Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this. Also, some of Ra's dialogue while explaining his history with the LOA is from the episode "Al Sah-Him" by Brian Ford Sullivan and Emilio Ortega Aldrich.

AN: Thank you for returning to the second chapter of this AU story. I still want to take out Ra's al Ghul and have some more fun with him. I miss him. Also, I wanted to try to come up with ways in which the plotting of season 3 makes sense. Sigh. In this story I offer some more alternative ideas. Hope you like them.

Previously:

"For now, Mr. Queen, prepare yourself to disembark. Soon you will be in your new home."

Before Oliver could say something clever, Ra's turned and walked out of the room. Instead, two soldiers approached, unlocked the cell door, and entered. They released him from the manacles but quickly restrained his arms behind his back and handcuffed his wrists. Oliver was then not so gently pushed towards the door.

They hustled Oliver off of the ship and into the back of a van. Oliver tried to get a look of his surroundings, but he was moved too quickly for that to happen. The only windows in the van were up front, and so the only clues Oliver could pick up were auditory. Unfortunately, he didn't hear anything of use, only nonspecific port, then traffic, noises, followed by silence.

After fifteen minutes, the van stopped. The doors opened, and one of the guards motioned for Oliver to get out of the van. As he got out of the van, Oliver was grabbed by the arms again by guards on either side and brought into what appeared to be a mansion twice the size of his family home. He didn't get too good of a look around before going inside, for after they had entered what appeared to be a large gathering area, they took a left and followed several narrow hallways and down several flights of stairs. To what Oliver could only describe as a good old-fashioned dungeon. Of course Ra's would have a medieval-looking dungeon to throw his enemies into.

He was led over to the back wall of one of the prison cells, where manacles were hanging from the wall at shoulder and ankle height. While one of the guards held a gun on him, the other removed his handcuffs and placed his wrists, then his ankles, into the manacles. As they exited the cell, Ra's walked in with a grim look on his face.

"Here we are, Mr. Queen. Welcome to your new home."

"Why can't you at least answer one question for me? Why did you bring me here?"

"Patience, Oliver, patience. All will become clear in due time, but first I do have some business to take care of, now that I am back home. Then I will proceed with my plans to reorganize the land once known as the United States." A small smile crossed his face. "With your help, of course."

Ra's again turned smartly around and walked out without another word. Oliver had to physically press his lips together to prevent asking any more useless questions. He knew Ra's would take satisfaction in Oliver continuing to question and Ra's not answering him.

Oliver looked around at his surroundings, now having the opportunity to do so. Walls made out of stone, solidly built, the bars of the jail made out of what looked like sturdy steel. Nothing in the cell to use as either weapon or tool to carry out an escape. Not even a cot to sleep in. At least the chains were long enough to allow him to sit on the floor. How thoughtful. Oliver examined the manacles. Perhaps he could have picked the locks. If he still had a lock pick. Unfortunately, as he had discovered when he first woke up on the ship, every tool he had hidden in his suit had been removed, along with all the trackers.

Shaking his head slowly, Oliver sat down slowly on the cold dirt floor and leaned against the uncomfortable stone wall. He'll do some calisthenics later, but for now, he decided to rest. Closing his eyes, he began a meditation to help relax his chaotic mind.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously, the night of Oliver's kidnapping:

As expected, Team Arrow was unable to find the identity of the murderer. Oliver was left without any other choice but to meet Nyssa. He had informed his team he was sure he would return with details of a battle, and refused their offers to accompany them.

"No, they told me to come alone. Anything else would negate any agreement and would result in the beginning of the murders."

Oliver could tell the information didn't sit wellespeciallywith Diggle and Felicity, but they had no choice. Roy was attempting to hide his worry, but with little success. Oliver said good-bye to them and met Nyssa at the designated deserted warehouse again.

Team Arrow waited for Oliver's return. Oliver had led them to believe he would be returning that night. Instead, no Oliver, no call, no text. After the third hour of him being gone, Felicity asked out loud, "Why oh why did we let him leave without asking where he was meeting them?"

Diggle and Roy exchanged looks. Roy rolled his eyes, and Diggle said with forced gentleness, "Felicity, you know we wouldn't have gotten that information out of him if he didn't want to give it."

"I know, but something must have happened. Would they…would they have just killed him?"

"No, they wouldn't do that. Why don't you start checking the airports for suspicious departures?"

"What are you thinking, Diggle?"

"I think Ra's either kidnapped him or killed him. Since his body hasn't shown up, I think Oliver's been kidnapped."

"I'll also check all the hospitals, to make sure he hasn't been admitted." Felicity looked sheepish at Diggle's raised eyebrow. "I know, why wouldn't he be recognized, but just…I just want to make sure."

Diggle nodded. "Any new information on this character Ra's?"

"No. I wonder if we could find Nyssa to ask her." After a second, she added, "On second thought, she probably left with her father."

One of her computers beeped. Felicity scooted over to it in her office chair, and gave a little squeal. Diggle hurried to her side. "What's up?"

"The security system at the seafront went dead for fifteen minutes about two hours ago." Her fingers flying, Felicity checked out several possible sources of information. "I've hacked into their system. They have no explanation, except that a ship which had been there from…from Tibet is no longer in dock. It left without filing a manifest."

"So we have no idea where it was headed."

"I'm tracking down its owner, but, interesting enough, I'm being bounced around all over the world. I'll keep at it."

Roy asked, "Didn't you guys mention the place where Ra's is from, Nanda Parbat, is near Tibet?"

"Yes, we did," Diggle said, "that's what got me worried."

"As well it should be," a voice not belonging in the Foundry came from the shadows. The three looked in shock as Malcolm Merlyn, dressed in a LOA outfit including black hood and uniform, walked into the light.

