"Are you sure you got all of Kovar's men?" Oliver asked as he and Laurel rushed to where the crates with the gear Anatoli had prepared for them were hidden.
"Yeah. I also shot down his chopper while you were taking a nap." Laurel said.
"He wanted me personally." Oliver said as they reached the crates and they both quickly made it appear like they'd been on the island for years.
"Whatever. Come on, we've only got one shot at this." Laurel said as Oliver nodded as he grabbed his bow, lit the arrowhead and shot it at the pyre, causing it to ignite, just like before, as he and Laurel ran towards the beach to find the boat approaching.
"We're going home." Laurel said.
"And once we're there, we'll find a way to get Sara to come home with us." Oliver said and Laurel nodded, right as the boat reached the shore and two chinese fisherman were standing on the boat.
"You lit the fire?" one of the fisherman asked and Oliver nodded.
"Please, we've been stranded here for 5 years. Can you help us get home?" Oliver asked and the fishermen nodded as they helped Oliver and Laurel board the boat, though neither of them noticed the looks the two fishermen shared.
After the two of them had gotten as comfortable as they could be on the boat, Oliver thought about all the things he was going to do differently, especially after J'onn restored the memories of the rest of his team. The first thing he was going to do was bring his team back together. Starting with his brother in all blood, John, along with Roy, Rene, Thea if she wanted to and even Felicity. And this time, he was going to make sure that the team did not disband. There was also a reason he was bringing Rene in and it was the same reason he had been harder on Rene than he had any of the others. It was because out of all of his recruits, Rene was the one who reminded him the most of himself, which was probably why they'd clashed so frequently. But Oliver knew that Rene was a good man and out of all of the recruits, he was the one Oliver could trust the most, since even though he had betrayed him once before, Oliver understood his position, since honestly, he likely would've done the same thing if the roles had been reversed.
Then he started thinking about how he'd approach his villains differently. Malcolm, Ra's, Darhk, Diaz and Dante, they were all dead as soon as he got them in his sights. Slade, Chase, Emiko and even Cayden James, they were different stories. While Oliver knew that Slade had done some terrible things, he also knew that the only reason he had done them was because he had the mirakuru in him. Oliver knew that underneath the mirakuru was still a man he called his brother and he knew that he had to try to get him back, since who knows, maybe if he prevented Slade from becoming the terrorist Deathstroke, maybe it could prevent his sons from going down the same path. Chase, while Oliver knew he was insane, he also knew that the main reason he'd attacked Star City was because Oliver had killed his father. Which was why Oliver was simply going to put Justin Claybourne in prison instead of kill him, though he also needed to have Chase committed for life, which he was sure Lyla could help him with, though he had no intention of dealing with Chase until after he'd put Waller in the ground, since this time, he wanted to be the one to do it. Emiko, well, Oliver was hoping that after J'onn restored her memories, she'd remember who her real family was and turn on the Ninth Circle, since he'd made it clear to her that despite her thoughts, he did care about her. As for Cayden James, Oliver knew the only reason James had become a real threat was because Diaz had been pulling their strings, so he figured that by killing Diaz, preferably as painfully as possible, he could prevent those events from taking place.
Anyways, Oliver finally pulled himself out of his thoughts as he thought about a phone call he needed to make.
"Hey, do you have a phone? I need to make a call." Oliver said.
"I'm sorry, but that is not happening." one of the fishermen said and Oliver quickly went into attack mode.
"Wait, what?" Laurel asked, her eyes widening.
"Did you really think that you could get away with betraying the Demon Al Nnaji?" One of the fisherman asked.
"Wait no." Laurel said as they both realized what was going on, but they were both injected with knockout agents before they could do anything. However, none of them were expecting what happened to Laurel after she passed out.
When Oliver came too, he groaned as he found himself back in Nanda Parbat.
"Welcome back to Nanda Parbat Ollie." Laurel said from where she was chained to a column next to him and he found himself similarly restrained before her words fully registered with him.
"Wait, welcome back?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, I remember everything thanks to some big guy with head ridges appearing while I was unconscious. He explained everything to me and restored my memories of my old life." Laurel said.
