Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Pre-Note: RIP to Rowdy Roddy Piper. Just when we though we had all the answers, he changed all the questions.
God this summer has sucked.
Chapter 40: Heir to the Demon
"When you say, 'I left'," Tommy said slowly, "Is that 'I was on a mission and I took off', or is that, 'Honey, I'm going out for a pack of cigarettes'?"
Sara laughed. "The second."
Tommy blinked. "Oo-kay. Well, didn't see that coming…"
"How are you still alive?" Malcolm asked. "One doesn't break the heart of the Heir to the Demon and simply get to live her life…"
"As we just saw, I wasn't." Sara said sadly. "They were always hunting me. This memory will explain how I finally became free of the League the first time."
"The first time?!" Quentin exclaimed. "Wait, you went back?"
"It was a complicated situation, and you'll see it play out." Sara promised. "Besides that, the heart wants what it wants."
Before anyone else could say something, the door opened and Mia walked back in. "I'm sorry," she apologized as the door closed behind her. "Waller is still a sore spot for me, apparently."
"It's alright, sweetheart." Moira assured her.
"You okay?" Roy asked. Mia nodded and sat down. "Okay. Rose, start it up." The lights dimmed-
And the intro to 'My Little Pony' started playing.
"Huh." Felicity said. "Sooo… is this the memory where Oliver was on acid?"
"We're going back that far?" Tommy asked.
"So it's not just me seeing this?" Diggle said. "Good."
Mia broke out into a smile, then glanced at the ceiling. "Lian Dearden Harper…"
A child's giggle came over the speakers. "Got you!" she exclaimed.
Mia chuckled. "Yes, you did. Now have Aunt Rose put on the memory, if you please." She shook her head as the screen went blank. "God I love that kid."
"Good thing she's yours then." Roy noted with a grin. Mia nodded in agreement
The memory set opened in Starling City International Airport. An exotic woman, dressed tastefully in a red and black shirt, black jacket, trousers, and fedora, stood patiently in line at Customs waiting to get her passport stamped. Finally the person in front of her was cleared, and the woman moved up to the counter, smiling pleasantly as she slid her passport to the attendant. She took off her hat and winked at the small boy in the next line as the attendant examined the document.
Sara smiled sadly. "Nyssa…"
"Business or personal, Miss Raatko?" he asked, drawing her attention again.
"Personal." Nyssa Raatko replied.
The man set the passport on a small scanner and scanned in her photo. In less than three seconds the phot was being scanned by facial recognition software- and a moment later the screen flashed with the message 'A.R.G.U.S. Security Alert'. The man frowned at his screen. "My computer's froze." He lied calmly. "Can you hold on a sec? I'll be right back."
Nyssa sighed internally, but nodded amicably as the man walked away from his terminal. She subtly glanced around, looking for the inevitable responders. The first one she spotted blatantly put his hand to his ear piece, and as she scanned for other threats she kept a wary eye on him. He didn't disappoint.
"Take your hand off of your ear." Lance growled
"Down on the ground, down, down!" the guard yelled, drawing his weapon and running up to Nyssa. He stood right behind her as other patrons screamed in fright and dropped to the ground, holding his gun almost flush against her head. "Put your hands on your head!" he ordered. "I said, hands on your head, lady. I will shoot you." He warned.
Nyssa calmly put her hands behind her head, smiling as she did it. Then, almost faster than could be followed, she spun and slapped the gun away and down, then grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed his head through the glass partition of the Custom's station. She grabbed a pen and swung back around, pushing the second guard's gun up and away as she slammed the pen into his armpit. The guard screamed in pain. A kick to the knee sent him down to one knee, and then she followed that up with a hard shot to the jaw, knocking him out. A third guard ran up, but Nyssa deftly undid the retractable rope and wrapped it around the man's neck, choking him. A sharp yank had the man crash down to the ground on his head, and Nyssa relieved him of his nightstick which she used to dispatch the last two guards that tried to stop her. Seeing no more adversaries, Nyssa picked up her hat, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and calmly walked through Customs and out of the airport.
"Jesus!" Lance exclaimed.
"I forgot how good she was." Mia admitted
"I think she was born that good." Malcolm said with a wry smile. "You should have seen her train as a child. Unbelievable."
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. The Queen Family, Walter included, were sitting around the conference table as Mark Frances was pitching Moira's candidacy for Mayor.
"A successful mayoral campaign isn't about polling, it isn't about fundraising or hot button issues." He was saying as he paced around the table. "It's about connecting with people. That's why right after we announce tomorrow, Moira, I want to get you in front of as many cameras as possible. Morning shows, talk shows—"
"I can't believe they talked me into this." Moira said, shaking her head. Then she paused and looked at Malcolm. "I can't believe you never thought of running for Mayor."
Malcolm blinked in surprise. "I am, too." He admitted. "I supposed I felt my plan was the only way."
"And now?" Tommy challenged.
Malcolm sighed. "Perhaps there is another way."
"Mark, I want to help rebuild the city, not pander to it." Moira objected lightly.
"It's not pandering, Mom. It's campaigning." Oliver pointed out with a smile.
"Let the people get to know the real Moira Queen, and they are going to fall in love with you." Mark said.
"Speaking from experience, this man knows what he's talking about, Moira." Walter added.
A short time later Walter excused himself, walking out of the conference room to check his phone when Felicity approached him.
"Mr. Steele? May I talk to you about something?" she asked hesitantly.
Walter smiled at her. "I'm no longer your boss, Felicity. So let's make it Walter from now on." He said warmly.
"Ok- Walter." She said in a mock British accent, grinning slightly. The grin dropped immediately. "It's about Tempest. Mrs. Queen's super sketchy offshore LLC you asked me to look into last year." She reminded him.
"I remember." Walter said, gesturing for to move over towards the windows.
"That's right. So, the thing is, I left an embedded account alert on it so we'd know if anyone ever accessed it again." She told her former boss. "A few days ago, there was a wire transfer made from Tempest to a numbered account at Starling National Bank."
"Uh-oh…" Thea said.
Moira sighed and looked at Felicity. "I should have guessed you would be the first person to figure this out."
"Sorry?" she offered hesitantly.
"Probably the campaign accountant shutting it down." Walter suggested.
"Or it could be something else." Felicity said. "That is the money Mrs. Queen used to do some really bad things. I mean, you guys did get divorced for pretty good reasons." The friendly look slipped off his face; Felicity gulped. "Which is not my business." She added.
Walter forced a smile. "I'll talk to Moira first thing." He assured her. "And thank you for bringing it to my attention."
"I still can't believe Walter is in on it!" Thea said, still somewhat shocked.
"Of course he would be; he wouldn't want to cause you any unnecessary pain. And he's known since we got married."
"Of course." She replied, then turned and headed back to her desk.
In the conference room, Moira nodded at something Mark said. "Well… we're starting a campaign." She said firmly.
Mark looked over to Oliver. "Oliver, can I have a word?" he asked, rounding the table.
"Yes." Oliver said, rising to meet him as Thea went around the table to Moira.
"I know that you and he are friends, but you'll need to end your support for Sebastian Blood." Mark said.
"And beat the crap out of him while you're at it." Tommy added.
"I will speak to Sebastian." Oliver assured him.
"And beat the crap out of him while he's at it." Laurel repeated crossly.
"Good." Mark said, patting him on the shoulder. He moved back over to Moira as Oliver's phone rang. He pulled it out of his jacket; the ID said it was Detective Lance. For a moment he wondered which phone he had, but then quickly remembered it was his personal phone. "Hello?" he said jovially as he picked up the call. Hearing the other man speak, a frown quickly formed on his face. "I'll be right there." He said.
