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 all the reviews, favs and follows. Also for returning to read this next exciting chapter. Let's see what's happening now to these folks.

Previously:

"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."

Oliver considered the man in front of him in shock, but before he could ask a question, Ra's continued, with a pleased smile. "Yes, I do know a lot more about you than you would think."

I don't know if I am more shocked that Ra's knows about my experiences on Lian Yu, or that it is all connected to why I am here now. "Like what?"

"Darhk gains power through death. Once he kills, he is able to harness the life force of his victims into his mystical powers." Ra's continued after giving Oliver a significant look. "Just like Baron Reiter did. On Lian Yu."

Unbidden memories of his time there with Tatiana flooded his mind. Oliver decided not to take the bait but asked instead, "So what's this Damien planning on doing with Starling City? You mention death…"

"Yes. Death of millions. He is planning on dispersing a virus, also one which you are familiar with. The Alpha-Omega megavirus."

"And you killed Sara because…."

"Because she found out about Damien's plan…"

Oliver was attempting to connect the dots of what Ra's was implying, but could not wrap his head around what he was deducing. Oliver interrupted without thought, "And you decided not to have him stopped because you want to kill him yourself? Why? Why haven't you killed him on your own before this?"

Ra's shook his head. "Because he is as good as me in subterfuge. And because, at times, his magic has been stronger than my powers. So I have not been able to succeed with killing him. Yet. He has to be distracted so he will not see me coming. And no one is going to get in my way."

"Not even your daughter's Beloved?"

"Yes, I admit, I may have acted a little rashly. Nyssa might not forgive me, but I really did not have a choice." A small, evil smile appeared on Ra's' face. "She will eventually realize that being with Taer Sa-fir was detrimental to her leadership ability."

Looking Ra's in the eye, Oliver asked, "Why kidnap me?"

"For the same reason I had to kill Taer Sa-fir. To prevent any interference with this plan. I could not take the chance of you knowing anything, in case Taer Sa-fir had successfully passed information to you."

"One flaw. If I did know about the plan, why wouldn't I share it with my colleagues? Wouldn't they then be loose ends as well?"

"Oh, contraire, Oliver. If that were true, they would be immediately taken care of by my agents. Who were waiting in Starling City until they received my command to return home when it was crystal clear you were not aware of any danger to your city."

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to worry about his team getting killed. About the only thing he didn't have to worry about.

"So why didn't you kill me, like you did Sara?"

"Just in case you prove useful. Also, I believe you would also be useful to me in the future."

Oliver knew he didn't like the sound of that. But he didn't know at the moment what to do.

"So what now?"

"We are only waiting for the signal that Darhk is implementing his plan."

"You have no idea when that will be?"

"Not going to tell you everything, Mr. Queen. But I am happy you are now brought up to date."

"I beg to differ. I don't know what is going to happen."

"Oh, all you have to do is wait, for now. Don't worry. You will play your part to perfection, when the time arrives." Ra's looked in front of him and nodded. Three guards approached Oliver. Two untied his hands while the third kept a gun pointed at him.

"Thank you for the little chat, Mr. Queen. I found it to be very enlightening. We now will bring you back to your cell. For now." After Oliver stumbled to his feet, Ra's stated, "Don't worry, we will be talking again very soon."

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

Oliver was returned to the same cell. He wondered again, as he was led through the hallways and into the dungeon, if he should attempt an escape. But now was not the time. The chances of success were in the negative range.

Once again alone, he leaned back into the cement wall and sighed. He had much to think about, and it wasn't good at all. Oliver could not believe that Sara was sacrificed to kill an unknown enemy. It just boggled his mind how complicated their lives were, all because he had decided to accompany his father on that damn trip, and he had made the mistake of taking Sara along. Dooming two families to a lifetime of grief.

However, now was not the time for any self-recrimination about the past. He needed to come up with some plan on how to deal with what Ra's had planned for the future. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath. He needed to review what all he knew so far.

Basically, this guy Darhk was determined to destroy Starling to gain more mystical power. Ra's wanted to kill Darhk and aimed to do it as Darhk attempted to destroy Starling. Starling may or may not be destroyed in the battle between two criminal masterminds, and one Oliver Queen was supposed to be in the middle of it all. Oliver shook his head as the headache which had begun earlier grew to a noticeable ache.

