Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or anything else you may recognize. All characters belong to their creators.

Alright, well here is the Twelfth Chapter. Ok, I'm not sure how some of you will like the turns the story is about to take, but this is where my story was leading to since the beginning, it's why Helena is on the team, and why Nyssa interacted with Moira. Hope You Enjoy.

[League Safe House]

Since the arrest Hayij has been working out almost nonstop. Only stopping when he sleeps or when Nyssa is with him. Khatiya begins to worry, Nyssa notices her uneasiness, "He'll be fine. My beloved can't do anything for his sister. So, he trains. He can't be there for her when she needs him the most."

Khatiya looks at him, she's heard of the scars that once covered his body from the island and the missions he did for the league, but, the waters from the pit removed any sign of them. Sometimes when she walks in she sees Nyssa caressing parts of his body where the scars used to be. In particular, his chest where she rests her hand when calming him down.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Khatiya." Oliver's voice is the one to speak, not Hayij. Nyssa looks at him, "Beloved, are you sure?" Hayij takes his mask off, "Knowing my sister from the habits she's developed she will fight any help that Sara gets her, especially if she's acting out." He sighs turning to Nyssa, "It's like you said I can't be there for her when she needs me most. But I can send her a message."

Khatiya catches on, "Wait I thought you said if anyone knew they'd be put in danger?"

"Which is why I need you and Walssiada to watch her and begin to help her. When the time is right," Nyssa interrupts him, "I will train her and only after she passes that can she see you." Oliver looks at her, but smiles upon seeing her glare, and can't help but kiss her. "Okay. Only then."

He turns back to Khatiya, "You will watch her from now on. Have Walssiada give my sister this," he hands over a flash drive, "Walssiada needs to be there when she plays it. In the process, Walssiada will learn of my identity. When you hand the drive to her, tell her that her questions will be answered the night my sister sees the file."

Khatiya nods and leaves. Nyssa turns to Oliver, "What exactly is on the file?" Oliver smiles at her as he wraps his arms around her waist, "Proof that I am alive and that I have a very understanding wife." Nyssa grins and kisses him. "So, next time I see her she'll know?" Oliver laughs, "Yes. She will know you're my beloved."

[Chase]

A man runs through alleyways trying to get away from his pursuers, the hood and the huntress. He manages to maintain a good distance until the hood drops in front of him, "No, no, no, no, no!" He takes off in the opposite direction and starts to climb the side of a building when he jumps up to reach the walkway above an arrow pins his arm to the wall through his jacket. He sways there unable to get away, "Oh, come on! I'm just trying to make an honest living!"

"There's nothing honest about what you do!" The huntress shouts at him revealing herself from her vantage point.

"Who supplies you with Vertigo? Tell me now and you live." The hood says coming up behind her partner.

"Please! They'll kill me!"

"Whoever you fear..." the hood starts as she takes aim at the man, "Fear me more!"

"Okay, okay!" the man finally gives in, "We call him The Count, that's all I know." The man finishes frantically and after seeing that the hood is still aiming he closes his eyes, "I swear to God!" When he opens them both vigilantes are gone, "Hey! Get me down from here!"

[Lair]

Diggle is waiting for them, when he sees them come in he asks, "Find what you're looking for?"

"Took down three Vertigo pushers tonight, Diggle." Helena says as she sits on a desk.

"Last one finally knew a name. The Count." Sara said as she prepared more arrows for her quiver.

"The Count? That's worse than The Hood or The Huntress." He notices Sara not putting away her equipment, "You're not going back out there."

"We're not done for the night." Helena says from behind him, "Whoever this Count is, he has a lot of blood on his hands, and it is long past time he started paying." Sara tells him.

"Well, slow down, I think you're missing the point here."

"What?" Sara looks at him and he gives her a look, "Thea." Sara sighs.

"Her hearing's in a few hours. You think she cares more about some drug lord getting his just desserts, she doesn't have the two people she needs the most, but you're like a sister to her, Sara. She needs you."

Sara looks at him and nods, she owes it to Ollie, to be there for her. Helena sighs and begins taking her equipment off, the man had a point.

[Court Room]

"Docket ending 1 10 5 6, People vs. Thea Dearden Queen. Possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence of a controlled substance." The bailiff reads out and then presents the case file to the judge.

"Counselors, I understand you've reached a plea agreement."

"We have, Your Honor. Given that my client is a juvenile, the people have generously agreed to probation." The defense attorney says.

"Juvenile? Says right here she's 18." The judge looks down at the file.

"She is 18 now, Your Honor, but at the time of arrest, she was still two days' shy of her 18th birthday. Ms. Queen has no priors."

"Well, just because Ms. Queen's family sweeps her priors under the rug, doesn't mean they don't exist. You get your client off," he turns to the prosecutor, "and you help your boss avoid dealing with the drug that's sweeping across our city like the plague. Everyone wins, except us, the people of Starling City."

"Your Honor, with all due respect " The attorney tries to say but the judge cuts him off.

"Ms. Queen, like it or not, you are now the poster child for this menace. Maybe if people see that the Queen family can't get away with using Vertigo, they'll think twice before using it themselves. The plea arrangement is denied." The judge bangs his gavel, "This case will proceed to trial." Thea looks behind her not at her mother but Sara, Helena and Laurel, fear evident in her eyes. All three women give her a reassuring look trying to convince her it will be okay.

