Chapter 11
Death's Dream
"Death is a delightful hiding place for weary men."
-Herodotus
Three days doesn't seem like a long time, but the last three days seemed like the longest string of days ever endured. In the last three days a team of heroes were still trying to keep up a fight without the man who started it all. It had been three days since Oliver, Katie and Bruce disappeared off to Nanda Parbat, and there hasn't been a word or whistle from any of them since it happened.
Roy and John only moments earlier returned from a job, that was only partly successful.
"One caught, one got away-" Felicity said looking down to the screen at the list of criminals. She glanced over to John who sighed. "but even Oliver bats .500 sometimes."
"Any luck finding Oliver or Katie?" the man asked and Felicity turned back to her computers, glancing over to the satellite images she had currently running.
"Not yet, but I have every reconnaissance satellite I could hack, which is a lot, looking for them. So the second they step outside, we'll know." Felicity replied.
"If they step outside." Roy mutters, gaining glares from both John and Felicity. "It's what we were all thinking."
"I'm not." Felicity replied turning back to her monitors. "It's only been three days. All of them just can't disappear in three days." she shook her head before turning and grabbing her jacket. "I have to head to my other office for a bit." Roy and John didn't say anything as the woman simply turned and left.
"Ok, I know it's only been three days, but how much longer before we actually have to start worrying?" Roy asked and John simply shook his head. "I mean at this point at least one of them should've reached out to us to let us know what was happening."
Amanda Waller was annoyed. She hated being annoyed, which is why she usually eliminated any annoyance the moment it occurred. At the moment, there was nothing she could quite do to the annoyance that was Bruce Wayne who refused to leave her office. She thought at some point he would just give up, but it was going on three days and he wasn't budging.
"You're underestimating my determination Amanda." Bruce said from his spot where he lay lazily on her couch. "I just want to talk to him."
"And then what?" Amanda asked standing from her desk. "You think he doesn't know, that he isn't aware of what's happening. You coming here and throwing your billionaire tantrum isn't going to solve anything."
"Well we won't know until we know." Bruce replied closing his eyes and laying back on the couch.
"I could throw you in a cell and then throw away the cell, you do know that don't you?" the woman asked folding her arms over her chest as she stood above him.
"You could, but if you haven't by now it must means that someone over your head won't let you." Bruce replied with a shrug. "I need to talk to him." Amanda lifted her head and let out a frustrated sigh before stalking out of her office and down the hall, and into the office Jacob and Martin sat.
"I can't do this any longer. Either go talk to him, or let me get rid of him." Amanda snapped. "I'm tired of walking into my office and finding Bruce Wayne squatting on my couch like some hobo. If you have this situation under control, then just tell him that." Jacob shook his head before turning away from the woman, which she thought was quite odd. "You do have a handle on this situation, don't you?"
"She wasn't supposed to walk into that trap." Jacob muttered as he looked over to the satellite image that showed the overhead image of Nanda Parbat.
"She chose to sacrifice herself in exchange for Oliver's life, I saw that happening a mile a way." Amanda snapped. "But it doesn't matter much now, because she's in there and Oliver Queen is no where to be found. So what do you plan on doing about this?" Jacob turned back to the woman before standing to his feet. He walked around his desk, and stopped in front of her for a moment, before walking around and leaving his office. Amanda turned back to Martin who suddenly jumped to his feet and followed after his boss.
"Sir, I don't think this is a good idea." Martin said finally catching up to the man when he realized where he was going. "I thought keeping your face time limited-"
"Martin, my daughter walked back into the hell that I pulled her out from all those years ago. Life with the demon is something that should be limited, and I have the feeling that if he gets his teeth in her, he'll never let her go."
