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The Legends traveled to Greece, to a landscape that had started to look familiar to them, but which was decisively unlike anything they had seen so far. The Acheron River, the "river of woe", was one of the five rivers that flowed through the Underworld and the main location where Periboea would try to create Destruction. It coincidentally also was a touristic stream in the province of Epirus that flowed to the Ionian Sea, so it wasn't that hard to find.
According to John, the Giantess preferred to work when no mortals were around. She wouldn't stray too far from the river's source, but she would if it meant going further away from humanity's prying eyes. She could easily retreat to the nature of Tourla-Mougilla, a secluded area in which the Acheron was the lowest point of a valley neatly tucked in between two mountain ranges.
The Waverider landed at the end of a lonely road so that they would have to explore the beautiful nature of Greece themselves. This way, the Giantess would not see her coming. There was a mountain village nearby, so the reflector shields were up. Completely dressed up and ready for battle, they exited their ship.
"Alright everyone, listen up," Sara said. The Legends stood before her, complete and determined as they will ever be. Only champions stood before her; all of them had been claimed by a Greek deity. Even John, who was backed by Hecate for evil purposes. Even Nate, whose situation was peculiar because he was not the champion of an Olympian or even a god. And now, she was going to give them a little pep-talk.
If only she knew what to say…
She did not recite a speech of epic length. But she did speak her mind. "Everything we've done the past couple of weeks has brought us here – becoming champions and killing many different monsters. If we fail, the world as we know it will be destroyed. If we fail, we'll have condemned the planet to turn into a wasteland.
"So let's not fail! Let's go out there and finish the job that the Olympians gave us. Not for them—" she pointed at the sky "—but because we still need a planet to protect and these Greeks need to learn an important lesson: you don't screw around with the Legends."
Everyone reacted positively. Some nodded, Wally clapped a couple of times until he realized he was the only one and the sound slowly faded. Mick and John's faces were still stoic, but Sara knew they were more than willing to light up those bastards and to finally get some peace and quiet.
Sara did not need to tell them to follow her, or to go into the woods of Epirus. The group unanimously decided to follow the Acheron until they reached the Giantess and the cronies she may have brought along for the occasion and her protection.
There wasn't much chatter on their way. With each step they took, the gravity of the situation weighed harder and harder upon them. with every step, the situation became more tangible. The Giantess came closer with every step after the last one, but none of this discouraged them. They did wonder what would be awaiting them on the shores of the Acheron.
Nora was walking a little behind the group. She did not wish to walk among the Legends – she didn't feel comfortable enough around them yet to do so. this was the last time she was forced to walk with them. When this was over, she was free again. Free to do whatever she wanted, free to go to the places she needed to be. Free to be hunted by the Time Bureau again.
"Hey." Nora raised her head – she'd been so caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed Ray had decided to join her at the end of the group. "Are you doing okay?"
Nora shrugged. "I don't know." How could she define 'okay' in this situation? There were at least five, but she could not explain any of them. Whatever the answers would have been, Ray would have nodded and told her it was okay to feel like that in this situation.
So, as predicted, Ray nodded. "That's alright," he responded. "Neither do we." They silently walked next to one another for a little while longer – such a sweet little while longer – before Ray opened his mouth again at the start of a potentially long ramble.
"So," Ray began, "the big endgame. Just one more fight and we're done with the Greek gods."
"Is there something you want to tell me?" Nora asked, turning her head and looking directly at Ray. This temporarily shut him up – hopefully, he wasn't going to ramble.
"I've talked with the others about this," he said, now speaking in a more solemn tone than before. "They had a strong opinion. Not everyone agreed. When all of this is over, you're free to go. We won't bother you anymore. And I'll put in a good word with the Time Bureau. With a bit of luck - a lot of luck - you won't be a wanted criminal anymore. You might be able to start over. You could have a quiet life."
Now that was something she had not seen coming. How had he presented this idea with the Legends? Had he even consulted them at all or was he acting on his own accord and made it seem like he discussed it with his friend? Only the future could say whether this would actually work out. Whether she wouldn't have to hide from what basically was the time police.
"Thank you," she said, turning her head. "That's very kind of you."
"Just…" Ray sighed. "Just try looking for a better job. You are much more than a renaissance witch."
