Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; WB/DC does. I only own any original ideas found in this.
AN: Thanks for all the favs, reviews and follows. Here is the next exciting chapter, since I was mean and left the last one on a cliff.
Previously:
"And you, Sarab? What should I do with you? If only I could blame your betrayal on Oliver. However, you did approach him first with your offer. You had the escape plan."
Maseo looked directly ahead, not meeting his Master's eyes. "It was all a trick, Master. I suspected Wareeth the moment we had returned from Starling City. I wanted to be certain before I informed you, liege. I never intended to leave. You know I am loyal to you until death."
"How can I know you're telling me the truth, Sarab?"
"Because I'll tell you how Wareeth broke the brainwashing. If I were on Oliver's side, there would be no way I'd share this with you."
Oliver took a sharp breath and turned to look at Sarab in alarm. If Ra's knew a loved one had brought back his memories...
Nodding, Ra's gave Sarab permission to continue.
"It was indeed the visit to his hometown. And being with the woman he loves." Sarab sneaked a look at Oliver. "I noticed his acting differently after we captured his team in Starling City." He said without losing eye contact with Ra's, "The blonde, when she was saying those ridiculous things, I noticed Wareeth reacting to them."
Oh shit. Oliver watched as the gears in Ra's' mind progressed to the conclusion Oliver was afraid he would. "So. I have been correct to get rid of any remaining attachments for all my soldiers." Ra's fixed a glare onto Oliver freezing him to his spot. "That will be the next item on my to-do list. Get rid of your darling city and everyone in it. So you will no longer have anything pulling you back to your old life." Oliver struggled to hide his reaction but was afraid the shivers down his back were seen. "First, we have to redo your initiation." Searching out his soldiers, Ra's commanded two of them, "Bring him to the whipping yard."
With nothing to lose, Oliver snapped the cuffs apart, launched himself into the small group of soldiers behind him and proceeded to kick and punch his way towards the door. He was able to punch two soldiers unconscious, but three chased him as he ran to the door of the room. One of them managed to grab him, force him to turn around, and deliver several jabs to head and chest and several well-placed kicks to his abdomen. Oliver recovered in time to knock out his assailant and another soldier with kicks and jabs to their upper bodies. Before he could run for the door, however, the third soldier tackled him, bringing Oliver to the ground with a bone-shaking landing with Oliver's head hitting the wooden floor with a loud bang. They struggled for the upper hand, Oliver fighting for his city's survival despite the dizziness, but this particular soldier was especially skilled at delivering enough punches to keep Oliver from going on the offensive. He barely was able to block half his assailant's punches, remaining on the ground, unable to rise. Until three more soldiers arrived, grabbed Oliver and brought him to a standing position. Oliver struggled to get free once again but found himself being dragged back towards Ra's, who had hurried to the group.
"No matter how long it takes, that spirit of yours will be broken, boy." Sighing, he turned as he said, "Take him to the punishment room and prepare him. I will be there shortly."
"What about Sarab, liege?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Let him go. Clearly he's telling the truth."
~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~
Previously:
A look of relief quickly crossed Felicity's face. "Yes! Between them, your and Diggle's military training, and..." She looked at Barry with hope and pleading, "Barry's superspeed we can come up with a plan."
"I don't know, Felicity, you know there's stuff going on in Central City..."
Felicity turned on her best hocking face on her friend. Barry rolled his eyes, threw up his hands, and said, "Let me see what I can do. I'll go home now, and let me know tomorrow what you guys have come up with."
Felicity flashed him a million-dollar smile. "Thanks," she barely got out before he sped away.
Felicity entered her apartment after the Diggles dropped her off. She threw her purse on the table as she passed by and went to her living room. She collapsed onto the couch with a heavy sigh. Even though she knew the team was doing what they could, Felicity still couldn't help feeling a sense of frustration. Patience has never been one of her strengths, and in this case, it was nearly impossible.
Sighing, she turned on her laptop. Beginning with the searches she'd left running, she reviewed the results. Nothing useful. She again ran through possible scenarios in her mind. In the possibility that writing ideas down would help it all become clearer, she began a list:
1. Barry could superspeed through the fortress and get Oliver out of there. (She still liked this idea the best).
2. Enlist Malcolm's and Nyssa's help, take over the Fortress and get Oliver out of there. (But since she was certain they'd left town in chains, Felicity doubted the probability of this idea).
3. Amanda could bomb the place and in the confusion they could help Oliver escape. (Felicity had a twinge of conscience about the possibility of killing so-called innocent LOA soldiers. She doubted Amanda would agree to this idea anyway).
4. Team Arrow sneaks in, locates Oliver, and bring him home. With force, if necessary. (Felicity grudgingly admitted to herself this idea was probably the most likely one they'd try).
Felicity shook her head. After staring at what she'd written, she decided she'd been wrong. Seeing them in print didn't make things any clearer. Suddenly she couldn't come up with any other ideas. She sighed, and then decided she should start brainstorming pros and cons for each possibility. She would certainly feel better once it was all written down in an organized fashion.
