Chapter 25
Viper stood at the pre-arranged meeting place, hood down and relatively relaxed considering the situation she was in. As tempting as it had been to bring her bow, she had left it and her knives with Dinah Lance who was conveniently stashed in the building next to and attached to the address she was waiting at.
"As much as I'm sure you want to savor this Mr. Merlyn," she called out, "I'd prefer to get this ball rolling."
"Ready to die so quickly?" he asked, dropping down behind the hunter and out of her reach. He had an arrow notched and aimed at the center of her back. If he released it, it would sever her spinal cord.
"Better you than Ra's if he discovers I am the reason any harm comes to his daughter," Viper explained, glancing over her shoulder at the Dark Archer. "Just kill me and get this over with." By League code, she stood here unwavering in her belief; she had known that her death awaited her when she arrived. However, that hadn't stopped her or caused her a moment's hesitation. She hadn't been lying when she said she'd prefer a death by Mr. Merlyn's hand over Ra's. Her actions could amount to treason, and at that point, her punishment would have been less severe if she had dropped a city on hundreds of innocent people.
"Did you call Ra's Al Ghul?" Malcolm asked, and Viper sighed in annoyance.
"You and I both know I did," she growled. "I have to in a situation like this."
"Then I have no more need for you," he said. "Thank you for opening up the communications." She closed her eyes in expectation, and she waited for the arrow when she heard Malcolm's name screeched across the block. Viper had to give the duo credit for their incredible timing, and with that, she jumped forward and took the arrow as a graze instead of a full-on shot.
"I hope you don't mind that I invited company to distract you," Viper grinned stepping away as Sara and Oliver rounded on Malcolm. His shock was short lived as he quickly went on defend himself, and she took that time to run inside to find Nyssa.
"He's dead," the heiress growled when Viper removed the gag. The hunter grinned at having Nyssa's attention drawn from Sara, but it was short lived when the Al Ghul asked, "What of Sara's mother?"
"I brought her here," Viper admitted. "She's in the smaller workshop next door, and I used her to bait your bird here."
Outside, Malcolm blocked a well-placed kick from Sara, but his arms were pinned by Oliver, who had come up from behind. The Queen scion maneuvered Malcolm into a choke hold, similar to the one he had caught the vigilante in the night of the undertaking. He hadn't thought that Oliver would be so willing to join with Viper, but he could see Sara doing such a thing.
"You should have stayed away from family," Sara growled, her bo-staff in hand. Ollie suddenly stepped back in time for Malcolm to take a strike across the face. He took a knee, but he didn't waste any time in snatching the bo-staff when Sara attempted to follow it up.
"I haven't done a thing to your family," the Dark Archer growled as he pushed Sara back and got to his feet. "Why would I even touch them?"
"Where is my mother?" Sara growled, her emotions clouding her judgment.
"I don't know," he sighed with a roll of his eyes. He did not understand what this fight was about suddenly, and he spun away in time to miss an arrow from Oliver. He still wasn't aiming for any kill shots, but Malcolm wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing. If he was incapacitated, the League would have no problem hauling him back.
In Oliver's ear, he heard Felicity's voice. "Ollie, Malcolm hasn't left the city, but I did find an airplane ticket purchased by one Alec for Central City two days ago."
"Sara!" he snapped the pieces coming together. The Canary ignored him and went at Malcolm again, this time with more force; her own words about not killing him forgotten. Her mother could be hurt or dying, and all she could think was that this scumbag knew about it. Before she could get in close and do any major damage, Oliver placed himself between Sara and Malcolm. While he didn't like the idea of having the Dark Archer behind him, he didn't have much of a choice if he was to stop his girlfriend. "Stop," he growled taking the next hit from the bo-staff in the ribs.
"Move," she snarled.
Touching his ribs gingerly, he whispered, "I need you to focus. Right now." That seemed to get her attention enough that he could continue, "He hasn't left Starling City. Viper did, and she went to Central City."
"She could be working with him," Sara said, but as the words left her mouth, she knew there was no chance that was true. The hunter wouldn't sully herself like that.
"Blood for blood," he continued, and with that, Sara stepped away and relaxed her stance enough so that Ollie knew she wouldn't attack him again. Her eyes were drawn past him and to the building, and her scowl returned. "How could you?"
Oliver turned to see Nyssa and Viper standing together and Mrs. Lance unconscious at their feet. "If it helps, I'm the one that did it," Viper outright admitted with a smile. Her bow was in hand, and she stood protectively close to Nyssa. Turning towards the Al Ghul heir, Viper asked, "Perhaps you should leave. I can take all three of them."
"I told you if anyone is going to end Sara's life, I will be the one to do it," Nyssa snarled, angered by the fact she had been captured and more so by the look Sara was giving her. It cut her deep. "You have a choice Sara. Return with me or watch her die in your place."
