Author's note: And here are the last three chapters! Enjoy!

The message was in the form of a young functionary of the Druce noble family, barely a boy, fear and the strong ego of the misled and self-righteous in his eyes. An insult to the king, really, to send one so unimportant, though the boy probably didn't realize that. He straightened importantly as Hunter strode into the room where a guard held him at swordpoint, chin going up as he stared at the king. Leonard, who'd entered hard on the king's heels with Sara at his side, saw the kid's eyes go right to the assassin. So, he'd been told to watch for her.

Still, he didn't speak yet, and Hunter stopped a few feet away and studied him, then shook his head.

"So, Druce is using children now as well as abducting them?" he said, a note of resigned disgust in his voice rather than the terror Len knew was there. "Not so much a surprise, I suppose." Hunter waved a hand as the young man's eyes widened and he started to retort. "Speak."

Exactly the right note to hit. Len gave his friend an approving look as the messenger struggled for equilibrium.

"Lord Zaman Druce has custody of your son," he managed finally. "He has sent me with this message of his intentions…" But the kid stopped dead as Carter put the bare blade of his sword at his throat when he tried to remove something from a belt pouch. Kendra darted in to remove the item, which was, oddly enough, Leonard thought, a seashell.

Harrison Wells, who'd been behind the others, held out his hand for it. "I've seen these before," the mage said. "Let me."

Kendra gave it to him, and he studied the shell a moment, holding his hand over it. Sara felt a breeze, and then:

Zaman Druce's voice sounded around them as air rushed out of the shell. "Michael Hunter," the Council head said crisply. "I have your son, as you know by now. He is healthy and well, and I will give you proof of that in a moment. That said, he is hostage to your behavior in regard to a recent Council decision."

Hunter started to respond, but Druce started to speak again, and Harrison gave a quick shake of his head, indicating that it only worked one way.

"You are a weak king," the Council head said clinically. "One who is…unwilling to take the steps to expand this kingdom or to protect it. And you will step down, take your son, and repair to a location of our choosing, to live in exile. Or…your son will die, and there will be civil war." He paused again. "And you will hand over the Assassins Guild emblem, which was taken from our friend, Damien Darhk, in an unfair challenge, so it can be passed on to someone else."

Leonard heard Sara actually growl, which was too damned distracting considering the gravity of the situation. He glanced at her, seeing the fire in her eyes, but she stayed silent as they all continued to listen.

"The exchange will take place tomorrow, at noon, on the bridge to the noble district, which should be neutral ground," Druce continued. "If you are not there, or fail to meet our specifications, the boy will die, as will you. Now…"

There was a moment of silence, and then: "I won't!" Jonas Hunter's young voice spoke up, angry and scared. "I won't do as you say. You are a traitor to the kingdom and the throne, and…"

There was a sudden wet sound, as if of someone—Jonas—spitting, and then the boy's voice faded, as if Druce was moving away from him with great alacrity. Leonard hesitated, looking at Hunter, seeing both a grim smile on the king's face at his son's bravery and the fear in his eyes.

Druce, perhaps, was struggling to regain his equanimity. "You have heard our terms," he added finally. "Good day." With a final whistle of passing air, the voice fell silent.

Harrison studied the shell again, then tucked it into his own belt pouch. The messenger started to say something, but Hunter immediately cut him off, motioning to the guards.

"Take this child and find someplace safe and secure for him," he said, showing no sign of the anger and fear the message must have evoked in him. "Master Mage, you have a way for us to respond?"

"I am to return to Lord Druce right away," the kid spoke up, his own measure of fear and indignation in his voice. "I…"

The king cut him off again. "You will stay here, as we are not so foolish as to allow even a childish spy to return to a traitor to the kingdom. And you must have noticed that your return was not one of Druce's specifications." He smiled, thinly, at the expression on the messenger's face. "Consider yourself relieved of duty. Also, consider whether you are also a traitor to this kingdom. It is rather an important decision, and quite probably one Druce did not frame in an appropriate way for you."

