war seemed to still be ongoing. It was hard to prioritize in that scenario.

"It's not quite that simple, Thea." Diggle started. "Oliver has spent years fighting to get back to you guys, but adjusting to being back home is difficult. The mission is something he feels a responsibility to do, especially since Robert died for him. He needs to do it. It's not that he doesn't care about you."

"Well said Mr. Diggle," Malcolm commented. "Thea, he does not love you any less. He simply is unable to cope with his return."

"I know how he feels," Sara added quietly.

Thea nodded turning back to the memories, but not before shifting closer to Roy, leaning some of her weight on him.

He leaned forward and turned the laptop around to show a news article, complete with photo, to Digg.

"Who is he?" the bodyguard asked.

"Leo Mueller." Oliver started explaining. "German arms dealer. Suspected in the theft of a hundred M249 Squad Automatic Weapons."

"Ok." Digg said.

"Last night he arrived in Starling City to sell the guns." Oliver finished.

"Oliver, don't you imagine there's enough trouble you're in this week than to go after this guy?" Digg argued.

"I imagine what would happen if a street gang got their hands on military-grade hardware. I imagine our city's streets turned into a war zone." Oliver stated bluntly.

"But you're under house arrest, Oliver, which means you can't just go after this guy." Digg pointed out.

"Look, for now, I would just like you to shadow Mueller." Oliver said. "I would like you to track his movements. I want to know where the buy is happening."

Digg sighed. "Ok." He agreed. "And how am I supposed to track him?"

Oliver smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you know us billionaire vigilantes" he said. "We do love our toys."

"What does he mean by that?" Tommy asked flippantly. "He knows of other billionaire vigilantes running around?"

The other occupants of the room shrugged. Suddenly, laughter sounded from one end of the room. Sara, Nyssa, and Malcolm were on their feet in an instant. They weren't sure who that was, but they didn't know many people who could sneak up on anyone who had been in the league of Assassins. Diggle and Quentin tensed, both reaching back only to realize they didn't have any sort of weapon.

"Relax," the voice said. "I'm not here to fight."

A girl entered the room. She was wearing a loose sweatshirt with the faded words Star Labs on the front.

"Wally asked me to come in and watch you guys while he and Ro- Arsenal figure out some other stuff," the strange girl said catching herself before she could reveal Arsenal's identity.

"Ok and who are you?" Laurel asked her eyes narrowing on the slip of the tongue.

"My name is Nora, I'm the daughter of Barry Allen. You guys don't know him yet."

Everyone exchanged wary glances regarding the newcomer before settling down to resume watching.

The scene changed to the Foundry. Digg flipped on the lights, illuminating Oliver's lair. He took his first clear look at the space and stared in wonder. He walked over to one of the work tables, stopping by a row of arrows that Oliver had made. Hesitantly, he touched his finger to the tip of the arrow. "Ow!" he shook his finger, then started looking around. Finally he found what he had been looking for, a small black case. He hefted it up onto a nearby table, then opened the lid. "Oooh." He said in admiration at the three magnetic GPS transponders. He pulled one out and turned it on, testing it. It beeped happily at him. "Oh, well, that's sweet." He said.

Everyone laughed at Diggle's admiration for all of the gadgets in the Foundry.

The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Josiah Hudson, the head of security, entered Walter's office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked Walter, who was standing behind his desk looking out the window. Walter turned and looked at the man.

"No, I didn't." he said, giving the other man a meaningful look. "In fact, this meeting isn't taking place." Hudson nodded, and Walter indicated the seat in front of his desk. He took his own seat. "How long have you been head of security at Queen Consolidated, Josiah?" he asked.

"Going on seven years now, sir." Josiah replied.

Walter nodded to himself. "Sounds about right." He noted, leaning forward. "But what I'm about to tell you will test the bounds of your discretion." At the other man's nod, he continued. "You're aware of the 'Queen's Gambit', Robert Queen's ill-fated yacht?" he nodded again. "Well, I found it."

Malcolm tensed. This was not going well and something needed to be done about it. He hated the idea of killing Walter, or Oliver for that matter. But it seemed with each passing moment that he needed to be more and more prepared to do so in order for his undertaking to succeed.

Josiah blinked. "Sir, the boat went down in the North China Sea five years ago."

"Which is why my discovery of its remains in a warehouse downtown was unexpected, to say the least." He handed the man a slip of paper with an address on it. "I want you to transfer those remains to a secure location. Can I count on you?"

Josiah nodded and chuckled. "What's going on, sir?" he asked, half concerned, half amused. Walter gave him a look that killed his amusement.

"That's very much what I'm trying to determine." Walter said, ending the meeting.

"What the hell is going on?" Thea asked staring. "Why would anyone want to recover the Gambit?"

"I don't know," Tommy responded. "But it's not good."