"If, sir!" Martin replied and Jacob finally stopped. "You're worried about her, I get it, but this is the moment where all that faith in her, and the person she's become has to come into play. You have to believe that she'll get out of this." Jacob turned to Amanda's office door and looked at it for a moment, before reaching forward, and taking the handle. "Sir-"
"I heard you Martin." Jacob says glancing over his shoulder to the man. "Don't worry, I heard you." Martin simply nodded before watching as Jacob finally opened the door and walked inside the office, letting the door close behind him.
Jacob walked in to find Bruce laying on Amanda's couch his eyes closed, as if sleep. The man rolled his eyes before lifting a foot to kick the man in the leg.
"Get up Bruce." the man said and Bruce's eyes snapped open. The moment he saw Jacob, he instantly jumped to his feet. "What part of I'm dead don't you understand?"
"Katie-"
"Ra's has her, I know." Jacob said with a shake of his head. "But he won't have her. She's strong and she's-"
"She knows about Grace." Bruce spoke and Jacob felt his heart stop. "Or should I call her Minnah Al Ghul. Sister of the demon." Bruce shook his head as he took a step closer to the man. "I mean when you asked me to take care of her, you could've mentioned that she was that bastard's niece!" Jacob still didn't say anything as he turned away. "What's the plan, how do we get her out of there?"
"Don't worry about it." Jacob said before turning and heading for the door.
"What do you mean don't worry about it?!" Bruce called after the man who stopped and looked over to him.
"I mean that I will take care of this. I'll handle Ra's and you need to find Oliver."
"What are you talking about? Ra's released him from the challenge, he's probably back in Starling doing what I'm doing right now. Trying to find a way to get her out of there."
"Oliver never made it back to Starling, Bruce." Jacob replied and Bruce's brow furrowed in confusion. "I believe the demon is playing a very dangerous game. You find Oliver and I'll take care of the demon."
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"I'm going to make him an offer he won't refuse." Jacob replied before turning and leaving Bruce with those cryptic words.
Bruce made to follow, only getting to the hallway before stopping when he saw someone familiar.
"Bruce?" John said, before rushing over to the man, Lyla beside him trying to keep in pace. "What the hell? Have you been here the whole time? Where is Oliver? Katie? What the hell happened?"
"Look right now-" Bruce glanced down both ends of the hall, but Jacob was no where in sight. "We need to get out of here." he turned back to John. "Oliver is missing."
"We know that." John replied. "Up to this point so were you and Katie. What the hell happened with that fight?"
"That's the thing. There was no fight." Bruce said with a shake of his head. "Katie showed up and gave the demon what he wanted."
"She joined the league in exchange for preventing Oliver from fighting?" John asked and Bruce nodded. "Then where the hell is Oliver?"
"I don't know, but we should find out." Bruce replied. "I have to do some things, and I'll meet you tomorrow." John glanced over to Lyla who simply shrugged before the pair watched the billionaire rush away.
Captain Lance should be a happy man. This morning his daughter just successfully ensured that a murderer wouldn't be able to get bail, or try to dismiss the case against him. They had the evidence and the bastard was going down. He stood in the halls of the courthouse his phone pressed to his ear.
"Yeah, thanks. Could you just give me a call if she makes any contact with anyone there." Lance spoke just as Laurel walked up to him. "No problem. Thanks for calling me."
"Is everything alright?" Laurel asked as she walked over to her father.
"I don't know. That was Safe Haven. I guess Katie hasn't shown up for work and they were worried something may have happened." Quentin replied glancing over to his daughter.
"You think David's back in town?" the woman asked and Queen let out a deep sigh.
"I don't know what to think." the man replied before looking down to his phone. "Look I'm sure this is nothing, I'll go over to her place. She's probably held up over there."
"Alright, call me if you have any news."
"I will." Lance said before placing a kiss to his daughter's cheek. "Oh, you did great in there honey."
"Thanks dad." Laurel replied as her father turned and headed down the hall. The woman got the sudden feeling that something more was going on here.
That night, John and Roy await Felicity with new evidence they had that may tie to a new criminal in town by the name of Danny Brickwell. When the woman walked into the club, John held up the evidence bags that carried the burned documents.