It was all so unbelievable, Oliver didn't know what to do. What could Ra's want from him in light of all of this? What knowledge could he bring regarding his experience at Lian Yu? The only thing he really had gleaned from that experience was that the power, whatever it was, was something Oliver didn't ever want to mess around with ever again, but here he was, having to deal with it again.

Even if he lived to be one hundred he'd never forget what that power had done to Tatiana, a woman whose heart was so pure and whose kindness was apparent even though he only knew her for such a short time. Someone who chose to be dead instead of living out any kind of evil. Oliver never wanted to be around that type of evil again. And here it was back in his life again. He wondered about how almost everything he had come across in his time away from Starling had a tendency in returning to haunt him. If he believed in that kind of thing, he would say it seemed his time away, hell though it was, was meant to be so he could help others as time goes on. If he only believed in that type of thing.

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

Previously:

"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."

Diggle shook his head, "You gotta be kidding, Merlyn. You expect us to help you when you haven't really told us anything?"

"I got the information you need to get started. I need your help to stop Ra's. I think it is a fair partnership."

"Partnership? What in blazes makes you think we want to work with you?" Felicity asked him in her 'loud' voice.

"Hey, I get it. None of you like or trust me. I understand. However, if you wish to save Oliver, you better all put away your attitude and get to work. Otherwise, all of this will be for nothing."

Diggle rolled his eyes, searched out his comrades' eyes and sat down. "Roy, Felicity, let's hear Merlyn out." Looking back at Merlyn, he said, "We really don't have anything else to go on, at the moment."

Merlyn nodded his thanks. "Now, I will recap. I believe Ra's has taken Oliver back to Nanda Parbat as part of a plan to trap and kill Damien Darhk when he attempts to carry out his own plan for Starling City. What that is exactly, is part of what I need your assistance with."

Felicity swung around in her office chair, leaned back and fixed a death glare on Malcolm. "How do you propose we proceed then, Merlyn?"

"There must be something else in Oliver's past which makes him valuable to both Ra's and Darhk. Would either of you know what that would be?"

Diggle and Felicity exchanged a look, followed by both shaking their heads. Again Merlyn sighed. "Again, why must that boy be so secretive about the past?" He asked Felicity, "Just wondering, have you ever attempted to do a deep high-security hacking job on Oliver? Look at everything out there on him?"

A short laugh erupted from the petite blonde. "No, but how I have been tempted."

"I know you might feel it is breaking loyalties, or something, but I believe it's warranted in this case. We need to figure out what exactly Oliver knows that can be used to destroy a city."

Felicity squared her shoulders, made a grimace, and said, "Well, even though I hate to admit it, you do make a good point." Turning towards her computers, her fingers began to speed across the various keyboards. "I have some searches going, and will work on hacking into others."

"Thank you, Ms. Smoak. I knew you all would see reason." Walking towards the door, Malcolm said, "I will be in touch. I will see what else I can dig up as well, and we shall talk again tomorrow."

The team watched as Malcolm left the conventional way of the stairs. As soon as they heard the door latch, Felicity said, "Ain't this all something or what?"

"Yeah, I know," Roy agreed.

Felicity looked up at Diggle. "You for sure can't think of anything Oliver might have told you over the years which might be pertinent to all of this?"

Diggle shook his head. "Nothing has come into my mind as yet, Felicity. I'm going to go check with Lyla and see if she can find something out from ARGUS. I'll be in touch."

Felicity nodded as she returned her attention back to her screens. As she typed in some additional commands, she suggested to Roy, "Perhaps you can go check on Thea, make sure she is all right. And…I don't know…maybe nose around and see if she knows anything useful." At Roy's grunt, she added, "I know, probably not, but you never know."

As she was left again with her computers, Felicity wondered if they had a chance to get Oliver out of whatever mess he had found himself in this time. One could only hope, but chances were good they would succeed, if one would only look at their past history. They always had before, she reminded herself, as she straightened her shoulders again and focused her attention on hacking into some more security databases to find the information they so desperately needed. She will concentrate on that, and not the fact that it seemed pretty hopeless for the time being.

AN: Yep, another chapter done. A little closer in finding out what is going on between Ra's and Darhk. Thank you again so much for reading, and hopefully you will take the time to write a review and let me know you are still enjoying this little story. It is always so appreciated!