Welcome to the final chapter of Felicity Smoak vs. the League of Assassins. In this chapter...so much action! The heroes must be saved!

Crouched in her chamber, still dressed in the robes she wore in the hallway, Felicity placed a few final taps on her tablet. She raked her fingers nervously through her blonde hair and fiddled with an earring dangling from her lobe.

She thought about the day's events and wondered about the cologne that scented her robe. Vetiver and lime. Malcolm. Worry had set in hard and she wished she smelled Oliver instead. She sunk her face into his pillow and drew in a deep breath. Woodsy. It was reassuring. She also took a moment to scream into the pillow because she was very anxious right now.

Outside forces had scuttled her original plan and she had jumped headfirst into Plan B now. Unfortunately, Plan B had nothing on Plan A. Plan A had been diabolical and elegant, like a wonderful string of code. Plan B was more of a last minute hack to avoid an incomplete grade. Felicity only hoped that she could count on the League to act predictably: adhering to an unflagging devotion to rituals and procedures and feeding on an exceptional preoccupation with gossip, to get her through the next few hours. Oliver had not returned to their rooms yet and she wondered if she would get a chance to speak with him before –

Ra's Al-Ghul's guard detail arrived banging at the door. Felicity hardly had time to press a final "send" and slide her tablet under the bed when the heavy wooden portal flew open.

"Hey! What?" she stammered as rough hands pulled her to off the mattress and shoved her into the corridor.

The Assassins in their hoods and masks holding torches urged her down the halls at a brisk pace. She wondered why they didn't have any pitchforks to prod her with.

"W-where are we going? Can we slow down a little?" Felicity's figure was small compared to the rest of the group and she had to walk twice as fast as the others just to keep up with their strides.

A sense of foreboding grew stronger as they approached their destination – Ra's meeting room. When they entered, Felicity scanned the space, trying to assess what she was walking into as quickly as possible.

Five guards lined the wall. Ra's was standing in the center of the floor. His arms were folded and his head was directed downward. He looked to be carrying a heavy burden by his posture. Nearby, Malcolm Merlyn stood staring calmly at a wall. There was blood on his face, which concerned Felicity. She wondered if it had been the result of resisting the guards or an altercation with Ra's. Of course, there was every possibility that it wasn't even his.

Felicity was brought to stand next to Malcolm. He tried to focus on the same wall Merlyn's gaze was fixated on, but couldn't figure out what was so diverting there. It must have been some kind of League/Jedi mind exercise that kept a person from freaking out. The tension in the room reminded her of the times she met with Moira Queen, only…weapons. The hostility level was similar. Felicity stood there quietly for a few minutes and then there was a commotion. The last guest arrived.

Al-Saheem entered with two other League members following in lockstep. Felicity could read no emotion on his face as he stopped and stood at attention near Ra's.

After a lengthy pause, the Demon's Head finally looked up and began to walk a slow path. He passed Oliver without as much as a look, and then headed towards Felicity and Malcolm.

The IT Girl saw a familiar face arrive at the door. It was Fedil. He looked agitated and uttered noisy, unintelligible words as he tried to convince the guards outside to let him through. The distraction he might bring, whether it be a plea for clemency or something else, was not welcomed by Ra's during this solemn gathering. "No one enters," he ordered the guards by the door. Ra's picked up a goblet and took a drink. Carrying his drink, he appeared unflappable, but Felicity knew better. He was extremely flapped.

The Demon's Head stopped in front of Mr. Merlyn and Ms. Smoak and took another swig. He appeared to be "stewing" as Donna Smoak would say. Felicity tried not to look at Ra's although he was only two feet away. In that moment she felt his glance might turn her to stone.

"You are all here because I have received word of a disruption which is completely unacceptable. I do not understand what I am hearing. I am not sure that I believe it, but the sources that have brought it to me are reliable. If this is true, it is a betrayal not only of Al-Saheem, but of the legacy of Ra's Al-Ghul and the entire League.

Ra's directed his attention to Malcolm first. He sneered at him as he spoke.

"You, Saher. You are an accomplished man. You know the ways of the League. When you returned here you did so in full awareness of our code. I am incensed that you would stoop so low as this. Certainly, infidelity happens in any community, but to fraternize with the woman of Al Saheem, my Heir. The next Ra's Al Ghul. A man who deserves respect and whom others look to for leadership. How could you do this? What kind of sorcery has the Magician performed this time?"

It looked for a moment that Malcolm's response to the rant would be silence. Then, he surprised Felicity by taking a moment to think and then speaking in an earnest voice.

"I could not look away from her light."

