Usually, I didn't like to think too much about things but, ever since we landed in LA, things have been growing weirder by the hour. 

James now has fucking angel wings, we entered a Skyscraper full of ghosts, that Charon guy said he was my uncle and I got kicked in the dick by something invisible (presumably my absentee dad). 

Yeah, only an idiot would think that everything is going back to normal.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" James questioned as we left the Skyscraper, stroking his chin. "I know for a fact that my mother was not human. We're all half orphans, if not full orphans practically at birth, we can see things others cannot and well… I have fucking wings."

"Charon is a figure from Greek Myths, I'm sure of it." Rokas added, nodding. "And the Lord of the Dead… it has to be Hades."

"What are you guys saying?" Harry frowned, tilting his head in what looked like denial. "You're saying that the Greek Myths are real? There's no way."

"We… could be demi-gods?" Rokas put up the question. "Greek Gods are sort of like humans with godly power, they have desires and would often go down… and well, you know. It would explain his wings. I'm not sure why no one else can see them, though… but that does point to all of us being special."

"Demi-gods…?" My eyes widened slightly. The prospect seemed exciting. To be half a god, to have monstrous strength and everything that came with it. "That sounds fucking awesome. That also means there're strong monsters to fight, Da? Da?!"

I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice.

"... Yeah, I guess." James chuckled, giving Rokas and Harry the side-eye. "All types of monsters, actually. You'd have to ask Rokas about them, though, he's the mythology geek."

"I don't know that much… just a little bit."

"There's only one God." Harry refuted, shaking his head. "Greek Gods cannot exist, there's no way. What we saw was the entrance to hell and-"

"Shut up, Harry. You're a Greek demi-god. Cope." James chuckled, shaking his head. "If we want to find out the truth, we'll just have to go to San Francisco. You want the real answers, don't you?"

"Yeah… but how are we going to get there?" Harry questioned.

"Who's the rich kid here?" I added, glancing at Rokas. "Money talks."

"...We're going by sea." Rokas replied, smiling slightly with excitement. "If we're going to travel, why not see all the nice sights along the coast?"

This man LOVED the water. Like, waaay too much. Though, who could blame him? Where the fuck do you see a beach in London? 

We got the River Thames but that's a dirty ass river and no one in their right mind would jump into it. Unless they're suicidal… though only pussies do that.

Imagine being born, all the struggles everyone went through raising you, all the hardship your ancestors went through for you to be here… and your ungrateful ass just decides to end it all? 

My mother would whip my ass red with a solid belt if I even thought of being such a loser. If I'm ever going to die… it's going to be like a real man. Standing alone against a hundred men (maybe not that extreme), fighting valiantly and until the end for something that I believe in.

I'm a fighter… I was born and raised as one by my mother, I've lived as one… and I'd die as one.

That's just who I am.

Even in this technological world where the idea of a fighting man is growing less and less important with society pressuring men to become pussies… I won't change. When shit hits the fan, everyone turns to the real men to deal with problems. 

That's who I strive to be. No, that's who I AM.

That's why I got into boxing and combat sports. It's the one way to channel and use those primal fighting instincts that all real men have within them. It's in my nature… I can't ever be completely peaceful. 

I WANT to fight. It's exciting, blood-pumping and really pushes your body to its limits when shit gets real.

If you want to learn about yourself, the best way to do so is to go to a fight gym and get punched in the face. You'll realise you ain't shit, it's the most enlightening experience for a man.

If gladiators still existed, I'd actually sign up to be one as soon as I could (yes, I'm that crazy, thank you for telling me).

There's a reason why everyone calls me Dennis the Menace.

…

Rokas ended up joining a last-minute cruise to San Francisco and paying quite a lot of money while he was at it. Even though I wasn't the closest to him in our friend group, because I've known the others for a few more years longer, he really was a G. 

I won't lie, this vacation is already some of the best days of my life and he's the one who made it all  happen. For that, I was grateful. Like… really grateful.

He even got me that Lebron James kit I really wanted.

Anyways, the cruise trip was fucking AMAZING. If I loved the view of the sea so much, Rokas was practically jerking off to it in secret. We got a bit of seasickness but got used to it eventually. 

The attendants were beautiful (I'm sure James slid into one or two, maybe five), the food was great (especially the meat) and even the cabins were nice and comfy. I don't get why people love having massive houses with a billion rooms… like, if I ever had the money, I'd buy some comfy ass house with a little gym and chill there. What more do you need?

