I woke up to the sound of the train's brakes squealing in my ears. I must have been out for quite a long time, because my wrist was stiff from holding up my head. I looked over to see the others had fallen asleep as well. I shook them both awake.

"Guys, we're here." I informed. Both of them either groaned or yawned, grabbing their stuff and shuffling out of the boxcar. I pulled out the list, reading off the first name.

"Ok; Liam Dyer. Current address is 1625 Dover Lane, but it says he works at Carter's School of the Arts." I read. R.J. cracked his neck, stretching out.

"What's with all these demigod teachers?" He asked. Marie just stared at him blankly.

"Could you imagine going through what we just did in the past 24 hours, and living your whole life like that? I'm pretty sure that boring is a welcome change for these guys, and it doesn't get much more boring than being a teacher."

"This is true." R.J. conceded. After some research, we found that the School of Arts was not too far from where we were, so we grabbed a cab and told the driver where to go. For a place in the rural state of Georgia, it was exactly like your typical big city. People walking up and down the sidewalks, neon signs, giant posters and billboards; it had it all. It wasn't too long before the driver pulled over, Marie swiping the Zeus card and the car squealing off down the road.

The School of Arts was quite similar to the place we met Dr. Gnosa at; grandiose architecture, arcs everywhere they could possibly fit. Unlike the previous school, however, this one had students walking back and forth, and gave off a vibrant, lively feel. We made our way to the front office, asking for Mr. Dyer.

We were directed to the concert hall, where his band was apparently getting ready for a performance that night. He wasn't too hard to spot; his black tuxedo tail waving around as he conducted the orchestra with grace and precision. We took seats in the back, just listening to the music vibrate off of the dome ceiling. When it was finished, he dismissed the band for a short break, noticing us in the back, and motioning us forwards.

"Welcome, welcome! You're a bit early, but that is quite alright. I love the enthusiasm! Though, you look a bit young to be transfering from college…" He seemed to just notice our age.

"Mr. Liam Dyer?" I asked, the man bowing illustriously.

"At your service." He affirmed.

"I'm not here about a transfer. My name is Antonio Rodriguez, and I believe my mother tasked you with guarding a piece of the location of the Celeritas." I stated bluntly. Just like Dr. Gnosa, Mr. Dyer's expression instantly sobered as he ushered us behind the curtain.

"Laura Rodriguez is your mother, I presume?" He asked.

"Yes, sir."

"... and would you happen to have any proof of this?" He asked. I thought it over for a moment, before pulling out a picture of my mom and I that I kept in my secret pocket along with the list. I had packed it away before we even began this quest, but forced myself not to get it out, too worried I wouldn't be able to keep it together.

"She also told me a code phrase; Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why-"

"Theirs but to do and die. A true demigod to the end." He finished, looking at the picture with fondness and sorrow.

"Terribly sorry about that, Antonio; you can never be too careful. If your mother sent you after us, I assume that means that she's…" He asked as gently as possible. I answered with a simple nod. "Then I am truly sorry. Your mother was an amazing woman, and even greater friend. We're related, you know? Your grandfather was a son of Apollo as well! But enough chatter." He said, reaching around his neck and handing me a necklace. It looked to be a round, smooth translucent blue stone with a tiny hole drilled in the middle. I must have looked completely lost, because Mr. Dyer laughed and pulled a laser pointer out of his pocket and dimmed the lights.

"Here, watch this." he explained. He placed the tip of the laser pointer right on the hole, shining it through. The beam passed straight through the hole, causing what looked to be a portion of a map to project onto the wall.

"Pretty cool, huh? It was your mom's idea; that way, we could each keep our piece of the map with us at all times. Your mother truly was a one of a kind genius." He praised before flipping the lights back on. He slowly handed me the necklace, like it would explode if not handled with care.

"I've been guarding this thing for over 15 years… try to keep it out of the wrong hands?" He asked.

"I will. When we re-hide the Celeritas, I will let you know." I promised. He smiled down at me, ruffling my spikey, black hair.

"So much like your mother. You take care of yourself, Antonio." He said, walking through the curtain and clapping his hands.

"Alright, people; Let's go! If anyone is late, we'll have to resume without them!" He yelled at his students. We made our way out of the building through the back door. I strapped the necklace around my neck, tucking it under my shirt. I felt as though I had just hung an anvil around my neck, knowing the great responsibility I now carried. R.J. looked around, as though he was expecting to get struck by lightning.

"Huh. You know, I was half expecting there to be some kind of 3 headed dragon that shoots fire out of its butt waiting to rip us in half." He admitted. Down the street a ways, we heard what sounded like a lion roar. R.J. cringed, the 3 of us slowly turning to see what appeared to be a giant, humanoid, one-horned Triceratops glaring right at us with bloodlust in it's eyes. Marie touched R.J.'s shoulder so he could get a good view of what they were up against. I slapped my wristband, my shield already beginning to take shape as R.J. groaned.

