A/N: I'm low key sentimental. I took five days writing this extremely long chapter because today marks one year since I began this whole thing with publishing the first chapter of Scratched Silver. A lot of stuff has happened since then, and this is my way of celebrating some milestones.

December 13th, 2018

"I have decided to do it."

"You're what? I don't understand. You're really going to do it?"

"I've had enough. It's time for a change in the league. No longer shall I wait for this to happen on its own and I will not allow it to be the center of my life. The league and its members are the priority, not the imprudent games I play when trying to control it and the obstacles that are brought forth."

"I understand but there could be a way to figure it all out. By doing this, you would force yourself to do things the hard way."

"Sometimes things need to be done the toilsome way."

"But I don't think you've considered all the angles. Maybe-"

"Oliver, it has already been decided. I'm destroying the nine swords."

48 Hours Earlier…

"I do not understand why you are committing so much to a single pasta dish." Nyssa wondered, "You realize this is not a special occasion, correct?"

Oliver didn't look away from the pot of steaming pasta when Nyssa spoke. "I thought I'd try something a bit different," he answered, "Besides, we've been eating a lot of the same thing and there was a great deal on seafood so one thing led to another and-wait, can you pass me the salt?"

"I know you have a lot to finish from the office. I could have done this." Nyssa offered as she set the salt on the counter off to Oliver's side.

"We've both been working. This really isn't a big deal." Oliver assured. He stared down at the pot filled with his masterpiece and took in the irresistible aroma that had already filled the kitchen. "I think this is just about done."

"Looks complete to me."

"You never saw the recipe."

"It still looks nice."

"Thank you. I can start plating if you can go find William."

"Sure."

While Oliver busied himself with plates, Nyssa stood up from where she had been leaning against the island and walked up the stairs. Even from down the hallway, she could see that William's door was mostly closed, but there was still a thin beam of light that stretched out across the carpet and opposing wall.

She walked up to the door and lightly knocked. "William?" she said from the side of the door frame, "Dinner's ready. Can you come downstairs?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a moment!" The teen called from inside.

Nyssa strolled back downstairs and wasn't surprised to see Oliver finishing up the last few steps to perfecting his masterpiece, which he had already begun to lay out on the counter. Very rarely did the family sit down at the table in the dining room now a days. Instead, they made the counter at the island the table, and it never felt awkward because how naturally cozy the kitchen was. Oliver always insisted on standing because he claimed that he had been 'Sitting all day and needed to get back on his feet'.

"He'll be down in a moment," Nyssa informed as she walked around to Oliver's side while pulling her hoodie tighter around her body and crossing her arms.

"Great, because I need your guys' honest opinion."

"On the dish I suppose?"

"That and if I should try using different meats next time."

"This is becoming a hobby for you, isn't it?"

"You could say that."

"What's cookin'?"

Nyssa and Oliver both looked up and saw William walking towards the kitchen with a few notecards in his hand, each filled with disorganized scribbles in different colors of ink.

"Cajun seafood pasta," Oliver announced while he began plating the meal.

"Seafood. That's new. Is there a special occasion?"

"Sale at the weekly market."

"Alright," William hummed. He kept his eyes on Oliver, who looked over each plate, fixing any imperfections he saw. "Are you trying to impress us?"

"Not especially," Oliver answered.

"Are you sure? Because you're giving the same amount of attention to the food as the people on Food Network do." William suggested, "Have you ever thought about entering one of those cook-offs?"

"This is just a hobby. Nothing fancy."

"It looks like you're slowly becoming the next Bobby Flay."

"What are those notecards for?" Oliver questioned.

A smirk tugged at the corner of William's mouth when he knew his father was trying to avoid the subject, but went along with it. "Chemistry test on Thursday and I wanted to study with any extra seconds."

"It's only Tuesday. You sure seem dedicated to it." Oliver remarked, "Is it on something more difficult for you?"

"Partially. It's stuff on the structure of atoms, to say the least, and I'm not the best at it. But if it makes you feel any better, I think I'll pass. I just have to memorize some of the ways to figure out the number of particles and such."

"Well if you stay dedicated like you are now, you'll do fine." Oliver gave each plate a quick glance over before sliding two of them across the counter towards William and Nyssa. "Alright, I want an honest answer."

"We're not saying anything until you take a bite with us." William insisted, "Aren't the professionals supposed to taste it before allowing it to be judged?"

"I'm not a professional. Hasn't that already been established?"

"Just checkin'."

William was the first to pick up his fork but waited until both Oliver and Nyssa had caught up before actually taking a bite. His father's gaze was focused on the countertop, but William knew that somehow, his expression was seen.

"It's oddly quiet…" Oliver said cautiously, "Is it that bad?"

"If my tongue wasn't burning up as we speak, I would be able to comment on the flavor, but for now, nine out of ten." William reviewed, "I would definitely dine here again."

"I would hope so," Oliver said as he turned to Nyssa, "What do you think?"

"I think your time was well spent." The brunette replied with a small smile.

Oliver grinned as he went back to his own plate. For the next minute, near silence filled the kitchen and was only interrupted by the cling of silverware against the plates.

"So, um," William began, "You remember that parent-teacher conferences start on Thursday, right? Were you able to schedule some with my teachers?"

"Yup, it's already been taken care of." Oliver informed.

Nyssa glanced up towards Oliver and William, silent for a moment. "I can take care of that, if you'd like."

"Aren't you going to be in Finiks Jurf during the conference?" Oliver asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, bu-"

"You don't have to worry about it then. I can handle the conferences since I should be done at the office by then."

"Okay then…"

"By the way, how are things going in Finks Jurf right now?"

"Smoother than before." Nyssa answered.

"Well that's good to here, but what's going on with that….thing, from about two weeks ago?"

"It's being dealt with."

"It's still better than it was earlier on."

"Yes, it is."

Nyssa glanced towards William and was relieved to see him more focused on his notecards rather than her and Oliver's conversation. Oliver followed her gaze and when he picked up on the hint, he didn't ask another question, again to Nyssa's relief. They both knew it wasn't supposed to go that far.

The running water and the clinking of the porcelain plates against each other were the only sounds that filled the kitchen. Darkness had fallen over the city hours ago, and from where she stood at the sink, Nyssa got a perfect view from the window of how the city's lights pierced through that darkness, just like they did every night. It was one of the many reasons she preferred Star City at night.

"Nys?"

Nyssa didn't have to turn her head to realize that it was Oliver who called her by the exclusive nickname. He walked into the kitchen, from the direction of the office, and stopped a few feet away.

"I thought we agreed to not discuss those matters when William's around." Nyssa muttered, still not looking away from the soap covered plate in her hand.

Oliver bit his bottom lip. "I forgot about that and I'm sorry."

"Please don't forget again. I don't want him getting more involved in this….mess."

"William's a smart kid."

"Which is why I would appreciate it if from now on, we did not discuss league matters here."

"Alright, it won't happen again. I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"But I know that the mention of the league isn't what's really bothering you." Oliver suggested. Nyssa briefly froze and went back to rinsing another plate, but Oliver saw right through it. "What's going on?"

"Just….long day."

"You've been saying every day is a long day."

"This one was simply longer than others."

"And why was that?" Nyssa's eyebrows furrowed as she finally glanced towards Oliver. "William's upstairs studying over a Skype call with a friend. I doubt he'd hear anything."

"I'd rather not take any chances." She muttered.

"We have a deck-"

"Oliver," Nyssa interrupted, "leave it alone."

"I just want to understand."

"There's nothing to understand."

"Your tone says otherwise."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would drop the subject so I can finish cleaning the kitchen."

"I'll help you out then." Oliver offered, already beginning to pick up the few dishes left in the sink before Nyssa could interject. "It would speed the process up, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so."

Oliver passively scooted towards her side, putting him closer to the running water. The inches of height he had on her barely helped him in figuring out what she was trying to avoid, but he knew that something on her mind was the source of the frustration.

"So," Oliver began, "What's going on with your Norwegian friends back at the workplace?"

"Your code names for the league barely keep it hidden." Nyss replied, "But things are going fine, like I had said at dinner. What about things here in the city?"

"Same old thing. Meetings, proposal reviews, Tarren being a pest; the usual."

"Sounds delightful."

"But the parent-teacher conferences going on at William's school are coming up. Don't tell him this, but I just remembered as the school was closing earlier today. I know they were kind of important to him."

"Yes, he's mentioned them several times when cursing about a group project where he's forced to carry the team. His grumbling was more like normal speech."

"I honestly don't understand why he has to have these scheduled," Oliver added, "I mean, I understand why they're necessary, but why they're necessary for William still confuses me. He's got straight A's and doesn't have any problems with teachers or other students."

"That you know of."

"You think William hasn't been telling us something?"

"No, but it's still a small possibility."

"Well either way, I was able to get all of William's conferences scheduled for Friday evening at around six o'clock. I already know I have a meeting that ends only fifteen minutes before that so it's going to be tight, but I think we should be fine."

"Your meetings never stay on schedule. What makes you think you would make it there in time?"

"I can pull some strings."

"But why take the chance?"

"I thought you viewed risk-taking as something not to be avoided."

"But not something one should indulge in either," Nyssa corrected.

"Well, I can't reschedule. All the openings were taken and I was lucky to get these ones."

"I can go."

"Aren't you going to be in Finiks Jurf?"

"I-" As soon as she began, Nyssa stopped and released an annoyed sigh. "I can make it work."

"But you've been getting home at around nine every night for the last two weeks. How would you be able to make it there in time?"

"The time I get back will be changing soon."

"How soon?"

Nyssa turned away from Oliver and picked up the plate that he had set down. "The next week, or so." She replied, "I-I'm not sure…"

"Well, we miss you here." Oliver said gently, "William and I rarely see you these days. Not even on weekends."

"I know, and I'm doing my best to fix that."

"You've been saying that but it's becoming less convincing."

"I know," Nyssa mumbled, "I'm trying, and I'm sorry. Things with the league….it's complicated."

"Is that why you asked me to stop talking about it when William's around?" Oliver questioned, and received silence. "Is that why you asked me to stop talking about it?"

Nyssa's focus on anything around her faded completely, and Oliver saw her bite her lip. Silence fell between them. Oliver knew that it wasn't the right time, nor the place, to ask questions, but for the past week, they had been burning a hole in his mind. He needed an answer.

"I'm sorry if this seems direct but-"

"No, it's fine." Nyssa interrupted, "I haven't been reasonable and you have every right to demand answers."

"I don't want to demand anything from you. We both have the parts of our lives that are separate and sometimes you can't talk about it," Oliver sympathized, "I understand."

"Except the part of your life that you can keep separate is vastly preferred in regards to this family."

"What do you mean?"

Silence fell over them again, and Oliver saw Nyssa's grip on the porcelain plate tighten.

"I hate my life." Nyssa mumbled, and although Oliver was standing at her side, he could see the layer of tears coating her eyes. "I hate it."