"Found this. "John said as Felicity took the bags from his hands. "What looks like some industrial blueprints."
"Hmm." Felicity muttered as she let her eyes scan over the numbers for a sign of a pattern. "These numbers look completely random." They all moved toward the door that led to the basement. "I can run a pattern recognition algorithm." they all stopped at the open door that led to the lair, all instantly a bit hopeful that maybe their friends had returned. "Oliver?" Felicity peeked inside the door, and stopped. "Katie?" she quickly rushed inside only to stop when they walked down to find none other than Malcolm Merlyn standing on the other end of a gun held by Bruce Wayne. "Bruce?" Bruce didn't move an inch as he kept a steady finger on the trigger of the gun.
At the sight of Malcolm, John suddenly pulled his own gun and aimed it at the man.
"Please put the guns away. They don't scare so much as annoy." Malcolm said glancing between Bruce and John who suddenly pulled out a second gun. "I've only come to talk."
"No one here really cares about anything that comes out of your mouth." Bruce replied and Malcolm shook his head before looking at the group behind him.
"I just want to know if Oliver is alive." Malcolm asked.
"He's alive." Felicity said with a shaky certainty. "So is Katie."
"Katherine?" Malcolm asked in confusion before turning back to Bruce. "Why would she even-" Malcolm tilted his head slightly. "There's something about her isn't it? Something she thought she could use against the demon to save Oliver."
"You should go." Bruce grit through his teeth, only for Malcolm to stare for just a moment before walking around the man toward the stairs. Once he was gone, Bruce placed the gun on the nearby table, before turning and nearly being knocked off his feet as Felicity pulled him into a hug.
"You bastard, where the hell have you been?" Felicity asked, burying her face in the man's chest as his arms suddenly came around her to return the hug. "I thought-"
"I know, I'm sorry." Bruce replied looking over to John and Roy who turned to give the pair some privacy. "But I'm fine, Ms. Smoak." he heard the woman scoff, before pulling back to look up to the smirk on the man's face. She pulled out of his grasp, before punching his shoulder hard. The punch didn't have much force, but he figures it was her best.
"John told us bits and pieces of what happened. You said there wasn't a fight?"
"There wasn't, which is why I'm seriously confused about why Oliver is MIA right now." Bruce said with a shake of his head.
"You said Katie joined the league to save him, maybe he stuck around to find a way to save her." Roy suggested and Bruce shook his head.
"That's what I thought too, but Oliver isn't stupid enough to think that he can raid the fortress by himself. He would've come back here, come up with some plan."
"What about Jacob?" John asked and all eyes went to him. "What does he have to say about this?"
"Since when do dead men talk?" Felicity asked looking over to John in confusion. The man simply sighed before turning to Bruce and Felicity did the same, her eyes going wide at the realization. "Katie's father is alive?"
"Felicity-"
"No!" Felicity snapped before turning to the men around her. None of them seemed to share her mild state of shock, which verified her suspicions that they already knew about this. "Katie's father is alive, and you all knew and no one thought it might be a good idea to tell her."
"You don't understand-"
"You're right Bruce, I don't understand!" the blonde said turning back to him. "Please explain how all of you, her friends, no her family, could keep something like this from her?"
"It's not that easy. Jacob has orchestrated a very detailed, very intricate web here, something not a lot of men can do. Tell me what you think he'll do to someone who tries to mess that up?" Bruce asked. "Look right now he says he's handling the Ra's front, and that I should handle figuring out where Oliver is."
"So what? Do we just drop the Brickwell case?" Roy asked and both Felicity and John look over to the man and just shake their head.
"No." John replies before turning to Bruce. "You head up the search for Oliver, if you find something you let us know." he looked over to Felicity.
"I should get started on that algorithm." the woman says, still upset, but figures there was nothing to do about it at the moment. She glanced over to the men once more before heading off to her computer. Bruce watched her for a moment, before walking over to where John and Roy stood.
