Pain. Raw agonizing pain, worse than anything Oliver Queen had ever felt before, even when he had been tortured on the island of Lian Yiu. That was all he knew as he went downward, still feeling the force from Ra's Al Ghul's last kick. Then a moment later Oliver Queen, the Arrow, the billionaire who had survived five years in hell so that he could return and right his father's wrongs, the man who had stopped the worst monsters the world could ever produced passed out one thought going through his mind.

He had failed, and the worst part was Ra's hadn't even been trying.

"Dude, that totally sucked."

Oliver opened his eyes, surprised to find himself standing inside Queen mansion. However, what was even more surprising was that he was surrounded by Robert and Moira Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Shado and...Slade Wilson. Instantly, Oliver attacked, ignoring everything except the mad man in front of him.

"OLLIVER JONAS QUEEN, stop this now!"

Oliver was so surprised by his mother's pronouncement that he did just that, giving Slade time to put him on his back.

"Still second best huh kid?" Slade asked, before offering him a hand up.

"Someone tell me what the hell is going on! NOW! You are all dead and Slade should be rotting on Lian Yiu!"

"You just explained it for yourself son. We're all dead, and I'm sorry to tell you Oliver but so are you." His father spoke, making Oliver look at him in shock.

"Your fight with Ra's Al Ghul? Where he killed you? Any of this ring a bell?" Sara asked, and Oliver glared.

"Okay, say I believe you. That still dosen't explain why Slade's here." He replied, giving the man in question a look that would cause hell to freeze over.

"Because Oliver, Slade died too. The Slade you and I knew, he died the moment the Mirakuru entered his bloodstream." Shado said softly. As Oliver looked over at the man he had once called friend, the man he had once called brother, he knew Shado was right. For as he looked into Slade's eyes, unmarred by pain or the wound that he had caused all those years ago, Oliver saw the complete lack of anger and rage on Slade's face. Instead, he saw the one thing he never expected to see again. He saw acceptance.

The next thing he knew, Oliver Queen had fallen to his knees, tears flowing down his cheeks as he felt truly at peace for the first time in more than five years.

"It's okay Ollie, it's okay." Sara said as she wrapped her arms around him, the others doing likewise.

"So, not that I'm not pleased to see you all, but what am I doing here?" He asked a few minutes later once he had regained his composure.

"You're here to make a choice." Shado replied.

"What choice is that?"

"As we speak, Nyssa is trying to find your body." Sara spoke up, and Oliver glared.

"Probably so she can send it back to my team piece by piece."

"She's trying to save you Ollie. She's going to submerge you in a Lazarus Pit, which if you allow it, will restore you to life."

Oliver cocked an eyebrow at his former lover's words, wondering what she meant. How could the dead be brought back to life. However, even as the question passed through his mind he recalled Ra's Al Ghul's words.

"It has been sixty-seven years since I was last challenged."

The man himself didn't look a day over fifty, but if he was being truthful, than he had lived far longer. For all Oliver knew, the Demon could have lived for centuries, millenia even all thanks to this pit. This pit that would return him to life, if he allowed it.

"Sara, what do you mean if I allow it?"

"You have a choice kid. The Pit can restore life, but only if you want it."

"What happens if I decide I don't want to live again? What happens if I decide I want to stay here? What happens if I decide that I have lost enough to the Arrow?"

"Then you could do that, but many will suffer. Your city will burn, turned to ash by the forces that you have sought to destroy." Shado told him.

"Then there's no choice then. I have to go back. No one gets to destroy my city." He growled out, and the others smiled. None of them were happy that Oliver had been forced to suffer as he did, but his suffering had made him into the man he was today.

"Sara, can I trust her? Can I trust Nyssa not to stab me in the back, and try to go after my team? Can I trust her not to go after Thea?"

He didn't say what would happen if he couldn't trust the Heir to the Demon, there was no need to. Everyone understood what he wasn't saying. If Nyssa tried to go after his team or his family, if Nyssa attacked his city, she would die and he would not bring her back.

"Just give her a chance Ollie. For me, give her a chance." She replied, and he nodded. For the woman they both loved, he would give Nyssa Al Ghul one chance, but heaven help her if she crossed him.

"One more thing. If the Pit can restore life can-"

"No Oliver. Even the Pit has it's limits. Some have been dead too long." Sara replied, and he nodded, smiling sadly before a final thought occurred to him.

"Slade, since you're alive still..."

"There's a chance kid that I could have my life back. However, if you're going to do this, I want you to swear to me that if it comes down to it, if the Pit dosen't work than you will kill me."

"I promise."

"Son, it's time." Robert said, and he nodded before giving Shado and Csara a soft kiss, and embracing the others.

"Never forget, we're always with you." Tommy said, and he nodded.

"Tell Nyssa that I love her. Tell her to move on, to live for me." Sara told him.

"I will."

A moment later Oliver Queen gasped as he bolted upright, looking right into the eyes of Nyssa Al Ghul.

"You are awake." She said simply, and he rolled his eyes.

"Why did you save me Nyssa?" He asked calmly, his face and voice betraying nothing. For a moment, she didn't respond, and then she spoke.

"You are many things Oliver Queen, but Sara's killer is not one of them."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Sara's killer would not be as distraught over her death as you are. So I ask you, who killed the woman we both loved?"

"Malcolm Merlyn. He used a drug on his daughter, my sister Thea that made her susceptable to suggestion. He forced her to kill Sara."

"You are not lying." She said after a minute of staring into his eyes, seeming to peer into his soul.

"No, but you are. There's another reason you saved me Nyssa, and it wasn't just to discover the identity of Sara's killer."

"As much as it pains me to say this, I need your help." She said, and he looked at her in surprise.

"You are Ra's Al Ghul's heir. What could you possibly need my help for?" He asked, and she sighed.

"I want to join you in your crusade."

A/N: My thoughts as to what could happen later in season 3! I may add to it if you all like it so please tell me what you think! Oh and I know that Slade said the Mirakuru didn't make him hate Oliver, but in my opinion the Slade from season 1 died when the Mirakuru entered his veins. Finding out about Shado merely made the side-effects stronger.