Okay this one was really hard. It is definitely an important plot chapter and I was torn with the various directions I could take it as it sets off the tone for the rest of the story as well as most of the League of Assassins arcs I have planned out which involves a lot of alliances and intrigue. But I finally decided to follow my gut instincts and just go for it. Enjoy! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

One hour ago…

Unknown Location, Starling City

So the Arrow and the Canary were in cahoots, this job was beginning to get more interesting. Simon entered the safe house. It was dismal accommodations but he could come up with a dozen other places he'd slept in that were far worse— such as a sweltering dirt prison cell in Nanda Parbat for starters. Oftentimes he could recount the day he was arrested and thrown into the hell-hole that was the League dungeons. The Blood Cells they called it, for the stone of the red mountain it was built into. From sunrise to sunset the sun cooked the stone to temperatures that burned his skin. At night it was consuming darkness. It was the only prison in the entire world that could hold a member of the League.

He remembered the accusatory stares of his fellow assassins, his torturers, all hypocrites hiding their true selves. He had escaped that hell—twice. Never had he been so close to re-capture than he was now. They say third time's a charm. Not always.

He did not think the green archer was going to be an issue but it was clear he had become an irritating thorn in his side that he intended to rid of, permanently. Killing him would be a worthy trophy to the reputation he was developing for himself. Reputation was important in his line of work. It told potential clients what he could and could not give to them. Whether you were a shadow who valued discretion or you used a signature weapon, it didn't matter, as long as you had an edge…and a notable list of enemies defeated.

"Komodo" the wind whispered, but it was not the breeze. In instants, he threw a knife in the direction of the voice. The intruder somersaulted in the air; the knife went out the window instead of into its target. Once the figure landed he did not dissolve his offensive stance, that is, until she stepped into the moonlight filtering through the rafters.

"Al-Sayad…" he breathed, and nocked another arrow. Impossible, "how did you find me?" He demanded trying to shroud the incredulity he was experiencing. Of all the League assassins who had attempted to track him in the past four years—none had come this close. The assassin had her hand on her sword hilt which suggested she was ready for a fight. She comfortably lifted her mask, below her face was smirking.

"I'm that good."

"And still incessantly arrogant" he derided. "No one has used my alias in years." And frankly he hated her using it, simply because she was not fit to call him by it, given her status. She was just initiated when I ran.

"I hear you're wanted in seven countries? Someone's getting sloppy" she said stepping closer. He slipped two knives hidden in sleeves into his empty palms. She noticed them but the bemused expression she wore never left her countenance. They had never crossed paths before, but given their shared history, he was expecting her to lunge and attack, yet she wasn't.

"If you have compromised my position, I will kill you". He listened for police sirens or other attackers.

She held hands up in surrender, letting go of her sword hilt but Simon knew she could wield her steel in less than a second. "That escalated quickly. I didn't compromise your position and it was my smoke arrow that saved you. You wouldn't have been able to fight both Taer-Al-Asfar and The Arrow".

Simon knew then that she was no threat, she was here to talk, he lowered his bow. The young generations these days, always thought they were cleverer than they actually were, and too often enjoyed the sound of their own voices. He had his bow slung across his back which meant he had the advantage of having a long range weapon should she try anything, he could draw and pin her to the wall before she could blink.

"Do you expect me to thank you?" He said with withering scorn, and removed his hood and mask.

"No, but saving you was a show of good faith on my part."

"And why would you need to show your good faith. Aren't you here to capture me? Drag me kicking and screaming back to Ra's?"

Her grinning was unremitting. "Those are the Canary's orders, not mine."

"Count Vertigo is saying the League had nothing to do with his drug empire. I know you were backing him. It doesn't make sense for you to lie about that, neither does it make sense why Ra's would invest in drugs. It isn't his forte."

She nodded and leaned against a shelf casually as if they were talking amongst friends here. "You're right, it isn't. But the League of Assassins has its allies and we have to scratch each other's backs, don't we? I was under strict orders to keep their partnership behind closed doors. That's why I lied".

Shadows of the League of Assassins were excellent liars to those who had not been trained in their arts, and he could tell that she was being honest with him. "Yet you're telling me of all people the truth?"