"Wonder why he'd do that." Oliver said, since Novu never did anything without a reason.
"Beats me, though I have to admit, while my old life may not have been as painful as this one, I kind of prefer the life I had on this earth." Laurel said and Oliver looked at her like she was crazy.
"You're kidding? You prefer the version of your life where you got on the Gambit with me and then spent 5 years as a League assassin?" Oliver asked.
"I know it sounds crazy, but yeah, since for one thing, at least now I'll have a real shot in the field, since I do plan on joining you in the field again as the Black Canary, but more importantly, now I feel like I understand you in a way I didn't before. Plus, now I know that we're going to live through this." Laurel said.
"Maybe, we'll talk more about all this once we get home. But there is one more thing you need to know." Oliver said.
"And what might that be?" Laurel asked.
"Since Sara was at the dawn of time with me, she also remembers the way the world used to be, so she also knows how this is going to end, which is probably the only reason she didn't object to us being brought here." Oliver said and Laurel nodded as the door to the chamber they were being held in opened and Nyssa walked out of it.
"Look how you've fallen." Nyssa said to Laurel.
"How'd you find out I was alive?" Laurel asked.
"It was your sister wasn't it?" Oliver asked.
"So, you know of Talia's relation to me? Excellent. Then you know why she betrayed you." Nyssa said.
"Yes and I plan on repaying the favor once I'm done here." Oliver said.
"You truly are arrogant if you think you will be allowed to leave this place alive." Nyssa said.
"Can you just take us to your father already. If I'm going to die, I'd like to get it over with." Laurel said and Nyssa nodded.
"Very well. Take them." Nyssa said as more assassins appeared and took them to the throne room.
When they arrived, they found Sara waiting with Ra's.
"Al Nnaji, how could you betray me like this? I took you in, I made you strong." Ra's asked Laurel.
"I was never truly one of you and neither is my sister." Laurel said.
"Maybe, but still, you betrayed me and for that, you must pay the price." Ra's said.
"Wait. Laurel told me of your customs, including a trial by combat." Oliver said.
"You wish to fight me?" Ra's asked incredulously and Oliver nodded.
"Laurel only deviated from the League's path because I persuaded her too. This is my opportunity to make amends." Oliver said.
"You are truly delusional if you think you can beat me boy." Ra's said.
"And by refusing my challenge, you look weak to your followers." Oliver said.
"Well played. I accept your challenge and after I kill you, I will kill her and both of your families will pay the price for your defiance." Ra's said.
"But if I win, you will be the one who dies and Laurel and Sara Lance will both be set free." Oliver said.
"I agree to your terms, not that it matters, since you will die." Ra's said.
"Don't be so sure of yourself." Oliver said as his chains were removed and he and Ra's both removed their shirts before they were given swords and circled each other.
"Begin." Nyssa said as she and the whole League watched the unfolding spectacle.
Oliver struck first, as Ra's expected him too, but to his surprise, it was not the sloppy and undisciplined charge attack Ra's was expecting from him, but rather, a swift and precise hit that the Demon's head had to move quickly to dodge.
"You are more skilled than I thought." Ra's admitted.
"First thing I ever learned was that underestimating my opponent was the first and greatest mistake a warrior can make." Oliver said.
"Wise words. Pity they will not save you." Ra's snarled as lunged at Oliver, who blocked and parried with ease as the two began their duel, their blades clashing so quickly that to the untrained eye, they were just two blurs and the only sign of them clashing was the sparks that flew from them. However, every member of the League had their well trained eyes set on the battle and all of them were impressed, since none of them had ever seen an opponent as skilled as Oliver fight Ra's before, since it looked like he was not only fighting the Demon's head he was beating him.
Both Laurel and Sara had to stop their grins, since they both knew how this fight would end, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the show, since after all the pain Ra's had caused them in both realities, they were very pleased to watch him be beaten by Oliver.
"Where did you learn such skill?" Ra's asked as he now found himself in an impossible situation. He was actually being forced on the defensive while Oliver pressed the offensive and he was doing a very good job of kicking Ra's ass.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Oliver said as he used a quick trick to disarm Ra's and held both blades crossed at his opponent's throat, the entire league shocked by this turn of events.
