Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or DC comics on which these characters are based. I'm simply presenting an alternative way the show could've gone for my own enjoyment and that of others who might read this.

A/N: This is a short story, but will be told in six parts because I like the suspense of chapter breaks. Constructive reviews are appreciated. Thank you for reading.

Daughter of the Demon

The corridors of Nanda Parbat were cold and unwelcoming. Danger whispered in every shadow, the only sound, besides the rustle of clothes and Laurel's noisy steps. Walking beside Nyssa, Laurel cursed herself for becoming a willing hostage of the League. To her credit, she'd expected a fight, not simple acceptance of her terms.

They'd been fighting the League of Assassins in Star City after Laurel convinced the other vigilantes to protect Nyssa from Ra's' men. Oliver had taken Lyla hostage to exchange her for Nyssa, but of course the team hadn't taken the choice lying down. Laurel had been just barely holding her own in the melee when she saw the assassins best Nyssa and haul her off. Laurel had given chase after her friend and managed to surprise the League members. Her arrival had only continued the fight a few more minutes before Oliver arrived and easily bested her. Only he wasn't really Oliver anymore but Al Sah-Him, a fact made abundantly clear when he said:

"Walk away or die. Nyssa is coming with me." And he pressed a blade to Laurel's throat.

A foolish part of her had believed he'd never keep his threat. That a part of him still loved her as fiercely as she'd loved him all those years ago. They weren't the same people they were back then, but she needed to believe a portion of her Ollie lived on.

"Where she goes, I go," Laurel had answered defiantly, finding an option he hadn't considered.

She'd expected him to reject her proposal. All she needed was to buy them a few more minutes. That would be enough time for the team to regroup and rejoin the fight. Then perhaps they'd stand a chance of breaking Nyssa free. Instead Al Sah-Him had bundled her into the waiting helicopter. She didn't regret her actions, didn't regret not fighting back. She'd known the effort to be a waste of energy, but she had to go through with her plot. She'd already lost too many people she cared about – Tommy, Sara, and Roy – she wouldn't lose another. From Starling City they'd flown to an airstrip, onto a plane, and hours later Laurel found herself walking into Nanda Parbat in her vigilante gear sans wig, mask, and nightstick.

Definitely not her best plan.

Her nerves were on fire, though she'd yet to reach the stage where adrenaline pounded through her veins. Nyssa walked toward her fate composed and aloof. Laurel suspected her friend was filled with butterflies but refused to show it. Laurel tried to keep a mask of calm too, to make her friend proud – after all, she'd been training in the League's ways under Nyssa.

Then they were in the audience chamber and Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's Head, stood before them. Laurel felt her throat dry at the sight of him, but then she looked closer. He wasn't the intimidating man who oozed evil, which she'd been expecting thanks to Felicity's descriptions. All Laurel saw was a man, even if he did lead some of the world's most skilled assassins and all that entailed. Her fears lessened, though she didn't forget the power he wielded or the skill he had as a fighter.

When Ra's ordered Al Sah-Him to kill Nyssa, Laurel surged forward to protect her friend. Two assassins grabbed her and forced her to her knees. "Oliver, don't!" She pleaded, but he raised his bow and aimed an arrow at Nyssa's heart. Nyssa stood proud and unafraid of her demise. The second before Al Sah-Him released the arrow, Ra's stopped him. Al Sah-Him lowered his weapon.

"You've proven your loyalty to me, my heir," Ra's commended Al Sah-Him without feeling, then turned his focus on Laurel. She met his gaze, unflinching. "Tell me, why did you bring Ta-er al-Sahfer's sister?"

"She insisted on accompanying Nyssa," Al Sah-Him answered without a glance in Laurel's direction.

"She did not accompany you before," Ra's raised his eyebrow in interest, conveying something more in that gesture which Laurel didn't understand. It took her a second to realize 'before' meant when Oliver had given himself up to save Thea.

"I didn't tell her of my plans," Al Sah-Him admitted and for a second, Laurel caught a glimmer of Oliver.

"Of course not, because you knew I wouldn't have let you go through with it. I would've told you to fight. Convinced you to find another way," she snapped at him, wanting to see if she could pull more of the real Oliver out. And because she was angry with him for not asking her for help – she could've helped, somehow. Thea was like a sister to her, she would've done anything to help her but she wouldn't have let Oliver toss away his soul so easily.

"Brave for a woman whose life is in my hands," Ra's inspected her as if she were an insect he was about to squash. Laurel refused to let her fear show, pulling back her shoulders with confidence even as the assassins kept her on her knees. "Not brave, stubborn. And I'm willing to fight for what, and who, I believe in."

"Now I see where your sister learned her spirit," Ra's let a faint smile touch his lips; "Such a shame to snuff it out."

Then the Demon's Head turned his back to her. He looked to his heir and coldly ordered; "Kill her."