Flames licked their way through the ancient fort as Talia and her troop charged in. Deathstroke had changed course and attacked Nanda Parbat right after the attack at Cape Town, proving Ra's Al Ghul's suspicion right that he had in fact been laying out a massive trap.

Talia no longer had options. It was a war of survival and she couldn't save every person she wanted to.

Some sacrifices had to be made.

Her eyes were on the lookout for her son who she couldn't see anywhere and it worried her. She caught sight of Jason battling ferociously, cutting the robot soldiers down left and right. But Damian and Ra's were both not to be seen.

As she battled her way through to the Throne Room, hoping Ra's would be there, a flash of orange and black cut her path.

Deathstroke.

The man responsible for all that massive destruction.

"Fancy seeing you here, Madam Al Ghul," he had the audacity to taunt her right then and her sword slashed through the air, unable to strike him as he had effectively dodged the blow.

"I will make you rue your existence," she threatened, refusing to back down and their swords clashed together.

"Just like I am making you rue the day you made a deal with me?" He chuckled, deflecting her angry blows, "indeed."

The ground shook underneath their feet as the two fought to death it seemed. Talia was capable enough to stand her ground against the feared mercenary and Deathstroke could see that if they continued as such, the fight would only end with a death.

So he decided to change course as he added, "why so furious, Madam? I am only doing what you asked me to. I am helping you become the Demon Head."

"No! You are ruining everything! And I will not let you."

"Funny how you think I am the one ruining your plan but the person you should be wary of is your own son," he withdrew his sword, letting Talia's katana strike against his armor with a loud clang, "in all the time you will waste spewing your hatred out on me, he will put his Grandfather in the Pit and revive him."

"What?"

His sword clashed against hers, catching her off guard, "I keep my word. I killed your father for you but your son came in the way. Now you have only two options, either save your father or your rank. Because if word got out that you had made a deal with me, Ra's Al Ghul will not spare you."

Her jaw clenched knowing that he was right. She was in a situation that demanded a hefty sacrifice and Deathstroke had intentionally put her in that place.

"The choice is yours, Madam. Keep your end of the bargain when the time comes," he retrieved his sword and swept a bow before vanishing into a puff of smoke emitted from the grenade he had thrown at her feet.

Talia rushed down to the cave underneath the fort where the Lazarus Pit was located and true enough, she found Damian struggling to heave his grandfather to the pit.

"Damian!" She called out and he stopped, looking up at her with hope in his eyes.

"Ummi, come. Grandfather needs our help," he remarked, not leaving the limp body of what once used to be the Demon Head.

Ra's Al Ghul's body was charred black and he was almost unrecognizable. It was evident that he had suffered terribly and as she bent down to check, there was no faint throbbing of his pulse.

He was dead; struck through the heart and if the rumors were true, that meant he would not be able to come back even if they put him into the pit.

It was alarming that Deathstroke had heard that rumor too. But there was still a chance that he might get resurrected if the rumor wasn't true.

She couldnt risk testing it.

"Talia, step away from him!"

She was startled to hear that voice and turned to see Dusan's staggering form coming towards them. He was injured but held his dagger threateningly and his silver eyes were emotionless.

"Uncle Dusan, look out," Damian did not know who to help as he could see his uncle was in a terrible state too.

Talia stood up, facing her brother, "you shouldn't be here..."

"Neither should you," his voice cracked and it was clear that he would collapse any second. "Take Father to the Lazarus Pit... Right now."

Damian tried to follow that order but Talia held him by the shoulder pulling him back.

"It's no use, Dusan. The pit won't be able to revive him, he has been struck through the heart."

"And it all happened on your orders! You... You betrayed us," he coughed, wiping off the blood trickling down his mouth, "I will not let you kill him... You will have to kill me before getting rid of him."

Dusan stood as a shield between Talia and Ra's, while Damian was confused about who to trust. On one hand was his uncle, gesturing to him to take his grandfather to the pit, and on the other hand was Talia, refusing to let him go.

"Dusan, I didn't betray you. I didn't order anything of the sort, believe me..."

But her voice trailed off in shock as she witnessed a sharp silver katana pierce right through her brother's chest, a flash of orange and black coming up behind them.

The cave rumbled as if a series of bombs had been set off around it, rocks starting to crash down from above.

"Damian, leave," Talia tried to protect her son, pushing him out of the way as a giant rock fell close to him.

The cave was collapsing and the water of the Lazarus Pit was also unstable, splashing out tumultuously. She had barely managed to push Damian out, striking at Deathstroke so that he would let go of Dusan who seemed to be breathing his last.

Heavy rocks started to fall one by one, the ground shook underneath them and soon everything got dissolved in a pool of black and green.

***

The sun of the next day dawned upon them yet most of them hadn't slept even a wink that night. Uncertainty and doubt hung over them all like a shadow because they did not know what would happen next.

