Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

AN: Thank you for returning to my story. I hope you liked the first chapter. Let's see what Ra's has planned for Oliver. Thanks for the reviews, favs and follows.

Previously:

Deciding on a different tactic, Oliver said, "Since you know so much about me, you are aware I am very well-known. Are you sure you want to risk arrest and exposure for kidnapping and assaulting me?"

Ra's' eyebrow rose. "Touché, Mr. Queen. There could be serious consequences for administering my justice." He rubbed his chin with his right hand. A smile then appeared on his face. With a shrug of his shoulders, he shook his head. "Nah, I think I will be just fine." Turning to several soldiers who had just entered the room. "Is the fire torture ready?"

"Yes, Liege, it is. Just as you ordered."

"Bring Mr. Queen to the room and begin the torture."

Oliver was dragged by his two guards down several hallways to a room which had a high ceiling and no windows. He noted with interest at the one end there stood two posts four feet apart. A fire pit was on wheels, a short distance away from one of the posts.

The guards instructed Oliver to remove his shirt, shoes and socks. Manacles were then placed around his wrists, and the chains were pulled tight, bringing him eight feet into the air. He was hanging by his arms, with the weight of his body already causing discomfort to his shoulders.

The pit was rolled under him, and a roaring fire was soon burning. Despite all the torture Oliver had experienced in his five years away, he had yet to experience a torture method such as this. He began to implement the meditation techniques he had learned to help keep the pain under control. Time passed slowly even though Oliver was able to achieve a semi-conscious, meditative state. Eventually, however, he lost consciousness.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

They kept him up there above the fire for hours. He couldn't tell when he lost consciousness, but that was when the dreams began. Of the mysterious Ra's going after all those he held dear, attacking and killing Dig, Sara, Thea, Roy. Even Felicity and Laurel. Torturing them in such devious ways, then murdering them in front of his horrified eyes. The rational part of his brain which remained present tried telling him they were only dreams, not real, but that voice was gradually drowned out by the pain.

He woke up to find himself lying on the cold stone floor, bound to the floor by chains a foot long, attached to manacles on his wrists. His throat parched, his tongue seemingly stuck to the top of his mouth, he looked around his cell from his lying position. Stone walls surrounded him on three sides with iron bars in front of him. No windows. He allowed his eyes to wander past the bars, but only saw a long hallway in semi-darkness. A lone light shone above his cell outside the door. Listening to what he could hear, Oliver was only met with silence. He wondered if there were cells next to his, but from his place on the floor he couldn't tell. Feeling too weak to care, he collapsed onto his back on the cold floor, allowing the coolness to soothe his fiery skin.

As his eyes drifted closed, Oliver heard boots approaching him. Unable to force his eyes open, he heard the cell door open and the boots get closer. Suddenly, despite his weakness and nausea, Oliver sat straight up because of ice-cold water being poured over him.

Sputtering, he wiped the water out of his eyes, as he looked up into the face of Ra's. Trying to get his breathing, and the nausea, under control, Oliver waited for the man to speak as he drilled his anger into the man via his cold stare.

"Oh, Mr. Queen, you do not look happy."

"It is against American law to falsely imprison and torture someone."

"Yes, I believe you did try to tell me that earlier. As I told you, I don't care. Your police may attempt to arrest me, but only if they can find me."

"Does that mean you're planning on killing me?"

"No, it simply means you will not be able to provide proof of such crimes, and you will not be able to bring them here. No one will be able to find this place, for when we leave, we will not leave any evidence behind."

"All this because I unwittingly interfered with your little feud with Malcolm?"

Oliver watched as anger flared in Ra's' eyes. Perhaps I expressed myself recklessly, Oliver thought. However, he maintained his cold stare at Ra's and watched as his captor struggled not to vent his anger.

"Mr. Queen, I am surprised you have not yet learned it is unwise to anger me unnecessarily. If you continue to do so, you may find yourself in a situation you will not like."

Before he could stop himself, Oliver replied, "As if your previous torture wasn't enough?"

Ra's shook his head. "Now, Mr. Queen. I warn you and yet you respond to the warning with more insubordinance?"

"I didn't mean it that time. I simply am looking for clarification." Oliver met Ra's eyes with as much innocence in his eyes as he could possibly display, hoping it was enough.

"I must say, though, for one having undergone the Fire Torture, you are remarkably alert and conversant. Which should not surprise me, considering your long history of being tortured."

"I unfortunately developed a tolerance in the years I was away from Starling."

