Chapter 2 – The Beast Within

Oliver and Sara split up as they reached the warehouse that Al-Owal was using as his base, each scaling a side of the building and finding a high window to silently climb through. There was no noise coming from the building as they entered, so they assumed they had beaten Cas here. As they started to look around, however, something struck them both as wrong.

Oliver jumped down to ground level, and was confronted by the lifeless body of Al-Owal, and a follower that he hadn't seen before. Both men had had their necks broken, but Oliver couldn't see any hand marks on their skin…strange, he thought, moving further into the building. That was when Sara joined him, making a gesture that showed she was just as confused as Oliver.

They moved into the next room, pushing aside a number of plastic sheets, when they saw them; two figures at the back of the warehouse, the first apparently holding the second in the air by the throat. As they got closer, and Oliver's eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he saw it was Cas who was holding the other man aloft, his face a mask of absolute fury. Without warning he swung his arm and the man flew 15ft across the floor towards them. It was strange though, Oliver could've sworn the man stayed in the air for just a second as Cas's arm moved, before following the gesture. 'It's just dark' Oliver told himself, 'He's just damn strong apparently, he never showed me THAT on the island.'

As he was thinking this, Cas advanced towards them slowly, and the look in his eyes was nothing short of terrifying. As he came closer he began to speak, but not to Oliver or Sara.

"You will relay this message to Ra's al Ghul," he began in a powerful tone that neither of the masked heroes recognised coming from him. 'He was always so kind to me' Sara thought sadly. "The Canary is under my protection, if he makes any attempt to harm her, or force her to return to the League, I will burn his entire world to the ground. Tell him that. Now go."

With a gentle flick of his wrist, the man jerked to his feet. He turned on the spot and sprinted for the exit.
Only then did Cas seem to notice that his friends had arrived. The anger seemed to flood out of him in a wave, leaving him looking tired and distant. Sara walked slowly towards him, wary of what he might do. He reached towards her, placed his hands on her cheeks, and kissed her gently on the forehead, before pulling her into a soft embrace.

"You are safe now little one. I swear they will never hurt you again." His words were like the opening of a floodgate. All the fear and pain she had been hiding and holding for so long came flying out as she started to cry. She clung to him like he was her rock on the storm of emotions that threatened to pull her under. As he held her there, stroking her hair, he started to hum a tune she didn't recognise. As he did, she felt her pain slowly drift away, the fear and anguish that was flooding her seemed to flow out, leaving her with a content, calm feeling she was not used to.
Oliver walked towards them as they separated, and noticed that while Sara still had tears streaming down her face, she seemed to be smiling. She turned to him then and simply said "Ollie, I think I'm free" and then giggled. It was such a lovely sound, one that Oliver had sorely missed in the 6 years since he took her on the Gambit with him.

"I think you might be right Sara, how about we get you home," Oliver replied, hoping beyond hope that the girl he remembered could come back to him, that her years with the League hadn't damaged her beyond repair. "Oh and Cas," Oliver added, a thought striking him suddenly, "could you maybe finish your explanation tomorrow night, as much as I would like to know how you did all that stuff, I think we could all use a good night's sleep to digest what's happened tonight."

Cas smiled and placed an arm around each of their shoulders. "Of course, when you get to be an old man like me, you'll start to appreciate the importance of an early night," he joked, giving them a small wink. "Come on, off we go."


"Welcome back boys and girls," came the soft British voice from deep in the lair as they entered, "How was Russia?"
"Cold, but otherwise uneventful" Oliver replied nonchalantly, belying the bruises on his bodyguard's face. "How was Coast City, is Sara okay?"
"She's fine, she decided to stay with her mother for a while, then come back to Starling to talk to her sister when she's ready." Cas looked over at Diggle as he spoke. "I'm sorry, we have yet to be formally introduced, you must be Mr Diggle, Oliver's other crime fighting partner. Cas Grey," they shook hands firmly, "it's a pleasure."
"Good to meet you Mr Grey, Oliver has told me almost nothing about you." Diggle replied, a knowing look on his face as he glanced at Oliver.
"Oh I wouldn't take it personally Diggle, he's been fairly tight lipped the whole time I've known him, it's like he's trying really hard to portray himself as the strong silent type. It's adorable." Cas's mocking smile was met with one of Oliver's signature glares, but Cas seemed unfazed as he moved on. "And Felicity, lovely to see you again, Russia agrees with you it seems," he pulled her into a familiar hug that surprised Felicity, given that they had only met once. Then she remembered his greetings to Oliver and Sara and blushed 'Maybe he's just super friendly with, like, everyone. I wonder how long it'll be before his hello to me is a makeout session…damn it Felicity, do not say that out loud.'
She pulled away from the hug, but as he passed her ear, Cas whispered, "Not just yet my dear,"and winked, making her jump. 'Ok, that was weird. I definitely didn't imagine it that time.'

As if prompted by her slightly panicked thoughts, Cas moved back to sit down and said, "So Oliver, still interested in how I so effectively disposed of those mighty assassins?"
Felicity couldn't help but think that he didn't take many things seriously. Whether it was his dry sense of humour, or the cold detachment she had seen when he told them how old he was, there were very few things he was emotionally invested in. 'Except saving Sara from some international super assassins…he really flew off the handle on that one, from how Oliver described it at least.'