Carter took the stunned boy by the arm and marched him off toward where Leonard knew the cells were—not dungeons, but secure none the less. Hunter turned and spoke quietly and urgently to Joe West, who promptly turned and departed as well. Harry had also vanished, apparently in response to the king's early question.

Leonard took a deep breath, trying to sort through the jumble of thoughts and feelings of the day. He glanced at Sara, who looked back at him, an edge of fire still in her gaze along with worry.

"Do you really think it would be civil war?" she asked him quietly. "If the king doesn't abdicate?"

"I think Druce is overplaying his hand." Leonard shook his head. "He's counting on the king focusing on his son, first, and not looking too closely at things. The Council members are important members of the 12 noble families, but that doesn't mean they control those families, and I doubt all of them are totally on board with this anyway. The Coburns certainly won't be. He's…"

But then Joe came back into the room, with his daughter right beside him, and Hunter was speaking again.

"Master Iris," he said formally, hands behind his back (and only Sara and Leonard could see how white the knuckles were). "The master of your Guild is presumably across the city in his Guild hall, and this is a matter of urgency. We need to know. By your knowledge of your trade and the people of this city, will we be supported if we chose to oppose Zaman Druce in this coup attempt of his? Have we been that out of touch with the people?"

Joe had apparently filled Iris in on the way there. The bard nodded, putting her own hands behind her back formally, and addressed him.

"Lor…Zaman Druce has his adherents, as does the faction that wishes for the kingdom to press for war, any war—and most of them are the same. But they are not a large faction," she told him. "The common people, they support you. Many of the lords do, too, but Druce has been working on the Council."

Hunter gave her a tiny smile, clearly relieved in some measure. "And you've told me that before, but I did not listen," he said quietly. "I apologize. So, if I call him on this…"

"There may be some trouble. But the majority will be with you." She hesitated. "One issue. The Lord General…he's one of the ones who want war. Very much."

"Not so much a surprise," Leonard muttered, but Iris had continued.

"Still, he's managed to alienate much of the core army," she said. "Too many decisions, I've learned from talking to the soldiers, that pay too little attention to the people under his command. And for a true war, there would have to be many conscripts, and that would not go well for him at all."

"Thank you, Master Iris." Hunter looked around, taking in everyone there, including the returned Carter and Harrison Wells, who'd entered with a dark-haired young woman. "Well. For the time, it seems that you lot are my Council. What say you?"

"Stall," Leonard told him promptly. "Make no promises but let him believe you'll meet him for the trade-off. And we…" He looked around. "…well, some of us. We figure out where they actually have the prince, and we go there."

"We end Druce," Sara cut in. "We rescue Jonas." She waved a hand as a few of the others spoke up. "Yes, I know there's more to it. But that's the gist."

Hunter nodded to them, glancing around and seeing no argument with the core idea. "And how do we deliver that message?"

Harry stepped forward then, motioning to the young woman with him. She glanced around, giving them a quick smile. Len liked her instinctively.

The Guild master nodded to her. "This is Zari," he said, "a master air mage. And she has a trick of sending a voice—any voice, not just hers—on the wind, without gimmicks like that seashell."

Zari gave them all a quick, wry smile, then belatedly seemed to realize what sort of company she was keeping and made a rather perfunctory gesture that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be a bow or a curtsey. "Whenever you'd like," she said, "your majesty."

Hunter studied her, clearly intrigued. "That's how you got the message here earlier, isn't it?" he said to Harry before looking back at her. "Thank you, Master Zari. Can you send a message to someone in particular without knowing where they are?"

The mage gave him a bigger smile, still a little sardonic. "I can, if I've met them. And I have met Druce." The name was filled with distaste, and no one complained about the lack of a title. "And, I can see, sort of, where those messages go."