Oh… yeah, I guess you'd need a bigger house if you got a family. Honestly, I wasn't too interested in girls and women at this age. I once had a 'girlfriend' (more of a diva) and all she really did was annoy me all the time with drama. I'd do anything and she'd think I was cheating on her. Like, bitch… if you're acting like this, I may as well. 

So I broke up with her and never looked back on the whole dating thing, no matter which girl wanted to cling to me. I didn't want distractions like that again. I was completely focused on my goal of becoming a great fighter and athlete, nothing else really mattered except my best friends.

Even though the cruise was nice, I ended up spending most of my free time doing callisthenics. 

The thought of instigating a fight crossed my mind… but, honestly, I didn't want to cause any problems for Rokas. 

~

Eventually, we made it to San Francisco… and the sight was pretty fucking glorious. I honestly never thought I'd get to see so much of America, if any of it. We got off the cruise with all of our luggage and took a moment to get our feet set.

"So… where are the answers?" Harry questioned, seeming almost impatient. I know he was praying every day to God, his cross shaking in his hand or some shit. Though… he was a great guy. Maybe a bit on the religious fanatic side of things but he has a good heart. 

"Mate, they're not going to flash before your eyes like some video game." James replied, shaking his head. "We gotta walk around and seek them out."

"Where… exactly?" Rokas questioned. "I'd like to see the golden gate bridge up close first, actually."

"That should be easy enough to find." I looked up, seeing it in the distance. "Let's walk all the way there."

"Walk?" James chuckled. "Well, we've sort of been sitting on our asses this whole time so let's get going."

"That's going to be long…" Rokas remarked.

"Time to lose some weight, fatty. Walk off the calories from those chocolate waffles." I grinned.

But, unexpectedly, on our way there, winged creatures that looked far too large and human-like descended upon us, screeching. I was the first to notice them, pointing up.

"What the fuck are those!?"

James, Harry and Rokas all looked up… completely stupefied. They kept flying closer and closer. There were at least half a dozen of them. The closest one dived straight for James, snatching him from the ground. 

Instantly, he grew his own wings, flew back, and kicked her away with great force.

"Fucking hell!" James cursed, shaking his head and putting his hands in his hair. "I know I'm handsome but you don't have to dive for me."

Us, the people without wings, had our own problems…

The other five winged women swarmed us, keeping us in a nice little circle. Harry was practically frozen while Rokas looked scared. It was all up to me to get us out of this shit situation.

"Get down on the ground and fight like a real man, shlyuha." I taunted them. Yes, I was aware they were women… But these days, women believed that they are as strong and independent as men, right?

Better to treat them as equals.

"Harpies, not man."

Or not.

"Why… Do you want to fight us?" Harry suddenly questioned, his green eyes narrowing slightly. He stepped ahead of me. "We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"

"..." The bird women looked at him. One even scratched her head. "Harpies are hungry. Harpies eat demi-gods."

"Demi-gods…" Harry muttered, seemingly brushing it aside. What the fuck was he on? They just said they wanted to fucking eat us. "There's plenty of other good food in the world, though. Harpies don't need to eat us."

"... You feed harpies?" One of them questioned.

They lowered themselves slightly, still floating… they let their guard down!

Now was my chance!

I leapt into the air (way higher than I thought I would, might I add), pulled back my right arm, and superman fucking punched one of them…

BANG.

She fell to the ground - dazed. I sprinted towards her, going down before she could spread her wings. I sat on top of the 'harpy' and raised my fists…

BANG. BANG. BANG.

I kept punching her face, over and over again…

"Dennis…! stop it-"

I heard Harry sprint over from behind. I swear, he was such a pussy sometimes.

The harpies all flew right to me and an extremely strong wind lifted me off the ground. I looked down and realised that in just a split second I had risen well over thirty feet into the air.

Fuck.

The wind pushed me straight… into a fucking Skyscraper. Given the speed… I was…

Finished.

Like an angel, something, or rather, someone, intercepted my flight path at the last second and dragged me away.

It was James.

"Your ass almost got handed to you." James remarked, chuckling. "Fucking heavy bastard…"

"Shut up." I looked around, watching the harpies below focus on Harry and Rokas. Harry was still trying to talk sense into them but they jumped him… and started scratching the shit out of him. Rokas' Lakers merch wasn't looking so pretty. "Im pizdec…"

"Get ready to latch onto one of them." James grinned slightly, beginning to spin. "I call this the chuck-a-Dennis."

