Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I don't; I just wish I did. I only own any original ideas found in this.
AN: Thank you for the reviews, favs and follows for this story. I decided I wanted to post this next chapter, because I wonder if it will be even more AU after this week's Arrow episode. I can't wait to see it! Either my story is AU or it will be pretty close to the episode. We shall see, as if I had a chance for the latter possibility. Ha. So I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I am rather proud of it.
A nondescript black van roared up to the runway as the group was boarding the plane. Diggle was driving as fast as he could, pushing the van to its limits, and Felicity was watching through binoculars.
"Are you sure about the address, Felicity?"
"Yes, I rechecked the values three times."
Diggle kept his eyes out on the road, and Felicity continuously scanned for anything, friend or foe, as the scenery flashed by. Nothing out of the ordinary was apparent until they approached the field.
"Look! Isn't that Oliver being thrown into the van?" Diggle asked.
"Yes, and Malcolm is getting in after him," Felicity said.
Even though he wanted to catch the van and stop it, Diggle knew they were outnumbered. No purpose would be served if he and Felicity would be captured. He hung back and they watched the van pull off the main road.
"Why aren't we storming the van? Where are they taking them? Who are they?" Felicity pulled herself back from an anxious word babble.
"I don't know Felicity. And with it only being you and me, how can we storm the van? We saw at least three heavily armed soldiers, who are dressed like League assassins."
They reached the top of a hill, and looking down they watched as the van pulled next to a small plane in a field. Malcolm and Oliver were loaded into it, and five soldiers climbed in after them.
Felicity actually drew blood from her lower lip as she forced herself not to run out after the plane. She felt Diggle place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know. I don't like this either. We should've been better prepared."
"I know. You were the one who suggested we take the time and gather more people with us." Felicity turned to Diggle. "But if we had done that, we wouldn't have seen them leave in an airplane. We may not have known they were here in the first place." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Not the best scenario, but we are a step further than we were before." She took out her tablet and began to type furiously.
"What are you thinking?" Diggle asked.
"Trying to see whether I could get any clue as to where the plane is heading. They would have to file some sort of flight plan with the local airport." Several more minutes, and she did an air pump. "Yes! Thank goodness for small town security, or lack thereof. It appears the plane is on its way to…Tibet? What's in Tibet?"
"That's where Nanda Parbat is."
"Oh." Felicity looked at Diggle. "I think now we need reinforcements."
~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~
Malcolm spent the trip trying to hold the self-recriminations to a minimum. He was unsure as to what he could've done differently. The arrangements he had made were as secret as he could've made them. If he were honest with himself he would say it was only a matter of time before the League had caught up with them. He just didn't expect it to be quite so soon.
Looking at the unconscious younger man beside him, Malcolm wryly thought at least they had four good days practice in before they were taken. Malcolm was unsure as to how this all would go down. He rapidly began to review the possible scenarios when they landed and the different options they might have to combat them. All the possible scenarios were extremely upsetting, and none of the solutions were very promising.
Oliver moaned and Malcolm could tell he was beginning to wake up. Malcolm hoped he wouldn't jerk himself out of the chair, but Oliver didn't. He made several sudden movements, but subconsciously was able to maintain his sense of balance in the chair.
Without opening his eyes, Oliver mumbled, "We're on a plane, aren't we?"
"Yep."
"On our way to Nanda Parbat?"
"Yep."
"Have I mentioned how much I hate you at this moment? You do know this is all your fault, right?"
"I wouldn't say that necessarily."
After a moment's thought, Oliver mumbled, "Yes, actually, if I had killed you a year ago, this wouldn't be happening. At all."
"It's too bad you're such a hero then. Making promises not to kill only ends up biting you in the butt, I have found."
Oliver opened his eyes and glared at Malcolm. Malcolm smiled and shrugged. Oliver sighed and repositioned himself in his chair. He looked down and observed through the buttons of his shirt his abdominal wound had been sloppily dressed. "They didn't waste much time cleaning us up, huh?"
"They probably thought why waste the effort."
