Retribution
After Oliver had lived from Ra's al Ghul's sword, he was said to be the rightful heir according to the prophecy, much to Nyssa's dismay. It was what she had always lived up for, what she had held on to in the League, what she knew was supposed to be hers, 'The Heir to the Demon.' She hated the thought of someone else taking what has always been hers, let alone an outsider. He was not one of them, and he's supposed to be the head of them all. She simply cannot accept that.
Malcolm Merlyn had once told her that it was her love for Sara that made her unable to take her father's place. And her father had told her that she was unfit to be the head of the demon because she allowed her weakness to come into her life which made her emotional in her judgments. She hadn't cared for their words. She loved her and had no regrets of it. She would have left all of it behind for her, but she was no longer among them. Sara was gone. And the League was all she could hold on to that she can claim her own, but now it was being taken away from her.
How could that happen? How could everything that mattered to her be taken away all at the same time?
She left the league, as she would not stand idly by as her legacy is handed to an outsider. She came to Starling City as it was the closest thing she could have of Sara. She had told Nate to stay in the league as she does not want to compromise his position in it. He had protested since he joined only because of her, but of course Nyssa had won the argument. They would still see each other from time to time as Nate was still overprotective of her.
Every single day that she had been back at Starling City, she would always go by Sara's grave. Sometimes she would talk to her, hoping she would hear her and give her any kind of response beyond the grave. Other times, she would sit silently beside her, missing her beloved so dearly. She would often find herself writing letters that she would address to Sara, saying things that she would only be comfortable telling her. Then she would go back there and read them to her.
Sara,
I know it seems sad and lonesome that I write these letters to you, but it was a part of what we've had, and I just can't let go.
I miss you so much, my love. I imagine that you are in a better place, smiling and laughing like you always do. Though I think of that, I find myself hoping and praying that this is all just a terrible nightmare. And I would wake up with you by my side soothing me, telling me 'It's okay. I'm here.' But everyday, I wake with the emptiness that you left in your passing. And I miss you more and more each day.
I thought we still had more time. I thought that despite all that had happened between us, we would still find it in us and be together. But you left me too soon, my love. No, you were taken from me too soon. That's why I can't be with you just yet. I know you would not approve, but I have to do it for myself.
I love you, Sara. Even in the life after, I know I would still love you, because there is no other you. You are my love. You are my life. I am yours even in death.
-Nyssa
She sighed deeply, collecting more of her thoughts. She cherished the times she comes to see her there, lying in her grave, because even then, at least she could have a moment with her that was just theirs.
"I really do miss you, Sara. You know, I've become friends, with your sister, Laurel. She reminds me so much of you. You both have that spirit of heroism within. You wouldn't agree. I know you don't think of yourself as a hero, but you are. That's why you were never truly one of us. In the end, you always think of others. You were my hero. You saved me more than you thought I saved you. I wish you were here."
She often finds herself talking to Sara and talking about her in present tense as if she were still there, because she simply cannot let go of the fact that she's gone. She feels that even in spirit, Sara was there with her.
Nyssa fell into another silence, as she felt the presence of someone close.
"I thought I'd find you here." Nate spoke in a solemn voice.
"You wanted to see her as well."
"Both of you."
"He knows you're here?"
"Your father has been keeping tabs on me. It's best to assume he knows exactly where I am. And he's asking for you."
"Asking? That's not the word I would use."
The hatred she had felt for her father grew when he dismissed her love for Sara, and chose to gave away her rightful place in the league.
"Do you really think she'd forgiven me?" Nate said looking sternly at her headstone with her name etched on it. His soft words broke through Nyssa's anger as she thought of sara once more.
"What made you think there was ever anything to forgive?"
"And she would push me around telling me to forgive myself."
They both smiled at that picture. It was something that Sara would have definitely done.
"She wouldn't stop until you do."
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Nyssa continued to train Laurel and had grown closer to her. They would often talk about their issues with their fathers, and of the fond memories they had with Sara. She found herself enjoying the time she'd had away from the league, despite being without Sara.
Then at a dinner they had together, Laurel mentioned to her that Oliver had joined the League. Angered by the news and that Laurel had kept the information from her, she stormed out of the restaurant.
In her hideout, Laurel apologized for not telling her. She said that it was because she saw how happy she'd been the past few weeks and she didn't want to upset her. Nyssa told her that she should stay away from her now that Oliver was with the League, he will be hunting her down.
