Chapter Nine: Grounded.
Aches and pains, the groaning type of aches and pains, struck Harry Potter something fierce when he tried to pull himself up out of bed. The last thing Harry remembered, he and Sara stumbled upon a helicopter crash, where there was only one apparent survivor. The woman was in bad shape and Harry, despite the risks, used a tricky healing charm to alleviate the burden, at least until she got some medical attention.
The burden forced Harry to pass out. He tried to look on the positive of the situation, at least he was still breathing, and it was the main thing. Unless, he woke up in a train station again, or on another island, or somewhere else, Harry would be fine.
Adjusting to the light proved to be a problem. He noticed Sara sitting on a chair at the edge of the bed, legs crossed, head down. Shado stood in the doorway.
"Good, you're awake."
Sara's head slipped off of her hands and she sat bolt upright. She looked towards Harry who tried to get up out of bed, but he collapsed down onto the bed, still weakened from what happened. It felt like a hole had been driven straight through his chest.
"I stabilized your injuries, you were lucky you didn't get an infection," Shado said.
"Lucky doesn't have anything to do with it," Harry said.
Harry was pretty sure the infection didn't happen thanks to a lovely combination of Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears going around in his bloodstream. Sara was looking at him for a couple of seconds, and she obviously didn't know what to say.
"I thought you were dead when you passed out," Sara said. "I couldn't feel a pulse."
So, he did die again, but he got better. That justified his actions if the injuries caused by the mysterious woman in the helicopter were that bad. The shock of them caused them to die.
"I'm here, it's fine," Harry said. "I could use a drink of water, though."
Sara already had fixed Harry a glass of water.
"You should drink it all," Shado said. "We wouldn't want you to get dehydrated or anything."
Harry shook his head, he wouldn't want to get dehydrated either. The back of his head started to thump, loud and fast, it was hard for him to concentrate on anything. No matter how much he tried to hold his head above the water, it just dropped back down on the ground.
"No, I don't want that either," Harry said. "I'm going to regret asking this, but how long was I out?"
Sara and Shado exchanged a nervous look, and Sara decided to be the one to break the news to Harry. "Five days."
A long whistle followed in response to what she said. Overall, Harry thought to be out for five days wasn't as long as he thought he would be out. He still was sore, still ached like something fierce, but hey, being out for five days wasn't exactly the worst thing in the world. It could have been much better, but it could have been a lot worse as well. Harry adjusted himself on the pillow and gave a long, wistful sigh.
"I'm much better now, I think," Harry said. "Other than the fact I can't get out of bed."
"You had a gaping hole in your chest which hasn't healed properly," Shado said. "Our guest got impaled during the crash, and the injuries should have killed her."
"Right, and now I have what she had, after healing her," Harry said.
Normally, Harry's magic would catch up with him, and if he hadn't been in a threesome before taking on the woman's burden, he had a strong feeling he would have been killed. It was just a hunch, but Harry figured he was one hundred percent correct in making this hunch.
Harry tried to at least roll over, but the stabbing pain going through his body forced him back down onto his back. Harry gave one extremely frustrated breath and collapsed back on the bed, sighing. He hated being so weak. And they still hadn't figured out what went wrong.
"You still haven't figured out what's wrong, have you?" Shado asked.
Harry shook his head in the negative. "No….I thought that it might have been because of the three artifacts I've merged with, the Deathly Hallows, the Keys of Death, they're called a couple other things as well….but I was able to utilize magic well before then."
"Maybe it was the way you got here?" Sara asked.
Sara might have had a point. The veil was meant to be a tool to send people on to the afterlife. Harry, being the exception to many rules and likely due to his merging with the Hallows, circumvented that, but he ended up on Lian Yu. He doubted very much a return trip would be very practical for many reasons.
The most likely of which would be he would have to find a similar veil in this world to go through and Harry thought there was only a microscopic chance it could return him to his home dimension. He had less than a handful of reasons to go home, most of which, he and his friends had grown apart for the most part. Harry had been wrapped up in work, and research on the veil which had him here.
"I'm still holding out hope it's something on the island, something that I can fix," Harry said.
Once again, it hurt Harry to breathe, which didn't put him in a very good position. He closed his eyes, taking a calm breath. He could feel Sara holding his hand, the gesture was appreciated very much.
"You can't fix anything in your condition," Sara said. "And you're not going to do us much good if you end up killing yourself."
"I've died before," Harry said. "It's actually not that bad…it's over in an instant."
Sara frowned. "Well, if you say so. But, I think we'd prefer you around…and I'm sure Rose would say the same thing if she was here."
"Where is Rose?" Harry asked. "She's not avoiding us still, is she?"
It was Shado's turn to chime in with a few words. "Well, I'm not sure if she's necessarily avoiding you, well not particularly. But she's obsessed with trying to break the encryption of the radio, and finding out who Fyers was talking to. And she's still on the lookout for her father.
Harry would have liked to talk to Rose. They might have come on a bit strong, but she was obviously frustrated. However, confined to this bed, Harry didn't have much of anything.
"So, is our guest….."
"She had a fever, but it's going away," Shado said. "She's currently resting….hasn't really said much of anything. I'm not sure if she knows where she is."
Harry nodded in response. He would have liked to know what that helicopter was all about.
"No one else followed her onto this island, did they?" Harry asked.
"No, no one was on that helicopter," Sara said. "They must have burned up in the crash…..I don't even think the helicopter is usable for us to get out of here."
Harry just smiled, just their luck. They had a ship, which wasn't usable, and now a helicopter, which didn't work. Both viable ways to get off of the island, providing they actually worked.
'And to think, if I could completely do magic, I would have been able to get us off of the island yesterday,' Harry thought. 'Well, magic and an understanding of mechanics.'
Harry's mind flashed back of all of those cursed electronics he heard stories about and shuddered. Most of the time, they went haywire because the person charming them didn't have any understating of them. Then again, that might have been the idea to cause as much chaos as possible.
He turned his head around and saw the box, the box containing the medallion sitting on the bedside table next to him, next to a tray of food which had been prepared.
"I put that box in Fyers's desk?" Harry asked. "Did I?"
"I saw you," Shado said, frowning. "Neither of us put it there."
"No, I swear we didn't," Sara responded a moment later.
Harry looked at the box and the moment he brushed it aside, it popped open. One look at the medallion made Harry realize it could heal his injuries and potentially restore his powers to full, even with whatever was going on, during the island, but at what cost.