"Nys," Oliver soothed as he placed his hand on her back, but it did nothing to relieve the tension. "What's going on?"

"I can't do it all…I can't. I made a mistake in accepting the treaty with Norway."

"What do you mean? If you hadn't then you would have lost the league."

"It was the right choice for the league, but it was not the right choice for you and William." Nyssa explained, "Every day when I come home, you and William are already ending your days. I miss everything that a wife and mother should be there for and I hate it. I can't ask that you change, because you're doing what someone should. I'm the one that's causing all the problems and every day it feels like I'm failing as a member of this family….A mother should know what happens in her child's life as well as her husband's. I barely know anything that goes on in your life outside of what happens in this house, and I don't even get to ask William how his day went or what he did in class….I can't even name the classes he takes, or what he does after school…."

"I don't like this either." Oliver agreed, and Nyssa didn't look at him strangely. Her expression was normal, like she had been expecting it. "I know you have your obligation to the league, but William never sees you apart from the few minutes before we leave in the morning. He asked about it for the first few days, but he doesn't ask anymore. It's just become part of the routine."

"The league's taken so much…." Nyssa muttered, "I can't do this anymore….I don't want to do it anymore, and for the past few weeks, I've…..I wish I hadn't created the league. Not to mention the burden the 'ancient sword magic' really is. Any spare moment I get is immediately used by worrying about how I'm supposed to control it."

"I thought you were working with Nazaria to fix things like that, and last I heard, it was going well."

"I haven't worked with her in weeks. She left to visit family in the Middle East around Thanksgiving, and when she returned, I never had the time to get back into the habit of practicing."

"And none of the past work helps?"

Nyssa shook her head. "She taught me that as I grew more experienced with using them, I would learn control naturally. Other than getting to and from the league, I avoid using it because I don't know what would happen if I were to lose control, and that fear has only made the possibility more likely."

"It's not too late to address it though, is it?"

"I have no idea. I try not to think about it….I never wanted this and having it only causes problems. I just want a normal life here in Star City with you and William. Hell, I daydreamed about having a desk job….or even working in the security detail again. Anything sounds better at this point."

"You can walk away from this Nys. You've done so much for it already, and there are plenty of people who could take your place…but don't disband it. Think of all the good work you've encouraged by starting it with a new code."

"I don't know what's supposed to be done right now, by me or the league as a whole….All I know is that I want it all to stop, and I want to be in your and William's lives like I should be."

A sympathetic smile tugged at the corner of Oliver's mouth before he leaned forward and pulled his wife into his arms. "We'll figure this out together," Oliver decided, "We're a team, and I'm not leaving you alone." He felt a nod in his chest.

"Thank you, beloved….You're the first person that has taken the time to listen."

The day began as all days in the Queen household did. While Oliver and William prepared to head out to work and school, Nyssa waited downstairs. It never took her very long to get ready compared to Oliver and William; so when she was done, she always went downstairs, made a cup of tea, and waited for them both. Waiting never bothered her, as it was truly the only way she could see William that day, unless he stayed up later, which didn't happen often. William was growing into more of a morning person, and because Oliver was far from that, the young boy was always left waiting for Oliver with Nyssa.

Footsteps came from the stairs, and from where Nyssa was leaning up against the counter, she looked up just in time to see William walking into the kitchen. He wore his classic red and white high school style jacket, and his navy blue backpack was lazily slung over one shoulder.

"Morning William." Nyssa greeted.

"Morning." The boy replied, although distracted as he walked towards a floor to ceiling set of cabinets.

Nyssa watched from the corner of her eye as the fourteen-year-old reached into the cabinet and pulled out one of the two boxes of cereal left inside. She wanted to begin a conversation, but as soon as she saw William sit down at the counter and pull out some note cards, she knew it was best to let him study. As he picked at bits of the dry cereal, William didn't notice the awkward silence between the two and continued to read over his writing, until another set of footsteps came from the stairs.

Wearing a dark gray suit and wine-colored tie, Oliver walked into the kitchen and couldn't help but smile when he saw both William and Nyssa.

"Morning you two." He piped.

"Hey Dad." William greeted in a much more cheerful manner than he had greeted Nyssa.

"Are you still studying for chemistry?"

"Yeah, Nate helped me realize that a little more studying wouldn't hurt my case."

"He's right, no harm in taking the extra few minutes," Oliver said as he reached into the cabinet and took out a bag of coffee grounds. He glanced over to his side and saw Nyssa distracted by her tea as much as William was by his notecards. "Hey Nys."

Nyssa took the cup away from her face and quickly smiled at Oliver. "Morning."

"You're quieter than normal."

"Just enjoying the morning."

"Are you doing anything out of the ordinary today?"

"I do not believe so. And you?"

"Same old routine." Oliver replied before glancing down at his watch, "William, we need to get going in a few minutes. Are you ready to go?"

"Yup, just waiting for you." William mumbled without taking his eyes away from the notecards.

Oliver quickly put a lid on his cup of coffee and took it into his hands before looking over towards his wife. "I guess I'll see you later tonight then?"

"You will."

"Great," Oliver smiled before leaning over and giving her a quick kiss, "See you in a few hours."

Nyssa smiled back at him as he and William both took their bags and walked out the front door. Even after the door shut behind them and she could hear the car leaving the driveway, Nyssa stood there alone, finishing her tea as though there wasn't a thing on her mind, except the exact opposite was true.

As soon as her cup was empty, Nyssa set it in the sink and walked down to the basement. When she turned on the lights, the shadowy figures that had been on the table became her folded garbs. She took off the camel colored cardigan, that had made her black leggings and long sleeve shirt seem more like an outfit, and draped it over the back of a wooden chair.

The heavy cotton of the dark gray overcoat embellished with detailed gold trim felt like a blanket of familiarity, and the weight of her sword and quiver on her back acted as an anchor. Her black riding-style boots with straps around the ankle had a layer of dirt covering them, but it had become a normal occurrence that didn't both Nyssa at all.

With everything she needed to start her own workday, Nyssa stared straight ahead at the map that was displayed on the wall. Several colored marks were scribbled on and around the continents, but as it gained more marks every week, she and Oliver decided to just keep it there and not replace it, as it had gained as much importance as a family heirloom.

Since there was nothing else she could do to stall, Nyssa cautiously lifted her foot and tapped her heel against the ground. A flurry of golden flames rose from where her heel had landed, and they rose up into the air faster than normal. Nyssa's breath hitched as they grew higher and higher, and just as a bright whiteness took over her sight, a burning lash came from the side of her leg, but she couldn't look to see what it was before everything became white.

The bright blankness quickly faded into a forest setting, and as soon as she could, Nyssa stumbled forward while holding the side of her leg. She staggered to the side but stopped herself from tripping as soon as she realized where she was. Nyssa looked around, and her expectation of being in the league's fjord was far from reality. Tall spruces and pines rose from the ground and through the holes in the canopy, the darkening, milky sky was visible. Patches of grass grew through the layers of damp dirt, but it did nothing to tell the assassin where she had ended up.

The scenery was only a momentary distraction before Nyssa looked down to where she was still holding the side of her leg. She carefully lifted her hand from where it rested just below the side of her knee. Despite her leather pants being a dark pebble gray, she could see the charred edges of the area of leather that had been burned away. The burn that was left on her skin wasn't bad, but it became an annoyance as soon as Nyssa readjusted herself so her weight was evenly spread.

As an instinct, Nyssa took her phone from a pocket on the inside of her jacket and, miraculously, saw she had one bar. It was just enough to pull up a map, where she was able to see exactly where she ended up; almost six miles northeast of the league's fjord.

She kept her grumbling to a minimum as she used her phone's compass to find southwest, and as she began the walk to where she should have ended up, Nyssa wished she had sick days to waste away on days like this.

Well over an hour of walking made Nyssa feel as though she had just wasted the entire day away, and her mud covered boots and garbs didn't help make the feeling go away. Despite her situation, Nyssa knew that an hour had still been wasted and there was work to be done.

The entrance hall was almost deserted when Nyssa walked inside. A few assassins walked through the open area to get to the place they needed to go, but they disappeared as soon as they appeared.

"Nyssa!"

The voice from behind her was all too familiar, and as Nyssa turned around to face them, a bit of surprise was shown through her expression.

"Elena," Nyssa greeted, "I thought you weren't supposed to be walking around."

"Because the 'You're pregnant' excuse? That recommendation went out the window nearly two hours ago." The Greek replied, "Where were you yesterday?!"

"I was here."

"No, you weren't. I was looking for you yesterday morning and apparently, you had left for Star City. What happened to the military inspection from Norway? You left and that hadn't been addressed."

"I had somewhere else I needed to be."

"Nyssa, I know Oliver and William are important, but they could have waited an hour." Elena stressed, "We had to scramble around to get things ready in time, and thank god the commanders didn't demand to see you specifically, or else we would have been screwed."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Good! Now onto the other matter," Elena said as her gaze traveled to Nyssa's garb. "You're here almost two hours late and you're covered in mud. Explain."

"Look, I'm sorry Elena. I'm trying to take care of all of this but a better outcome wasn't in my cards."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought I was going to get here on time, a few minutes early in fact, but I ended up miles away from the fjord and had to hike here." Nyssa explained.

"You have an ability to essentially teleport. Why didn't you do that?"

"Because it's the reason I was out there in the first place," Nyssa replied, "You know what, just forget it. You shouldn't be getting this involved, and now that I am here, I need to get to work."

"Nyssa Queen, get back here!" Elena called, "You're good, but you're not that good." Nyssa turned back around with her arms crossed over her chest. "You think you can just shrug me off that easily?"

"Elena, I'm not trying to shrug you off, but this is not something you should concern yourself with."

"Like hell I'm not going to concern myself with my best friend's life." Elena scoffed, "The control is getting harder, isn't it?"

"I'm working on it."

"Obviously not that efficiently. When I asked you about it last week, you shrugged me off. You're not going to get away with doing the same thing."

"I shrugged you off because you were busy. We both had things to finish."

"Well, that's not the case now."

"No Elena, it may not be the case for you but I don't have time for this."

"You never have time for anything important these days," Elena pointed out as Nyssa began walking away, "Why is it that you always forget that taking care of yourself is important?"

"I do not forget something like that," Nyssa argued, "The league and Norway have to come first or else we risk losing something more important than what goes on in my life."

"For god's sakes Nyssa! If this whole magic deal is getting to you, then get help from Nazaria! She's here to help you!"

"I will look into that as soon as the Norwegian government gets off my back and the league doesn't have anything else I need to worry about." Nyssa finished as she walked to the side of the hall and disappeared into a corridor.

"Is she being difficult?"

Nyssa jumped and looked to her side, where Andrew was leaning against a doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Your wife is becoming a pain in the neck," Nyssa blurted, "I'm sorry, but I would greatly appreciate if you would tell her to get off my back."