The king's smile was downright sly. For a moment, Len could see the young cutpurse-turned-prince he'd been back when they met. "Excellent. However…" He looked at Harry again. "Will that tip Druce off? Do you think?"

The older man started to shrug, then caught himself and looked thoughtful. Len glanced at Sara. Harry, he knew from experience, took very little seriously that didn't directly affect him and those he cared about. But he was clearly trying to expand that definition now. At least for the sake of the prince.

"I don't think so," the mage said slowly, glancing at Zari, who nodded encouragingly. "It's rather a new trick. But with similar things…backtracking hasn't been possible. Druce shouldn't suspect it." He nodded thoughtfully. "Still…you'll want to remain circumspect anyway. Make no promises, as he said." He eyed Leonard, who restrained himself from smirking, and then tipped his head toward the king. "Are you ready?"

Hunter set his shoulders. "Yes," he returned. "Sooner the better."

The mage Zari held out her hands, backs up, then turned them palms up upward, suddenly. A wind began to whistle around the corners of the room, and Leonard glanced around nearly involuntarily. Hunter tilted his head up as it swirled around him.

"Zaman Druce," he said calmly, "I am taking your words under advisement. And I will be at the site you mentioned at the time specified. As long as you are, as well." His eyes and his voice hardened. "With. My. Son."

He lifted a hand. And wind swirled around him, and then Zari brought her hands up too, and it whistled around the room and was gone.

Hunter let out a long, low breath, but the mage Zari closed her eyes immediately, a look of great concentration on her face. After a moment, she moved a little closer to the room's one window, tilting her face up.

Leonard, intrigued, glanced at Sara, who was studying the other woman with great curiosity. She gave him a slight smile, but they all stayed quiet, letting the mage concentrate.

Finally, Zari's eyes popped open, her brow furrowed. "He's at his city house," she said quickly. "But he's in a complex of rooms underground. The wind had to find its way down there, which is why it was a little more complicated. I had to really concentrate." She looked at Hunter. "Your son is there, too, sir. He's OK, although Druce has him confined to one small room now." A smirk crossed her features. "He's angry and he kept trying to get away. He's calling Druce the most remarkable names. Where did a prince learn those words?"

Hunter looked torn about relief, anger, and amusement. "He has a certain fondness for the Guard, and for the company of a certain thief and his second." He glanced at Leonard. "And perhaps I have not self-censored as a king should, over the years. Ah, well."

Zari smiled too but continued. "There's another room there, too, set up as if for a ritual of some sort. Diagrams and candles and such." She hesitated. "And there's a body, surrounded by a preservation field, laid out as if in state. A man, dark haired. I've seen a picture; it's…"

"Vandal Savage."

Zari looked only briefly surprised at the king's knowledge. "Yes. Cult members there, too. Not so many, though. And in the aboveground portion of the house, there's only a small staff. I think Druce may be trying to convince you that he's elsewhere."

"Many of the Council members have been seen arriving at the Lord General's city house. And there's a buildup of soldiers there," Kendra reported. She'd quietly entered the room while they were all watching Zari. "Mostly officers, the ones who've most supported Declan. I have people I trust in with the rank-and-file, though. And they'll be with you." She sighed. "Some guards, from all three divisions. But not many."

Hunter nodded, turning to Iris again. The bard had been avidly watching all of this, apparently mentally filing it away. "I think it's best if we start to get the word out about what's going on," he told her. "All of it. I have nothing to hide." The bard nodded in return, touched her father's arm, and then left, and the king looked at Kendra and Carter. "Will you go to the barracks? See that the common soldiers are, indeed, with us." A smile touched his lips. "There will be bonuses, for their loyalty. I trust you to know how, and when, to mention that."

Carter nodded. Kendra hesitated, just a moment.

"Sir," she said quietly. "Do you mean to wait? For tomorrow? To confront Druce at this…exchange…he's set up? Because…"

Leonard couldn't help himself. "Don't," he said abruptly, with all the others looking at him. "Don't wait. We know where they are. Tomorrow, he'll have all his pieces together; he'll hold most of the cards."

