Hi. I wanted to say I'm sorry for the, a lot, fewer uploads that I have been giving for some time now. I have a lot of things going on at the moment, and it seems like there will just come more and more things, so for the future, there won't be as many uploads as I have been giving, but I may consider making my chapters longer. Please tell me what you think about that.

Hope you enjoy the chapter :D

Three years ago, Nanda Parbat
A few weeks later…

Oliver and Nyssa had kept their little relationship a secret, but nothing goes past Ra's Al Ghul in his own home, so he knew about them, but hadn't confronted them about it, so they didn't think that he knew. He saw that Oliver made his daughter happy and that was something he couldn't deny her, so he had no problem with their relationship.

Oliver and Nyssa were lying in Oliver's bed at the moment. It was their last night together before Oliver may not be the same man as he was now. Nyssa knew that and therefore she wanted to spend all the time she could with him, and she had accepted that the Oliver she knows now, may possibly not be the same that would come back. Oliver had been informed about what was going to happen. He was getting cleansed. However, he didn't know yet what that meant, which scared him a little, but not enough for him to show it visibly. Nyssa though had seen right through him and knew he was scared of what this was. She wanted to tell him, but no matter what she told him, it wouldn't even be close to what he was going to live through.

"Are you going to be okay?" Oliver asked as they were lying in his bed. He was caressing her arm, gently swiping his fingers slowly up and down her skin. She had her eyes closed as she felt his fingers run up and down her skin. It was a very soothing touch, but Oliver's question brought her out of her little trance.

"You are asking me about that? I'm not the one that is going to live through hell from today on," Nyssa said with a concerned look and slight disbelief at Oliver's calm demeanor.

"I may be inflicted with physical pain, but as it stands right now, your psychological pain is what I am concerned about," Oliver told her. Nyssa understood what he was talking about, and she was concerned about that too, but she was still more concerned about what was going to happen to Oliver. If everything went as it did, with ninety-nine percent of the assassins, then Oliver would be emotionless, and therefore would never look at her the same way as he does to her now. She knew it would sound selfish, and that wasn't her at all, which was why she wouldn't say anything about what she really felt.

"I know, but-" Nyssa started, but was cut off by knocking on the door. It was time for Oliver to be cleansed, and he would never feel anything again. Oliver quickly pulled Nyssa into a kiss, which quickly was deepened by Nyssa. Oliver slowly pulled away from her, not wanting to end this moment, but he knew it was just the way things were going to be.

"I will see you at the first stage at the cleansing…" Oliver said and raised from the bed. Nyssa nodded in defeat. She knew there was nothing she could do about what was going to happen, even though she was the Daughter of the Demon. Oliver opened the door, just enough for him to slip through, so the assassins that had come to follow him to the first stage, wouldn't see Nyssa in his room.

When Nyssa heard they had left the from his door, she went quickly out of his room, and into her own. She had to be ready quickly so she could see the first stage. She got into her League-outfit and rushed to the room where the first stage was going to happen.

When she entered the room, she saw Oliver, standing back facing her, with his hands in shackles. Her father was talking about was the League was about, but she didn't pay attention to his word. All she was focused on was Oliver in his shackles, about to be deemed part of the League, and thereafter going through the rest of the cleansing. Even though she could only see his back, she knew he was trying to keep an emotionless face, so Ra's couldn't see he was, in reality, scared about the next few weeks, and the pain he was going to go through. Nyssa didn't know exactly what he was going to go through, since she was raised into the League and therefore didn't have to go through the cleansing, but she knew it would be the worst weeks of his life. She knew it would be the worst weeks of her life too.

Her father stopped talking and grabbed a fireplace poker, with an arrow on the end. The League's symbol. It had been lying inside the fire, so when he picked it out of the fire, the end of it was glowing a yellow-orange-ish color. He placed the end of the poker on Oliver's right side of his upper back. Nyssa closed her eyes when the contact was being made, bracing herself for the scream she was sure Oliver would let out. But it never came.