[Lair]

Helena walks in having been called down by Sin. When she arrives, she sees Sin sitting on top of the salmon ladder. "What do you need, Sin?"

Sin drops down and heads to her, "Not me, a request from Hayij. However, before I let you know what it is, I should tell you that it will reveal his identity to you. If you accept the task then you will have questions which he will answer after, but you have to keep this from Sara."

Helena thinks for a moment, "What kind of task is it?" she asks curiosity getting the best of her.

Sin takes out the flash drive, "Deliver this to Thea, make sure she watches it in front of you." Helena took the flash drive and looked back at Sin, "what's on it?"

"A message for Thea, it's supposed to make her accept any help from Sara. And to trust her. Other than that, I do not know." Sin says and Helena nods, the mystery was reeling her in.

[Sara's Bedroom]

Having left the Queens at their mansion, she noted that Thea was having issues with Moira. She was thinking on what way she could be of help.

[Flashback]

Sara is sitting in her cage, Yao Fei brings her some food and water, "You working for them now? Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were friends. Or...something."

Yao Fei remains quiet, "I mean, why'd you bother keeping me safe if you were just going to hand me over to them? Just get me out of here." She pleads with him.

"I can't." he says and walks away.

"Hey! Don't leave me here! I came back for you! Do you hear me? I came back for you!" She screams but he walks away not looking back.

Helena arrives bringing her back into reality, "Hey did I interrupt you?" Sara smiles, "No, I was just trying to think of a way to help Thea." Helena walks over and lays down next to her.

"I know a detective, last I heard she was in Vice. I could see if she has anything on the Count." Helena says, Sara turns to her smiling, "Should I be jealous?" Helena laughs and kisses Sara. "No."

"Thank You." Sara tells her, she also came up with a way to put a face to the name. "I may have a way to get a face to the name but we should work anything that can help Thea out." Helena nods and kisses Sara again before the two drift off into sleep.

[SCPD]

Helena walks into the building and asks an officer, "Hi. Looking for Detective Hall. I was told she works in Vice."

A woman is talking with an officer when she hears her name and looks over to the person that asked about her, "Helena?"

Helena turns and smiles at the woman, "McKenna Hall."

"Here I was, in the neighborhood and decided to drop by to say hi."

"Well I'm glad for the surprise. I myself live to surprise." McKenna replies and they both laugh.

"Well, I remember. What was that club that you got us kicked out of? The Club Deville?"

"Okay, in my defense, there was no sign that specifically said you had to keep your clothes on." McKenna says defensively.

"Still hitting the party circuit?"

"I still go to raves. I just go undercover now. And I have to dress slightly more appropriately to hide my badge and gun."

"Right." Helena smiles.

"So, what else do you need with a vice cop, Helena?"

"Vertigo."

"Why are you interested in Vertigo?"

"Someone I know, Thea Queen, was involved in an accident and the drug was in her system."

"Right, I heard about that on the news. I'm sorry, I didn't know she was a friend."

"The judge is trying to make an example of her. So, I was thinking, if you could find the person selling the drugs, it might take some of the heat off Thea."

"Easier said than done."

"Did some digging, and came up with a name. Um, The Count?"

"Helena, we've known about The Count for months."

"Oh."

"I wish this was thicker, but we really don't have much on him. Love to say we're going to catch him before your sister's trial, but it's highly unlikely." She hands a case file to Helena who looks at it, maybe Sara can use it.

"Oh, I am late for my shift."

"Well, if you hear of anything about this guy, just...let me know?"

"I always loved how much you cared about your friends. But leave the policing to the police, okay?" McKenna looks at her, "Okay." Helena turns around and leaves.

"What did Bertinelli want?" Hilton asks.

"She's an old friend, one of her friends is jammed up and she just wants to help them. Anything else, Sergeant?"

"No." Hilton says as Hall leaves and he takes a sip of his coffee.

[Laurel's Apartment]

Laurel's sitting at her table reading an article about Thea when Tommy walks in sleepily, "I'm learning you're not much of a morning snuggler."

"And I'm learning that you don't like to wake up at any hour that ends in a.m." She replies back making both of them laugh.

"That's true. Yeah." He takes a sip of his coffee, "So if you're busy being a lawyer all day and I'm managing a night club all night, when exactly do we get to see each other?"

Before Laurel can reply there's a knock on the door, "I got it. Stay." Tommy says as he makes his way to the door and opens it, "Hey."

"Hey, do you know how Thea is holding up?" He asks as Sara enters the apartment, "She's doing okay. Actually, I came to ask for a favor Laurel."

Laurel smiles and heads for her sister, "What is it?"

"Well first thank you for coming to court yesterday, I know it meant a lot to Thea."

"Yeah, of course. Although, I don't think the judge is willing to move off his position. Taking a hard line against criminals is a platform for his reelection."

"I need you to help me talk to dad. Maybe he cashes in a chip with Judge Brackett, gets him off throwing the book at Thea." Sara tells her, "Laurel, I am working on something on my end, but... If it doesn't work out, this is my best chance to help Thea but it might take a bit of convincing to get dad to help. Please."

Laurel smiles at her sister, she's proud of the woman she's becoming. "I'll see what I can do. But no promises."

"Thank you." Sara says and hugs Laurel.

[Outside of SCPD]

"Absolutely not." Quinten sighs as his daughter's walk behind him.

"Dad, I know how you feel about Oliver and the Queens." Sara says.

"Then why would you even ask me to do this."