Nyssa went to the rooftop where Sara had died. And there she was met by Oliver, donning the League's customary gear. She asked if he still remembers Sara, or has her father erased every memory of her. He told her that Ra's al Ghul wants her back at Nanda Parbat. And they shot at each other, but to no avail. They then took out their swords and fought each other out. But as stubborn as Laurel was, like Sara, she came with Diggle and intervened. Oliver then leapt from the rooftop, but Nyssa knew it was far from over.
"I told you to stay away." Nyssa said to Laurel as she tended to her wounds.
"Do you know what she would have said, if I did?"
"You two are sisters. Stubborn as hell."
Laurel couldn't help but smile at that. It was one of the things she used to find annoying about her sister, but she just missed that about her now.
"I didn't think that there would be a life for me outside of the League, especially without Sara. But spending time with you these past few weeks showed me that there could be. But it's difficult to have, being who I am, being the daughter of the demon. It always seem to slip away from me."
Laurel didn't know what to say to that. In that moment she saw that though she had lost her sister, Nyssa lost far more than one should when Sara died.
Nyssa asked her to leave so she could have some time to think by herself. And because she felt the urge to write to Sara.
Sara,
I thought I would still have to wait a long time to be with you again, but it seems that I would be seeing you soon.
Don't worry, my love. I do not fear death. I have faced my worst fear of losing you. And if death is what brings me back to you, I welcome it with open arms. My only worry would be is if you'd be waiting for me as I cross that path?
I guess we would finally have that life together away from all this, without any other worries, other than what to talk about and how to spend our time with each other. I know how much I have strayed away from that through the years, but it was all I ever wanted since I first laid eyes on you, because even then, I knew it would always only be you. I've slowly let go of that dream, because of everything that had happened. Now I wonder what if I had held on to it stronger than I did, and maybe made it happen, you could still be here by my side, smiling, laughing, and simply being with me.
I feel that I have failed you somehow, but you would not want me to dwell on it. I just long for the day that I could be with you again, so I can make up for all of it.
I love you, Sara Lance, more than anything.
- Nyssa
She folded the paper and placed it in her pocket. If she really was to die, she wanted her final words to Sara close for her to hold on to. It would be like her anchor to keep her worries at bay, because she would find herself with Sara soon after.
Nyssa surrendered herself in exchange for Lyla, Diggle's wife, whom Oliver had taken in captive. And together with the rest of team Arrow, Nyssa tried to fight off Oliver and the assassins with him. They were greatly overpowered, and whilst distracted, Nyssa was subdued and got dragged away by the assassins to Nanda Parbat.
Brought before her father, he told her that he would try to remember her as she was before she left the League, and took the Omega virus that was hidden inside her sword. The virus would be used to decimate the city the heir once belonged to, in order to wipe away the traces of his previous life.
Nyssa then mentioned that she used to be afraid of her father, but she no longer was. He ordered Oliver to kill her, as it was custom for the heir to kill whomever rivaled him against the title. Ra's held him off the last moment, as it was clear that Nyssa was not afraid to die, and showed that Oliver had overcome her, but her death would serve no purpose. It was then revealed that Ra's wants her to marry Oliver and produce an heir to continue his bloodline. Nyssa was repulsed by the idea and would rather die. Ra's simply told her that she doesn't really have a choice on the matter.
She reluctantly wedded Oliver, and was taken on the plane guarded by assassins as Ra's moved forth with the plan on infecting Starling City with the virus. Unexpectedly, the plane was sabotaged, and when Ra's was about to kill her, Oliver revealed his deception.
After dealing with the aftermath of her father's attempt to rid the world of Starling City, and after Oliver had killed Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa went back to Nanda Parbat only to find that Malcolm Merlyn had assumed the role of Ra's al Ghul. He tried to tell her that what he endured by Ra's sword could be interpreted as what the prophecy could have meant, and that they both just wanted to escape the grasps of her father, but she didn't care for those. She still held him accountable for what he did to Sara and she vowed that she will see justice served. Malcolm welcomed her to try, but she was only forced to kneel and acknowledge him as the new Ra's al Ghul in the presence of dozens of other members.