"The wha-"

He kept spinning, holding my arm with two of his while simultaneously soaring closer to the harpies. When he came close enough, he let me go at the perfect angle… and I soared right down.

Time almost slowed down as I targeted my trajectory at one of them.

BANG.

I headbut right into her chest, using her body to lighten my descent to the ground. Right after, I rose up before she could and started to pummelled her face like the other one. 

BANG. BANG. BANG.

In a few strong punches, I knocked her the fuck out.

Then I got up to my feet and saw James fighting the last three in the air… a place none of us could do shit. He roundhouse-kicked one away and while two others jumped at him from opposing sides. He soared up, flapping his wings.

Feathers descended, and, like missiles, flew towards the charging harpies and sharply impaled them.

His feathers could cut!?

The harpies all joined together, creating a strong surge of wing that disrupted James' flight and even made him lose some height.

"Damn you… ugly, feathered, slags…" James cursed, trying to keep his flight. "I won't fall to your bullshit wind magic."

One of them waved her hands, creating a slash of wind that cut into his chest. She did so again… and again. While the other two kept him in place, the other one was attacking him… he was fucked! 

Meanwhile, us grounded plebs couldn't do shit but watch our friend get torn to pieces.

"God…" Harry put his hands together. "God, give my friend strength… the strength to overcome the monsters that intend to take his life. I beg you… he may not be your most faithful servant but at heart, he is a good person. I pray to you, Lord."

I guess praying is better than staring up like an idiot. If God really exists…

A golden light surrounded James… he looked around, bewildered. His wings flared golden for a moment and suddenly flapped with far greater strength, breaking free from the trap of wind. He soared straight for the one who had torn into his hawaii shirt and made her bleed, side-kicking in the head, straight into the ground. 

I ran to the place where she was roughly going to descend… it wasn't too far.

By the time she landed, I was already on her and punched the fuck out of her face.

The harpy knock-out technique worked flawlessly, for the third time.

When I was finished, James was already floating before James and Harry… a harpy resting in each arm. 

"Would you look at that… King James saves the day." James flipped his head rather dramatically, causing his blonde hair to sway like he was a wannabe Prince Charming. 

"Rokas, Harry… you guys alright?" He asked, after seeing their expressions.

They were pretty badly wounded, both of them were bleeding. Harry was still standing while Rokas looked like a lifeless corpse.

Upon closer inspection…

"I'm glad you guys won… that was absolutely insane." Harry remarked, his slight smile turning into a frown. "Though… I think we could've ended it using more peaceful methods. Rokas-"

"Fuck that peaceful method shit, you guys need to get to a fucking hospital, promto." I stated, helping Harry stand.

James soared higher up and dropped the harpies from a massive height before going down to help Rokas up. 

"Rokas… talk to me." James slapped his face lightly. "Come on, you're not dead. You're tougher than that."

"I… couldn't do anything…" Rokas muttered. "I was useless."

"You're not like this because of your injuries?" James raised an eyebrow.

"I got scared and froze up…" Rokas lowered his blue eyes. "While they attacked us, I couldn't do a thing."

"Well, it's time to man up, isn't it?" I remarked, frowning slightly. "Don't be a pussy and you might actually do something."

"We'll make you into a fighter soon enough, Rocky. It's in your name." James nodded. "When all this crazy shit is happening, you can't stop to think about your feelings. You just have to turn all that shit off, all the distractions, all the thoughts, and just fight."

The street was in a state of panic with cars crashing into each other in the chaos. Though, that was really the last of our problems. We all got over to the sidewalk, with me helping get Rokas to the side. Harry whipped out a first aid kit out of his luggage… yeah, he had one prepared. I sorta laughed at him for doing that earlier but who was the clown now? 

Harry treated Rokas first, doing all types of modern magic. I was no expert with medicine but it looked like it was working. Then, he treated his lesser wounds while I went around asking for directions and James scouted ahead in the skies.

"Yo, bruddah." I bumped into a man in a fancy suit with a suitcase at his side. Surely he'd know his way around the city. He wore headphones but I was sure he'd hear me. "Where's the nearest hospital?"

"Huh?" He looked up and gave me a stupid look. Hesitantly, he stepped to the side and walked past me.

"Yo." I repeated myself, grabbing his shoulder and dragging him closer with one arm. I took off his headphones with the other. This time I decided to speak with a deeper and more threatening tone. "Where is the nearest hospital?"

"Oh… uh… I don't know."

