Taer-Al-Asfar lowered her binoculars. Was it possible the younger Queen knew someone was following her? She had been walking briskly to a destination, and she knew where she was going too. Abruptly, Thea halted and called someone, glancing around cautiously as she spoke on the phone.

A lesson Thea clearly had not learnt yet; remain oblivious and do not let the person following you know that you know that you're being followed. Simple. It was the easiest way to draw them out in a place where you could initiate a surprise attack.

At least that was what the League of Assassins taught Sara. Thea Queen hung up and turned on her heel and started back towards the town square where she just was. Taer-Al-Asfar retreated further into the shadows, watching Thea cross the street. She was not proud of what she was doing, following the little sister of one of her closest friends and ex-boyfriend. Oliver deserved to see the whole picture; Sara just didn't know if he would like what he saw.

Anyone with something to hide would go to great lengths to conceal it. What Sara wanted to do was straightforward; capture Merlyn and take him back to Ra's Al Ghul. But how could she do that without dragging Thea into the fray? Would Merlyn do that to his daughter? Sara would see Malcolm pay for his crimes against the code, but what did Oliver want? When it came down to it, did his opinion matter at all?

Taer-Al-Asfar had adversaries in Nanda Parbat who would see her tried for her treason. The crime; running away in the night back to Starling to join team Arrow. Many thought she deserved it, and were not keen to listen to the details or her testimony. And she would never admit it outright, but her adversaries were correct; she had Nyssa's protection, which was the only reason she was not dead. It meant she had so much more to prove to her peers in Nanda Parbat than Oliver or Nyssa could ever understand.

She was a 'favorite'; Nyssa Al-Ghul's 'little bird' they loved to mock, and the heir's sole weakness. Sara did not want to be any of those things to Nyssa, only her partner in love and in life. The Al-Ghul loved her, with every inch of her heart—but she also wanted to be the Heir to the Demon.

Talia Al-Ghul, her half-sister, was her only opposition. If anyone thought Sara and Laurel pining for Oliver Queen seven years ago was sibling rivalry— they had not seen what a natural disaster Talia Al-Ghul versus Nyssa Al-Ghul could become.

The League of Assassins gave her a purpose and that was something that every human needed to force them out of bed in the morning. But there were countless instances where she wanted to pull Nyssa aside and tell her that they should just run away, leave the League, the commitments, the duties, the code, the fight for the throne behind in the dust.

Talia wants it more; she would to tell her beloved, there's goodness inside your heart she doesn't have. Let her be the heir and let's leave, we can go wherever we want, we can be happy.

But every time she had the crazed idea to initiate the conversation, she was afraid of what Nyssa might actually choose.

Moreover, she had her family and friends in Starling to be concerned about. It was romantic and liberating to dream of a normal life with Nyssa, but she could not jeopardize her family's safety.

Fleeing would only give cause for Talia to whisper to Ra's of her sister and her lover's betrayal. A dozen assassins would be in Starling the next day to murder everyone Sara cared about. And then they would find us and kill us too. That was just something Talia Al Ghul would do.

Even if she was not particularly interested in the politics of the League of Assassins, the bottom line was; she did not want Talia to win. Even if it meant Nyssa becoming heir so that Talia would not. Even if it means Nyssa has to kill her own sister. Sometimes it puzzled Sara why Talia had not beat her to it and killed her first, end it 29 years ago by murdering an infant Nyssa in her crib. Smother her baby sister while she slept. Easy. But perhaps Talia had not been a cruel monster when she was a child like she was now.

She didn't want to think about it. Sara had to focus on the mission at hand. There was someone she could call for assistance with the matter.

"Hey are you busy?"

"Hey" Felicity answered her call on the first ring. She sounded sleepy, it was late anyway, and she must have woken her up. "Where are you?"

"I'm sorry I left without saying anything."

The tech hummed. "We're used to it. But we need your help. Come back."

Not this. "Felicity—"

"I know. I know you're a League assassin, and you have unquestionable loyalties to maintain, and you love Nyssa Al Ghul and well, all that. But we need you Sara. Please."