Her conniving smirk deepened. "A known traitor of the League, you can spread all the rumours you want, no one would believe you anyway, just as no one would believe Ra's would ever dabble with Vertigo".

He treaded carefully, she might have allies on their way here, but then why would she bother giving him cover to evade the Arrow and the Canary? If she wanted to capture him at the airport she would've let the Canary do as she had intended. "What do you want Al-Sayad? If you're not here to kill me then don't waste my time because then I'd be inclined to kill you."

"I would like to propose a partnership."

He nearly laughed out loud. He eyed her top to bottom, indeed she was no longer a child but that said nothing of her skill. He reckoned he would've cut her throat by now if they'd fought. "I'm not a babysitter" he sneered.

That angered her, "I don't need to be babysat." Seemingly, nothing had changed. She was still the metal the League's fires had forged her into. But a lot could've changed in the past four years. His escape was one the League's darkest moments. The League was composed of shadows whose depths only grew deeper and more abyssal that night. Ra's Al Ghul had stayed true to his indisputable word that he would not allow a single root of treachery to sprout within his walls. And everyone learnt it again that night. He had pulled the roots out and cut them down. The floors of the catacombs were red with traitor's blood. Most would've understood their place, a small few might have tried to run like he did and most probably would've died too. But an even smaller few would've become lost souls, too afraid to run, flitting purposelessly though life since then, unsure of the stability of their 'home'.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why would I even need your help?"

"Because I know the Arrow is getting in your way. And I know things about the him you don't" she bragged resting a hand on her hip, her anger dissolving away as easily as it had been incited.

"I work better alone. Besides I have his base of operations saved on this" he showed her his GPS device, "now that I've analysed his fighting technique, I'm going to attack his home." The plan was ingenious.

Al-Sayad smiled mockingly as if she knew secrets he did not. "You might want to check that device of yours a second time". He turned it on but to his frustration, all that showed on the screen was static, it was just a useless box now.

"Like I said I know things about the Arrow. I've also tried to kill him once before but to no avail. Didn't the League teach you to adapt to any situation thrown at you?" She asked when he slammed the inoperable GPS device onto a nearby table. The Arrow must be a tech-expert to have disabled it remotely like that.

"The Canary is an ally of the Arrow. He goes where you go, and the Canary follows. You see my predicament? It will turn into a conflict I don't need and I can't do my job, and I cannot fail" she said immovably. I know the punishment for failure in the League: death, no wonder she's coming to me for help. " If I join you it'll even out the playing field. And you know what that means".

"We can kill the Arrow and Canary."

The young hunter had thought this through. He wasn't sure whether her idea was naïve or brave. But he had to admit it would be much easier to fend off the Canary and the Arrow with someone on his side. Being a runaway meant surviving for the day, being quick to make allies, and then leaving when you had too, cutting of any or all ties you had made. It was a simple truth. Having never been a situation like this; where a League assassin was so close to capturing him and two competing archers were acting against him. He had forgotten the necessity of allies, even if they were the members of the organization he had been running from for six years.

"You would let me kill one of your own? Nyssa definitely won't be pleased with you".

"I was instructed to kill the Arrow, I will do what I must to ensure he dies. Taer-Al-Asfar can protect herself" she answered apathetically like a true League assassin would. And she's correct to say so, the Canary may have once joined forces with the Arrow, but her allegiance belongs to Ra's now, she should've let go of her past loyalties years ago. The League has it's double standards, how pitiful and how simple it would've been for me if I'd won Nyssa's heart first. He ignored her notion that he wasn't capable of killing the Canary, besides he was still mistrustful of her proposal for a partnership.

"But why should I help you? You could turn on me in the last second; you might as well just stab me now."

Her eyes darkened and she eased closer to him, she wasn't smiling anymore. "Because even though you might not have a shred of honour, you and I both know there is nothing greater than a blood debt. And you owe me".

