Disclaimer: see part one.

Part Six

Laurel left without a word after their kiss. Oliver was okay with that. Neither of them was in a good place to discuss what that kiss had meant. They were both too raw with loss. They would talk though, when she returned from Central City. Talk about everything. And Oliver would tell her the truth, about his feelings. Part of him still feared a rejection, but he was clinging to a new confidence that he hadn't completely lost her. Their kiss gave him hope that she still loved him enough to give him another chance. Whether she wanted him or not, he needed her to at last see what she meant to him. All that she meant to him.

He had plenty to keep him busy. Laurel had asked him not to kill Darhk, to honor Quentin by getting justice not revenge. He had no idea how to stop Darhk; no more than he knew how to make the villain pay for his crimes. He didn't give up, didn't stop searching for that better path – when Laurel asked, he answered, even if it wasn't always the response she wanted. The truth was, he wanted to find another path too. He was tired of the unending cycle of violence his life had become. He was tired of being the killer, of losing a part of himself with every life he took. He wanted to be a hero for once in life, an honest to goodness hero. He wasn't certain he had it in him, but he was going to try. For Quentin, for Laurel, even Thea and Roy, John and Felicity. Mostly though, he was going to do it for himself. A vigilante could get the job done and maybe earn the respect of his city, but a hero inspired people and that was the legacy Oliver had wanted to create when he became the Green Arrow. It was the legacy he would create.

Oliver chose to focus on one problem at a time and sought a defense against Darhk's magic first. This led him to Hub City, Felicity on his heels despite his objections, and there he met Constantine's contact, Ersin Fortuna. Ersin told him the only way to beat Darhk, and the death and fear he wrought, was to counter with the opposite. A battle of light and darkness – a fight Oliver was long familiar with inside himself. Ersin tested him and though he past her first few tests, he failed the one that dug too deep.

"True goodness isn't about being better or the best version of yourself. It's having the strength to hold to your convictions even when the world tells you you're wrong. To fight in the light, you must have faith and trust. To find the inner strength to be kind and fair to those who have wronged you. Most of all, you need love. To love and be loved," Ersin explained.

"Test me again," Oliver demanded, even though the shaman had expressed doubt in his ability to fight his inner darkness.

Ersin came at him again and this time, Oliver reached deeper than before. He didn't focus on his hopes for his city and family. Not his desire to be a better man, like the one Felicity had fallen in love with. He reached for the strength that had brought him home, the faith that had helped him return despite the mistakes he'd made and the horrors he'd committed. His dream of forgiveness and love.

There was the feel of an explosion as Ersin's magic broke on Oliver's defense. There was no sound but both of them stumbled back at the shift in power. "You did it!" Felicity exclaimed and hugged Oliver in her excitement. She recalled herself and quickly let him go, turning to the shaman; "You were wrong about him, his light is greater than his darkness."

"Perhaps," Ersin replied, regarding Oliver in speculation.

They left Ms. Fortuna and returned to Star City in time to save Lyla, John, and JJ from Darhk. Oliver had to test his defense again in the battle against Damien. His new power held. Andy Diggle died at his brother's hand and Lyla revealed the danger of Rubicon to the team; the weapon now in Darhk's hands.

"At least now we have a way to combat Darhk's magic," Felicity reminded them of the day's good news.

"How did you do that?" Lyla asked Oliver.

"I remembered the dream I used to get home, the hope that carried me through everything the island threw at me. A dream I thought I'd lost." Laurel. His Laurel.

BC-GA-BC-GA

"Ollie? Has something happened?" Laurel greeted him over the phone.

"Yes, but it can wait," he said, thinking of Andy and Rubicon; "I wanted to tell you I've found a way to counter Darhk's magic. Without it, he's just a man, and I can beat him. I can get justice for your dad."

"That's great, Ollie, but how can you counter his magic?"

He told her about the visit to Ersin Fortuna and using his old dream and the convictions that brought him home. "Even when we're a part, you inspire me. You give me the strength to fight my inner darkness, to be the man I've always wanted to be."