"You try finding a job when you're wanted. And when you don't even have an elementary school diploma," she countered. Up until that point, that was the only job she managed to find. It was the only job that did not at the bare minimum required her to have received a high school diploma. That, and fast food server at the local fast food joint. But serving food was not appealing to her in any way and after all that had happened, she should know how to convincingly play a witch.
"Then start studying," Ray suggested from the goodness of his heart. Nora did not like that idea. "I know it doesn't sound very fun, but in the long term, you won't have to be a renaissance witch again."
"Let's survive this first before you talk about school," Nora said. Ray nodded.
"Okay." And that was the end of that conversation.
During this conversation, the two of them had slowed down considerably – so much so that they had to improve their speed or lose the group. All they had to do was to follow the river, but Ray thought it was creepy and he would rather the Legends arrived as one front and not as 'main group' and 'those who fell back'. They made haste and rejoined the group.
In the middle of the group, Nate and Amaya were talking to one another. They weren't talking loud enough so that everyone could hear it, but they weren't trying to conceal what they were saying from the others either.
"So… how's Thys?" Nate eventually asked her.
"Do you really want to know?" she then asked in return. Do you want to know about the man who will be my daughter's father? Nate nodded.
"I do," he said. "If that's okay with you." If he was going to let her go again, he wanted to know what kind of person Thys was. With the stressful environment of Zambesi and the Chimera situation, Nate had no idea who Thys truly was outside of this stressful environment. He hadn't seen Thys in times of peace.
"I don't want to talk about that," Amaya said. She did not want two worlds to mix. Nate was the Legend from the future, Thys was her way home. She was glad this adventure brought Nate in her life once again, but she did not want to hurt his feelings by describing Thys in many positives.
Nate didn't ask about it further - he noticed how Mick inched closer towards the waters of the Acheron.
"Wait!" Nate yelled to draw Mick's attention. "I wouldn't touch the water if I were you."
Mick did not step away from the shoreline, but he did frown at Nate. "Why?"
"Is something wrong with it?" Zari wondered. Nate's warning to Mick
had also effectively halted and drawn the attention of all Legends.
"This is the Acheron," Nate said, pointing dramatically at the still peaceful and calm river. "The river of woe! It has a direct connection to the Underworld. If you value your life, you wouldn't even dip your little toe in it."
An uneasy silence fell over the group. Everyone eyed the water suspiciously; the idyllic river was now a source of uncertainty. Somehow, they all had the feeling that at any moment, a corpse could disturb the peace by bursting out of the water and making an effort to kill them. Even Mick felt this way; he backed away from the water but did not look away as he went there.
"Are you sure about that?" Amaya quietly asked Nate.
"It is called the river of woe," Nate repeated. "Honestly, I am not sure. But with these mythological creatures running free… I wouldn't dare to trust this river is still normal or safe."
Soon after this happened, the group continued on their way, with Sara and John walking a little ahead of the rest. He did not do this to keep Sara company – he wanted to see the supposed mastermind Hecate, Hypnos, and Apate had been working for and to finally find some peace in beating the Giantess in battle. And then he could go home, then he could avoid the Legends for a little while.
"Having second doubts?" Sara asked him. John shook his head once.
"No. Not even a little bit," he responded and kept his eyes on the road. There weren't any pathways right by the shore and they needed to keep an eye on the way ahead; the way through nature.
"What's on your mind?" Sara wondered as she briefly looked at him. There was something that bothered him; she just did not know what exactly this thing was. After the stunt he pulled, she was still a little wary of him. John sighed.
"The Giantess is out there," he said. "She knows we're coming, so she'll do anything in her power to make sure we will not reach her before she's finished what she started."
"Anything else?" Sara asked. She had the feeling John had not said the things he truly had wanted to mention before they eventually would find Periboea. Luckily, John was in a sharing mood.
"The personifications are the representations of basic needs and the worst aspects of a human being. They are very persuasive and can make you do anything, as long as it falls in their domains." He briefly paused – he still wasn't quite over being literally deceived by the personification of Deceit. "They're dangerous, probably immortal. They won't hold back."
"Then we won't hold back, either," Sara said. her gaze briefly crossed his. This shared moment strengthened both of them to keep marching on towards the Giantess Periboea.