Guest: Thank you for your answer! I will keep it in mind when I'm planning it.
The Waverider arrived in the African country at noon. Gideon parked it outside of the village and this time, they did not bother to automatically cloak the ship upon arrival. Amaya would see the ship from her village; she would know that help has finally arrived and she could inform her people that this time, the Legends were truly here to help with the monster that ravaged the town and its people.
The Legends were wearing everyday clothes when they exited the Waverider, some of them bringing their costumes just in case, and walked towards the village, where a welcome committee was waiting for them. It seemed everyone in the village had come to see the Legends arrive, but the welcome may not be warm. The women and children stared at them in suspicion and some of the men were holding guns. Many of them were hurt, with arms in slings or supporting themselves on makeshift crutches and bandages around their limbs, chest, and head.
In front of all these people stood Amaya. She had grown eleven years older since they last saw her, about half a year ago. Her appearance had not drastically changed; some gray hairs popped up and some wrinkles appeared on her face. It did not make her any less attractive to Nate.
Amaya walked away from her people and approached the Legends. Right behind her followed one man – the others stayed behind to form some sort of border between the village and the strangers that could threaten it. Not even the man Amaya brought with her seemed to trust the Legends. Based on his and the people's reactions, they've had their hands full with threats from both the monster and possibly white people as well.
Sara was the first to greet Amaya, and the rest of the Legends all had the chance to personally greet Amaya, too – all except for Nora, who just stood there awkwardly. While everyone said hi, Nate watched the man. He hadn't spoken yet, but he patiently waited for Amaya to introduce him to her time traveling friends. Nate wondered what kind of relationship he had with Amaya to be allowed to come with her.
But the answer would come soon enough, and Nate looked at Amaya again. He still could barely believe it – he had missed her for six months, to such a high degree he could not stand being on the Waverider anymore, and now they were reunited again.
Then they finally stood in front of one another. He couldn't contain his happiness. Like his friends, he embraced her tightly and she amicably returned the hug.
"Amaya," he said when they pulled out of the hug. A grin appeared on his face. "It's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you, too, Nathaniel," Amaya said, her Zambesian accent returning in her voice. There was a bright smile on her face, which was so contagious Nate grinned even wider. Amaya then turned to the man behind her and asked him to come over. The man and Nate observed one another from head to toe, while the other Legends were waiting to finally meet the man Amaya brought with her.
"I want you to meet Thys," Amaya introduced him, "Thys, these are the Legends. My friends."
Thys nodded at the group in a friendly way, but he still stayed close to Amaya.
Then it clicked with Nate – this was the man who replaced him. He did not want to think of it like that, but that was how it felt. For him, it was just six months; for her, she had spent at least ten years in her home village. She has had more time to fall out of love with him and to find someone like Thys. She does need a husband – or at least a partner – to give birth to her daughter so that Mari and Kuasa could be born. History needed to continue, and Nate respected and accepted her decisions.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Nate said and he extended his hand to Thys. He did not hesitate, grabbing the hand firmly and shaking it.
"Likewise," he said. When they stopped shaking hands, Thys looked at the members of the Legends. His demeanor shifted and he leaned in closer, as if he was afraid to attract attention to himself from some sort of otherworldly creature.
"Are you here for the monster?" Thys whispered.
"We wouldn't be here if there wasn't a monster," Sara said, trying to reassure Thys. "We are more than happy to help our friends." She looked at Amaya, who was still smiling.
"What about Nora?" Amaya asked. She had noticed Nora but hadn't engaged in a conversation with her. Nora had been hiding at the back of the group, trying hard not to be noticed. She was well aware of what happened the last time she was in Zambesi, and of the trouble and destruction that Mallus will bring in 1992. None of the people would know, but Amaya would.
"Ray keeps an eye on her," Sara explained. "And Zari on him."
This put Amaya more on ease, and she nodded.
"You are welcome to stay for however long you'd like," Amaya said. Nate immediately turned his head to Sara in anticipation. Can we stay? Would the Greeks even allow them to stay in Zambesi for 'however long they'd like' after they took care of the creature that terrorized the village? He believed Sara was not going to take the offer, and by just looking at her, he knew he was right.
"Thanks for the offer, but we're here for the Fugitive," Sara said.
"That's a fitting name," Thys commented, not quite impressed with the term in itself.
"I came up with it." Zari raised her hand, a proud smile on her face.
"We're working on a schedule," Sara continued. "When does it usually attack?"
"It comes at night," Thys said. "It wounds many and kills those who cannot retreat."
The warm atmosphere made way for some awkward silence while the Legends grasped the gravity of the situation. Seeing the pictures and hearing the descriptions was one thing, but they now knew people had died. They had not prevented the deaths of some innocent people. The timeline would say it was nothing too dramatic, for some of these people would have been killed by illness in the original timeline. Nothing much and nothing major changed. But still, people died.