"Yes, but only if its brief, my mother's trial is later today, and I'm going to go and see her beforehand to sort out some last minute case details," Oliver looked grave and distracted as he said this, and Cas was about to suggest leaving the explanation until later, when he continued, "but this has been bothering me since it happened, so an explanation would be great."
He looked at Cas expectantly as he moved unconsciously towards his bow case, a movement Cas was acutely aware of.

"Ok, here goes nothing," Cas began, taking a deep breath. "I can…do things, things that no other person I have ever met can do."
After a moment of silence, Oliver was about to ask what he meant by this. The words died in his mouth when Cas made a lazy gesture over his shoulder and the lamp on Felicity's desk floated 5ft in the air.
After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Oliver still couldn't manage to find anything to say. Luckily, as always, Felicity broke the silence.

"Ok, that was not what I was expecting," 'Of course he's not reading your mind Felicity, your thoughts are just written all over your face'"So you're, what, Telekinetic? How is that possible? Were you born that way? Did you learn?"

"That is too long a story for right now I'm afraid Felicity, but another time, I promise. I assume that explains how I so easily dealt with Al-Owal and his associates." Cas continued with a meaningful look to Oliver. "Shall I come with you to see your mother?"
"Thank you for the offer Cas, but that won't be necessar…" Oliver began, but Cas interrupted. "Nonsense, I insist, any family of yours is as good as family to me." He got up as he said this and put on the jacket he had discarded on the back of Felicity's desk chair, then strode quickly towards the stairs. "Shall we?" he said as he passed Oliver, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder. Oliver just rolled his eyes before turning to follow.


As the pair arrived at Iron Heights, Oliver's phone buzzed. He answered after seeing it was Felicity, and before he could say anything she launched into a quick ramble about Diggle taking ill at the office, and her discovery that it was Vertigo in his system. He ordered her to find the Count, after realising he must have escaped Iron Heights during the quake, and then took a second to regain his composure before entering the prison, his older friend a step behind.

When they entered the meeting room, Oliver gave his mother a hug, and then pulled his sister into a one armed embrace.
"What's the plan?" He asked, turning to face the only other person in the room who wasn't his family, his mother's lawyer Jean.
"As you know Oliver, Thea, your mother is facing the death penalty," Thea visibly shuddered as she said this. "But I'm not worried, as long as we present her as a loving mother who did what she did out of fear for your lives, everything will be fine."

Cas stood off to one side studying the group while this exchange was going on, and Oliver noticed a flicker of surprise cross his friend's face as Jean said 'loving mother', which was odd. He resolved to ask his friend about this later when his mother spoke up.

"And who is this Oliver, not to be rude but this is a very personal family situation?" She looked at Cas sternly, and Oliver was impressed his friend didn't flinch from her gaze. 'Although I suppose after 2000 years he's probably pretty hard to intimidate.'Oliver thought to himself. He then realised his mother was expecting him to supply an explanation, and he was just crafting a lie in his head when Cas spoke.
"My apologies for the intrusion Mrs Queen, my name is Cas Grey, I'm an old friend of Oliver's, providing moral support during this difficult time." He stepped forward and shook her hand, and as they touched, Oliver noticed the look of surprise crossed his face again, more obvious this time, before he quickly supressed it.

Moira looked confused herself for a moment, and she whispered, almost to herself, "Cas Grey, that can't be possible…" before letting his hand go and giving him a smile that didn't reach her eyes and saying "Well, anyone who can offer my son support is welcome."
At that, Cas stepped back and they carried on their conversation.

As they left, Oliver and Cas returned to Oliver's car. The younger man turned to his friend and asked the question that had been plaguing him since he saw his earlier reaction.
"What did my mother say that surprised you Cas?" he enquired softly, then as his brain caught up, he added, "and what exactly was up with her reaction to you?"

Cas paused for a moment before answering, appearing to be weighing up what to say.

"I'll be honest here Oliver, it seems i met your maternal grandfather. I didn't realise it myself until I saw your mother's full name on the file her lawyer had. Moira Dearden…it's not a common name, and I remembered back in…maybe the 1960s, I was in Starling City and went to a man for information about a someone I was trying to find. He had a daughter; she was only 5 or 6 at the time. She was adorable, with blonde pigtails, and her name was Moira. I remember introducing myself to her, she was so mature and sure of herself for one so young. Clearly that memory stuck, judging by her reaction when I introduced myself again today." Cas looked wistfully out the window after that, clearly lost in memory.

Eventually, Oliver broke the silence again, a question nagging at him. "So was that why you looked so surprised when Jean was speaking?" Oliver somehow knew it wasn't, but what he heard next was something he could never have expected.
"Oh, no that was something different. While Jean was talking, your mother kept thinking about an affair she had nearly 20 years ago with a man named Malcolm. It struck me as an odd thing to have on your mind during a trial that could mean her life." Cas said all of this casually, still looking out the window, not realising he had just sent Oliver's brain into overdrive.
"My mother had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn?!" was the place his brain settled first, closely followed by, "Wait…what do you mean she was thinking about an affair? You're gonna need to start explaining!"
Cas seemed to snap back to the present as Oliver switched to his threatening Arrow voice, and judging by the look on his face, he had only just realised what he had said. A look of grim determination took over his features, and he turned to fully face Oliver.
"When we reach the lair, I will explain. I swear."