I felt like punching him in the face, I really did. It was pretty damn tempting.

"Useless cunt. Take your ugly ass headphones and get out of my face."

I pushed him forward and watched as he ran away. He didn't even bother trying to retrieve his headphones from me. Even when I stretched out my arm towards him.

"Wait, you left these!"

I fast-walked after him… 

But when he turned to see me approaching him, he ran even faster!

"Motherfucker… guess you don't want them back, after all."

I didn't want to distance myself too much from Harry and Rokas so I gave up trying, slipping the headphones on my neck. My mother taught me not to waste anything. Though… she also taught me not to steal from anyone. 

Not that I stole them intentionally or even wanted them in the first place…

It is what it is… we all had bigger problems to deal with than stealing some $30 headphones (I didn't know the actual price, just an estimate). 

It was then that James descended ever so gracefully like a wannabe Prince Charming-Angel hybrid, flexing on all of us wingless mortals. I guess if he doesn't take off as a football megastar, he could always compete for the title of World's Most Handsome Man. 

I'm sure those white wings would earn him extra points… if the judges could see them, that is. 

"Any luck, Dennis?" He asked, grinning slightly. I bet he had already scouted the entire local area and was asking me for the heck of it.

"Well… I got these headphones." I pointed at them.

"Heh." James chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "I found the nearest hospital… and a hot girl or two. It was a productive few minutes."

"Where is it?" Harry asked, helping Rokas up. They were both looking far better than they were a few minutes ago.

"Right on the other side of the bridge. It would be a long walk but I should be able to fly you lot over."

"... It's fine. I feel alright." Rokas protested, standing more upright. "We don't need to go to a hospital."

"Don't make me knock your ass unconscious." I glanced at him. "You have the money for proper treatment, why risk your health just to look tough?"

"Well… I-"

"Health is wealth." Harry agreed, nodding. "James, you take Rokas over to the hospital. We'll catch up with all the luggage."

"Sounds good to me…" James suddenly frowned slightly, looking into the distance. Since I wasn't nearly so high up, I couldn't see what he was talking about. "What's… that?"

"What's what?" I reasonably asked. 

"There's a lion with a scorpion tail making his way through that pier…" James replied, his frown growing deeper. "Looks like it's hunting a few teenagers. Guess we're not the only ones with monster problems. There's a few hot girls there too… if you guys don't mind, I'll deal with it real quick."

"... You'll deal with it?" I questioned. "Nah, you ain't going without me."

"Heh…" James chuckled. "Sure, we'll do it together. You two watchover each other."

James grabbed me and we soared into the skies together.

Then… I finally saw the monster in question. 

The pier wasn't so far so James was able to fly us over real quick. The teenagers James spoke of looked surrounded with security guards aiming their guns at them from all sides. Don't know which one James thought was hot… the goth one?

There was a guy with horns among them with hairy ass legs (a bit too hairy), though he didn't give off the vibes of an enemy. How strange things are…

"Drop-A-Dennis!"

James dropped me right onto the lion-scorpion-man-thing like I was some kind of nuke…

He wasn't wrong.

BANG.

I kicked the lion-scorpion-man-thing's head into the ground.

"I, James King, won't allow any bad bitches to die in my sight!" 

James announced, spreading his shiny white-feathed wings wide. If there was an award for World's Greatest Show Off, he would be building a pretty good case for it. Well, James is used to collecting trophies so it wouldn't be anything new.

The shooters began to aim their guns at him but he soared around in the air like he had done it all before… evading their bullets, kicking, tossing and punching one after the other. 

He even did the feather-shooting trick, taking out the rest in what seemed like only a couple of seconds.

"Get. Your. Foot… off… my… head!!!"

The lion-scorpion-man-thing seemed pretty damn pissed off, swinging its scorpion tail right at me. 

I leaned back, dodging it just barely.

It was then that the tail shined a little just as I gained my footing, shooting spikes directly at me.

I was too slow to change directions, barely raising my arms in time to defend my face.

"Dennis…!" 

Fuck.

I looked down… observing my spike-covered chest. The spikes had cut deep, causing me to bleed. An intense wave of pain rushed over my body… but I did not scream out.

Instead, all of that pain, which felt a hundred times worse than throwing yourself into a bush of thorns… 

I turned it into anger. I turned it into… Power.

Yeah, whatever that thing in front of me was,

I was going to tear the motherfucker apart. Piece by piece. 

Starting with that fucking scorpion tail.