The scene shifted to SCPD. Laurel and Oliver made their way into the integration room, where Detective Lance and Kate Spencer were waiting for them.

"Thank you both for coming." Spencer said as the two sat down across the table. "No, thank you." Oliver replied glibly. "It's nice to get out of the house."

"I'll cut right to it." Spencer glanced at Quentin, and then leaned forward. "Detective Lance arrested your client without consulting my office first. So congratulations. I am willing to consider a plea in this case."

"Absolutely not." Oliver replied at once, garnering a look from Laurel.

"Mr. Queen spent five years in seclusion on a deserted island, cut off from civilization." Spencer went on. "It is quite possible he's suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress."

"Possible? More like definitely," Diggle stated observing the people in front of him. "Honestly with all he's been through I'd be more concerned if he didn't have any kind of trauma."

She sat back. "Given that, we would support a plea of insanity." She offered. Oliver scoffed, even as she continued. "Conditional on a period of indeterminate incarceration at a psychiatric facility."

"No, thank you." Oliver said again. "I'm not crazy."

"Finally something we agree on." Lance muttered. "He's not a nut, he's a killing machine." He glared at the younger man.

"Actually, I'm neither." Oliver replied.

"There is nothing you can say to me that I would believe." Lance declared, giving Oliver an idea.

"I'll take a polygraph." He offered.

"Wait, but he is the Vigilante," Thea said skeptically. "Won't the polygraph just show that he's not telling the truth?"

"Not necessarily," Quentin explained. "Anyone can fool the damn thing if they know how."

"That's why their inadmissible in court," Laurel added. "He could definitely fool one if he wanted to."

Laurel leaned back. "Uh, polygraphs are inadmissible." She told him over her shoulder.

"In front of the jury." Oliver agreed. He nodded at Quentin. "I'll take a polygraph in front of him. He's the one I need to convince."

"I'm going to need a minute." Laurel declared. The other two left the room, with Quentin shooting his daughter a look that she chose to ignore. When the door closed, she whirled around to Oliver. "You're looking at life in prison." She announced. "What Spencer just offered you is a gift."

"I'm not crazy. I am innocent." He reiterated. "I kind of want to take the polygraph." He added cheerfully, and then said "And if I take it and I fail, then I will consider making a deal."

Laurel looked at him and saw the sincerity in his face. "Fine." She said. "I'll set up the poly. And I will tell Spencer that we're not pleading out; but Oliver, you have a family. Friends. People who actually care about you." She reminded him. "So don't, for one second, think you're the only person with something to lose here." She paused for a moment, then let out a long breath. "I'll be right back."

"He needed to hear that," Sara said. "He so engrossed in his mission, he has to remember what he fought to come home for."

The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver, his hands still tied, was being led into a military-style camp by two masked soldiers. He was guided into a large tent and pushed up against the support pole. He winced as his bad shoulder hit.

Before him, seated behind a table, was a man in the same black uniform as everyone else, sans the mask. He was middle-aged and blonde, and when he spoke it was with a British accent.

"Please, sit." The man said, indicating a chair. "You're making me feel rude." Oliver dropped heavily into the chair. "I do apologize for my men's treatment of you." He continued, opening a soda and pouring it into a glass with ice. Oliver eyed the drink longingly. "They're trained to view any stranger as hostile. I'm Edward Fyers, by the way." He introduced himself. "And you are?"

"I'm Oliver Queen." Oliver said after a moment. "I was shipwrecked here. I don't know for how long. My family has money." He said suddenly, desperately. "They have lots of money you would be you'd be really well compensated for my rescue." He assured him.

"Well, I look forward to that." Fyers replied casually. "But for the moment, let's just talk."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Tommy said.

"It's not going to end well for Oliver," Roy agreed. "Those guys don't look like they're fooling around.

"About what?" Oliver asked tiredly.

"Well, for instance this gentleman." Fyers reached behind him and pulled a photo off a crate. He showed it to Oliver. "Do you know him?"

The picture showed a younger and much cleaner Yao Fei, dressed in full PLA uniform. Oliver recognized him almost instantly, and for a second thought about saying so; but something about Fyers, his men and this whole camp was setting off alarm bells in the back of his mind.

"No." he said after a pause.

"He's protecting him?" Laurel said surprised. She knew Oliver was kind and good, she'd seen past the whole playboy persona he'd had when they were dating. But these men were dangerous and he didn't give someone up in order to come home.

"No?"

"No." he repeated firmly. "Who's he?"

Fyers smiled tightly. "You're a poor liar." He declared. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I've been polite. I'll offer you one more chance before my manners leave me."

"Hey, hey...I don't know this guy." Oliver again argued. "I thought I was on this island all by myself."

"He was a terrible liar," Quentin said staring at the man who had been the object of his hatred for the last five years.