The scene changed to Starling General a short time later. Oliver knocked lightly on the door to Laurel's room; her mother and father were both there, visiting Laurel.
"I feel that I should point out the love of your life put me in that bed by poisoning me." Laurel said to her sister.
"Nyssa didn't poison you." Sara denied. "She just ordered someone else to poison you."
"Great girl." Lance grumbled.
"Oliver." Dinah said, rising from beside the bed.
"Mrs. Lance." Oliver said warmly, giving the woman a hug.
"I came back as soon as I heard." She said.
"Thanks for coming." Quentin said, shaking Oliver's hand.
Oliver turned to Laurel and gave her a comforting smile. "Hey. How you feeling?" he asked.
"I've been better." She replied hoarsely.
"Don't worry, baby. We're going to get you all the help you need." Lance said in a rush. "There's a great rehab outside of Starling, they got a bed waiting for you—"
"Dad, I already told you. I didn't OD." Laurel denied sharply. "I didn't take any pills last night. I swear."
A nurse knocked on the door. "Laurel," she said, getting the patient's attention. "The doctor wants to check your eye."
"What happened to her eye?" Oliver asked.
"Minor sub conjunctival hemorrhaging. Probably from hitting her head when she lost consciousness." The nurse explained.
"It's also an indicator of being poisoned." Sara added. "And Ollie would realize that."
Oliver moved in closer, ostensibly to say farewell. "You feel better, ok?" he said, looking her in the eyes. He saw it then, the slight hemorrhaging, and his blood turned to ice. Still, he leant down and kissed her greenly on the temple.
"Thank you." Laurel replied softly.
"We'll be outside." Lance said, looking at the other two. "Let's go." He started to move, but Laurel grabbed his hand.
"Dad." She said, halting him.
He let the others leave the room before turning back to Laurel. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Before I passed out… the strangest thing happened." Laurel started hesitantly. "I saw Sara." She said as Quentin's breath caught in his chest. "I mean, I know I was hallucinating, but I saw her. She was standing right over me. I mean, I've dreamt about her over the years, but this was so much more real. That's crazy, right?" she asked, thought there was more than a little hope in her voice.
Lance gave her a pained smile. "Yeah, it's crazy." He lied.
"Great. Make me feel even crazier." Laurel said to Quentin as she crossed her arms.
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver walked in to see Felicity and Diggle watch as Sara worked out on the Salmon Ladder.
"She's been doing that for like an hour." Felicity noted, maybe a little jealously.
Sara reached the top rung, then jumped down. Grabbing a towel, she moved towards the group.
"You saw Laurel. Is she going to be ok?" she asked.
"You saved her life." Oliver told her.
"Hey, thanks for calling me." Sara said genuinely. "And I never did ask you- how did you find me?"
"I wasn't going to lose you again." Oliver said simply.
"I should get going." Sara said awkwardly, moving past Oliver to grab her shirt.
"Hey, so that's it? You're back in town for 24 hours, now you're just going to take off again?" Oliver asked hotly.
"The League of Assassins is still after me, Ollie, and staying in town would put my whole family at risk." She reminded him. "I only came because Laurel's in trouble."
"And she was put in trouble to draw you back." Mia noted. "Can we all agree that lying to keep our loved ones safe doesn't really work now?"
"Well, she's still in trouble, Sara. Your entire family needs you." Oliver told her. He stood there, still as stone for a moment before adding. "So do I." Sara stared at him helplessly, frozen. After a few moments, she shook her head and began gathering her things. Oliver sighed, and then turned back to Felicity. "Do me a favor and dig up a copy of Laurel's bloodwork from the hospital, please."
"Sure. What are we looking for?" Diggle asked.
"I just want to make sure of something." Oliver said absently.
A phone rang, and Felicity looked down on her desk. It was the burner phone. "It's for you." She told Oliver, handing him the phone.
Oliver took it and connected the call. "Hello, Detective."
Back at the hospital Lance was walking away from Laurel's room. "Put my daughter on." He demanded. "I know she's there."
Back at the Lair, Sara shook her head, a fearful look on her face. Oliver looked back at her compassionately, but still handed her the phone.
SIX YEARS AGO
It was nearing dinner time in the Lance household, and as usual Quentin was cooking. Or trying to, at any rate, as he was also trying to wrap up a case on the phone.
"Hilton, tell the Lieutenant that the perp was practically lawyering up when I read him his Miranda." he said over the phone as he cooked. "If we don't get on top of this situation, the Lieutenant is not going to be happy—"
"Oh, it smells amazing, Dad." Laurel said, stopping to give her dad a kiss on the cheek as she walked through the kitchen.
Quentin smiled. "Remember when I used to cook?"
"Vaguely." Laurel replied.
"Ahh, yeah. Here, try one of these." He told her, handing her a carrot, "Ok, beautiful." He frowned. "No, I'm talking to Laurel." He said into the receiver.
"Quentin, hang up the phone." Dinah urged with a smile. "Spend time with your family!"
"Oh, my family. You heard that, I got to go." Quentin said into the phone. "Bye, buddy." He hung up and smiled sheepishly at the two women. "Sorry, ladies. Our do-er hired some dirtbag lawyer, and—"
"Says the dad whose daughter just applied to law school." Laurel pointed out impishly.
"That is not the kind of lawyer that you're going to be, young lady," Quentin reminded his daughter, "because you, you're going to be a judge or you're going to be a professor, just like your mother."
Laurel snorted. "Yeah, THAT was going to happen."
"Yeah, come over to academia. The fun never ends." Dinah said dryly.
"Dinner is at a crucial point." Lance said, heading to the oven as the timer beeped. Just then Sara walked in the door.
"Hey!" she announced, surprising everyone.
"She's heeeerrrreeee." Thea snickered. "Nice hair, Carol Ann."
"Don't knock the hair." Sara warned with a smile.
"It's marginally better than Oliver's hair back then, but slightly worse than my dad's." Tommy said, glancing at Malcolm and frowning. "No, on second thought, it's still better than my dad's."
"It was the STYLE back then." Malcolm ground out.
"That was NEVER a style." Tommy denied.
"Oh, I don't know." Moira interrupted innocently. "I certainly found it dashing." Both Thea and Tommy made choking sounds while everyone else laughed.
"Hi! Sar-bear!" Laurel said excitedly, rushing over to give her baby sister a hug.
"Hey!" she said hugging her back.
"Sara, what a surprise." Dinah said happily, hugging her daughter as well.
"Hi, mom." Sara replied. She turned to her father, who was giving her a look.
"Please don't tell me you got kicked out of college." He said.
"Do I look like Oliver?" Sara said dryly.
"Oh, well, thank you for the vote of confidence." Sara said with a teasing grin. "I had a three day weekend, so I figured I'd drive down and surprise everybody."
"Well, you're just in time to eat." He said happily. "Come here." He hugged her briefly before picking up the baked ziti. "Get yourself another plate. Come on."
Sara walked no the kitchen to grab a plate, pausing briefly to check her phone. There was a text from Oliver.
**You here yet?**
**Yup** she typed in reply before grabbing a plate and joining her family for dinner.
Laurel shot Sara a sour look. Sara sighed. "What? You already know what happens."
PRESENT
Later that evening, Quentin was siting at the counter at the Chinese restaurant Sara had brought him to before. He looked up when he heard the door open, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Hi, Dad." Sara said.
"Come here." Quentin pulled her into a hug.