"I'm flattered, Ollie, truly, but that's all you. Your strength comes from you alone and you have a light in you that's so bright, it's blinding. It's your determination, your compassion, and your love – those qualities I love most about you." Oliver smiled at her compliments. Maybe the true strength came from him, but she inspired him to find that strength inside himself. She always had. Then the last part of her sentence caught up with him.

"You love me, huh?"

"Yes," she took a deep breath as if to steady her nerves; "In case you haven't figured it out yet – Oliver Queen, you are the love of my life, always and forever."

Her words stunned him. A gift he'd never thought he'd have again. Before he could tell her how he felt, how he wanted one last chance to love her right, she had to go. There was trouble on her end and with Barry powerless, Team Flash needed her help. Before hanging up, she promised they'd talk when she returned.

Oliver looked down at his phone and found himself smiling. He was the love of her life. He didn't care what mistakes they'd made in the past, he wasn't letting that go. He wasn't going to lose her or push her away again. If he had to spend the rest of his life fighting to convince her that she was the love of his, then so be it. He was going to win her back.

With new determination and a greater faith in life and love, Oliver dialed his sister because he needed to share this news with someone who would support him completely. Only Thea's phone went straight to voicemail and Oliver found his giddiness ebbing at the lack of response.

Thea's absence when the team needed her didn't sit right with Oliver and her continued silence convinced him something was wrong. Quickly enough they learned his sister had been kidnapped. While they searched for Thea and Damien Darhk, another crisis drew their attention. To stop Rubicon, the team recruited Felicity's father for help. Finding Noah Kuttler required Donna's help, which wasn't easy to get as she was caught in her grief over Quentin's death – she hadn't known him long, but she'd loved him all the same. Eventually, they found Noah and together the father-daughter duo managed to avert the missiles. All save one which they had to retarget to the smaller town of Havenrock. Felicity felt those deaths were on her shoulders, but she muscled through as Darhk wasn't done yet.

They found and rescued Thea from Darhk's Ark, destroying the underground city in the process. Thea was under Darhk's control when they found her but between Oliver and John they managed to break her out of the hypnosis. Ruve died at Lonnie Machin's hand, Malcolm pulled another one of his vanishing acts, and the team got Nora Darhk safely out of the doomed Ark. Darhk, unfortunately, was more powerful than ever and completely unhinged with his wife's death and his plans disintegrating.

Thea threatened Nora's life to save Felicity, Donna, and Curtis from the horrible fates Damien had planned. Unfortunately, he took his daughter, and Felicity's anti-Rubicon program with him. It was another set back that the team couldn't afford, pushing them all to question how far they'd be willing to go stop the manic. Forcing Oliver to question yet again if he was really cut out to be a hero or always doomed to remain a vigilante in the shadows.

Oliver stepped away from the team after they reorganized in the Bunker. The situation was dire, and they needed all the help they could get. He knew Barry had his powers back but Zoom remained too great a threat for Team Flash to come to Star City. Still there was one person he knew they could spare. His call went straight to Laurel's voicemail.

"Hey Pretty Bird," the endearment slipped out without a thought. He'd never called her it before but decided the moniker fit and he didn't regret using it. "Our plan to stop Darhk failed. His magic is too strong for me to stop him alone and we could really use your help. The city needs you. I need you. . . I love you."

He hadn't wanted the first time he said those words in years to be over the phone, but he didn't know if he'd live to see her again. He wanted her to know how he felt in case he died. There was nothing more he needed to say after that and too much he wanted to but couldn't fit in the time allotted. He ended the call and returned to the team.

Though they tracked Felicity's laptop, the ARGUS team Lyla sent in only added to Darhk's power with their deaths. The team was feeling all but hopeless when the Ghosts attacked their base. They were outgunned and outnumbered until a scream sent half the enemy flying.

Black Canary had returned and not a moment too soon.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to fight my evil doppelganger," Laurel explained as they regrouped after the attack.

"Did you get the answers you were looking for?" John asked.

"Some, from an old friend of my mom's actually, and Team Flash helped me to learn control of my new Cry," Laurel said as she hugged every member of their team. She hugged Oliver last; "Later?" he hummed in her ear and she nodded in agreement. The hint of a smile on her lips told him she'd gotten his message.