Temptation, hit Harry Potter. He reached into the box and held the medallion over his head. For a second, Harry intended to drop it on the ground, but then, he paused. One look at the dragon on it showed Harry what he needed to do. He swung the medallion by the chain hooked between his fingers. It had a warm glow to it.
"Harry?" Sara asked. "Um, what are you going to do with that thing?"
"Put it on," Harry responded.
Harry slipped the chain around his neck and the medallion dangled. Purple light surrounded Harry, and his eyes glowed, which took both Shado and Sara aback.
The injuries healed, including the scars on Harry's body which could not have been healed through conventional magic. He did feel a bit stronger, other than after having sex, since coming to the island.
Harry stood up without any problems or without any pain. Sara and Shado smiled, although Sara a bit more nervously.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
He leaned in and kissed Sara on the lips. The passion and power flowing through the kiss made tingles go down Sara's spine, and the reassurance made any doubts she had be pushed to the back of her mind. Harry had this fascinating way of making her fears just burn all away.
Nyssa al Ghul closed her eyes, pretended to sleep. She should have been dead after what happened, but the fact the Daughter of the Demon wasn't, it told her something was off, something was very off. She was in a room devoid of any windows.
She would like to she was in a prison, but that was not right. Someone left the doors open, and Nyssa could escape at any time.
'Maybe that's what they want you to think.'
HIVE and the League of Assassins had been in a cold war with each other for some time. They had the resources to decimate the world if they had gone into full out conflict. And the world wouldn't know what hit them, given they were shadows, complete shadows.
Nyssa collapsed down onto the bed. She occasionally saw a teenage girl look in on her. Normally, she would have scoffed at this security, but it was obvious there was much more going on that met the eye.
Death knocked on Nyssa's door. She breathed in heavily and breathed out, taking time to adjust to her surroundings. There was food set out on the table, and also water, but dare she take it? No matter how much her stomach pained, no matter how dry her throat was, taking the food would mean they would know she was awake.
Nyssa closed her eyes and saw the face of Death about ready to pull her under. Then Death had been denied by a far greater force, almost as if it was someone who mastered her. And Nyssa was sure Death was female, or at least took on a female form.
'Much more appealing that the skeleton Grim Reaper most fiction would likely tell you exists,' Nyssa answered.
Her head thumped very loudly, and the food had tempted her one more time. Nyssa tried to remember what happened. She saw two figures, one an attractive blonde female with blue eyes, the other, a tall, handsome man with dark hair and green eyes. Other features escaped Nyssa, but that's what she remembered in her mind's eye.
The man was someone who Nyssa could not keep her mind off of. Which was amazing to her, given, Nyssa regarded most men with contempt. The only man she respected was her father, and that was due to his status of being her father. Had he been any other man, without a family connection, Nyssa doubted she would give him the time a day either.
Her father, the vaunted Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa thought long and hard about him. Would he send other members of the League to retrieve her? Or assume she was dead, and not come back to return her. Nyssa was going to put even odds on both at this point if she was perfectly honest.
What was with that green-eyed man? Why couldn't Nyssa get him out of her head, no matter how much she wanted to? Nyssa didn't like these thoughts entering her mind.
'Sleep it off, and hope you're well enough to get some answers later.'
The Butcher enjoyed a challenge, but this little challenge the Professor gave him defied all challenge. He had to turn some soft rich punk into a mercenary in a matter of weeks before they reached their prize. And the Butcher might actually finally get off of this death trap.
Always, there would be someone who might be able to rise up and take him down, take his spot. That's why the Butcher kept a tight ship. And he dragged a whimpering man out and put him in front of Oliver Queen. He put the butcher knife into his hand.
"What do you want me to do?" Oliver asked.
"I want him to scream, beg you for death, beg to do anything to make the pain go away," Butcher said. "The boss seems to think you have it in you to be a merciless killer, well here's your chance to prove it to me. You want to see your family again don't you?"
Oliver wiggled the knife.
"Thea, your sister, she must be horrified her older brother might not be returning home," the Butcher said. "And that girlfriend of yours…what is her name….Laurel…"
"How do you know these things?" Oliver asked.
"You talk in your sleep," The Butcher said. "And it wasn't difficult for a bookworm to do some poking around and do some research…..not hard to do when you can't keep your name out of the tabloids, rich boy."
"Ivo wants me alive," Oliver said.
"Yeah, he does," Butcher said. "But, I don't have to kill you. I can make you scream."
Oliver nodded, he had been in a few fights during his time. His hand shook madly when holding the knife in between his fingers.
"What's your name?" Oliver asked.
The man looked up at Oliver and spat in his face.
"Go to hell."
"Are you going to take shit from him?" Butcher asked. "Think about what you'd do if you saw someone sleeping with your little sister…what would you do? Would you just stand there…"
Oliver stabbed the man in the shoulder. He screamed in pain.
"Pathetic," the Butcher snarled. "My Grandmother stabs harder than that….you barely drew even blood."
A deep breath came from the billionaire playboy as he withdrew the knife. His fingers twitched and he could barely keep away.
"What's your name?" Oliver asked.
The man didn't answer, and Oliver stabbed him again, harder. The knife nailed him in the shoulder and doubled him over. Oliver pulled away from the man and this time blood spilled to the ground.
"What's your name?" Oliver demanded.
"Just think about what you'd do to him if you caught him sleeping with both your girlfriend and your sister," the Butcher said.
"Tell me!" Oliver demanded.
The man looked up towards him, blood splattering from his chest. He lifted one hand and gave Oliver the middle finger. That caused Oliver to stab him into the side of the neck. The man in question dropped down to the ground, blood spurting everywhere.
Suddenly, the Butcher waffled Oliver in the back of the head with a punch. Oliver crumpled to the ground. Then, the large man hoisted Oliver up, and shoved him against the wall, causing him to wince.
"What….what the hell?" Oliver asked.
"He's dead, you dumb fucker," the Butcher said. "If the guy dies, you can't learn anything. The dead don't tell you anything."
The Butcher nailed Oliver with a couple more punches, slumping him against the wall. He slumped to the ground, ribs slightly bruised, and pain. Oliver tried to crawl towards the knife, but the Butcher stepped on his hand and prevented him from reaching the knife.
"You need to drag him in an inch to death," Butcher said. "But, never drag him over the edge, do you hear me?"
