Chapter 18: The Fall of Nanda Parbat
"It is not safe"
"We have been discussing this topic for over an hour and not once did I say it was"
"I honestly fail to understand why would you expose yourself to that"
"He is my brother, Talia"
"So?" the woman asked exasperatedly, resuming her pacing; her limp still noticeable "He is highly unstable. That mere fact poses a threat. To you, to your beloved, and to anyone who gets close to him. Need I remind you my son is here?"
Nyssa stood up from her seat and placed her hands on the wooden table, leaning forward and staring at her older sister "Do you truly believe I would let anything happen to Damian?"
Talia stopped pacing and faced her, hands folded behind her back, a posture that made her resemble their father whenever he stood in this very room "No. What I am stating, sister, is that he is an unnecessary, life threatening risk to all of us"
"I will not cast him aside when I am positive I can help him" Nyssa said, her tone bordering on angry "I recall a time when you, blinded by your ambition, posed a threat to all of us"
Her older sister glared at her and stood firmly at the other end of the long table "Is this how you wish to play this, Nyssa?"
"I did not cast you aside then, did I?"
"You were a child; you should have, just like father did"
"I was old enough to understand the situation and see the error of his ways. You are my sister, Talia, I could never do that to you. Just as I cannot do it to Saracon"
The other woman sighed and looked down at the table "You always had the most noble heart. It is a miracle you survived this long in the League"
"I am an outstanding warrior" Nyssa said playfully.
Talia looked up into her sister's eyes, the hint of a smile on her lips "That, you are"
"He needs my help, sister"
"I know" the woman admitted defeated.
"And I need my sister in my life" she smiled when the older woman's head snapped up in surprise at the confession "I am not ready to lose you again"
"Nyssa, you never will" Talia said truthfully "We are aware of the reasons that kept us apart for so long. I do not wish for that to happen again" she sighed and took a moment to gather her thoughts "I cannot honestly say that I am, or ever will be, comfortable with the idea of Damian being around Saracon. Not without my supervision while he is so young"
"I understand"
"However, I shall not be the reason you neglect your brother when he needs you"
"I appreciate that"
"I hope you can understand that means I cannot stay here long; nor can Damian and I share a flight with the man while he is so unstable"
Nyssa nodded "Of course. Not only do I understand, but Sara and I agree with you. We already discussed it. You and I should take care of everything we came here to do. As soon as it is settled, you and Damian shall take your jet back to Gotham. Dr. Palmer offered to take us to Star City"
"On that god forsaken ship?" she asked alarmed, making her sister laugh.
"I have been thoroughly assured it is safe, sister"
"I do not trust that infernal machine" Talia mumbled and reached for her glasses, putting them back on and sitting down again "But I do trust your little bird, if she assures you it is, indeed, safe. Even more so after yesterday"
Nyssa smiled and sat back down, reaching for her tablet to go through some of the blueprints Felicity had sent her, while her sister started typing on her phone.
"She was impressed with your performance" the younger woman pointed out.
"Technically, I was an assassin decades before she was even born, so she shouldn't be"
"True. It is quite hard to believe you are sixty-four years old, sister. You don't look a day older thirty-five"
"Ah, the benefits of a personal Lazarus Pit" Talia chuckled, then stopped and glared at her "If you tell anyone my real age, I shall fill your bed with spiders"
Her younger sister gasped and narrowed her eyes at her "You would never..."
"Do not test me, Nyssa"
Sara took a step forward to stand behind Nyssa and Talia "You are both sure this is what you want to do, right? Like, super sure?"
"You have been to the future, little bird…" Talia said turning her head slightly to address the woman "...tell me, is this what we decided to do in that future?"
The blonde shifted uncomfortably and held her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun "I can't really tell you that"
"And why would that be?"
Nate, who had Damian perched on his shoulders so the boy would be able to see, moved to stand next to Sara "Because if she does, she will be influencing your decision with catastrophic results"
"Whatever happens, should come from you" Amaya added standing on Sara's other side.
Nyssa lifted her sunglasses and looked at her sister "Is this what you want?"
"Yes" her older sister said after a few moments of consideration "Yes. We discussed it. This is our best course of action"
"Once we give them the order to proceed, there is no turning back, sister" she explained with a concerned frown "If you do not feel comfortable with it, then—"
"I want this place out of my life once and for all. What it represents already cost me almost everything I hold dear in this world. I do not wish for it to jeopardize whatever might be in store for me or Damian in the future" Talia interrupted her, turning her head to look at the massive structure again "Is this what you wish to do, Nyssa?"