Alliances shifted as Malcolm stood and joined Oliver and Sara. He scowled at the fact his plan had fallen through, and he could no longer use Nyssa as a bargaining chip. However, he figured there was a way for him to still steer this in his direction; he just had to gain favor with Oliver and Sara. They weren't perfect, but they could be of use when more hunters came to Starling… and come they would since he had laid a hand on Nyssa. At least, the hunters would all finally be in one place, and that would make them easier in turn to track and kill.
"You attacked me thinking I took your mother?" Malcolm asked, a tone of incredulity in his voice. "What reason in my right mind would I have to do that?"
Sara hissed, "Do you an apology?"
"Actually yes, in this case, I would," he replied.
"Can we focus?" Oliver asked, snapping all of their attention back onto the League members in front of them.
"I'll get Nyssa," Sara said as she went to move forward, but Oliver stopped her.
"No," he argued. "You won't be able to push yourself to hurt her, and that's fine. But we need to stop them." He looked to Malcolm. "I am going to assume that if Ra's Al Ghul will be willing to deal with you if we take his daughter alive but unharmed?" Malcolm looked taken back by the question and the fact Oliver asked it, but he nodded.
Viper stepped away from Nyssa and watched as Sara and Malcolm moved in to attack her. She smiled at their predictability and wondered how if all three of them couldn't beat her last time, how they thought two would? She dodged the first two attacks and quickly moved to subdue them.
Oliver and Nyssa circled each other thoughtfully. They assessed the other completely before either moved in to attack, and it was Ollie who did it first. He watched as Nyssa stepped back and into the building. They took their fights to the different levels, and a majority of it was them exchanging arrows back and forth. Both being skilled archers kept them from hitting their targets as they would dance away and dodge every shot with a practiced ease.
Finally Oliver got a clean shot in, but Nyssa moved, so that it only nicked her clothing. He watched as a pouch fell to where Viper, Malcolm, and Sara were tangling. The two former League members were actually working well together; having similar training allowed them to work together to establish of flow. Doing this kept Viper on the defensive, but the hunter was still handling the situation with ease. She hadn't been able to get in and do any damage, but she wasn't sweating from their antics yet either. Sara had seen the pouch fall, and she rolled forward to snatch it. There was only a vial inside, and she recognized it as poison Viper would most likely use… She couldn't be sure it was the one currently effecting her mom, but she wasn't sure if that mattered.
In her distraction, Sara was unable to block the kick from Viper that sent her sprawling. She laid on her back for a moment, vial still in hand, and she tried to think clearly… but she couldn't get her mind past the fact Nyssa would let her mom die to satisfy the League, and it struck her deeply. Sara couldn't let her mother die for her, and she realized why blood for blood was suddenly so effective at keeping members in line. No one wanted to watch someone they loved die because of something they did.
Accepting her fate, Sara opened the vial and downed the entire contents in one gulp, and almost immediately, she felt pain radiate out. Above her, she watched as Oliver knocked Nyssa down a level and land precisely in front of the assassin. He had an arrow trained on her heart; all the while, Malcolm had been forced on the defensive without Sara's added help.
Ignoring the Dark Archer's dilemmna, Sara forced herself up and through the pain, she made her way to Nyssa. "Enough," she said through clenched teeth. When no one seemed to hear her, she repeated herself more loudly. This captured everyone's attention, and even Viper stopped in confusion. The hunter cocked her head to the side as she watched Sara hobble towards Nyssa and Oliver. Malcolm used her distraction to catch her with his sword; the cut wasn't deep but it stung her side nonetheless. With a growl, she went to dive right back into the fight when Nyssa cried out… that stopped Viper dead in her tracks.
Nyssa watched in horror as Sara collapsed in front of her, and without care for what Oliver would do, she rushed to the younger Lance's side. She cradled Sara's head and whispered, "Why? Why would you do this?"
"It was the only way," Sara forced out. "I can't let you take my mother in my place."
"You could have come back with me," Nyssa argued, and her eyes went and found Viper still tangled with Malcolm. "She wouldn't have been harmed then."
Sara licked her lips slowly, the pain making her head feel hazy. "The only release for me is death." She reached up and touched Nyssa's cheek, and she smiled sadly.
"I can't accept that," Nyssa growled. "Viper!" she snapped. "Over here now."
The hunter stood, mouth agape; she could finish this with Malcolm, but apparently, it wasn't meant to be this night. She hesitated to come to the Al Ghul still though, but when Nyssa ordered her with a single look, the hunter stepped away from Malcolm.
