"Who are you two?" Some dark-haired dude with a sword in his hands asked. I glanced at him before turning back to Dennis. I can't lie though, that dude had a drippy coat. "Guess we're saving the introductions for later."

Instead of responding, I descended  down and grabbed two rifles off the security guards.

Dennis kept charging even after getting impaled by a considerable number of spikes… 

He looked pissed…

Unlike any normal person, he didn't care much for the pain or wounds he had suffered. 

Instead, he cared much about punching back twice as hard… at the very least.

The lion-man-scorpion hybrid looked like it was about to release another wave of thorns… 

I aimed at the monster and pulled the trigger all the way.

I expected the bullets to do at least something… but, they all bounced off like drops of rain. 

…What the fuck?

I'm not sure if the magazines I unloaded onto him even tickled. He did not even bother turning to me and shot a second barrage of thorns straight at Dennis.

Dennis stepped and slipped to the side, seemingly predicting his attack. 

Following that, one of the girls by the pier loaded an arrow on her shiny bow and fired upon the monster. 

I guess we were back in the mediaeval ages now because, somehow, that arrow pierced its nose. Maybe it had some magical properties to it? 

Anyway, that bow and arrow worked a hundred times better than the guns I used.

"Aughhh… damn you…" The lion hybrid cursed, pawing at its nose.

It was a big mistake… Because Dennis had already bridged the gap in between them. He clenched his fists and, I swear, a golden aura erupted from him. It was at that moment that I knew the lion monster wasn't making it out of this one.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

His heavy fists slammed right into the monster's face, one meteor-like punch after the other, disorientating it. Before long, he slammed the beast into the ground and held it down with his heavy foot right where its tail started.

"MOTHERFUCKER, YOU WANNA SHOOT SPIKES AT ME, HUH?!" Dennis grabbed the monster by its scorpion tail and began to stretch it… seemingly trying to separate the tail from its body. "LET'S SEE HOW YOU DO IT AFTER THIS…!"

"This guy is crazy…" The guy with the sword remarked.

That's a normal Tuesday for Dennis, mate.

The girl with the bow acted quickly, shooting the monster in the head several times… preventing it from biting Dennis. The guy with the sword slashed at it with his blade while the girl dressed like a punk gave it a taste of her spear, thrusting it into the beast's mouth.

They had the whole thing under control, clearly.

"AHHH… YOU DAMNED… DEMI-GODS…" The monster cursed, trying to break free from Dennis' hold. 

Though, by this point, he looked pretty fucked.

"WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Dennis roared, the golden aura around him growing brighter and brighter—becoming more dense. He kept pulling and… the tail really started to be ripped apart. 

When it came to strength, Dennis really had no equal.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!!!! MY TAIL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY TAIL!??"

Meanwhile, the other peeps were stunned. They all had stupid expressions on their faces. 

Though… I couldn't blame them. Even for Dennis, ripping a monster's scorpion tail off is pretty damn insane.

"IT'S MY TAIL NOW, BITCH!"

He kept pulling and… eventually, he succeeded in his goal. He ripped the monster's tail right off and stood over its heavily wounded body with a look of triumph. Afterwards, he kicked it to the side… almost right off the pier.

"What's up?" Dennis asked, tilting his head as he wiggled the tail in his hand. "Can't shoot those spikes anymore?"

"What… are…" The monster blinked with fear as it hoarse out, "You….?!"

Dennis tossed the tail on the ground, stomping on it. His chest was still full of spikes and blood dripped down. Yet… he looked unfazed. He didn't even reply to the monster, rushing right for it.

The monster turned tail, figuratively... and ran.

Blud was legging it.

The girl with the bow fired several times, missing due to the monster's desperate and unpredictable movements. I elected to follow after it, soaring through the air with my glorious wings. Lightning struck the monster once but it kept moving.

I ended up catching up to it. I was preparing to fly in front of it.

However, something caught me off-guard,

It was Rokas and Harry.

They had moved… or rather, Rokas had done so and Harry was running after him. Now, I knew damn well Harry was faster than Rokas… but, for some reason, Rokas' chubby self was outrunning him. 

"Rokas, what are you-"

The lion monster must've known. It tried to tackle Rokas… and I couldn't let that happen.

I flapped those wings like never before, dashing right into the monster and throwing it full force right off the pier.

Splash.

My head hurt like shit doing that… but my friend was safe.

"Humph… humph…" I took a few deep breaths, glancing at Rokas. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I… I… didn't want you two to fight alone…" Rokas replied, shaking his head. "So… I thought that throwing myself in the fire… would awaken something… like your wings."

That sounded… reasonable-ish. Minus the risk of getting mauled by a monster lion. Maybe our speeches to him got into his head. Still, even if it was a bit foolish… I took note of my dear friend's spark of bravery. Rokas rarely ever fought or had the confidence to do so. 

Also… he might've had a point with the 'awakening' thing. I got my wings when I needed them most, so maybe all I did was rob him of that crucial opportunity. 

Alas… he was safe.

