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

AN: Here is the newest chapter of this little adventure. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! Thanks again for all the reviews, favs and follows. It is sooo appreciated!

After the talk with her father, Nyssa barely reached her room when there was a knock on the door. She had just lowered herself onto the comfortable sofa in her suite when her sister Talia entered her room without waiting for permission to enter.

"Dear Sister, it sounds like you're back from yet another successful mission," Talia said with a smile.

"Yes, it is unfortunate you weren't able to join me. It was a particularly satisfying assassination."

"Thank you for wishing to share the fun with me, but I was able to have my own fun here," Talia joined her sister on the sofa and gave her a most satisfying smile.

"Oh, and what was that?"

"Meeting Father's newest plaything." Talia pulled her legs under her, and settled herself more comfortably.

Nyssa raised an eyebrow at her sister. "You did?"

"Yes, and of course he received the warning to stay away from both of us."

Nyssa laughed. "I can just imagine what Mr. Queen's reaction was to that. I wish I could've seen it."

"Yes, he tends to think highly of himself in regards to matters of the heart, doesn't he?"

"You caught that already, did you? Yes, Oliver has had quite the history with the ladies." Nyssa couldn't help an eye roll, and then a sigh when she thought of her Sara.

Thoughtful, Talia added, "That's right. You do know him from before, don't you?"

"Yes, I've become well acquainted with our Mr. Queen over the past months."

Nyssa watched as the smile disappeared from her sister's face. "Nyssa, do you know why he's here? What Father's endgame is?"

Nyssa remained unconvinced about the need to deceive Talia, but she didn't feel strong enough to contradict her father regarding this. At least, not yet. Reminding herself to proceed with caution, Nyssa continued. "Yes, Father told me. He wants to resurrect his mistaken idea about 'renewing' the world. He also wants Oliver to be his heir."

Her eyes widened, Talia didn't bother to hide her surprise. "You object to that, of course, right?"

"Yes, I object to both ideas. Father has to realize this so-called renewal of the earth won't occur by destroying it. For having such a large amount of knowledge, he is remarkably short-sighted at times."

"And the part about being his heir…" Talia asked timidly.

"Totally ridiculous. Why can't I be his heir? Haven't I proven myself over and over again how skilled I am in all that's required in leading the League?"

"I agree, Sister. But what can we do about all this?"

Nyssa gave her sister a speculative look. "Hmm, why should it be we? What's in it for you?" Maybe this is why Father wants us to maintain the pretense? What does Talia have in mind? Does Father suspect Talia of possible betrayal of some sort?

Talia smiled at her sister. "I'd rather see you as head of the League instead of some stranger. Even if he is as handsome as Oliver Queen." A reflective look passed over her face. "Speaking of which, I think he's overstayed his welcome."

"What do you mean?" Today was a day full of surprises from her sister, Nyssa thought.

"Why don't we help them leave? They shouldn't be here. He and his friends. More trouble than they're worth."

Nyssa looked at her sister. "What's wrong with you? You never thought such before."

"I…I haven't seen Father much since he's been here. It's just not fair, he spends all his time either with him or the blonde woman."

Oh…Talia is jealous of Oliver and his band of merry heroes. That's why she wants them out of here. Nyssa had occasionally been disturbed by her sister's displays of childish behavior. Talia had typically been the favored one, being the youngest. As such, she hadn't always acted her age and that disturbed Nyssa. Occasionally, Nyssa wondered if there were some other issues involved regarding her younger sister. Perhaps an undiagnosed mental disorder. However, whenever she had attempted to discuss her concerns with their father, he would refuse to acknowledge anything was wrong.

"Let me think about it. I'll see what I can come up with."

Talia smiled. "I knew you could help. I better let you rest. Father had told me not to disturb you, but I couldn't wait to see you. I'll talk to you more at supper."

Nyssa watched as Talia left, a bounce in her step, wondering again if she was wrong not doing something about her sister's sanity long before this. She shrugged, and laid down to rest a while.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~

After Nyssa left, Oliver suddenly realized he was alone in the gym. Before he could do something, however, two guards entered the gym and stood on either side of the door, followed by Ra's. Oliver wondered if it was in any way possible Ra's hadn't observed his daughter leaving. He doubted it. Sighing internally, Oliver waited for Ra's to make the first move, which he quickly did by gesturing over to the chairs at the end of the gymnasium. Oliver sighed and walked in front of Ra's over to the chairs and sat down. Ra's joined him.

"You've had quite the afternoon, Mr. Queen."

Oliver leaned back in the chair, attempting a nonchalance he didn't feel. "What do you mean?" he asked with a shrug.

"First you drew blood during your sparring, which you never do, and then you talked to my daughter. I told you to stay away from my daughters. Both of them."

"I didn't want to be rude. Nyssa approached me. Besides, we are…acquainted."

"And share the same love interest, it turns out."

"You keep bringing that up. Is there something specific you would like to address about that?"

"No, but how interesting it is you have something in common with my daughter. Just an observation."

"Get over it."

"Why are you so touchy about the subject? Is it because you are ashamed of it in front of Ms. Smoak?"

Oliver swallowed his anger. He wasn't sure why Ra's was particularly driven to get a rise out of him today. "What is it you want to discuss now, Ra's? Like I keep saying, I don't like playing games. I'm especially tired of the games you're trying to play."