"Do you know what this island is named?" Fyers asked. Oliver shook his head, and he continued. "We're on Lian Yu- Mandarin for 'Purgatory'," he leaned forward, his gaze bore into Oliver's eyes, "and I can make it feel like hell."

Fyers got up and walked around the table so that he was standing by Oliver. "I don't know why you're protecting him." He said, looking down at the boy. "You're young. Foolish. Perhaps you don't know why, either." He considered, then in a harsher voice, "Think on that when you're begging for death." He walked out of the tent. As he went through the flap, he called out, "He's yours now."

Oliver turned to see a large man, dressed in black body armor and a balaclava that was half orange, and half black. He carried an Uzi in his hand, wore a bandoleer across his chest with M433 grenades, a knife in his boot, and a sword slung across his back. Oliver wasn't paying attention to the weapons; however, he was looking at the man's eyes, the only human part he could see- eyes blacker than the body armor he wore.

Thea blanched at the scene. That man looked deadly, and she didn't want him anywhere near her brother.

The scene flashed back to Queen Manor. Workmen were busy setting up for the party. Thea was sitting out on the pool deck staring absently at the Hōzen Oliver had given her, lost in thought.

"Hey, Speedy," Oliver called, poking his head out the door. "One of the workers left a keg too far from the bar. Can you ask them to move it please?" he smiled and lifted his leg a bit, shaking the ankle monitor. "I got the ankle thingie. I don't want to set off a SWAT invasion." He joked. Thea gave him a devastated look. "Hey!" he said, coming out and sitting in the chair next to her. "All this stuff? It's going to be fine, I promise." He said sincerely.

"Yeah, well, when you and dad left on the yacht, you promised me I'd see you in a few days." Thea pointed out sadly. "Which didn't happen."

The room was overcome with silence. Thea allowed a tear to flow down her cheek as she recalled that exact conversation. The one she'd had with her brother right before he got on that damned boat and "died".

"This is different than that." He countered. "I didn't do any of this stuff, you know that." He paused, seeing her hesitancy. "Right?"

"You're out all the time." She said sadly. "You have those scars, and since you've been back, you've been acting really weird."

"None of this makes me some Robin Hood wannabe."

"And you get me this." She lifted up the Hōzen. "I mean, it's an arrowhead."

"Your pretty close, Thea," Malcolm complimented. "Oliver seems to be having trouble dissuading you."

"Not exactly what I want to be right about," Thea responded.

"Oh, man." He sighed. "Thea, I bought that in the gift shop of the Beijing airport." He lied.

Oliver smiled. "Now I'm sort of happy I didn't buy you the shot glass with the panda on it, 'cause then you'd be worried I was panda man." He joked, finally drawing a smile out of Thea.

"You know, I knew you couldn't be this person." She chuckled. "I-I just... I can't lose you again."

"Deal." He agreed.

"You almost figured it out," Diggle noted. "Nice work."

"Yeah you'd make an excellent detective," Roy added sarcastically. "I mean almost getting it right but then screwing it up seems to be pretty common in police these days," he added looking towards Quentin with a smirk. The officer scowled as Thea rolled her eyes.

The scene changed to downtown Starling City. Moira walked into an office where Malcolm Merlyn sat, signing papers at his desk.

"Moira." He said pleasantly, putting down his pen. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Yes. Could you please make this quick?" she asked, "I'm in the midst of somewhat of a family emergency."

"Yes, of course. It's all over the local news." He chuckled. "Possibly even national."

"Well, I know what you're thinking." Moira began.

"Do you?" he replied, the smile still on his face but an edge to his voice.

"My son is not the man targeting the list." She assured him. "The charges are preposterous."

"Not according to the district attorney, assistant district attorney, investigating detective in the police department that filed charges against him." He said harshly.

"That detective has a vendetta against my family." Moira argued.

"Why? Is there something untoward about your family?" Malcolm asked. Moira's eyes flickered to the second man in the room, Malcolm's bodyguard. Then she returned her gaze to Malcolm. "If so, something really needs to be done about that." He finished.

"Dad! What the hell!?" Tommy yelled.

"You're threatening the Queens now?" Quentin asked glaring at the man.

"You better stay the hell away from my brother!" Thea yelled.

"Look, I'm sure everything will be explained later. But I am doing what's right for the city," Malcolm said careful not to reveal details. On the off chance this thing didn't unveil his master plan, he wanted to make sure everyone in the room could remain alive. And considering the daughter of Ra's al Ghoul would report his actions to the demon, he was in no rush to have his plots unraveled.

The scene changed to the SCPD, where Oliver was hooked up to the polygraph. Laurel was seated beside him, while Quentin and the polygraph tech sat across the table.

"Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin asked.

"You don't know who I am, Detective?" Oliver joked.

"The questions are to calibrate the polygraph. Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin demanded. "Yes."

"Were you born in Starling City May 16th, 1985?"