"So there's a possibility that Oliver is alive?" Roy asked and Bruce shook his head.
"There are a lot of possibilities of what could be happening here." Bruce replied before turning to John. "I need to head over to the shipyard to start my search. If I find something, I'll call." John simply nodded before watching the man walk over to Felicity, and drop his head beside hers. She stilled for a few moments and listened to the man's whispered words. She only nodded before Bruce turning and headed out the back exit of the basement.
"What did he say?" Roy asked walking over to stand beside Felicity.
"Roy!" John chided, figuring the Bruce whispered for a reason.
"No, he just told me he would be back." Felicity said not taking her eyes from the monitor. The words didn't seem like a big deal to the men standing behind her, but to Felicity they brought a streak of relief in the dread that recently filled her heart.
Oliver Queen was covered in hot cereal and he didn't really mind it. It wasn't that hot, and the person who spilled it on him was too adorable to be upset with.
"Alright Tommy." Oliver said as he wiped the cereal off of his shirt. "I think this settles it." he looked up to the giggling toddler in his high chair. "You've had food fights with your old man practically everyday this week, and I think it's only fair." Oliver dropped the napkin and dragged the high chair a bit closer to him. "Say dah-dah." little Tommy just kept laughing at his daddy, and Oliver couldn't help but smile. "C'mon bud, it's not hard. Daaaaah-daaaah."
"No one will ever say you're not determined." came the sudden voice of Katie who walked into the kitchen. "You might as well give up, because that boy's first words will be mama."
"No, me and Tommy have a little understanding." Oliver said before standing to his feet and placing a kiss to the top of the boys head. "He understands a lot is riding on this for his dad." he looked over to Katie and walked over, his hands instantly grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to him. "He knows I like to win, and he knows us guys have to stick together."
"Oh it's a guy thing, well then you're so going to win." Katie chuckled and Oliver simply shut her up as his lips met hers in a slow kiss that made her sigh in pleasure. "You know I think you'll probably have better luck with her." Oliver smiled pulling back slightly as the both dropped their heads to Katie's huge belly that pressed against Oliver's stomach. The man dropped to a knee to place a kiss on the woman's belly. They heard more laughing from behind them and turned to see little Tommy, now with the cereal bowl on his head.
"I think you might be right." Oliver said with a shake of his head as he looked over to the boy in amusement. "Reminds me of me back in college." he turned back to Katie's belly and placed another kiss. "Take after your mother sweetie please."
"You know you've been here for a while." Katie said suddenly and Oliver stood to his feet in confusion. "You sure you don't have to go?" Oliver shook his head with a smile, bringing his arms around the woman once again.
"This is where I should be." Oliver replied before once again meeting the woman's lips with his.
The cold wind blew past Ra's Al Ghul as he stood on the balcony of his room, staring at his snow covered land. A smile tugged at his lips as a memory of time long past drifted into his mind. Ra's rarely had memories of his family, but it would seem the face of the woman who recently joined his league seemed to stir up old memories he thought were forgotten. He knew it was her face. It was the face of his sister, and every time he looked at her, he can't help but get a flash of a memory of him and his sister when they were just children.
Minnah loved the snow. And in all honestly so did he. They would have snow fights, or just run around and it was the most fun either of them could have. For just a little while they forgot about about being poor children in their village, and just were having fun in the snow.
There was a knock on his door, pulling the demon from his thoughts. He turned his head slightly at the sound of his door opening, and instantly knew who had arrived. There was only one person here bold enough to come into his room without approval.
"Father." Nyssa said trekking across the room, to find her father on the balcony. The man didn't turn to his daughter, and that only irritated her even more. "Now can we talk about this?"
"About what, exactly?"
"You know what about!" Nyssa snapped angrily. "How could you not tell me that you had a sister, or that her daughter just so happens to be the bane of my existence." her father chuckled and Nyssa shook her head. "She is our family, how could ever let her be raised by those people who made her so weak."