It wasn't that she didn't want to help; if she could she would convince the team to drop it altogether if it meant keeping everyone she cared for as far from HIVE's path of terror as possible. Every enemy she had ever encountered had always seemed indomitable and undefeatable at first, but the caliber at which HIVE operated was more than a city vigilante and his team could ever hope to handle, let alone beat. Sara believed in Oliver, Felicity, Digg, and Roy but she was also a pragmatist.

She had tried her damn hardest to assimilate into the team when she was dating Oliver but it was then that she knew where she truly belonged. Hope, love, friendship, it could never be enough against an enemy who was patient, ruthless and had been planning their moves against every possible opponent for years.

She had one hand tied behind her back with Talia Al Ghul breathing down her neck watching her like a hawk whilst whispering of her 'treasonous incentives' to anyone in Nanda Parbat who would listen. Sara very much wanted to go home to Nyssa, and throw Malcolm in Talia's face to end this unnecessary inquisition.

She was tired of constantly having to prove to everyone which side she was on, whether it was Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, Ra's, Talia, someone was always questioning her. Happiness, she wanted to tell them, happiness was what she had chosen and that was Nyssa; the sole person on the planet who trusted her.

On the other hand, her friends were being threatened and she would never be able to live with herself if she did nothing to prevent their deaths. Thus, she had to make a compromise.

"Maybe we could have a trade?"

It was not the answer Felicity wanted but she settled for it, "Okay".

"I need you to ping a phone number for me. Back log it and get an address." And unsurprisingly she asked;

"And this numbers belongs to whom?"

Sara was not inclined to tell them who just yet, even if it was selfish. But she did not want to come any to conclusions until she had gathered enough evidence that Thea and Malcolm were working together. Thea was a good person at heart, but Malcolm was a master manipulator. He had convinced an entire group of wealthy citizens of Starling to throw their hat in with him and destroy the Glades, including Moira and Robert Queen, one could never forget that. In addition he had ironically won a humanitarian award, thus he had managed to fool the whole city too, even if it only lasted a few months.

If Thea and Malcolm were in cohorts, she would bring this discovery to Oliver not Talia. This was his sister and he should be aware of what danger she could be in, and how Sara wanted to proceed with apprehending Merlyn. Malcolm had to answer for his crimes, but in that respect, there were two different judges; Oliver and Ra's. And when it came down to it, she had to take him to Nanda Parbat to Ra's for execution for dishonoring League code—whether the Arrow liked it or not.

"Someone I'm tracking" she answered Felicity. "I'll tell you who but only afterwards, only when I'm sure".

Felicity hummed in a displeased way, "I don't like mysteries Sara."

She sighed, "Yeah, I know."

After an hour of walking aimlessly she could feel the presence lessen until it wasn't there at all. Or maybe the person tailing me is just that good at staying quiet. She had kept her shrive clasped tight in her fist in case anyone decided to mess with her. Thea would've preferred a bow or a sword but it had to do.

Thankfully, she was out of the danger zone. She had arrived at the safe house. It was across the town; Malcolm had shown it to her the first day they were in Corto Maltese. It was less grand and ostentatious compared to the Mansion, more of a colonial house, but it was fortified with security systems and a bunker.

He had warned her that it may come to this. Running for their lives. Over the phone he instructed her to go back to Starling with her brother and he would follow her there afterwards. After what exactly, he didn't specify. After he kills the person who was following me to get to him. She was no stranger to being used as a pawn against her mother, her brother, anyone who cared about her. But it felt pretty crappy to be in this position once more for the hundredth time. Thea had memorized the code to the front gate and let herself in.

Corto Maltese was in upheaval with the rebels and royalists up in arms, brother against brother. She shouldn't be surprised that they had to relocate. Thea would miss the island; she was hoping to go somewhere that wasn't Starling.