"Because Thea, she's only 18 years old." Laurel replies.

"Which makes her an adult. She can take her medicine. It's about time someone in the Queen family did."

"What about the Lance family? A young girl acting out, engaging in reckless behavior, does that sound familiar?" Sara looks at him, "Thea, she's just like I was at her age. I'm not the Saint that you make me out to be."

"I know she was arrested for shoplifting and I know you made it go away." Laurel looks at him and Sara looks down a little ashamed of her past behavior.

"Well, maybe if I let you go to jail, Queen wouldn't have had you on that damn boat."

"Dad, you make it sound like he kidnapped me. He didn't I chose to get on the boat with him."

"For so long, you and I have blamed Oliver when we believed Sara was dead, and even now, you still do."

"But he's not the only one, I'm to blame as well, dad, I chose to act out, to hurt people I love, to be selfish." Sara adds.

"When I look at Thea, I see Sara's potential in her, to become a better woman in the same way. But I see her flaws, too." Laurel tells him.

"Yes, Thea made a mistake. But she's been through a lot. She lost a father and a brother. She doesn't need prison. She needs help. So please..." Sara begs him.

He looks at his daughter's and sighs, "I'll make some calls."

[Thea's Room]

Helena knocks, "Go Away!" Helena sighs, "It's me Thea, Helena." Few seconds pass by before the door opens, "Sorry, I thought you were my mother."

Helena hugs her, "How are you doing?"

"I've been better." Thea says honestly as the two move into her room.

"How about you? How are you and Sara?" Thea asks trying to change the conversation from her situation.

"We're good. Just worried about you. But I'm not here about that, I know it's probably the last thing you want to talk about." Thea smiles at her.

"I'm here on a favor from a friend." She takes out the Flash Drive, "I was asked to give you this and make sure you watch it." Thea takes it, "Do you know what's on it?"

Helena shook her head, "No, all I was told was to deliver it and make sure you watched." Thea looks at the flash drive then walks over to her bed where her laptop is, she plugs it in. She goes to her desk so that Helena can see the screen as well, she opens the device and sees that there is only one file, she double clicks on it and it begins to play.

The video begins to play and then Hayij appears on the screen, he's in a room that looks vaguely familiar. "Hello Thea, I guess first of all Happy Birthday. The things you will learn from this video will shock you and will most likely make you angry, I'm sorry." Thea looks at Helena who shrugs her shoulders.

"Five years ago, Sara, your father, and Oliver were in an accident. She spent five years in hell because of Oliver; You need to trust her, accept her help, all she wants to do is keep you safe, just as Oliver would have. As far as Sara knows Oliver didn't make it, however," He reaches to his face and removes his mask, "I didn't die on that accident." Both Helena and Thea are shocked, there staring at them through the screen was Oliver, an older more rugged looking Oliver, but there was no mistaking it.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Thea screams, tears rolling down her eyes but anger evident in her voice, pausing the recording, she turns to Helena. She's shocked she can't seem to form any words, "How is he alive? Where has he been? And how did your friend get this?"

It all finally fell into place for Helena, the reason Hayij had such an interest in Sara and the Queens, it was because he was Oliver. His story about becoming the Heir made a hell of a lot more sense now. She finally found her voice, "My friend, uh, I know him as Hayij. I've only seen him in his mask, that mask." She points at the mask in Oliver's hand.

"Wait he's been in the city?"

"He's been keeping an eye on you and your mother as well as Sara. We've been trying to figure out who he is, but we never expected this. Maybe you should play some more because this is all new information for me."

Thea nodded and pressed play. "I know you have a lot of questions. And I promise I will answer them when the time is right but for right now trust me, trust Sara, but don't let her know I'm alive. For your safety, no one besides the two of you in the room should know."

He takes a few moments, "Unfortunately I can't be there for you when you need me the most. I'm sorry. But I will do whatever I can to help you and if you ever need me, there are two more people in the city that you can trust if you need to reach me and Helena isn't available. They are Nyssa Koroleva and her assistant Sin. I know you've met both of them already. I need you to trust Nyssa, she is much more than a friend, during my time away she saved me and I fell in love with her, eventually we got married."

Thea paused the video again and looked at Helena, "Did you know he was married?" Helena nods her head, "When I met Hayij, Nyssa introduced him as her husband. From looking at them and the way they act, they love each other. And from what I know about them, she was the reason he never gave up, the reason he is still alive."

Thea took in this information, not only was her brother alive but he was married. He didn't come home because he would put them in danger but even then, he introduced people into their lives to keep a watch over them. She resumed the video.

"I know you are angry with me but, Speedy, let Sara, Helena, Sin and Nyssa help you. I know about your problems, I know I have no right to judge you but you're going down the wrong path. The only way for me to see you again is if you are able to protect yourself. The choice is yours, either ignore this message and just know that I love you, or find Nyssa and allow her to train you." With that the video ends.

Thea looked at Helena, "Where can I find Nyssa?"

[Bratva Garage]

Sara and Diggle make their way into the garage with two black duffle bags in hand, "I've seen a fair amount of Cyrillic back in Afghanistan left over by the Soviets. Is this Russian owned?" Diggle asks as they enter the garage.

"This is the not so hidden headquarters for the Starling City chapter of the Bratva." Sara stops him, "Diggle... Whatever I say, whatever goes down, just go with it." She continues to walk and meets with a man in the middle of the room.