"James… drag that fucker out of the water, I want round two!" Dennis shouted, catching up to us with the scorpion's tail in hand. "I want to slap it with its tail!"

"I'll handle it."

The boy with the sword leapt down from the pier without much hesitation before I could reply, joining the monster in the water below. It seemed like he could control the water… and, unlike any normal person, he even looked stronger under it. The monster practically stood no chance the moment the waterboy joined in with him.

His sword tore through the weakened lion hybrid, slash by slash… and eventually, he pierced it deep in the chest. The monster dissipated, leaving behind ash.

"Is he the son of Aquaman or some shit?" Dennis questioned.

"Aquaman is not a Greek god…" Rokas countered, raising an eyebrow. "Could it be… Poseidon?"

"Puss-eye-don?" Dennis scoffed. "What a lame name."

Even I know Poseidon is one of the big shots. It's no wonder…

"I think it's an awesome name." Rokas countered. "If it's any Greek God… I hope my dad is Poseidon."

(Somewhere, a certain someone was coughing up blood.)

"Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon, yes." The girl with the bow confirmed. She had a serious royal-ish expression on her face all the time, so I noticed. Though, she was absolutely gorgeous. Like a foreign princess. "And you four are?"

"That's… awesome." Rokas muttered, almost to himself. "Poseidon's like the coolest Greek God."

"Yeah, he is pretty cool." The horned dude agreed.

"James King… but you can call me King James." I introduced myself to the girl with the bow and her party. She did look like their leader.

"You are… King of what, precisely?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I have not heard of a King James in recent times."

"... It's a joke." Harry remarked. "James isn't really a King."

"James is the King of fuckboys." Dennis added.

"Nah, I'm King of myself." I replied, grinning slightly. "It takes a King to rule over a vessel as great, powerful and handsome as mine."

"That makes no sense." The tomboy with the spear and shield countered. Even though she was goth (which wasn't my type at all, I love girly girls), she was pretty hot. Her electric blue eyes seemed to take a thorough look at me. She was probably liking what she was seeing (what girl wouldn't). 

"But… we are thankful for your assistance."

"No worries, every damsel in distress needs a Prince Charming to save the day." 

"Damsel in distress, huh?"

She didn't seem to take too kindly to my remark, her eyes sparking a little. I thought I was about to be struck by lightning… like that lion earlier.

"I mean… am I wro-"

"What James meant to say is that it was only natural for him to help out someone in need." Harry stepped in front of me. "He tends to say some outlandish and inappropriate things, especially when it comes to girls, but he really means well."

"... Considering your efforts saved our lives, I can let such a thing slide." The girl with the bow let go and her weapon seemed to vanish. More magic stuff, I assume. "I am Zoë Nightshade, Lieutenant of Artemis. This is Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

"Before introductions… er, King James, mind lifting me up?" Percy shouted from the bottom of the pier. "You know, it would take a while for me to run to the pier from the beach."

"Sure, I got you."

I descended and helped him up from the water and back on the pier.

"Thanks." 

The Percy Jackson dude wasn't even wet despite being in the water for a good while. Yeah, he definitely had some water-related powers. Now, my knowledge regarding Greek mythology was really lacking. I wish I had joined Rokas in his reading rather than scoring hatricks left and right at lunch. Though, scoring was a lot more fun… 

"Augh…" Dennis turned away, almost collapsing to the ground. "That scorpion-lion fucker… fuck him. Fuck him. Fuck him!"

"I think he's saying that he needs some first aid magic." I glanced at Harry.

"Go get the kit. You'd be way faster than me."

…

So, we all kinda stood around Dennis as Harry did his thing. We had proper introductions and learned each other's names. 

I don't know if first aid was meant to be so effective but Dennis was looking pretty damn fresh in just a few minutes. Rokas and Harry both looked perfectly fine as well. It's almost like we hadn't just fought in two fights back to back with monsters. 

Harry's hands… looked a bit whiter than usual.

"That glow…"  Zoë's brown eyes widened ever so slightly. "You have the ability to heal?"

"Well, first aid sorta counts… I guess? Or do you mean magical healing?" Harry tilted his head. "Not so sure about that one…"

"So, do you lot know about this whole monster fighting gig?" Dennis questioned. "The demi-god ting…"

"We are pretty new to the job." I added, nodding. "You all look like veterans with those fancy weapons so perhaps you'd like to enlighten us."

"The manticore left behind a dagger from its tail!" Grover, the 'satyr' aka goatman, ran in and joined the group.

"They drop loot?" I questioned. Maybe we are living in an RPG.

"Yeah… the first monster, a minotaur, I killed left its horn." Percy affirmed. "Since it was your group that saved the day, it would only be fair that you had the spoil of war."

"That's a toothpick, fam. We don't need it." Dennis crossed his arms. "You lot can keep it, innit."

"'Fam'... 'ting'... 'you lot'... 'innit'..." Thalia remarked, raising an eyebrow as she smiled slightly. "You four talk with a weird accent and slang to match."

She was mocking it.