"Let's go inside," Amaya suggested. "We have a lot to discuss."
"Yes, we do," Nate said. "You won't believe what happened to us this week."
The group walked to the village. The Legends were welcomed with suspicious eyes and the hope that they would rid them of the monster that came every night. So far, this monster had killed three people already and wounded many more. Children were forbidden to fight, to keep them safe within the borders of the village with their eldest and most wounded. The men and women, both young and old, went out every night, with fear in their hearts but the courage to keep the monster out of the village, away from their children and parents. The Legends could only feel weirdly proud of these people and were in awe of their bravery.
The Legends also told Amaya about had happened to them while she was in Zambesi. Breaking Mallus free opened the world to Fugitives, also known magical creatures or entities. It coincided with the walls of the Underworld cracking and some Greek monsters getting out as well. The monster in Zambesi was most likely Greek, otherwise it wouldn't have popped up on their radar.
They did not mention the Giantess – not yet, at least. She had built up a life here. She had decided to leave, to keep the timeline intact, and they were going to respect that decision. Besides, Amaya was not a champion. It would not be right to involve her in this fight and drag her away from her home, from stability and peace, from her partner and the country.
Then Amaya and her people spoke about the Fugitive, which was shaping up to be a strange one. Not many were able to accurately describe it, so they discussed bits and pieces. Most of them spoke of a lion, others had also spotted a goat's head. Only a few threw in a snake as well. It had sharp claws with which it could easily tear through flesh, and apparently one of the heads (every Zambesian spoke of multiple heads) spewed fire. Nate, Ray, and Wally thought it must be a chimera or a manticore – yet they did not leave these people to go to the Waverider and check what exactly it was, what it could do, how strong it was and how to defeat it.
But the night was already falling; going back to the Waverider now might mean being alone when exiting again and possibly attracting attention from a dangerous beast. Legends and Zambesians ate their dinners side by side as they mentally prepared themselves for what would come at night.
It was dark outside. Only the torches and Ray's suit provided any light outside of the village. The Legends, Amaya, and a handful of men who found the courage to go face the monster for the fourth time were waiting with for said monster to arrive. The men, including Thys, carried knives and guns and they were uncomfortable with the Legends, these outsiders who wore strange costumes. They accepted the help only because they were helping them fight the creature, but mainly because Amaya trusted them.
The group spread across the borders, forming a half-circle barrier of people on the north side. From across the fields that separated the village and the woods, the men watched the forest in anticipation. They did not leave their village, they would not leave their family behind – the creature would have to come to them.
One hour passed. Two hours. Mick reached the peak of his patience and proclaimed loudly he wanted that monster to show up already so he could burn it. Other men were becoming impatient, too, but not because it hadn't shown up yet – because they knew what the monster was capable of.
Nate watched the tree line from their safe distance and sighed. His eyes had adjusted to the natural light the moon provided, but he still doubted. Would he be able to spot the monster? Had it already come to take a look at the force that awaited? Not knowing when it was coming was just as bad as knowing horrible this could end for so many people.
"So…" Nate began, "when is it going to show up?"
Thys stood next to him. His eyes were also on the tree line, and only on that tree line. He did not look away even as he answered.
"It will come soon."
"How soon?"
A monstrous roar echoed through the night. It sounded like a tiger, possibly a lion, or maybe something else entirely – Nate could not determine what it was based on its roar alone.
"Now," Thys said, holding his gun a little tighter. The creature burst through the tree line and finally revealed itself to the Legends for the first time.
The Legends had thought they'd seen it all. A gigantic boar – not too bad. The Minotaur – they could live with that. These two creatures as well as them being barely aware of the creatures that run wild in Greek mythology, it made the team believe the other creatures would not be too outlandish. Half-lion, half-goat. That was strange, but they had not believed it would be too strange. They each had created a picture in their heads of this creature, they had the front legs and head of a lion and the back legs and tail of a goat.
That picture was proven to be wrong.
Nate, Ray, and Wally were right – the creature that had been tormenting Amaya's village is a Chimera. It was a horrible hybrid, descended from the she-viper and mother of all monsters Echidna and the serpentine father of all monsters Typhon. The Chimera consists of a lioness' body and head, that is covered in brown manes. Her tail is a viper's upper body and head, biting whatever came to close. A goat's head had grown on the lioness' back, turning every way its neck allowed it, breathing fire at anything that came too close to the Chimera's main body.
"Is that a goat head?" Mick asked the team via the comms. His tone suggested he didn't quite believe it or that he wasn't sure whether he should be afraid of it.
"Yes, it is," Nate responded. He breathed heavily. How were they supposed to beat this monster?
The goat head bleated angrily. So far, that had been the only display of intimidation it had shown. Nate believed the Chimera may be holding back a little, now there were some strange white people included in the Zambesian forces.
Yet, that was not a big hindrance. She quickly pounced and ran straight towards them.