"Yes."

"Is your hair blue?"

"No."

"Have you ever been to Iron Heights prison?" Quentin asked, looking at Oliver.

"No." Oliver replied calmly. Laurel looked over at him, surprise registering on her face for a moment before she schooled her expression.

"We went there for a field trip," Laurel said confusion painting her features.

"Maybe he doesn't remember." Roy explained.

Quentin pulled out the sketch of the Hood. "Are you the man in this picture?"

Oliver flashed back to his interrogation on the island by Fyers and Bill Wintergreen. "Where can I find the man in this picture?" Fyers demanded of Oliver, who was tied with his arms above his head to the support post in the middle of the tent. The masked man loomed menacingly behind him.

Back in the present, Olive answered "No."

"I mean that's not really a picture," Thea pointed out. "It's a sketch."

"That doesn't matter," Quentin said. "It's the same idea."

"Just saying, he technically told the truth on that one."

Quentin looked at the tech, who nodded, showing Oliver was telling the truth. Lance licked his teeth, then tried a different approach. "You steal 40 million dollars off Adam Hunt?" Quentin demanded.

"No, I didn't." Oliver answered.

"Were you marooned on an island called Lian Yu for 5 years?" Quentin asked. "Yes."

"How is that even relevant?" Laurel demanded, cutting in. Quentin glared at her.

"I don't need to show relevance, but since you asked, whatever happened to your client on that island turned him into a cold blooded killer."

"Really? I thought you were the one who was always saying to keep emotions out of this kind of stuff," Laurel said frustrated.

"I don't think I had this particular scenario in mind," Quentin defended. Both of his daughters turned and glared at him at the same time. "Ok fine. I probably could be handling this better."

Oliver thought back to his torture on the island, of Wintergreen's sword cutting into his flesh as he screamed in pain.

"The physician that examined you reported that is covered in scar tissue." Quentin stated coldly. Laurel glanced at Oliver in shock, then looked back to her father.

"The machine won't work unless you ask a question." Laurel said.

"Did that happen to you there?" Quentin asked bluntly.

His mind still on the torture, nevertheless Oliver managed to answer calmly "Yes."

"When you came back, you told everyone that you were alone on that island." Quentin noted. "Are you claiming that your scars were self-inflicted?"

"No." Oliver admitted. "I wasn't alone. I didn't want to talk about what happened to me on the island." He said.

"Why not?" Quentin asked.

Oliver looked at the man steadily. "Because the people that were there tortured me." He admitted, to both Laurel and Quentin's shock.

The group stared at Oliver in shock. He was tortured within weeks of being on the island. They knew from his scars that it had to have happened at some point, but he was still the arrogant billionaire when this happened the first time.

"I… I can't believe someone would do that to him," Laurel whispered softly staring at the screen.

"Have you killed anyone?" Quentin asked.

Oliver paused for a long moment, before looking back up at Lance. "Yes." He admitted.

Quentin's eyes flickered towards Laurel, satisfaction clearly evident in his eyes. He looked back at Oliver. "When I asked your daughter Sara to come on my father's yacht with me." The young man finished brokenly, the very tenuous grip on his control slipping briefly. "I killed your daughter." He admitted again. He tore the sensors off his body, ignoring the look of rage and pain on Quentin's face and the look of sadness on Laurel's as he stormed out of the room.

After the door closed, the Tech looked at Quentin. "I'd have to study the data, but just eyeballing it, he's telling the truth." He stated. Quentin hummed noncommittally. "Can I assume that you'll be recommending Ms. Spencer to drop all charges against my client?" Laurel asked, rising from her seat. Quentin shook his head.

"No." he said. "I know a guilty man when I see one. He is guilty, whether you can see it or not." Laurel glared at her father, and then stormed out of the room, leaving Quentin there with his thoughts.

Quentin sighed as he watched his onscreen self. He really was out of line. He could lose his job for this kind of behavior.

The scene cut to Queen Manor later that night, and Oliver's party was in full swing. Oliver himself came out, dressed in a faux prison jumpsuit, and hopped on top of the small stage that had been erected. He mimed to the DJ to cut off the music, which she did promptly.

"Hi, everybody!" he yelled. The crowd yelled back in return. Quentin Lance looked up from the crowd in thinly veiled disgust. "I'm very touched that you came to celebrate with me before I am sent up the river! Closest neighbors are six miles away, so don't worry about the noise." He paused. "Actually, on second thought, let's wake those losers up!" The crowd roared and the DJ turned the music back on. Oliver jumped down and walked through the crowd, careful to stay on the pool deck lest Lance have a reason to arrest him (again). He walked over to Diggle.

"If you think this is what prison is like, you are in for a rude awakening." He joked as the two headed back inside.

Secured in Oliver's room, he showed Diggle his phone, which was tied into the GPS tracker. "Mueller's car has been parked in the warehouse district of the Glades for 45 minutes." Oliver stated.