But what her brother had said, their father sacrificing himself for him. God. It twisted her gut and wrenched her heart in all directions. Moisture came into her eyes just imagining it. Then it reminded her of her mother. When Moira had stood up to Slade and given her life for her children. All she had wanted then was for the nightmare to be over, to embrace her mother and tell her she was sorry, ask for her comfort. Like it was when Thea was younger and broke a vase or fell down and scraped her knee.

She missed even the small moments; sharing a giant bowl of popcorn and watching a random movie on TV, late breakfast on the weekends, picking out blouse colors on online shopping websites. Simple pleasures. To think, that was her life only two years ago. And then she was crying.

Pathetic. Malcolm wouldn't have stood for it. But he wasn't here. She wiped those tears away. A change of scenery would be welcome. Starling was full of dark memories but if she had learnt anything about fear from Malcolm, was that it was more rewarding to conquer it than to run from it.

Corto Maltese Air Field

Early next morning...

As Diggle had predicted, HIVE Commander Kane had vanished off the island the same night ARGUS took down their base. Amanda Waller re-called them home; but whether she ordered it or not, Oliver was going back to Starling. There was a mountain high list of things he needed to do. But despite his duties calling for him to return to his city, he asked the pilot to delay the flight for a few minutes. Thea wasn't here and they needed to wait for her. He was bouncing from foot to foot restlessly waiting. Felicity saw his unrest and went to him.

"I left her a dozen messages" he says.

"She might just be late. After all, being late to things is kind of a Queen family trait."

He would've laughed at her quip if he wasn't as anxious as he was. What if something had happened to her? What if she was in danger right now and he was not there to save her?

Felicity reached and brushed his hair line if only to inspect her handiwork or touch him. It was a bit of both. The stitches were healing cleanly, maybe in another lifetime she could have been a trauma nurse. Felicity drew her hand lower, her fingers ghosting over his cheek to avoid the concentric scars beneath his eye.

"If she doesn't come then we'll stay a little longer to convince her". Felicity wasn't close to the younger Queen, but even after he had sacrificed their relationship to be the Arrow-Felicity still loved Oliver. When he went missing last night, throwing herself into doing whatever she could to find him was the only way she could keep her sanity. He had denied himself countless chances for happiness in the past, if bringing his sister home made him happy, then she would do whatever was in her power to help him.

"Ollie!"

The three of them turned, and Thea's expression morphed into a big 'O'. What's wrong? He wanted to ask, but then remembered what she saw.

"Oh my God! What happened to your face?!" She burst out, stopping in front of him to take in the full extent of his injuries. "Are you okay?"

He patted her shoulder, "I'll be okay." She looked at him expectantly; Oliver could feel a bullshit excuse bubbling out of his mouth. "I…um, I tried to stop street thugs from stealing a woman's purse."

Felicity cringed.

Thankfully Thea was too astonished by the state of his appearance to take note. "You what?" Then she looked behind him and saw the equal if not more appalling condition of Diggle's face. "Oh, and you decided to jump in too huh?" She clasped her forehead, "Oh my God. What were you thinking?"

This was the Thea he missed, the one who called him out on his total idiocy.

But she was here. He couldn't stop himself from smiling, though it probably did not look much like a smile given how swollen his lips were. "I was trying to help".

"Did you call the police?"

"It's settled. The lady got her purse. I'm just glad you decided to come home." Thea stationed her suitcase and he pulled her into a hug, trying not to wince when her hand pressed on bruise on his torso, courtesy of HIVE Commander Kane.

She laughed it off, "Being a hero doesn't suit you Ollie". For a second everyone except her was taken aback. But they didn't need to take it seriously since she was already moving on. Thea gestured at the ARGUS jet behind them.

"Nice ride. Wait. If we're broke, why are we still using a jet to get around?"

"Um, we still are. It's not mine; it's a friends'. Well. Sort of."

She had staked outside the Spanish-era Mansion for over an hour now. Sara had climbed the roof of the neighboring home and stationed herself behind a water tank to spy on Malcolm's home. Felicity was always 99% accurate in her findings this had to be the place. There were no signs of life however, if Malcolm was in there he could be long gone by now. She decided it worth it to take a look inside.