"We'll just blame it on the pregnancy to be nice," Andrew muttered as he glanced towards the end of the corridor that led to where Elena had been standing. "But she wasn't lying. When didn't see you around the fjord, she began searching for you up until you came in a few minutes ago. Zayn tried to keep her in one place, but you know Lena. Stubborn."

"Well when you get the chance, thank her on my behalf. For now, I have too many things to worry about."

Before Andrew could reply, Nyssa walked past him and continued down the corridor, already running through the growing list of things she had to finish and address before she could even consider going home for the night.

Checking in on the division of commanders that Nyssa ordered to be trained had become a lowlight of her day. Between their training becoming a lower priority and their trainers not working to have them ready as fast as possible, she couldn't deal with it, but as soon as she walked out of the largest training room that the trainers and trainees had been working in, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Nyssa pulled a pen out from where it had been resting behind her ear and used it to draw a line through the words 'Commanders' written on the back of her hand.

"Hey Nyssa!"

Nyssa recognized the voice, and although the person hadn't done anything to piss her off that morning, she still grumbled as she turned around to face the black-haired Canadian.

"What's going on Zayn?" Nyssa asked, already irritated that her time from getting other things done was slowly being stripped away. "You only approach me when you need something."

"Yeah, you got me on that." He admitted, "At some point today, I need a few minutes of your time."

"And why's that?"

"Just...tech stuff. It's hard to explain briefly, but you'll get it once you see it." Zayn explained as he stepped to Nyssa side and glanced down at her hand. "A To-Do list. Doesn't look like you're doing too bad today."

"I'd be doing better if those damn trainees would stick to the schedule that was supposed to be established." Nyssa grumbled.

"Ah-ha, I see then. What else is on the list?"

"Stuff for Norway, Hayden, Andrew, Saskia and Abigail-"

"Give me that pen for a sec."

"Why?"

"Just hand it to me."

Nyssa passed Zayn the pen, but as soon as he had it, he took Nyssa's hand and began reading down the list she had written.

"Zayn, what the hell-"

"Get the new coordinates to Hayden: Done." Zayn said as he drew a line through one of the phrases written on Nyssa's hand. "Talk to Andrew about mission and plane coordination-Done, and I have a list on my desk that will give you an overview. Saskia and Abigail were able to take care of the little problem in the med division so that's also done." Zayn looked down at his work, and out of the seven things Nyssa had written on her hand, six of them were crossed out. "What's left then? Find out what's going on with the Tanzania colony? I can get that done, which only leaves you with two things; letting me lecture you later on and-oh wait, this isn't on your list, but it's going to be."

Zayn passed the pen back to Nyssa and before she could argue with him, he put his arm around her shoulder and led her down a corridor in the back of the large entrance hall that she had been standing in. Only when they were in the corridor did Zayn let go of her shoulder, but he continued to lead her through until they reached the end; the main hall, where Elena stood at Nazaria's side with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Lena said you didn't have time for this," Zayn began, "So we made the time for you."

"Zayn-"

"And now you don't have any excuse!" Zayn finished, "Now I have a colony in Tanzania to check up on, so why don't you do what's best for you, for once, and I'll go do my thing."

Before Nyssa could argue, Zayn stepped behind her and shoved her closer to the two women. Elena's glare wasn't angry, but it was more than intimidating. The slight smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth were more than enough to tell Nyssa how victorious she felt. Nazaria's expression was blank, but Nyssa could tell that she wasn't in the mood for an argument.

"I hear you've been avoiding me," Nazaria intoned, and it left Nyssa stammering.

"No, I haven't been avoiding you," Nyssa managed, "I haven't had the time-"

"Nobody has time, but people make the time by prioritizing themselves when the time is right."

"Now was not the right time for this."

"That is such a bold-faced lie. Zayn, Elena, Andrew, and all the other people you're involved with here just worked their asses off to give you the time. Not even a thank you?" Nazaria stressed, "Did you ever think that if you keep going the way you have been, then you would leave everyone here in more trouble than they already are? You're supposed to be the leader, and a leader shouldn't make such foolish mistakes."

"I'm sorry-"

"An apology doesn't stop the damage that could have been done; only a change in lifestyle. I don't want to dive into that today, but I am here to help you address the problem of control you've been having. And don't you dare tell me you can handle it, because if that were the case, then I wouldn't be here and she wouldn't be glaring at you." Nazaria said, gesturing towards Elena with only her eyes. "Now are you going to be ungrateful for this or are you going to use it as you should?"

"The latter."

"Good. Now follow me."

Nazaria stepped past Nyssa and walked towards the polished stone staircase that led up to the elevated platform. Nyssa briefly glanced back towards Elena, who gestured for her to follow. She knew there was nothing to lose, so she did as directed.

As soon as she was in the center of the platform, Nazaria spun around and faced Nyssa, who was standing at the opposite end of the platform and taking off her quiver and sword scabbard. Elena stood by her as if she was making sure that her friend couldn't weasel out of anything.

"Besides getting to and from the fjord, when was the last time you used your powers?" Nazaria questioned as Nyssa walked towards the center where she stood.

"November 24th, when Zayn, Andrew, and I were in Norway."

"How much was it used?"

"It was in moderation. I only used it in desperate moments."

"And what did you feel when you were using it? Freedom? Power?"

"Fear."

"Explain."

Nyssa hesitated for a moment and almost looked back towards Elena, but stopped herself before she could. "I knew beforehand that control was becoming increasingly difficult, but the situation demanded that I get over it. Everything went well at first, until I got up onto the roof of the palace. I saw where the shooter was and I had to get over there, so I….teleported, if that's even the right word-"

"It is." Elena piped up.

"Anyway," Nyssa muttered, "I intended to land on a flat part, but I ended up on the edge of one of the risen portions, and fell backward. That small incident was enough to make me rethink what I was going to do, so I decided to fight with my bow. It worked for a short amount of time, but it was insufficient for taking down my opponent, so I had to take the alternative. Every moment of that fight, I feared losing control, and it felt as though I was attempting to maintain a wildfire where at any moment it could lash out and cause more damage. I never wanted to use it again, especially after that fight."

"Why did you fear losing control? If you had, you could have harmed your enemy more."

"I could have also hurt bystanders below."

"Good, you still remember the people." Nazaria smiled, "But sometimes, allowing that wildfire to go free is how one can maintain control. By letting it go, you can experience how free it wants to be and if you can control it at that point. In fact, I want you to try that right now."

"What? I don't-"

"Take your best shot. Imagine me as your enemy."

"Are you sure-"

"If I wasn't sure about this, then I wouldn't be telling you to do it." Nazaria stated plainly, "Now go!"

Nyssa only stared for the first few moments of silence before hesitantly taking a few steps back. Nazaria didn't move a muscle in the near minute that Nyssa stalled, but her patience didn't run out.

Nyssa looked down at her hand and knew that there was no avoiding it, so she clapped her hands together. A small flame grew in her hand, and it became larger with every passing second. Nyssa looked up towards Nazaria, who gave a quick nod or reassurance. Again, Nyssa hesitated but didn't give into the feeling as she pushed her arm out in front of her. The flame hurled through the air, leaving a trail of blaze behind it. Nazaria stepped to the side just before she could be hit, and the flames blew through the area where she was standing before fading into the air.

Nazaria didn't look back to where the flames had died away. "Again!" To avoid yelling or a lecture, Nyssa did the exact same thing and again, Nazaria avoided the hit before it shot through the area where she had just been standing. "Again!" The priestess called. Nyssa repeated the sequence. "Again!"

Nyssa grumbled as she clenched her fist and released, creating another ball of fire in the palm of her hand, but before she could send it in Nazaria's direction, the flames grew larger. Nyssa kept her focus on the fire, attempting to reduce its size before she briefly looked up towards Nazaria, whose interest had been peaked. The fire grew larger with no sign of dying out, and before she had a chance to look towards Nazaria, it became too much to manage. This time without hesitation, Nyssa lifted her arm into the air and sent the fire straight up, where it became even larger before the flames disappeared in the air.

"Well now that we know that boundary," Nazaria began as she walked towards Nyssa, "I want you to fight me."

"With fire I presume." Nyssa said with a slight grumble.

"Yes, and any other ability you deem fit."

Nazaria stopped only an arm's length away from Nyssa, and despite the small bit of height Nyssa had on the priestess, it barely did anything to help her when Nazaria lunged forward with a hit aimed for Nyssa's head. The assassin immediately leaned backwards and ducked to the her opponent's side. Nazaria sent a barrage of high attacks towards Nyssa, and everytime, the assassin blocked them. Before Nazaria could make another hit, Nyssa lunged towards her arm to try and hit it, but Nazaria was quicker and pushed Nyssa back with a sudden kick.

"I told you to fight with fire!" Nazaria exclaimed as Nyssa stumbled back, "And I know you're going easy on me. Like you, I was a member of the first league, and I expect a challenge!"

Nyssa's brow furrowed as she stood back up and darted towards Nazaria, except instead of opting for defensive, she stole the offensive as soon as she sent flames hurling in the priestess's direction. The older woman stepped out of the way immediately, but safety didn't stay with her long before Nyssa began a series of kicks, with each hurling fire in Nazaria's direction. The priestess avoided them all, some just tagging the edges of her clothes, before Nyssa planted both feet back on the ground. The assassin didn't stay like that for long.

Nyssa hurled more fire in Nazaria's direction, like she had been told to do, but with every flurry, it grew even more uncontrollable, with some slipping from her fingers before she had even aimed. She didn't want to give into it, so she kept going. Nazaria ducked and side stepped to avoid the barrage of fire being sent towards her by Nyssa's roundhouse kicks, but when she saw a flurry growing larger than the rest, she barely had time to avoid it. Nazaria jumped out of the way just before the fire could hit her, but it continued to hurl backwards.

Elena had only just seen Nazaria jump out of the way before a golden flurry was the only thing she saw. Without thinking, the brunette dove to the floor right before she was hit.

Nazaria put herself back in a steady position while Nyssa stared in Elena's direction, but the assassin barely had time to respond when the priestess stole the offensive and began to aim her hits towards Nyssa's head. With every hit, Nyssa countered it with a block with her arm, but she still had to walk backward to avoid harm. Nazaria's hits became faster and faster, and Nyssa didn't have time to avoid a hit to the collarbone. She staggered backward and from just a quick glimpse, she could see the priestess preparing to hit. Without thinking, Nyssa created another flame in front of her, but it grew larger before she had a chance to gain any control. Nazaria continued to move forward, but when she was less than a foot away, the flames burst.

A bang echoed through the hall as the two were pushed back by the force. While Nazaria was only sent in the opposite direction and landed safely on the platform, Nyssa was thrown backward and off the edge, towards the pools of water below. She fell freely for only a few seconds before hitting the surface, making the water splash up and in all directions.

