Disclaimer:
I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.
Following Through
Chapter Three
No Tricks Up His Sleeve
By The Shroud
A/N:
Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. This chapter imagines if Oliver killed Malcolm, once again, but this time in the S3 cliffhanger of episode 9. It combines bits and pieces of arcs from S3 to S7, though mainly just the heir plotline in part and the existence of H.I.V.E., Prometheus, Diaz, and the Ninth Circle.
Middle December, 2014
Verdant
Oliver sat, brooding, until he heard his godfather speak, "It's the strangest thing."
He raised his head and turned around, as Merlyn continued confrontationally, "Thea just called, and said that she was attacked by the Arrow. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now would you, Oliver?"
Oliver stood up and realized everything. He had heard of Vortura, and it made sense as an explanation. "This was you. You know, I figured, when I spared the man who murdered my mother, I would never kill again."
He grabbed Malcolm's throat and brutally slammed him against the countertop, and finished, "I was wrong."
Merlyn tried to weasel his way out of it. "You might want to reconsider. I have video evidence that Thea was the one who killed Sara, and if I die… that video will automatically be sent to Ra's. setting off a manhunt in which Thea will have no escape. And I don't think you want that to happen to her."
Oliver saw through it. "I will tell Ra's that this was you, that you did this."
His godfather desperately defended, although not showing it in his voice or expression, "And he will still kill her, for firing the arrow."
He shook his head, the rage in his voice gradually growing, and squeezed Merlyn's neck with precision, blocking the blood flow of two major arteries that led to the brain. "Not if I give him something in exchange, which is the actual only thing I can do to save Thea. Not even you would be able to pull the veil over Ra's' eyes forever. He would find out, and he would kill Thea anyway [1]. If I was still the unthinking godson you once knew years ago, I wouldn't have understood that, simply accepting your words and thinking I had no choice. But I've grown beyond that, and I don't think you have any more tricks left up your sleeve. Your endless cycle of lies, betrayals, and unjustified death ends here. No further, shall it go on [2]! The line is drawn here!"
As he angrily finished his response, he pressed even harder, forcing Malcolm into unconsciousness… and then to death. Oliver slowly caught his breath, before closing Malcolm's eyes and coming to a decision.
Later That Day
Nanda Parbat
Having made all his arrangements with those he had to leave behind in Star City, and now having arrived in Nanda Parbat, he stepped forward in front of the throne were Ra's sat, with League members flanking both him and the Demon's Head.
Ra's asked him blankly, "Why should I spare your sister from her sentence?"
Oliver answered, "At the time, she was under the effects of Vortura, by the Magician, someone who was only able to do so because you chose to train him. In return for her life, I offer the Magician's head, and to work willingly for you. If that is not enough, perhaps I can deliver more. Anything to save my sister."
Ra's stood up and walked forward, staring into his eyes for but a second, seemingly almost… in surprise? "The offer, in the original form, is acceptable."
Late January, 2015
Oliver woke up with a start, feeling in his bones that Ra's wanted to talk with him outside, in the snow. After a moment, he stood up, and took the fastest route through the maze that the main base of the League was, a maze he had memorized over the weeks upon weeks of training.
Outside, he saw Ra's looking over the surroundings from a cliff, and slowly made his way through the snow, to up there.
Oliver stopped three meters from Ra's, waiting for the next orders. Ra's crouched down, looking at the horizon, where the sun was rising, before beginning. "During your training, you have no doubt wondered why I have chosen to invest so much time and effort in you. The reason… is that in the League, the Head has more power than merely that over the League or through the Lazarus Pit. There are supernatural abilities granted by being the Head of the Demon, and one of those is the ability to receive prophecies. The League has existed for millenia, with many bearing the title of Ra's, lasting between as short as a few hours due to being a usurper or as long as nearly four millennia. I myself have lasted for nearly two millennia. Every Ra's has eventually received a prophecy of who their heir would be, and then used it to search, identify, and recruit the heir. Sometimes an heir is found by happenstance, identified upon further reflection, or necessarily forced into the League. The prophecy of my own heir… matches to you, as I realized when you made the offer for your sister's life. It mentioned that you matched all three of those, that you seek above all to provide justice and protect your family, that you have endured a trial of many years of hell that changes you from a thoughtless person into a man of focus, commitment, and will. Above any other, the most intriguing is that you would defeat a man who tried to usurp my position, a man I have told you about, Damien Darhk, once known as Al Syd or The Tamer [3]. And today, I believe you are ready to be recognized as my heir."