"Zdravstvuyte (Hello)." Sara greets the man.

"Good to see you. Long time. Particularly for Bratva captain."

"I was trying to figure out where to put my interests. I decided on pharmaceuticals." She drops the bags in front of the man, "I don't mean aspirin."

"A wise choice. Mepheodrone would be a good investment for you. It's the newest thing." The man suggests to her.

"I was thinking Vertigo. Newer thing." Sara replies back.

"Tough market, Vertigo. Only one seller."

"I know. I was hoping you could do me a favor and arrange a meeting."

"He's difficult man. And he does not like new friends."

Sara turns to Diggle who hands her the file Helena got from Hall, "This is everything the police have on him. Tell him it's a gift."

"I will see what I can do. Provided you do favor for me." The man motions to his partner who simply walks away.

"Vse chto ugodno (Anything)." Replies Sara.

"It is unusual for an American to hold such a position of esteem in our organization. Ms. Lance. Anatoli Knyazev. He speaks very highly of you."

"He should. I saved his life."

A second later the second mechanic returns with a beaten man struggling to stand, "What did he do?"

"Something I told him not to. Now the favor. Kill this man for me, and I will believe your interest in our organization is genuine. And then I will arrange a meeting with The Count." The man says, Sara looks at the beaten man and after a moment goes towards him.

"Sara..." Diggle begins to protest when she cuts him off, "Hey, shut up!" She grabs the man in a chokehold from behind, everyone watching, until the man stops struggling and falls down dead. The second mechanic checks for a pulse, none, he motions to the man. "Spasibo (Thank You)."

"What are friends for?" She replies as the man smiles and nods.

[Flashback]

Yao Fei is escorting Sara out of the cages, "I'm out of the gates now. What's going on? Are we getting out of here? Where are, you taking me?"

Sara looks ahead of her to see a bunch of soldiers surrounding two men fighting, one of the men being the one who tortured her. He beats the other man senseless, he looks up to Fyers who nods. In one swift movement, the masked man flips him in the air, unsheathes his sword and kills the man all before he hits the ground. The soldiers all cheer.

"While I admit that bout was particularly one-sided, would anybody else like to give it a try?" Fyers speaks to his soldiers, as Yao Fei pushes Sara into the circle, "The point of these little gladiatorial distractions is to strengthen unit cohesion. To that end, I think our newest recruit ought to be afforded the opportunity to try his hand." Sara turns and sees Yao Fei handing off his rifle to another soldier.

Sara and Diggle make their way outside of the garage while Diggle carries the body, "I can't believe you just killed this guy."

As Sara opens the trunk of the car, she scoffs when Diggle drops the body in, "You really have a low opinion of me." She says before looking around to make sure no one is around, she putts her fingers on the man's lower jaw, the man awakens and gasps for air.

"Whoa! That's a neat trick. You going to teach me that one day?" Diggle says surprised to see that the man wasn't dead.

Sara punches the man knocking him out, "No."

"What are you doing?" Diggle asks her.

"You need to arrange a new identity for this guy. Get him out of the city." She tells him while closing the trunk.

"Right, so your Ruskie pal draws out The Count, vigilante takes him down." Diggle says as they make their way into the car.

"No, Diggle, because then the Bratva would know that I used them, and that relationship is too valuable. I do the meet with The Count as myself, let him leave, then we follow him to his hideout."

"Just that easy, huh?"

"Well, I will still need my trust bodyguard." She shrugs as he shakes his head, "Fantastic. Looking forward to my new and exciting career as a drug dealer."

Meanwhile inside the garage the Russian is on the phone, "She's a captain. And she has money and other resources. Are you interested?"

"Hmm. Let's say...yes." The count responds.

[Queen Mansion]

Helena, Sara, Laurel and Thea are meeting at the sitting room, "Our father was able to get Judge Brackett to back off his hardline stance."

"Uh, your father hates me."

"No." Laurel and Sara say together

"My father hated your brother." Sara says, thinking Thea will lash out but to her surprise she remains calm.

"Why did you get involved?" Thea asks Laurel but Sara responded, "I asked her to. Ollie would've done the same."

Thea finds it hard not to smile but she manages to, her brother was alive, and for now she just had to wait a little longer before she could see him. "The judge has agreed to a sentence of 500 hours of community service and two years of probation. Provisional on the appointment of someone to act in loco parentis." Laurel explained to her.

"In loco what?" Thea asked confused about what that was, "It means that the court will appoint an individual to assume responsibility for you. Me."

"Well I say thanks." She gets up and hugs both sisters, "Thank you." She looks at Helena, the second thanks was meant for her, she would soon be meeting the woman her brother married.

On their way, out Diggle takes Sara aside, "The Russians called. The meet is set. It's tonight." Sara nods and continues to walk out with her sister and Helena.

[The Meet]

Sara, Diggle and the Russians are waiting for the count, "You know why they call him The Count? When he was developing this drug, he experimented on the homeless. Prostitutes, runaways. The police would find their bodies, puncture marks on their neck, like a vampire." Just then a black SUV pulls up and stops in front of them.

"You should not be in such a hurry to meet this man." The Russian says as the count comes out of the SUV and meets them, "Thank you for this." He holds up the file but throws it on the floor, "But I'm not overly concerned about the SCPD. Now, I understand you wish to participate in the feel-good business."