"I only have a minute." She told him.
"Well, a cup of tea is all I ask." He replied. "Sit down." The two sat and Quentin poured them both a cup of tea. "Oh, baby. I have missed you so much."
"How's Laurel?" Sara asked.
"She saw you." He told her. A look of dread flitted across her face. "Right before she passed out. She thought it was, I don't know what. A hallucination." Lance surmised.
"Well, good." Sara said, breathing a small sigh of relief.
"No, baby, you don't understand." Lance said. "Seeing you, it made her happy."
"Dad," she sighed, "The League, they're still hunting me." She reminded him.
"So what, you're just going to pop back every time one of us is in trouble?" he asked rhetorically. "We can't live like this, Sara, and you can't. It's time we started facing things together." He told her.
Sara looked at him sadly. He just didn't realize the danger he was in, that they were ALL in. She stood and gave him one last hug before turning and walking out the back of the restaurant.
She walked down the deserted streets of the Glades, more to clear her head than to go to a destination. A safe distance away The Arrow kept silent watch over her, watching as she walked under an overpass. He stepped back deeper into the shadows so as not to be seen, when suddenly a length of aerial silk dropped down followed quickly by a woman who traveled down the cloth with a grace he had only seen once before- from Sara herself.
"The woman knew how to make an entrance." Mia said to her younger self. "She taught me how to do that."
"Seriously?" Thea asked, interested.
"It seems a bit… flashy, for an assassin." Tommy noted.
"Theatricality and deception are powerful agents." Malcolm replied. "It's not showboating; it's intimidation."
The woman landed in a crouch before the startled Sara, whose eyes widened in fear and resignation as she recognized the form of Nyssa al Ghul in full battle armor. Nyssa stood slowly, a dagger clenched in one hand. With her free hand she pulled down the veil that partially obscured her face, and then pushed back her hood. From his hiding place, Oliver withdrew and arrow and aimed it at the assassin, but held his fire as he watched to see what would happen next. Why wasn't Sara running?
Nyssa slowly walked up to Sara, who was still frozen in place. She stopped right in front of the blond-
Then pulled her in for a passionate kiss.
"Well, hello to you, too." Mia teased.
"She was a great kisser." Sara said wistfully.
"Couldn't you fall in love with an accountant or something." Quentin complained. "Someone who didn't kill people for a living."
"The heart wants what it wants." Sara repeated.
Oliver lowered his bow as the two women kissed. Finally they parted, leaving Sara a little breathless.
"I wonder what Ollie's thinking?" Laurel said.
"With his big head, or his little head?" Tommy joked.
"I've had better greetings." Nyssa noted teasingly.
"I'm sorry, I did- I just-I didn't know what you were going to do." Sara stuttered.
"To be honest, neither did I." Nyssa said truthfully as she sheathed her dagger.
"We should talk." Sara told her.
"Of course. Do we need permission from your boyfriend?" Nyssa turned to look at The Arrow, who stood right behind her. Sara blinked- she hadn't sensed him at all.
Nyssa walked up to him confidently. "I am Nyssa. Daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Heir to the demon." She announced.
"She said that EVERY TIME!" Mia and Sara both said, then laughed.
"What are you doing here?" Oliver demanded.
"Making out with my girlfriend." Tommy said wryly.
"Sara swore her allegiance to the League of Assassins." Nyssa said. "It's time for her to return home."
"That…is not going to happen." Oliver growled.
Nyssa moved to argue, but Sara stepped in front of her. "Nyssa," she began, placing a calming hand on her arm, "Please, would you give us a moment?" she begged.
"Take your time." Nyssa replied. "Good-byes are never easy." She shifted her gaze from Oliver to Sara. "Is that why I didn't get one?" she asked rhetorically before moving a short distance away.
Sara turned back to Oliver. "I can explain." She started.
"You don't have to." He replied. "But you're not leaving. I don't trust her."
"Then trust me." She said simply, before moving off with Nyssa.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira was in the lounge reading a book when one of the maids walked in.
"Mrs. Queen?"
"Hmm?" she said absently.
"A Miss Smoak is here to see you." The maid announced.
Moira raised an eyebrow. "Well, THIS should be interesting." Malcolm noted.
Moira frowned. "Who?" she asked, turning around to see Felicity walking hesitantly into the room
"Uh, me." She said.
Moira glanced at her. "If you're looking for Oliver, he's not here." She said dismissively.
"I know. I'm here to see you." Felicity said, walking deeper into the room as the maid left.
Moira looked at her with mild surprise. "Really? What about?" she asked, curious.
"Tempest." Felicity said, grabbing her full attention. "I flagged a large wire transfer you made. When I mentioned it to Walter, he said he would talk to you about it. I could tell in his face he wouldn't." she smiled wanly. "British people are really bad liars."
Moira looked down at the carpet. "Yes, they are." She muttered.
"So I looked into it myself, because-full disclosure- I-I don't trust you." Felicity continued, finding her inner strength.
"Don't hold back." Moira said with a new respect for the other woman.
"You paid a substantial sum of money to a Dr. Gill. He was the doctor who delivered Thea, which didn't make any sense to me. So I went through like a dozen different theories until I remembered… your testimony." She said. Moira was staring at her coolly. "At trial. You had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn one year before Thea was born. Merlyn is Thea's father." Felicity finished, steeling herself form the threats that were sure to follow.
"I'm honestly shocked that no one else made that connection." Felicity said.
"People tend to not see things, even if they are right in front of them." Moira said.
Moira rose from her seat and began walking around her. "I can see why Walter and Oliver have such a high appraisal of your capabilities." She said honestly, with only a trace of hostility in her voice. "So. What are you going to do with this information?" she asked. "Felicity." She added coldly.
The hacker turned to face Moira. "I don't know. Confronting you in your living room was as far as my plan went." She admitted. "I thought you deserved the chance to tell Oliver yourself." Felicity continued as Moira turned away from her again. "He should hear it from you."
"I'm not going to tell my son anything." Moira said sternly, turning back to Felicity. "And neither are you. If you won't keep my secret for Oliver's sake, you should keep it for your own." She advised. She moved closer to the hacker. "I see the way you look at him. If you tell him this, you will rip his world apart. And a part of him will always blame you. Oh, he'll hate me, for sure." She conceded. "But he will hate you, too. We all have to keep secrets, Miss Smoak." She advised. Felicity looked at her warily as she walked past the matron out of the den, her mind whirling. Could she keep this secret? Should she?
"That was cold." Diggle said disapprovingly.
"I'm sure I thought it was necessary." Moira said tiredly.
Mia chuckled, thinking back to her own attempt to influence Felicity. "And if you had known her better, you would have realized that what you said would make her more determined, not less."
"Speaking from experience?" Malcolm asked.
"As a matter of fact, I am." She replied.
The scene changed to the Glades.
"You look different." Nyssa told Sara as the two women walked.
"I'm still me." Sara said casually.
"The Sara I know wouldn't have betrayed us and fled Nanda Parbat under the cover of darkness." Nyssa shot back with more than a little venom in her voice.
"I didn't have a choice." Sara told her. "The earthquake- I needed to see my family, make sure they were safe."
"And so they are." Nyssa said, stopping on the boardwalk. "Come home." She pleaded softly.
"I can't." Sara said tiredly, turning to face the woman she loved. "Look, I can't go back, Nyssa. I don't have much of a soul left in me, but what there is, it can't take the killing anymore."
"You swore an oath." Nyssa reminded her. "My father sent me here to make sure you honor it. One way or another."
"We both know the real reason why you came here." Sara tried.
