DISCLAIMER: No, sadly, I do not own any of the Arrow characters. Makes me sad, but that's how it is.

A/N: Hi there. Let me just say, I am terribly sorry for the long wait. Life has a tendency to take off running and leave you with little time to do anything other than try to keep up. On top of that... I will be honest, I attempted to get started on this story and another one from NCIS LA popped into my head and would not let go until I gave in and put it on paper. I have only just finished writing it. I'm in the process of posting. My hope is that now, this story will give me something to go on. I'm anxious to get going. As I said before, I am one who likes to have the story written before I start posting. However, since it's been so long, I decided to post my rewrite of the first two chapters. Now I just want to say that I left much of what the original writer wrote, I simply attempted to put it into my own words so it will blend with my writing style. Please hang in there and know that this story will not be forgotten! Thank you in advance for your reading and reviewing! I can't wait to hear from you. Thank you "Stand with Ward and Queen" for the opportunity to write this story!

It had been five years since the Queen's Gambit had set sail only to be lost at sea along with everyone on board… or so they thought. Two years later, to everyone's surprise and relief, Sara Lance came home. With her came two more people… Shado and Slade Wilson, who claimed to have been companions of Oliver Queen's while stranded on the island of Lian Yu. The stories they told were not of a young spoiled playboy but of a man forged from the fires of a life they were forced to lead on that cold desolate island.

Since their return, the three former castaways had settled into their new lives in Starling City. To no one's surprise, Sara had followed in her father's footsteps. She graduated from the police academy and became a detective for the SCPD. Slade, on the other hand, put his previous ASIS training to use as a security guard. He eventually headed up security for the Queen family. Watching over his friend's family seemed a fitting way to honor the memory of his fallen brother. When Moira's parenting faltered, he was there to take up the role of Thea's older brother stopping her drug use and setting her on the right path. As for Shado, having been a lawyer in her 'previous' life, she studied and eventually passed the state bar exams and found herself working at the legal aid office with Laurel Lance.

The path from island solitude to living in the chaos that was Starling City was not an easy one. While living on Lian Yu had its challenges, it was about self-preservation and the only rule was staying alive at all cost, whatever it took.

This odd mix of misfits only came together because of Oliver and Shado's father, Yao Fei. It was Yao Fei that saved Oliver from the moment he landed on the island. Seeing him for the spoiled and pampered boy that he was, Yao Fei began introducing Oliver into the new and frightening world he found himself in. It would later fall to Slade and the Shado to train him in self-defense and battle. It was Shado who not only stole his heart and saved him from losing himself after his first kill, but it was she who taught him how to handle a bow and arrow. A bow and arrow that would one day alter the course of his life forever.

Little did they know what awaited them. The battle on the Amazo was a fierce one that united Sara and Oliver once again. It was a battle that could afford only one ending. They had to win. To lose meant risking lives the world over. All for a serum meant to cure any illness but promised a far more sinister option if held in the wrong hands. It held the potential to create a nearly unstoppable army of super soldiers. Both Oliver and Slade as well as Sara, who had long been a member of the crew before reuniting with Oliver and bore witness to the trial injections of the drug. The death toll was rising and those they held captive on the ship began to dwindle. Acting quickly was a must before they too fell victim to the madness. Sadly, though they won the battle, their reunion was a short lived one. In the end, Oliver had been pulled out of the ship and as far as his friends were concerned, lost to them forever.

Three years they struggled with finding a new normal. Fighting the nightmares that plagued their sleep, threatening whatever peace they thought they had found. Coming to terms with Oliver's absence while surrounded by the very family he fought so hard to get back to. A family devastated at the realization their hearts would never be whole again with the loss of Robert and Oliver. They had spent much of the past three years sharing stories of Oliver with his family and friends. Stories of an Oliver they had never had the opportunity to really know. But, for Sara, Shado, and Slade… it was about survival and moving forward. That was how they honored the fallen amongst them… by carrying on. It didn't take away the pain of the loss but it acted as more of a distraction. It wasn't something they could change, no matter how hard they may wish it. Little did they know…

Malcolm Merlyn, CEO of Merlyn Global, was well into a typical day as he walked down the hall to his office when he felt an old familiar feeling. A feeling he didn't care for one bit. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as his spine stiffened when he heard a name spoken he never expected to hear again.

"You are being summoned, Al sa-her. Malcolm slowly turned to face the unwelcome guest as well as a part of his life he had thought was well in the past. For the briefest of moments, he considered refusing but his memory of those years were not so foggy that he'd forgotten the consequences of such a move. If you are summoned by Ra's Al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins, you didn't keep him waiting.

Malcolm allowed the assassin to lead him out of the building to the underground tunnels he knew the League used for secret meetings when they were in Starling City.

What surprised him was that it was not Ra's who met him but a young woman, perhaps just slightly younger than his son, Tommy. She was a figure of beauty and grace with silk black hair flowing down over her shoulders and back from her face. She had an eastern European complexion with brown eyes so intense you would almost believe she could see straight into your soul. She was surrounded by assassins. She was every bit the intimidating figure her father was.

Malcolm smiled, "It has been a long time, Nyssa. You've grown into quite a beautiful young woman." He complimented her smoothly, "Am I to assume you are here as your father's emissary?"

"You assume correctly." She responded without giving and credence to his compliment, "My father has grave concerns regarding whispers of trouble brewing in Starling City."

"What whispers?" Malcolm asked innocently.

Nyssa regarded him for a moment as she pulled from her pocket an old worn book. The fact that Malcolm tensed upon seeing it did not go unnoticed. It was a copy of "the list". It was an old, worn copy but a copy none the less. "Where did you get that?" Malcom asked, attempting to be unaware of its importance. However, Nyssa's suspicions were already aroused.

"It was given to my beloved and my father's new horsemen by his father prior to his death." Nyssa said as the assassin closest to her removed his hood and stepped forward. Malcolm couldn't contain his shock at the sight of his son's best friend, long thought dead.

"Oliver!" he all but breathed.