Then something curious happened almost too quickly to observe. Ra's appeared to acknowledge what Malcolm just said, glancing at Felicity. Then he gave Malcolm a nearly-imperceptible nod, followed by a slap hard enough to turn Merlyn's face towards her. Meanwhile, Felicity ruminated on what he had said to deserve the punishment. It was a poetic statement and she internally congratulated him for choosing the romantic proclamation over an announcement that she was a great lay. Their blue eyes met for a brief moment of recognition before Malcolm regained his composure and his dutiful stare into the invisible beyond, like a cigar store Indian with a palm print rising on his cheek.

Ra's then turned his attention towards Al-Saheem's woman, stepping in closer. He grabbed Felicity's chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. She grabbed for his hand and jostled his drink, spilling wine on his robe and angering him further.

Ra's was too distracted to see Merlyn's hand reach out to touch Felicity's free hand. Without looking, she snagged a few fingers and exchanged an understanding beneath the lengthy sleeves of their robes. As tough as she was, Felicity was feeling outnumbered and a bit queasy with stress.

Looking into the face of the Demon's Head, Felicity was smart enough to know it was time to be afraid. He looked very angry. His eyes were dark and she noticed his lip twitching beneath his beard. He drew even closer, invading her personal space.

"Infidelity is a very serious charge, Manar." As Ra's dragged his index finger down her cheek, Felicity's pressed her lips together tightly. She looked tough. "I must confess, I did not think you capable of something like this. I truly thought that you were devoted to Saheem. You played a very convincing part of the besotted bride for some time, it appears." Felicity's eyes shifted to Oliver, who showed no indication that the discussion bothered him at all. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Felicity did not respond, although it was obvious Ra's was expecting her to speak in her own defense. He grew impatient waiting. Raised voices in the hallway distracted for a moment, but Ra's retrained his gaze on blonde.

"Well, Girl, what do you have to say for yourself?" Ra's took a step back and once again folded his arms against his chest.

"What I have to say should be said to Al-Saheem," she stated with a slightly defiant tone. Ra's raised his hand as if he would slap her as he had Malcolm, but he allowed it to hover above her a moment and then he groaned loudly to drop his arm. Oliver continued to stand at attention nearby, without affect.

"You are not in Starling City now. You are amongst the League of Assassins. This is hardly a fact that should escape you. We have made you welcome here. You have been taught our ways. You made your vows to this man," Ra's waved his arm towards Saheem. "Blood vows to the only man worthy enough to succeed me. And you throw it away to be with this inferior creature, this scoundrel. It defies logic."

Felicity finally spoke, trying to sound tough and self-assured. "These walls are filled with violence and pain and death. It's a lonely place, particularly if you don't belong. My name is Felicity and I do not belong here. He should have known. Instead, the man I loved abandoned me even while he stood next to me." Felicity forced herself to direct her comments towards Al-Saheem and studied his expression in search of a reaction. She saw nothing. It was as though he was a shell. She wasn't even sure he heard what she was saying.

"Love. Love is nothing. Duty is everything. You are incapable of understanding this," he practically spat the words in her face. "You have no idea what punishment awaits you for this treason." Observing him, Felicity thought the older man actually looked disappointed. You would have thought he was the one who had been cuckolded.

"Take this ridiculous creature out of my sight."

"Wait," Felicity spoke up. "I want to address Al-Saheem one last time. I mean, it is the last time, probably and I think I should get to face him. Can't I do that? Isn't that my right?"

Ra's shook his head, sighed and waved his arm to convey permission before walking back to stare daggers at Merlyn. Felicity slowly moved towards Oliver and stopped in front of him.

"When you said you loved me you were mistaken. You loved the woman who found you bleeding in an alley. " Felicity used every ounce of energy within her to try to connect with the man in front of her, to forge a crack through his statue-like façade with her words.

"That person, the one who agreed with your plans, the one who…always made you coffee." Felicity glanced over at Malcolm and then back to Al-Saheem. Or was it? She might have caught a micro expression changing on his face.

"That woman does not exist. I need you to look at me." Every word was painful for her, but it had to be said. Slowly, her lover's eyes lowered to meet hers.

"I hate you, Al-Saheem." Felicity said the words slowly and with as much conviction as she could muster. She reached out from beneath her cloak to find his hands and took them in hers. She sought his gaze like her life depended on it (because it might). Her voice cracked. Merlyn looked on, expectantly.

"Do you understand?" she asked pointedly, moisture gathering in her eyes.

Oliver Queen nodded, his blue eyes blazing a little more brightly. Felicity's words were familiar, as were her warm hands and the promise they currently delivered.

"You have had your say," Ra's interrupted, seething from a few feet away. "Now you will be gone. And next we'll decide what to do with Al Saher. Target practice, perhaps." Guards from the doorway approached Felicity and grabbed her arms, then began pulling her towards the exit. With the portal unblocked, Fedil managed to enter once more, this time hollering at the top of his lungs.

