***On the Island***

Slade and Oliver had been gone for two full days and one night now, and as the sun began to set on the second day, I felt even more on edge than ever, pacing in front of the plane and gripping the sword Slade had left behind for me to defend myself if need be.

It was a suicide mission, I had told them. But Oliver was hellbent on revenge, and Slade was all too willing to help him get it.

I hadn't eaten all day, and barely slept last night, unable to stop my racing thoughts and anxieties. I had just gotten Slade, and I had just found Oliver again. I didn't know how I'd manage on this island without either of them...

And that's when movement on the tree line caught my attention.

I stared intensely at the trees, holding my breath, and only releasing it when I saw Oliver and Slade appear, but they had someone with them.

A flood of relief washed through me, and Slade began to walk towards me, jogging ahead, and he caught me in a tight hug. He pulled away, lifting his hands to my cheeks. "You're all right..." he whispered.

I laughed slightly. "I'm not the one who left. I'm glad you're ok."

He chuckled, and kissed my forehead. "I am, too."

I looked at Oliver to see he stood with his arm around a woman, her arms wrapped around herself, and she was crying quietly. The girl was Japanese, and her long black hair covered most of her face, but she shivered and clung tightly to Oliver.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Yao Fei is dead," Slade said, taking my hand.

I raised both eyebrows, tightening my hold on his hand. "What? How?"

"We discovered that he was being used in a plot to start a war by Fyres and his team," Oliver said. "They have missiles and bombs... they were gonna have him be the face of it, to get world leaders to beleive the threat was coming from Japan, then they were gonna 'apprehend' him and kill him, making it look like they stopped a war."

"But also release a few bombs and kill innocents along the way," I said, clenching my fists.

"Yao Fei was killed because he tried to protect us," Oliver said. "He saved us and made it possible for the three of us to get back here."

He also was the reason Oliver and I were captured and I was tortured.

I looked at Slade. "How do we stop this?"

"I'm... not sure," he admitted.

I rubbed at my wrists and said, "Then we prepare. He's bound to attack back at some point, right? Or were you not spotted?"

"Glad you have so much hope in us, Mia," Oliver said sarcastically and I glared at him. I looked at the girl.

"What's your name?"

"Shado," she said softly.

"Shado. I'm Maria. You can call me Mia. Whichever you want. Let's get you something to eat. And a change of clothes. I think I have something."

I held my hand out to her, and she hesitated and looked at Oliver. He nodded reassuringly, giving her a gentle nudge towards me, and we locked eyes for a moment. Shado took my hand, and I led her into the plane, closing the tarp behind us.

She slowly sat down on a crate, and I wrapped a blanket around her. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"For what?"

"I was there," she said, her voice beginning to shake. "I... heard everything that was done to you."

"You couldn't have done anything," I said, clenching my jaw, trying to block out the images. And memories that began to flash through my mind. I gripped the trunk in front of me tightly, then reached in to pull out a canteen and turned to her. "I don't want to talk about it. Here. Drink some water."

She held the canteen in both of her hands, staring at it blankly. "My father saved Oliver," she said softly. "I'm sorry he couldn't save you, too."

"He hit me in the head with a rock," I nearly spat. "And then I was tortured and sexually violated for two days straight. He didn't even try with me."

I turned away from her, looking through the crate we had stashed our provisions of rabbit, squirrel, and lemur jerky, sorting through a few pieces and putting them on a plate as my hands began to shake, my eyes settling on the scars on my wrists and down my arms where they had tried to bleed me...

I shook my head, standing and slamming the trunk closed, and turned to her.

She flinched a little, and said, "If he could have, he would have."

I felt my eye twitch, and a surge of anger spread through me, feeling hot and sharp. "I already told you," I snapped, setting the plate of jerky down in front of her with a clang. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Do you have a father?" She cried, looking up at me. "How would you feel if he was killed in front of you?"