"Who says I'm playing any sort of game? Perhaps I'm attempting to show you your deficiencies regarding the controlling of your emotions."

Oh. Is that so, Ra's? Oliver watched as a glimmer of a smile flitted across Ra's face. Oliver shook his head slightly and decided not to answer; instead, he waited Ra's out.

After a minute, Ra's said, "Good job, Mr. Queen. You are improving." Ra's gave another little smile and watched for any reaction from Oliver, who just sat back in his chair again.

Oliver only made it another minute of silence and then couldn't stand it any longer. "Ra's, is there a point to this particular conversation, or are you especially keen on needling me today?"

"Patience isn't your long suit, is it, Mr. Queen?"

"I've been told it's an area of improvement for me."

"Yes, I would agree." Ra's looked at Oliver in silence, with an inscrutable look on his face. Oliver decided to wait it out.

"You do have a will of steel, Mr. Queen. I cannot help but admire how you have held onto your principles despite everything I have thrown at you. You have shown tremendous strength, fortitude, power." Ra's gave the young man in front of him a small smile. "Normally, I would kill anyone defying me. But you, Mr. Queen? I do not want to kill you. I want you take my place. I do still want you to become the next Ra's al Ghul."

"Why not Nyssa? She is far more capable than I am, both in fighting and in knowing your traditions. Plus, she wants the job. I do not. As I've told you, numerous times."

"Nyssa? Yes, she is quite a talented woman. But woman she is. She has grown soft, since she met Taer al-Sahfer. She allows her emotions to dictate her behaviors. You, on the other hand, are able to separate them. You do not allow yourself to be swayed by emotions."

"Too many people would debate that statement. Me included. I would say Nyssa is more cold-hearted than I could ever be."

"I don't think so. I know three years ago you had quite a large amount of darkness within you. You have certainly worked hard enough to get rid of it. However, you must know, you must acknowledge, that the darkness is never truly gone. It is only a few steps away. You will not believe how easily the darkness can be harnessed once again. You only need to try."

The words reverberated in his brain, their coldness freezing his soul. He's wrong. He's so wrong. That can't be true. It won't be true for me. It can't be.

"You're wrong. I no longer am the killer I once was. I worked very hard to become the person I want to be. Not a killer. Not for anyone." Oliver met Ra's stare headlong. "Not anymore."

"Oh? By becoming Starling City's masked hero?" Oliver looked up at the change of tone in Ra's voice, an alarm ringing in his head. "If you return, you will find things quite different from when you left. While you've been gone, Starling City has experienced the true nature of the Arrow." Pause. "And they are not happy with him."

Oliver couldn't breathe. What did Ra's do? Oliver swallowed hard several times and choked out, "What have you done?"

"Since you have been here, Mr. Queen, there have been numerous sightings of a man in green terrorizing the criminal lowlife of Starling. As well as the occasional by-stander getting caught in the cross-fire. Or two. Or…a hundred." Ra's paused. "Or so."

"You didn't…you couldn't have harmed innocent by-standers…"

"I am afraid that changing the world comes with a price. For me to continue the work I have started, I need a man like you to ensure my vision continuing into the next century." Taking in Oliver's reaction, Ra's then continued. "I don't need him wasting his time, talent and efforts in only saving a city when there is an entire world to save."

"By killing and terrorism? I don't think so."

"You continue to hold the ill-gotten belief you have a choice in the matter."

There it is. The gloves are now officially off.

"Why are you insisting this? If I become the next…Ra's…only because of duress, what good will I be?"

"I have confidence that, in time, you will come to realize the error of your thinking. By then, you will be completely ready to take over the League, as a result of all the training you'd have received."

Oliver closed his eyes, attempting to find his center in the midst of all the chaos going on in his brain. Given his recent actions, Ra's might still be taunting him, but something about him this time made Oliver feel this time Ra's wasn't bluffing.

Pulling something out of his robe, Ra's handed Oliver something. Oliver looked down and saw a newspaper. He took it hesitantly from Ra's and opened it, realizing it was Starling City's own newspaper. His eyes found the leading headline of "Arrow out of control? Vigilante sought for questioning". Ra's took the paper out of his hands to reveal another issue behind it, its headline calling out, "Captain Lance denounces Arrow; pleads for him to turn himself in"

Oliver met Ra's' eyes. Ra's cocked his head slightly and gave a small smile. "I thought you would not believe me without proof. So you see, Mr. Queen, you cannot return to your home now."

Not willing to take the evidence at face value, Oliver proceeded to quickly review the other articles in the papers. To his dismay, they appeared legitimate. At least as legitimate as he could determine, with being disconnected from all news sources since they had arrived in Nanda Parbat.

"I can see you still have some doubt," Ra's statement breaking through his thoughts.

"I don't think I'll appreciate any other evidence you may provide for me, will I?"

Ra's gave a short laugh. "I think you need to realize, Mr. Queen, I am deadly serious. You are very valuable to me, and you will come around."

Oliver could sense Or Else hanging in the air.

AN: Am I leaving it there? Oh no! What will Ra's do next? Guess we will have to wait and see. Thanks again for reading!