Oliver's face pressed into the ground, and his nose smashed hard against the ground. Time had been lost to Oliver Queen for a long few minutes.
Drops of water from a wash cloth rang out over his face before someone whipped a washcloth into his face. Oliver's eyes opened up, and he saw the Bookworm standing over the top of him. She had a look of disapproval on her face when motioning for Oliver to get up.
"You killed a man," the Bookworm said.
"I didn't mean to."
"Yes, you meant to, otherwise you wouldn't have gone that far," the Bookworm said. "There's a dark side to you, just like there is to all of us. There is no one who is completely pure of heart, and of light. And you aren't without your flaws."
"You're no prize either," Oliver said. "And what the hell were you thinking telling them about Thea and Laurel?"
"I wouldn't have had names to go on if you hadn't babbled in your sleep about them," the Bookworm said. "Ivo is getting desperate, he doesn't have much time."
"What do you mean he doesn't have much time?" Oliver asked. "And how do you know I talked about them in my sleep? You weren't even around me when I was asleep."
The Bookworm gave a smile, even if it was kind of sardonic. "Men are willing to talk if it means they get a warm meal today."
Oliver realized who had been the one to stooge off what he was talking about in his sleep. The Deacon, his cell mate, had told the Bookworm about the fact he might have been talking about things in his sleep.
"And there are other things I learned about you, which make me think you're a piece of shit," Bookworm said. "Which oddly, puts you about three or four levels above most of this crew."
Oliver didn't think she had any room to judge him.
"These idiots are going to kill me if the brain tumor doesn't first," she responded.
"Brain tumor?" Oliver asked.
"You say one word, and I will fucking smother you in your sleep," The Bookworm said. "Do you understand, Ollie?"
Gritted teeth followed, only friends and family were allowed to call him Ollie. Lex Luthor did call him Ollie in a very condescending manner, but Lex lived to rile him up.
"Get up, the Butcher is waiting for you outside for more lessons," the Bookworm said. "Good luck."
Something told Oliver saying thank you was not the most obvious response in the world when someone said something like this, but it was just a hunch he had.
Rose returned from her latest failed attempts to break through the encryption. She never thought she wished Fyers wasn't dead, but honestly, Rose really wished Fyers wasn't dead. He could be of use to try and break through the radio signal with the device left on the island.
She turned around and spotted Harry Potter walking down, with Sara by his side, and Shado on the other side. Rose felt a twinge of regret, but they gave her a chance, and then she stormed off. Still, she smiled and tried to be the better person.
"Good, you're awake," Rose responded. "I was worried you would have died before I had a chance to tell you how much of an idiot you were."
Harry gave her a smile which made it very difficult for Rose to stay mad at him for too long. God, how she hated how he had made weak in the knees.
"It's nice to see you, Rose," Harry said. "So, you've been checking in our guest?"
"Yes," Rose said. "And there's something you should know about her. She's League of Assassins."
Shado looked on for a moment, she heard of the League, although she didn't have as detailed of an understanding of them. Harry and Sara looked at each other.
"League of Assassins?" Sara asked. "That sounds…"
"Exactly how you think it sounds," Rose responded. "They have a very long and storied history, but I'll just say they were responsible for a lot of mass deaths. They say their purpose is to cleanse the world for the greater good."
Every time Harry heard those three words, his eye started to twitch. He couldn't imagine why just some feeling he had.
"Their leader is Ra's al Ghul," Rose said. "Well, their leader has always been Ra's al Ghul, different men have held the mantle over the years. The current one has been around the longest."
"How do you know about this?" Sara asked.
"Slade hired out his services to them," Rose said. "He wasn't part of the League."
"I'm going to go and talk to her," Harry said.
"She's pretending she's asleep," Rose said.
It was obvious Rose didn't buy the sleeping act, and neither did Harry. It was time for them to move in now.
He took some time to adjust the medallion around his neck and took a half of a step inside. Sara followed a step closer to Harry, with Rose coming in next. Shado decided to bring in the back end of the situation.
He cleared his throat and the mysterious visitor rose up out of the bed. The visitor's eyes widened in surprise for a fraction of a second; she noticed the dragon medallion swinging from Harry's neck. One might not have caught attention of her expression, but Harry was able to look at her in a blink of an eye.
"So, are you feeling better?" Harry asked.
A long pause followed before it seemed as if the woman was going to respond to the question of one of her own. "Where am I?"
Harry figured it would be a good idea to answer the question, given the circumstances. He leaned down towards the woman and offered her a brief hint of a smile. He doubted there would be much reassurance given what he was about to tell her now.
"We're on Lian Yu."
A second passed as she paused and her expression darkened several more shades. There was no hiding her discontent and the woman reached off to the side as if withdrawing a weapon. Only to find out there had been no weapons to be withdrawn.
Instincts, reactive to anything which put her in danger. Harry couldn't deny he appreciated that much from her. His expression met the woman on the bed. She rose up, frowning in response.
"Lian Yu?" she asked. "The place which is more commonly known as Purgatory?"
"The very same," Harry said. "And you are?"
No answer came from the woman. Harry amused himself in thinking he was on the opposite side of this situation. Someone mysteriously crashing on the island, and not telling him her name. Boy, what the difference a few weeks made.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "Did you see anyone else on the island? Were there any other survivors?"
"All there were well the helicopter crashed were a few charred men," Rose said. "There were three in total."
The woman seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded in response. Harry tried to read the expression on the woman's face, only to figure out it was a little bit harder than it looked. Her face had one of the most intense looks on her face.
"You're still weak," Harry said. "You almost died."
"Yes," she agreed. "I should have died, from the impact of the crash. But something saved me, someone pulled me away from Death at the last minute."
Harry could see her eyes following the medallion.
"Dragon," she murmured.
"So, I've been told," Harry said.
The woman sat up as straight as possible. Sara moved over and handed her the glass of water to drink. Time passed before the woman took the drink from Sara and drank it. Everything seemed to have confused the woman, and maybe rightfully so. She took a couple of long drinks from the water, before leaning towards him, peering over the glass.
"You are him, and no one else," the woman responded. "No one else can hold that amulet without such consequences. You walked this Earth a thousand years ago when the League of Assassins was in its most primitive state."
"So, you are the League of Assassins?" Harry asked. "And you know of my legend, very good. But, you should also know, if you know my legend, you are bound by the principles of the League."