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"How could you accept him as the new Ra's?" Nate was still reeling from all the overwhelming happenings within the League with all the Malcolm Merlyn, Oliver Queen, and Nyssa being married to Al-Sahim, which was also Oliver Queen, and now Malcolm Merlyn was Ra's. It was all just too much in a short span of time.
"You knelt before him as well." Nyssa countered.
"You told me to stick with the League. You left. You're the rebellious daughter of the demon's head that got her legacy taken from her. He killed Sara!" Nate rampaged. He still carried the resentment of not patching things up with Sara before she passed.
"I know. I still haven't forgotten that. And I promise you, Al-Hami, he will pay for what he's done."
Nate was still worried of how Nyssa would devise a plan to do just that, but he is glad that she hadn't completely given up on what is rightfully hers: the title of Ra's al Ghul, and revenge on the death of her beloved.
Nate had left her alone in her room. And she let the intensity of the past few weeks crash down on her. She didn't feel like crying because of how tragic things have become for her. She didn't feel like screaming or punching anything because of how frustrating things have been. She just wanted her back. She just wanted Sara back and be held by her. Thinking of her, she grabbed a pen and a paper and wrote another letter.
My dearest Sara,
At times like these are when I miss you the most. When there have been so much that had happened that I try to replay everything in my mind, wondering if all of it had really happened. Have I really lost you? That's what I always keep going back to. It's really difficult to think about, but what else am I to do?
It seems I won't be seeing you just yet, but I do hope you still wait for me. I have so much stories to tell. You would definitely laugh at this one. It's frustrating and makes my blood boil, but thinking of how you'd react to it just makes me smile. I married Oliver. And I imagine that you would raise your eyebrows at me in disbelief and then laugh so loud when you realize I wasn't joking. You would tease me nonstop. You'll get tired of it for a time, but you would always have it hanging over my head.
I miss you so much, Sara. I wish you were here. I wish I could hold you in my arms and never let go. And it aches to know that it can never be so again.
-Nyssa
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Months passed, and Nyssa tried every single day to find an opening to kill Malcolm Merlyn whenever he asks to spar with her. But Malcolm was smart and as good as her and would not slip and give her a chance to finish him. He had trained perhaps as long as her, since he had come to Nanda Parbat the first time when she was just a child. And it was in their first meeting that she had given him the name Al Sa-Her, The Magician.
After another sparring together, with Nyssa losing once more and only managing to cut Malcolm a little by his neck, a League member interrupted and told them that there were two outsiders, of which one claims to be the daughter of Ra's al Ghul.
"No, I am his daughter." Thea Queen said as she entered the room with Laurel in tow.
"What a pleasant surprise." Malcolm said in welcome.
"Sister-in-law." Nyssa greeted Thea, as in the eyes of the League, she had been married to Al Sah-him, Oliver Queen, her brother.
"What brings you to Nanda Parbat?" Malcolm asked. He knew there had to be something, since his daughter openly declares her hatred of him and would only come to him, unless she needs to, added with the fact that she hadn't come alone.
"They have a coffin with them." The assassin behind them stated.
"A coffin?" There was a tug at Nyssa's heart. Sara. It can't be, but it was the only reason for Laurel to be there with Thea.
"I want you to bring my sister back to life." The words that Nyssa dreaded came out of Laurel's mouth.
Nyssa looked at Merlyn hoping that he would not allow it. She felt a slight relief when he gave a stern no for an answer. Laurel tried to protest and demand that he do it, since it was him who took her life away, and said that it was his obligation to give it back. Merlyn would not be intimidated in his own house.
"Thea was not dead. Sara is."
"Thanks to you." Laurel interrupted him.
"What you are asking for hasn't been done in ages past, even then, only in legend."
"That is why I didn't ask my father to use the pit on Sara after she fell." Nyssa said trying to add weight to Malcolm's point.
"Even if Sara went into the pit, even if it worked, who...what'd come out of the pit would not be Sara." Malcolm continued. "Laurel, I am sorry. Truly sorry. But of course, my answer is no."
They were then all dismissed. Nyssa found Laurel by Sara's coffin, going on about not giving up. She understood the pain and the ache. She would dare not say who's pain is worse. Laurel had lost her sister, but she had lost the most important person in her life. The only person who truly showed her that she could love and that there could be a life other than the one she was living in. She lost that, and she could say that she lost a part of herself in the process.
