“Oh shit,” I mumbled, my eyes widening as minor memories flowed in. I didn’t have memories of the scene in front of me. But this situation was oh so familiar. I was fairly certain I had seen this exact monster once in a few Saturday morning cartoons. 

It was a massive beast, or human, I wasn’t sure. At least fifteen feet tall it had the head of a human woman, but everything else was just wrong. It’s body had four legs, light brown fur covering the body and face. Thick paws at its feet, it had a long tail that moved slowly from side to side like a pendulum. At its side were two wings folded. The feathers coating them were pure white, almost giving the beast a glowing look. 

The thing wouldn’t have looked too menacing, but hanging from its head was human hair. In long golden locks all around it, going from the tip of its woman’s head to the floor. She honestly reminded me of that weird human/dog hybrid from Fullmetal Alchemist, which gave me even more memories of the show. 

“Chimera,” I mumbled. 

“Close, its the Sphinx,” John said. We were just outside of a temple. Still on Paradise Island we were on the opposite side of the town we had stolen clothes from. Only Raven and I were in robes, John was still in his brown trenchcoat and smoking like a train as he puffed deeply on his cigarette. 

“Fuuuuck,” I said. My eyes trying to take in everything in front of me. The temple we were in front of was carved out of stone. Giant pillars twice the size of the sphinx, the building towered in front of us. Great steps leading up to the beast, the moon was still out and taking its time as it moved across the sky. 

“What do we do?” Raven asked. 

“We need to pass the Sphinx,” John said.

“Duh-doy,” I said annoyed. “How the fuck do we do that?”

“I…don’t know,” he said truthfully. 

“What?!” I hissed.

“Shh,” John said, waving his hand. His eyes darted around looking for the guards that had just passed on their patrol. 

“They’re out of ear shot,” I said, my Observation Haki able to sense them. “Summon Tabi,” I said. The blue and black cat appeared on my shoulder. I had left her back in Canada at our hotel because she said she liked to wander. She looked around, her eyes landing on the Sphinx. 

“What’s this about?” She asked. 

“Pokemon battle,” I said, pointing at the Sphinx. 

“I…will kill you,” she said with all the seriousness she could muster.

“Well I don’t know how else to fight this thing,” I admitted.

“Wait, she can actually talk?” Raven asked, looking up at the cat. I eyed her and John, both giving the tailed-beast a surprised stare. 

“See, I told you,” I said, my voice echoing up the stairs to the temple. “She can sing too, Tabi, play me a tune.” The cat meowed and began swishing her two tails along my back. “Don’t you dare pretend you can’t talk now.”

“Not the time to talk about this,” John said, his focus back on the conglomeration of beings that should not be fused into one. “The Sphinx is not going to let us pass without fighting or a riddle.” 

“I thought that was just trolls,” I said, more memories coming to me. I did remember something about a riddle from one of many cartoons, but couldn’t remember anything as nightmare inducing as the sphinx in front of us. I kept expecting some deep voice to begin to growl at us, or boss music to start playing. 

“No, trolls aren’t real, in this dimension anyway,” John said, ashing his cigarette as he thought. “Its from the Oedipus legend.”

“The guy with the mommy issues?” I asked. 

“The same,” John said. “He saved Thebes by solving the riddle. I guess at some point the Sphinx took up root here with the Amazons.”

“Great,” I mumbled. “Any idea what his riddle actually is?”

“I…don’t,” John said.

“What the fuck, you’re supposed to know everything,” I said.

“Apparently not. I didn’t think solving riddles would come up on the isle of women, but I was wrong,” he said. He began to look around slowly. “Maybe there is another back door?” 

“Fuck it,” I said, honestly a little excited to try. I moved from the road and began to walk up the many stairs leading to the Sphinx. 

“Weston-” Raven said. “Don’t-” But they cut off. I turned back to see they were trying to say something, but I couldn’t hear them. I guessed this was a test designed to have no cheating. I gave them a thumbs up and continued walking up the steps. My eyes slowly taking in the tailed beast in front of me. 

The head was the most eerie part of it. The face was covered in fur, it had a human nose, mouth, and eyes. It’s eyes were pure black, they didn’t blink but stared at me. Its chest puffed out toward me. I could hear its deep breath as it inhaled and exhaled. 

“Who dares approach the Cave of Wonders,” I mumbled to myself as I approached the beast. Memories of Aladdin running through my mind. 

“Halt, human,” a soft woman’s voice said in reply. I stopped five steps from the top. The voice throwing me off, my eyes somehow got wider as I stared at the sphinx. Its mouth had moved to say the words, but the voice did not match the body. She continued to stare at me, finally blinking once, and the black eyes drew me in. 