"I still find it weird that he can change back into vigilante mode that quickly," Tommy said watching his best friend.

"Yeah, that's a good place for an arms deal." Digg noted. "Ok, since this is going down tonight, what do we do, drop a dime on Mueller with the cops?" he asked.

"No, the man in the Hood." Oliver announced. "He's going to stop them."

"Oliver, you can't leave the house." Diggle argued.

"It doesn't have to be me in the hood." He replied, giving Diggle a significant look. Diggle chuckled, more out of annoyance than amusement.

"It's a brilliant plan, I'll give him that," Diggle stated. "But I have a feeling I'm not going to appreciate being lied to."

"Most likely not," Nyssa agreed.

"That's why you threw this ridiculous party? So you have a hundred witnesses placing you here at the house while I'm supposed to be across town dressed as a vigilante?"

"I thought that it was going to be good enough just for you to be seen in the hood." Oliver explained. "I didn't count on Mueller showing up and I didn't count on the possibility that the Glades could be flooded with machine guns." At Diggle's glare, he softened his tone. "Look. I promise, it was never my intention to put you in harm's way." He said apologetically.

"Oliver, I didn't think joining your crusade was ever going to be risk-free." Diggle said after a moment. "I just don't like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life, but I'm the one guy you don't lie to." He told him sternly. Oliver nodded in acceptance.

"You're right. I'm sorry." He said sincerely. They stared at one another, and then Diggle walked past him. "So am I going to jail?" Oliver asked, a little desperation creeping into his voice. Dig turned to him.

"No, man." He said. "I got to stop an arms deal."

"Thank god," Thea said letting out a sigh of relief.

The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Walter was working late. His phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Steele," the voice on the other end of the call said, "I'm sorry to bother you, sir. This is Mike Vogel down in security. I'm afraid I have some sad news for you. The company's head of security, Josiah Hudson, was in a car accident tonight. He's dead, sir." Walter stared at the phone in shock.

"Something fishy is going on here," Tommy said.

"Yeah, that guy just happens to die in an accident after finding out about the gambit?" Laurel agreed. "It's too coincidental."

Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was getting a drink at one of the bars set up in the foyer. He turned around to see Laurel walk in the door

"Hello." He said pleasantly. "Do we have a legal meeting or something? Because I have friends over."

Laurel looked around in bemusement. "Do you think maybe you can tear yourself away from this inappropriately themed rave for a couple minutes?" she asked wryly.

Oliver led her up to his bedroom "Wow." She remarked upon seeing it. "I can't remember the last time that I've been in this room."

"I can." Oliver replied instantly. "Halloween, were getting ready for Tommy's party." "Ah, Yes." She remembered, walking into the room. "I wore those horrible fishnets."

Laurel blushed as she remembered that costume.

"I thought you looked good." Oliver remarked, closing the door. They both smiled at the memory.

"Listen," Laurel began, turning to face him. "I just wanted to come by and apologize for my father's behavior today. During the polygraph."

"You don't have to apologize for him." Oliver said. "He has a right to feel any way that he wants."

"It wasn't just Sara, Ollie."

"What do you mean?" he asked. Laurel took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"After Sara died, my father threw himself into his work. I think that's part of the reason I'm an attorney. He ran to the law and I followed. But my mother couldn't." she explained. "So she left him." She sighed. "Left us." She stepped closer to him. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you this to make you feel bad, or worse. I just-I really want you to understand him."

"Why don't you hate me?" Oliver asked plaintively. "You should."

Laurel looked down sadly. Oliver had changed so much in the last five years, but he was still the same. He was good. She knew he felt guilty about everything that had happened. And with Sara alive, it was easier to move past that.

"I did." Laurel agreed. "For so long, I did, Ollie. But after today, I realized that I was so focused on what happened to my family that I didn't even stop and wonder what could have happened to you." She exhaled loudly. "I didn't know about the torture, or your scars. What happened to you on that island was far more than you deserve. And I was wrong that I didn't ask you before, but I'm asking you now. I need to know .I need to see." she pleaded.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes." At her answer, he slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to open it. Laurel did that, reaching up hesitantly and gently parting the shirt halves to reveal the scarred tissue underneath. She gasped softly. "How did you survive this?" she asked softly.

"There were times when I wanted to die." Oliver said truthfully. "In the end there was something I wanted more." Slowly they came together, until finally they were kissing. It was at once both sweet and desperate; a fulfillment of a longing both had long ago resigned to the past.

Tommy felt a small sting of pain as he saw them kiss. He really liked Laurel, more than most of his other crushes or one night stands. He felt a connection to her. A spark. He could envision them together. Waking up making breakfast, living the domestic life-style. But this was a wake up call, it seemed like she and Oliver were still attracted to each other.