The source of the outburst was unclear, but Oliver Queen didn't care.

A thousand years ago Tadamasa cut a short sword into pieces that could be concealed easily and then used as weapons by throwing or stabbing the small blades. These shiruken evolved into the throwing stars that Oliver was now launching towards the guards who had taken hold of Felicity. Every shard of metal cut through the air in a blur and found its mark. The men dropped.

Malcolm was moving now too. He quickly caught the closest guard unaware and relieved him of his sword, then set about engaging Ra's, whom he assessed as the most dangerous adversary in the room. Ra's hurled his goblet to the ground and drew his own sword. Immediately, their confrontation filled the room with sharp violence and the sound of metal clashing against metal.

With her immediate captors felled, Felicity spun around to see Oliver set his sights on engaging the rest of the guards. Blood spatter was decorating the walls and he was taking several of them on at once. He was beautiful to watch in action. The instinct and the grace of his movement were nearly mesmerizing.

Felicity was thrilled that Plan B was working so far. When the guards came to collect her they hadn't checked her for concealed weapons. Why would they? She was a cute blonde hacker and still the Consort. To touch her would have overstepped and might have incurred the wrath of Al-Saheem if she was exonerated. Felicity had managed to hand the throwing stars off to Oliver discreetly, taking a cue from their past – a day that neither of them would forget. Only this time, the words had been spoken by her and they were blatant lies. She loved Oliver Queen with everything she was. Adrenaline pumped through her veins now and resolve was overpowering her fear.

Suddenly, Felicity was faced with Fedil, who had chosen her for confrontation. He looked a little crazy and extremely angry. His face was red and she could see he was panting, having run over from the Digital Command Center. Felicity was grateful no one in this place used cell phones.

"Our satellite communications have been compromised," he spat. "I would imagine you know something about that." Fedil grabbed her shoulders and tried to push her to the ground, but she had solid footing.

"I do," she responded. "I also know about the planes and the helicopters that are landing a mile away." Felicity pushed back and the two of them ended up rolling on the ground.

"You could not bring an army big enough to defeat the League," he huffed as they tussled.

"They aren't military. They are journalists. With access to the feeds I've set up. The cameras you ordered for me should be working great with the repeaters I placed all over Nanda Parbat." Felicity's hair was flying in her face now from the exertion.

Fedil looked confused. Felicity managed to get to her feet and her attacker followed her.

"Palmer Tech. I know the CEO. Really well." The man reached for his scabbard, but was too slow. Felicity kicked his knee and pivoted so that her elbow connected with his chin when he crumpled. A side kick to the head knocked him fully to the ground and completely unconscious.

Felicity couldn't help lifting the corners of her lips as she took his knife. Her training with the Dark Archer had improved her skills and while she wasn't Nyssa Al Ghul-lethal, she could kick the crap out of an IT Guy. That was new.

"Felicity! Are you alright?" Oliver called to her while simultaneously punching another guard in the face.

"I love you."

"Good answer, Baby. Love you too."

Merlyn looked exasperated by the cute talk. "If you aren't too busy, Ms. Smoak, perhaps you could monitor the door?" he barked as he deflected Ra's last assault.

"That reminds me. No more smooches for you, Malcolm," Felicity declared as ran to the door to watch for more guards coming, all the while monitoring activities in the room.

"Right," Oliver piped up, smashing one of the guards with an inspired, nasty blow. "We're going to talk later, Malcolm."

Oliver had improved his odds substantially and was now fighting the last two guards in hand to hand combat. Nearby, Ra's and Malcolm were fairly evenly matched in the swordplay department. It would have made great theatre if it weren't so dangerous. They had a rhythm going now. They circled each other for a few moments and then their blades met with furious clanging. They attacked and defended intensely, recalling all of the times they sparred together when Malcolm was Ra's' protégé.

Ra's was smart. He kept an eye on Oliver's progress with the guards while he engaged his old student. When Oliver was down to one opponent, the Demon's Head lured Malcolm into a simple hit. Ra's took the cut to his arm, but it allowed him to draw the younger man closer and enabled him to strike Malcolm hard with his fist. Merlyn lost his footing and landed on his back. Ra's took the opportunity to rush out of the room.

Felicity didn't see him coming. Hell, she wouldn't have expected to see Ra's retreating at all. But there he was, suddenly, beside her at the door and pulling her out into the corridor. Felicity cried out. Her mind extrapolated a range of possible outcomes for this new development. She had not come all this way in order to become a hostage, a bargaining chip. Again. Felicity swung Fedil's knife wildly with her free arm, but her weapon was deflected and flew out of her hand. The Demon's Head continued to drag her down the hall. Running out of options, she opted for crazy.