Like I was being hypnotized I felt everything around me fade away. Tabi was no longer on my shoulder. My body no longer felt light, I was now just a mind floating in the ethos, the only being in existence besides myself was the sphinx. 

As she took all my focus her body froze, and from it walked a human woman. She was as tall as the sphinx, no clothes on, she stepped from the body. My eyes focused on the bipedal female, unable to talk, breathe or think. She approached me slowly, breasts jumping with each step down until her hairy lower bush was right in front of my face. 

I began to sweat, a buzzing noise in my ears as she began to speak. “Hello, human,” the woman said. She bent down to crouch, her breasts now in my face as my eyes slowly moved to stare up at her. “It has been some time since any have challenged me.” 

I wanted to talk. Ask questions like, what brought a woman like her there, or what the fuck was going on, but my mouth didn’t move. Instead I stared up at her as her hand slowly moved toward me. Her thumb and pointer finger wrapping around my face. I began to sweat more, unsure if she would just snap my neck. 

“Ooo very strong,” she said. “Maybe I would have trouble with you.” Her black eyes were impossible to read. Like staring at a soulless shark. I truly understood what a beast she was. How ancient this woman had to be to have seen eons worth of life. “Shall we test it? Your strength against mine?”

I wanted to shake my head and scream fuck no, but I couldn’t move. The surroundings and even my own body felt like white noise. “No, you want the riddle,” she said. “Tell me, in the outside world, has my legend preceded me? Do you know the question I seek?” I couldn’t answer, which she knew. Instead she tsked and turned around. Moving back up the stairs the female form disappeared into the body of the sphinx once more. 

“Here is the deal, free and clear,” it said in a female voice. I took in a breath, one that felt like the first in a long time. My entire body broke out into sweat. Tabi was still mounted on my shoulder. The cat’s eyes locked onto the sphinx, unable to move as the massive beast continued to speak. “A question asked, a response required, for that is my one true desire.” 

I blinked, waiting for more, but she didn’t say anything. Her Haki like the sun I gulped my dry mouth and nodded. “Ask me the question, bridgekeeper, I am not afraid,” I said, and memories of Monty Python and the Holy Grail played in my mind. Frowning, I was curious if the grail was actually with the Amazons and we could skip the whole fleece scavenger hunt. 

She nodded, as if accepting my words as part of a ritual she had to follow. “Travelers three, you may be, only one has risked the query. Thus I must let them entrust the wanderlust to thee.”

“Ooookay,” I said, unused to the rhyming. But it seemed I would have to answer the riddle for all three of us. “Ask away.” 

“Very well,” the sphinx said and with a nod it’s eyes turned from black to white and her voice changed to some deep autotune addled voice. “What walks on four legs in the morning, Two legs in the afternoon, and three in the evening?” She asked. 

I opened my mouth, disappointment clear on my face. I let out a deep sigh, the wonder of the sphinx dying quickly. “Man,” I said. I had heard this one far too often to not know the answer. It seemed this sphinx had wasted its life if it couldn’t come up with another riddle. The sphinx hesitated, as if surprised how quickly I answered. “Final answer,” I added as if this were who wants to be a millionaire. 

“Good,” the sphinx said. A sharp exhalation of breath from its nose. 

“Do I need to show my work?” I asked. 

“No,” it said its voice back in the deep and scratchy version. “Next question.” I frowned, realizing I would have to answer three riddles. I didn’t have time to nod before it began to speak. “What cannot speak in the morning. Can speak and hear in the evening, but cannot hear at night?” My first thought was a bat, since I was focused on the hearing part. But it didn’t take long for the answer to come to me. 

“Man?” I asked/answered.

“Correct,” the sphinx said again, not put off by the quick response this time. “Finally, what sucks the world dry like a parasite? Conquers all with their might? Takes all like a blight. And will someday soon fall from their height?”

I was starting to suspect a theme as I answered once more. “Man.”

“Yes,” the sphinx said. Its eyes going from pure white to black. “Very good human. Remember my words for they will come to pass far sooner than this world is ready for.” I frowned, positive she was hinting at something. I would have liked to think on the words, but didn’t want to miss this opportunity. 

“What if I ask you a riddle?” I asked. 

“Hmm?” The sphinx asked, it’s body breathed in deeply. I felt genuine excitement from the beast in front of me as the buzzing in my mind began to dim. 

“What are you doing?” Tabi asked, hearing her for the first time. 

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Tell me, Sphinx? What if I were to ask you a riddle?” 

“This is not…what would you require?” She asked. I felt John and Raven head up the stairs behind me. 