Laurel was the one to finally break the kiss. "No." she gasped, backing away, shocked by her own actions. She practically ran past Oliver. Grabbing her purse from the ground as she opened the door.

"Laurel, you don't have to go." Oliver said, pain and sadness creeping into his voice, but she was already gone.

Tommy felt guilty when a wave of hope and happiness washed over him. Maybe he and Laurel still had a chance.

Laurel meanwhile, felt similarly guilty. She'd been the one to initiate the kiss. So to pull away from it like that, it was like toying with his emotions. And she didn't like to think of herself as that kind of girl.

The scene flashed back to Lian Yu. Oliver as hanging by his wrests limply, blood oozing from several deep cuts inflected by Wintergreen.

"Amazing." Fyers said. Oliver forced himself to open his eyes, glaring weakly at the man. "You have resolve I didn't credit you for."

The group was horrified by Oliver's condition. He looked as though he'd been through a grinder.

"Oh my god," Thea said putting a hand to her mouth in shock. "Why did this have to happen to him?"

"Or perhaps he truly doesn't know anything. We should put him out of his misery." He told his masked assistant. Wintergreen moved forward- Then suddenly Yao Fei was there. He took down one guard and Fyers, fired one arrow that severed the rope holding Oliver up, sending him crashing to the ground. Then he shot an arrow at Wintergreen- who caught is mere centimeters from his face. He snapped the arrowhead off with his thumb and drew his sword, and the two went back and forth furiously for several minutes. Yao Fei was able to use his bow to block the sword, and finally managed to get one good hit on the masked man's face. The Asian then pulled up Oliver and dragged him out of the tent.

"Oh thank god," Laurel said in relief now that Oliver was out of that man's reach.

The scene shifted to the present. Down at the docks, Mueller was showing off his merchandise to a couple of gang bangers.

"It's an M249 machine gun." He described, taking the weapon in question from his assistant and showing it off. "Gas-powered, air-cooled, fires up to 800 rounds per minute." He tossed it to the gang leader, who whistled in appreciation. Suddenly, the lights went out. Mueller looked around in alarm. He grabbed the gun out of the teen's hands. "We need to move, now!" he shouted, just as The Hood came out of the shadows. He took out the three gangbangers with fists and feet, finally catching the third in a chokehold and holding him until the boy passed out. Mueller and his men sped off in a Mercedes, leaving the tuck and his merchandise behind. With three gang members on the ground, Diggle looked around, satisfied.

"Well done, Mr. Diggle," Malcolm said. "Although you never fired any arrows."

"No but if he was spotted that should be enough," Laurel said a smile on her face. She knew she'd be able to win the case now.

The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Walter was sitting behind his desk, steeling himself for the conversation that was soon to come. He looked up as Moira walked into the office.

"I'm not accustomed to being summoned to the office in the middle of the night." She began, putting her purse down on a chair, "Well, what was it that was so important that I had to race down here?"

"I found the 'Queen's Gambit', Moira." Walter said. A look of panic and fear flitted across her face. "I know you secretly had the boat salvaged." He went on. "I wanted to move it to a more secure location before confronting you about it. In fact, I sent Josiah Hudson to the warehouse for precisely that purpose." He took a breath. "But he died mysteriously in a car accident." He looked at his wife. "I hope you now have a better understanding of why it is I've been so distant of late." He continued as she took a seat. "It's very disconcerting to discover that the person with whom you share your home, your bed and your heart has been lying to you so convincingly, and I would be a fool not to consider all the things that you have told me were lies."

"Walter, you're my husband, I-" she tried, but he cut her off.

"Yes, I am." He said coldly.

"Walter, please." Moira stood. She looked pleadingly at her husband, "You've got to stop looking into this, it's not safe. You'll be-you'll be upsetting people, people with influence. You are very far out of your depth." She warned.

"What is she talking about?" Thea asked. "Why did she salvage that boat?"

"I don't know," Tommy said. "It doesn't make sense."

Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was still holed up in his room when his phone rang. He answered it. "Man in the hood, one, gangbangers, zero." Diggle said.

There was a knock at the door. "Hang on." He said to the phone, then put it to his chest. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Queen," outside the door, Malcolm Merlyn's bodyguard, dressed as a bartender, was quietly attaching a silencer to his pistol. "If you're entertaining guests upstairs, should I have some drinks sent up?" he called through the door.

"You are unbelievable!" Tommy shouted at his father. "You're trying to kill my best friend!"

"I haven't done anything like that yet, son," Malcolm stated calmly not moving from his seat.

"You're not even denying that you would do it. I can't believe you'd just let Oliver get killed. Why? What is so important about this list that your willing to end someone's life!?"

"Not now," Nora interrupted before Malcolm could respond. "I promise you'll find out. But you have to see how everything unravels or this whole plan could fail."