Sara looks at him, "Yes."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I am opening a nightclub, and I'd like my customers to have a little... something extra." Sara states and the Count nods his head, "Well, as it happens, I'm looking to expand my brand. A good wine's value is measured by its vintage. The number of years it took to ferment. Vertigo is measured in lives."

He opens up the briefcase his men hand him to reveal the green and black pills, "56 people died to perfect this high. Believe me when I say that they did not die for nothing." He hands the briefcase over to Sara, but in that moment the SCPD show up.

"The cops! We've been set up! Let's get out! Go! Go!" everyone scrambles, Sara goes after the Count as the other's get into a shootout with the cops.

"SCPD! Put your weapons down! Down!"

Sara follows the count down the stairs but after taking out two goons doesn't notice that the count has a syringe in his hands, when she goes to grab him he stabs her, "No witnesses."

As Diggle makes his way to Sara a shadow makes its way to her. They pull the syringe out and throw it to Diggle, "Keep it. We got to go." Hayij voice pierces the darkness.

Diggle nods and points to an exit, "Steps. Let's go."

[Lair]

As soon as they arrive at the lair Helena helps Hayij put Sara on a table, "Grab the herbs a bowl and some water." Hayij instructs and Diggle does as he is told.

Hayij takes the items and begins to prepare the tea, once it's done he tries to give the bowl to Sara who under the pain of the drug reacts not seeing clearly. She tries to strangle him with her hands but he easily overpowers her and tries to get her attention, "Sara! Drink!" she does her best to drink the concoction but spills some of it, she screams in agony.

[Flashback]

Yao Fei is beating the hell out of Sara as the soldier's cheer on. However, every time she gets knocked down she gets back up. She does this for 3 times until Yao Fei finally gets her into a choke hold, moments later her body slacks and she falls down, seemingly dead.

While they wait for Sara to come down from the forced high, Helena looks at Hayij. Who nods to the exit, she leaves as Hayij asks Diggle to keep an eye on Sara.

Once outside Helena looks at him, still not believing that the man behind the mask is Oliver. To her surprise Haraba' drops down from a rafter and stands in between them, before he looks to Hayij. "No one is around, 2 members are keeping watch around the perimeter just in case. It's safe to take the mask off."

Hayij nods in thanks and Haraba' bows. Hayij reaches to his mask and takes it off, and sure enough, the man under the mask is no one other than Oliver Queen. Helena doesn't know what to say so Oliver speaks, "Sara can't know. She'll try to get me to come home instead of living in the shadows. Unfortunately, I am unable to do that just yet."

Helena looks at him, "Why does Sara think you died?" Oliver looks at her and sighs, "After the gambit went down Sara ended up on the island and I was washed further out to sea. I was on top of some wreckage when a cargo ship found me. I thought it was my salvation but as it turns out it was my damnation."

"A year or so after I met Sara again, on the island, with the friends she made on the island we tried to take the ship, but it exploded and I was swept out to sea again. On the island, I told Sara that if she made it back to tell my family I died with the gambit. I also asked her to look after my family. As you know she was abducted by Argus and she believed me to be dead. A year later a man came to the league in grief from not being able to save his son, months into his training he found out my name and revealed to me that Sara was alive, he filled me in on what she had been forced to do under Waller."

"That explains a hell of a lot. How you know the way she thinks, the way she fights, her flaws, the things she's lived through." Helena looks at him. "You've been protecting her ever since she's been back. You sent Sin when she was at risk of being caught. You made it possible so that I could remain by her side. You've helped her and at the same time kept her away. Why?"

Oliver looked at her, sadness in his eyes and when he spoke guilt in his voice, "I was the reason she ended up in hell, because of me she had to endure things that most men would die from. I am the monster that turned her life upside down, I brought her so much pain, because of me and the choices that I made." In front of her the man that was feared by an entire government organization and respected by his own shed a single tear, then he simply turned around and put his mask back on, again Oliver was gone and Hayij was all that remained. He began to climb up the building leaving Helena alone.

[Thea's Room]

Thea was in her room waiting impatiently for Nyssa, Helena had called Sin after they watched the video to tell Nyssa that Thea had accepted the terms. She was getting frustrated waiting, she was angry and happy at the same time, mainly happy that her brother was alive.

"Your brother speaks of you daily." Nyssa's voice startles Thea who turns around to see Nyssa by her window.

"So, it's true. He's really alive?" Thea asks tears coming down her face again, Nyssa smiles at her and nods. She walks up to the crying Thea and hands her a small wrapped package. Thea looks at it before taking it, "It's a late birthday present from your brother and me, I hope you like it."

Nyssa steps back giving Thea room. She opens the box, inside is a phone. She looks up at Nyssa curiously when the phone begins to vibrate. Thea takes it and answers, 'Hello?"

"Sorry I couldn't make your birthday Speedy. I'm sorry we can't see each other just yet. I was just going to use Sin, Helena and Nyssa as a means of contact but my wife, standing right there, with a large grin on her face most likely," Thea looked up and sure enough Nyssa was grinning, Thea smiled at the way he knew her, "Convinced me to send you this gift. If you ever need me, just call."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?" Thea asks him.

"Thea, if you or mom knew that I was alive, you'd come looking for me. But in doing so you would be put at great risk. I couldn't afford anything happening to you or mom. It took Nyssa a while to convince me that I could still look after you. She's the reason I was able to survive, she's the reason I chose to come back even if I can't see you just yet. Trust her, please."