"Weird? You are calling British, the true form of English, weird?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Not going to lie, that's the funniest thing… coming from the goth tomboy."

"What are you trying to say, exactly?" Thalia's electric blue eyes sparked. "Is there something wrong with my appearance?"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, my lady." I grinned slightly, shrugging my shoulders. "It's just a bit of banter."

"My knickers… what the hell does that even mean?"

I just chuckled. "Figure it out~"

"Your panties." Dennis added, smiling slightly.

"... When can we dump them into the sea?" Thalia glanced at Percy. "Those two, namely."

"Uh… I'd rather not fight it out with potential allies. You know, it doesn't seem all that productive…"

"I am quite tempted to shoot down the golden one." Zoë added, drawing her bow. "One more inappropriate act or remark from you and-."

"I'd love to see you try attacking James." Dennis was ready for another fight, evidently.

"Americans really are so sensitive." I stated, shaking my head in disapproval with a smile on my face. "Built like-"

"Can you just sit back and let me do the talking?" Harry intercepted, sighing. "This isn't going anywhere."

"... Right." I shrugged. "I'm sorry if I accidentally hurt anyone's feelings. I didn't mean it."

I sounded sarcastic, which, sort of, was the point. I don't think I said anything outlandish. Harry had a point, though. I wasn't making things better.

Guess I'll leave the teasing for girls with a better sense of humour.

"As you proposed, we'll take the dagger and decide on what to do with it amongst ourselves later." Harry took the dagger, placing it inside of his fanny pack. "Recently, we were randomly attacked by some monsters. No one seemed to really see what we were seeing… nor did they see James' wings. What's the story about that?"

"You speak of the Mist." Zoë answered Harry's question. "It twists a mortal's sight from seeing such supernatural events by replacing them with things the mortal knows about and can comprehend. Monsters, weapons, gods, titans… no normal mortal sees these things."

"How convenient." I remarked.

"It is done by the Goddess Hecate to ensure that the mortal world retains a sense of normality. If these things were commonly known by all, there would be great chaos." Zoë added, her brown eyes scanning all four of us. "Does that answer your question?"

"About these monsters… are they native just to North America?" Harry added. "Back home, none of us had any problems with monsters. Nor did we even catch sight of them. Everything was… normal."

"Yeah… unless you count Dennis." Rokas added.

"It would be ideal if you found your way to Camp Half-Blood." Zoë answered, shaking her head. "Unfortunately, we are on a quest of paramount importance and cannot answer all of your questions at once."

"A… quest?" Rokas raised an eyebrow. "Like the myths?"

"... Similar, yes." Zoë nodded, glancing at Grover. "It would be best if you took them there along with the Ophiotaurus while we continue the search for Artemis. They lack the experience and weaponry to join us in this quest. The prophecy also states that there can only be fiv-"

"The fuck are you smoking?" Dennis was the first to protest. And, as usual, he was the loudest. "Whatever this Camp Half-Blood and Oreo-taurus is, it sounds to me like you don't think we're strong enough to help you out. Well, what happened like ten minutes ago? James swooped in and handled the cunts with the guns while I basically fought the 'manticore' one on one."

"... Fair point, they're strong for newbie demi-gods." Percy added. "We wouldn't have walked out of that situation so easily without them. And… the prophecy said 'Five shall go west to the Goddess in chains'... it didn't say that no one could join us. I mean, they did already technically aid us in the quest."

"..." Zoë paused, seemingly taking a moment to think.

"A Goddess in chains? Sounds like all the more reason to help out." Dennis remarked. "And whoever chained the Goddess… they have to be pretty damn strong. It sounds like fun overall, amiright, lads?"

I don't think I've ever seen Dennis scared of anything or anyone… and I doubt I ever will. He's the type of person to face death without a shred of fear (to the point that he might do something stupid). He has the raging heart of a warrior.

"Damn right, can't let a Goddess be abused like that." I agreed, nodding with approval. "Besides that, we all made a great team… that manticore bloke didn't stand a chance."

I'll admit, I was a little curious when it came to the prospect of meeting a Goddess. Excited, even. Who knows… maybe I could rizz one up and actually shag a goddess. If my hopeless dad could do it, then I most certainly could do it even better. 

"I won't lie and say I'm a fighter… but I could find ways to help out, I'm sure." Harry added. "I'd feel horrible if something terrible happens and I could've done something to prevent it."

"... I'm not running to that camp, either." Rokas was the last to state his mind. "We're all going on this quest together."

I smiled slightly…

That's my boy.

Rokas had some fight in him, after all.

"... Well, we can't really force them to go away against their will." Grover stated, stroking his chin. "Can we?"

"..." Zoë glared at all of us, especially me. Guess she didn't really want me around… which is pretty rare for a girl. Normally, they'd swoon over me (not to brag or anything, it's true).

"Very well."

She reluctantly agreed, sighing.

And so… the Quaternity started its first quest. Officially.

Well, we kinda barged in on it… but that's beside the point.

This vacation was just about to get even crazier.