I glared at her. "Yeah. I have a dad. An emotionally distant one that I may never see again. And Oliver had a dad. He killed himself right in front of us. We floated with his corpse in the ocean and then buried him. Seagulls like the smell of rotting flesh, fun fact. Have you ever tried to fight off a flock of seagulls when you're starving and dying of thirst, balancing on an inflatable raft in the middle of the ocean?"

She recoiled from me. "Stop."

"Stop?" I let out a mirthless laugh. "Sorry, Shado, but if you haven't noticed, this place only takes from you, and your father didn't help me, only made me easier to catch. The only one on this island who's actually done any saving is Slade."

She didn't look at me, just ate the food I had given her in silence. Eyes brimming with tears, I turned and dug through my meager supply of clothing, and handed her a new pair of pants and a shirt. 

I rubbed at my eyes, wiping away the sudden tears, then took a shaky breath. "Please understand I am not usually like this. I just... I have sympathy for you, Shado, I am just uncertain if I can feel sympathy for him, yet, and I ask if you can at least give me that grace."

She didn't answer me, and I left the plane, unable to talk to her about any of this anymore.

I sat down a distance away from the plane, and a little while later, Oliver appeared.

"Hey, Mi..." he said softly. "Can I sit with you?"

I shrugged. "Sure." I held some rope in my fingers, and was busily braiding the pieces together, trying to do anything but acknowledge the pain in my chest and my racing heart.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What did you do?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

"Uh... nothing. I just... I'm sorry that everything is going to shit."

I nodded slowly. "I don't have an issue with Shado, I need you to understand," I began. "However, her father doing what he did had consequences. Her father is the reason we were separated, and even if he was being used and was a traitor and ended up being killed for it, he wasn't a hero, and I don't think calling him one is appropriate."

"No one called him a hero," he said gently.

"Shado seemed to have all the ways in the world to tell me how he swooped in and saved you," I spat.

"You had Slade."

I scoffed. "Yes. I have him now. What if he never showed up? What then? I am sorry she lost her father, Oliver, but there's more important things at stake here."

When he didn't say anything, I looked at him, and the look on his face made me feel horrible. His eyebrows furrowed, nose wrinkled, he looked almost... disgusted.

"That's not the Mia I know."

"Maybe she's gone," I said, suddenly feeling numb as all the pain and heartache and depression seemed to merge into one, horrible sinking weight on my chest. "Maybe she drowned with Sara."

"Don't let this island change you," Oliver said.

"Maybe that's the only way to survive," I mumbled. "To change."

"I'm not sure..."

"These are the consequences, Oliver Queen. I wouldn't expect a rich kid who's had everything handed to him on a silver platter to understand consequences."

He didn't respond. There was nothing more to say. So, he stood, and left me with my thoughts and my rage.

******

Beep. Beep. Beep beep. Beep. Beep beep. Beep.

The first senses to wake up were the pins and needles in my legs. And then the pain. It started as a dull ache in my abdomen, and then slowly made its way up as the feeling returned to my body, and it felt as though every cell in my body was on fire.

I slowly opened my eyes, groaning slightly at the harsh white light of the hospital, and looked around. Feeling started in my hands, and I realized one of my hands was being held tightly, and I forced my fingers to tighten.

I breathed in, wincing in pain, and managed to get my eyes to open, my vision blurred, but I could  make out Oliver's face. His lips were moving, but the sound was muffled.

I groaned slightly, and lifted my hand to my face, rubbing at my eyes. An IV was attached in my inner elbow, and bending my arm hurt like a bitch. I dropped my hand to my side, which was heavily bandaged, and that's when I remembered it all at once.

I got my eyes open again, and they focused on Oliver, and soon his voice became clearer. "O-Oliver..." I wheezed.

"Mia..." he gasped, picking up my hand in both of his to press a kiss to my knuckles. He had dark circles under his eyes, and looked as if he hadn't slept a wink.

"I'm here... my love," I said softly, my own eyes tearing up. I gripped his hand tightly, and wanted him closer, and pulled with the little strength I had on his hand, and he slid his chair closer, leaning forward to press his forehead against mine, still holding onto my hand.