"Okay, I will. But I can see you at some point, right?" sounding hopeful, wanting to see her brother again, to get to know how he had fallen in love.

"Yes. When you pass Nyssa's training. So, it depends on how good of a student you are, Speedy." Thea smiled as she heard the call end. Nyssa remained at a distance and was genuinely surprised when Thea hugged her tightly, "Welcome to the Family." Nyssa smiled and hugged her back.

"Thanks for everything you've done for him. Also, why is your name Koroleva, and not Queen?" It was something that was bothering her since she learned they were married.

"Koroleva is the Russian word for Queen." Nyssa explained and Thea laughed at the pun, "Did Ollie think of that?" Nyssa smiled and nodded. "It was a way for me to take his name without anyone knowing he was alive."

"Helena says that you two really love each other. Can you tell me anything about him and yourself?" Thea asked and Nyssa nodded, they sat at the foot of the bed as Nyssa told her a slimmed down version of their story.

[Lair]

Sara comes to gasping for air as Diggle and Helena stand on either side of her. "Morning." Diggle says as her vision clears up.

"How are you feeling?" Helena asks worried about her.

"I feel like I'm getting the worst hangover of my life." Sara replies closing her eyes as she moves, the movement making her dizzy.

"That coming from someone who spent most of their twenties in a hangover, is really saying something." Diggle chuckles as Helena rolls her eyes and Sara tries to get off the table but she notices she's cuffed.

She looks at Helena, "You think you can uncuff me? I mean normally this would be fun, but, Diggle's here." Helena couldn't help but laugh as Diggle turned away.

"Come on Diggle, I'm not going to kill you. Promise. Just take these off." Diggle gives the key to Helena who takes the cuffs off, Sara kisses her quickly before trying to get up.

"Ahh." She winces at the pain and slightly stumbles but remains upright.

"You're standing. That's pretty impressive." Diggle looks at her, surprised by her strength.

"The Count only got you with half a dose, but you still sweated out a small swimming pool coming down." Helena tells her.

Sara sighs, "The Count. Any chance our friends in SCPD took him down?"

"None at all, but Hayij did manage to get this." Diggle takes the syringe that was on the table and shows it to her.

"Think we should analyze it." Helena tells Sara who nods slightly.

"Listen, Sara, maybe you need to give it a few hours. A near drug overdose isn't something you just walk away from." Diggle tries to reason with her.

[Lance's Apartment]

Helena convinced Sara to go back to the apartment and rest. She tried but it was pointless, she got out of her room and went into the living room where Diggle and Helena were seated.

"Now what?" Diggle asks her noticing she still looked off.

"Like Helena said, we analyze the Vertigo. It's in liquid form, which means it contains water. So maybe we can trace back to where in the city The Count is..." She begins to lose her balance, "cooking up this garbage." She falls down to her knees as the light blurs and she passes out in the middle of the floor, Helena rushes to her side.

[Flashback]

Seemingly dead Sara is taken to a cliff overlooking a river, as a soldier is about to push her body off Yao Fei interrupts, "Děng yīxià (Wait)." Fyers looks at him, "Wǒ zuò dàole (I'll do it)."

Fyers nods and Yao Fei makes his way to Sara's body as the soldier gets up. Without anyone noticing he places something in one of her pockets and puts two fingers under her jaw before pushing her over the ledge. She falls into the water below and carried by the stream.

[QC]

Diggle, Sara and Helena make their way to the one of the top floors of the building. "Hey, we need to get you to a hospital." Diggle tries to reason with Sara but to no avail.

"No." Sara says continuing to move forward using the wall for support as well as Helena.

"Sara, God knows what was in that drug. It could be causing permanent damage." Helena tells her worried for her.

"Felicity. Hey, they said you'd be up here." Sara smiles weakly at the blonde.

Felicity looks at her, "You look like something the cat dragged in. Not that there are cats in this building. Well, once a cat did get in, but a guard tazed it. It smelled like fur and static in here for like a week." She babbled on.

"Ahem. Would you mind stepping away from the window for a moment? I have a little bit of a hangover." Sara says as Felicity eyes her before stepping away from the windows that make Sara's vision blur.

"Sounds like you need a bloody Mary and a pretzel, not the I.T. Department."

"Actually, Helena's buddy Kevin is starting an energy drink company. He says it's fantastic for curing hangovers, but we are very particular about what it is we put in our bodies."

"I've noticed." Felicity blushes slightly registering what she had just said, "I said, not noticed. Right?"

Everyone chuckles, "I'm trying to find the secret recipe. Could you please do a Spectro analysis of the sample and find out exactly where in the city it's made?" Sara asks her as she hands Felicity a syringe.

Felicity eyes it and then looks at the trio, "If it's an energy drink, why is it in a syringe?"

"We ran out of sports bottles." Helena replies innocently.

Felicity looks at them, all three of them smiling as if it's all normal, "Okay." She responds and the trio leave her to it.

On their way-out, Diggle looks at the two of them, "Your B.S. stories are getting worse."

"We're well aware." Helena says as she takes Sara's hand and they make their way inside the elevator.

[Lair]

Diggle, Sara and Helena are waiting to hear from Felicity when Diggle gets a message alert, "Looks like Felicity came through." He shows Sara the message, "The solvent used in the Vertigo sample was run off water originated within a ten-block radius of where East Glades meets the bay."