When she asked what the plan was to stop Darhk, the team admitted they were fresh out. The missile Darhk launched at the city didn't help matters. Laurel clapped her hands to get everybody's attention, including the new guy, Curtis.

"I know Darhk is powerful, but he's only one man. He's thrown everything he has at us, but we're still here. We're a team, a family, and so long as we have each other, we'll keep fighting because Star City is our home. It takes a special kind of person to live here, tenacious, but also hopeful," Laurel smiled at her team one at a time as she spoke, showing them the confidence she had in them; "For the last three years we faced one crisis after another, but every year this team has pulled together and saved us all. You've inspired me and this city with your actions. Now it's time to remember, we're not alone in this fight. We have a city full of people like us, who have fought in their own way to keep their home. We can't give up on them now. We're all here because we want to be beacons of hope for them, now we need to remember that they're our beacon."

Laurel's faith in the team, in the citizens, revitalized the team. While Felicity and Curtis worked together to stop the missile before Star City was destroyed, Oliver gave his own speech to the people, rallying them to have the same hope in each other. Then the team suited up again and divided. Felicity, Curtis, and Thea went to stop Darhk's hacker, Cooper. John and Lyla watched over the civilians and though Oliver wanted Laurel to have John's back, she refused. She accompanied him to face Darhk, reminding him he was part of team of equals, not a lone wolf. Together they fought against Darhk.

Their fight ended up on the streets, where the citizens of Star City stood with the Green Arrow and Black Canary to save their city. The city uniting behind him, Laurel looking at him with trust and love in her eyes, gave Oliver the inspiration he needed to fight against Darhk's vast magic and win. Damien was left powerless and the battle became one of physical prowess. Two against one, Darhk held his own rather well considering they'd all had League training. Oliver could tell Laurel was holding back and he trusted she had a reason why. When Oliver managed to pick up his bow and a spare arrow, Darhk caught Laurel and used her as a shield. They entered a standoff, a realm of just the three of them, though the fighting continued around them.

"Might as well put that toy down. We both know you don't have it in you. Not after you spared the man who murdered your mother."

"With him, I had a choice. With you, I don't," Oliver replied and aimed for Darhk's eye – the only kill shot available with Laurel in the way. This would be a justified killing, if not true justice, but at least he wouldn't be killing out of revenge.

"Don't," she cried to him. "Be the hero I know you are. Keep your promise."

She ordered, and he couldn't refuse her. He was done disappointing her by making the wrong choice when he knew what she wanted. He lowered his bow.

"Heroes," Darhk scoffed. He moved to drain the life out of Laurel.

He didn't touch her for more than a few seconds before he doubled over. Damien fell to his knees, clutching at his heart. Oliver moved swiftly to Laurel's side and together they stood over Darhk. Their villain looked at the hand that betrayed him, now wrinkling with age. His face began to ashen, liver spots appearing, his hair falling off in tufts.

"This can't be," Darhk rasped with the voice of an old man; "Only a child of Ra's, the true Ra's, could have the power to negate my gift."

"I am a daughter of Ra's, born of the Pit. I am Dinah al Ghul," Laurel declared proudly to the disbelieving Darhk.

Damien Darhk gasped one last time as his face sunk in on itself. Then he burst into dust, leaving behind a black suit that slowly crumpled to the ground.

With Darhk dead, his Ghosts stopped fighting, and the missiles he'd launched were sent to space. The city erupted into cheers. Within the celebration, Oliver pulled Laurel to him on the street and he kissed her for all the world to see.

A/N: The flashbacks show us how Oliver became the crime-fighter we first met, I always felt the main show was supposed to show us the journey of how he becomes the Green Arrow; a hero, not just a vigilante. This season of the show started off with that in mind, but from what I read, it ended on a much more depressing note. With Laurel by his side, at least in my universe, that didn't happen. And for that end bit with how Damien died, Laurel had an idea that that would happen thanks to her mom's friend.

This story will be continued in an AU of season 5. If people have any requests for scenes they'd like to see or things I should work on, let me know. I'm only about half way done with the first draft (I go through like 5 drafts before I post and I'm willing to make changes afterwards as you can see). Please review! And thanks for reading!