Ra's stood up and turned around, speaking almost proudly, "For your progress, I now give you the title of Warith al Ghul, no longer merely Al Sah-him. In two weeks, we will have the honor of launching an attack upon Darhk and his organization, that hive of spectres [4], and I will relinquish the League to you."
Overwhelmed with information, all Oliver could do was bow and say, "Thank you, my liege."
Early February, 2015
H.I.V.E. Main Base, Star City
He and Ra's watched as a legion of eighty assassins stood at attention, ready for the attack upon the small skyscraper whose true purpose lied in the cavern full of technology and soldiers beneath that Darhk routinely used, Ra's spoke softly, "And now the end of my dance with Darhk begins."
As though realizing where he was, the Demon's Head turned to him and commanded, "For this battle, you shall be the one to use the Ring, and the fires of destruction shall scorch and engrave into history this moment as when you became Ra's al Ghul."
Oliver asked, "Isn't that rather hasty? Wouldn't it be best to be careful and let the one who knows best how to use it actually, you know, use it?"
Ra's smiled slightly, as though knowing something special. "But the prophecy requires that it happen as I just said [5]. I wouldn't want to have gone through all this work just for you to throw it away because we didn't pay proper attention to the prophecy."
Reluctantly, he accepted the Ring, which disappeared into smoke from Ra's' hand and rematerialized on his own hand.
The previous Demon's Head now put on his hood, asking, "So what are your orders, Ra's?"
And so the bloodbath began.
Hardly ten minutes later, they made their way into the seventh level down out of fifty two, where one of Darhk's greatest weapons, a Khushu idol [6], laid in wait, and yet they were already down to twenty assassins, who were falling to the highly capable Spectres of Darhk, who, if not skilled, possessed impressive discipline and firepower.
Oliver used the powers of the Ring to disappear and reappear behind a group of Spectres that were protecting the idol, as the electronic system had failed thanks to another one of the Ring's powers, and he swiftly decapitated them with a single swing- and then was thrown up against the ceiling with a humongous force, barely able to breath. "Now what's this? Someone with the powers of the Demon's Head, but not my old pal? That's interesting, to say the least."
Darhk had arrived.
The previous Demon's Head raised his sword behind Damien Darhk, intending to go for decapitation, and Darhk turned around to blast Ra's against the wall, dropping Oliver as the idol could only have one target at a time.
Oliver used the Ring to appear behind Darhk, grabbing him in a chokehold, but Darhk used his magic to force Oliver down to the ground-
Ra's had recovered, now swinging his sword at Darhk again, causing Darhk to draw two blades, one from each sleeve, both enchanted to be able to kill the Demon's Head. He blocked blow after blow from both of them, using his magic to supplement where he was unable to parry.
However, Ra's knew that Darhk was stalling for reinforcements to help those already in the building defeat the remaining assassins and help him as well. So he found an opportunity- and forced Darhk's blade into his chest above his heart, using that to step forward just close enough to swing his sword and cleave the idol in two.
Oliver stepped back in surprise, seeing his mentor willingly accept death, and Darhk was similarly shocked to see his old friend die, even if they had violently split long ago. They each caught their breath, before glancing at each other. Rather than continue the fight on and possibly die due to the lack of available Spectres and the destruction of his idol, Darhk came up with a plan, suggesting, "I have no doubt my fallen friend has told you of a binding mystical blood treaty, where two parties come to an agreement and each must follow it until one decides not to, in which case the other will psychically know."
Oliver asked, still reeling from the battle, "What are you suggesting?"
Darhk explained, "I propose that we will not attack each other or order any of those who follow our orders to attack each other. In return, we shall work together to defeat a new organization that recently rose to power and that I, again, have no doubt that Ra's told you of... the Ninth Circle, which is comprised of selfish individuals neither of us would prefer to each other. Do we have a deal?"