Nyssa reached out and ran her hands gently over Sara's arms. "When I found you, you were starving, and alone, simply waiting to die." She started quietly. "The League took you in nursed you back to health. The only reason you're alive today is because of me." She reminded her.
"Hey, I wasn't with you because you saved me." Sara said. "I was with you because I loved you."
Nyssa noted the past tense. She stepped back, her heart breaking. "But not anymore." She realized, desperately fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
"Ra's listens to you. And you can ask him to release me." Sara begged.
Nyssa scoffed. "My father has never released anyone from the League."
"He released Malcolm Merlyn." Sara reminded her.
"An action he and the citizens of this city dearly regret." Nyssa pointed out.
Sara looked at Nyssa with a look of love and regret. Gently she reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, then pulled herself in close. She kissed her once more on the cheek. "Do what you have to." She said softly, closing her eyes and waiting for the blade to pierce her heart. Nyssa reached down and grasped the handle of her dagger-
But then she angrily pulled herself away.
"Were you planning on staying?" Quentin asked.
Sara sighed. "No, I wasn't." she admitted. "My plan, such as it was, was to come back and check on you all; to make sure you were okay. But the longer I stayed, the less I wanted to leave. I WAS tired of the killing, of all the death; even if the people I killed deserved it. And they did." She assured her father. "I know you don't agree, and I know you don't like it, but the people I killed all deserved death." She shook her head. "But I wasn't born a killer, or raised to be one. I became one out of necessity. And the longer I was away from Nanda Parbat, the more I realized how tired I was of it."
"But you went back eventually." Laurel pointed out.
Sara smiled sadly. "The heart wants what it wants." She repeated.
The scene shifted to the Lair, where a frustrated Oliver decided to forego the salmon ladder and instead was pounding away on a tractor tire with a sledgehammer. "It's been two hours, and she should have gotten back in touch with me by now." He snarled. He shouldered the sledgehammer and walked over to the computers. "Felicity." She said nothing, staring off into space. "Felicity!" he shouted.
"What?!" she asked jumpily, causing Oliver to frown in worry. "Sorry. What?"
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." She lied, gesturing towards her head. "It's just things in here."
Before he could say anything else, Sara walked in. "The League is never going to let me go." She declared. "At least if I'm halfway around the world, then I can keep my family safe."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Dig said, coming in behind her. "Just got a copy of Laurel's bloodwork. She tested negative for drugs."
"Well, then why did she collapse?" Sara asked.
Diggle handed her the file. "Because they found traces of snake venom in her blood. From a Tibetan pit viper."
"Wait. So Laurel didn't OD?" Felicity said in surprised.
"Hey!" Laurel complained.
"Sorry!" Felicity said meekly.
"She was poisoned." Sara realized.
"She was poisoned by Nyssa, who did it to draw you back here." Oliver said with a sinking feeling in his gut. "And it worked."
"My family's in danger." Sara said worriedly.
SIX YEARS AGO
Back in the Lance house, Sara was seated on the couch texting to Oliver when Laurel dropped down next to her, a bowl of ice cream in her hand. She grabbed the remote and muted the TV.
"I'm not sure if she was texting, or communicating with the TV people." Thea tittered.
"Where's Tangina when you need her?" Tommy asked.
"Enough with the ragging on me about the hair!" Sara complained.
"Who are you texting?" she asked.
"No one." Sara said immediately.
"But I was sexting your boyfriend." Laurel said, eyeing her sister. Then she grinned. "Or a ghost." Sara rolled her eyes.
Laurel looked at her with a twinkle in her eye. "Did you meet a boy at school?" she teased.
Sara lightly shoved Laurel. "Cut it out. Boys at school are lame." She started picking at the blanket that covered her lap (and phone). "Hey, how's everything with you and Oliver?" she asked leadingly.
"Is it not going well so I don't feel as bad" Mia asked mockingly. Sara glared at her.
"Great." Laurel said. "We decided to start looking at apartments together." She misread her sister's reaction and plowed on. "I know it's a big step, but… we're ready. I think we'll live together for a year, engaged for another, and then…"
"Mrs. Laurel Queen." Sara said with fake happiness.
Laurel sighed giddily. "Maybe one day."
Tommy looked at Laurel with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, you had everything planned out, didn't you?"
Laurel rolled her eyes. "I was young and stupid."
"And in love." Sara said, her voice filled with regret.
"This is kind of assuming that he's ever ready to settle down." Sara put out there.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Laurel asked warily.
"Well, we both know at least ten girls that he's slept with." Sara pointed out.
"Eleven." Mia said, glancing again at her friend.
Laurel scoffed. "Can't you just be happy for me?" she asked, annoyed. "I mean, if you met some amazing guy who wanted to spend the rest of his life with you, I would be so supportive, and so happy for you—"
"Ok, Laurel, I wasn't trying to be a bitch." Sara said, trying to placate her sister.
"The title of your autobiography." Laurel muttered.
Sara sighed, and then got up. "I'm going to get some sleep." She said, moving quickly out of the room and ignoring her sister. She looked down at her phone, and the messages that had been going back and forth between them.
**Having doubts…**
**PLEASE!**
**See you at the docks **
She looked at the last message, already typed but still unsent. Making a decision she hit send, and then headed to her room.
Laurel looked up at her sister sadly. "Sara…"
"We all make dumb mistakes. And we all say things we later regret." Sara said. "It's in the past, Laurel."
PRESENT
The scene changed to the hospital, where Dinah was watching over a sleeping Laurel. She leaned down and kissed her forehead, then picked up the empty water pitcher and walked out of the room to fill it. As she looked for the water dispenser, she never noticed the Arabian man who looked quite out of place in a white lab coat following her. So as she leaned down and started to fill the pitcher, she had no time to react when the man placed a chloroform- soaked rag over her nose and mouth.
"Hey!" Laurel shouted.
"What the hell!" Lance exclaimed. Even Sara tensed, and she knew what was coming.
The assassin placed Dinah into a wheelchair and wheeled her to an elevator. Taking it down to the basement, he made his way into a service tunnel that ran to the parking garage. He tore off the white coat, but stopped suddenly as a young man in a red hood came around the corner up ahead.
"Ohhh….." Roy grumbled, sinking lower in his seat. "Not one of my better moments…"
Roy's eye's widened. Oliver had been very short with him on the phone- go watch over Laurel and her family at the hospital, call if you see anything suspicious, DO NOT ENGAGE. Looked like that order just went out the window… "Hey, let her go!" he yelled.
"Or What?" The assassin asked.
"Or the next wheelchair will be for you." Roy said. Suddenly he gasped as he felt a small dart pierce the back of his neck. He pulled it out, shaking his head to clear it, and turned to see Nyssa staring at him, amazed. "Ouch." He said sarcastically.
"That dart contained 20 milligrams of venom. You should be dead." She noted, moving closer. "You're stronger than you look."
Roy sneered at her. "I get that a lot." With that, he swung hard.
Nyssa easily side-stepped the swing and grabbed his arm, using his own momentum to spin him around and throw him into a wall hard. Roy lay there for a moment, stunned.
"Strength isn't everything." Malcolm noted.
"Yeah, she taught me that lesson real good." Roy replied.
"Not so strong after all." Nyssa said blithely as Roy struggled to his feet. Snarling in frustration and embarrassment, Roy came at her again. This time Nyssa used her fists and her bow, clocking his pathetic attempts at fighting and dishing out punishment that would kill a lesser man. One last hard hit across his face sent him crashing into a food service cart, and Roy crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Nyssa didn't even spare him a glance; she just looked at her man, then turned and walked off down the hall. Her partner followed with Dinah.