"I hope you've been spending the time thinking of possible ways out of this situation." Oliver knew there was only a chance of their escaping this situation alive, but perhaps The Magician had a back-up plan in mind.
"I've been trying, but nothing really has come to mind. Yet." Malcolm watched as one of the guards slowly approached them down the plane aisle. The broad-shouldered man looked down at the two men sitting awkwardly in the seats. "What are you two whispering about?"
"What does it matter? In no way would we be able to escape all of you," Malcolm said. He received a punch in the jaw for his remark.
"You better lose that smart mouth before you go in front of the Master," the guard told Malcolm. "But I guess you are right. There is no way you can escape, so I suppose there's no harm in allowing you to converse with each other. You certainly won't have much more time to do so once the Master gets ahold of you." The guard smirked at them as he walked back down the aisle.
Oliver gave the departing guard a dark look. However, the man was correct. It certainly didn't look good for them. All thanks to Malcolm. Oliver tamped down the anger threatening to rise up again within him. Instead, he began to think of possible ways in which to combat Ra's once they landed.
~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~
Malcolm and Oliver were led into a building which could only be called a castle. After walking through a number of corridors, they entered a high-ceilinged room. Ra's was sitting at the far end, on what appeared to be a medieval throne.
Oliver schooled his features into a bland expression, tamping down his fear. He was outmanned, outgunned, and uncertain as to how to get out of this situation. Having Malcolm accompanying him on this dubious journey only added to the uneasiness he felt.
When they were within distance of the throne, the men behind the prisoners forced them to kneel by applying pressure to their shoulders.
"Welcome, Mr. Queen. Welcome, Al Sa-her. I am pleased you have joined us." The dulcet tones of Ra's wafted through the air, giving the false impression of a social encounter instead of a dangerous meeting.
"As if we had any other choice," Malcolm said before Oliver could stop him.
Ra's lips tweaked slightly upwards. "I see you haven't changed in the slightest, Al Sa-her. I am certain I need not warn you to tread carefully from now on. You are walking on very, very unstable ground."
Oliver chanced a look at Malcolm and glared at him. Malcolm smiled and shrugged. "I apologize…Master."
Ra's nodded with a satisfied look on his face and rose. He paused, then took several steps toward the men. "You two certainly have brought me nothing but trouble."
Oliver was uncertain as to what his response to that should be. He really wanted to say something, but self-preservation kicked in and he held back a retort. He attempted to hold himself in a ramrod straight position, looking forward. He then felt Ra's approach him.
"Mr. Queen, I have reconsidered what I previously thought about you. With the presence of Al Sa-her here, I have begun to suspect you actually had very little to do with Ta-er Sah-fer's death. Instead, I suspect only this man here had everything to do with it."
"All right, I admit it. I was behind Ta-er Sah-fer's killing. But I wasn't the one who shot the arrows." Merlyn's response caught the other two men off-guard.
"Merlyn!" Oliver forgot himself and looked at Malcolm in shock. "What are you doing?"
"The only thing I can do. Pleading for my daughter's life. Master, I have again broken League code. I used my daughter to kill Ta-er Sah-fer in the hopes of using this young man here to kill you. I am very sorry I have done this."
The words had barely left Merlyn's lips when he found the end of a sword at his neck, millimeters away from breaking skin. Merlyn tried not to breath, afraid of the sharp edge. His eyes never leaving Ra's' eyes, Malcolm waited to hear what the man in front of him would say.
"I am amazed at my restraint preventing me from separating your head from your body. I am also shocked at the degree you are still capable of surprising me, Al Sa-her." Ra's lowered the sword, sheathed it, and walked on the other side of Merlyn. Merlyn swallowed audibly, and bit back a reply.
Hands clasped behind his back, Ra's fixed his look on Malcolm, who continued to look straight ahead. Oliver sensed the slight trembling in the body next to him. "Mr. Queen, what do you think I should do with him?"
Oliver swallowed. "I think he should choose the trial by combat. Just like he suggested for me." He prayed that was the right response. He also wanted Ra's to be totally aware of the degree to which Malcolm was responsible for this entire mess, starting with the original duel.