The base had been damaged beyond repair and there was no sign of any member of the Al Ghul family aside from Damian. The young heir was scraping off the ruins, searching for his mother, uncle and grandfather as Jason helped him with clearing the rubble of the cave that had collapsed over them last night.

Upon clearing most of the area, they found the pit was there just as before and its thick green water surrounded two crushed bodies that could not be brought back to life. The third person who should have been there was nowhere to be seen.

However, the bell of the throne room clanged and all the Assassins looked up in surprise.

That bell clanged only when the Demon Head or any of the Al Ghuls demanded their presence in the throne room.

One by one, the surviving warriors trudged up to the throne room and upon entering they saw Talia standing at the steps of that throne. Damian and Jason had shown up to the throne room as well to see Talia alive.

When the cave had collapsed over them, Talia had been the closest to the Pit thus she had survived while Ra's and Dusan did not have much luck. Deathstroke had also made sure that their hearts were pierced through so that they would not be able to come back with the help of the Lazarus Pit.

Right then, only Talia was the one who could take over the title of Demon Head after her father and that was exactly what she intended to do.

"I, Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul and designated successor... Proclaim my right over the League of Assassins and declare myself Demon Head."

Silence engulfed the entire base as none of them knew how to react. Following tradition, Talia slashed her palms with the dagger that was embedded into the throne and then approached the green glass orb that was placed right beside the High Chair.

With blood dripping down her slashed palms, she gripped the green orb that absorbed the blood that tainted its surface. A blinding green light erupted from the orb and engulfed her, indicating that she had been accepted as the rightful heir and the next Demon Head of the League of Assassins.

Green light surrounded her akin to a halo and one by one, all the surviving Assassins of the League started to kneel down in front of her.

Slowly she retrieved her hands from the orb, finding the surface that had turned red from her blood was as glassy and transparent as if it hadn't even been touched.

Talia was the Demon Head now and the League of Assassins was under her control.

Her gaze met with Jason's electric blue irises but he stepped back, reminding her that he hadn't forgotten the deal. She had to let her go and choose another Commander.

Her eyes swept through the remaining soldiers and stopped on the assassin she had made Veruna fight with on their last visit to the training fort.

Seeing her look at him, the man bowed his head and took a step forward, indicating that he was ready for the responsibility.

"Manav, from this day forth, you shall be the Commander of the League."

He stepped up and knelt at the foot of the throne, accepting the honor of his newly bestowed rank.

"Mistress, I swear to serve you till my last breath," he vowed, bowing his head further.

She nodded, allowing him to go back and join the rest of the assassins. There was one last announcement to make after which she would dismiss them all.

"And my son Damian Al Ghul will be the designated successor to the League," she stated, feeling her son's cold gaze upon her, "he will inherit the rank of Demon Head after me."

He was bitter after what had happened down at the pit and did not know if he should trust her or not. He wasn't sure of what to believe either.

"Come up here, Damian," she ordered, emerald eyes piercing through his.

He looked as if he would storm out of the throne room but resisted the urge, knowing that all eyes were focused on him.

Reluctantly, he stepped up to the throne room and came to stand at his mother's right.

The assassins bowed again to the Al Ghuls and were then dismissed. Slowly, they all filed out of the throne room, leaving only Damian, Talia, and Jason in that room.

Talia sat down on the Demon Head's chair, feeling the weight of that title fall on her shoulders. She felt Damian wanted to say something to her but the boy stood in front of her with his lips shut tight.

Jason was the one who stepped forward and spoke up instead, "I must take my leave now. You remember what you promised me."

"Of course. You are free to go. The League will no longer have any ties to you and vice versa," she told him.

He nodded and left immediately as if he had been waiting for the moment for a long time. He would never come back to that dreaded place again.

As there was no one else in the room, Damian turned to face her, his blazing eyes showing that he was trying his best to keep himself calm.

"I believe you have something to say. Get it over with and don't build the smoke inside you," she remarked, observing him closely, "say it."

"Congratulations, Mother. You finally have the rank you wanted so badly despite all the bloodshed it caused." His tone was stiff as he replied.

She knew the reason behind his tone and that behavior. She also knew it would take him time to come to terms with the abrupt turn of fate. There was a high chance he suspected that Deathstroke had killed Dusan as well as Ra's upon her orders. 

But Talia did not say anything to defend herself. The only answer she gave him was, "my dear son, when someday you'll be standing on this throne as I am today, you'll realize that there are some decisions we have to take unwillingly."

"You could have saved Grandfather... You could have saved Uncle Dusan."

She shook her head, "there's only so much I could do but couldn't. Some sacrifices have to be made."

"You chose to let them die," his eyes burned with the accusation but Talia knew he would still not go against her. He was obedient and she would eventually succeed in making him see her side of the picture.

"Perhaps I did. But I made that choice so we could survive," she replied in a firm tone, "it's a cruel world, Damian. Either kill or be killed. The sooner you realize it, the better it will be for you."

***