“Sorry, I suck at rhyming, so I’ll say it straight out,” I said. “If I ask you a riddle, and you can’t get it, I want you to give me my memories back.” I thought it was worth a shot. This beast was powerful, maybe it could break my curse. 

“Memories…” it said slowly. “Ah the Blood Sharing,” it said as if it knew what ailed me. “Yes, I take your challenge human. Give me a riddle, and if I cannot-”

“Weston, we don’t have time for this,” John said. 

“Hold on,” I said, getting excited. Maybe my answers were all right here with the riddle meister. “You agree to the terms? An answer to my riddle, or I get my memories.”

“Yes, that is acceptable. Restoring your memory is within my power,” the sphinx said. I could feel it was actually excited by the idea. 

“Good,” I said, recalling the perfect riddle. “What drags itself on its belly in the morning, stands…still as a rock in the afternoon, and flies through the air in the evening?” 

“What drags…” The sphinx said, trailing off. I nodded, knowing this thing couldn’t have an answer for that. I was finally getting my memories back and-

My arm shot out grabbing something before it struck Raven. I turned to see my hand wrapped around the shaft of an arrow. The stone arrowhead only a few inches from her eye. John, Tabi, Raven, and I turned to see the two patrolling female guards leveling bows at us.

“Shit, we got to go,” John said as I dropped the arrow I had caught. He and Raven turned back to the Sphinx and ran toward it. The beast in deep thought. 

“I need an answer!” I yelled at the monster as I followed more slowly. John and Raven ran around the quadruped as I halted in front of it. 

“I need time,” it said, its eyes unfocused as it thought.

“I need the answer, now!” I roared as my Haki felt another arrow loose. It wasn’t at me, probably in fear of hitting the sphinx.

“That was not the deal. A time limit was not discussed,” she said.

“Ah fuck you,” I spat, annoyed I hadn’t added that. Considering fighting the woman chasing us, a horn was blown by one of them. “Fuck!” I spat, my chance to get my memories back slipping through my hands. I ran around the giant sphinx and into the temple. 

Running between tall pillars it didn’t take me long to catch up to Raven and John. The pillar entrance gave way to a long corridor. The only sound echoing in the area were our footfalls. “Are there boobytraps?” I asked. Trying to think of some joke with the word since we were on an isle of women. 

“I doubt it,” John said. “Good job with the riddles. But why did it take so long?”

“What? I thought it only took a few minutes,” I said.

“No, you were talking to her for at least an hour,” John said. “Doesn’t matter, the Fleece should be in here. Then we need to-” He stopped talking as the hall gave way to a large room. The room itself was a good two hundred feet across. The interior was a dome and at the peak was an opening into the sky. A slightly lightening darkness above, I noticed it must be closer to dawn than I thought.

In front of us scattered in the large room were treasures mounted on short platforms. Each stand glowed white like some unseen spotlight was shining on the treasures. There was a lion’s fur carpet mounted on one pedestal, a golden bow and arrow on another, a bright red apple on one across the way, and any number of treasures in the room. I could feel their haki or some kind of immense energy as I stood far away near the entrance. It was rather shocking how much strength the objects had. 

“Who are you?” Someone practically hissed. She was a strikingly beautiful woman. Dark black hair tied in a long braid, her skin was tan, showing off rippling muscles in her neck and arms. Wearing a white sash outfit it criss crossed over her body showing off very little curves. Her eyes darted this way and that, as if looking for an exit. 

“Weston,” John said. 

“What?” I mumbled, a little dumbstruck by the displays of treasures in front of us. My eyes looked back where we had come, no longer able to see the Sphinx, there were no women chasing us either. I didn’t know if the chimera beast was still mulling over my pocket monster inspired riddle, or prevented the women from passing without answering as well. 

“Take care of her,” Constantine hissed. 

“Oh shit, I’m the muscle, right,” I said as I approached the priestess or whatever she was. 

“Don’t come any-” The woman said, fear spiking in her, but I rushed forward, twisting her arm behind her back. She had more strength than I thought though. My arms actually struggling to hold her. We began to wrestle slightly and in the midst of it her boob came out of the sash outfit. 

“Sorry,” I said, putting real strength into holding her. My other arm tried to put the sash back over her boob, which somehow made it worse, making her other breast to fall out. 

“Stop groping her,” Raven hissed. 

“You guys fucking do something. You’re all magic,” I retorted. 

“We need her,” John said. “Miss Priestess, we need the Golden Fleece.” 

The woman looked fearfully at me then back to Constantine and Raven. “That is all?” She asked, her haki filled with relief. 

