Disclaimer: CW/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this. Some dialogue is from "The Magician" Arrow episod written by Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle.
Summary: As per the episode "The Magician" Oliver allows Malcolm to escape Nyssa. However, the talk in the Lair afterwards is different in this AU fic. It leans toward being a crack-fic, somewhat. At least I think so, as per my understanding of what a crack-fic is. I hope you enjoy it, even though it seriously did raise a question of my mind why the writers allowed such a big plot line go by them.
AN: I guess I sorta lied in one of my other stories. I am still slightly obsessed with NP stories and Ra's al Ghul and have continued to write them. Or try to. I really don't know the explanation for this obsession. But perhaps this story helps settle some unresolved issues I have. Perhaps some viewers already figured this inconsistency out, but I seriously did not until I set out to write a totally different story than the one below.
In doing so, I realized…at the beginning of the season, Ra's wanted Malcolm because of the Undertaking. Then Malcolm kills Sara and suddenly that changes everything. Why did it spin out of control when Malcolm was truly guilty of the Undertaking?
Previously, in episode 3 x 4:
Nyssa arrives in town looking for Sara, only for Oliver to inform her of Sara's death. Nyssa tells Oliver Malcolm is alive, and Sara was tracking him. They are successful in tracking Merlyn, but he claims he never killed Sara, and swears on Thea's life he's telling the truth. Oliver believes him, and swears to Nyssa that Merlyn is under his protection until they find Sara's killer. Oliver and Nyssa return to the lair after fighting Malcolm, with the end result of Oliver letting him go. After punching Oliver, Nyssa calls him a fool and says he insults the memory of a woman he once loved by his action.
Under the murderous look Nyssa gave him, Oliver felt himself begin to squirm. However, he was still determined to stand his ground. Despite all that Merlyn had done, there had to be a line drawn about taking a man down just because of suspicions. There was still a small amount of doubt in Oliver's mind about Merlyn telling the entire truth about Sara's death However, until he had the opportunity to examine it in depth, he wasn't going to simply hand Merlyn over to his death.
However, he still had to deal with the angry, dangerous woman in front of him.
"I am honoring Sara's memory by finding and punishing the real person who did this." He paused, then continued. "Nyssa, as long as Malcolm Merlyn is in my city, the League will make no move on him. He's under my protection."
"Taer Sa-fir didn't tell me you were a stupid man."
Oliver swallowed the quick anger which flared up within him. "What do you mean by that?"
Nyssa shrugged her shoulders, walked over to the arrowheads and picked one up. Looking at it with an air of nonchalance, she said, "It must be due to your ignorance about my father."
Since she hadn't answered his last question, Oliver was reluctant to ask another. However, he couldn't help it. "What is?"
Nyssa slowly laid the arrowhead carefully down on the table, looked into his eyes and said, "That you dare to oppose my father in his request."
"His request?"
"He simply wants Al Sa-her back to stand judgement for disobeying league tenets in the creation and carrying out of what you call the Undertaking."
"What about your carrying on about his being punished for killing Sara?"
"That is my wish."
Oliver reviewed what she had said. Suddenly it was clear to him what Nyssa had planned. She basically lied to Oliver to get his assistance in fighting Malcolm, but it did backfire on her. If he had known the real reason Malcolm was wanted back in Nanda Parbat, Oliver would have gladly assisted Nyssa in capturing Malcolm. Despite his blood ties to Thea.
Eyes narrowing, Oliver said to Nyssa, "It's your own fault this affair has been drawn out. If you had been honest with me, letting me know why your father wanted Merlyn, I gladly would have helped you capture him."
Quirking an eyebrow at him, Nyssa said dryly, "Oh, you would? I am truly sorry about that. I was confident you would find an objection in it anyway." Lifting her hands up, palms up, she asked, "So? You'll tell me where I can find him then?"
"Gladly. He deserves all the League can throw at him for causing the Undertaking."
Within six hours, Malcolm had been located, found, fought, beaten, and tied up ready to be delivered to Ra's al Ghul in order to receive justice at the Head of the Demon's hand for his hand in destroying a city under the misguided belief of doing good.
AN: I love Arrow. It still is the best show out there, IMHO. Hands down. One of three shows in my lifetime which I ever have OBSESSED over. However…the writers continually leave behind some pretty HUGE plot holes each season, IMHO. And me, dedicated fan I am, I'm slowly realizing them, I suppose. But I still stand by it. It just amazes me how the writers allow such big plot holes, like this one. I mean, come on. Couldn't they come up with a legitimate reason for Ra's to fight Oliver. One that actually, logically, carries through sensibly to the end. Or…shoot, go straight to copying and have Ra's decide to pick Oliver as his heir plain and simple, a la Batman? Sigh.
Like I said, I am 100% dedicated fan of the show, but…just have to continue to suffer the inconsistencies, I suppose. I know, but I still choose to overlook them anyway and continue to enjoy the show.
Also, what about another plot hole: how could Merlyn start "preparing" Thea all summer if Sara was only hunting him for several weeks? Didn't it seem, by what Nyssa said in 'The Magician', she'd only been hunting Merlyn for several weeks? Sigh.
Anyway, thanks for listening, for reading, and if you care, please review my DRABBLE. Also, if you have any insights into why the writers wrote the whole Sara/NP mess the way they did, always appreciated as well. Ha. See you next time!
