Summary: A different take on the how and why the confrontation happens between Oliver and Ra's al Ghul. Someone from Oliver's Hong Kong past reappears and kills Sara. Ra's kidnaps Oliver and brings him to Nanda Parbat to prevent him from interfering with his plans for Starling City and the world. The story is canon up to episode 3 x 9, during the meeting with Ra's.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; WB/DC does. I only own any original ideas found in this.

AN: Yep, yet another story about Ra's and Nanda Parbat. (I think I am obsessed with it until I come up with the "perfect" Ra's story that corrects everything I didn't like about this arc on the show). I did start this last year but couldn't make it work last year (because it was decidedly AU). For some reason it recently called out to me. So here is the first chapter. Sure you enjoy it. It is very AU, and promises to have some special guests as well.

AN 2: date 6/18/16: slightly revised, to make some meanings clearer and replace some incorrect words.

Oliver's nightmare had begun two nights ago, when he had been ambushed in an alley by soldiers from Nanda Parbat. He was knocked unconsciousness, restrained and woke up to find himself lying on the ground in front of Nyssa al Ghul. Oliver struggled to sit up as Nyssa glared down at him.

Nyssa, the beautiful daughter of Ra's al Ghul, was on a mission from her father, the fearless leader of the League of Assassins, a group of killers known world-wide for their cruelty and efficiency. She informed Oliver her father was not happy with one of his operatives being killed while visiting Oliver's city. As if Oliver had anything to do with it. And it wasn't as if they weren't trying everything to find out who murdered Sara…their Sara. Of course they were attempting to bring the killer to justice. They just haven't had any luck. Unfortunately.

Apparently, Ra's was unaccepting of this lack of progress, and thought it concerned him. Nyssa informed Oliver that Ra's had issued a decree that, unless Ta-er Sah-fer's killer was found and brought to him within forty-eight hours, blood would begin to flow in the streets of Starling. Fifty people would continue to be killed daily until Ta-er Sa-fir's killer was brought to him.

Oliver struggled against his bonds without any success in loosening them. "Nyssa, you know we've been looking for Sara's murderer for the past three months. You know we've been doing our best."

"It does not matter. My father demands results or restitution." She glared at Oliver. "Meet us here when the time is up. Be prepared for the consequences if you fail." Sniffing in disgust, Nyssa added, "Do not bring any of your team with you. We will take that as a sign of disrespect and thus begin the killings immediately. Beginning with them."

Oliver was left alone in the deserted building, still bound. He watched as the soldiers and Nyssa marched out, leaving without another word. Sighing, he began to work on the ropes restraining him. It took a few minutes longer than it usually did, but he was able to release himself. Only to return to the lair and inform his team of the new threat.

As expected, Team Arrow was unable to find the identity of the murderer over the next two days. Oliver was left without any other choice but to meet Nyssa. He had informed his team he was sure he would return with details of a battle, and refused their offers to accompany them.

"No, they told me to come alone. Anything else would negate any agreement and would result in the beginning of the murders."

Oliver could tell the information didn't sit well especially with Diggle and Felicity, but they had no choice. Roy was attempting to hide his worry, but with little success. Oliver said good-bye to them and met Nyssa at the designated deserted warehouse again.

As he approached the building, Oliver observed nothing unusual. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he remained alert. Nyssa was still able to sneak behind him without his knowledge.

"Oliver."

He turned and observed as the warrior walked towards him. "Nyssa."

"Thank you for meeting me." The comment was loaded with sinister meaning.

"I didn't think I had a choice."

"No, you did not. My father is very serious. As you well know." Nyssa nodded. "Please follow me."

Oliver followed her into the building and down several hallways. As soon as they entered a large room, he was surrounded by LOA soldiers, swords drawn. Several broke rank, and Ra's entered the circle to stand in front of Oliver. He nodded, and two men behind Oliver approached him. One of them placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder, applied a nerve block, which brought Oliver to his knees. His wrists were bound together behind his back, and he was brought back to his feet.

One of the men next to Ra's removed his veil. Oliver could not stifle a gasp. It was Maseo, his handler while he was in Hong Kong working for Amanda Waller and her clandestine organization. Oliver thought he had died in their last adventure there.