He took a deep breath. Hunter studied him, then nodded, encouraging him to continue.

Leonard, who'd been turning all this over in his mind as they gathered information, did. "Fake them out a little," he said, looking at the Guard captains. "Give them something to watch. Once there's a loyal group of guards and soldiers massed, make it look like there might be an offensive on the Lord General's city house. You have every reason to believe they're all there."

"And meanwhile?" Joe West asked him.

Leonard threw him a grin that had very little humor in it. "Meanwhile I go to Druce. Get myself into his hidey hole. Let him know I have something he wants." He nodded at Sara's intake of breath. "I am, after all, a thief. Druce thinks very little of me. He'd be unsurprised if I showed up with the stone, looking to make a deal for myself."

Hunter started to respond-but Sara did first.

Sara hadn't been afraid of losing something for a very long time. Well, that wasn't entirely true—she was staying away from Stella to protect her friends and family, after all. But when she realized just what Leonard was proposing, she was again. She was afraid.

"No way you're going without me," she told him firmly. "He doesn't think much of me, either—he made that clear. He won't be surprised if we betray the king. And really, we're the best two for this job."

Leonard looked down at her, an odd combination of respect, relief, and regret in his eyes. Peripherally, Sara was aware of the king looking back and forth between them.

"The more fool him," Hunter finally said, quietly and with a great deal of respect in his own voice. "And…when you're there?"

"He knows I'm fond of Jonas," Leonard told him. "He won't be surprised if I make the boy one of my requirements."

But Sara, to his surprise, shook her head. "But will he give him to you?" she asked. "A prince of the royal line? That's asking for another coup in a handful of years, and Druce will know that."

Harry and Carter murmured in agreement, and Hunter nodded. "Whatever he says about letting either of us go, if we leave the kingdom…I don't believe him," the king said grimly. "I know how the game is played."

Len frowned, but he didn't argue. "Good point," he said, then shrugged. "Well, then, we steal a prince while they're there."

"But…what else are you planning?" Harry said, frowning. "He can't actually get the stone…"

Sara gave him an amused look. "Assassin," she reminded him, then glanced at Hunter. "I mean, if you're authorizing that, majesty."

The king closed his eyes. Sara heard Len hum a little in frustration at the man's scruples, but he didn't say anything. Neither did anyone else, letting the monarch consider the matter for a few moments.

Then Hunter opened his eyes and nodded.

"If you have to," he said firmly. "If that's what you need to do to end this and save my son."

That was…giving Sara rather a lot of latitude, and she wasn't going to argue with that. But Harry was speaking again, the frown still present.

"Taking the stone anywhere near him is a risk, though," the mage said, "and it's a problem that we know so little how Darhk did it, or how Druce can restore Savage."

"Leave that to me," Len told him definitively. "He won't get it."

Harrison gave him a speaking glance. "And you know your business," he said, "I get it. But you've also told me before: 'Expect the plan to go off the rails.'"

Len didn't look amused at having his own words thrown back at him, but he did acknowledge them with a tip of his head.

"We need to know how to destroy it, then," he returned. "Doing that in Druce's face would put a crimp in his plans."

Hunter stepped in before the two men could continue their back-and-forth. "Master Mage, do you have any thoughts on that?" He glanced at Sara. "Could we see the stone?"

Sara looked at Len—who shrugged, then sauntered over and pulled it, seemingly, out from behind Harrison's ear, holding it out to the mage with a bow. The other man rolled his eyes, but took it, wincing as he touched it. Zari, who'd been standing against the wall and watching all of this with an expression of great dubiousness, wandered over to inspect it as well.

Leonard took the pause in banter to look down at Sara again. "You sure about this?" he asked quietly.

"Going after Druce? Yes." She studied him. "You need someone to have your back."

The sparkle in his eyes warned her about what was coming. "I dunno. I can think of other body parts I'd prefer you took occasional custody of."

