The Journey
Somewhere, high upon a mountain-side shrouded in the blue light of descending dusk, a cold biting wind blew, jerking small snow-flakes this way and that in a hasty dance. A deathly stillness lay upon the land, so far removed from civilization and so high upon the mountain that even few animals dared to tread there.
Two tiny pine-trees, standing beneath the summit on a narrow ledge, bend under the weight of winter's icy breath as a gust of wind tore at the fabric of pant leg, hanging lifelessly off the ledge, making it flutter. A body lay there, still and broken… dead.
Suddenly the snow that covered the ledge crunched under the weight of boots. A man clothed in dark leather and fabric, face shrouded under a hood, stepped around the two small pine-trees and knelt in the snow next to the body. The man exhaled heavily, as his hand reached up to slide back his hood.
"I did not wish this. I had no desire to see you fall… my friend" Maseo lowered his head, sadly gazing upon the broken form of Oliver Queen and sighed, as he laid a hand upon the man's chest in reverence, gazing upon the wound that had ended this precious life. That's when he felt it!
"This is not possible!" He exclaimed in shock. Removing the glove on his right hand, thinking he had might have deluded himself, Maseo returned his fingers to the cold flesh. There it was again! A small rise and fall of the chest, barely perceptible. Maseo shook his head, not believing what he felt and saw, despite his eyes and his fingers telling him otherwise.
"You should be dead", he whispered, more to himself than to the body in front of him. With his ungloved hand Maseo reached up, gently touching a cold cheek, searching for further proof of life. And got it, as he felt a small exhalation of cold breath on his inner wrist – Oliver Queen was alive!
Send to retrieve the dead body of his former friend, Maseo was now faced with an entirely different decision. What should he do? Defy the Demon and safe this man or bring back the body of Oliver Queen, still alive, though barely, to the Ra's al Ghul. He gritted his teeth for a moment, then exhaled sharply. There was no decision to make.
Carefully he slid his arms beneath Oliver's back and knees, lifting him into his arms and carrying him from the mountain-side. "I… - I'm sorry. But I'm not the Maseo you once knew. I'm no longer your friend. I can't defy the Demon."