So she does remember our history. He pursed his lips, an unsavoury taste in his mouth, no one enjoyed being put in a position they did not have to be in. She knew the exact button to push that would make him concede. No matter how far he ran, or how much he fought the League their ways remained with him, ingrained in his skull. Simon did not want to have a blood debt hanging over his head for the rest of his life, he did not want to be doublecrossed but he also needed his paycheck, he decided that at the first sign of her faltering he would leave her for the Canary and the Arrow, if this was all she was asking for to wash away his debt then he should settle it.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

Queen Consolidated, Starling City, 21:50 PM PST

"There are two of them, Simon and some blonde woman. I'm on the 23rd floor of QC" Roy had said to them before he signed off. Every part of his statement baffled Oliver and Felicity, why would any of the targets be in Queen Consolidated? When and how did Simon obtain a partner in crime? Sara could have answered all of these questions if she'd stuck around long enough. Felicity talked him through the first query as he sped down the motorway towards the business district. He had his Arrow suit stored in a duffel bag on his motorbike in case anything like this happened. Felicity remained at the hospital, monitoring the mission on her tablet.

"I had a theory that maybe Simon Lacroix isn't after just Alliance Tech, there at least a dozen other companies who invested in CADMUS and made huge losses when it closed. Palmer Tech is one of them."

"Ray Palmer is the target!"

"Oh and just to heighten the stakes he's hosting a reception 2 floors down from where Roy is".

Oliver grinded his teeth, "Perfect. Get a hold of Ray, now!" He parked in the QC loading dock and switched his mic, "Roy, why were you in QC in the first place?"

"They chased me here. It doesn't make any sense. It's like they know the place was important to you Oliver."

That caused Oliver's heart to stutter a little bit, making a connection between the Arrow and Queen Consolidated made coming up with 'Oliver Queen is the Arrow' as easy as one plus one. Perhaps he had crossed paths with this enemy before. Probably the blonde assassin Roy mentioned. If they knew he was the Arrow, then he needed to put an end to them.

"I threw a tear gas bomb down the stairs and in the hallways" Roy reported. "It'll slow them down for a bit."

"They're not here just to assassinate Ray. They want to kill us too" Oliver replied. The Arrow and his team would not have stopped trying to cross Simon Lacroix as long as he attempted to kill those involved with CADMUS. Getting rid of the Arrow was merely a tactical manoeuvre to them, and he had no doubt that if Simon Lacroix was here, Sara Lance was close by to capture him. He didn't care about that anymore; he just needed to save Roy.

He climbed into the elevator shaft, ten floors below the 23rd, he would get there in forty seconds and he hoped his protégé wouldn't be dead by then. He kept his reservations to himself like he always did despite the gnawing feeling that Simon Lacroix and his partner might know his secret identity and could go after those he cared about. Oliver pushed those thoughts aside; Roy was still injured, he needed a level-head if he was going to battle two assassins all on his own.

…

"My stitches…they ripped" said Roy into the comms, he held his collar where the wound was pulsing. It happened when he made a swing at the blonde assassin, he'd gone too far, one second she was in front of his fist and then she was sweeping his legs from beneath him. He'd barely survived after that. Now the realization that they actually wanted to kill him put everything he was doing with Oliver into perspective. Roy didn't regret a second of it, but he didn't want to die tonight either. He'd gone to scout a robbery in the business district; damn him for being the injured idiot who'd walked into a trap.

"Oliver will be there in 10 seconds Roy" Felicity told him trying and failing to be optimistic, she was distraught, heck he was too. Roy leaned on a cubicle, the blood loss getting to him.

…

Meanwhie Felicity called Ray Palmer who, despite the assassination threat on his life, was still working.

"Felicity Smoak, so nice to hear from you."

So he has my number saved on his phone already? "Mr. Palmer" she greeted as merrily as one possibly could in a situation like this without yelling, "You're still in the office".

"There's no need to rush and call me late at night to accept the job offer, it'll be waiting for you for as long as you need to make a decision. Oh and how did you know I was still in the office?" He had the mood of a man who was totally at peace, enjoying himself, when he really shouldn't be.

She rubbed her temple and leaned on her desk wishing she was far, far away from it. Felicity had called Captain Lance to relay the assassination attempt info to Ray Palmer since that kind of warning coming from her would be suspicious and quite frankly, weird. But when she had checked his location only to find that he had not left QC yet… well she was having too much of a nervous breakdown not to call him. "I pinged your cell phone—Mr. Palmer I'm sure Captain Lance warned you about the assassins trying to kill you?!"

