Last time: Oliver summoned all strength he had left to open his eyes one last time. And when he did, he looked into the eyes of The Demon.

xoxoxo

Hands folded at his back, as was his wont, Ra's stared into the fire in the brazier in front of him – deep in contemplation. In his mind he replayed the fight between himself and 'The Arrow' as the boy had liked to call himself.

For an outsider the fight might have seemed short, between two fighters unevenly and unfairly matched. The boy, Oliver, had never stood a chance, Ra's knew. Nobody did. He was The Demon's Head after all, had lived a thousand lives, killed a thousand men and would kill a thousand more.

And yet, this boy had stood longer against him in fight than most men ever had in all the years of his unnaturally long existence. He had stood and fought longer than five trained assassins, fighting him at the same time, had been able to. The Demon was impressed!

It had brought him no joy to kill this young man, a worthy fighter, but a blood debt had to be paid. Ra's al Ghul could not change these age old, sacred rules anymore, than he could change path of the sun. What a shame! What a waste of potential…

To honor Oliver Queen's sacrifice, he had recited a short prayer, giving the boy his last rites, as he had sat swaying on his knees – a faraway look in his eyes, maybe he had been seeing loved ones – slowly suffocating on his own blood. To end the young man's suffering he had decided to push him off the plateau, hopefully sending him to his final demise.

After returning to their secret headquarters, a League Stronghold in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, he had send Sarab, the Phantom, to retrieve the mortal body of Oliver Queen, knowing that they, at one time in their life, had been friends. The League of Assassins would give The Arrow a proper burial.

As he heard heavy steps approach, Ra's looked up and turned to the entry of the vast chamber in which he stood. It was made of stone - the way he preferred it, had known his whole life – and illuminated by six glowing braziers, including the one he had been gazing upon. Their flickering flames cast an eerie, otherworldly glow as far as their light reached.

A few seconds later Sarab emerged from the darkness of the corridor, at whose entrance six League Assassins stood guard. In his arms the Phantom held the broken form that was once had been Oliver Queen – The Arrow. Striding into the room, he knelt in front of The Demon, laying down his precious burden and lowered his head.

"Master", he said reverently.

"Thanks for fulfilling this task for me, Sarab."

With a slight nod of the head, Sarab acknowledged the praise.

"See to it that the boy gets a proper burial. He fought and died honorably. He deserves this." Ra's turned leave.

"Master…" There was a slight hitch in the Phantom's voice, then a pause, which made Ra's turn back.

"Yes, Sarab?"

"He's alive, Master. Oliver Queen yet walks among the living", Maseo whispered in awe.

The Demon's eyes widened at the Assassin's words. Ra's tilted his head. "Is that so? Let me see."

Sarab stood, taking a step back as Ra's al Ghul took his place. The Demon could hardly believe the words of his assassin and yet he knew the man would never dare to lie to him. Nobody dared lying to The Demon for fear of his wrath. And truly, in the very moment Ra's a Ghul stared down at the broken body of Oliver Queen, the young man opened his eyes, revealing under their heavy lids fever-glazed, unfocused orbs, which roamed aimlessly around the room… the ceiling … the glowing braziers… until they finally alighted on him.

Does he recognize me? Ra's wondered.

This was a most unexpected development… most unexpected indeed. Surely this was some kind of sign, Oliver Queen surviving a grievous stab-wound and his fall off the plateau? What should he do with the boy? He could end his suffering now, giving him a swift and merciful death. And yet, something held Ra's back. He stared intently down at Oliver, searching and finally finding his answer. How could he end this man's life now that fate had chosen for him to survive? It wouldn't be honorable.

"Sarab!" Ra's turned to man that stood behind him.

"Yes Master?"

"Let everybody know that we'll leave within an hour! Make ready our transport to Nanda Parbat", he instructed.

"Yes, Master!" Maseo tilted his head in obeisance, before turning to leave, not questioning The Demon's orders. He would never dare to! But he could not help but glance back one last time, seeing his former friend lying, broken and shivering on the floor. What plans does he have in store for you, my friend?

When Sarab had left, Ra's knelt down next to Oliver. Laying a hand upon the feverish brow, he stroked aside the sweat drenched hair, feeling at hot fire crawling under the skin. The boy was burning up on the inside. But it seemed he took some measure of comfort from Ra's touch, as he closed his eyes and exhaled softly. Ra's bent down to whisper into his ear. "Sleep, son. For when you awake next, the world will have changed."

At those words the boy opened his eyes and Ra's knew that Oliver Queen recognized him, knew that he had looked into the eyes of The Demon!