As she worked on her list, Felicity couldn't stop the fear she was feeling from enveloping her. Resisting the urge to throw her tablet across the room, she instead saved her work and set the tablet on her coffee table. Felicity grabbed the nearest sofa pillow, buried her face, and allowed the emotions she had so carefully controlled to spill over. How the shock and joy at discovering Oliver alive was so quickly replaced with the despair of only losing him once again to the lunatic intent on ruling the world. She cried until it felt as though she didn't have any more water inside her. She sat up on her couch, took several deep breaths, and slowly walked into her kitchen. Going to the sink, she got herself a glass of water and drank it slowly as her eyes wandered over her surroundings.
The stray thought popped into her mind that it had been too long since she dusted and vacuumed. Not ready to try to sleep, Felicity grabbed her vacuum cleaner out of the closet and set upon cleaning her carpet with a vengeance. After cleaning the carpet to her satisfaction she then set her sights in capturing all dust bunnies which had dared to appear while she was out saving the world. Or at least Oliver.
After capturing all the dust bunnies she was sure were present, Felicity found herself fighting a large yawn. Suddenly feeling like a toddler fighting a nap, she looked around for something else to do. After a moment Felicity shook herself. What am I doing? I really need to get my sleep. We got a lot to do tomorrow.
Felicity hurried through her pre-bed routine, and crawled between the sheets with a grateful sigh. Guess I am more tired than I thought. Well, I suppose I should be, with the battle with the Big Bad and all. She rolled her eyes at herself, made sure her alarm on her cell phone was set, and attempted to fall asleep quickly.
~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~
Oliver found himself being dragged down the hallways of Ra's' castle, towards the place where God knows how many people had been whipped. Deciding to chance one more attempt, Oliver was able to pull himself free from his guards. After exchanging punches with them both, and knocking them unconscious, Oliver again attempted to run where he thought was the nearest exit. Surprisingly enough, the rest of the guards had stayed behind with Ra's.
Instead of wasting time wondering about that interesting fact, Oliver ran down several hallways, away from where he thought Ra's was. He was able to knock out the few soldiers he met along the way. After running down two more hallways, without seeing anything resembling an outside door or window, he stopped for a moment.
Struggling to get his heavy breathing under control, Oliver quickly scanned his surroundings and listened for approaching soldiers. How he wished he'd have some of Felicity's intel regarding the layout of the place. He started running again and reached another hallway. Scanning all three directions, he decided to take a left. Suddenly three soldiers stepping out of a doorway to the right of him. It took longer, but Oliver was able to incapacitate them.
Oliver began to run again down the hallway, continuing to keep his ears tuned to any possible dangers. Until the hallway took a sharp turn to the right. And he found himself on the wrong end of Ra's' fist as he took the corner and landed on the floor. Oliver attempted to get the upper hand, connecting with vulnerable flesh, but Ra's rained punches quick and hard on him, finding all his weak spots as he laid there unable to get up.
As sweat and blood got into his eyes, Oliver was pulled up to his feet. This time he only managed to weakly attempt to unsuccessfully break the guards' hold. Oliver tried to look clearly at the man standing in front of him.
"Oliver, Oliver. Are you done with these games? You are not doing yourself any favors by making me so angry." He nodded at the guards. "Now, if you men are up to the task this time, please take Mr. Queen to the punishment room." Looking at the ten soldiers marching up to him, Ra's said, "This time you will be accompanied by extra men. Now get him out of my sight. For now."
Oliver allowed himself to be led through the hallways he had attempted to escape. He barely took in the luxurious decorations, but did note they took an unfamiliar hallway which led into a high-ceilinged room. Oliver was led to the far corner of the room, where five tall posts stood, six feet apart. One of his guards pushed him towards the middle post, causing Oliver to stumble. He managed to catch himself before hitting the post with his head. The guard roughly grabbed Oliver's arms, brought them over his head, and tied them to the top of the post. Oliver didn't take it as a good sign that they didn't remove his shirt.
As he waited for only God knew what, Oliver debated whether to attempt to get out of his bonds. Just as he thought about it, another guard appeared alongside the post. Meeting his eyes, Oliver knew he'd have absolutely no chance for escape.
Suddenly Oliver sensed a change in the environment, and heard the sounds of people kneeling, their swords clanging on the floor. Oliver closed his eyes and took several cleansing breaths to prepare himself for what he was sure was ahead of him. He looked up to find Ra's standing in front of him and wasn't able to stop his startled reaction.
"I usually do not feel the need to participate in the early part of the initiation. However, I am making an exception for you. You have driven me to this….this lowly activity." Ra's took out a whip out of his robes, unrolled it, and cracked it once. He looked at Oliver as he cracked the whip another time. As he walked behind him, Ra's stated, "I usually do not enjoy this, either, but you have angered me enough to override my usual reluctance."
Oliver gritted his teeth and steeled himself for the pain. As the first lashes tore into his back, Oliver stifled his cries of pain. Whippings weren't unfamiliar to him, but with Ra's wielding the whip, Oliver was afraid to see the level of rage Ra's was capable of. There was a possibility, slim as it might be, he might not survive. He pushed that thought away and willed his body to relax as much as he could, in an attempt to limit the pain.
AN: Thank you for reading this, as we get closer to the end. It doesn't look good for Oliver, does it? Unless Team Arrow comes up with a rescue plan. Stay tuned.