"Yes, Oliver, it is I."

"How?" Oliver decided to allow his incredulity show in his question.

Maseo shrugged. "This is not the time to discuss that."

Ra's looked at the younger man in front of him. "Mr. Queen, I am disappointed in you. You have failed your city."

Oliver could not believe Ra's had used his very own catchphrase against him. From the little he had read about Ra's, Oliver could only guess Ra's' sense of humor was rare, and he now chose this moment to show it? "You gave me an impossible task. How was I to find out who killed Sara when you knew it all along?" He looked at Maseo, who met his gaze unflinchingly.

"How did you figure it out?" Ra's asked, not completely hiding his appreciation of Oliver's intelligence.

"Who else would have caught Sara unawares to be able to kill her?"

As soon as he saw Maseo, Oliver knew who killed Sara. Only Maseo would have the skills to catch her unawares. Hardly anyone else would have succeeded in killing the skilled League assassin.

"I should not have discounted your intelligence, Mr. Queen. My daughter did try to discourage me from this, out of some kind of misguided loyalty I suppose. However, Starling City will be one of the cornerstone cities in my plan to change the world, and I will not allow you to stand in my way."

"Why? We're not centrally located like Metropolis, and we're not as large as Gotham City. Why choose Starling?"

"Because I can accomplish so much, and get my plans under way, before anyone will be the wiser. As long as you are not there to stop me." Walking up to Oliver, Ra's looked him in the eye. "So, in order to do this, I need to keep you out of the way." He nodded to the man to the right of Oliver. Before Oliver knew it, a needle was thrust into his arm, blackness immediately followed.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Oliver attempted to roll over in his sleep, only to awaken and find his wrists manacled and attached by chains to the wall behind him. Instead of lying down, he instead was leaning against a wooden wall. The rank smell of sea water filled his nostrils. The slight uneasiness in his stomach, as well as the rolling movement of his surroundings, informed Oliver he was on a boat of some kind. As his vision cleared, he observed steel bars on three sides of him.

Looking up when he heard footsteps, Oliver was not surprised to see Nyssa approaching him. "What the hell, Nyssa? What's the meaning of this?"

"Like my father said, we need to have you out of the way. We are taking you back with us to Nanda Parbat."

"But why?"

"Why not just kill you? Yes, I asked my father that very question."

"No. Why bring me back with you?"

"My father has plans for you. As well as keeping you from interfering in the plans he has for your city, your country itself."

"For some reason I think I'm not going to like it."

"Actually, no you won't. But there's nothing you can do about it. You were stupid enough to catch my father's attention."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You will find out soon enough. It is not my place to tell you."

"You don't like me very much."

"No. No, I don't."

"May I ask why?"

Nyssa laughed without humor, a grim expression on her face. "Oh, where should I begin? Your self-indulgent playboy past, your huge ego you still have today, or the fact you used my Beloved to avoid commitment with her very own sister? Pick one."

"Aw, don't stop there. Tell me how you really feel."

"Any sympathy I might have shown you in the past was only in memory of my Beloved. Now, I'm going to enjoy watching my father humble you."

His face losing any light-heartedness, Oliver asked, "Seriously, Nyssa, what does your father plan to do?"

"You're a somewhat intelligent man. I hear you're familiar with Bruce Wayne. I'm certain you can figure it out." Nyssa turned and, with head high, walked towards the door.

"Wait, Nyssa! You can't support this plan? Destroy your Beloved's hometown, her country? What would Sara say?"

Nyssa, her head held high, turned to look at Oliver with a steady disgust-filled look in her steel-black eyes. "She's no longer alive to say, is she?" She then walked out without another look at Oliver.

"Nyssa! Nyssa! You can't let this happen! You just can't!" Oliver struggled against the chains with no avail. He continued to yell at the young woman as she left. He let his arms fall to his sides and his shoulders droop in disgust. What am I going to do? Is Ra's actually going to destroy Starling City? How can I stop him?

With no answers forthcoming, Oliver leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Which he quickly opened when he realized a name was said that he hadn't asked about. Bruce Wayne. What could Nyssa mean by mentioning Gotham City's Golden Boy?