Taer-Al-Asfar scaled down the awning over the neighbors patio and down to a narrow pathway between the wall of the house and the wall fortifying Malcolm's hideout. She inspected it. Electric fencing bordered the top of it. It was low but she had to be careful not to get caught on it, it had at least 10,000 volts passing through it, enough to cause ventricular contraction and deter any trespasser, even one trained by the League of Assassins. She climbed onto the balcony looking over the fence as quiet as a mouse, so as not to wake any sleeping homeowners. To add to the security of the fence she saw spokes sticking sharply out of the flower beds that were pushed against the wall. Sara did not plan on getting electrocuted and then impaled on the same today; it might amuse Malcolm if she did though. This was going to be tricky.

She breathed out and extended her bo-staff. She jumped off and flipped forward in the air over the electric fence, the spokes rushing to meet her. In the nick of time she lowered the arm with the bo-staff, it stabbed the dirt giving her enough momentum to vault over the spokes and land on the soft grass, without getting skewered like a kebab.

That obstacle was over, she hastened herself and ran towards the Mansion. She picked the lock to the patio sliding door and she was in.

It was as nice as the Queen Mansion, but this was not time to admire the décor. Sara padded softly through the living room to begin her investigating. There were no pictures hanging on any of the walls other than expensive art pieces that could only be bought at exclusive art auctions, obviously whoever used to stay here had planned it to be temporary home. She went to the mantle and swiped her fingers over it. No dust.

She tiptoed around the sofas and glanced at the side tables beside them. From the light of the moon she could see a rim stain from a glass on the right table. A right-handed person most likely, and if I remember from news footage Malcolm is right-handed.

Separated by two floors, several winding cramped corridors, and five steel-reinforced doors, Malcolm observed Taer-Al-Asfar from the bunker beneath the Mansion. He switched the camera feed and saw her creeping upstairs to the bedrooms. He had warned Thea not to return to misdirect the stalker, yet somehow the Canary had figured out her former address, likely with the aid of Queen's insipid IT girl. He was correct to assume Corto was no longer safe. With an enemy sniffing through his living room, leaving now was never more appropriate.

He would return to Starling in the morning. If his daughter wanted to spend time with her nuisance of her brother, then so be it. But while Oliver was 'catching up' with her, lying to her, and attempting to restart a 'normal' life for her in that depraved decrepit city he had failed to cleanse—Malcolm would be doing whatever it took to protect her and himself from Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins.

Staying behind had been wise however. Now he knew which assassin Ra's had sent to track him. Small world considering its Lance's youngest. Admittedly, he had been out of practice for quite some time, he had faced other challengers in his year and a half away, but none of them were League. He had avoided that noose by manipulating a recruit to spy on them for him, thus he was informed when Ra's moved any of his warriors around the globe in search of him.

He had no way of knowing what Sara knew, or her situation with Oliver Queen. But since she was here alone, she must not have told the Arrow he was alive. But was he also willing to add Nyssa Al Ghul's rage to Ra's' if Malcolm harmed her beloved?

But then again, she had been the only assassin to get this close to him; literally fifty feet of ground parted them. She had even managed to avoid the security measures he had taken outside with her physical prowess. It was a close call, and he hated those. She was one-if not, the best tracker to come out of Nanda Parbat in the last two decades. If she found him now, but lost him, then she would surely keep trying to find him again.

It was time to consider his options of how to proceed with his current predicament;

Should he leave through the tunnels out of the bunker and travel to his private air field?

Or should he go upstairs, this instant—and kill Sara Lance?

A/N: Oh I'm terrible. And yess Oliver's BS excuses are back. This was a kind of a filler, mostly Sara POV because I wanted to explore what it must be like for her in the LoA, the consequences of her choices in season 2 as well as her relationship with Nyssa. We hardly saw any of her in season 3 before...well you know. Next few chapters: everyone's back in Starling, we revisit Nanda Parbat, and flashbacks.