Balance of Two Lights

Inclined to Love: Part One

Oliver's attention moved to Kara, who was profusely saying "no" with a shake of her head, using every ounce of strength that she could. And the desperation in her eyes as she locked them onto Oliver's wasn't one that screamed save me, no, it was the selfless plead to not fall into the deprecating mind trap that Tommy so often lured Oliver into. The same gaze that she had given Oliver every time he did so.

"You know the only way to reconcile with what you've done. . ." Tommy trails off as he presses the gun against her temple. "You've sent her down this path of trying to get vengeance for her sister. Same thing you did with Adrian. . . and who knows what they'll do when they see how this ends."

Before Oliver even got the chance to give any kind of deflection, he was surrounded by more of the same hooded figures that they had put down earlier. Except this time, they had weapons held to the heads of his friends— Adrian, Laurel, Thea, Felicity and much to his surprise, Alex and Barry.

He watched as every one of them had their eyes on Kara, observing in horror as she struggled to hold on to her life. Alex was biting onto the cloth that was silencing and stifling her sobs. Barry looked on in shocked horror, a collar that Oliver could only assume was dampening his speed draped around his neck. Adrian had the same darkness resting in his eyes that he did the night they all found out about one another's secret.

But he wasn't able to look at Laurel until he heard Tommy's final ultimatum, as he said with haste, "Kill me and save Kara, my people pull the trigger. Spare me and I pull the trigger, saving everyone else's life."

He watched as Laurel shook her head profusely, trying her hardest to yell through the hand of the person silencing her.

"Don't do this, Tommy," Oliver says through tears as he pulled back his bow. "None of them deserve to die because of me."

"They're dead anyways!" Tommy cries. "The same way that I lost my life. The same way your mother and Laurel lost theirs. Because of your actions. Your mistakes, they're going to pay that penance regardless. You have the opportunity now to save someone from that now."

And as Oliver looks to Kara one last time, her head cocked in a slow nodding motion. There was no question in Oliver's train of thought as to what she was signaling. It was who she was. She put the well-being of everyone else before herself. It was the sacrifice that she had made in the years that she hid her powers. It was the way that she gave and committed herself to making this city better in the only ways that she could.

She was relenting her life away as her head bobbed up and down. And all Oliver could do was mouth, "I'm sorry", as he put down the bow. But as he put it on the ground, the attention of Tommy and everyone else was drawn to the aircrafts flying above. And in that split second, he made eye contact with Barry.

The affirmation was all he needed.

He took his bow off the ground and aimed it sideways, maximizing the quick efficiency of the angle as he aimed an arrow at his neck. He felt his breath stop for the brief moment the arrow was in the air.

However, he never got a chance to let it out in relief as in the millisecond that he waited to see where it landed, Barry had already ran and taken the guns out of everyone's hands, leaving a fair fight to everyone within the parameters of the circle Tommy had created.

And just as Tommy had realized that Barry had done that, Oliver had already charged him. He tried to put a knife to her neck but Oliver was able to knock it out of his hand with an arrow.

He dropped Kara to the ground as he prepped himself for Oliver's impact. He was able to combat the first punch, taking his fist into his hand as he tried to throw one of his own. Oliver blocked it with ease, throwing an elbow into his cheek and landing it with force. It caused Tommy to be off-balanced, allowing Oliver an opportunity to knock him off his feet.