A half of a second break passed and the woman responded with a nod. Her father told her the stories, and Nyssa found them amount the most fascinating of them all. They had been passed down through the League for generations to come. For, if it wasn't for this powerful warrior, there would be no League of Assassins.
"Yes, I'm glad you know that," Harry said. "And you should also know you're duty bound to tell me your name as part of the League of Assassins."
"My name is Nyssa, I'm the daughter of Ra's al Ghul," she responded without any hesitation. "And forgive me for not accepting your authority sooner….and allow me to offer my sincere thanks for saving my life. It truly is far more than I deserve."
Rose took a second to look at him. She was bursting to say something, but Harry turned around and silenced her with a single look.
"You're the direct heir to the League of Assassins then?" Harry asked.
"By all traditions, I should be," Nyssa said. "But, my father does not seem to think I'm worth of fulfilling the leadership role within the League of Assassins."
Harry could tell in an instant something was going on behind the scenes. He also was putting two and two together in his mind. Perhaps he was wrong, but Harry somehow doubted he was. A few long seconds passed and watched Nyssa climb up to her feet. She took a couple of ginger steps towards the door.
"I need to see if it's still aboard the helicopter," Nyssa said.
"We didn't see anything aboard the helicopter," Sara said.
"Perhaps," Nyssa said. "Which means this is almost for nothing if it wasn't on board."
"Are you certain it's ideal for you to go off in your condition?" Harry asked.
"I will ask you one favor, to accompany me to the wreckage so I can check to see whether or not the box has been tampered with or not," Nyssa said. "I would be even further in your debt, great one."
Rose never thought she would see the day of such a proud warrior bending before Harry like he was a god. Well, technically speaking he was, and that power….it intoxicated her being up close. Rose closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten.
"So, would you and your consort accompany me?" Nyssa asked.
"Consort?" Sara asked, confused.
"She means you," Rose said dryly.
Sara had been surprised at what Nyssa thought. This woman was beautiful, and likely very dangerous as well, even without any weapons on her. She had a healthy respect for Harry, or rather the power he held with his position. Sara couldn't blame her to be honest.
"The two of us can join you," Harry said.
"Thank you," Nyssa answered. "You can only begin to guess how much this means to me."
The Daughter of the Demon spent a minute going over her luck in her mind. She escaped HIVE's complex, to get half of the plague which they had been brewing up. Unfortunately, some of Darhk's drones decided to hop aboard the helicopter, and Nyssa just missed the League outpost in China, landing on the island of Lian Yu, this particular death trap.
They intended to kill her, but Nyssa experienced the opposite of being killed. Lian Yu wouldn't be so bad if he was going to make this island prison his own. No one never knew how the story of the dragon ended, but Nyssa began to guess, it ended with him being imprisoned by the vengeful warlocks who feared his power.
'Should my father find out, he will pay a king's ransom for him to marry me,' Nyssa said. 'And if I must have an arranged marriage, I cannot think of a better party.'
"I haven't had the honor of being introduced," Nyssa said. "And I would like to know the name of the one who assisted our great savior."
"My name's Sara."
Harry, Sara, and Nyssa made their way outside back into Lian Yu to the sight of the wreckage. They wondered how Nyssa ended up here.
"If you don't mind me asking one more question?" Harry asked. Nyssa shook her head in negative showing she didn't mind. "How did you end up on Lian Yu?"
"It begins and ends with a treacherous man named Damien Darhk, who betrayed the League of Assassins, and his depraved HIVE of followers," Nyssa said. "I had been sent by my father to steal one component of a virus Darhk intended to use to wipe out most of the civilized world and start anew."
The League had cleansed in the past, not something Nyssa supported, but Darhk's actions veered directly into the territory of excess.
Several maps laid out on the desk as the AMAZO ship got as close as it dared. The Bookworm sat at the table, her hair pinned back, and a pair of thick dark glasses covering her face. She had a nice button up shirt, a tie, and a pair of long pants which came down. She peered over the maps and turned to Ivo who watched from afar.
"They bury Mirikuru somewhere in Purgatory," she said. "I've cross-referenced everything, and there's caves on the east side of the island which have the information we need."
"Excellent, you've exceeded your work," Ivo said.
She did an excellent job because she was an excellent person. The Bookworm shifted through the papers.
"We are on course to arrive within three weeks," she responded. "Here is the closest we can get safe to Lian Yu. Ships in the area have an unfortunate ability of having accidents, as our new boy billionaire guest would tell you."
"To think, we were close in the area, when we picked him up," Ivo said. "And we had the Mirikuru right underneath our nose."
His poor wife, just a little longer, and then Ivo could cure anything. He could eliminate the flaws of aging, of disease, he would be rich beyond all measure.
"If the serum does half of what historical accounts say it does, then we can reshape the world," she said. "It should be fascinating to study the effects of it."
"Yes, it should," Ivo said. "I will inform Mr. Queen we're approaching."
"What do you intend to do with Queen?" The Bookworm asked. "After we have the Mirikuru? You're not just going to send him home after he knows what this ship is, are you?"
"You know the saying, knowledge is power?" Ivo asked. The Bookworm responded with a very casual nod. "There's another saying which I think is more appropriate in a scenario like this. Ignorance is bliss."
The Bookworm just shrugged and returned to her work. She continued to map out the most obvious areas to get onto the island. She had no idea whether or not she would run into any prisoners. Ivo had left her alone.
That's what Queen and his crew was for, to smoke out anyone else who might happen to be on the island.
Something flickered on the radio. It was brief, an SOS signal, and then it died in an instant. The Bookworm leaned in and came to one very obvious conclusion.
There were people on Lian Yu, who were trying to call for help. There was no help off of that death trap, and in fact, if they were on the island, then she had her test subjects right there.
She wasn't going to use the serum on herself, to treat her brain tumor, she wasn't that desperate. She declined to share the potential side effects of the Mirikuru with Ivo, knowing he might have second thoughts.
Chapter Ten: Familiar Faces.
The sight of the wreckage was just the same as Harry remembered it before he blacked out several weeks ago. He just managed to get to Nyssa just in time, and that was a pretty good thing as far as they all were concerned. He had the daughter of the most dangerous man on Earth in his debt. The sorcerer took half of a step forward and then looked back before looking forward.
"Three men were all Darhk sent on the ship after me," Nyssa said. "They were all killed on impact, you said. There was no way they could have survived what happened, correct?"