Elena briefly looked towards Nazaria, who was beginning to stand up, before rushing towards the back edge of the platform that looked over the pools where the sacred water from the waterfall collected. She didn't see Nyssa at first, so she instinctively ran down the stairs and to the edge of the pools underneath the overhang. She nearly tripped at the bottom of the stairs but continued to hurry to the underside. A wave of relief rushed over her body as soon as she rounded the corner when she saw Nyssa already standing on the stone ground, wringing the water out of the long edges of her overcoat.

"Nyssa," Elena breathed, "Thank god. Are you alright?"

Nyssa briefly looked up towards Elena, and just from the quick glance, Elena understood. "Am I alright?" Nyssa questioned, "You and Nazaria are the ones I nearly killed!"

"You didn't come close to killing either of us."

"Don't try to convince me otherwise."

"This time, it's you who's mistaken." Nazaria pipped up as she walked towards the two, "It's clear that there are some aspects lacking control, but now we know what to work with and-"

"No." Nyssa interrupted, "I'm not doing this again."

"Hate to break it to you Nyssa, but this is kind of necessary if you're going to continue using this magic." Elena pointed out.

"No, it's not. I'm not doing this again. Never again." Nyssa declared, "I nearly killed you both and that was in a controlled environment. The damage I could do elsewhere is too great a risk."

"I understand that you're frustrated," Nazaria reasoned, "But this will take time to master. As long as we practice-"

"You don't get it!" Nyssa snapped, "This practice is making the situation worse! I do not know what you intended for me to gain from this, but if you were trying to convince me to never use these abilities again, then you certainly succeeded."

"You're set of circumstances aren't helping you, Nyssa." Elena pressed, "If you did decide to abandon this completely, fulfilling your position here would be nearly impossible."

"My convenience is not worth risking people's safety."

"This is not about your convenience," Nazaria countered, "This is about your obligation to the league."

"My obligation is not to carry around the fear of hurting another person unintentionally." Nyssa argued before brushing past Elena and Nazaria, "This was a naive idea."

"Nyssa!" Elena called, "Come back here!"

"What good would it do Elena?!" Nyssa shot back, "All I'm doing is putting more people at risk and I refuse to do that any longer!"

"We're trying to help you!"

"If you were really trying to help me, then you would leave this all alone, like I have been telling you to do!"

"So what, is this just your method of finding the easy way out?" Elena jeered, "Because this is a pretty shitty way of doing it!

"There is no way of getting out of this! No matter what I do, I'll have to live with this burden for the rest of my life, whether its ever address or left alone! And it's all part of the vicious cycle that this league has turned into; it only takes away aspects of someone's life and never has it given something back, even from the time of the first league! But hell, that is not something one can just change. It has become something the league demands from all those who get involved, and I want nothing to do with it."

"So what are you trying to say Nyssa?" Elena hesitated.

"I'm saying that I have had enough of this awful life."

Elena's expression that had been frozen by anger turned into shock as she and Nazaria stood side by side, watching Nyssa hurry out of the main hall until she disappeared down one of the corridors. All Elena could do was swallow the lump that had formed in her throat.

With her belongings gathered in a messenger bag lying on her desk, Nyssa turned and looked towards the stray books that couldn't fit and that she would have to carry by hand.

After the failed practice, Nyssa had found herself lost in the library, searching for any text that could give her more insight to the abilities she had claimed, yet come to fear. Elena, Nazaria, Zayn, nor Andrew came to try and talk to her, and she was thankful for that much.

Now as the clock read 6:00am, Nyssa knew that someone couldn't chase her down for going home at the same time she had been for the past few weeks. Before she was ready to go, Nyssa walked over to a bench that rested at the foot of her bed and took the sweater that was draped over the arm. She had prepared on another incident like earlier that morning by changing into street clothes, and Star City being Star City, she knew it would be cold.

Nyssa took the bag filled with books and swung it over her shoulder before taking the other small stack into her arms. A final glance around the room confirmed that she had everything, and Nyssa knew that there were no further ways to stall. She stepped into the center of the room and before she could talk herself out of it, Nyssa tapped her heel on the ground. A flurry of flames and embers began to form from the air, and as it rose high and higher into the air, Nyssa prayed she would at least wind up in her own city.

Despite elections being a little under a year away, Quentin already had Oliver preparing. Between meetings and normal mayor's duties, he was supposed to give more attention to the campaign. It was becoming more of a pain, but he knew it was necessary if he wanted to keep the city on the track of good change.

Now sitting at his own desk in the comfort of his warm home, Oliver kept his focus on the last few pages he had to read regarding the campaign. Even from his office chair, he could smell William's dinner from the kitchen; mac n' cheese. Oliver had told the freshman that he could do whatever he wanted for dinner since he had to finish things up for the office, and also because not every member of their family was home yet.

As the smell of his favorite childhood dinner drifted through the house, Oliver quickly formulated a plan to snag the leftovers as soon as William left the kitchen, but his thoughts were quickly pulled away when he heard the front door begin to unlock. Oliver immediately stood from his desk and waited another moment. As soon as he heard the door swing open, he darted out of the office and into the small hallway but stopped immediately when he saw who it was.

"Nyssa?"

The brunette jumped when he spoke and quickly turned towards him.

"Oliver," She breathed, "Sorry. I was not expecting you to be there."

"It's fine, but what's with the change of clothes?" Oliver questioned, "Did you go somewhere?"

"It has been an incredibly long and irritating day," Nyssa muttered, "And the walk here did not help."

Oliver didn't understand what she meant at first, but after a moment, it clicked. "And all the books are…"

"Homework."

"Fun."

"I would say otherwise," Nyssa sighed, "I have a long night ahead so I should probably get to work."

"Alright then," Oliver said, "I'll leave you to it."

Nyssa flashed a smile towards Oliver before walking through the family room and into the kitchen, where William was standing, stirring his mac n' cheese with one hand while adjusting his earbud with the other and watching a movie on his phone.

Nyssa didn't say anything as she passed through the kitchen and into the dining room. The dark walnut table was completely cleared off and clean, so she took a seat at the far end and began pulling the old books out of her bag after setting down the small stack she had carried inside. Each was much larger than a traditional book, but most still a reasonable thickness. Once all the books were laid out in front of her, Nyssa took one from the top of the stack and opened it to the first page. Already, the amount of small, Arabic writing was overwhelming, but she didn't wait to start reading.

Only a few minutes of reading the old text had passed when Nyssa saw someone walking into the dining room from the kitchen. She briefly glanced towards the side, but her focus was completely pulled away from the book when she saw Oliver approaching with two bowls.

"Before you got home, I made a plan to steal William's leftover mac n' cheese," Oliver said as he pulled out a chair and set the bowls on the table, "Fortunately, there was just enough left for two."

"Thank you beloved," Nyssa smiled.

"So what's this light reading for?" Oliver questioned while panning over the small stacks of books spread out on the table top. "Is this for the league?"

"Something like that…."

"Rough day?" Nyssa nodded. "Looks like we're in the same boat then."

"What went on in the office then?" Nyssa inquired, "You don't normally talk about when you have a particularly bothersome day."

"Between Quentin pressing the campaign for re-election and Tarren not giving me enough notice for an onslaught of security measures for events, it just became hectic."

"I know what you mean."

"I mean when you were still working in the security detail, didn't they have a requirement of giving the mayor and anyone else involved with the event's security a notice of the change at least three days in advance?"

"Yes, we had that in place."

"Well, it needs to be reenacted. Tarren barged into my office this afternoon and told me that he had to relocate part of the detail to the other side of the event less than a day before I'm supposed to give that speech at the SCFD!" Oliver complained, but Nyssa had to turn away to suppress a laugh. "What?"

"I think Tarren has high expectation of you considering that he now knows about your other job," Nyssa quipped, "You cannot honestly expect Tarren of all people to plan in advance."

"I don't, but despite my night job, I still expect the same treatment as any other mayor."

"Speaking of the night job, who's on patrol tonight?"

"Thea and Roy decided to take it tonight."

"I thought Roy had left town last week."

"No, he's staying with Thea. He's dropped hints about it being a permanent change," Oliver answered, "I haven't seen him much, but Thea says that he's been helping Tara down in the bunker as of late."

"That sounds like a good place for him."

"Enough about Roy then," Oliver began, "You still haven't told me what made your day rough and why you brought a bunch of dusty books home."

"I haven't a clue where to begin," Nyssa admitted, "Elena has given me nothing but absolute hell today."

"Pregnancy hormones?"

"I wish that was just that," Nyssa muttered, "I ran into a problem today with getting to the fjord and instead of ending up where I should have been, I was in the northeast forest roughly five, perhaps six, miles away. I had to hike to the fjord and Elena gave me hell for getting there late, and then because I have tried to keep her out of, what she has been calling, the magic situation."

"Sounds like hell, especially in her position."

"Sure, it could have been, but she hasn't grasped the idea that I have other things to worry about," Nyssa grumbled, "Here is a perfect example for you; I had a list of things to do, Zayn finds me and says he did almost everything on said list. I still believe that they haven't been done correctly, but he forced me to work with Nazaria and, as I had called, it went horribly!"

"I thought you had wanted to work with Nazaria."

"She's a wonderful teacher for this situation, but it was not the right time. She and Elena pushed me to practice what I had told them was a problem, and it backfired," Nyssa paused and swallowed. "I nearly killed both of them today and even after that, they still wanted me to keep going."

"But you didn't."

"Why would I? If I had, I would have put more people at a higher risk of becoming collateral damage." Nyssa defended before pausing, "I brought all these home because if I am unable to physically do something about it, then maybe there is something in here that could help with the mental aspect. I know it's foolish, considering that there wasn't much known about the subject in the beginning but I-"

"Nys," Oliver interrupted, "It's not stupid at all."

"The situation continues to grow more desperate and I don't think I would make a difference by reading these despite my best beliefs."

"Well, there's no harm in two sets of eyes still looking." Nyssa turned towards Oliver with a puzzled look. "You didn't think I'd like you do this on your own, did you?"

"No, I guess not."

"If we want to get any sleep tonight, then I suppose we should start reading," Oliver said as he picked up a book off the stack and opened to the first page. "And the mac n' cheese is getting cold."

Nyssa smiled as she readjusted herself and the book already in front of her. Having Oliver's support was all she had really hoped for, and now that she had it, the situation became slightly less annoying than it had been for the rest of the day.

"And if we were to expand the league's territory further north, then we wouldn't have this problem with the runway," Zayn explained from where he stood at Nyssa's side, facing the large screen where a bird's eye map of the league's fjord was displayed. "I've already pitched this to Andrew and Hayden, and they both believe this would be beneficial, but that brings me to the real point…"

"Let me guess," Nyssa intoned, "The funds."

"Yeah, funds."

"You are right about runway situation being resolved in that scenario, but you have accounted for the seasonal weather changes?"

"Yup, bitter winters and shitty summers," Zayn chimed, "I would never forget."

"You would need to take this up with Hayden again, but if you find the funds to do this, then it needs to go to the top of the list."