"Because you are thinking only of yourself." Nyssa told her the only reason why she would not let her sister be at peace.
"I expected your support. I was counting on it."
"Then you never really knew me at all." Nyssa couldn't blame her for thinking that. She would have given anything to have Sara back, but she knew very well the consequences of using the Lazarus pit. "The pit gave my father a long life, longer than what was natural and much longer than he deserved. But he paid a dark price for it. A price that Thea is no doubt paying now. I wouldn't wish it on my bitter most enemy, let alone my beloved."
"I don't know if the pit can bring her back. And Malcolm's right. I don't know what Sara would be like if it does. But what I do know is I have to try."
"To what end? To have your sister return to you a monster?"
"Her spirit, the part that we both love, that's the part that I have to believe that will come back."
"You're not doing this out of love. You're doing this out of grief. I miss Sara too, but she is gone, Laurel. Forever. I have accepted it. I think it's time you do too." Nyssa hoped that her words would get to her. She cannot imagine Sara be put through something as dark as what was to come with the pit.
But much to Nyssa's dismay, due to Malcolm's love for her daughter, though how twisted he may seem to show it, he was willing to heal her daughter's conscience, by bringing Sara back.
Torn and outraged, Nyssa stormed in as they were starting the ritual. Nate was not far behind. To hell with the League, he would not stand by and let his friend be dehumanized by the pit. He owes her so much more than that.
"I would see you all dead, before I let you do this." She said as she fought back tears. "Laurel, please don't."
But Laurel would not listen to her pleas. She continued on to submerge Sara's body in the Lazarus pit. They all looked on and waited for something to happen. Nyssa let out a small sigh of relief when nothing seemed to happen. And everyone was about to give in to that thought, until the newly resurrected body of Sara slowly emerged from the waters.
Nyssa's heart trembled and ached, more so when Sara leaped just a few feet in front of her, and looked straight at her. It was clear she was no longer herself. She was horrified to see what they had done to her beloved, when she rabidly directed her attention to Thea in an attempt to attack. Luckily they were able to hold and subdue her before she could. But the damage was done, they have soiled the bright and beautiful soul Sara had.
"Was that really her?" Nate stared out blankly, like Nyssa, he was horrified with what he had to witness. "How could they do that to her?"
"They were not thinking of her." Nyssa was filled with anger and pain for her beloved. "And that was not my Sara. I saw nothing but darkness in those eyes. It's not Sara."
"You can't let him get away with this now. First, he takes her life. Then, this. He has to pay."
Nyssa knew exactly what she had to do.
"You should go, Nathaniel."
"Whatever your plan is, I am with you. I am not going anywhere."
She wouldn't want to put Nate in as much risk as she was gonna get herself into, but she felt more resolved, knowing she still has someone she could lean on and trust by her side.
After Malcolm was alerted that something had happened, he quickly made his way to the chambers of the Lazarus pit along with Thea and Laurel, leaving a chained up Sara alone. They found Nyssa standing by a then destroyed pit.
"What have you done!" Malcolm shouted, outraged.
"My father was not a trusting man. He devised means to destroy the pit, should its powers fall onto the wrong hands, like yours."
"Nyssa, why would you do something like this?" Laurel interjected.
"How can you even look at your sister and ask me that?" She said, appalled, then directed her attention to the root of all her hatred lately, Malcolm Merlyn. "One day I will have my moment, and I will kill you. And now when I do there is no coming back."
"Take her!" He ordered his assassins.
"I warned you, Laurel. I begged you. What happened to Sara last year was on Malcolm's hands but what's happening to her now is on yours." She seethed in anger before she was taken away.
She was thrown into a holding cell, and when she turned, Nate was already there. The look she got from him told her everything.
"I thought I could do it, Nyssa. I knew deep down that it wasn't her anymore. I look into her eyes, and saw nothingness. But I still couldn't do it. No matter how much I think about it not being her, I still saw her." He tried explaining, whether it was for her or himself didn't really matter. "I thought I could do it for the both of us. Do it for her."
"It's okay. I know it's difficult. I never could have done it either. She means so much to the both of us. All we can do for now is hope she recovers the way Thea had."
Nyssa knew that it was a long shot for that. Sara was dead. The pit takes as much as it gives. A life for a life. A soul for a soul. But her Sara is strong, all she can do is hope that she will fight her way back.