"How...how did you get down here?" Felicity asked, glancing at the computer handling the security measures of the Foundry and not finding anything amiss.

"I have my ways, Ms. Smoak. But on to more important matters. Like finding Oliver."

Diggle, his anger being held back with some difficulty, stated through clenched teeth, "What do you know about this, Merlyn?"

"What I know from my years with the League. Yes, for some reason Ra's has become enthralled with Oliver. I had believed Ra's was going to challenge him to a duel…"

"You mean you set Oliver up so he would have to duel Ra's," Diggle said with a bitter edge to his voice.

"It wasn't me." Malcolm opened his eyes at the disparaging sounds coming from the other three. "Truly, it wasn't me. It was Maseo."

"Who's Maseo?" Roy asked.

"Someone Oliver once knew…"

"Let me guess. From the island?" Felicity said, her lips curled in a grimace.

Malcolm shook his head. "I don't know why the boy is so secretive nowadays. He wasn't like that when he was young. But, yes, Maseo was someone he was acquainted with while gone from Starling."

Diggle, always business-like, asked, "So, this Maseo? Why'd he kill Sara? And how do you know?"

"Again, Mr. Diggle, I have my sources, which I am unable to share with you. As to his reason, it appears as though Ra's wanted to set Oliver up. In order to trap him. Also, Sara had discovered the reason for Ra's' interest in Starling. And died because of it."

"Do you have any idea what Ra's has in mind?"

"I have my suspicions. It appears he wishes to trap his long-standing nemesis, a man named Damien Darhk."

Felicity said, "Definitely the name of a villain, alliterative and all." She squeaked when Merlyn glared at her. "If the shoe fits…" she mumbled.

Diggle rolled his eyes. "What do you mean, Merlyn?"

"Darhk gets his powers from mystical sources, and apparently he needs a new base of operations. Starling City is one of the greatest nexuses in the world for primordial forces."

"In English, please," Roy requested.

Merlyn bestowed a patronizing look on Roy. "I mean, for people into that sort of thing, Starling is a place where mystical forces can be dialed into." At Roy's continued look of confusion, Merlyn said, "Like ESP."

"Oh." Roy huffed in exasperation. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"Because it's not totally like it, but somewhat. We'll look into that more later." Felicity turned to Merlyn. "So, this Darhk is coming to Starling, Ra's wants to stop him, and believes Oliver can help him with that somehow? Why kidnap him? Why not just ask for his assistance?"

"I think there is more involved than just stopping Darhk. I think Ra's will also somehow benefit greatly from this, one way or another."

Malcolm looked at the three people in front of them, gauging their various reactions. Meanwhile, they waited for him to continue.

Diggle could only look at the man in front of them. Why must he drip out information so maddeningly slow? "Well, Merlyn, what exactly do we do to get the answers we need and to go find Oliver?"

"I don't know yet. That's why I need your help."

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

"Mr. Queen."

Oliver struggled through the chains of Morpheus into trying to wake up. As he woke up, he realized he wasn't lying down, but sitting up in a chair, his arms at his sides, resting on armrests. Before opening his eyes, Oliver attempted to listen for any clues as to what type of environment he was about to face. Nothing until a familiar voice spoke. For a second time, Oliver realized, for it had been what woke him up in the first place.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Queen. I know you are awake. Please open your eyes so we can continue our discussion from earlier."

Oliver internally sighed and opened his eyes. Nothing in front of him but a wall, he turned his head to see Ra's sitting in a raised golden chair watching Oliver with a smile. Looking down, Oliver realized he was indeed sitting in a chair, with his wrists tied to the armrests, and his ankles to the legs of the chair. Returning his attention to his 'host', Oliver said, "So, I'm finally granted an audience, then?"

"Yes. I have decided to enlighten you at this time on several issues."

"Color me excited."

One of Ra's eyebrows arched. "Oh, the entertaining humor my daughter warned me about." He leaned back in his chair, or throne and fixed a serious look upon Oliver. "If you rather, we do not have to have this discussion, Mr. Queen."

Oliver pressed his lips together to hold back a disapproving sound. Instead, he forced himself to say in a neutral tone, "No, I would indeed like to have that discussion now, Ra's, to finally get some answers. I would indeed appreciate it very much." He surprised himself with successfully holding back any sarcasm.

"Good." Ra's studied the young man in front of him for a moment. "I am going to trust you with this information, in the hopes you will be able to see the necessity of the events which are about to occur."

Oliver arched an eyebrow back at Ra's, but remained silent. Ra's smiled again but continued. "You see, Mr. Queen, when I first joined the League, there was another man conscripted at the same time. We become the prized agents of Ra's al Ghul; we were his horsemen. He molded us into warriors the likes the world had never seen. We were as brothers. Until it was time to select his successor.

"Damien believed himself worthy to become heir, but I was the one chosen. I was to kill him, but I hesitated, and with that hesitation, Damien found an opportunity to escape, taking with him his loyalists and water from the Lazarus Pit. And he has vexed me ever since."

"Why are you telling me this?" Oliver asked.

"Because Damien is planning on setting up his new headquarters in your city of Starling. See, he has abandoned the League ways to gain power a different way. Starling City is a nexus for mystical power. Similar to what Lian Yu was. And I know you are familiar with what that island was capable of."

AN: Yes, I'm combining seasons three and four together. Hopefully make more sense out of season 4 as well as season 3. I always thought they were going to connect Damien and Ra's together more than they did. They didn't….so…I decided to put it into this story instead. Hope you return to see how this all unfolds. I'm interested too, ha, to see what happens. Ha.