"This would cost well over a million."

"Then looks like you have some budgeting to work on if this is to become a reality."

"You don't suppose we could conveniently forget about one of Norway's payments to expand the runway?"

"Would you like to explain that to the king?"

"Gladly." Zayn stated, but Nyssa gave him a pointed look. "I'll start looking into those funds."

"Good." Nyssa stated plainly as she turned around.

"By the way," Zayn called, making Nyssa stop and turn back towards him, "When I was with Andrew earlier this morning, he said that he needed to speak with you about the Tanzania colony."

"You told me that everything regarding the troop was functioning without a problem."

"It is, but he still wanted to see you about it. You got the write up on that whole deal, right?"

"It's on my desk where you said you left it."

"You may want that for what Andrew needed you for."

"Do you know what it is that he needs?"

"No, I'm just saying."

"I will go get it then." Nyssa concluded.

"And I'll get to the glorious job of budgeting," Zayn grumbled, "Wait, don't we have people for this?"

"In some area of the tech department, I believe we do."

"Then why aren't they doing it?"

"Find them and you can ask. You are their superior after all."

Ignoring Zayn's grumbling, Nyssa turned around and stepped outside of the tech division's amphitheater. Like the previous day, her list was long with several things to check off, but also like yesterday, there was still tension between her and Elena. Neither had made an effort to see the other.

Nyssa walked through the corridors above the main hall, where the bedrooms of those with authority were located. Small windows gave a view of the other carved out halls and the wooden bridges that stretched across the water of the fjord. In the distance, planes could be seen taking off from the runway. Nyssa loved staring out those windows and watching the people below, but kept her focus on why she was there in the first place.

As soon as she stepped inside her own room, Nyssa walked towards the desk on the opposite wall. Like Zayn had told her, the slip of paper with information on the Tanzania colony was lying on top of other notebooks and stray papers. She picked the single sheet of paper, but then saw the addition sheets underneath. At least another five extra pages on the single colony and had been left for her. Just from skimming over the first few sections, Nyssa realized that a lot was missing from the general report. She knew this was what happened when you let someone else do the work.

Nyssa pulled open one of the drawers of the desk to find a pen, but the first one didn't have anything of the sort; only stacks of old papers and maps. She pulled open the second and third drawers, getting the same result as the first. Nyssa pulled open the fourth and final drawer, but instead of it being only old papers, a leatherback notebook tied shut sat on top. She stared down at it for a moment before reaching down and pulling it out of the drawer. There was no indication on the outside of what it was from, so she untied the leather string.

As soon as the front cover was opened, a folded map slipped out from the pages and fell to the ground. Nyssa reached down and picked up the weathered map, still unsure of what it was, and unfolded it on the desktop. As soon as the first few panels had been lifted, Nyssa knew what it was.

Nine scattered black dots, Nine red X's, The original league's insignia marked in northern Norway, and notes written in the border of the world map.

Nyssa picked the leather notebook up again and began to flip through the pages, immediately realizing what she had hidden away; The journal she had kept while retrieving the nine swords and during the first few months of the league's foundation.

All other priorities were lost as Nyssa pulled the desk chair out and sat down in it, already reading over one of the entries.

December 29th, 2017

The expedition starts today, and even with the reassurance, this doesn't seem right. I have to leave Oliver and William in order to find the rest of the swords. They wouldn't understand that this is too dangerous for people like them to get involved in. My death was faked to make this make this expedition possible, but I have every intention of going back to them once this is settled.

I already have four of the swords, and I have another five to collect from four, potentially five, different locations. I stole a plane from an ARGUS warehouse to aid in the expedition, and although I have limited knowledge of how to fly it, the task seems relatively simple once I am familiar.

The first location is northern Canada, where the celestial sword is located. If retrieving it is like the previous four, then no troubles are expected.

Nyssa rolled her eyes at how easily she was deceived all those months ago.

January 2nd, 2018

Four days into the journey and I am only just realizing how difficult this is going to be. I managed to collect the sixth sword; a sword of lightning, located on one of the Greek islands. It involved a more obscure way of obtaining, including taking on the persona of a Greek goddess. Before retrieving it, I met a woman who helped me get back on my feet after a small incident with finding shelter. I learned her name was Elena and met her husband Andrew. Before leaving, I promised that I would visit again some time.

The next location is in Cairo, specifically the pyramids, where the sword of illusions is hidden away. I have yet to create a plan to get it.

Nyssa quickly skimmed the next seven entries along with all the pages of notes she had taken whenever she learned something about the swords. The writing went by in a blur, but then she stopped on one of the final pages.

January 28th, 2018

My expedition is complete. After collecting all nine swords, I traveled to northern Norway to a fjord located near a small town called Guvag. I did not interact with the people, but I can imagine that they saw my plane explode.

I had not understood what was needed to create the new league, but it involved an ancient magic that the creators of the first league were familiar with. That magic was used for a short amount of time before being stored in the nine swords, which were hidden around the world to preserve it for a time which they prophesied to be the date when the league would truly change. I do not know of this date or what will happen.

In the fjord, which I discovered is ancient ground for the league, the nine swords were merged. I believed that to be the only event, but the magic within the swords rests in the person who bonded them.

The entry went on for another two pages, but Nyssa stopped reading as soon as she came to that sentence. Even with all the reading she and Oliver had done the previous night, she didn't have a clue how to address her situation. But how she hadn't realized that the answer to her situation was with her the entire time made her feel like an idiot. She now knew how to fix everything, and only wished she had found her old notebook sooner.

Near silence filled the house. The patter of water droplets falling from the kitchen sink faucet had stopped, and the clock that hung on the wall provided the only sound. The ticking didn't help. With every passing second, Nyssa began to question if what she had decided to do was the right thing, but when her mind went back to seeing Elena barely avoiding the blaze that had been sent towards her, she knew her decision was best.

The clock had just struck 6:46pm when the front door began to unlock. Nyssa immediately stood up from where she had been sitting at the dining room table and walked into the kitchen, just in time to see William and Oliver walking into the house.

"Beloved?"

Both Oliver and William looked towards Nyssa, Oliver clearly more surprised.

"Nys, I didn't expect you to be home this early," he said, "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you."

William quickly looked towards his father before looking back at Nyssa. "I'll go work on my homework then."

Oliver and Nyssa both watched the fourteen-year-old quickly walk up the stairs and disappear into his room, and only when his door was closed did Nyssa walk closer towards Oliver.

"Did something happen with the league?" Oliver asked quietly.

"That is what I want to talk to you about."

Oliver looked back up towards the stairs before gesturing for Nyssa to follow him. The two of them walked down the short hallway before reaching Oliver's office. He slid one of the doors, made of frosted glass and wood, to the side and stepped inside. Nyssa couldn't help but admire how clean her husband kept everything, but she had always found it cute that he kept small, fake plants on the built-in bookshelves behind the desk.

Oliver slid the door closed after Nyssa had walked in, and set his bag and jacket on the top of his desk before turning towards his wife. "What's going on?"

"All that stuff we read last night," Nyssa began, "Forget all of it."

"What? Why?"

"It's all useless. Those texts were teaching me how to control these abilities, but that is far from what I should do."

"Nyssa, I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I can try to control them for as long as I want, but it will always be in the back of my mind and it would become a problem again in the future. I was so focused on the idea of controlling them that I never considered getting rid of them." Nyssa explained, "And I have decided to do it."

"You're what? I don't understand." Oliver hesitated. "You're really going to do it?"

"I've had enough. It's time for a change in the league. No longer shall I wait for this to happen on its own and I will not allow it to become the center of my life. The league and its members are the priority, not the imprudent games I play when trying to control it and the obstacles that are brought forth."

"I understand but there could be a way to figure it all out. By doing this, you would force yourself to do things the hard way."

"Sometimes things need to be done the toilsome way."

"But I don't think you've considered all the angles. Maybe-"

"Oliver, it has been decided." Nyssa declared, "I'm destroying the nine swords."

"Do the others even know about this?" Oliver questioned, "Is this even safe? Because from what I recall, you're bonded to the swords."

"Zayn and Elena both know."

"And?"

"Zayn knows what problems these abilities have caused me, even from the beginning. Elena believed I was taking the easy way out, but I convinced her that an easy way out wasn't my motive." Nyssa answered, "They both support this."

"But I want to know if this is safe."

"I experienced no harm when I was originally bonded with the swords. I do not expect it to now."

"How would you even do this?" Oliver asked, "How much of this have you planned out or have you really planned out any?"

"Nazaria and Zayn both agreed to help me figure this out."

"Nyssa," Oliver muttered as he stepped closer to her, "I want the best for you, but this seems too impulsive and risky. No one knows what breaking that bond could do. In addition to not knowing the effects, it….it would fracture this family."

Nyssa looked up towards Oliver warily and confused. "What do you mean?"

"You've gotten so busy with things for the league and you get home a couple hours before midnight. William really only sees you a few minutes before we have to leave. I don't even see much of you apart from the small amount of time in the morning and any extra minutes we get when you come home. For the past weeks when I go to the bunker to begin a patrol, you're supposed to be at my side; I've had to call John away from his family or Dinah away from her life for backup when you're not here." Oliver swallowed. "Of all the things that have come from the creation of the league, the only positive thing I can see now is your ability to get between here and Finiks Jurf like it's a drive to work every day. That portion is….a blessing. It's been the only thing keeping this family together. And Nyssa," Oliver muttered as he rested his hands on her shoulders, "I know the league means so much to you, and I know that it's done amazing things for so many people, but as soon as you break the bond, you have to choose; the league, or me and William."

"Oliver-"

"I want to support you Nyssa, I really do, but as a father, I have to support my family as a whole. And think about William. He's been through more in a few years than most go through in their entire lives. He lost his mother, the only one who cared for him for nearly eleven years. He was left feeling broken for the longest time, and some counselors thought he would never be able to function normally again. I never thought he would bond with you the way he has. He loves you Nys, like a son loves his mother. Can you take that away from him?"

"No, no I would never…."

"When you break that bond, you would be forced to chose the league. The flight here is too long to deem a weekend a suitable amount of time for a son to spend time with his mother, and quite frankly, it wouldn't be the same. Phone calls can only go so far to maintain a relationship….."

Nyssa's breath shook and although she tried to keep it hidden, Oliver saw it all. "I would make sure that none of that happens." She reasoned.

"How?"

"I-I don't know…."

Silence passed between them and Oliver bit the bottom of his lip as he turned his head to the side. "Please, Nyssa," He mumbled, "Just….don't jump right into this…."

Nyssa bit the bottom of her lip and nodded. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, each lost in the other's eyes until Nyssa pulled away. She pushed the sliding door to the side and before closing it behind her, glanced back at her husband once more.

As soon as the door was closed, Nyssa hurried away from it and back into the kitchen. She took her phone off the counter and immediately walked towards the glass door leading out to the deck, stepping past the area where the Christmas tree would have been set up, if the family had been together to do it.

