HIMALAYAS, DRAGON CAVE ENTRANCE
Drake Lance
Slade and I follow Sara and Nyssa to the entrance of the path as me and Slade wear big thick jackets covering our vigilante uniforms and weapons. and they stop at the gate that leads 20ft into the giant opening of the cave. "You're both on your own now from here." Nyssa speaks up as she turns towards us and I nod as I'm ready.
Before I walk through the gate I turn around looking at Sara. I smile lightly at Sara and she nods at me knowing I'll do good. "Try to come back in one piece please." Sara tells me and I give back a reassuring smirk.
"C'mon." Slade rushes me and I follow him through the gate. We walk into the cave and we use our senses to guide us through the simple straightforward cave filled with a stream of water. I walk besides Slade as the path seems easy and as I think that I begin to see the light gleaming from a far.
"That's where we have to go." I tell Slade the obvious and he nods as we both begin walking towards our goal. When we reach the other side of the cave, we walk through the foggy opening to find the realm Nyssa was talking about. Pink skies, purple soil and a giant mountain that looks hike-able. We both walk towards the mountain crossing the purple soil to get to it.
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Slade and I walk up to the top of the mountain as we've gone through great lengths to get this far and none of us are going to give up. "I bet Joe didn't have to climb a mountain." I make a joke as I catch my breath being exhausted from the hike.
"Yeah well that's what money buys you." Slade says as he's exhausted too and I begin to catch my breath again.
"Whatever." I say annoyed and then I hear something behind me.
"Welcome." I hear a familiar male voice echo and Slade and I both turn around taking out our weapons. Slade whips out his blade and I take out two electric batons. As we look towards where the voice comes from, I see someone with a cloak hide in the shadows as the cloak moves with the wind as if it were a ghost.
"Drake Lance. Son of Quentin, and bearer of the Phoenix." The deep voice echoes and I can't figure it out why it sounds so familiar to me. "Slade Wilson. Son of John."
"Who are you?" I ask as we both walk towards the cloaked person.
"Consider me a guide to you and to all who seek the Blade of the Dragon." The voice echoes again through the mountain and I keep my eyes on it as I can't make anything out from the shadow he hides in.
"Oh good, you tell us where it is and we'll be on our way." I tell him wanting answers immediately.
"Oh Drake, if only it were that easy." The cloak says as he walks out of the shadow and as he does Slade and I begin to see his face. The face that brings hurts me to see.
"Shado?" Slade says confused as he sees her while I see a man.
"David?" I ask confused as the this magical being is taking form of two different people at the same time. It's in our head. Nyssa never said anything about this deity, she was very vague with the objectives.
The cloaked David walks through the mountain, and Slade and I follow it into a courtyard of ancient pillars with the edge of a cliff in front of it. "What you seek lies in front of you, as does what you fear." I walk towards the edge of the cliff looking down as we're 50 stories high. "In order to gain the blade, you must lose that what you love. An everlasting exchange." David's voice echoes and I can't believe Nyssa set us up like this. I begin to realize that the training she had given us was to fight each other, not fight the dragon. Shado/David is the Dragon.
The David cloak stands behind as I continue to look down the cliff debating a strategy plan to avoid one of us being killed. "Maybe he's making this shit up." Slade says as we both walk away from the cliff and stand by a pillar.
"No." I say seriously as one of us is going to need this blade, and time is still not on our side.
"Why? Because he knows your father's name?"
"Because he knows about the phoenix." I tell Slade as Slade doesn't know. "He knows about the thing that haunts me. No one could've known." I say and Slade begins to believe me. Slade looks at the cliff and I begin to realize he's getting an idea. "Whatever it takes." I quote myself reminding me of what I have to do.
One of us is gonna die, and it's going to be me.
"If we don't get that blade, millions of people are going to die." I tell Slade and Slade agrees with me.
"Then I guess we both know who it's gotta be." Slade says as he knows I'm going to sacrifice myself. Slade grabs on to my hand holding it tight and I begin to think that he's having the wrong idea. I hold his hand tightly making sure he knows I'm going to be the one to die. "I'm starting to think we mean different people Drake." Slade says as we're not certain who is going to die for this blade as we both have tears in our eyes.
"These last 8 years of my life, has lead me here." I say as my voice begins to break.
"No, don't you get you get all decent on me now."
"What? You think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your life you idiot."
"Yeah well I don't want you to. Drake you know what I've done. You know what I've become." Slade tells me as my heart begins to break knowing this is my goodbye to him.
"You know I don't judge people on their worst mistakes." I tell him as I've done my bad things and Slade has accepted me for it.
"Maybe you should." Slade says disappointed in himself.
"You didn't." I cheer him up as we begin to cry with tears running down.