"I would suggest you take this chance to flee Mr. Merlyn. I will not hesitate to return my focus to you once I am done with her," she explained as she moved to step around him. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she watched the options flicker across his face or what she could see of his face. Slowly, he stepped away and seemingly decided that this would be a better fight for another night. If he tried to attack either her or Nyssa now, he would not have any allies as Oliver would not appreciate Sara's life being put in danger. That meant he'd be on his own against two very angry League members, and Malcolm knew when it was better to cut his losses. He caught Oliver in a meaningful glance before he melted back into the shadows as the League once taught him to do and disappeared.
"My mom," Sara gasped out.
"Did not down the entire bottle," Viper said. "She will be fine if she isn't already awake and terrified." Reaching back, she retrieved her quiver. "She is a runner from the League," she said to Nyssa as she searched for the antidote to counteract the poison.
"Save her," Nyssa growled. "That's an order directly from the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, and if you ignore it, I will have you banished from the League myself." The last part was not an empty threat; the daughters of Ra's carried a lot of power. Still, Viper doubted Ra's would allow it to be carried out considering what order Viper was ready to disobey; this went against not only hunter code but the general honor the League carried as well. "Now," Nyssa added, and Viper sighed.
The hunter was not in the mood to be forcefully returned to the League to explain this mess if she chose to disregard Nyssa. Pulling out a syringe, Viper filled it with the antidote and felt along Sara's stomach for where she could inject it directly. The younger Lance was already starting to hyper salivate from the poison, so their time was running short. Sara would die if Viper and Nyssa didn't help, and while Oliver wanted the League out of his city, he wanted to try and save Sara as well. Tomorrow, he'd find a way to chase the hunter out, but for now, he needed her to save Sara.
"Try and take a deep breath," Viper warned. "This won't be pleasant." Pushing the needle deep, Viper ignored the pained gasp that Sara released as the hunter injected the full contents into her body. "Give it a moment and try not to aspirate in that time." Viper growled and moved away from the pair. She glanced at Oliver, and she couldn't help but smile at him as he went to the front of the building. When he returned a moment later, Dinah Lance was with him, awake and walking but looking a bit disoriented. Nyssa saw this and pulled the wig and mask from Sara before Dinah noticed the pair.
"Mom," Sara whispered, and that caused Dinah to return to the present. She collapsed to her knees next to Sara, her eyes filled with tears at the sight of her daughter. "What happened? How are you?" Questions tumbled from Dinah's mouth as she grasped her daughter's hand; Nyssa moved away and returned to Viper's side.
"You can explain this one to your father," the hunter said, her tone less than pleased.
"No need," Nyssa said as Dinah pulled Sara to her feet. She was off-balanced but alive, and that was enough for the younger Al Ghul. "Sara Lance, I, Nyssa Al Ghul, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, hereby release you from your service to the League of Assassins." Silence was met with her words, and Viper tried to hide her shock.
"You can really explain that one to your father," Viper finally said with a shake of her head. "He's not going to be pleased."
"And I can do as I please," Nyssa said, her tone indicating that there was no room for argument. Sara smiled her thanks to Nyssa, and her eyes said it all to her ex-lover. There were no words between the two, just a meaningful look, and there would be good-bye. It'd be too painful. Instead, Nyssa turned to Dinah and apologized for involving her. "You have an incredible daughter Mrs. Lance." The League member found it in her to turn and head for the exit; there was nothing left for her in Starling. She was not a hunter… and she no longer had a relationship.
Viper watched Nyssa leave, and she knew she'd have to watch over the other assassin to be sure Malcolm didn't try something stupid again. However, she couldn't help herself as she turned to look at Oliver and whispered, "How's your sister doing? Hopefully not too traumatized. I did try to limit the damage. Please try to remember my threat Mr. Queen before you throw your lot in with Mr. Merlyn." She nodded to Oliver and trotted off after Nyssa.
…
"Report," Slade said, glancing at the man on the other side of the table. He stood there shifting, and he looked extremely uncomfortable to be in the same room as Mr. Wilson. Shado was smiling and whispering sweet nothings in Slade's ear, and that had him in a good enough mood to ignore the boy's hesitation. "Report," he repeated.
"We've received word that your man successfully forced Viper to call Ra's Al Ghul," he stuttered out.
"And?" he growled when the boy didn't continue. He slammed his fist down on the table and caused the poor man to practically jump out of his skin.
"And we've received confirmation," he gulped, "that Talia Al Ghul is on her way immediately to Starling City."
"Good."
Note: Phew that was… that was something wasn't it. I've finished the heir arc while setting up more story. Next chapter will probably be a bit of an interlude to give me a break from all these characters trying to kill the other. It will probably be a three part interlude (not three chapters but broken up in three parts in one chapter) and will be Oliver/Sara, Oliver and Malcolm talking, and finally Oliver/Felicity. I feel as though we need to tie up some threads there/start something.