Since Ra's was expecting her to struggle, she stopped resisting and moved with him, keeping pace. Closer. Closer. And when she was close enough, Felicity vaulted sideways, towards his face, scratching at his eye with her fingers and biting his ear as hard as she could, breaking the skin.

Ra's cursed the blonde and tossed her against the corridor wall. Felicity slumped to the floor, having lost her breath. The head of the League of Assassins was feeling the pain of from the blow he took from Malcolm and now there was blood streaming down his neck. He took a few steps back to towards the room and saw shadows rushing to the door. He also heard the footfalls of more guards. A handful of reinforcements arrived on the scene.

Feeling more confident, Ra's spun around, only to find the small blonde woman standing there clutching the first thing she could put her hands on – a burning torch. Down the hall, Oliver and Malcolm emerged and began fighting Ra's fresh guards.

"So this was your plan all along? You think you have what it takes to stop the League?" he hissed, preparing to lunge for her.

"Yes, Ra's. The only way to end a secret organization of insane murders is to make sure it isn't a secret anymore."

Days later, Felicity would have to explain what happened next to Nyssa. She had swung the torch at Ra's to protect herself and his garment caught on fire, intensified by the alcohol that had doused him earlier. The flames surprised them both. Ra's reeled around the room looking to stop the flames from growing, but he was unsuccessful. His hands fumbled against his robe and he finally ran down the hall.

Malcolm, Oliver and Felicity chased Ra's Al Ghul all the way to the Lazarus Pit, his body engulfed in fire until he plunged in. He didn't come back up for some time. Felicity and Oliver waited by the water's edge while Malcolm rushed to check on Thea and assure that she was still comfortably sedated.

When Ra's Al Ghul's body finally surfaced in the Pit, Oliver fished it out and laid the down on the hard ground. The man was gone. His body was damaged by the fire and transformed by the water. He had used the waters for the last time and they would no longer save him. The next day, as crews from CNN, the BBC and Al Jazeera swarmed the location, Oliver took charge of the League as Ra's had designed, but not in the way he wanted.

Oliver Queen refused the title of Ra's Al Ghul, but ended up their chosen leader due to the power vacuum that had been created. In a private meeting with a few key members, Oliver conducted his first official act. He disbanded the League. Felicity smiled broadly that day. It had been such a long time coming. She did not observe Oliver's last act as the Demon's Head. He headed into the mountains with the body of the former Ra's Al Ghul strapped to the back of a horse and found a quiet spot to bury him where no one would find the body.

xxXXXxx

One month after Ra's' death, Oliver and Felicity were finally able to leave Nanda Parbat. Malcolm had taken Thea home three weeks earlier and was reporting that several therapies were successfully bringing her back to herself, but nightmares were a lingering issue.

Now, it was their turn to leave. A shiny Gulfstream arrived on a Tuesday, emblazoned with the logo of Palmer Technologies. Upon boarding they found sumptuous treats and a kind note from their host congratulating them on their success, generously encouraging his "cherished friends" to take the jet wherever they liked.

"I don't usually like air travel, particularly after jumping out of that plane that time," Felicity said, snuggling up to Oliver. "But this is kind of civilized." She sipped her glass of red wine and moaned as the flavor slid past her tongue.

Oliver was relaxed, happy to be rubbing his hand lazily along her thigh. "So what do you want to do next?"

Felicity gazed at him, enjoying his exquisite face and the decided lack of stress she perceived there. She pursed her lips to stifle a giggle, which drew his eye and made it twinkle.

"Fe-li-ci-ty," Oliver leaned his head back and grinned. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you only keep me around for one thing." It was then that he felt her hand exploring his lap. He smirked, as she only reinforced his point.

"No Oliver. I keep you around for two things." Felicity tried to maintain a serious look, taking another slug of Pinot Noir. Oliver's head lolled toward her. "The first one is, you know, that reason, because you are…amazing." This elicited a trademark Oliver Queen smirk. Felicity put down her drink and leaned forward to kiss it off his lips. His mouth welcomed hers and they teased each other with tongues instead of words. They finally parted, panting in unison and Oliver leaned his forehead to rest against hers.

"And the second thing?" he whispered, effortlessly pulling her into his lap.

"Hmm?" she responded like her bones had turned soft.

"The second thing, you keep me around for." Oliver dropped his head to bury it against her shoulder.

"Oh yeah," she sighed, molding her body against his completely. "Everything else."

xxXXXxx

Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed the story. Please do drop me a note, here or on Tumblr (also quiveringbunny). I would love to hear from you. Also, if you enjoyed this story, please do read my other projects!