Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

AN:Thank you for returning to my little story. Hope you enjoy this new chapter. And thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows from last chapter. I'm not too talkative right now, so I will let you read the chapter instead.

Previously:

"As you can see for yourself, Ms. Smoak, Mr. Queen is indeed alive and relatively unharmed."

Felicity cleared her throat, straightened herself as much as possible, and with all her courage stated in an even voice, "I request he accompany me back to Starling City. He is needed there."

Ra's laughed. Felicity liked his laugh less than she liked his smile. "That is a bold request. My daughter was correct in her description of you, Ms. Smoak. However, I regret Mr. Queen cannot leave us at this time. We now also request you stay here with us as well."

Felicity watched an expression of pained anguish quickly cross Oliver's face, then disappear just as quickly. She closed her eyes and not for the first time questioned whether this had been such a good idea to come after Oliver. Team Arrow usually came up with a Plan A and a Plan B, but this time they should've come up with plans all the way to X, Y, and Z as well.

"For now, I will allow Mr. Queen to accompany you to your room, where he can update you as to the situation here, and what our expectations of your behavior will be. I will discuss your future at a later time." Ra's stood, nodded to his men, and led the way out of the room. Felicity felt rudely dismissed, which she knew was his intent.

One of Felicity's guards pointed the way towards the door. Felicity first looked at the other guard, then at Oliver, then straightened her back and walked out. Oliver stepped alongside her.

"How are you, really?" Felicity asked him, unable to hold in the question any longer.

"Fine," Oliver stated, then looked at her with a big grin on his face. He aggravated her further by adding a wink.

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I should slug you for saying that, but I needed a smile." She was about to say something else, when a guard nudged her. Oliver caught her as she almost slipped and glared at the offending guard. "We better wait to talk until we get to the room," he said, with a warning look begging her to agree.

Felicity bit back a reply, nodded, and followed the guards in front of them without another word. She decided silence was indeed a good thing, for she needed all her attention in keeping up with the tall men with her, without losing her balance. They reached a closed door after walking up a winding flight of stairs, at the end of a hallway. One of the guards opened the door, and motioned them into the room. As Felicity and Oliver walked in, the door closed behind them, and a lock turned.

Felicity looked around the room. It appeared to be like a hotel suite, with a small sitting room and beyond, she could see a room with a full-sized bed in it. Of course, unlike a hotel, there were bars on the windows.

"So…what's new?" Felicity asked, not knowing what else to say.

Oliver motioned towards the couch, and sat down on the chair next to it. Felicity curled her legs under her as she settled into the couch and waited for Oliver to begin.

"I have agreed to become Ra's' heir. To be the next Ra's al Ghul. Without any further resistance."

"Wh…what?" Of all things she expected Oliver to say, that wasn't one she would've ever thought. She should've started the conversation by asking how he could really be alive, but she was sure the answer would be forthcoming. Eventually.

Oliver took a breath. "Ra's obviously stole my body from the funeral home and brought me here." At Felicity's wide-eyed look, he stuttered, and then continued. "In your research, did you find anything about miraculous waters bringing the dead back to life in pools they call the Lazarus Pits?"

Felicity was going to ask how he knew she had done extensive research but of course he would. They'd known each other well for over two years now. "So, I was correct. Those stories about miraculous waters bringing people back to life…are actually…true?"

"Yes. I suppose, if Barry can have superspeed, there can be special natural pits from which I can rise from the dead." Oliver gave a small smile. "I woke up, surprised to be alive, finding Ra's at the foot of my bed."

Suddenly, Felicity felt like she was going to vomit. Or hyperventilate. Oliver leaned over, gently taking her by the shoulders, and reminded her to take slow breaths. After what seemed like forever, Felicity was able to breathe normally. Felicity was surprised by the fierceness of her response to what Oliver had told her.

"Does he really expect you to agree to this? To stay here and be his heir? And you...you just agreed?"

"He…he made some, shall we say, strong arguments supporting my full cooperation."

"Let me guess…he threatened, whom? Thea? Starling?"

"Yes. All of the above. He said he had assassins trailing all my loved ones and would start giving the command to have one person killed at certain intervals until I agreed."

Felicity thought about the past several days. Not once did she suspect being under surveillance. No wonder Ra's appeared to have anticipated their arrival. Suddenly an alarming thought occurred to her. Her eyes widened, and her shoulders sagged. "And me being here has just added to the supposed inducements, I suppose."

Oliver shrugged. He held his arms out, and Felicity went into them gratefully. However, Oliver had an ulterior motive for the hug. "Don't worry. We'll get out of here. Trust me," he whispered in her ear.

They broke apart. Felicity nodded, and she was about to speak when Oliver interrupted. "He probably has cameras and bugs all around."

Felicity nodded. She smiled as she said, "I understand." A twinkle in her eye appeared as she remembered the night they'd deceived Slade in the mansion.

Oliver gave a little smile as he apparently caught the inside joke as well. "That's true."

A sudden uneasiness overtook them both. Felicity looked at Oliver, a serious look crossing her face as she took him in.

"I'm just so glad you're alive. When your body disappeared, I thought it was so strange. I began to wonder if something more sinister was going on."