The bitter December air nipped at Nyssa's arms, her sweater not doing anything to protect her against the cold. Nyssa turned on her phone and quickly dialed one of the numbers she had memorized. She held the phone up to her ear and covered her mouth with her hand as the seconds passed by before someone picked up.

"Nyssa, why are you-"

"Elena, tell Zayn and Nazaria to stop looking into breaking the swords' bond." Nyssa ordered.

"Wait, what? I thought this was what you wanted."

"Please, just tell them to stop."

"An explanation would be helpful."

"You will have one tomorrow."

"Wait, Nys-"

Nyssa pulled the phone down and hung up before her sister in arms could ask any other questions. It wasn't the night, and as she looked out at the city lights so far in the distance, she was reminded just how alone she was. And for the first time during the whole ordeal, a tear slipped down her cheek. No one understood the kind of hell the situation was incurring.

The hours of the night had dragged on for Nyssa, and even with her difficulty sleeping the previous night, she was wide awake. What would happen once she got to the league was something even she couldn't predict, especially after her talk with Oliver. By no means did she consider it a fight, but the distancing aspect still affected Nyssa, and as she leaned against the counter, drinking her tea like she did every morning, it was all she could think about until a set of footsteps came from the stairs.

Nyssa knew from the lightness of each step that it was William and didn't look up from her tea until he was walking to the cabinet where the cereal two cereal boxes were kept. He pulled out his preferred option and sat down at the counter after taking a bowl and the jug of milk from the fridge.

"Morning." Nyssa greeted.

William briefly looked up from his breakfast. "Morning."

The two of them stayed silent as William prepared his bowl of cereal, and Nyssa expected Oliver to be walking downstairs at any minute, but he didn't come. He was usually the reason she didn't start long conversations with William, only now Oliver's presence would have been her salvation.

Nyssa stood in silence, trying to keep her gaze limited to her cup and the gray socks that covered her feet, but every time William's spoon hit the side of the bowl, she quickly glanced up. Seeing him there in front of her had become such a regular thing, but then she imagined if he wasn't there with his cereal, and if he wasn't at the counter eating dinner and telling tales from his day at school, or if he wasn't constantly asking her and Oliver when he could go out in the field. The simplest things had become what Nyssa looked forward to every day, not anything having to do with the league.

The minutes had gone by too fast, and Nyssa only realized when William was putting his bowl in the sink. He leaned down and took his backpack from the floor, and looked towards the portion of the balcony on the second level, waiting for his father to come down and make his coffee so they could leave.

"William?" Nyssa only realized that she had said that aloud when the young boy turned around to face her, but his stare was unintentionally intimidating and she had to look down before continuing. "I want to apologize."

William raised his eyebrow slightly. "What for?"

"For not being the mother figure that you deserve."

"What do you mean?"

"I….You deserve far better than what I've been trying to give you." Nyssa answered gently, "For so long, I have tried to balance two lives that should remain separate and you are always the one that falls into the darkest end. I haven't been there for you like a mother should and I regret every moment that I'm not being there like you deserve." William didn't say anything, and Nyssa swallowed. "When I married your father, part of our vows was to be there to support one another, as well as the family we raise. You are that family, William, and I have not lived up to my vow. I want to be here for you and I haven't been able to, but I am going to make sure that changes."

"I thought you couldn't," William stated, "Because of the league."

"The league is no longer my priority. You and your father will always come first, but I lost sight of that these last few months. I'm not the perfect mother figure, but I hope that I can learn to be...for you."

"You're going to be here more?"

"As much more as a mother should be."

"Oh…"

"What's wrong?"

"It's fine."

"William, please," Nyssa begged, "I want to hear what you have to say."

"You've been gone for so long, and at one point, you were like a mother to me, but now you're….just a figure. I never see you apart from the few minutes before I leave, and you don't talk about what goes on in the league unless you're alone with Dad. I miss when we would all be together, like a family should be, no matter how broken the members are…"

"I miss that too, and I promise that we will do that again, just like we used to."

"I know enough about the league to know that it's unpredictable. How can you make that promise with the intent to keep it?"

Nyssa began to open her mouth but paused for a moment. "Because I want a second chance bad enough to do whatever it takes to see it done." She answered, "William, I know our relationship isn't the best, but I would do anything for a second chance to be the figure you deserve, not the one that makes work a priority. Please….just think-"

"I'm willing to give it a second chance." William finished, "Because you're not the only one who wants it."

Nyssa couldn't help but smile at the boy, and William's smile towards her was all she needed to see to know that things would work out, no matter how much work it would take on her part. But their moment was cut short when Oliver walked into the kitchen and began making his coffee, rambling about how the potential rain in the afternoon could negatively affect his speech that he had worked hard on for weeks. Nyssa and William both smirked at his remarks and the occasional bad mouthing of Tarren, but it was just what Nyssa needed to hear to realize that this was where she would find comfort that the league was incapable of providing. It was the simple things, and the league had always been far from simple.

The sun had already begun to set, despite it still being early in the evening. The winds had picked up considerably in the last few days, and it barely affected the assassins that traveled in between the grand halls that had been built into the side of the fjord.

Although she had only been in Finiks Jurf for less than an hour, it already showed signs of being a long day when she had to hike to the fjord like she had the last two days. As soon as she arrived, almost an hour late, she began making her normal list of things to do, but like the past week, it was long with not a single thing to look forward to.

The first thing that was, regrettably, on her list was checking in with the commanders-in-training. As far as Nyssa was concerned, no change had been made in the methods so it was going to be just as slow and frustrating as it had been the past few weeks.

As Nyssa walked into the grand hall dedicated to training new recruits, and for others to practice, no one seemed to notice her, and that was more than fine by her, but the momentary peace ended when a set of footsteps came up from behind. She turned around, expecting to see Zayn or Andrew, but was surprised to see someone else entirely.

"Ishaq?" Nyssa questioned.

"Nyssa," The assassin with graying brown hair breathed, "You're needed in the main hall."

"What for?"

"There's something going down. Something big."

"And what would that be?"

"I don't know. I couldn't tell. All I saw was a man who wasn't part of the league. I believe he's from Oslo."

"Damn it," Nyssa mumbled, "Alright."

"He was wearing a large coat with the Norwegian flag on the sleeve, and he was talking with Zayn." Ishaq reported, "From the sound of things, it was regarding something very important."

"Alright, just stay here and keep an ear open in case something happens."

Nyssa quickly stepped past the middle-aged assassin and made her way out of the training division. The bitter winds bit at her cheeks as soon as she stepped out into the cold, but she ignored it and hurried towards the main hall.

As soon as she stepped inside, warmth washed over her body, but she didn't take time to enjoy it because up ahead towards the risen platform was a group of people, two of them being Zayn and the man in the Norwegian coat.

At the sound of footsteps, Zayn turned away from the man, and the group, and looked towards Nyssa. "Nyssa, hey," he greeted, "We've been waiting for you."

"I can imagine," Nyssa grumbled, "Why is an official from Oslo here?"

"Official from Oslo?" The man in the coat questioned as he turned around, "Do I look that Norwegian?"

"Cisco?" Nyssa questioned as she turned to Zayn, "What the hell is going on? And why is he wearing a Norwegian official's coat?"

"I was cold." Cisco piped.

"And I needed his help with something." Zayn answered.

"And what would that something be?" Nyssa coaxed.

"A project."

"You usually go all in and tell me the details of your projects. Why is this one different?"

"Because it wasn't Zayn's idea to bring him here," Someone from the group pitched as they turned around, "It was mine."

"Elena, what are you doing?" Nyssa asked, "What is all of this?"

"Well your phone call yesterday certainly raised some questions, quite a few in fact," Elena began, "But did you really think that just because you told us to, we were going to forget about the whole bond breaking?"

"Yes."

"And now you know that you were wrong. I told Zayn and Nazaria, like you had asked, but they insisted to make it happen. Zayn was the one that realized that the only reason you wanted us to stop was because you had a family back in Star City."

"I worked with Star Labs in the past," Zayn piped up, "So I got in contact with my old buddy Cisco and we were able to make something to help with the situation."

"And what would that be?" Nyssa intoned.

"Do you know Kara Danvers?" Cisco asked, "Supergirl? Earth 38?"

"She attended my and Oliver's wedding with her sister Alex."

"Well, she was only able to get there because of a little something I made." Cisco stepped forward and reached into the pocket of the thick jacket and held something out towards Nyssa. "This is an interdimensional extrapolator. We made one for Kara that would allow her to move between our earth and hers. I made that one so you couldn't travel between worlds, but rather Star City and here."

"That would solve your problem of not being able to see Oliver and William once you break the bond." Nazaria piped from the back of the group.

"Well go on!" Cisco urged, "Test it out."

Nyssa gave him a strange look. "Now?"

"No, tomorrow when I'm not here to fix something. Yes now."

Nyssa took the extrapolator from Cisco and traced over the button with her finger before taking a few steps back. She hesitated at first but pressed down on the silver button. Instantly, a breech opened just a few feet away from her and the group. Nyssa couldn't see the other side to where she was jumping to but knew that Cisco wouldn't have done something wrong, and before she could persuade herself to back out, she jumped through.

It felt as though she had just jumped in place when her feet hit the ground. The breach instantly disappeared behind her and as Nyssa looked up from the ground, she couldn't help but smile; she was home, exactly where she wanted to be. The map with all the scribblings was pinned to the wall across from her, and the small desk with the wooden chair pushed it was exactly how she had left it.

She knew that something like this was possible, but to experience it brought a whole new meaning and because of it, she could now have the best of both worlds.

To avoid wasting any more time, Nyssa pressed down on the button again and jumped through the breach as soon as it appeared in front of her. When her feet hit the ground, she was back in front of the group.

"It actually worked," Nyssa breathed, "I was back at home."

"Well then," Elena piped, "Do you still want to stand here and fathom at the marvels of modern technology or break that damn bond?"

Nyssa looked towards Nazaria. "Is it even possible?"

"More than possible," The priestess replied, "The process is much simpler than I anticipated. You have the sword?"

"Yes."

"Then let's begin."

Nazaria broke away from the group and led everyone up to the platform. Once they were up, Elena, Zayn, and Cisco all took to the side, while Nyssa followed Nazaria to the center. The priestess stopped in the very center of the platform, where circular designs were carved out in the floor beginning from the outside of the middle ring. Nazaria knelt down next to the ring and ran her fingers over its border.

"When the league's number increased, I had the ring covered with stones that would naturally blend in with the preexisting ground," Nazaria explained. She stopped tracing the ring and looked back towards Zayn. "Bring a bowl of water." While the Canadian quickly walked down the stairs to fulfill the command, Nazaria turned and looked up towards Nyssa. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have never been more sure of something in my life." The assassin answered.

"It's a shame, really," The priestess began, "To have abilities as extensive as yours have been is more than just a blessing. All they could be used for is limitless, and I feel as though you were barely tapping into your potential when you came to this block."