"I will offer this only once. Yield." Oliver said.
"Never. I would rather die than live with the shame of having been defeated by the likes of you." Ra's sneered.
"So be it." Oliver said as he then proceeded to separate Ra's head from his body, stunning the entire league into silence as Oliver pried the demon's head off of Ra's finger.
"Kneel before the new Ra's al Ghul." Oliver said, his tone cold and dark as the League reluctantly did so, except for Nyssa.
"No, I will not accept an outsider stealing my birthright." Nyssa said as she charged at Oliver, who simply tossed her over his shoulder and pinned her to the ground.
"I have no desire to rule the League. I only wanted to save my life and the lives of the only two people in this room I care about." Oliver said, though that wasn't completely true, since he did care about Nyssa, but not as much as he cared about the Lance sisters.
However, he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone else enter the room.
"How did you find this place outsider?" a league member asked as Oliver looked up without losing his focus on keeping Nyssa restrained and he was relieved by what he saw.
"I'm a friend of the new Ra's al Ghul." J'onn J'onzz said.
"Leave us." Oliver said as the league members, aside from Laurel, Sara and Nyssa left them.
"How'd you find this place J'onn?" Oliver asked.
"Not easily. But I think you know why I'm here." J'onn said and Oliver nodded.
"Only person you need to do it for is Nyssa here." Oliver said and J'onn nodded.
"Do what?" Nyssa asked as J'onn restored her memories and Oliver released her from her death hold.
"My apologies." Nyssa said to Oliver.
"It's fine. But Nyssa, you know I never wanted to be Ra's." Oliver said and Nyssa nodded.
"I know and honestly, neither do I, but after speaking with Talia, I've come to realize that the league is necessary. And maybe she and I can work to make it something better as she did before." Nyssa said and Oliver nodded.
"I will give you the ring on a few conditions." Oliver said.
"And they are?" Nyssa asked.
"You use the League's resources to help me find Ricardo Diaz." Oliver said.
"Done." Nyssa agreed immediately.
"And also, Al Faith's sword, it belongs to Thea." Oliver said.
"On that we agree." Nyssa said.
"Okay uh, can we go home now?" Laurel asked and Oliver nodded as he handed the ring to Nyssa.
"You may be my friend Nyssa, but if you make me regret this, I will take this ring from you as easily as I gave it to you." Oliver said and Nyssa nodded as she turned to Sara, who'd stayed surprising quiet during this whole ordeal.
"I suppose it would be foolish of me to hope that you'd stay here with me?" Nyssa asked her.
"I wish I could say yes Nyssa, if only to spare you the pain, but we both know that I can't. We both want different things and while I loved you once, I've found someone else that I love even more. And I can't be in a position to find her if I'm here. Besides, you deserve someone who loves you as much as you love them and that isn't me anymore." Sara said sincerely.
"I know, but I had to try, since you will always be my beloved." Nyssa said.
"I know. But Nyssa please, try and move on. Don't stay hung up on me forever." Sara said, since she knew that Nyssa had never truly moved on from her.
"I will try." Nyssa said.
"So, how are we getting home?" Sara asked.
"Well, the original plan was scrapped due to the League showing up, but I think J'onn might be able to help us out." Oliver said.
"How so?" J'onn asked.
"You can shapeshift into one of the fishermen who found us on Lian Yu and get us to Hong Kong in the boat we came on." Oliver said and J'onn nodded, since that did sound like a good plan.
"But before we go anywhere, Sara, I'm kind of wondering why you haven't spoken to me yet." Laurel said to her sister.
"Because I've been trying to convince myself that this is real." Sara admitted as she finally walked towards her sister and hugged her tightly.
"I missed you so much." Sara said as she cried tears of joy at the thought of having her sister back.
"Now you know how I felt each time it happened to you." Laurel said as she hugged her sister back.
"Let's make a deal, no more dying till we're too old to lift swords." Sara said and Laurel laughed.
"Deal, now let's go home." Laurel and Sara nodded as they, Oliver and J'onn left Nanda Parbat to return home.