Harry nodded in confirmation and pointed towards the three men as if mentally counting them out. Seeing was believing and Nyssa seeing the charred remains of these three individuals made a believer out of her. She took a step back and made her way into the helicopter.
"Do you think you can repair the helicopter?" Sara asked.
"Unfortunately, I didn't build it, I just stole it," Nyssa said. "The box should be in here somewhere, providing they didn't pull a last minute slight of hand to grab it."
"And what happens if the box got destroyed?" Sara asked.
Harry closed his eyes, a thought, a memory which wasn't his own. Some of Nyssa's knowledge seeped into his mind, not much, but what she was consciously thinking when dying. Harry turned back around towards Sara and looked her straight in the eye.
"That box gets destroyed, and it blows up, it would have released part of the toxin which would have killed us all," Harry said. "And anyone close by when the wind started blowing."
"He's correct,'" Nyssa said. "The box was reinforced to prevent explosions as well."
Nyssa managed to pry open the door. The seats had been burned out and the control console had been melted. She moved around the seat, trying to push it back. The seat refused to go up most of the way, despite her attempts to do os.
Harry waved his hand and the seat slowly lifted up and allowed Nyssa to reach underneath it. Sara looked towards Harry, who closed his eyes.
"That didn't break every bone in your arm this time?" Sara asked.
"No, it hadn't," Harry said. "Ever since I put on the medallion, I've been able to use magic without pain, but in smaller bursts. It's just, I shouldn't overdue it."
"No, you shouldn't," Nyssa said. "You're just assimilating to your power in this new form, and after the warlocks parted you from the medallions, and scattered them, it's going to take a long time."
She wasn't certain how much the dragon remembered. It took him hundreds of years to reconstruct himself if Nyssa had to guess. And speaking of something which she could reconstruct, Nyssa pulled out the box containing the component of the virus.
"Two chemicals, deadly on their own," Nyssa said. "When put together, it's a plague which could wipe out countries in a matter of weeks and entire continents in a matter of months."
"Charming," Sara answered dryly.
The sarcasm caused Nyssa to briefly smile. She needed something to lighten the mood, at least until the Dragon's powers had been restored. And she held the box and reached into her pocket. The key she stolen was missing. Did it drop out during the crash, during the fight, or did she lose it somewhere on Lian Yu?
"Move over."
Harry moved over and pressed his finger on the keyhole. An invisible key twisted into the box and opened it. It was a spell so simple a first-year student with way too much time on their hands could learn it. But, it was the first time Harry used it.
The box opened up, to reveal absolutely nothing inside. The vial, it was not there. Nyssa clenched her fist, breathing in heavily. Sara tried to put a hand on her shoulder to console the woman, but there was no consolation for the fact there was a virus out there in the wild.
"I missed it," Nyssa said. "He must have switched boxes on me at the last second. That slippery…"
The word Nyssa intended to use to describe Darhk was not something which should be spoken of in the presence of the divine. She drew in her breath and Harry looked towards her.
"I won't say it was all for nothing," Nyssa said. "My father will be very disappointed in me."
"Are you sure you're just not disappointed in yourself for living up to expectations you can never live up to?" Harry asked Nyssa.
Nyssa had been hit with the armor piercing question. Anyone else, and she might have lashed out. This divine being standing before her on the other hand, she wasn't sure she had it in herself to argue. Especially, given the man in front of her was right.
"Your father should have done the job himself," Harry said.
"Well, when we get off this island, I think you might want to have a few words with him, yourself," Nyssa said.
"Maybe, I will," Harry said. "But, for now, until I am strong enough, or find a way to break whatever enchantments are holding me here, we're going to have to make the most of this situation."
Nyssa appreciated the overflowing optimism coming from him. She looked towards both Sara and Harry, they moved in tune with each other.
"And you were the one who told me you were in my debt," Harry said. "At least twice over, given we joined you on the trip."
The Daughter of the Demon knew being in the debt of an extremely powerful girl could lead to her being in a very vulnerable position. She knew, deep down, though, Harry was honorable. He could have left her to burn because of her own weakness, yet he saved her.
"What do you wish to ask me?" Nyssa asked.
"I wish for you to assist me in training Sara to be a warrior," Harry said. "I saved her from some mercenaries on the island, and while she can defend herself, I think we both agree she wants to learn how to fight, how to do more than just be able to defend herself."
Sara looked towards Nyssa firmly and noticed something. She could sense some kind of connection building, based on the role she played in saving the woman from the flaming wreckage of the helicopter.
"Yes, I do," Sara answered. "If you would help me learn more in battle, then I would appreciate it."
"Of course, it would be an honor," Nyssa said. "I can see the spirit, the determination in your eyes, and the will to fight. It's obvious you have the desire to be something more than you are right now."
Nyssa noticed these qualities in Sara because she saw the same qualities each and every day when looking out in the mirror. She turned towards Harry.
"Great one….."
"Call me Harry, please," Harry said. "If I return among the people, I will need a name, and calling me Great One or the Dragon would draw a lot of attention, even among those who may have heard the legends."
Nyssa responded with a nod, that made a fair amount of sense.
"Harry," Nyssa answered with a smile. "I'm helping Sara, but there's something I could surely do to help you?"
"Actually, it's been a long time since I've gotten any formal training," Harry said. "There are styles of fighting which have come to pass since my time away. And styles which I might need a little refresher course on practicing with, if you don't mind."
Sara looked towards him, barely suppressing the smile over her face.
'It's almost like he's getting into this entire Dragon thing,' Sara said. 'He could be, he could be what they say he is.'
"You want my help?" Nyssa asked. "I'm not denying you, I would never deny….but I'm just…."
Nyssa paused and thought about it. She could gain favor with the Dragon, and it would go a long way towards proving her worth to leading the League of Assassins. He had a point, it had been centuries since he been trapped in this hellish nightmare.
And it appeared only when women were brought to this island, did he wake up and start to slowly regain his power. He found one of the amulets, but six more existed in the world.
"Of course, of course, I'd help you," Nyssa said.
Harry smiled and decided to pull Nyssa into an embrace. She took a deep breath, and Harry teased pulling away from her before diving into a brief, but extremely intense kiss. It lit Nyssa's mind on fire and made her think of things she never thought about doing with another man.
"In case you don't know, that was my way of thanking you," Harry said.
"There was no need to do so," Nyssa said. "But, I appreciate the gesture regardless."