Oliver felt the burn on his back, but he knew Nyssa was watching and he didn't want her to believe he couldn't tolerate pain, so he swallowed the pain. The only sound he gave out was a breath he had been holding, bracing himself for the pain coming. The burn marker was removed and placed in some water and Oliver was freed from the shackles. He took a second to turn around and when he laid eyes on Nyssa, he gave her a little nod, telling her he was going to be fine.

"I'm surprised. I never thought that Oliver Queen would hold back a scream when he felt pain," Ra's Al Ghul commented when he saw Oliver give his daughter a nod. Oliver turned his attention to Ra's and gave him a nod too, to show Ra's that he had heard his comment. "Now, let the cleansing begin,"

As Ra's said that, two League assassins grabbed Oliver's arms and showed him the way to the dungeon where he would be isolated from everyone else. Even though Nyssa knew where it was located, she wouldn't dare defy the rituals of the League, so she wouldn't visit. She could just stand there and watch Oliver walking away with the two other assassins. This may be the last time she saw the only man she possibly loved.

"I know this is hard for you, my daughter," Ra's said as he walked to stand beside her. Nyssa looked at him surprised. She didn't know her father knew about the two of them, but it seemed like he did, but she wouldn't give away herself before he told her he knew about them. "The only reason he survived the first day was because of you. I could feel that you were happier than you had ever been, and Oliver Queen was the reason for that,"

"Now, he's maybe gone forever," Nyssa said lowly for only her father to hear.

"I think he will show stronger will power than any of us realized he has," Ra's said and started walking out of the room. That left Nyssa alone in the room since the other assassins left shortly before Ra's did. She was all alone that would be how she felt the next few weeks. All alone.

Present

"How long will that update take?" Aaila asked when she and Ray had sat down at the dinner table with Oliver and Nyssa.

"I believe it will take an hour, but I don't know. There could come something in the way that made it take longer, but an hour if no interruptions," Ray explained to her, to which Aaila just nodded at him.

"I think I will call Roy and hear if he is ready for some training," Aaila said. She hadn't sat down on a chair just yet since that had been on her mind, but she was standing just behind one.

"Yeah, of course, just make sure Thea joins you wherever you decide to train. I've asked Roy to keep an eye on her, because of this Waller-situation," Oliver told her.

"Okay, I will," Aaila said.

"Do you need a ride?" Nyssa asked.

"No, it's fine. I think I will run," Aaila told her. Nyssa nodded and watched Aaila leave for her room. Aaila got to her room and texted Roy if he wanted to train now, which he did and asked Aaila if it could be at the mansion in the garden or something. Aaila was okay with that and told him she would be there in a couple of hours. It was a long run she was going on it seemed like. She grabbed her ear-pods and her phone and went back down the stairs to run.

"Bye!" She said and opened the door to leave the apartment. She heard them give a response to her just before she closed the door. On the elevator ride down, she started looking for some music on her phone. It had been a long time she had gone for a run just because she wanted to, usually, it was Oliver that dragged her along, since he wanted to get in better shape, even though she was in phenomenal shape. She didn't know what kind of music she liked to listen to since it wasn't a privilege she had gotten while in the League before, but she knew she didn't like the music that was being played at Verdant from what she had heard when they got back from a night out. She scrolled over a lot of different genres but decided to go for some rock music since that seemed like it was the farthest from the music that was being played at the club. The elevator stopped and opened the doors. Aaila started running out of the building and when she hit the streets, she started towards the Queen mansion.

Her thoughts had been running wild ever since she left the mansion. She knew that Waller was getting impatient and wanted them to get out of Starling City and therefore it was a risk that she was running alone in the middle of nowhere. All that was around her were trees and forests. It was a beautiful sight in the sun, and that actually made Aaila's run that much better. She hated running in rain, which most people did anyway.