"You're an asshole you know that." Slade says and I smile as we press our heads together.
"Okay... you win." I tell Slade making him believe he'll go. I pat Slade's shoulder softly as Slade is satisfied with me letting him go. I quickly leg sweep him and throw him down the floor. "Tell my daughter I love her." I say to Slade and he quickly grabs on to me throwing me to the side. I fall on the ground and Slade throws a small electric net at me.
"You tell her yourself." Slade says and I watch him run towards the cliff and I quickly throw the electric net off me. I get up and I suck in air aiming myself at him.
"AAIEEEE." I scream my cry at him and he falls on the ground away from the cliff. I run as fast as I can towards the cliff and stare at Slade goodbye. As I get to the edge of the cliff I jump off. As I jump off I feel Slade jump on to me and he quickly shoots a grappling hook on to the cliff attaching it to my belt and I catch Slade before he can fall, holding on to his wrist as tight as I can.
"Asshole." I say frustrated starring at the hook around my belt and I try to lift Slade up to the wire so he can live but he doesn't hold on to my wrist. Slade puts all his weight to his body, making sure he's heavy so I can't lift him up and I struggle to.
Slade looks down at the bottom of the cliff and then back at me as I continue to struggle to lift him up. Slade looks at me with his eyes soaked in water and I can't let him go, I can't lose someone else.
"Let me go." Slade says softly wanting me to do so. We've been through so much together.
"No. Please no." I cry as I know what is going to happen. I know only one of us is going to make it out and it's going to be me as much as I don't want to.
"It's okay."
"Slade please." I beg him as I sob and he quickly kicks against the edge pushing himself off me and I watch him fall. I turn away from starring at him land on the ground and then look back to see that it's done. I stare at Slade's body on the ground as his head bleeds out and I sob and whimper.
A bright light flashes from the sky and I wake up inside of the entrance of the cave. I look around me checking for the blade that I should've gotten and see the glowing green blade as the dragon on the blade glows a bright green like the Lazarus water.
I get up from the cave floor and walk out of the cave to find Sara and Nyssa wait for me outside the gate I left. "That was fast." Sara says shocked as time has not moved since Slade and I walked through the cave. It felt like we were in that realm for hours. "You did it!" Sara says excitedly and I look around confused, but begin not to care.
I walk out alone knowing Slade won't come back and I don't say anything as I bottle in my sadness. I walk through the gate back to the real world and Sara looks at me confused as I'm alone holding the blade.
"Where's Slade?" Sara says as I begin to sob at the sound of hearing his name. I quickly hug Sara and she holds me tight knowing the worst has happened. I let go of Sara as Nyssa looks at me with guilt.
"You knew." I blame Nyssa and she shakes her head denying it.
"It was the only way." Nyssa says defending herself. "Slade knew, but we didn't want to tell you. We knew you'd put up a fight." Nyssa says and I can't believe Slade sacrificed his life for this stupid blade.
"Lets make his death worth it then. Round up the League, it's time." I command Nyssa as I'm in charge now. I'm now the new Ra's. Nyssa takes the command and does so going into the temple.
"He would've wanted you to have it." Sara tells me reassuring that Slade made the right choice.
"Are you coming with me to Star City?" I ask her as she still stands in her civilian clothes and she shakes her head firmly.
"I can't. The time council isn't going to like it." Sara says as she hints it that she already knows what happens and unfortunately can't tell me the outcome. "Having me there would change the timeline... extremely." Sara tells me and I believe her as she's not the one to back out of any fight.
"Do you think she'd be proud of me right now?" I ask out loud hinting about Laurel as me and Sara have gone a long way. Laurel died 5 years ago, and yet, all that I do, is for her. To keep her legacy alive and I hope someone someday continues on that legacy for me.
"I know she is, and she'd want you to lead the League of Canaries and beat Joe Wilson up for her." Sara tells me as she lays her hand on my shoulder cheering me up. We both smile at each other and begin to chuckle. Sara hugs me tightly and I hold her tight. "You're gonna do good." Sara reassures me as I begin to doubt myself.
"I just hope all this isn't for nothing." I say letting go of Sara to see her with tears in her eyes as she's proud of me. As we stare at each other with smiles being proud of each other, I hear marching and see Nyssa leading my army of assassins for me. No, my League of Canaries.
"I love you." Sara says holding my hand and letting it go. She walks away from me and waves goodbye to Nyssa as her Wave Rider appears from it's invisible mode. Sara walks on to it and before she does, she looks at me with tears in her eyes and walks into it. The wave rider begins to fly off and I watch it go into the skies.
I look at my League and Nyssa stands next to me. "Shall we?" I say at Nyssa with courage and strength ready to take back what is mine.