Tommy was seething, but through grinded teeth he managed to say "fine." before sitting down and allowing the memories to continue.

"No." Oliver responded, getting up to rejoin the party. "It's just me up here and I'm on my way back down." Into his phone, he said quietly. "Good job. Now get back here." He went to open the door as he hung up his phone, and he was briefly startled by the bartender that was standing there. He was even more startled when the man brought his gun up. Acting on instinct, he grabbed the gunman's hand, forcing the gun away from his face, and punched him solidly on the jaw. He dragged the man into the room, quickly disarming him, but soon the man fought back. The two flew over the love seat and crashed through a coffee table, smashing it to bits. He tossed the killer across the room, inadvertently right to his gun. The man got up and was about to shoot Oliver when suddenly he was shot from behind by a charging Lance. The two men looked at one another in shock.

"Oh thank god," Laurel said relaxing slightly.

"That could've gone a lot worse," Roy pointed out, causing everyone to shoot a dirty look at Malcolm.

Later downstairs, Oliver and Thea were sitting on one of the couches in the sitting room, Oliver with an ice pack in hand. Tommy sat across from them in a chair. Lance was busy talking on his phone.

"Yeah." Lance grunted into the phone. "Yep." He hung up and looked over at Oliver.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Because when the guy was fighting you, he broke the ankle monitor." Lance responded truthfully.

Just then, Moira and Walter walked in briskly. "Are you all right?!" she asked her son, panicked. "I'm fine."

"Oliver..."

"Mom. I promise." He assured her. That fear aside, she whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at Lance. "This is on you." She practically snarled. "By accusing my son publicly, you've made him a target."

"Do you have any idea who attacked Oliver?" Walter demanded.

"We haven't identified him." Lance admitted. "Though it must be someone with a grudge against the Hood, obviously." Lance moved towards Oliver and removed the ankle monitor.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked as he did it.

"I got a call from my lieutenant. An arms dealer was attacked across town tonight." He paused, and then said reluctantly "By the vigilante. Multiple witnesses put him there." He turned to Moira. "In light of that, all charges against your son are being dropped."

"His plan worked," Thea said smiling. She was worried about her brother. She still wanted him to be a part of her life.

"I'm truly sorry for what happened to your family, Quentin." She said softly, and then her voice hardened. "But would you kindly get the hell out of my house." It was a statement, not a question.

"Mr. Lance," Oliver called out. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

Lance nodded in reply, and then left.

The scene changed to the next day. Moira entered Malcolm's office as he was preparing to leave.

"Moira." He said pleasantly. "Did we have an appointment?"

"No, but I decided to screw propriety after you tried to have my son killed." Moira shot back.

"I'm glad my mom seems to have some sort of moral line," Thea said darkly. She wasn't really happy to see her mom involved in so many illegal things.

Malcolm smiled slightly at the fire in her voice. "I'm sure you understand, I was justified in suspecting your son of being the vigilante targeting our associates." He explained calmly. "I had to take steps."

"And now that you know your steps were taken in error, that Oliver is not your enemy." She asked. Malcolm chuckled.

"I offer my sincerest apologies."

Moira glared at him. "I know you found out that I had the yacht salvaged, just as I know you had Josiah Hudson killed." She said pointedly.

"Well, accidents tend to befall people who are too curious." He replied, equally pointed.

"I've been the good soldier." She shot back. "I've done everything you asked. But if any member of my family so much as gets a paper cut, I will burn your entire world to ashes." She threatened before turning and walking out of the room. Malcolm smiled as she left.

"At least she'd standing up for her family," Sara said trying to pick out the positive. Although, she wasn't able to do that very well. It wasn't really a skill she worked on in the League of Assassins.

The scene changed back to the Manor. As Oliver was picking through the wreckage in his room, he found the small leather pouch that contained his healing herbs. He sat back down on his bed and stared at the bag, remembering.

Flashback to the island, where Yao Fei helps a struggling Oliver into the cave. He laid him down on the cot.

"I tell you, island dangerous, but you not tell them where to find me." He said in admiration, "You stronger than I thought." He held out the leather pouch containing the herbs. "Take it." He said, and Oliver did so. "I lead them off, you stay." He moved to the cave' entrance. "Remember, breathe." He called back. "You breathe, you survive here longer."

Oliver struggled to get to his feet. "No! I'm coming with you!" he called out, just as Yao Fei triggered a large rock to fall in front of the entrance, hiding it.

"Wait he's trapped in there," Tommy said slightly panicked. "How's he going to survive?"

"I don't know," Diggle replied. "But this Yao Fei guy must have some sort of plan, otherwise he wouldn't have left Oliver there.

Back in the present, there was a knock on Oliver's door. It opened to reveal Laurel. "Rough party." He joked.

"My father told me what happened." Laurel said. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her.