"Wow." Mia said. "That was pathetic."
"I appreciate the thought, though." Sara added. Laurel and Quentin both nodded in agreement.
They made their way to the parking garage, where the assassin loaded Dinah into the back of a panel van. They shut the doors, then climbed into the truck and took off.
Soon the van was speeding down the lower industrial roads. From the Lair, Felicity guided Oliver and Sara, who rode tandem on his bike, towards them. As they sped past the van, Sara pulled out her Canary Cry device and activated it, shattering every window on the van. Nyssa climbed into the back of the van and started firing arrows at the two vigilantes as they spun the bike around to follow, but Oliver popped a wheelie and the arrows bounced harmlessly off the armored underside of the bike. Oliver gunned the bike, rapidly gaining on the van. Sara stood on the seat, and then leapt over Oliver to land on the roof of the van. Inside, Nyssa began firing arrow through the roof, forcing Sara to move closer to the edge. A final arrow caused Sara to roll of the edge. She grasped the luggage rack- and stared at horror as she saw her mother lying on the floor of the van, unconscious. The distraction cost her as Nyssa belted her once in the jaw, sending the Canary flying off the van.
Oliver slid his bike to a stop as Sara staggered to her feat. "No!" she screamed over and over as the van sped off into the night.
"THAT'S the woman you fell in love with!" Quentin exclaimed.
"Dad…"
"She poisons your sister, kidnaps your mother—"
"DAD!" Sara said sharply, cutting him off. She took a breath to calm down. "You have to understand something about Nyssa. She wasn't brought up like a normal child. Her mother died when she was a baby, and her father passed her off to nannies to raise. She started training to fight when she was four years old. She's been raised to be one thing and one thing only- a warrior. And while she's had dalliances and suitors in the past, she was never in a serious relationship- until me. I was the first person she truly loved, other than her father." She smiled. "And I truly loved her. But then one day I left- without a note, without an explanation; and the next time she sees me, I basically tell her it's over."
"So you're saying she did all of that because you dumped her?" Quentin asked incredulously.
"I'm saying that she had never had her heart broken before. And when it happened, she reacted in the way she was trained- if someone betrays you, you kill them. End of story."
The scene changed to Starling General as Lance met Sara and The Arrow out in the ambulance bay.
"Dad, it's my fault, I'm so sorry." Sara began.
"The assassins group that you're a part of, they took your mother." He told her.
"Not exactly." Sara hedged.
"Well, what exactly?" Lance demanded.
"A woman. Nyssa. She's a powerful figure in the League. And she poisoned Laurel. She took mom." She explained in a rush.
"To get you to come back to the League?" Lance asked.
Sara paused for a moment. "To get me to come back to her." She said significantly.
Lance paused. For some reason, he had almost no problem with the fact that his youngest daughter was an assassin, but learning she was also bisexual was a bit of a shock. "Oh."
"Does it really bother you that much?" Sara asked Quentin.
He shook his head. "No, I don't care about that." He assured her. "I just wish you could have fallen in love with an accountant."
Before he could say anything else, Sara's phone rang. She answered it at once. "Nyssa, don't do this." She begged.
"I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen." Nyssa replied coldly. She paced the warehouse she was using as her base, walking around a bound and gagged Dinah. "I thought it would be instructive for you to know what it feels like to suddenly lose someone you love. To have them ripped from your life without warning." Her voice quivered slightly.
"See?" Sara said. "This is how she was taught to deal with things. Violently."
"You do not want to hurt my mother." Sara told her ex-lover.
"You're right. I don't." she agreed. "You have one day, Ta-er al-Sahfer. Make the right choice." She hung up.
At the hospital, Sara hung up and looked at Oliver. "We have 24 hours."
"Detective," He looked at Lance, "We'll find her." He promised.
"Ok, Laurel's inside, she's losing her mind, I got to go." Lance said in a rush, heading back to the door. "Keep me updated." He ordered as he went back inside.
SIX YEARS AGO
It was another ordinary day at the Lance household. Little did any of them know it would be the last ordinary day they ever had.
"Oh, come on!" Lance cried in aggravation at the TV as the Rockets continued to lose. "You ought to buy a ticket if you're going to play like that!" he moved back to the sink to continue prepping dinner when Laurel came up and leaned on the counter. "Hey, kiddo. How's the apartment hunt going?" he asked.
"Terribly." She said glumly. "I really wanted to find the perfect place to show Ollie when he gets back from his boat trip. Everything good was already taken by the time I walked in the door."
"Maybe it's a sign that you're not supposed to move in with the frat boy that you call a boyfriend." Lance said hopefully.
"Did he ever last long enough to make it into a frat?" Thea wondered absently.
"He certainly drank enough to be a member of one." Moira sniffed.
Laurel scoffed. "You and mom were my age when you moved into that place on Spring Street." She reminded him. "You weren't even engaged yet."
"Well, that's 'cause your mother kept turning down all my proposals."
As Lance moved back to the counter, Laurel leaned against the sink. "She did?" she asked in amazement.
"Oh, you know your mother, free spirit and all." Lance said with a grin. "Why do we need rings when we have love? You know I spent a year with that damn ring burning a hole in my pocket?"
Laurel's smile at the story fell off her face as a news broadcast cut into the game. 'A mayday transmission was heard, but so far there has been no trace of the 'Queen's Gambit'." Laurel dropped the plat she had been holding, and it shattering on the floor drew Lance's attention to the small TV as well. 'Among those missing are local residents Robert and Oliver Queen.'
PRESENT
The scene changed back to the Lair, where Oliver's team was already hard at work.
"Do we have a lead on Dinah?" he asked.
"We researched the poison Nyssa used on Laurel." Diggle started.
"Luckily for us, Tibetan pit viper venom is surprisingly difficult to transport." Felicity said, taking over. "It starts losing its potency the moment it leaves the fangs." She paused. "Yet another sentence I never thought I'd actually say out loud." She said in surprise.
"So it was bought locally?" Sara guessed.
"Not bought. Stolen." Diggle revealed.
"From where?" Oliver asked.
"The zoo. A local break-in. The perps didn't steal anything, so the cops chalked it up to a bunch of kids looking for a thrill."
"I pulled up the zoo CCTV footage from the night of the break-in." Felicity said, pulling up a still image. "I caught a plate. The car's a rental. Address is in the Glades."
Oliver pulled out his burner phone and handed it to The Canary. "Sara. Call your father." He told her, and then moved off to pull out his personal phone as it started to ring. "Sebastian, I am so sorry." He said as he answered the call. "I have a bad habit of standing you up."
"Look, I know you have to pull your support for my campaign." Blood said from Oliver's office. "Blood is thicker than politics. And it should be."
Thea groaned. "I hope that wasn't a pun."
"Well, thank you for understanding, and I really hope that this doesn't affect our friendship." Oliver said sincerely. "It's important to me."
"And to me." Blood assured him as he hung up. He paused for a moment to look out over the city. 'My city.' He thought.
"Can I help you, alderman?"
Blood turned to see Moira Queen step into the office. He smiled pleasantly at her. "Oh, I had a meeting with your son. I'm sure you can guess the topic." He told her amicably.
"I hope my decision to run against you for mayor doesn't affect your relationship." Moira said diplomatically.
"Out of respect for that relationship, can I offer some advice?" Blood said.
"Please."
"Get out." Blood said, moving closer. "Now."
Moira rubbed her earring, smiling slightly. "The fact that you are advising me to get out before I even announce my candidacy suggests that you're threatened." She noted.