"Why… why me? Of all the humans in all the world… why me?" he complained. I looked over at the 2 as I started off down the street.

"Get these people out of the streets! This thing doesn't exactly look like it's going to watch where it steps!" I yelled before zooming down the street to face the creature. It was about 8 feet tall, and had the body build of a professional football player, all wrapped in the tough hide of a dinosaur. I looked up at it, swallowing dryly.

"Whoa… you are a…. Big boy." I commented, trying to lighten the mood. Either the creature didn't understand me or didn't appreciate my humor because it roared and stomped at me. I was barely able to get out of the way of its mammoth foot before it crashed into the pavement, cracking it like porcelain pottery.

"Ok, so I guess hugging this out is out of the question?" I asked. It swung its arm down at me, my battle instincts taking over as I leapt over its tree trunk arm and vaulted my shield into its head. It staggered backwards ever so slightly, almost completely unfazed by the blow.

"Oh, come on, man. Work with me here!" I cried, dodging another strike. By then, mass chaos had broken out, people running for their lives and screaming about an escaped inmate or something. Down the street, a semi-truck came barreling towards us. My head whipped back around to the creature, locking eyes with it, realising its intentions.

"Don't…" I warned, but the creature could care less about my idle threats. It planted it's massive feet, catching the semi and vaulting it over it's head at me. Time slowed down as I surveyed the possible damage. I put in my earbuds, cracking my knuckles, a smirk plastered on my face as Don't Stop Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson blasted into my ear as I took my leather racer off. I've had that thing since I can remember; the only gift my dad ever gave me. It tailors itself to the wearer, never growing too big or being too small. I really didn't want to tear it up. I hung it over a nearby USPS mailbox, then ran and jumped off of the hood of a nearby taxi, grabbing the mirror of the semi and swinging myself into the air, landing on the front. For some reason, when I'm in a "time freeze", I am way more agile. I laughed when I saw the driver's face; His cheeks were frozen as they flapped around, his coffee hanging in the air. I reached through the still shattering glass, unbuckling his seat belt and yanking him out of the car. The man was probably about 250 pounds, but felt like nothing at all… another perk of the time freeze. I rushed him over to the sidewalk, setting him down before bolting back over and looking around. An old lady with her walker was frozen on the crosswalk. I moved her next to the trucker, returning to the scene. I spotted a family of 4 in a minivan that had been driving towards the beast. The father had a death-grip on the wheel, his face frozen in horror at the oncoming vehicle. I tried to grab him first, but I couldn't get his hand free of the wheel without breaking his fingers, so I elected to yank the wheel off completely. He joined the others on the sidewalk, along with his kids and wife. Time was slowly moving forwards more rapidly, the semi inching closer to the ground. I made sure everyone was out of any vehicles in the path of the truck, thinking my work was done. At the last moment, I saw a flaming piece of the truck come flying off, moving quite a bit faster than anything else. I tracked its trajectory with my eyes, horrified when I realised it was on a collision course with a little girl who looked to be around 5 years old, who was standing in the street watching the whole event unfold. Her mother was frozen rushing towards her. Time was speeding up even more as I lost concentration, a bead of sweat trailing down my brow as I felt myself reach my limit. I rushed over to the child, throwing my shield out in front of us just as I completely ran out of juice, the flying object crashing into us and sending both of us vaulting backwards. I managed to get under her just as we hit the ground, scrapping my back but shielding her from the blow. My adrenaline dulled the pain as I knelt next to her, placing my hands on the girls shoulders.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, checking her over to make sure she was alright. Aside from being completely scared out of her mind, she seemed otherwise ok. Her mother rushed over, scooping the girl up in her arms. She looked over at me with admiration and relief.

"Thank you…. Thank you!" She cried.

"No problem! Get out of here while you can!" I yelled, the young mother obeying. I reached around and felt my back, my hand covered in my blood. Street burn. Terrific. I stood up slowly, the pain starting to seriously surface. The semi had already crashed into the ground, smashing all of the cars in its way as it careened into the side of a nearby building. I regained my composure, speeding back over to the dino-man. I quickly scanned my surroundings, spotting a telephone pole across the street.

"Ok, big guy. I see you want to play rough. Let's dance." I sped over to the pole, standing right in front of it.

"Oh, come on ugly! Is that the best you've got for me?" I taunted. It clearly understood that remark, bellowing out and swinging at me with violence and ferocity. Time slowed around me as I dodged the blow, the pole crashing down into the creature's head. I picked up the fallen wire, running around it at mach speeds, tying it up tightly. When I was done, I had myself a nice little captive monster. Marie and R.J. finally caught up, huffing from the jog

"Hey, everyone's clear. Oh wow… nice." She complimented. I held my hand out, Marie placing her blade in it. I ran up the creature, jumping into the air and stabbing the blade into its chest as hard as I could, the monster poofing into dust right there. I landed on the ground, brushing myself off.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this…" I whispered, limping slightly as I walked back over to my friends.