"My sister had this scar." Ra's said a smile coming to his lips. "Right behind her ear. We were playing and she fell. We were supposed to be picking vegetables for dinner, so us running and telling our mother that Minnah had hurt herself while playing would've have only gotten us into even more trouble." he chuckled to himself at the memory. "So she made me promise to not say anything, but there was a lot of blood, I was not use to the sight of so much blood, and the only thing I wanted to do was tell our mother so she could make it better. The moment I even tried to go get our mother, she shoved me to the ground and told me that she was older, and knew better and that I would listen."
"You are the Ra's-"
"And you will not tell me who I know I am dear daughter!" Ra's snapped finally meeting his daughter's eyes. "I know who I am, and I also know who she was. She was the mother of a child that she would do anything to protect." Ra's turned back out to the snow covered mountains. "I put her at risk, and she saw it fit to leave."
"Why didn't you stop her?" Nyssa asks and Ra's sighs, because it is a question he has asked himself many times, especially after learning of his sister's death.
"Because I too did not completely understand the title bestowed upon me at the time. If I did my sister would never have left, and she would still be alive today." Nyssa watched her father for a moment, before turning out to the mountains as well.
"What now?" she asked.
"Now we are a family." Ra's replied looking over to his daughter. "Now you find a way to get along with her, because she is now under your care."
"Me? Why me?" Nyssa asked begrudgingly, and Ra's let out a chuckle. "She hates me, and I hate her."
"Well there you go, start with that." Ra's said before turning and walking back into his room. "How is she fairing this morning."
"Not a peep." Nyssa replied with a shake of her head. "She's lasted longer than I thought she would."
Breathing in, and breathing out had become this mantra that played over and over in Katie's head. If she kept hearing it, then she kept doing it and nothing else around her mattered. Nothing inside of her mattered. If she kept breathing, kept focusing on breathing, then she could successfully block out the pain that was currently radiating from her body.
She knew that just vowing her loyalty to the league wouldn't be easy. Knew that she would have to prove her loyalty with an array of tests that Ra's or Nyssa felt necessary. At the moment Katie stood barefoot in the freezing snow, holding two buckets that were filled with water, but she's sure they're ice now.
"Why haven't you tried to run yet?" came the annoying voice of her cousin. "At least then when I killed you, my father would understand." Katie didn't respond, still focusing on the air coming and going out of her lungs. "My father asked me to release you from your test, and invite you in for breakfast." Katie simply let the buckets fall to the snow before turning and walking back inside the fortress, not even looking in Nyssa's direction.
Katie found herself in a her dark bathroom, candles surrounding her as she sits in the large bath pool, her knees to her chest. It had been three days since she laid eyes on Oliver, three days since she's seen any of her friends, three days since she was just Katherine Robins.
She was now Nura, and she could feel it if that made any sense. The darkness that she thought she'd gotten rid of, seemed to move underneath her skin. It brought a tingling to her fingers whenever she held a weapon, caused a smirk to come to her face whenever she injured an opponent. Pain seemed to thrill her, and the taste of her own blood only fueled a rage inside of her that she didn't even knew she had.
Why hadn't she run yet? It would make sense. She got what she wanted. Oliver out of that ridiculous challenge that was set up for him to lose.
The truth was, Katie knew that he would never let her go. The demon now owned her and he'd kill anything that tried to take her away, even her. And so she was his. A child of the demon, and she would act as such.
When she was dressed, she found Ra's and Nyssa in the dining hall. The bright sun shown through the room, as if there were warmth on the other side of the windows.
"Nice of you to finally join us." Nyssa commented, but Katie moved to take her seat as if not hearing anything spoken. Once in her seat, Katie folded her hands on the table in front of her and just looked down to her empty plate.