"I'm apprehensive about destroying my friend's mother." Blood said.
"I can take care of myself." Moira assured him.
"Really?" Blood asked. "During your trial, you portrayed yourself as a fragile creature living under Malcolm Merlyn's thumb." He noted. "So which is it? The woman strong enough to lead this city, or the one too weak willed to save it?"
Moira stared at him coldly. "The one who should not be underestimated." She told him, more a warning than a statement. Blood smirked, and then showed himself out of the office.
"I hope you kick his ass." Tommy told Moira
The scene changed to the Glades. Lance got out of his car in the alley he had been directed to and approached Sara. "So what exactly is the plan here?" he asked.
"We wait." She said. "The Arrow will lead him right to us."
Lance nodded, and the two stood in awkward silence. "You know, you never did tell me how you joined up with the Arrow in the first place." He said, finally breaking the silence. "Where did you two even meet?"
"On a cruise." Thea joked.
"Vigilante club." Sara replied flippantly.
Lance chuckled. "Same old Sara. Well, not exactly the same." He noted tersely.
Sara looked up at her father. "I loved her, Dad." She said honestly. "Are you upset?"
Lance sighed. "Honestly, Sara, to think what you've been through these past six years? The pain, the loneliness…" he shook his head. "I'm just happy to hear you had someone that cared for you." The two smiled at once another, an understanding reached.
"Still wished it had been an accountant." Quentin said with a smile. Sara just rolled her eyes.
Suddenly the assassin was there, dripping down on the Arial silk. The Arrow followed right behind him, and Sara drew her staff and attacked. The two vigilantes attacked the assassin in tandem, but he was skilled, managing to hold them off with a pair of sai's. He managed to knock down Sara, then Oliver-
Then Lance came in and decked him.
"That wasn't so hard." Quentin said. Sara rolled her eyes as Mia laughed.
"What's the matter, they didn't teach you about right crosses in assassin school?" he snarled at the fallen assassin.
Sara hauled him up and held her staff to his throat. "Where is Nyssa?!" Sara demanded.
Lance pulled out his gun and pointed it right at the man's head. "Tell me where my wife is!" The assassin stated muttering in Arabic. "What the hell is he saying?" Lance wanted to know.
"He's praying." Sara realized. Suddenly, before she could move to stop him, he raised a glass vial and took a sip. "No, don't!" Sara cried, but it was too late. He started to convulse and a moment later, Sara let the body drop to the ground, dead.
"Son of a bitch!" Lance cried out in frustration.
"Suicide?!" Lance said in surprise.
"They would rather die than betray their master- in this case, Nyssa." Sara said,
Oliver bent over and picked up the vial- it as the venom. "It's over, Detective." The Arrow said dejectedly. "He's gone."
The scene shifted to Queen Consolidated's lobby the next morning. Press and dignitaries were milling about, waiting for Moira's press conference to start, and Oliver and Felicity were right in the middle of them.
"How's Sara holding up?" Diggle asked as he approached the pair. He noted absently that Felicity looked upset.
"Not well. And I need you to pick up the trail on Nyssa, because Mrs. Lance is running out of time." Oliver told his partner.
"I'm on it." Dig said, making a discreet exit.
"Oh, Oliver." Moira said as she and Thea approached. "Felicity." She added as she gave her son a hug. Felicity turned away, not able to look at the woman.
"Hi, hi." He said, hugging her back
"Ohh. Well, I haven't been this nervous since my wedding day." Moira joked. "Both of them."
"Moira, it's time." Mark said, approaching the family. "Oliver, are you ready to introduce your mother?" he asked.
"With pride." Oliver said happily. Moira smiled at her son, and then turned to head to the stage. She spared Felicity on last glance, one last smirk before she did.
"You REALLY shouldn't have done that." Mia told her mother. "Rubbing it in will just make her more determined."
Disgusted, she turned and started to walk off as Oliver watched in concern. "Felicity? Felicity." He repeated more firmly, stopping her with a gently hand on her arm. "What is going on with you? And don't say—"
"Nothing." They both said at the same time.
"The truth, please." Oliver said, holding his ground.
Felicity looked at him, almost in tears. She knew what she was going to say, and she knew what it might cost her. But Moira's smirk had been it for her. "Might have noticed that I talk a lot." She began shakily.
"It has not escaped my attention." Oliver replied glibly.
"You might have also noticed that I don't talk a lot about my family." She added significantly.
"I have noticed that." Oliver admitted.
Felicity shrank back in her seat slightly.
"My mother is… she's… she's my mother." She said. "And I don't really know what my father is, 'cause he abandoned us. I barely remember him. But I do remember… how much it hurt when he left." She admitted. "And just the thought of losing someone that important to me again—"
"Hey." He said, taking her gently by the shoulders. "You're not going to lose me. Whatever it is that's bothering you…" he looked at her carefully. "Is it about your family?"
"No." she said after a moment. "It's about yours."
Sara stood in the cemetery, waiting for the inevitable phone call. It finally came.
"Time's up." Nyssa told her from the docks. "Have you made your decision?"
Sara knelt down in front of the grave; it was her own. She stared at the engraved name resolutely. "Let my mother go. And I will return with you to Nanda Parbat." She said.
Nyssa exhaled in relief. "You're doing the right thing, Sara." She said. "For both of us."
Sara hung up the phone, and then pulled out the vial of poison. She stared at it, at peace with her decision.
Lance looked at his daughter in alarm. "Remember when Roy said I kinda died?" she said. "Well, you're about to see it."
"Well, great." He groused.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. The ex-lawyer had finally been discharged and was sitting on her couch, wrapped in a blanket as Quentin handed her a cup of tea.
"Here you go, sweetie. Your chamomile, like you like." He said. He sat down next to her. "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"My mother." She asked tearfully.
Lance let out a long breath. "Laurel, there's something I got to tell you." He said after a moment. "It's about your sister."
"What about her?"
Suddenly Lance's phone rang. He rose from the couch before answering it. "Hello?"
"Dad, I found mom." Sara said. "Meet me at the lower boat yards in 30 minutes, and come alone. Don't tell the Arrow." She urged.
"Copy that." Lance said, hanging up. He turned back to Laurel, who was sobbing quietly on the couch. "I got to go." He told her.
"What about Sara, Dad?" Laurel asked.
"I'll explain everything later, all right?" he promised. "Just sit tight." He moved quickly out of the apartment. After a moment, Laurel followed.
"Oh, boy…." Laurel said worriedly. She had no idea how she would take learning her sister was alive in her current state.
The scene changed back to Queen Consolidated. The conference had started, and Walter was warming up the crowd as Felicity told Oliver what she had discovered. He stood there, stock still, no emotion on his face as Walter continued.
"I say this with confidence. Because the Moira Queen that I know is more than a successful CEO and philanthropist. She is a loving mother who has devoted her life to raising two wonderful children. Just to tell you how special she is, I'd like to welcome her son. CEO of Queen Consolidated, Mr. Oliver Queen."
"Well, I wish I would have picked a better time." Felicity mumbled.
Dig reached over and took her hand. "Hey, he asked."
"And I'm sorry I put you in that position." Moira said.
Oliver approached the dais in a daze, still processing what he had just learned. He slowly made his way up and stood in front of the lectern, gripping its edges tightly. He stood unmoving and silent for a few moments as the cameras flashed. "Phew. Thank you." He said hoarsely. He cleared his throat and tried to pull himself together, but he just couldn't seem to. "Well, I'm here today to say a few words about Moira Queen." He began slowly. "I bet many of you think that you know her, because you read about her in the press, or you saw her on TV. But I can promise you-" he paused for a moment. "You don't know my mother."