"And what should I do with you, Mr. Queen?"
Oliver couldn't completely hide his surprise. "Me? I'm the one who was wronged."
"Yes, but you lost your trial. You should be dead."
"It would appear as though God has given you the opportunity to correct a mistake, since I wasn't responsible for Sara's death." Oliver closed his eyes, wondering if he had made a fatal error with this remark.
"Unfortunately for you, my God doesn't look at it that way." Turning around, Ra's went to his throne and sat down. "I will take the night to think it over. Both your fates. Take them to the dungeon," he commanded the guards.
~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~
Malcolm and Oliver were led to the basement, where a row of cells were located. They were locked into the cell farthest away from the stairway. As the guards left, the dungeon was left in semi-darkness.
"How great is it Ra's gives us the night to worry about our fates?" Malcolm asked.
"Well, I hope you're ready for your trial by combat, because I don't think Ra's will let you off without it."
"I wish he would've told us what he was going to do about Thea."
"What possessed you to tell Ra's the truth?" Oliver still couldn't believe Malcolm had done that.
"I figured it was the only way I could save Thea."
"No, I really think it was actually to save your own ass. You thought Ra's would blame Thea, didn't you?"
"Why would you think that?" Malcolm sounded hurt by Oliver's accusation, but Oliver wasn't fooled.
"It follows your pattern."
"I will admit, it did cross my mind. Really, I don't know what Ra's will do."
"Self-preservation is your only goal, admit it."
"Should I apologize for all I have done? Will that help you get over your bitterness towards me?"
Oliver sniffed in disgust. "We need each other to get out of this, but it is the only reason I'm working with you."
"Of course. I truly expect nothing less from you."
~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~
Oliver had debated whether they should take turns keeping watch, but quickly decided against it. There wasn't much sense in it, Oliver decided, because Ra's was going to do whatever he wanted with them and having a few seconds' warning probably wouldn't make much difference. It was more important to get as much rest as they could get in preparation for tomorrow.
However, Oliver laid awake listening to Malcolm's soft snores. Oliver wasn't surprised Merlyn could sleep so easily. The man had no conscience, having lost it years ago. Oliver tried to limit his tossing and turning so as to not disturb the other man. Malcolm needed as much rest as he could get. Letting his mind wander, Oliver finally was able to fall asleep and escape his worries for a while.
The next morning came too soon. It seemed to Oliver he had just fallen asleep when he heard the unmistakable stomping of army boots followed by their cell door opening with a big bang. The guards didn't allow the prisoners time to get up on their own power; instead, they grabbed the prisoners by their upper arms and pushed them out of the cell. Oliver and Malcolm both stumbled, but were able to catch themselves despite having their wrists bound.
They were led to the same room where they had met Ra's before. Ra's was sitting on his throne, looking refreshed. Oliver couldn't read the expression on his face.
"So, Al Sa-her, you thought you could trick Mr. Queen and me into a duel, thus having him rid yourself of me without getting your hands dirty?"
"Upon reflection, it wasn't one of my better ideas, I admit."
"Not only did you disgrace the League with the Undertaking fiasco last year, you now have this added disgrace. Plus, killing my daughter's Beloved."
"Who you never approved of, Master."
"So that is your justification, Al Sa-her, for all of this?" The cold tone of Ra's voice chilled Oliver to the bone. "You understand what I will have to do, Al Sa-her."
Straightening himself up, Malcolm met Ra's' gaze head-on. "A trial by battle."
"If I didn't want the satisfaction of killing you myself, I would allow Mr. Queen to do the honors. But we shall battle it out, Al Sa-her, in a few hours. I will allow you to eat your last meal first. I understand you didn't get any supper yesterday." Ra's pretended to look apologetic. "Sorry for the oversight." Ra's motioned to the guard. "Take them back to their cells."
AN: It doesn't look good for Malcolm, does it? Please let me know what you thought with a review. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and hope you let me know what you think.