Sara checked the sun and noticed it was starting to come down. It had been a hell of a mental adjustment never knowing the exact time or date, but over time, she adapted to life here on Purgatory. The hope Harry would find a way off of the island kept her almost sane.
"We better head back now, Shado and Rose will be worried," Harry said.
Harry, Nyssa, and Sara held back. Nyssa still worried about her failure to procure the half of the plague Darhk had. The other half of the plague, thankfully, no one knew the location, but given Darhk's resources, he could put two and two together.
Nyssa reminded herself one-half of the component could do some serious damage all on its own.
"Rose has some good news," Shado said, the moment they returned to camp.
"Good news?" Harry asked.
"I'll let her tell you it."
Harry stepped inside, and saw Rose in front of the radio, fiddling with the knobs. It wasn't the radio that Fyers had encrypted but it was another radio altogether. She wasn't as irritated as earlier, but still working very hard.
"Shado told me you had some good news."
"Well, not necessarily good news," Rose said. "It's encouraging news."
"Well, any news which doesn't mean are doom is encouraging," Nyssa said. "And I'm afraid we haven't been introduced yet….."
"Well, you know my name is Rose, and that other woman's name is Shado," Rose responded. "But, I managed to get a signal, a brief one out to the other side."
"Really?" Sara asked. "That's great news."
"Well, in theory," Rose responded. She continued to work with the radio. "I'm not sure if the radio signal reached the other side or not, or if anyone was listening."
That was the key, whether or not anyone actually picked up on the signal. And if the right kinds of people picked up the signal, who they wanted staging the rescue. Rose slumped back against the chair and took a deep breath when looking towards the radio. She had been in quite the situation now. She had to figure this out. There had to be a way to figure this out, there just had to be.
Wasn't there?
"Don't get frustrated," Harry said.
Rose shrugged her shoulders. She was about ready to say something about it being too late. Still, it was the first glimmer of hope they had a long time ago.
Oliver could see several members of the crew were getting anxious when they approached Lian Yu. He found out, they were very close to the area where his ship down. Thoughts of what happened to Sara, his father, and every single other person on the crew entered his mind. Did they get picked up? Or did they suffer a worse fate than Oliver?
The young man shook his head. There was no fate worse than being stuck on this ship. He had to do a couple of favors for this Ivo, lead a crew of mercenaries to grab a super soldier serum. Ivo claimed he would send Oliver home after his mission was complete.
Something about this entire mission, it just reeked of garbage to Oliver. Being on this ship for the past couple of months, maybe, it sure seemed longer sometimes, made Oliver think about his life. He rarely did the right thing, only did the right thing to satisfy himself.
Still, there was another man who didn't do the right thing. Oliver made his way down past the cell block. Several of the prisoners looked towards Oliver, but then pulled away when he looked towards them. They all whispered, knowing he was figured in.
He had been chosen to get additional privilege, and if they looked at him the wrong way, they could end up in the basement. The man in the cell with bandages wrapped around his face still rode in pain and agony. His agitation increased with each passing moment.
Oliver looked towards the Deacon. He looked still as unkempt as possible. His long hair and greasy beard would most certainly make him stare out in a crowd.
"Something troubles you, my brother?" Deacon asked.
"You told them about my sister," Oliver said. "And about Laurel."
The Deacon started to hum something under his breath. Oliver wanted to unlock the cell door, take the man out, and beat the answers out of him.
"My motivations are simple, and you should be thanking me," the Deacon responded.
"You told the Bookworm about them, because of a hot meal, you wanted to eat," Oliver said. "I thought you said you embraced death when it came."
"I'll only embrace death when my time comes," the Deacon said. "And you should just close your eyes, and think about what just happened. You feared they would learn about your loved ones. Now they know, and you have nothing else to worry about."
Oliver clenched his fist. He pulled the bloodied dagger, the same bloodied dagger he killed a man with just a while back with. He was looking forward to the next murder victim.
"And they would have found out anyway," the Deacon said. "You're Oliver Queen….they would have found out about your sister, all of your friends."
The Deacon stood up and looked on the other side of the cage towards Oliver. Oliver's fingers retracted. He wanted nothing better than to reach through the cell bars and ring his neck.
"Pride, Oliver Queen, pride," the Deacon said. "The most deadly of all of the sins. It was your pride to get on that ship, along with your lust and your greed. All of those deadly sins condemned you."
The Deacon's face coated with sweat when he stared back at Oliver. He just leaned back, and then got to his feet. Arms extended, dropped to his knees, the Deacon spread out like he was hung from the crucifix. He looked like he offered himself up to Oliver Queen.
"Smite me, for my sins, Oliver," the Deacon said. "Vengeance is the final step towards your damnation."
Oliver's hand shook when he pointed towards the Deacon. The man stretched out his arms and motioned for Oliver, trying to get him to attack. Oliver didn't attack just yet.
The doors swung open and the Bookworm made her way down the steps behind Oliver. She walked down to see the scene with Oliver looking like he was about ready to drill the Deacon directly in the face.
"Queen, enough," she said. "The crew is getting ready, why aren't you?"
"I'm just saying goodbye to an old friend," Oliver said.
The Bookworm didn't even begin to know what was going on here, and she couldn't bring herself to care enough what was going on here. She opened her hand and motioned for Oliver to follow him.
"They are ready for you," the Bookworm said. "The only thing you need to do is suit up."
She handed Oliver what appeared to be body armor, along with a hood over the top of it.
"Bulletproof," the Bookworm said. "But, there are several fundamental areas where it's weak, and it's not resistant to magic."
"Magic?" Oliver asked. "You mean like hocus-pocus, pull a rabbit out of your hat, and make someone disappear, that type of magic?"
"Not that type of magic, I'm referring to real magic," the Bookworm said. "The type you wouldn't understand. It's not slight of hand, it's not stage trickery, it's the real deal."
She could see Oliver just shrugging his shoulders, as if to argue with her about something, without saying any word. Amazingly, though, he didn't say anything, so there was hope for him. The Bookworm watched as he put the armor over his normal clothes.
"This gun has only six charges," the Bookworm said. "But, they all pack a punch."
Oliver nodded. He had been taught how to use various weapons, some of them lethally. He didn't know why he would take these many steps to go to an island which he swore they said was abandoned. Oliver was beginning to think there was something they weren't telling him.
"And they're waiting," The Bookworm said. "Oh, and if they get out of line…"
She handed them a small pen-like device, placing it in the palm of Oliver's hand. Oliver looked at it in confusion.