Laurel held up a white envelope. "These are your polygraph results." She said, stepping closer. "My father asked you if you'd ever been to Iron Heights." She continued. "It's the prison where the vigilante saved me last week. It's also where you and I went on our eighth grade field trip." She added. Oliver kept his face blank. "When you said that you had never been there, I thought maybe you were just nervous, or that you'd forgotten. But then I looked at your results, and there is a slight flutter in your answer to that question. And if you lied on one, you could have lied on others." She finished.

"I can't believe how close he was to being caught with a polygraph," Diggle said. "He was really good other than that one question.

"What happened to me being too selfish to be a masked crusader?" he asked coldly.

"Oliver! I saw your scars!" she exclaimed. Oliver looked away, and then moved to stand right in front of her. Though he didn't look at her; instead he kept his eyes on the ground.

"Do you want to know why I don't talk about what happened to me there?" he asked. He finally looked right at her. "Because if people knew; if you knew... you'd see me differently. And not as some vigilante guy. As damaged." He sighed. "I don't sleep. I barely eat. I can barely sign my name, let alone aim a bow and arrow." He said emotionally, only partially lying.

"The best lies tell some version of the truth," Nyssa said. "Your friend is more damaged than he lets on."

"I hope when we get home we can help him," Laurel replied. "He might be damaged, but he doesn't have to go through that alone."

Laurel took a breath. "After last night clearly we're still attracted to one another." She said. "Oliver. Nothing can ever happen between us." She stated.

"I know." He replied. She handed him the results, then turned and left.

"That seems a little cold," Roy said turning to Laurel.

"I think that's the right decision, baby," Quentin refuted.

Laurel listened to them both, but was conflicted. She wasn't sure what she wanted.

The scene changed to the lair. Oliver was moving his munitions crate to the top of one of the work tables.

"So you lied to her." Digg said, then added, "Or maybe you just gave her a version of the truth."

"I told her what she needed to hear, Diggle." Oliver argued. "She was too close."

"Sad thing is, I think you actually believe that." Digg countered. "I think things didn't go down exactly how you planned."

Diggle's voice continued as we see Thea, seated at her desk in her room, looking over an article about Oliver. She looked over, then picked up the Hōzen, studying it.

"You didn't count on so many people having questions, doubting you. You didn't think about what happens when you lie. Especially when you lie to the ones you love the most."

Walter was in the Foyer, pulling a wheeled suitcase that he handed over to his driver. "Thank you, Chris." He said as Moira, clad in her pajamas, ran down the stairs. "Walter?" she called, stopping halfway down the stairs. "What is this?"

"Business trip." Walter announced. "I decided it's long overdue for me to inspect our holdings in Melbourne."

Moira read between the lines. "And how long will you be?" she asked, trying to reign in her emotions and failing.

"I don't know." He said sadly, then walked out to his car.

Diggle's voice continued. "When you were stuck on that island plotting your grand plan to save the city, I don't think you stopped to consider the effect it would have on the people in your life."

The scene cut to a bar, where a very drunk Lance sat slumped over the bar, chewing on a straw. Laurel came in, spotted her dad, and walked over to him. "Let's go." She announced, helping him to his feet. Lance grunted drunkenly. "You're ok. No, no, no." Laurel said as Lance reached for his drink, downing the last of it before he allowed her to guide him out of the bar.

Quentin looked down in shame. Maybe he needed to clean up his act. He wasn't exactly setting a good example for anyone. Especially not his daughters.

Back at the Lair, Diggle finished. "Or how it might hurt them."

"You're wrong." Oliver denied. "I think about it all the time. And just to be clear, not being able to tell my family the truth...it doesn't hurt anyone worse than it hurts me." He finished, opening the case and pulling out the hood.

"Where are you going?" Diggle asked worriedly.

"Mueller still has to sell those guns and I have to stop him." He said coldly. "Oliver-" Digg called out.

"He had his chance."

"Not one for taking breaks is he?" Roy asked. Dig shook his head.

"Seems like he was having a pretty emotional day. People with PTSD tend to withdraw or use some kind of coping mechanism for days like that. Seems like this vigilante work is his way of doing it," he explained.

The scene changed to another warehouse down by the docks. Mueller was pitching his deal to another gang.

"28 crates, four guns in each crate, $250,000 cash. Take it or leave it. That's the deal." He said. Then suddenly, The Hood- the REAL Hood was on them. He managed to take out the guards and the gang in under a minute, disabling them all with arrows and stiff blows. He finished and drew the bow back once more, his eyes locked on to Mueller's.

"Leo Mueller, you have failed this city." The Hood intoned, and then let loose an arrow, right into Mueller's heart.

Author's Note: So, what'd you guys think? I will try to update sometime in the next month, but it really depends on school and scheduling. (PS: The more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update sooner.) I really love writing this story so I will definitely continue it. Until next time!