"Nothing there except for an old juvenile detention center abandoned about three years ago, cutbacks." Diggle explains to them then looks at Sara, "You can't go out there, though, Sara. You're still suffering the aftereffects of the Vertigo."

"Did you hear The Count? He's taking this drug citywide. If we don't stop him now, this becomes an epidemic." Sara says making her way to her gear, when Sin walks into the room.

"Sorry, Sara but I came to stop you from leaving."

"Try." Sara glared at her.

"Sara, Hayij is on the move. I was asked to stop you from trying to interfere from this point on. And if I have to put you to sleep I will."

Sara and Diggle look confused, only Helena and Sin knew the reason for Hayij to interfere, his sister was affected by this madman's drug. "Sara, let him deal with it." Sara looked at Helena, she was crying, "Just trust me, I can't say why but we need to trust him."

[Juvenile Detention Center]

Hayij and Haraba' are standing on the roof of a building, "Hayij, why are we here?"

"The Count is inside; my source gave me the information, and Khatiya is stopping the hood from interfering. I may be unable to hug or even see my sister but I will protect her."

Haraba' looked at him, "what are your orders?"

"If she makes it here stop her. I do this alone." Haraba' nodded knowing that if Nyssa couldn't stop him he'd have no luck.

Hayij takes out his tomahawks and hands both sets to Haraba', he drops down to the street below and makes his way to the building. Stopping right in front of the entrance two guards spot his silhouette and aim their guns at him, "Hey, stop right there!"

The shadow stops and then suddenly rushes at them, his hands shoot out and grip onto their faces so fast that they don't have time to react as he slams them headfirst into the ground rendering them unconscious.

He gets up and tilts his head side to side listening for anything, after a few seconds he makes his way inside and takes a right to a set of steps, after walking up two floors, a guard notices him but before he can fire, Hayij rushes him and throws him down the stairs, he continues to walk up the stairs.

Outside Haraba' notices cops arriving, his orders where to keep an eye out for the hood, so, he just watches them. "My C.I. swears this is the place." Hall tells Hilton and Lance who make their way to her from their car, "Bring your men up on the flank." Hilton says as he moves in with a team, "Okay, this way. Follow me." Lance calls out to another team as they advance on the building.

Meanwhile guards keep trying to stop Hayij but to no avail, he's taken out a pair of Eskrima sticks and rendered everyone unconscious before they can fire, until he makes it to the top level were one of the guards' fleas instead of fights, "Someone's here!" he warns the Count.

"Who? The Hood?" the Count asks intrigued by the idea.

"No, some guy in bla-a" he's unable to finish as he falls down dead on the ground, a throwing torpedo knife sticking out behind his head.

As the cops storm the building they notice the bodies, most are unconscious but some are beaten beyond recognition. "Looks like we're not the only guests."

"You are not the hood, who are you? And why bother with me? I am merely providing people with what they want. I am providing a public service!" The Count tells the masked man who tilts his head again, "So am I." he says before throwing two more torpedoes at the guards who tried to sneak up on him hitting them both in the heart with frightening accuracy.

The Count takes a gun from one of the fallen guards and aims it at him but before he can fire, another torpedo is thrown knocking the gun out of his hand as it pierces his palm, the Count screams as Hayij makes his way to him. Just as Hayij is about to grab the Count, he takes a step back, avoiding the Counts left hand that holds a syringe.

In a rage Hayij kicks the Count and then drives him to the ground with a powerful elbow, as the Count struggles to breath, Hayij reaches for the syringe and gets on top of the Count. "Enjoy the fruits of your labor."

Just then the three leading detectives bust into the room, and they see the man in black, no eyes visible on his mask. The sight terrifies most of the officers, the Count beaten and broken barely able to breath and his men lying on the ground with blades sticking out of their heads.

"Freeze! Put down the needle! Or I will shoot you! Put down the syringe." Hilton finally says after the initial shock wears off, they had been expecting the hood or the huntress but this was unexpected to say the least.

"He deserves this." Comes a calm voice that startles all of them, not from in front of them or behind them but around them, as if it originated from every direction.

Hilton again was the first to get his composure, "Not according to the law."

"The law is corrupt; the system is broken... It took you months to finally get here, it took me days. The hooded hero would be here stopping me, but I made sure she was occupied elsewhere."

Everyone looks at him, who was he, what did he want, was he the dark archer, but he didn't carry a bow. Hilton just looked at him, "The hood is no hero. She's what I always said she was a killer."

"If she's a killer then I'm a Demon." He plunges the syringe into the count and injects the entire thing into him causing the count to shake violently.

"Get him!" Hilton cries out but before they can do anything a flash bang grenade come in through a window, the officers all close their eyes and when they look up, the masked man is gone.

"Get me an ambulance. Now!" Lance yells as he makes his way to the Count who's still shaking from the overdose.

Hayij sits down on the roof of a nearby roof, "Thank you Haraba', I would have hated to take down the officers." Haraba' was standing behind him in the shadows. "Are you feeling better after inflicting some justice?"

"Much better. Send our source a nice wine, I believe she prefers red."

[CNRI]

"Juvenile delinquent reporting for duty." Thea says as Laurel walks over to her, that's when Laurel sees a woman standing next to Thea.

"uh, Hi, I'm Laurel Lance." She introduces herself and the woman smiles kindly and extends her hand out to shake Laurel's, "Nyssa Koroleva, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Laurel looks at Thea, "Is she a friend of yours?"

