***On the Island***

Mia kneeled with her hands cuffed behind her back, two men holding her shoulders tightly. Sara kneeled in the same position next to her.

She clenched her jaw and stared at the floor, feeling her hands begin to shake. A man entered the room, mumbling a few words in a language that was foreign to her. Was it Arabic? She wasn't sure.

The man was suddenly standing above her and looking at her with a calculating expression. The room fell silent as he kneeled in front of Mia and she stiffened, sitting up more to lean away from him but the two assassins forced her to stay still. The man reached out a hand and grabbed her chin, but not harshly.

"What is your name?" He asked softly in English.

She kept her mouth shut and he lifted his hand to trace over one of the scars that went down her forehead, over her left eye, and down her cheek to her jaw. She glared and turned her head and bit his hand as hard as she could.

An assassin struck her head and she released his hand, spitting his blood from her mouth onto the carpet. The man pulled his hand back, holding his wrist, blood dripping from his palm to the floor.

"Don't touch me." She spat, shaking all over.

"A tortured soul is what you are. Tortured souls come to Nanda Parbat for healing. You seek meaning in your life. Revenge for the hurts you've been dealt. You've lost much, but you are a fighter." The man said, pulling a handkerchief from his robes and dabbing at the wound.

"Now, what is your name?" He asked and crouched in front of Mia, tilting his head to the side.

After a few minutes of silence, she realized he wasn't going to move away from her, so she said, "Maria Walker."

The man stiffened all over, then stood. "Get her up and take her to her own private chambers. Allow her to rest and bring her food and water and whatever else she'd need. Take care of her wounds."

Mia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What? Why are you doing this?"

"My daughter told me the name Ra's al Ghul was familiar to you. I am no longer surprised. I am your father's brother. Welcome home, Maria."

******

I looked up as Diggle, Adler, and Felicity entered the room. They looked at me and Felicity asked,

"Where's Oliver?"

I blinked and looked at my hands, rubbing them together, trying to get over the flashback. "Oh, ah, I don't know. He said he was going to the store. He was gone when I woke up. Have you heard form him?"

"No. I mean, we just assumed he'd be here with you."  Diggle said with a frown, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Hm." I said, then stood and grabbed my phone, opening the GPS app I had. I had taken to putting GPS trackers into everyone's boots. One thing they'd have on their feet no matter what. But what I saw confused me. He wasn't at a grocery store. He was at a building.

The blip moved across the screen and I turned on the energy sensors. He was standing in a room with two other people.

I clenched my jaw and said, "Felicity, look up this address for me." I said and tossed my phone to her and she caught it, fumbling slightly.

"Wait. Is this Oliver? You have a GPS on him?"

"I have a GPS on all of you." I said blandly and tugged on my vigilante gear, making sure all my weapons were accounted for and present. I ignored Felicity's gasp of offense and looked at Adler and Diggle. "So are you coming, or are you two just gonna watch me suit up?" Diggle and Adler both looked at each other, then at me.

"Why don't you and Adler just go yourselves? I'll stay here with Felicity." Diggle says and steps passed me. I looked to Adler and pulled my mask down over my eyes and plugged the earpiece into my ear.

"Just come outside when you're ready." I said.

******

Oliver was in a loft apartment. I double checked the GPS on my phone, and now that I was closer, I could make out heat signatures from the building. One, a female whom he was hugging, and the other, a man. I clenched my jaw and shoved my phone into my zippered pocket and Adler fired an arrow into the building and I swung off the cable he gave me and crashed through the glass doors.

Immediately, a sword was swung directly at my face, and daggers sprang into my hands and I brought my arms up and deflected the blow as an arrow fired from outside pegged someone's pant leg to the floor.

I turned my attention to my attacker as I deflected the weapon and turned on them with my own pair of swords and faltered.

"I- Thea?" I demanded.

Thea paused for a moment, lowering her sword, then looked to the right as Oliver shouted,

"Mia! What the hell are you doing?"

I turned to face him to give an answer when my eyes fell on none other than Malcolm Merlyn.

"You!" I shouted and threw a dagger at his heart, rushing to attack with my swords, only for Thea to throw her own weapon and knock mine to the side. She tossed him a sword and they both turned to face me.

I glared at them both. "Thea." I said slowly. "Move."

"No! He's my father!" She shouted.

"And let me guess, he taught you everything you know?" I snarled.

Adler landed on the balcony, assessing the room with a cold expression, his eyes landing on Merlyn, and he raised his bow to fire an arrow.

"Give us one reason we shouldn't kill you now, Al Sa Her?" Adler hissed.

Merlyn raised both hands. "Because I'm actually here as a sign of peace."

"Bullshit!" I yelled angrily. "You are the reason Tommy is dead! You're the reason Sara is dead, too, I'm sure of it!"

"Oh, Esfwr, weren't you the one who was trying to kill Sara during our trainings at the League? Yes, I was there for that. Everyone knows about it. I'm here to tell you that R'as thinks you are lying and it was you who killed her."

I scoffed. "Merlyn, it's my job to kill traitors to the League. She was one. And, I haven't even been in Starling City. Believe me, if I was the one that killed Sara, she wouldn't have a head. You know I prefer swords to arrows, anyways. And Adler was with me in Nanda Parbat."

Thea glared and lunged at me with her sword and I parried her block with a single sword, twisting the sword out of her wrist and catching it in my hand. "I guess Merlyn didn't tell you- I taught him what he knows about the sword. R'as passed on his training to me. So. Move."

"Thea. Please." Oliver said.

"Shut up, Olly." Thea hissed.

I clenched my jaw and snatched a dart from my belt and threw it at Thea while she was distracted by Oliver. It hit her neck and she pulled it out, shocked, then stumbled back and fell, Oliver catching her as she passed out.

Malcolm went to step towards her but Adler fired an arrow and it sliced the back of his hand. He stepped into the room, another arrow ready.

I moved to stand between Oliver and Merlyn and snarled, "I seem to have missed getting your head for R'as, Merlyn."

"There's no need. He's pardoned me." He said, straightening, eyes glancing towards the sword on the ground.

"I'm sure he would have mentioned something like that." Adler replied, lifting his bow slightly more. "I'm partial to disobeying him if those were his orders. I'll deal with his disappointment."

"Look. If you do anything to harm me, I'll spill your little secret." Malcolm said.

"You can't exactly speak if you don't have a head." I said blandly. "So your bluff is for naught."

"Oh, it's not a bluff. Because I have people. And they know that if I die, the world will know who your father is. Your real father."

"Oh, and I suppose you know where our uncle is?" I growled. "The one who raised me? You're the one who abducted him. You denied it when I confronted you, but I know you were lying. It's what you do."

Malcolm sighed heavily. "Yes. Alright. I was responsible for his abduction. And it was going fine until your father got in the way and released him and planted him in a safe house somewhere in the city."

"Wait- Ra'as did that?" Adler asked.

"I was told that only Slade knew where my father-uncle was." I say suspiciously, not entirely used to calling David Walker my uncle. "Since they fought in a war together."

"Ra'as connected them again. In fact, it was he who told Slade where to find you. And I only know that because I discovered it while planning the Undertaking. From Sara Lance." Malcolm said.

I felt like someone had ripped the rug out from under my feet. It's all been connected all along, and I didn't even see it. "And what is it that Ra'as wants with me now? He's gone through all this trouble to disrupt me here. What else could he possibly want from me?"

Malcolm snorted. "Well, isn't it obvious? He wants you to take his place and become Heir to the Demon."