"Oh yeah, that".

Oh yeah, that?! Felicity nearly screamed, but instead said as nonchalant as she could;

"Mr. Palmer—"

"Ray".

"Ray" she repeated with an imitation of Oliver's signature clenched teeth. "I would urge you to leave immediately. I have reason to believe that these assassins will attack any minute now. So please follow the security detail the SCPD placed on you—"

"I'm sure you possess the expertise to hack into my schedule and see that I am currently hosting a reception in my office. And that security detail you mentioned, yeah they're not here, never showed, or else I would've cancelled my reception".

"I—what?"

"Someone called them off."

…

23rd floor, Queen Consolidated, 21:54 PM PST

"Red archer" she sang, getting closer still, "come out come out wherever you are".

Come on Oliver where are you? He griped, he heard footsteps outside the door to the floor. Roy readied an arrow directly at it; the moment it swung open he intended to fire. No way was he going out of this world without at least getting a kill-shot in first.

The door flew open…

He fired; she caught it in her right hand with devious smile on her lips and then threw it away. She stood in the doorway in a black and red tactical suit like a demon. She brought up her bow.

A green arrow flew at her head and she ducked, as she turned Oliver kicked her in face.

She recovered and drew away, and then the room was filled with assassins…

The Canary crashed into the window, Komodo tangled with her bo-staff. Everything seemed to stop for a fraction of a second.

Oliver signalled Roy that they would take out the blonde first and then stop the Canary before she loped Lacroix head off.

But everyone else had their own signals, for as the fraction of a second ended, the Canary was snarling at the blonde for some reason, and then she charged at Komodo to resume their fight. Simon's partner backtracked and was making for the stairs. Roy was leaning on the wall bleeding, seeing that he was now required to run; he could just use the elevator and leave like he should've, but instead he followed Oliver.

The Arrow chased her two floors down, he sent a trick arrow that caught her around the ankle like a lasso, causing her to stumble and crash through the glass doors. Glass splintered; carpeting the floor, on the other side was Ray Palmer's reception, which broke into a dizzying pandemonium as attendees screamed and tried to find another exit which wasn't occupied by an assassin and Starling's heroes. She twisted around, using her sword to deflect the shafts Roy sent at her. Oliver pulled on his bow but she took out another blade that cut his carbon cord like spaghetti to his astonishment.

The blonde assassin arched her legs upright and dashed into the crowd. He ran after her, trying to make out her features, and then he found her….holding a blade to Ray Palmer's throat.

Palmer looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here, and quite the idiot for not heeding Felicity's warning. The assassin's cold dead eyes met the Arrow's. "NO!" His arrow grazed her arm before she could cut. The blonde dropped her knife and bolted, giving chase. "Stay with him! And get everyone out of here!" Oliver ordered Roy and Felicity respectively.

…

Sara grabbed Simon's collar and hauled him across her shoulders, he landed lightly on the ground and whipped out a throwing knife that flew an inch past her cheekbone. She dipped and spun her staff, knocking two arrows aside; she held the staff with both hands and jabbed at his neck, Simon snaked his arm around it and pulled. She countered the move by thrusting her end of the weapon down, so it hit his chin upwards on his side. Across the hall she spotted Oliver chasing Lacroix's partner, she needed to get away from Simon and talk to Al-Sayad immediately.

The Canary went back on the defensive and ran towards Oliver. "Arrow!" She called and he turned and intercepted Simon's blow. "She's mine!" She slid across the ground beneath their kicking legs, Sara leapt down the staircase going after the other assassin leaving Oliver to deal with Simon.

Before she made it to the ground she was jumped by Al-Sayad who swung towards her from a door frame.

Steel rung against steel, the sound rippled through the air like a high-pitched scream as Sara blocked the downcut.

"What are you doing here?!" She demanded with devouring fury.

"My orders" Al-Sayad hissed, the adrenaline of the fight still pumping through her; she pressed the sword harder against her bo-staff. Sara pushed up and threw the sword off of her, retreating away slightly. It would be meaningless for them to kill each other. They were brethren and the crime would be the equivalent of Sara killing Laurel. Why did the League want Oliver dead and who commanded it? Nyssa would never allow it; Sara knew that, it had to be someone else.