She had taken off her crop top hoodie and tied it around her waist since it was too hot to run with. Sweat was still running down her body and dripping to the ground. She could feel the sweat run down between her bouncing breasts and sometimes she lifted her sports bra up a little so all the sweat could run further down her body and wouldn't sink into her sports bra and make sweat marks. Of course, she didn't lift it enough so anyone who could pass by her, would see anything. It was just enough for the sweat to run further down, and then she put the sports bra back in place.

For the last kilometer, Aaila had had this weird feeling that someone was following her, but she chose to act like she hadn't. She couldn't see anyone, which was weird, but she could feel eyes on her anyway. Usually, when she followed her gut feeling she was right, so she knew someone was in fact watching her.

Out of nowhere a tranquilizer dart hit her arm and she could feel it take its effect, but her body had been trained to not react to that, so she didn't faint. Soon enough five more darts hit her, and that was enough to make her faint. She fell to the ground, and right before she closed her eyes, she saw a pair of black stilettos in front of her, and then she was gone.

"What's up, Roy?" Oliver asked when he picked up his phone, slightly curious why Roy would call him.

"Hey… I don't know what has happened to Aaila. She said she would be here in a couple of hours, but she isn't here yet… Do you think Waller..." Roy asked, concerned what would happen if Waller had taken Aaila again already.

"I'm... I… Thank you for telling me, Roy. I will find out what has happened and let you know when I know what is going on," Oliver said and hung up on Roy. He put his phone back down on the table.

"What is it, Love?" Nyssa asked, noticing the change in Oliver's face go from happy and calm to concern and anger.

"Aaila, she… She's been taken…" Oliver said, trying to keep calm, even though both Nyssa and Ray could tell he was going to be mad soon.

"By who?" Ray asked, not having heard about the last kidnapping episode.

"Amanda Waller, head of A.R.G.U.S," Oliver replied shortly. He stood from his chair and started walking towards the stairs. Ray and Nyssa looked in his direction and saw him disappear up the stairs.

"There's something I haven't heard about. Oliver usually doesn't react like that," Ray pointed out for Nyssa.

"Sorry, Ray, we forgot you haven't heard the news… Amanda Waller kidnapped Aaila before so she could talk to Ra's, who she didn't know was Oliver, and told him to leave Starling City. As you can see, we didn't leave Starling and now she has Aaila again. Last time she just took her for attention, this time I am afraid it might be to use her for more than attention…" Nyssa said and gave Ray a sad look.

"A.R.G.U.S… I thought they took care of big worldwide threats, not other organizations that do the same. You have a history with Waller, right?" Ray asked, starting to put the pieces together.

"We do. Especially Oliver," Nyssa said sadly.

"If there is something I can do to help, please say so. You know I am good with computers, I'm sure I can find her phone right now?" Ray offered and was already on his way to his computer which was still updating Aaila's shower.

"Ray, we gave you a promise years ago, which we intend to keep. You don't need to help us find her, I'm certain we can do that on our own," Nyssa said, not wanting to refuse Ray's offer, but make sure he knew he was making them break their promise about not getting involved in League business again.

"I know that, but Aaila is more important than some promise," Ray replied and started up the stairs. He had just reached the top of the stairs when Oliver stood in front of him with his Ray's laptop in his hand.

"I know you can find her. Please do it," Oliver asked Ray. When Ray looked into Oliver's eyes, he could see that he had a pleading look in them. He nodded and took the computer from his and started walking down the stairs again. The two of them sat down at the table, with Nyssa, again. Ray opened his computer and started typing away. Oliver could understand some of it, but then Ray did something he hadn't seen before and now Oliver had a hard time following what was going on, on the screen.

"Okay, I found her. She is in an A.R.G.U.S. bunker just outside the city. My guess is that it is where Waller has been running things in Starling from there. Give me a second and you can see what is going on," Ray told them. Oliver and Nyssa waited expectantly for the screen to pop up with a picture of what was going on.