"Is... Tommy ok?"

He hesitated, then said, "He wants to see you. He's here."

"He figured it out, huh?"

He grimaced. "He's... not happy about it, but said he ran into you at the gym. He saw you fight. Then saw how I responded to you getting shot..." he grit his teeth. "He wants to know why you're targeting his father."

"It's too much to explain," I said and grimaced a bit, squeezing his hand.

He kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Not your fault," I said. "You think I am allowed to sit up?"

He paused, then shook his head. "I wouldn't. You'll disturbs the stitches. And it's not like we're on the island where you have to do that again."

I smiled sadly. "A shoulder is a bit safer than this, but... I'm ok. They can't get rid of me that easy."

He smiled sadly. "You're the most stubborn woman I know, Maria Walker," he said softly. He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips, then pulled away, his eyes gazing into mine. "What do you want to do?"

I considered, then said, "I want to go home, but I can't yet. And Tommy is here." Oliver nodded and I sighed. "Alright. Get him. We'll talk."

He hesitated, then nodded and stood from the chair, squeezing my hand as he turned and left the room.

I stared up at the ceiling in silence, bunching the sheets into my fists as I listened to the beeping of the heart monitor. I had no idea what I'd even say to him.

I went over in my mind what I knew- that Malcolm Merlyn was planning to do something to the Glades. That he was dangerous. That he had control of many renegade assassins willing to kill, maim, and torture for him. That he most likely wanted Tommy on his side to complete whatever horrors he was planning.

The door opened again, and Tommy entered with Oliver, and my brother. Adler's eyes locked onto mine, and he moved passed them to stand next to me, lifting a hand to my shoulder.

Oliver closed the door, and Tommy looked angry, and he looked at me. His jaw clenched, and the anger slipped for a moment. "Mia..." he said softly.

I didn't say anything, waiting for him to speak.

Oliver crossed his arms, he and Adler watching Tommy closely.

Finally, he asked, "Have you always been this ok with murder?"

I stared at him. "No."

He shook his head. "You were coming after my father. Were you going to kill him? Make me an orphan?"

"No."

He sighed heavily, dropping his hands and slapping them against his thighs. "Is that all you're going to say? 'No'?"

I clenched my fists into the sheets, and said, "I'm not sure how to explain any of this to you, Tommy."

"Try. You owe me that."

"She doesn't owe you anything," Adler said quietly, but the anger he was trying to hold back created an edge to his voice.

"You were there, too, right?" Tommy demanded. "You have no-"

"Tommy, your father is planning to do something horrible. To the Glades," I interrupted. "I was going to the party to question him myself, and then we discovered someone hired a known hitman. Floyd Lawton, who also goes by Deadshot." I shifted a bit, wincing in pain and moving a hand to my side. "We also found the Chinese Triad there and they are the ones who hired Lawton. What you saw- who you saw- us fighting... it was the Triad and the people trying to kill your father."

Tommy stared at me incomprehensibly.

"It's why I had the antidote on me," Oliver said. "In case Lawton did manage to shoot your father. His MO is bullets laced with a deadly poison called curare. We have had experience with this poison... from the island."

"And trust me... I intend to find out what your father is planning..." I said. "Because while I don't know what his plan is in its entirety, his plan does involve the death of thousands."

I clenched my jaw, a twinge of pain spreading across my chest as I saw the look in his eyes. One of hatred. Anger. Distrust. Something I never wanted to see on my best friend's face. But I was.

"I don't believe you," he said.

"Alright," I said. "That is your choice. Just remember something for me, Tommy. Because when and if your father's plan goes into fruition, and thousands of people die, remember you shot the person trying to stop it."

Tommy glared at me, then at the others, before turning and storming out of the room, closing the door with a slam.

Adler tensed next to me. He was waiting for a directive. Anything. A loaded bow, the string reading to release its arrow. But where would it be sent?

I scratched at my jaw, and saw Oliver looking at me expectantly. Finally, I said,

"It's time to stop playing. Adler. Follow him."