The younger brunette turned her head to look at her fiancée. Sara smiled softly and reached forward to rub her back "Yes" she responded undoubtedly "I will always have the memories—good and bad—that were made here. It is time to move on. I shall never forgive myself if it ends up in the wrong hands again. I'd rather see it destroyed"
"Good" Talia nodded "Then they shall proceed" she turned to address the woman who had piloted the helicopter when they arrived four days ago "Zinda, please inform Dr. Palmer we are ready"
The woman nodded and lifted a radio to her lips, doing as instructed.
Amaya braced herself. Saracon wrapped one arm around his mother's shoulders. Nate tightened his hold on Damian's legs. The boy readjusted his Rockets hat. Sara moved to wrap her arms around Nyssa's waist from behind and pressed her lips to her shoulder. Talia stood straighter, stoically. Nyssa placed her left hand over Sara's and took a deep breath, lowering her sunglasses again.
The ground shook and grumbled, the sound echoing everywhere around them. Both sisters reached for each other's hand at the same time, holding on for dear life as they watched the visible part of the structure collapse on itself.
It took the ancient building close to a minute to resemble a forgotten ruin embedded in a remote part of the Hindu Kush.
Once the dust finally started to settle and the ground stopped shaking, both sisters dared to look at each other in silence.
"That was so cool!" Damian shouted, startling everyone and high-fiving Nate when the man held his hand up for him.
Nyssa was the first one to laugh, followed immediately by Sara and Talia. The rest of the group joining them after.
The blonde wrapped her arms tighter around her fiancée and placed another soft kiss on her bare shoulder "You okay?"
Nyssa glanced at the imploded building and smiled softly "I am"
"Well, sister…" Talia smiled, holding her sister's hand with both of hers and patting it lightly "...we are finally free of this place"
"I fail to see the need for this"
"Babe, don't be a stubborn pain in my ass right now"
"Excuse me?" Nyssa said indignantly, resting her hands on her hips and glaring at Sara.
"This is gonna be torture for you if you don't let us help"
"I can assure you, I am perfectly fine, beloved"
"At the risk of getting decapitated, I have to agree with Sara, Nyssa" Ray said folding his arms "You have a ruptured eardrum. This will be no regular flight. The pressure will be too much"
The brunette woman snorted and folded her arms "Lucky for you, Dr. Palmer, my decapitation days are behind me"
"Lucky me" he mumbled and moved to a panel on the wall to check some data.
Sara took a step closer to the other woman and pointed to one of the chairs of the Med Bay "Nyssa, get your ass there and let Gideon fix your ear"
"I will not do such thing"
"I will knock you out and drag you there myself, I swear" the blonde threatened clenching her jaw.
"You are more than welcome to try" her fiancée smirked "I remember how your last attempt to attack me ended"
Sara gasped in surprise and closed her mouth, her sudden silence intriguing Ray who turned around to look at them "How—"
"No" the blonde warned him holding her hand up "Don't finish that question"
"Okay" he prolonged the word and turned back to the panel.
"You are leaving me no choice here" Sara sighed and shook her head.
"Do what you have to, beloved"
She pointed a finger at her fiancée and narrowed her eyes "Remember you asked for it" then, without another word, Sara turned around and stormed out of the Med Bay, sliding her hand down the reader to close the door behind her.
"Can I ask why don't you want Gideon to fix your ear?" Ray asked once the two of them were alone.
Nyssa started walking around the room examining the equipment and cabinets with great interest "I heal on my own terms, Dr. Palmer—"
"Please, call me Ray"
"As you wish, Ray" she agreed with a short nod "As I was saying, I come from a radically different culture. I was raised a warrior, a not trusting one, at that. I heal on my own terms, by my own means. While I am highly impressed with the outstanding advances in modern technology and science, I still wish to treat my body the way I always have"
Ray turned around and leaned back against the wall "Even if it takes forever? I mean, Gideon can literally fix your ear in a minute" he explained fascinated "A minute, Nyssa" then he smiled that goofy smile of his, getting excited about the subject "How long would it take for your eardrum to heal on its own? Will you recover your full hearing once it does? Will the pressure from the flight cause permanent damage? Those questions, in modern medicine, are still practically unanswered. I can guarantee your ear would be fixed in sixty seconds, tops. You will recover full hearing, and the pressure won't affect you more than it will affect the rest of us. You won't feel a thing and you will be able to move around and let Sara show you the Waverider during the flight, which we both know she is dying to do, instead of having to lay down, crying in pain"
"I do not 'cry in pain', Ray" she stated narrowing her eyes.