"I know that I am just not the type that is suited to handle something like this and I am sure that I would have been able to help more people, but at what point before it takes more from me than it already has?"

"Magic is still a wonderful thing," The priestess muttered, "No matter how wild or unpredictable."

"I don't know what you need this for, but is this enough?" Zayn asked as he approached from behind.

He set a bowl of water on the ground next to Nazaria, and she smiled. "Perfect. Now let's begin."

The priestess took the bowl and poured the water into the ring, letting it flow out until it reached the borders. She pulled the bowl back and waited, staring down at the ring. A few seconds passed by before the water began to soak into the borders of the ring, making several small circle stick out from the rest of the stone.

"Zayn, come back here." The priestess ordered. Zayn stepped up from where he had been standing behind her and looked down at her as she pulled a knife from a hidden sheath on her black georgette and silk dress. "Help pry up the stones outlined by the water."

Zayn and Nyssa both drew a knife and knelt down next to the priestess. Each time a knife was shoved between the stone cover and the ground, it had to be pushed up in order to pry the stone layer up. Within a few minutes, 18 circular pieces of stone had been pried up and discarded to the side, revealing the diamond-like crystals underneath that could fit perfectly in one's palm.

"Woah," Zayn muttered, "How long have these been here?"

"Since this fjord was discovered by the original founders of the league." Nyssa replied.

"Ancient, but barely relevant," Nazaria stated before looking up towards the ceiling. "That's what will make the difference."

Zayn and Nyssa both looked up towards the ceiling and saw what Nazaria was staring at; the large, quartz-like crystal fixated above them as if it was a chandelier.

"The ring is merely decoration in this point," Nazaria intoned while standing up from the ground. "Zayn, step back. Nyssa, draw the sword."

Zayn and Nyssa both stood up from the ground, but Zayn stepped around Nazaria and leaned towards Nyssa. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Nyssa muttered, "If I did not want to do this, then it would not be happening and I would be yelling at trainees."

"Alright."

As Zayn stepped away from the two women, Nyssa drew her sword out of the scabbard on her back. She glanced down at it, expecting to hesitate, but no similar feeling came.

"Place the sword in the ring." Nazaria instructed.

Nyssa did as directed and set the sword in the center of the ring, but as soon as she did, Nazaria stepped ahead and shoved her backward. With the assassin out of the way, Nazaria reached into a small, black pouch on the side of her black and gold belt. From it, she pulled out three vials, each containing a powder that looked like cinnamon, except each was colored differently. Nazaria emptied each vial over the sword and put the empty containers back into the pouch before turning towards Nyssa again.

"Give me your hand." She instructed.

Nyssa hesitantly stepped next to Nazaria and took off her black glove, but as soon as it was off, the priestess grabbed her hand and drug the blade of her knife across Nyssa's palm. The assassin flinched but was more confused as Nazaria knelt down towards the ring and dragged her knife across the blade of the sword, leaving Nyssa's blood on her sword.

"What the hell is that for?" Nyssa demanded.

"A man named John Constantine was the one who rediscovered this technique of bond breaking, but perfected it." Nazaria explained, "In his interpretation, the blood of the bonded is needed to complete the ritual."

Nyssa didn't say anything else as Nazaria took her place at the edge of the ring and extended her hands out to the sides. The assassins and Cisco all watched her curiously as she inhaled and exhaled several times before chanting something in a language that none of them could identify. Her voice quickly became louder and as soon as her voice reached its peak, the 18 crystals in the ring began to glow a golden shade. From their centers, lines of gold branched out, crossing underneath the sword and beyond the limits of the crystals to form a summoning circle.

The priestess began to chant louder when she saw the summoning circle, and gradually, the sword lying in the center rose into the air, hovering above the circle and the second one forming underneath it. The powders that had been on the sword had stayed on the ground but began to swirl around the bottom summoning circle as the sword rose higher into the air.

Nyssa, Elena, Zayn, and Cisco all watched the sword as it rose higher, but once it was only around eight feet in the air, it began to split into small fragments that continued to move upwards towards the crystal fixated on the ceiling.

While standing there watching the weapon become nothing more than small particles, Nyssa felt a prickling from her feet. She quickly looked down, and like the sword, her boots were fracturing and the bits were disappearing up into the air. The fracturing moved up her legs, and as that layer was removed, Nyssa could partially see what was being revealed underneath but was only able to confirm her suspicion once the ember-like fractures moved across and up from her arms.

The collection of dust-like particles from the two sources rushed upwards towards the crystal and disappeared in it, then everything went still for a moment.

The moment of stillness was brief and was brought to an end when nine distinct beams of light shot down from the crystal above. Together, the beams formed a circle around the ring made of small crystals and from inside each beam, the assassins could see the shape of a sword materializing.

Nazaria's chant ended suddenly when she pulled her arms down, and everything mystical stopped immediately. The summoning circles that had been created in the ring disappeared and the nine beams of light vanished as if someone had blown them all out. And in place of the nine beams were nine pedestals, each with a sword resting in it.

Nyssa tore away from the pedestals and looked down at what her attire had become. Instead of it being the gray and gold trimmed overcoat, her attire had reformed into what it had been the day she merged the swords; her old, tattered and torn league attire, colored black and scarlet.

"So these were the nine swords…" Elena muttered as she walked towards one, "I didn't think this would actually be possible."

"You all doubt the capabilities of magic far too much." Nazaria stated while looking around the new ring of swords, "And I would expect the opposite considering what you had just witnessed. Nyssa," she called, and Nyssa looked towards her. "Did it work?"

The assassin snapped herself out of the daze she had fallen into and looked down at her hands. She clapped once, the same way she had when she last practiced with Nazaria, but there was no fire. Nyssa clapped again, and a third time, but no fire was sparked.

"Yes," Nyssa breathed as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "Yes, it worked." For good measure, Nyssa tapped her heel and only smiled brighter when no fire rose from ground.

"Hate to ruin this milestone," Elena piped, "But what do we do with all of these?" she asked while gesturing towards the nine weapons.

"I want them all destroyed." Nyssa declared immediately, but as soon as she did, the others looked towards her. "They are all too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands, even if it is just one of them. And even if someone deemed capable were to find these, their life would change for the worse. If I can prevent that, then I want to." She glanced towards Zayn. "Can you destroy these?"

"I think with the right amount of heat, destroying anything is possible," Zayn answered. He stepped next to one of the pedestals and swiftly pulled one of the swords out. "But these are really good quality. The craftsmanship alone is worth all the admiration."

"Don't grow attached Zayn." Elena teased.

"You can't honestly believe that destroying these would be like destroying an old, ordinary weapon."

"I don't think that, but I still think that you shouldn't grow attached to them."

Zayn and Elena's banter became like a white noise as Nyssa walked past them and towards the other side of the ring of pedestals, where Cisco stood examining one of the swords. From a quick glance, Nyssa recognized the one he was staring at as the sword of illusion; one of her personal favorites, but one of the more difficult to obtain.

"Cisco?"

When his name was called, Cisco jumped and quickly took his hand away from the sword as he looked towards Nyssa. "Hi, what. Sorry," He cleared his throat. "Can I touch these?"

"There is no reason why you can't." Nyssa answered.

"Nice," He immediately went back to the sword, tracing over the intricate designs of the handguard. "This is a very nice weapon."

"Thank you?"

"Your lab buddy told me a little about these swords as individuals but, in all honesty, he's terrible at retelling. Where did this one come from?"

"Egypt. Cairo specifically."

"Interesting…." Cisco muttered as he reached towards the blade of the sword. He tapped the side and immediately pulled his finger away.

"While you were still here," Nyssa began, "I want to thank you, for the-"

"Way to see Oliver and William?"

"Yes. You haven't a clue how it has already changed so much for the better."

"Well, it was a very quick but interesting side project." Cisco admitted, "Plus it was a good way to get away from Central City."

"Is something happening there?"

"Normal Central City drama; metas, mysterious villains with kind of cool names, and the now-normal time travel of speedsters who just so happen to be family."

"Sounds like fun."

"Hm, tell me about it." Cisco mumbled with an eye roll. "Anyway, I should probably get back pretty soon."

"Well thank you again, and if you ever need to get away from Central City, you are always welcome here."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cisco replied. He began to walk down the stairs, but halfway down, he turned back around towards Nyssa. "And can I keep this coat?"

"Go ahead."

Cisco nodded as he continued down the stairs, and once he was at the bottom, he opened a breach and jumped through it, leaving no trace behind. Nyssa turned back towards the center of the platform, where Zayn and Elena were still bickering and Nazaria was examining the pedestals.

"You can't seriously believe that you can get away with keeping one of these." Elena argued.

"I'm not saying that I'm going to hide one away," Zayn retorted, "What I am saying is that a weapon designed in a similar fashion would give us a major advantage in the field for when a situation grows more difficult to cope with."

"And if the opponent gets ahold of said weapon?"

"They wouldn't."

"MmHmm," Elena hummed as she glanced over towards Nyssa, "Honestly Nyssa, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Nyssa questioned.

"That whole…." Elena looked over her friend head to toe. "Get up."

"I-"

"You know," Zayn called from where he was pulling a sword out of a pedestal, "I doubt you want to keep fighting in that, and I bet Namir has something he can hook you up with."

"I suppose I should go see him then." Nyssa decided.

"Yes," Elena muttered, "Please do before you draw more attention to yourself."

"Since when have you concerned yourself with something like that?"

"Since my friend started walking around in literal tatters." Elena stated plainly, "Just go see Namir before the wind blows a little too hard."

"They are not that tattered." Nyssa muttered, but Elena turned her head and glared. "I will go see him then."

"Good."

As soon as Nyssa had her back to Elena, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. The fact that she would pick that of all things to pick at after what had just happened bothered Nyssa, but she didn't dwell on it. Despite what had happened and how free she felt, there was still work to do around Finiks Jurf, and the day had only just begun.

The laboratory was empty and nearly silent. Distant voices on the other side of the thick walls became whispers, but it didn't bother Zayn as he continued to scribble down notes in a small binder. He continuously looked up towards the industrial kiln as the hum of the gas being blown inside filled the room. From the hazy window on the side, he could see the glow of the pale, golden blaze inside.

His peace and quiet were short lived when there was a light knock from the doorway. Zayn turned his head around but wasn't surprised to see Nyssa walking inside, still wearing her tattered clothes but holding a few pieces of folded clothing under her arm.

"How is this project going?" Nyssa asked as she stopped at his side.

"Took a few hours to get it prepared," Zayn answered, "It would have been helpful to know that these swords are composed of a tungsten alloy. That kiln is working near its peak temperature to melt those swords down."

"What temperature?"

"4000 Kelvin."

"Good thing you insisted on investing in this one."

"This isn't the only thing we use the kiln for."

"I'm aware."