"Acting as a prisoner only makes you a prisoner Nura." Ra's spoke and Katie didn't even lift her head to acknowledge him. "I could treat you as a prisoner. Put you in rooms that lock, and keep the sun from your face. Is that what you want?" Katie took a deep breath, before finally lifting her head and meeting the man's eyes. "This is your family. Our blood is in this room, that should give you some sense of solace, shouldn't it?"
"Are my tests finished?" Katie asked randomly and Ra's let out an impatient sigh. "Have I proven my loyalty to you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I really would like to get to the reality of this place. I want to get to the moment where you stop pretending it's all family meals, and friendly conversations." Katie stood to her feet, her eyes glaring over to the man. "I may share your blood, but you are not my family." Ra's stood to his feet as well, but Katie didn't budge or even flinch away. For so long she held so much fear for the man in front of her, and yet in this moment, something else took over. Something that even she didn't quite understand.
"You're just like her." Ra's mused out loud and Katie looked at him in confusion. The demon, moved his chair back, and moved closer to Katie, who didn't cower away. "It would be in your best interest to understand the choice you've made for your life." He moved to stand right in front of her, so he towered over her. "There will be order in my league, and there will be respect." his hand was suddenly wrapped around her throat, squeezing just enough to stop the air from making it to her lungs.
"Kill me." she ground through her teeth as she struggled to breathe. "Just do it." Ra's looked into the eyes of his niece, and sighed. He remembered the moment those exact words came out of the mouth of his sister, and also remembers the sick feeling that stirred in his belly upon hearing them. But at this moment, years long past, whatever that feeling was had long died.
"One day you are going to thank me." Ra's replied releasing her throat before turning and returning to his seat. "You will sit and you will eat with your family." there wasn't any options or second meanings behind his words. Katie glared at the man who simply began eating. She wished she had the courage to truly disobey him, but she had the feeling she'd regret it later, and so she dropped back to her seat before grabbing a piece of bread.
The moment was completely perfect. Oliver held a sleeping toddler in his arms who tinkered himself out after a exciting game of hide and seek. Oliver simply mused down to the sleeping child, instantly spotting features from himself and the child's mother.
"He has your eyes." Katie whispered from her spot beside Oliver, her head on his shoulder.
"He does that thing with his nose when he sleeps." Oliver whispered back noticing the boy slightly scrunching his nose ever so often. "Just like his mom." the man turned and placed a kiss on Katie's forehead.
"You know you can't stay here forever, Liver." Katie said suddenly and Oliver turned as the woman looked up to meet his eyes. "Perfection is only fantasy and there is danger in letting a fantasy take this much control." Oliver turned away, his eyes going back to the child and a smile tugged at his lips.
"Why would I ever want to leave?" Oliver muttered. "Here I have everything I've ever wanted." he looked back over to Katie. "Here I have you, and him and-" he smiled again looking down to her belly. "And her." he once again met his wife's eyes. "Why would I leave?" Katie simply sighed before once again dropping her head to Oliver's shoulder.
Bruce stood staring up to the many monitors in his lair, his eyes scanning each and everyone of them as they showed satellite images from the mountain in Nanda Parbat and the surrounding areas. He'd been at it for hours, trying to find something. Twelve hours had gone by, and it was late the next night, but he was still standing there in hopes that something would pop out at him.
"Where the hell did you go Oliver?" Bruce muttered to himself, when the security alarm suddenly began to blare. He quickly turned, rushing over to his security monitor before typing in a few keys. Suddenly security footage from the shipping yard began playing, and Bruce just groaned at the sight of Malcolm Meryln. "You must want to die." Bruce typed a few keys to open the door to his lair, before grabbing his gun and aiming it toward the door. The moment Malcolm took the last step into the lair, and looked up to Bruce, he chuckled.
"You know guns are just so barbaric." Malcolm replied, and Bruce didn't say anything as his eyes looked to the large bag the man held on his shoulder.