OK, so they were going to do this now, were they? Sara leaned closer, smirking. Even with everything going on around them, she was still having occasional trouble ripping her mind off the night before, and her thoughts on the future. "Well, then, I need to protect those, too."

Len's eyes lit even more, and Sara prepared herself contentedly for some relaxing banter…but then Harrison made a sudden, profanity-laced exclamation, and turned away from them all. He hurriedly out the door, leaving Zari holding the stone with a look of tremendous disgust on her face. The mage transferred it to between two fingers, holding it out toward Len and Sara.

But Hunter reached out and took it from her first.

"I don't have any magic," he said, studying the stone with an expression of distaste that apparently came more from what it was than what it felt like. "Neither does Jonas." He shook his head. "I'd hoped he'd have his mother's, but…it didn't work out that way. Just as well; it's never gone well with monarchs with magic before." He glanced up at Zari, who was watching him with great curiosity. "What did our good Master Mage say before he ran out on us so precipitously?"

Zari gave him a little smile. "You mean, besides the curses? Something about Darhk, and 'adamant.' And…"

"That rat bastard!" And Harrison was back, literally dragging Martin Stein with him, Raymond trotting along beside them. "All right." He released the other man, who gave himself a shake and glared at the mage. "That thing is no longer purely a gemstone. Its structure, at a very deep level, is different from anything I've ever seen before." He folded his arms and regarded Martin. "Except one."

The older man eyed him, then looked at the gemstone, which Hunter held out to him helpfully. Then he reached out and took it, wrinkling his nose.

"You studied it," Harrison told him somewhat acerbically. "You must have known. We've talked about this, along with…" He rolled his eyes. "Cisco." He waved a hand. "Take a good look. Not its magical makeup. Its physical makeup."

Martin lifted the ruby up to eye level and narrowed his eyes. Sara, a little intrigued, thought she saw an aura of magic ripple around him, and then…

The curse that exploded out of the alchemist/artificer/mage's mouth startled them all.

"That, that…" Martin used a few more words that made Sara smile and Len actually chuckle. "He stole our work. I knew he took my papers that one day. I knew it."

"Who?!" The king had had enough. "This is all quite fascinating, but…"

"Darhk, of course." Martin drew himself up. "I had been working on a material that was, at the time, theoretical."

"There's that word again," Leonard muttered.

"Adamant," Martin continued. "Harder than diamond. This has the structure, if you look deeply. Our papers were stolen, and I…abandoned the experiments for a time." He growled again. "Darhk!"

"And probably Lewis too, if it was while he was still alive," Leonard told him. "I know I didn't touch anything like that, and I presume you confronted the Thieves Guild about it."

Martin ignored him at that moment. "This isn't just a gemstone anymore," he said, holding up the stone. "It's adamant. That may be how it finally held together to hold a…a soul, in Darhk's experiment. But now normal means simply won't be enough to destroy it."

"Fortunately, you have me." Harrison cut in with a shrug. "And I am anything but normal." He pulled something out of his belt pouch as most people in the room rolled their eyes and the others looked on with great interest. "I mentioned Jurgens, at one point this morning. After that conversation, I decided to retrieve the one useful thing we have of his experiments."

"Wait a minute," the king cut in. "And when did you have time to do that?"

The mage ignored him. "This," he said, holding up another stone, this one blue, vaguely iridescent and slightly bigger than the ruby, "is a time stone. It usually resides in a locked box in a very hidden part of the Mages Guild hall, under a variety of mystical shields. If you activate it, it will effectively bring the might of many years—many, many years—to bear on what's in its range. And it's probably a very, very bad idea for me to be giving it…"

He held out the stone and waited until Leonard put his hand out underneath it. Sara bit her lip, a shiver running down her spine.

"…to you," Harry finished, letting the blue gem fall into Len's hand. "Jurgens called it an Oculus. Please. Be careful."