"You want me to stab them with a pen?" Oliver asked.
"Honestly, Queen," she said in exasperation. "I can't tell whether or not you're failing to be charming, or succeeding in being ignorant. But, now I don't want you to stab them with the pen."
The Bookworm shook her head. Oliver wondered what the pen was for. He doubted he could write for it.
"The red switch on the right is a warning shot," the Bookworm said. "The green switch on the lift is a kill shot."
"And how will it work?" Oliver asked. "I mean, how will it know the person I'm supposed to be using it on?"
"Magic," the Bookworm dryly responded.
"That's the second time you said…wait, I know what's going on," Oliver said. "You're…you're one of….you can perform magic."
"Thank, you Mr. Queen, but we really need to be going," the Bookworm said. "Here's an expression you should learn on this ship, time is money. And if you're wasting time, you're wasting money. Something, I'm sure you'll be very comfortable with given you never had to work for it."
Oliver sighed, she couldn't really risk getting that one last jab before heading out the door.
"If you're a witch, why didn't you magic yourself off of the ship?" Oliver asked.
"Thank you, Mr. Queen," she said, avoiding the question.
"But, you could have gotten off of here anytime you wanted to…"
The Bookworm didn't say another word, and she left Oliver's thoughts to mingle. He saw the members of the crew, waiting for his orders.
"Alright, let's move, Ivo has a timetable, and he wants things done, and he wants them done right now!"
Sara stretched out, getting herself psyched up to train even more. She had her sparring sessions with Rose and a few with Shado. She thought she knew how to defend herself very well. Those thoughts had been pushed to the side when Sara realized she could defend herself well against normal thugs.
People who actually had fighting skills, on the other hand, she didn't have much of a prayer. She stepped in front of Nyssa. Sara had been blown away by how beautiful she was, how composed she was. And the fact she was devoted to Harry, based on his status, it would be very easy to convince her to join them in the bedroom.
Sooner, rather than later, Sara didn't want to rush things. Plus, she knew how much anticipation could drive a woman nuts. Just like it was doing with Rose.
"It would be for the best if you just showed me what you had learned before," Nyssa said. "The Dr…..Harry, he told me you had some preliminary training."
Sara nodded in response. It took a second for her to avoid being amused by the fact Nyssa had not quite broken herself of the habit of referring to Harry by the title of the Dragon. She would learn.
A naughty thought about how to give Nyssa the incentive to do so.
"Yes, I do," Sara said. "So, what do you want me to do?"
"Attack."
The daughter of one of the most skilled assassins in the world, at least according to Shado and Rose, wanted her to attack. Sara clutched her fingers together, mentally counted to ten, and rushed towards Nyssa, attempting to attack her.
Nyssa reached out and grabbed Sara's hand before blocking it. She flipped over onto the ground. Nyssa jumped up into the air and came inches away. She pulled away and Sara pulled herself to her feet.
"You're telegraphing your attack," Nyssa said. "There shouldn't be any pause, any hesitation."
As if to demonstrate this, Nyssa kicked Sara to the side and flipped her down to the ground. Nyssa rolled Sara over and tucked her elbow underneath Sara's chin. She was certain if Nyssa wanted to, she could cut off the flow of oxygen to the brain.
Nyssa pulled back from Sara and gave her some room to breathe. It was a limited amount of room for her to breathe, but still, something was better than nothing.
"Again!"
Nyssa called for Sara to attack, and she just did. She charged towards Sara. Sara blocked the first punch. She had had her legs swept out from underneath her.
The Daughter of the Demon smiled. It had been a long time since she trained someone in battle. She enjoyed it.
"Don't pause after blocking the first attack," Nyssa lectured. "Keep going in, and keep focusing on each successive attack."
Three punches went in. Sara blocked the first two and then jumped into the air. Nyssa went behind Sara and slipped into the shadows. The blonde woman was confused with where Nyssa headed. She looked to the left, looked to the right, and then looked up.
Just in time to see Nyssa come back down from the heavens. Sara dropped down onto the ground. She blocked Nyssa's blade from connecting into her. Sara rolled over to her back and blocked Nyssa's attack. She went on pure instincts to defend herself.
Sara flipped over onto her back, tried to grab Nyssa. Nyssa held Sara around the neck and launched her down onto the ground. Sara flipped back over and dodged one of Nyssa's attacks. Both women went toe to toe with each other. Sara latest a lot longer than she thought possible in a battle like this.
"If you hope to stand tall with the Dragon, you're going to have to step up your game," Nyssa said. "You need to defend your status in his domain!"
Sara pulled out a wooden staff from behind her back and pivoted on her feet. Nyssa deflected two blasts from the staff, popped back up, and nailed Sara with a huge glancing blow. The blow knocked her onto her back. Sara pushed up, the breath having been knocked out of her.
Still, she refused to stand back, and not fight. Sara had been challenged, and she had never been one to back down from a challenge. She faced against this woman and pushed back, trying to take her down with the wooden staff. Nyssa blocked the staff with the blade.
"I can see something building inside of her," Shado said.
"I know," Harry said.
Harry appreciated how people made the most of how they were given in life.
"Most people would have thought being sent to Lian Yu was a death sentence, but Sara has really flourished over the past couple of months," Shado said.
None of them could be sure how much time had passed since they had been on Lian Yu. Harry thought there was something about the island which made time passed irregularly. This was nothing more than a theory, an idea, but Harry was almost certain it was a thing which happened.
He watched Sara chain together a couple more attacks. Nyssa held back slightly, but not as much as one would think. She was prideful as all.
Both women had something to prove. Harry had been down that road before a long time ago. Time passed, and he had been matured.
"So, do you feel any stronger?" Shado asked.
"I can now perform magic without crippling myself," Harry said. "There's still something on the island, something buried deep underneath it."
Both knew it would be difficult to find whatever was underneath. If Harry found whatever was causing his problems, then they might be closer to get off the island. He was still beneath his average strength before leaving the old world behind.
Which, to be fair, put him above the average wand-favoring witch or wizard, at least how much Harry suspected. He turned back around and saw Sara rise to her feet. Her lip had been busted.
"Come on, I thought we were fighting."
Nyssa smiled, she saw a lot in this one. It was just the matter of getting it out. She saw the Dragon observing her every move. Soon, she would assist him in regaining his power.