"I assume that you've given up on life, and that you showed up here so I could finally do everyone a favor, and just kill you." Bruce said and Malcolm shook his head before unzipping the bag. Bruce gripped the gun a bit tighter, just as Malcolm pulled out a bloody sword and placed it on a nearby table. "What the hell is that?"
"You know what it is." Malcolm replied, and Bruce glanced up to the man before sitting his gun down and walking over to look at the sword. "Ra's symbol to all who dare cross him."
"Is it-"
"Oliver's blood? Yes it is." Malcolm replied and Bruce looked up to the man with a darkened glare. "And you seem surprised. I have to say I had no doubt that Oliver challenging Ra's-"
"There was no battle." Bruce muttered glancing back down to the sword, before turning and walking off.
"What do you mean there was no battle?" Malcolm asked watching as Bruce searched for something. "He challenged the demon, and by league law-"
"Ra's must comply and let the man fight for his life." Bruce said grabbing a a first aid kit and pulling out a pair of gloves before going back over to the sword and taking a small sample of the blood on the slide and taking it over to one of his machines and inserting it.
"Exactly." Malcolm said.
"League law also states that the law can be challenged by a member of the league." Bruce replied his back toward the man. "And then Ra's could in turn show mercy and forgive all crimes he feels against him."
"No one in the league is bold enough to the question-" Malcolm stopped talking because it hit him. "Katherine." Bruce sighed and glanced over to the man. "She vowed her allegiance to the demon in exchange for Oliver's life." Malcolm narrowed his eyes because he knew he was still missing something. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would he do it? Why is her loyalty more important then getting justice for the league?"
"You should go now Malcolm." Bruce said before turning back to his computer. "You're poking a very big bear with sharp teeth." Malcolm stood there for a couple of more moments, but knew he wouldn't get any more answers from the man, and so he turned and walked back up the stairs.
Bruce stood waiting, impatiently, for the blood test to finish verifying what he thinks he already knows. This was Ra's sword, and anyone who finds themselves lucky enough to be on the other end usually never lives long to talk about it. Bruce currently had mixed emotions about the entire thing, because on one hand Oliver possibly being dead could have repercussions for so many people, and this city. But on the other hand, if Bruce can prove that Ra's broke the deal with Katie, he may be able to use that to get her out of Nanda Parbat.
Oliver looked down to the sleeping child in his crib, sleeping peacefully. He let his fingers run over the boy's blonde curls with a sigh of content. There was a sudden crash from somewhere and Oliver glanced over his shoulder.
"Twinkie?" he said, but there was no response. He looked back down to the boy before slowly walking out into the hall, closing the door behind him. "Twinkie, where-"
"Oliver!"
That was the blood curdling scream of his wife, and the moment it met his ears, Oliver was off. He ran down the hall, practically skipping down the stairs. He only stopped when he reached the living room that was now filled with men in dark clothing. Two of them held Katie who was now on her knees crying, as another stood beside her with a sword at her throat.
"Let her go." Oliver grit, taking a single step forward, but the sword against Katie's neck only seemed to deepen causing a whimper from the woman. "Katie, just stay calm. You're going to be alright."
"Oliver." Katie cried. "The baby." Oliver looked down noticing the blood pooling around her knees.
"Let her go!" Oliver practically pleaded taking another step forward, only for two of the league to grab his arms and push him back against the wall. He tried to pull free, but it was no use. "Please just let her go. I'll give you whatever you want, whatever I'll-" his pleas fell upon deaf ears because in just a blink of an eyes, the sword against Katie's neck jerked back, and she fell forward, blood quickly pooling around her. "No!" He jerked trying to pull free, trying to get to her, but he couldn't move. He looked back up to the masked man, the only thing visible is eyes, as he held the sword that was now dripping blood. "I'm going to kill you."
"No." a familiar voice said coming from the person behind the mask. Oliver stared in confusion as they reached up and pulled the mask from their face, and Oliver's eyes went wide.
"Katie-" Oliver stood totally confused, his eyes looking down to find that Katie was no longer lying on the floor and that the men once holding his arms had also mystically disappeared.