With everything that had occurred in the three years since he had returned to Starling, Oliver didn't have a moment to spare to think much about what was happening in Gotham City. However, now that he thought about it, Oliver remembered hearing about some type of vigilante who was prowling the streets of Gotham, basically doing what Oliver was attempting to do in Starling. Then there was the buzz when Gotham had almost been destroyed by a wide-spread virus some sort of mega-crazed villain had set loose. Which the Batman had supposedly defeated. Then hadn't been heard of for several months.

Felicity, with her love of current events, had kept Oliver abreast of the news, of which he hadn't taken much notice. She had been particularly drawn to the events because of their attempting to contact Bruce Wayne for a business deal during that time. Unfortunately, they were told he had been called out of the country on some urgent, secret business of his own. Thus they had to shelf the deal.

A most weird, but tantalizingly possible, realization burst in Oliver's mind, encouraged by Nyssa's taunts. Could Gotham City actually have a billionaire-vigilante of their own? Was Bruce Wayne basically copying his idea? (More or less, since it appears they began their crusades around the same time. But Oliver pushed that idea away for future thought).

And so, if Bruce was Batman, then Ra's was the mega-crazed villain who almost destroyed Gotham. And now, instead, planned to use Starling for his evil plans.

Oliver pressed his fingers to his forehead in an attempt to control the headache threatening to develop. Why must he keep ending up in world-ending conflicts? He shook his head. I really need a vacation.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

The rest of the voyage passed without incident. Neither member of the al Ghul family came to visit him. He was brought a meal of bland food twice a day. Just enough food and water to keep him alive. No information given, despite Oliver's attempts to get any information whatsoever from the guards.

It begged the question of what purpose was he being kept alive. Did Sara have to die to bring it about? No matter how he looked at it, Oliver could not make sense of it. And, you better believe it, Oliver had been racking his brain trying to come up with any possible explanations.

Not knowing much about Ra's didn't help. In the forty-eight hours they'd been given, Felicity had attempted to get as much information about the League and its leader as she could. Unfortunately, she'd found very little, adding to their frustration. Now, sitting here as the man's captive, Oliver had precious little intel to help plan some sort of escape.

Thinking of Felicity reminded Oliver of his team. He wondered what they thought when he didn't return. Were they told anything? He wondered when, or more likely if, he'd get any answers from Ra's. He also wondered whether his team would attempt a rescue. Shaking his head, Oliver rolled his eyes at himself. Of course, knowing Felicity, they would do anything to help him. Especially Felicity. Even if it meant doing it by herself. Which she wouldn't have to, for Diggle would never allow anything to happen to her.

"Such a serious expression on your face, Mr. Queen. As if you have the entire world upon your shoulders."

Oliver stumbled to his feet. He wanted so much to be able to approach the bars and yell in the face of the man nonchalantly standing there, but the chains wouldn't allow it. "Ra's." After a beat, he said, "How nice to finally see you. Got time to answer some questions?"

Ra's laughed, a low rumbling cackle. "I can only imagine, Mr. Queen, the questions you have. However, I hate to disappoint you but we do not have the time at the moment. I am here merely to inform you we have reached our destination and will be disembarking soon."

Oliver waited for him to continue, then sighed and asked, "And where would that be?"

"As I had told you before, my home. Nanda Parbat. Which I am certain you are not familiar with."

Oliver felt anger simmering within him, and attempted to tamp it down. Losing his temper would not serve any purpose but to entertain the sick SOB in front of him. "I'm open to learning about anything you care to tell me."

"For now, Mr. Queen, prepare yourself to disembark. Soon you will be in your new home."

Before Oliver could say something clever, Ra's turned and walked out of the room. Instead, two soldiers approached, unlocked the cell door, and entered. They released him from the manacles but quickly restrained his arms behind his back and handcuffed his wrists. Oliver was then not so gently pushed towards the door.

AN: So what you think? You enjoy? Not sure yet where it should go...like I said, I am still trying to make sense of the events of season 3. Ha. Anyhow, hope you liked and will return when I post future chapters. Thanks soooo much!