"It's all those sci-fi shows you watch, isn't it? It started your brain to think."

"You're lucky I did. It's why we came to rescue you." Felicity paused. "Diggle and Roy thought I was crazy at first. Too much Netflix, Syfy channel, and all that."

"I don't know. This rescue plan of yours, it doesn't look very successful from my side of things, at the moment," Oliver said, attempting to look serious.

Felicity stuck her tongue out at him. "I guess we're still working on it."

Oliver smiled at that, then his face turned serious. "I suppose I better get serious here."

"What do you mean?"

Oliver swallowed, took a deep breath and said. "Ra's expected you guys to try to rescue me. I tried to dissuade him, but of course he didn't believe me. Heck, I won't have believed me either."

Felicity felt a great sense of disappointment wash over her. "I suppose it doesn't take much for him to predict that, but we were hoping we took him by surprise." Remembering the possibility of the room being bugged, her eyes widened and she took a quick breath. Thinking quickly, she said, "Um, but actually, I am here by myself. The guys thought I was crazy...so...they didn't come with me." Even to her ears this sounded like a very lame attempt to confuse Ra's.

Oliver shook his head sadly and quirked an eyebrow. Felicity knew he thought it was useless, but she wanted to try. "Yeah, like I said, I came over by myself. Do you think the guys would've left me alone in the van?"

Oliver shook his head slightly and gave a little shrug. "What I meant was Ra's came up with this plan knowing you'd be here."

A shot of cold went through her heart. "What plan?"

"He expects me to fly to Starling City and distribute a virus. A virus which will kill everyone."

"What?" Felicity couldn't believe what she had heard. How could Oliver sit here and calmly tell her this? Did the Lazarus Pit change him, make him into a cold-blooded criminal?

She breathed a sigh of relief when Oliver grabbed her hand, squeezed it, and looked deep into her eyes. Suddenly she knew he was trying to communicate his need for her to go along with the plan, that he was just as upset as she about it, but there was nothing he could say at this time. Felicity's lips trembled as she attempted a small smile.

"And...he has roles for you and Diggle as well."

"Whaaat?"

Felicity felt a cold settle on her heart. She didn't like the look now in Oliver's eyes. It was his "I-have-no-idea-what-to-do-but-I'm-trying-not-to-let-you-know-it" look. She hated that look.

"He expects us to infiltrate the water system to distribute the virus. You are to hack into their security system and arrange it so we can get in. Diggle and I…we are to drop the virus at the center of the system."

How diabolical was it to use them as a means of destroying their own city?

"So what's the time frame we're looking at?"

"I suppose you'll start tomorrow with your research." Pausing, Felicity saw another troubled look pass through Oliver's eyes and just as quickly leave. "Diggle and I will begin training tomorrow as well."

Felicity's heart sank. "So Ra's captured the others?"

Oliver nodded, eyes sad and lips twisted in a grim line. "Yes, they were caught as they were sneaking in the catacombs." Oliver raised an eyebrow and gave a small nod. "It was still a good plan."

"Malcolm thought of it." Felicity sat up, put her feet on the floor and leaned towards Oliver. "What's happened to Malcolm?"

As he looked around the room, Felicity knew Oliver was debating what exactly to tell her in lieu of the hidden cameras. With a small shake of his broad shoulders he continued. "God help us, I don't care. Ra's didn't specifically prohibit me from telling you anything, so..." He looked down at the clasped hands in his lap. "Malcolm is chained in a cell in the basement. Along with Roy and Diggle for now. Laurel is locked in a suite a few doors down."

"And I suppose if we refuse to help Ra's with this plan, he..."

"Starts killing them one by one. Slowly. In a particularly torturous fashion."

Felicity couldn't breathe for a moment, then made a hacking sound for what seemed like forever. Oliver patted her on the back in concern. Gathering herself and attempting humor, she said, "Well, if it were only Malcolm..."

Oliver's lips turned up in a tight-lipped smile. "But it isn't. Malcolm wasn't even included in the threat."

Felicity looked at Oliver, a puzzled expression crossing her face. "What do you mean?"

"Ra's hasn't told me what his plans are for Malcolm. He only said Malcolm would face League justice."

"I don't like him, but..."

"I know. I feel the same way, Felicity, believe me. Unfortunately our first priority is ensuring the safety of the rest of the team. Hopefully Merlyn will be able to hold on until we can come up with a plan to help him."

"Or come up with a means of negotiation."

At Oliver's puzzled look, Felicity said, "Come on, you may find some kind of upper hand we could use to bargain for him. Slim it may be."

The door opened, and a League guard entered. "Wareeth, the Master orders you to return to the sparring room now."

Felicity jumped at the stormy look which quickly crossed Oliver's face. Oliver turned to her, with a false smile on his face, and said, "I have to return now, Felicity. Hopefully we can meet tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What am I supposed to do until then?"

Oliver shrugged, and the false smile was replaced with a sheepish one. "I don't know. Rest. Don't worry. We will talk again." Taking her in his arms, he whispered, "Please try not to worry. We'll figure it out."

Felicity watched as he turned and left. Indeed, what am I to do now? How are we to get out of this mess?

AN: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed it, and if you like, leave me your thoughts of what you liked, or didn't. It is always appreciated.