Thea smiled brightly for the first time in a long time, "Yeah, she's like family. She was away on business but when she heard what happened she came back to make sure I was ok."

"Well since you lost your driver's license, I'll pick you up at 5:00." Nyssa told Thea and Laurel smiled at the pair, she was glad that Thea had someone to rely on.

"6:00. We have a lot of work for her to do." Laurel told them and Nyssa just smiled back, "Well, then, let's say 7:00 just to be safe."

"Is it too late to choose jail?" Thea groaned at them.

"Yes." Both of them replied in unison, causing them all to laugh.

"I need you to go through these files and pull out all the documents dated March 2007. Do you think you could do that?" Laurel asked Thea as she handed her the files.

"I think I can. I know I messed up and I really appreciate this, Laurel." Thea said as she gave her a small smile.

"We are going to make an upstanding citizen out of you yet, speedy." Laurel replied as Thea walked off to the desk that was cleared for her use.

"Thank you. This will be good for her, having a role model, somebody better suited than me." Nyssa said as she watched her sister-in-law off.

"Oh, I'm sure you're not so bad. She seems to look up to you, reminds me of how she used to look up to Ollie, and besides, it'll be nice to have her around." Laurel says thinking back to when Thea would follow her brother around.

"Well, I have a business meeting to attend so, if you excuse me I'll be back to pick her up later." Nyssa said politely as she walked away.

[Hospital]

"He's still critical. I've never seen anyone OD on this much Vertigo and live. There's just no way of knowing what kind of damage has been done to his brain and nervous system. Or if its irreparable." The doctor tells Hilton and Lance as they look on at a rambling Count, unable to even make a proper sentence, just random words mixed with screams of agony.

[Coffee Shop]

Sara, Helena and Diggle wait in a booth by the windows watching the rain. Felicity had asked to meet with them and so they agreed to meet here. Sara is lost in her thoughts, Sin had never interfered before, but on his orders, she had stopped Sara from going after the Count. He had gone after him and the way he left the count, it seemed to Sara that it was personal, but what bothered her how he was able to determine when she got the information. Watching the rain Sara thinks back to the island.

[Flashback]

Sara is floating down the stream when she comes to and quickly gasps for air, she gets out of the water and looks around, she's far away from where Fyers had camp.

Once on land again, Sara continues to gasp for air and eventually relaxing. She looks through her pockets to make sure she still had the book. She feels something in her other pocket, something she didn't have there before. She takes it out, it's a map of the island with a small x with a trail on how to get there and the word "Shengeun..." written next to it.

She realizes that Yao Fei had played Fyers and given her a fighting chance, "Survive." She repeats the translation as she puts the map away.

Sara comes back to the present at hearing Felicity, "Hi."

"Hi." Sara replies as Diggle get up and Felicity sits down in front of Helena and Sara.

"Thanks for meeting me. I was...nervous to come to your house." She begins.

"Okay..." Sara replies a bit concerned.

"The thing is, I've been debating whether or not to share this with you for weeks. Can I trust you both?"

They both look at her confused, she scoffs, "I'm not an idiot. You've both dropped some fairly ridiculous lies on me, and... yet, I still feel like I can trust you." She chuckles slightly, "Why is that?"

"We have those kinds of faces." Helena replied, but seeing Felicity's look she stops joking, "Sorry. Yes. You can trust us."

"Then I have something to show you two." She opens her purse and takes out a small notebook, the same one that Sara has but in much better condition, "Have you two ever seen this before?"

"No." Sara lies convincingly, "Where'd you get it?" Helena asks.

"From Thea's stepfather. From Walter." Felicity confesses to them.

"Um... Well, where did he get it?" Sara asks her.

"He said he found it in the Queen house. That it belongs to Mrs. Queen. Walter thought she was hiding something. Something more, and... He wanted me to look into it, but then he vanished. I think this list might have cost Walter his life."

Sara takes in this new information, not only Ollie's father was involved but his mother as well. The reason she couldn't find him, the man who employs the Dark Archer must have taken him.

[Koroleva Safe House]

Nyssa is asleep on the couch as Oliver walks in and kneels next to her. He watches her sleep for a moment before kissing her forehead, not meaning to wake her up but she does. She smiles at him and gives him a kiss. "Welcome home, Beloved."

"I'm home, Beloved." He smiles back at her. "How are things going with Thea?" he asks, hoping that his sister is getting along with the woman he loves.

"She's determined to pass my training, she really wants to see you again. She misses you but knowing that you are alive has brightened her world." Nyssa tells him sitting up so that he can sit next to her, she then lays on him, "How is it going with Sara's team?"

"Our source has been helping her as well, and today she was supposed to meet with them about the book. Hopefully they can get something from that information.1"

"Are you still not going to tell Thea that the real reason you haven't seen her is because of your mother?"

"No, not yet. We have to make sure that my mother is indeed involved with the archer and his employer. Until Haraba' can get me solid proof I cannot act recklessly. If I fail, my city will burn." Nyssa simply lays her hand on his heart and leans into him more, sleep eventually claiming them both.

Authors note:

Hayij – Berserk(er)

Haraba' – Chameleon

Khatiya – Sin (literal translation)

Walssiada – The Huntress

Qalb Al'asad – Lion Heart

1) Yes, everything was planned or scripted by Hayij. This is one of the reasons Ra's sees him as a worthy heir. Now, I might not go into detail just yet on that matter, might wait to season two, I'm not sure.