"Okay, you don't cry in pain, but you still feel it"
"Pain is nothing but a nuisance to us League trained"
"But you still feel it" he repeated with a smile.
"Yes" she conceded.
"You can avoid it altogether if you let us help you"
Before she could say anything else, the door slid open and a smirking Sara walked back into the Med Bay.
The reason behind the smirk came two seconds later, in the form of a very pissed Lourdes.
"What is this nonsense about you not letting Sara and Ray help you?" the woman asked standing in front of her daughter; hands on her hips, right foot tapping the floor impatiently.
"You went to tell my mother?!" Nyssa asked in disbelief, staring at her still smirking fiancée.
The blonde shrugged "I told you, you left me no choice. I had to pull out the big guns"
"I am not a five year old, Sara"
"Well, you were sure acting like one"
"Stop ignoring me, Nyssa" Lourdes said threateningly "What do you think you are doing?"
"Being scolded by my mother, apparently"
"You will sit down there, and you will behave while they help you" the woman said pointing to the chair.
"But—"
"I am not asking, Nyssa"
"I can't believe you told my mother" the younger brunette repeated, glaring at a very amused Sara.
"I'm not leaving this room until you do as I say" Lourdes stated, glaring threateningly at her daughter "And you better hurry, because I don't have all day"
"I cannot believe this" Nyssa said stubbornly and folded her arms, standing her ground.
"Thirty-one years old and she gives me the same stubborn attitude she used to give me when she was seven and tried to sneak stray kittens into her chambers" Lourdes mumbled to herself shaking her head "Unbelievable"
Mother and daughter stared defiantly into each other's eyes for a few very long, very silent, very tense minutes; until Nyssa flinched, almost imperceptibly, and her eyes averted her mother's for a split second. Enough for the older woman to half smile satisfied and point at the chair again "Now, Nyssa"
Groaning loudly and almost stomping like a child, her daughter moved to sit down and glared at her fiancée "You shall pay for this, Ta-er al-Asfer"
"So, I'm Ta-er al-Asfer again?" the blonde asked amused "What happened to 'Sara'? Or 'beloved', for that matter?"
"This is war"
Sara chuckled and got down on one knee in front of the other woman, bowing her head respectfully "As you wish, Ra's al Ghul. I shall accept and endure whatever punishment you deem appropriate for my betrayal"
Nyssa snorted trying not to laugh, and reached out with her foot to nudge the blonde's leg "Get up, you kneel before no one, beloved"
The blonde jumped to her feet and grinned at the other woman, cupping her face with one hand and leaning down to kiss her softly "Sometimes I do kneel before you" she whispered suggestively.
Her fiancée chuckled and nodded arching one eyebrow before whispering back "Maybe that shall be your punishment"
"You should punish me more often, then"
"Okay, Nyssa, we're gonna need to take a tissue sample, since we don't have yours yet" Ray said walking to them, completely oblivious to the conversation he was interrupting.
"Go ahead" the woman nodded.
Lourdes, satisfied with the result of her stare down with her daughter, smiled at them and left the Med Bay so they could do what they needed without distractions.
Ray unmounted a tablet from the wall and stared at it "Sara, do you want to do the honors?"
"Sure" the blonde shrugged and reached for the small gun-like instrument that was lying on a table next to Nyssa "Not the first time I'm gonna poke her"
The brunette woman rolled her eyes, which made Sara laugh. Ray looked at them confused "What?" he asked, obviously focused on what he was doing and not on the two women. It gave Nyssa some sort of relief; at least someone seemed to know what they were doing.
"Nothing, Ray. Do your thing, I've got this" Sara placed the end of the device on Nyssa's shoulder and pulled the small trigger, holding it steady for a few seconds, then releasing the trigger and moving it away.
She removed a miniature test tube from the device and tapped a few commands on a panel to her left. A small hatch door opened beside that panel, and she introduced the test tube in the next free slot "Gideon?"
"Yes, Ms. Lance?"
"Please, label that new sample Nyssa Raatko"
"Right away"
"So, that is Gideon" Nyssa observed.