Allowing this young man to achieve his full potential was the key to getting them off of the island. Nyssa knew what it meant to be in the debt of such a powerful man. She looked towards Sara, who motioned for her. A small smile crossed the face of the Daughter of the Demon. Without further preamble, she stepped into the center of the ring.
"So, we were, and so we will."
Nyssa and Sara moved in closer towards each other. The next round proved Sara picked up a couple of pointers, but Nyssa would just have to make it harder on her. It was the way she learned to fight, and it did serve many well, by forcing them to dig down deeper to excel.
Night had fell over Lian Yu like it did what seemed like dozens of times before. Rose sat outside, looking up into the sky. She had the flare gun next to her, on the off chance something fell down from the sky.
Knowing their luck, something would end up crashing onto the island and being damaged beyond repair. Rose didn't quite believe Sara's suspicion something about this island was cursed, but she was beginning to consider the idea. She leaned up and looked towards the sky.
Another woman found herself on the island and someone who was intrigued by Harry. The Daughter of Ra's al Ghul himself as well, which caused a bit of a sour taste to form on the inside of Rose's mouth. She clutched her hand closer towards the edge of where she sat and just sighed hard and fast.
'Another one jumping the line in front of you?' Rose thought. 'Are you really going to take that? To be fair, there's nothing stopping you.'
Nothing stopped Rose, except for her pride. Rose closed her eyes and thought about how she would go on it. After the vehement way she disagreed with Sara's proposal, it would make her look needy to come crawling back now. Yet, she imagined what it would be like for Harry to take her hard and fast, or slow and steady.
The harder, the better, and Rose found her mind wander off at the thought of what Harry would do with her if he dominated her.
"It should be around her somewhere."
Rose heard voices, and the only voices anyone on the island should be hearing were either female or belonged to Harry. She saw a trio of gentleman creep their way across the edge of the island, in the cover of darkness. Rose lifted herself up to a standing position.
'Just what we need right now, more complications.'
They had to get onto the island somehow. Rose wasn't about to hold out hope they had an easy way off of the island as well. She crept to the edge of the cave.
"Careful with that thing."
Rose frowned, they were lifting up a chest of some sort. They broke it open. A flash of light appeared in the cave, illuminated by the candle. The leader of the crew put it down on a large rock.
"Get the others ready," the leader said. "It's on the East side of the island."
Rose didn't know what they were talking about. She reached into the bag and pulled out two shuriken which she created from the melted wreckage of the helicopters. Three men weren't needed, when one man could tell the tale just as much.
Shuriken to the back of the neck of one man, and shuriken to the back of the neck of the other man. Both dropped, before the third man, the leader turned around.
Rose dove into the shadows behind him and caught him in the exposed part of flesh between the helmet and armor. Whoever designed this, they obviously missed a very vital pressure point had been left open.
'More are going to be on the way. I have to move quickly.'
"So, they were looking for something?" Harry asked.
Harry looked down at the man Rose brought back to camp. He had covered in a thick hood which had been armored, along with body armor. Guns weren't going to bring this man down, but obviously, Rose found another way to take him down.
"Obviously, they were," Rose responded. "Good thing I was out…"
"Sulking?" Sara asked.
"No, contemplating what I'm going to do next," Rose said.
To be honest, they didn't have that many options. Harry reached over and could see the man was still breathing, even if he had been knocked unconscious. He undid the clasp of the mask and pulled it off of his face.
Sara jumped back in surprise, mouth hanging open. At first, she didn't believe it, given the circumstances. Yet, it was right before her eyes, Oliver Queen, who she last saw before getting dragged underneath on the Queen's Gambit.
"It's…its Ollie," Sara said.
"Oh, Queen," Rose said. "Well, it's a good thing I left him alive and killed the other two."
Harry could tell it would be several minutes before he woke up. He had a very bad feeling something was going down. He held up one hand and lightly scanned Oliver. It was just as he feared.
"He's been tagged with a tracker," Harry said.
"Well, get rid of it," Rose said.
Harry shook his head. "No, not an actual physical tracker, a tracking spell, a charm, which is almost impossible to detect, unless you know what you're looking for and you're a wizard."
He had a very bad feeling about this, the feeling which was shared by the rest of his crew.
"I can remove it," Harry said. "But, I'm afraid removing it now will be like closing the barn door after the wolf already got inside."
All of them were afraid of that. Shado, Sara, Nyssa, and Rose all prepared to fight. Rose shook her head, she really hated magic sometimes.
"Rose, Nyssa, could you come with me?" Harry asked. "Shado, Sara, you stay here….make sure he doesn't leave."
"Right, it might be good if he saw a familiar face when he woke up," Sara said.
"Maybe," Harry said. "But, you don't know what happened to him over the past several months. So if he wakes up and attacks you…"
Sara responded with a nod and leaned over towards Harry. She gave him a light kiss, to show him how much she understood what was going on. The two pulled away.
Now, she looked towards Oliver, frowning. The guy, who invited her for a steamy weekend away on a ship, claiming he and Laurel had broken up. She guessed they were still friends, she guessed.
'After all of these months away, he might not be the same,' Sara thought. 'Like you're not the same.'
"Just keep strong, like I know you are," Shado said. "Don't lose yourself to frustration."
X-X-X
Harry, Rose, and Nyssa slipped outside and saw another group of mercenaries make their way onto the island. They had been chaperoned onto the island.
"The Professor wants to ensure no loose ends are left behind," she said.
Harry frowned, he knew that voice. He heard it for seven years, so there was no mistaken it. It might have more cold, distant, lifeless, but there was still no mistaking who it was.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Nyssa whispered.
"Pretty much," Harry said.
"Stand where you are!"
They knew they were there, and the mercenaries pointed their weapons at Harry, Rose, and Nyssa. Harry saw the woman leading move closer, and he got a look at her. Straighter hair, but still kind of curly and the glasses were a new addition. And that bossy demeanor wasn't one Harry could mistake anywhere.
"You were the ones who sent the message," she said.
"Yes, we did, Hermione," Harry said.
"You know her?" Rose asked.
Nyssa didn't dare move, not until the signal. Eyes locked to each other told her this was not the time.
"I don't recall ever meeting you in my life, and how dare you call me by that name?" she hissed. "How do you know?"
Well, Harry just received his confirmation that the veil led him to the alternative timeline. The brunette motioned for the mercenaries to lower their weapons.
'Well, very few things change no matter the world. And one is your obsessive desire to know everything. And what you don't know, is going to drive you nuts.'