Darhk used the blade in his left hand to cut his right palm, before handing the blade to Oliver, who, after a moment, nodded, making a similar cut along his own palm. They clasped their right hands together, and started chanting the words of the treaty in the League's dialect in Arabic- and their hands glowed like a lightbulb, before the light faded away.
They nodded to each other, and Oliver used the powers of the Ring to disappear to Nanda Parbat.
Damien Darhk simply smirked, having seen under the hood when he had blasted the new Ra's against the ceiling. "You don't know who you're messing with, Oliver Queen."
Later That Day
Having returned to the main base that was still in shambles and having found his weaponry, Simon Morrison continued sharpening his chokuto blade once again, until it fit his purposes. Suddenly, the door opened, and he instantly looked at it, expecting a possible attack, only to see his mentor of the past three years, Damien Darhk, walk in. Perhaps today was the day he would be allowed to carry out his own mission, the one that Darhk had originally recruited him for, to kill the Arrow, Oliver Queen, who had been troublesome to some H.I.V.E. operations. Well, his own mission was something entirely different, something that was truly a favor to show Oliver his true nature, just as Oliver inspired him to explore his own darkness. Not that Darhk would need to know.
His mentor spoke, "There is a new Ra's. The previous one has fallen. What I think will interest you is that the new Ra's is none other than Mr. Queen himself."
Simon smiled. "So you're sending me after him? It's about time."
He rose, only for Darhk to shake his head enigmatically. "No, no. I've made a binding mystical blood treaty of non-aggression with him, in the interest of jointly defeating the Ninth Circle. Specifically, I will not attack him or order any of my own assets to attack him. Of course, if I so happened to cut you loose, happened to accidentally, inadvertently cause criminals and prisoners in Star City to be released or given resources, ranging from small threats like Tobias Church and Ricardo Diaz to the Longbow Hunters and Jackals that are truly dangerous but have run out of resources that would let them skyrocket to the top of the criminal world, and if I just so happened to mention that I wouldn't lift a finger against you if you did do a particular something… well, that's completely different."
Comprehension dawned upon Simon's face, and Darhk finished, handing him a good deal of files and papers, "Here are some documents that should clarify everything about your new identity, Mr. Chase."
A/N:
And that concludes this chapter. I do plan a sequel to this chapter, but you might all want to notice that I had Darhk say Mr. Chase, not Adrian Chase or Dorian Chase… and now forget about that, because I'm not going to say I'm going to do a thing that one group of people would like to see, only to actually do a thing an entirely different group of people would be interested in. I'm not one of the showrunners on Arrow… which if I was, things would be different… I hope.
[1] Ra's seemed really dumb and passive in the show during the period when Malcolm's plan unfolded. Would he really blindly accept that the Magician was not involved despite all the sketchiness? Not my Ra's that's partly borrowed from Gotham and the comics, but maybe so for Ra's a-love Guru.
[2] This part was itself partly inspired by a speech by Captain Picard in Star Trek: First Contact when talking about the Borg, because I just rewatched that recently.
[3] From Google Translate, "Al Syd" back-translates more closely to 'The Master', but Master has a similar enough meaning to 'Tamer' that I feel it's justified. Call it a quirk of the League's dialect, an error they made over the years, or perhaps a mistake Arabic itself made as it shifted slightly over the years itself. I want to say now that Ra's' original League name was Al Jirah, because that's what 'The Surgeon' gives in Google Translate, which is something close enough to Doctor, which relates to Ra's' backstory in the comics in here and the comics of knowing a lot about medicine… and that was not just a weak excuse for a Doctor Who reference.
[4] I'm renaming the Ghosts to remove any connection to the underwhelming ones in the show. They'll be more similar to the Wolves from Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
[5] It's not part of the prophecy, he just made that up. Why? Because he doesn't care about if he dies, only that the League will have its new Ra's and that Darhk will be defeated as soon as possible before more people fall victim to his actions, which is itself something that depends on the first condition.
[6] The Khushu idol is way less overpowered in this. It has limited telekinesis, only able to supply one single force from a distance, no matter the power of that force or the distance, with the maximum power falling off with the square of the distance, and the maximum power possible is determined by how many souls are sacrificed. Darhk's real power will instead be in his organization, his skills, and his deceptively straightforward yet manipulative mind.