"Yes" her fiancée smiled, using a piece of cotton to rub some alcohol on her shoulder before placing a bandaid where she had just 'poked' the other woman.
"Stored and labeled. Anything else, Ms. Lance?"
"Yes, can you start processing that sample, please? Nyssa ruptured her eardrum, we need to repair it"
"Of course"
Sara leaned back against the other chair and looked at the other woman, who was staring at her with a half smirk and one eyebrow arched "What?"
"Nothing, beloved. This is all very new to me; I have never seen you this way"
The blonde smiled and shrugged "It doesn't freak you out, does it?"
"Not at all, I trust you implicitly"
"Plus, Sara was a nurse. A couple times, actually" Ray added smiling to himself, still focused on his tablet.
"You were a nurse?" Nyssa asked, both eyebrows raised now and biting her lip.
It was the blonde's turn to half smirk and arch one eyebrow "You know it wasn't for real, right?"
"Was the outfit 'for real'?" the brunette asked and Sara chuckled in disbelief.
"Very"
"Do you still have it?"
The blonde gaped and silently thanked whatever deity was keeping Ray so busy he wasn't really registering the conversation around him "Should be around here somewhere, want me to look for it?"
"Would you?"
"Sure. Wanna play doctor?"
Nyssa smirked and licked her lips, then switched to Arabic before responding "I do wish to play with the nurse"
Sara gulped and nodded, making a mental note to thoroughly show Nyssa her bedroom later.
"We are ready for the intervention, Ms. Lance" she had to admit Gideon's timing was impeccable.
"Thank you, Gideon" she moved to her fiancée again and brushed a strand of hair away from her face "You ready?"
"Yes, beloved"
The blonde smiled and kissed her softly "Lay down" she instructed.
Nyssa did, and soon enough, Ray was holding the timer on his tablet in front of her face, making her laugh.
"Try to hold still, Ms. Raatko" Gideon instructed, and a small wand with laser-looking features moved to her right ear.
The man made the timer start running backwards, still holding the tablet for Nyssa to see. By the time it flashed the number eight, the wand moved back and Ray paused it.
"Ms. Raatko's eardrum is now fully repaired. I took the liberty to also repair a considerable scar from some previous damage" Gideon announced.
"Thank you, Gideon" Ray said grinning proudly.
"You're welcome, Dr. Palmer"
"Fifty-two seconds" the man said, straightening up Nyssa's chair "How do you feel?"
"The only thing hurting at the moment is my pride"
Ray laughed and mounted the tablet back on the wall "And how do you feel about modern and future technology now?"
"I shall not be opposed to its use, as long as it is justified for a good cause"
"Huh" Sara frowned looking at Ray.
"What is it, beloved?"
"Nothing" she said smiling and shaking her head "You feeling okay?"
Nyssa moved to stand up carefully "Yes"
"You're not gonna puke, are you? 'cause Nate did that time Gideon fixed his ear just like that"
"I was dizzy!" they turned to the door to find the man standing there, one hand rubbing the back of his neck "Feeling better?" he asked looking at Nyssa.
"Much"
"Good" he said smiling "Do you think you can help me with something?" he asked, pointing out the door "Lourdes suggested I should come find you, since all those books we loaded before are yours"
"Of course" she agreed taking a few tentative steps under Sara's careful watch. Satisfied with the result, she nodded at her fiancée and followed the man out.
"Told you I could get her to agree to use future technology" Ray grinned and held his left hand out, palm up and beckoning the blonde with his fingers "Pay up, Lance"
"Technically, I did it" Sara corrected him "I was the one who unleashed Lourdes on her ass"
"Ah, yes, but…" he held his right index finger up "...my previous speech made that easier. And besides, we made this bet years ago, the point wasn't to get her to agree to use it now; we didn't even know she was gonna need it. It was to get her to agree to use it once you decided to bring it up" his grin got even bigger "Now we know she's open to it" he repeated.
Sara smirked and reached for her wallet, taking out a twenty and shoving it in his hand "Unfortunate choice of words, Ray"
The man frowned in confusion "Oh! No, not what I meant!" he blushed and shook his head, making the woman laugh "You still have it, right?"
"Yeah, I left it in my room last time" she said smiling and reached inside a hidden pocket in her jacket "Took a little detour and grabbed it when I went to find Lourdes" she held a small metal case with the words 'SMOAK Technologies' engraved on it, and her smile widened "Time to take this home"