"Who told you to kill the Arrow?"

"The Master" she growled. Sara wanted to scream, another thing she hated about the League; you never knew why Ra's wanted your target dead you just follow his orders and killed.

"You're lying!"

"Am I?" She spat, maintaining her defensive posture.

"How dare you associate yourself with Lacroix, a known traitor?"

"I had to do what was necessary, I have to kill your friend, and I can't do that if you're trying to save his life!"

She drew closer trying to appeal to her.

"Artemis—"

Her move was met with a vertical slash from the younger assassin telling Sara to shut up. They weren't permitted to utter birth names outside of Nanda Parbat, even to one another, but she was talking to her friend now. She blocked the cut with her staff to keep her focused on her words.

Artemis was holding in a lot of anger inside of her, it was noticeable in her stormy grey eyes. She retracted her sword and stepped back, angling herself so that Sara wouldn't dare come any closer unless she wanted to be severed open shoulder to gut. She held up her right hand to show she meant no harm.

"If we return to Nanda Parbat, I won't be able to protect you from the consequences".

They came at a standstill; she could only see Al-Sayad's eyes, the storm within them was passing. She wanted to tell Sara the truth, it was on the tip of her tongue, and she could feel it coming. "What aren't you telling me?"

Artemis lowered her sword—

She flipped backwards as two green arrows shot at her.

…

Oliver interrupted their exchange, now he could clearly see the blonde, Al-Sayad. The one who'd plotted with Count Vertigo. He did not know who she was, but there was something familiar about her, as if they'd spoken in passing before or seen each other on the street. But likely he'd seen her in his 5 years 'marooned', League members were known to travel all around the world for their work. It aggravated him that Sara knew her as well, and that the League for some unknown reason, wanted him dead. He cornered her.

"Your partner left you, you have failed." He had no time to properly put a name to her as she rushed him with her sword with intent to kill.

He blocked the swing. Her fighting style was influenced by the League but it was unique, Al-Sayad was taller than Sara and had two weapons on her person-bow, quiver, and sword- but the added weight did not slow her down in the slightest. What he noted was that each of her strikes was fuelled by rage, quick but not well-thought, and that could be a curse in disguise.

Sara joined their fray, and it was two versus one, each fighter using melee weapons. It became clear that the Canary was trying to put her comrade down, to stop her from killing him. Oliver had no interest in their games or politics. If someone wanted him killed he fought back, and this particular someone knew his secret identity. Al-Sayad drove on with ferocity, harrying Oliver with a flurry of heavy cuts, her steel and his bow scraping rapidly together.

He gave ground as Sara stepped in and jabbed at her pressure points, she moved like water to evade each of her attempts to disable her. The Arrow circled them and threw three flechettes, she ducked away, making room for herself. She cut at Oliver, then spun 180 degrees to parry at Sara, turning low again to dodge Oliver's arrow.

He was getting a sense of the rhythm now; he felt the lunge coming even before it was begun. He tiptoed too swiftly for her one way then turned the other, slipping smoothly round behind Al-Sayad as she blundered past, too forward. Sara moved to her, it was a simple matter for her to pin their shared opponent to the wall before she could come around. A knife flashed and Al-Sayad dropped the sword as it were on fire, a thin sliver of blood on her sword hand where Sara had cut her.

"You've lost here child. Do what's right. Leave. I won't hesitate next time" Sara whispered harshly into her ear and released her sturdy hold. Oliver's mouth dropped open in shock and disbelief, she's letting her go?! Al-Sayad snatched up her sword and opened a window and jumped out. He saw the faint line of a grappling hook as she swung to the next building over. He ran to the window and readied an arrow but before he fired Sara pointed her staff at his throat at an area that would knock the breath right out of him if she hit him.

"Don't" was all she said.

Slowly, he lowered his bow; his eyes were two slits as they looked at her, jaw tight and locked, mouth twisted in muted rage.

"We need to talk. Meet me back at the foundry."

A/N: Up next: the fallout from this fight! And a new DC character! Also, I've finally introduced Artemis from Young Justice into this fanfic. Her background is definitely a huge twist to the way it's normally done in stories like mine. I felt that it needed a fresh perspective. See ya next time!