“Uh, yes,” John said. She nudged her head in the midst of platforms and we began looking through them. I held both of her arms behind her back. Unsure why she didn’t seem to care if we took the Fleece. Perhaps unimportant amidst the treasures, I could feel so many different things from all of them. 

There was an immaculately carved shield that radiated strength, an old timey chariot with flames on the side, a trident that made me feel a sense of water, and a small box that felt almost wrong. Like everything bad in the world would destroy the entire place was hidden inside. 

“What can you tell us about the Fleece?” John asked, probably still trying to gauge why the elf king wanted it. 

“Uh…” The priestess said as she thought, her fear spiking again. “It was um made from the pelt of Chromallos. A divine…sheep?” She asked. I could tell she didn’t know what she was saying. Perhaps she faked her way into priestess school. “It was um most prominent in the tale of Jason and the Argonauts where the sorceress Medea helped them reach it.”

“Really?” I asked, memories flooding in. “Like Madea Goes to Ancient Greece movie? I didn’t see that one, or any of them honestly.” 

“Medea, not Madea,” Raven spat.

“What powers does the Fleece have?” John hissed but we all stopped as we noticed it just ahead. “Finally!” John gasped, pointing out the golden wool blanket in front of us. He ran to it and John didn’t hesitate to pick it up. 

“Dude, it’s prolly boobytrapped,” I hissed, but he already had it in hand. Stuffing the large fleece blanket into his coat it disappeared like sneaking candy into a movie theater. 

“Let’s go.”

“Where?” Raven asked, her eyes scanning all around us. I could hear and feel people running our way from other hallways around the dome temple. 

“Is there a secret exit?” I asked the priestess I was still holding onto. She felt intense relief. Which was odd, for some reason I thought a priestess here would demand nothing be touched. Curious if maybe the fleece was really boobytrapped, or had some kind of homing spell, I left it to John to worry about. 

“No, not that I know of,” she said. 

“Up!” John said, pointing to the hole in the ceiling. 

“Do I need to knock you out?” I whispered to the priestess. She shook her head violently, boobs still hanging out. I released her slowly, approaching John and picking him up like a princess, an arm under his knees and the other under his neck. 

“Not like this,” he said through gritted teeth and a half-lit cigarette. 

“I’ll be gentle,” I promised as I flew up. 

“Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos,” Raven said, her body glowing in darkness as she lifted off after me.

“Azeroth, Metroid, Mentos,” I agreed with a nod. Picking up speed I flew through the hole in the ceiling and into the night sky. Far up I noticed the sun was just peeking over the horizon.

“Which way is West?” Raven asked. 

“Opposite the sun,” I said and flew toward the darkness. As I did so I heard a resounding tseer. It was a high pitched call of a falcon, or some avian beast, a call that echoed all around us in the valley around the temple. “What the-” I said, cut off as a massive bird blocked out the view of the slowly revealing sun.

John, Raven, and I turned to see the biggest bird I had ever seen, as far as I knew at least. It was at least one hundred feet long, from wingtip to wingtip. Bright golden feathers, its wings flapped as it rose up to our height in a single bound.

“What the fuck,” I said, unable to do anything but stare at the massive bird. 

“Zues’ eagle!” John said. “The one that ate Prometheus’ liver.” 

“Fuck,” I said, its Haki growing more and more powerful as it got to our height and came for us far faster than I expected. I eyed John, his Haki was worried. He knew this beast was not something normal people could handle, and though he had some tricks and cheats, he was mostly normal. 

“Take this useless psychic,” I said as I passed John to Raven. She frowned, casting another spell and her aura extended out to surround John, allowing him to float as well. 

“What are you-” John said.

“No time,” I said, my mind working rapidly. “Raven is too slow, and she still doesn’t know how to fight with her powers.” I eyed the pale girl who was already beginning to retreat. “I’ll stall it and catch up with you guys at Niagara Falls.” 

“Weston…” John said, but trailed off. Rather than deal with a long goodbye I turned to face the eagle. It was less than a mile away, and in a few flaps would be upon us. Rather than wait I lifted up into the air. Flying at full speed, a speed that made wind roar in my ears and caused my eardrums to pop instantly. 

I skirted the illusion around the island and made my way to the eagle. The giant bird changing course to intercept me. 

Tabi still on my shoulder, the blue cat glowing in the night as she latched onto me. “Think you can help?” I asked Tabi. “You’re level 7 and I have no idea what level that thing is.” 

“Maybe a little,” she said, holding onto my shoulder easily. “But our special move will have to wait.” I nodded, she had said we had a way to fuse so I could use chakra. Unable to practice with all that was going on I left it for another time. 

The legendary eagle coming at us I couldn’t help but whisper, “Come on Moltres, lets duke it out.”