About ten seconds later there came a picture up on the screen of Aaila sitting in shackles on a metal chair. But what made Oliver lose it was Aaila sitting there, with ripped clothes, blood stains various places on her body, and Oliver could see she was unconscious at the moment. Nyssa saw the same as Oliver and knew he would react in some way, so just before Oliver flipped the dinner table, she had pushed Ray a little back and grabbed his computer from the table, so the only thing that got flipped was the table. Nyssa and Ray watched Oliver closely as he was trying to calm his breathing.

"Love, I'm going with you this time," Nyssa said and handed Ray his laptop. Oliver turned to look at her.

"I don't want you to see what is about to happen. Please, stay here," Oliver pleaded her. He didn't want her to see what he was going to happen when he reached A.R.G.U.S. since he knew he would have no restraints this time.

"I will go with you, and when we get here, I will leave with her, and you can do what you think is suited. I know you don't want me to see you when you get merciless, Love, but you are going to need my help to get in there this time," Nyssa tried to reason with her husband. She knew he was going to be killing them in the most painful way he could think of, and he didn't like the ones he loves to see him like that.

"Fine… But you leave with her, the moment we get her. She doesn't need to see that," Oliver said with enough finality in his voice that Nyssa knew she shouldn't question it anymore. "I'm sorry, Ray, but we have to go. Thank you for finding her,"

"Yes, of course. Now, please hurry," Ray told them. Nyssa and Oliver nodded and started running towards the exit of their apartment.

"Call your father. We may need his help too," Oliver told his wife.

"Thank you for coming," Oliver said to the former Ra's when he walked up beside them.

"When it concerns my grandchild, it doesn't take that much convincing," Bruce replied. The three of them were looking down at the A.R.G.U.S. bunker they were about to infiltrate. In reality, they could just walk in through the front door, but that wasn't really their style.

"Let's get going. I don't want her to alone down there any longer," Oliver told them and put on his mask and pulled up his hood. The three of them went inside the bunker and went to find Aaila.

They had entered the room where Aaila was held, hostage. They could see a man waving his knife in front of her face, now that she was conscious again. Her face and clothes were covered in her own blood, and probably some of the soldiers too. Aaila grimaced when she saw the knife in front of her face, but then she noticed Oliver stand behind the man, and that brought up a wicked smile on her face. The man's eyes widened and before he had time to react, a sword was going through his chest. The body fell to the ground and Nyssa went to get Aaila out of her shackles.

"Come on, Sweetie," Nyssa said and pulled Aaila into a quick hug. "We need to get out of here,"

"What about them?" Aaila asked, feeling weak in her knees, but still wanted to stand on her own. She was pointing at Oliver and Bruce when she asked the question, but her arm quickly fell back down to her side, since she felt so weak.

"I made Oliver a promise that I would get you out of here, while he does what is needed. He doesn't want you to see what is about to happen," Nyssa told her, but whispered the last part. That way Aaila knew what Nyssa told her, was nothing to question.

"We will see you back at your apartment, my child," Bruce told her. He knew exactly why he was brought along for this rescue mission, and he didn't mind. Aaila nodded and accepted the sword Bruce offered her. He also knew that, even though was in a weak state right now, she would want to try and defend herself and not let Nyssa do all of the hard work.

Aaila turned to look at Oliver and he gave her a nod that told her that they were going to be okay, and she had to get going. Nyssa and Aaila then got moving slowly so Aaila had a chance to move herself without relying on Nyssa's support. Even though she just wanted to get the hell out of there, she still wanted to walk on her own, and she was happy that Nyssa understood that.

Oliver and Bruce watched as Nyssa and Aaila disappeared out of the hallway they had just come from. The two of them started walking towards the control rooms since they knew Amanda Waller would be there with a lot of soldiers there would be heavily armed.