Momentary silence passed between them as Zayn continued to scribble down notes in the binder. Nyssa continued to stare at the hazy window and the pale blaze coming from inside.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zayn questioned, "Because I can still pull these out with minimal damage."

"I heard your banter with Elena," Nyssa began, "Apparently you did not want to destroy the swords, and you know that I am committed to seeing their destruction, so what is your attachment to them?"

"Those are ancient relics burning away in there. They hold thousands of years of league history and they're being burned away. Perhaps a single person couldn't control all their power, but if they were given to nine individuals, imagine the good they could do."

"Having nine metas who could turn on the league or the people they serve at any moment is not a risk that would be worth taking. There are other means by which we could aid those we work to serve."

Silence passed between them again.

"So how have the past few hours been with Namir?" Zayn asked.

"You were right in regards with him being able to help," Nyssa admitted, "It took a while, but I have a replacement."

"And you're still wearing the old, tattered clothes?"

"I had other things to address first."

"Well stop putting it off. There's a bathroom just down the hall where you can change."

"Nothing interesting is going to happen here?"

"Nothing until the swords are completely destroyed, which will be in a few hours."

"I will be back in a few minutes then."

Zayn nodded in reply and watched Nyssa leave the laboratory from the corner of his eye. As soon as she was gone, he stepped closer towards the kiln and leaned down so his eyes were directly in front of the hazy window. He could only peer in for a few seconds before he had to look away, but he caught a glimpse of the swords silhouettes; all nine of them, slowly melting away into nothing more than metallic puddles.

A few minutes of staring at the kiln passed before the door behind opened up again. Zayn immediately turned around, putting him face to face with Nyssa. Her new garb was much different than her old gray and gold one, as it was more based on the traditional league uniform that had lasted through both versions of the league. Like the traditional uniform, it was primarily black, only Nyssa's version looked more customized. From the knee-high black boots and mahogany colored pants to the black, sleeveless overcoat trimmed in blood red that reached the center of her thigh in the front, it was perfect. An onyx colored belt rested around her waist, and a near identical quiver strap stretched up over her shoulder. A quiver made to hold both arrows and her bow had been made. From just a quick glance, Zayn could tell that her bracers and the inside of her overcoat could hold knives, but he knew that she would always hide the most deadly in her boot.

"Well, it's certainly a day of change for you." Zayn remarked with a slight smile.

"I am going to take that as a compliment," Nyssa retorted, "To fit with the rest of this, Namir designed a knife that I could easily hide and use. According to him, it will be better than the ones I had made last year."

"If he holds up the same standards he always has, then I believe they will be," Zayn said before raising an eyebrow, "Where's your sword? Isn't that your thing?"

"Namir offered to make one, but I have one back at the bunker in Star City that I would prefer to use."

Zayn smirked. "You're using your old sword?"

"Going back to basics I suppose," Nyssa replied, "And quite honestly, I prefer it over the sword I had used. Longswords do not have the same benefits as scimitars."

"I agree, but I'm partial to throwing knives," Zayn admitted, "So what else on your list of things to mark off the list today?"

"Small things really, but I need to find Elena soon."

"Why?"

"Personal reason."

"Ah, are you two coordinating a shopping trip or something?"

"I wish it were something that simple."

"Well whatever it is, you should probably get going soon. It's nearly two in the morning here which means it's about five in the evening back in Star City. If you only have small things to address from here on out, wouldn't you rather get home sooner?"

"It's Friday night…." Nyssa muttered.

"Yeah, in Star at least."

"Friday night….I have to go," Nyssa said as she quickly made her way towards the door. "Thank you for the reminder!"

"Wait, what's significant about Friday night?" Zayn called, but she was already out of earshot, and he was left alone again with only the hum of gas being blown into the kiln.

The training hall was nearly deserted. Those with normal schedules had retired for the night hours ago, leaving only the night owls. There were very few of those in Finiks Jurf that enjoyed training in the dead of night, and it allowed for others to peacefully stroll through the area with only their thoughts. But the only one who did that was Elena.

As she walked through the hall, she passed several racks were different styles of swords, knives, and staffs were mounted. Most of them were meant for only training, but no matter the simplicity, Elena wished she could take one of them and spar like she had been able to a few months in the past. Walking around the fjord and occasionally yelling at people had lost its appeal, and as much as she enjoyed the thought of finally being able to hold her children, there were times when she wished she could have her old life back.

"Not many people walk these halls at this hour."

Elena stopped in her tracks and quickly turned around, expecting a fight, but relaxed when she saw Nyssa approaching.

"It's just you." She breathed, "Thought you were someone else."

"And who would that be?" Nyssa questioned.

"No one important to you."

Nyssa nodded slowly, watching as Elena turned back around and began walking in the opposite direction. "What are you doing here this late?"

"Early," Elena corrected, "I couldn't sleep, so I came here."

"You miss this, don't you."

Elena continued to walk forward, running her fingers over the racks. "More than I thought I would…" She swallowed, attempting to stop her voice from breaking. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you."

"And why's that?"

"Because I want to apologize."

"What would you be apologizing for?"

"For what I said at the practice." Nyssa admitted, "I got out of hand. You were just trying to help me….and I'm sorry I did not see that sooner."

Elena was completely silent as she continued to walk forward, each step slow and steady. She knew Nyssa was only a few feet behind her, waiting for an answer, but she couldn't say anything.

"Did you really mean it?" Elena asked, "When you were talking about the league's nature."

"I was frustrated-"

"Frustration tends to bring out one's real emotions."

Elena expected an answer, but when one didn't come, she stopped and turned around, where she saw Nyssa standing completely.

"Nys-"

"I meant it," Nyssa admitted, "I meant every word, and I'm sorry. Between trying to control that god awful….magic thing, and the pressure of getting everything done for both Norway and the league, I just wanted to….take it out on someone, and I'm sorry that you were that someone."

"This entire time, you've expected that you have to do everything on your own?"

Nyssa shrugged. "No one else has been able to do it."

"No. No one's been able to do it the way you want it done."

"The way I want it done is the way it should be done."

"But it's not the only way," Elena stressed, "Nys, people have been trying to help you and you keep pushing them away. I understand that it's not done exactly how you want it done, but you have to allow room for interpretation or else you're going to be stuck in this position. I know that you think we don't do it as best as it could be done, but Nyssa, there's a time when you have to step back and realize that it's good enough. Not everything you do is going to be perfect, and yeah, sometimes it's going to get a bit messy."

"Those messes are what have thrown the league into chaos."

"I know, and we always fix it, don't we?" Elena asked, "People want to help you Nys; I want to help you because every time I see you here working on something that could be done by someone else, I feel bad for you, but mostly for Oliver."

"I know….I do too…"

"He's your husband Nys, and think about your son. You spend so much time here doing the exact same thing you've been doing for your entire life, but you're wasting the precious memories you could be making with your family. For once in your life, put the league second and your own life first." Elena urged, "The league will always be here the next day, but William's years with you and Oliver will pass by quicker than you can ever imagine."

"I came here to apologize, but you don't know how much I needed to hear this," Nyssa began, but couldn't manage to hide the tears that threatened to slip from the hold she was trying to keep on them. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, but Nys, I want you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll let me help you. Because, honestly, walking around this place and having people tell me I'm incapable of doing things because I'm pregnant is getting quite annoying."

Nyssa couldn't help but smile. "I promise."

"Good, then I guess I will see you around here for the next hour or so." Elena said as she began to turn and walk away.

"Actually, I need to get back to Star City."

Elena smiled as she turned back around. "Then why are you still here? Oliver and William are waiting, aren't they?"

Nyssa beamed as she reached into a pocket in her overcoat and pulled out the extrapolator.

"And Nys," Elena spoke, and Nyssa glanced towards her. "You look good."

Nyssa smiled. "I guess that means I will see you tomorrow?"

"Up and ready to work."

Elena took a step back as Nyssa pressed the button on the extrapolator, and a breach opened just a few feet away from them. Nyssa looked towards her friend and smiled and jumped through the breach soon after. It closed as soon as she had disappeared through it, and Elena was left alone again. But now with something to look forward to, she began to walk out of the hall, knowing that tomorrow was going to be better.

Dark clouds covered the sky as small drops of rain fell to the ground and splashed on the sidewalks, but it didn't dim the light coming from the high school ahead of her. Nyssa walked along the sidewalk of the nearly empty parking lot, keeping her head down and coat pulled across her body until she came to the glass doors. She stopped in place, staring at the lit, but empty, lobby inside for a moment before turning around. There in the front row of the parking lot was Oliver's car.

Nyssa stepped up to the doors and pulled one of them open, letting it close on its own as she stepped inside. It seemed as though no one was inside as she walked towards the front desk, where four clipboards were laid out. She quickly read over the names of teachers and room numbers until she found the one that William had mentioned. To her relief, there was a map of the school next to the boards, and after a quick glance, Nyssa walked away from the desk and towards the hallway that would lead her to where she needed to be.

Nyssa rounded several corners until she found herself in a long hallway with each side lined with classroom doors, but just a few doors down was who she had been looking for. Still in his suit and tie, Oliver sat on a wooden bench, stuck in a daze as he stared at the bulletin board mounted on the wall across from him.

"Am I late?"

Oliver quickly turned to his side, but his eyes widened when he saw the woman slowly walking towards him. "Nyssa?" he questioned as he stood up, "What are you doing here?"

"I told you that I was going to find a way to get here."

"But I thought you were supposed to be in Finiks Jurf."

"No, I shouldn't." Nyssa corrected, "Oliver, I'm sorry I haven't been there for you or William. Both of you deserve better and you were right; this family needs to come first. I lost sight of that and both of you were the ones that received the worst of that decision. I told you that there was going to be change in the league, and there has been, but you and William are the ones I did it for."

"What kind of change…." Oliver began but stopped. "You-"

"I destroyed the nine swords."

"I don't understand. How are you even here?"

"A mutual friend helped me get the best of both worlds." Nyssa said as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small device that she put in Oliver's hand.

"An extrapolator…" Oliver muttered, "Like the one given to Kara…"

"Cisco made it for me. With that, I can get between Star City and Finiks Jurf. No more supernatural aid is needed."

"And what about all that work you were talking about?"

"Elena helped me with that, and I can promise that it will no longer be a problem," Nyssa explained, "She told me some things that I did not realize I needed to hear, but beloved, you have no idea how sorry I am. I wasn't giving you and William what I should have and-"

Nyssa couldn't finish before Oliver put his hand around her waist and pulled her lips against his. She was startled, but it was what she wanted, and didn't do anything to fight against it; only embraced it. When they pulled away, both of them found themselves lost in the other's gaze.

"I'm just happy to have my wife back," Oliver muttered, "And I'm glad that you're going to be around more….I missed you."

"I missed you more, and I promise that you will never have to say that to me again."

"Nys, you don't need to promise me anything."

"No, I do," Nyssa insisted, "Because you once said I always keep my promises."