At that moment, Moira knew. She glanced out at the press, searching for Felicity's face. Felicity stared back at her steadily, even with tears in her eyes.
"She turned down a golden parachute out of principal." Mia reminded her mother. "Besides, she trusted him a lot more than she trusted what you thought he would do."
"You don't know her like I do." Oliver continued. "And you don't know what she's capable of…" he swallowed. "When it comes to helping the people of Starling City." He added. "Ladies and gentlemen… my mother, Moira Queen." He added warmly. For the camera he walked up to his mother and gave her a hug. "I know." He whispered to her. He let her move past him and moved to stand besides Thea, giving her a kiss on her temple as Moira stepped up to the microphones.
"Thank you! Thank you, Starling City." She said warmly, waving to the crowd.
"Always the consummate actress." Malcolm complimented.
"How do you think I survived you for five years?" she asked rhetorically.
The scene changed to the Lair a short time later as the three vigilantes entered.
"Sara!" Oliver called out.
"The snake venom, it's gone." Felicity noticed at once.
"She found Nyssa." Oliver realized.
"And she's going to poison her?" Diggle asked, dumbfounded.
"We need to stop her before she does. Activate her tracer." Oliver ordered Felicity.
Dig looked at him in surprise as Felicity ran to her computer. "You put a tracer on her?"
Sara shook her head in amusement. "So THAT'S how he found me."
"She has a bad habit of disappearing on me." He noted darkly.
"Oliver, I hate to sound cold, but why do we care if Sara kills some bad ass assassin that wants to get her and her family?" Diggle asked.
"Because, Diggle, if half of the stories that I have heard about Ra's al Ghul are true; if Sara kills his daughter… we will all pay." Oliver said seriously. He walked over to his crate and withdrew the satchel of island herbs, then grabbed his bow before going for his leathers.
"Why does he always grab his bow first?" Felicity wondered offhandedly. "He just has to put it back down again to get dressed."
"That is a truly excellent point." Sara said with a laugh, then sighed as she continued to watch.
At the docks, Nyssa was untying Dinah. "They're coming for you now." She told the frightened woman.
"Dinah!" they both looked up as Lance burst into the warehouse, his gun drawn. "Move away from her! Move away!" Lance ordered. Nyssa stood there calmly as Dinah lurched from the chair and ran into her ex-husbands arms. "It's all right, it's all right." He whispered to her.
"What's happening?" Dinah asked, and then froze as she saw her. "Sara." Dinah whispered as her daughter walked out of the shadows.
"It's me, Mom." Sara assured her. "It's me."
"Oh, my baby! My baby!" Dinah cried, pulling her into her arms. "Oh, my baby!"
Sara wiped a tear off her cheek. Laurel noticed. "Mom's gone too, isn't she?" she asked. Sara nodded but said nothing.
"I love you so much, Mom." Sara told her as Nyssa looked on. "I have to go." She said, pulling away from her.
"What?" Dinah asked, dumbfounded. "What are you doing?"
"Dad, get mom out of here!" Sara ordered as she approached Nyssa.
"What?!"
"We've got to go." Lance said, puling Dinah away towards the exit
"No! No! No!" Dinah cried out, sobbing as he daughter was taken from her once again.
Sara took three halting steps towards Nyssa, and then collapsed as Nyssa looked on in horror. She moved to her side. "You took the poison." She realized in dread, looking into Sara's eyes and seeing the same hemorrhaging that had been in her sisters.
"No!" she whispered, kneeling beside her and pulling her into her lap. "No! NO!" she cried out in anguish.
Sara closed her eyes, hating seeing the grief she had caused her beloved. Mia wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close, even as Laurel reached out and took her hand.
"I can't go back." She gasped out. "I can't take the killing anymore. It needs to end."
"If you were so keen to leave, how could you go back?" Lance asked. "Sometimes love isn't enough."
"Nyssa shifted my duties around so that assassinations weren't the things I was doing." Sara said. "I was mostly used for surveillance or stealth missions to retrieve objects or persons of interest. I did very little killing when I returned."
Nyssa lay her down on the ground as Lance ran back in the building. "Sara!" he cried, out. He pulled his radio from his belt as he ran to his daughter. "Delta Charlie 52, to Central, need back up at the lower boat yards. "Ambulance, paramedics…"
Nyssa was in a daze, her grief turning to rage. "If you want to be with your family so badly," she said as Dinah ran back in, moving to her daughters' side, "they can join you in eternity." She said coldly.
"Oh, Nyssa…" Sara groaned.
Lance stood up and drew his weapon. He held it right in her face. "You get the hell away from my daughter." He growled. Contemptuously she knocked the gun from his hand, and then dropped him with two swift punches. As he lay dazed on the ground, she withdrew her dagger, glaring at Dinah-
And then the dagger was knocked out of her hand by an arrow.
She turned to glare at The Arrow as she stood a short distance away. "Live or die. It's up to you." He told her. He then drew another arrow and fired.
Nyssa expertly dodged out of the way, throwing herself back onto the table where her bow was, grabbing it, then kipping back up and drawing an arrow of her own. The Arrow had melted back into the shadows, and the assassin began her hunt, leaping up onto a gantry for a better view. She ducked another arrow, and returned fire at the catwalk across the warehouse where Oliver had taken position. They traded shots, each ducking the others with ease. Finally she got a hit- an arrow sliced through the strap on his quiver, sending it to the ground far below. She took the opportunity to run and jump, using her bow to catch a cable that she started to slide down. Oliver fired the last arrow he had, splitting the cable and letting her drop a good 8 feet.
Oliver followed her down to the ground, switching his bow to his non-dominate hand as Nyssa spun around and took aim. "Nyssa," he said quietly. "I can still save her."
"Worry more about saving yourself." She fired, and Oliver blocked the arrow with his bow. He moved in close, taking the fight directly to the grieving assassin. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a fair fight. Nyssa had decades of experience as an assassin having learned under the most brutal of teachers. But she was still a human, still heartbroken, and that made her sloppy. She landed several good hits, but when she drew a smaller dagger for the kill, Oliver managed to reverse the hold, trapping her in a choke hold/armbar.
"I wonder if Oliver ever realized how lucky he was." Sara said.
"Many years later." Mia said darkly. Thea caught the tone and glared at her older self.
"Don't kill her." Oliver and Nyssa looked up in astonishment as Sara staggered towards them. She dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. "Please." She gasped.
Oliver let Nyssa go and ran to her side. He pulled out the pouch and withdrew a large pinch of herbs "Sara! Sara! Sara, hold on." He yelled, forcing them into her mouth. "Stay with me. Come on. Come on, stay. Not again." He pleaded quietly, praying for the herbs to work.
A few moments later, Sara shot up with a gasp. Oliver held on to her, but she forced herself free to look tearfully at the woman she still loved. "No more killing." She said weakly. "Nyssa. Please."
Nyssa stared back, experiencing true heartbreak for the first time in her long life. "Ta-er al-Sahfer, in the name of Ra's al Ghul, I release you." She intoned tearfully.
Sara stood suddenly wand walked quickly out of the room. Laurel made to move after her, but Mia stopped her. "Let her go." She said. "Give her a few minutes."
In the distance, sirens could be heard. "Sara!" Lance cried out, running towards his daughter. As he and Dinah reached her side, both the Arrow and Nyssa had vanished into the night. "Thank God you're ok! Are you all right?" he asked.