Ra's stroked his chin in thought. "It leaves me in a quandary. Whether to look upon your tolerance as a challenge." His eyes bored into Oliver's, who fought his instinct to look away. "Should I test your limits, see if I can find them?" A short, cruel laugh escaped him. "I could find that very amusing indeed."

Oliver pressed his lips so tightly together he felt discomfort in his eardrums. However, the effort was worth it, preventing any reckless remark from passing his lips as he waited for Ra's to continue.

Addressing Oliver's silence with a cocked eyebrow, Ra's smirked. "You do amuse me greatly, Mr. Queen. However, I will leave you to recover from your ordeal while I consider what to do with you."

Oliver watched as the men accompanying Ra's broke formation to allow him to walk out of the cell. They turned smartly and followed their leader in silence. Oliver let out a heavy sigh as they left and laid back down on the floor. He wondered what were the odds of his team finding him before Ra's attempted any more tortures for his own "amusement", or for him to escape on his own. Despite his efforts to think about possible escape plans, Oliver fell asleep despite the pain from the torture.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

While back at the lair with Team Arrow the night before, the team indeed had become quite anxious about his status. After an hour since his last communication without reappearing at the Lair, Diggle became concerned. Felicity became even more concerned when she couldn't reach him on the comms.

"Dig, where is Oliver? I mean, he would've let us know if he wasn't returning her for whatever reason. And he would've let us know he was going off comms."

Grabbing his sidearm, Digg checked for ammo and slipped the safety back on. Sticking it in his slacks, he grabbed his coat. "I'm going out to look for him. I'll first check the area where he supposedly left the robbers. You call Lance and make sure his officers found the robbers and brought them to the jail."

Felicity stated she would as Diggle raced up the stairs. As he got into his SUV, Digg wondered what could have happened to his teammate.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

First Felicity called Lance, to see whether he could shed any light on the mysterious situation. He denied any difficulty in collecting the bandits from the spot where the Arrow had left them. He hadn't observed anything unusual in the area, and the cops were able to bundle the crooks into the police van without any interference. The Arrow was nowhere to be seen by that time. Lance assumed he had left the area, not wanting to wait around for them.

After disconnecting the call, Felicity leaned back in her chair. Suddenly she bolted upright, and with fingers flying, she checked the surveillance of the area as seen by a bank's security cameras located across the street. Even though it appeared someone had tried to bury it, Felicity was even more skilled at uncovering it. She watched as Oliver fought seven ninja-type individuals who surrounded him, then squeaked in alarm when Oliver was bound and knocked out. So that's what has happened to Oliver. Now to find out who kidnapped him. Not to mention where they took him. And why.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Dig spent half the night looking for Oliver. He couldn't believe there was no sign of his friend, nothing left as in clues at the place where Oliver had nabbed the crooks. The snitches on the street had nothing of value to add either. As he was about to give up in frustration, his cell phone began ringing, disturbing his thoughts.

He barely got his phone to his ear before Felicity began babbling about surveillance tapes and black-hooded SOB's. He had to yell her name three times before she stopped.

"OMG, Dig, I am so sorry. Let me begin again." Dig waited for Felicity to take a slow, deep breath in, then to slowly exhale. "Okay. Oliver was attacked after leaving the crooks tied to the fence. By seven men in black hoods. First, they strung him up, knocked him out, then dragged him to a van."

"Have you traced the van yet?"

"Have you just met me?" Felicity snapped back in frustration. Digg heard her fingers flying across the keyboard. "I'm sorry, Digg. I've been in the process of doing that. Someone has been trying to hide this footage, but I'm just that much better."

"I've always said we're lucky you never wanted to be a criminal, Felicity. We'd be in a lot more trouble."

"Aw, shucks, Digg, thanks."

"I'll head to the Lair. If you find something before I get there, let me know. Otherwise…."

"Otherwise you don't want to stay out there like a misplaced chicken."

"What?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I couldn't come up with something better. I'm concentrating on trying to track that dang van."

"Keep at it. I should be there soon."

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Diggle arrived at the lair only to hear Felicity mumbling and cursing under her breath. "You haven't found anything?"

Diggle jumped as Felicity flung the pen in her hand across the lair. He didn't know if she had aimed for anything in particular. The pen landed harmlessly in the middle of the work-out area. "No, not a thing. I couldn't follow where they took him. I lost the van transporting them to who-knows-where before they got very far from the place he left the crooks."

Suddenly a voice not usually heard in the Lair interrupted the teammates.

"The League of Assassins kidnapped Oliver."

AN: Oh no, who has now entered the Lair? Kinda short chapter, but it did seem like a nice place to end the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you liked about it. Always appreciated!