"Look at me Oliver." Katie said and Oliver turned his eyes to her. "Really look at me." she glanced down to the black, league clothing she wore that was stained with blood. She lifted her head, meeting his eyes and sighed. "You've been here too long, and it's time to wake up and find me." She stalked over to him, placing herself right in front of him. "It's perfect here, but out there it's not. I know how alluring this place is, but fantasy can never be real." Oliver dropped his head, but Katie placed her hands on the sides of his face and lifted his eyes back to hers. "Unless you make it real, and you can't do that from here." Katie's hands slid to Oliver's chest, as his hands moved to cup her face.
"This is possible." Oliver whispers, his eyes searching hers, wanting to hold on to this moment for as long as possible.
"This is very possible." Katie replied with a smile. "Now kiss me, and then get to work." a smile tugged at his lips, before he captured hers with his own. Oliver knew this wasn't real, knew this was all some fantasy created in his mind, and yet he wouldn't pull away. He wouldn't pull himself from her lips that felt so real, from the emotions inside of him that he knew were real. Soon he wouldn't have a choice.
Oliver's eyes flew open, the dream still so fresh in his mind that he could still feel Katie's lips against his. His heart raced as his eyes began looking around the unfamiliar room. The walls were made of wood, so he instantly knew it had to be some sort of cabin.
"Don't move. You'll pull out the sutures." A familiar voice spoke, and Oliver turned his head to see another ghost from his past the he didn't expect. "Oliver."
"Tatsu." Oliver replied still in slight disbelief. "How-"
"I asked her to come." Maseo walked into view, and Oliver lifted his eyes to the man. "So she could bring you back to life."
"Katie." Oliver muttered still too weak to even hold his head up. He drops his head, and closes his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "I have to-"
"There is nothing you can do for her in this state." Tatsu said and Oliver opens his eyes once again to look over to her. "You must get well. Only then will you be able to even attempt to help your beloved."
Author's note:
Sorry for the wait, and the kinda short chap, but I still really liked this chapter. Especially Oliver's fight between reality and fantasy..life and death. It was fun to write, but sad as well because in honesty, the longer he stayed, the closer he got to death. I'm glad he found his way out.
Review Replies: : That would be awesome, but not the direction I'm going with. Ra's wanting Katie in the league has nothing to do with her fighting ability or her leadership potential. His motives are going to be surprising. We're going to see a bit of a different side of Ra's.
Shutup and Read2: I'm glad you're liking it. As to answer your request, Nura is Katie's arabic league name. It means, "Light" which is totally ironic given who the League is. She never liked it because of the simply fact that Ra's had given it to her, and she always felt darkness when she was with the league. Nura seems to be that dark part of her that exists in the league, and we're going to see how that's going to effect her in later chapters.
: Oh, I'm so glad you liked it and yeah Katherine Robins is still alive, and we see that more as Katie rebels against Ra's and his rules. But Ra's doesn't like opposition, he pushes and pushes until he gets what he wants. The question will become will Katie be strong enough to push back.
Thanks so much to everyone and their support.
I do really hope you're enjoying the story and having just as much fun reading this as I am writing it.
And now for your sneak peek
"Where is Oliver?" Katie asked taking another step forward.
"You should return to your quarters Nura." Ra's said dismissively, and Katie let out another heavy breath before taking another step forward.
"Tell me where he is!" Katie demanded, something that never happened to the man standing in front of her. Ra's quirked a brow, before closing the distance between them, now towering over her.
"You will learn your place here!" Ra's ordered dropping his head, so his face was just inches away from hers before wrapping his hand around her throat. "Blood or not, you will respect me as the person who is and shall always be the sole reason air makes it to your lungs."
Katie's glare was hard, as she tried not to think of the hand around her throat slowing the oxygen to her lungs.
"If you killed him, then you should kill me right now." she spoke as his grasp around her throat tightened.