"Oh, I can't believe you. Look at you." Dinah said tearfully, pulling the still weak girl into her lap.
"You're all right, baby." Lance told her. As rescue personnel approached, someone else was watching the reunion. A short distance away Laurel stood, watching in stunned disbelief. As she watched them tend to their youngest, Laurel felt so many emotions at once, she just couldn't settle on which to feel first.
"Five will get you ten the first place I stopped on the way home was a bar." Laurel said despondently. Quentin patted her knee, silently giving her his support.
The scene changed to Queen Manor later that night. Moira was in the den, watching a clip on the news of her press conference.
'Because Starling City is our city.' She was saying. 'And starting today, we're going to take it back.' She took a sip of her drink, then glancing up she saw Oliver. Quickly she stood and muted the TV. "I know we need to talk." She began.
"You need to listen." Oliver said quietly. He was eerily calm. "For the past year, I have stood by your side and I have fought, because I wanted to believe that you weren't this… monster. And I needed to believe that I still had a mother." He said.
"You do, Oliver—" she approached, but he held her off with a raised hand, showing emotion for the first time. "Oliver, I only lied about Thea to protect her from Malcolm." She claimed.
"No, you lied because that is what you do." He shot back. "And that is who you are, Mom. Lies. And now you've made a liar out of me. Because Thea can never find out about Merlyn." He growled. "And she can never know the truth about us. Which is that as of right now, we have no relationship." Moira's face fell. "I will keep up appearances for Thea's sake." He continued as she struggled not to break down. "And publicly, I will support your campaign. But privately- You and I are done."
"Oliver." She said shakily, moving toward him. Once again he warded her off, before turning and bolting for the door. "Oliver. Oliver!" Moira called out tearfully.
Moira pressed her hand to her mouth as tears started falling from her own eyes. Thea scooted closer to her and wrapped her arms around her. "It's okay, Mom. It's okay." She assured her.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where the Lance family had congregated. As her parents fussed over Sara, Laurel- still in a fugue state- did the only thing she could think of- she grabbed the first bottle of wine she saw.
"Oh, goodie. I forgot I already had the booze at my house." Laurel said dryly.
Sara looked at her warily. "I know you have a lot of questions." She started.
Laurel shook the bottle, making sure there was still wine in it. "Nope."
"How could you not have any questions?" Sara asked.
"Because I already know all of the answers to them." Laurel said, pouring a glass. "How could you still be alive; where have you been all this time? Why didn't you call us. And the answer to all of them… is because it's Sara." She said snidely. It seemed she had settled on anger.
"Baby, don't do this—" Lance started.
"Dad, I swear to God, if you say one more word." Laurel cut him off, taking a swig of wine.
"Laurel, look, I know you're angry." Sara said, moving away from her parents towards her sister. "And you have every right to be. But please don't take this out on dad. If you need someone to blame, blame me." She pleaded.
"Oh, I do blame you, Sara." She said, taking another drink. "Every single thing that's gone wrong in our lives is your fault. You got on that stupid boat with my boyfriend. You didn't call us to tell us that you were still alive, even though it probably would have saved mom and dad's marriage. And you brought some crazy assassin into Starling City who nearly killed mom and who poisoned me." She spat as he parents looked on helplessly. "You. You stole my whole life away from me." She stared at her sister coldly. "Now get out."
"Laurel-"
"Get out." She repeated.
Defeated, Sara walked to the door and grabbed her jacket. She slipped it on and opened the door. "I'm sorry." She said sadly before closing the door.
"I said get out!" Laurel roared, hurtling the glass at the door.
Laurel dropped her head into her hands.
"Well, this is a night for fun family time." Tommy joked. "Good thing I'm dead, then."
"Thomas!" Malcolm snapped, shutting his son up.
SIX YEARS AGO
Laurel sat on the couch, devastated, as Lance consoled her. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Hold on." He said, rising from the couch. He approached the door and looked out the glass to see Moira Queen standing there. Quentin opened the door. "Please, come in." he said.
Moira stiffly walked into the house, dreading what she was about to do. As she walked into the living room, Laurel leapt from the couch and grabbed onto the grieving widow.
"Tell me Oliver is ok!" Laurel pleaded. "Tell me everything's ok!"
"I wish I could." Moira said sadly.
"Moira, I'm so sorry about Robert." Quentin said, pulling Laurel off the woman gently. "About Oliver. I really am."
"Yes, um, I need to tell you both something." She said nervously.
"What is it?" Quentin asked.
"Robert and Oliver weren't the only ones lost." Moira started hesitantly. "Along with the crew, a friend invited along by Oliver at the last minute."
"Tommy." Laurel said in dread.
"No." Moira said, shaking her head. "It was… It was Sara." She revealed. Laurel collapsed back onto the couch as Quentin's world shattered. "Your Sara. I'm so sorry, Quentin." Moira said tearfully. "The dock master saw her sneak on board." Numb with shock and grief, all Laurel could do was sit there and shake.
PRESENT
The scene changed to Slade's office, where he was watching the news report. 'With Moira Queen's impressive speech earlier today, some pundits are suggesting her candidacy might not be so far-fetched.' The anchor was saying. 'And while Blood's campaign has yet to issue a public response to Mrs. Queen's announcement—"
"I warned you not to underestimate Moira Queen." Slade said as Blood walked into the office.
"What do you want me to do?" Blood asked rhetorically.
The men stared at the screen as Moira took the podium. 'Thank you! Thank you, Starling City!'
"Nothing." Slade said finally. "I'll take care of it." Blood watched warily as Slade donned his jacket and walked out of the office.
"That doesn't sound too good." Diggle noted.
"You have no idea." Mia said sadly.
The scene changed to the Lair. Sara walked into see Oliver hard at work on the Wing Chun dummy. He stopped when he saw her. "You've been crying." He noted.
Sara chuckled. "Yeah, I was happy to know I still could." She said.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Well, Laurel wasn't as thrilled to see me as you thought." Sara said.
"Give her time." Oliver advised.
"I gave her six years." Sara pointed out.
"He means give me time to sober up." Laurel said dully.
She looked on as Oliver went to town on the dummy. "What exactly are you taking out on that dummy?" she asked.
Oliver sighed as he stepped away from it. "My mother," he said sadly. "She's not who I thought she was."
"I guess it's going around." Sara said.
"So what now?" Oliver asked.
"I don't know." Sara said honestly.
"I don't, either." Oliver agreed.
"I know one thing." Sara said finally.
"What's that?"
"I'm home." She said. Suddenly the two crashed together, kissing frantically. They started tearing each other's clothes off as the memory faded to black.
"And they get back together." Thea snorted. "Well, there's no way THIS will end badly…"
"Well, on that cheerful note," Mia said, rising from her seat. "Let's call it a night, shall we?"
The group broke up and headed back to their rooms. As the door closed behind Felicity, she moved over to her desk and turned on her computer. "Alright then, let's see what's really going on." She muttered to herself, pausing only to crack her knuckles before she started digging into the computer's code.
TBC
A/N: Wow, young Sara had such a horrible, HORRIBLE wig! She had the Carole Ann bangs going on there….
A/N2: I went ahead and put that deleted scene with Roy back in, because really- he just got inducted into the team last episode, and then he disappeared.
A/N3: Sorry if I haven't responded to your reviews/PMs. First, I didn't realize things would get screwed up like they did last week with me deleting the note and then posting the chapter. Second, I almost didn't post again last week, because after working a whopping 17 DAYS in a row, my first weekend off I managed to give myself food poisoning. D'oh.