Terry and the stolen bolt

(Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson—Rick Riordan does)

Date: December 2nd 2003

(TERRY'S POV)

It's been a fruitful 3 years since I came to Daedalus' workshop and trained under him. Now looking at myself in the mirror I was 5'4 with a lean body with slightly defined muscles messy jet black hair that contrasted with my pale skin and had dark blue eyes that always seemed to be dull after my mom died. I think today's the last day I stay here before going to camp half blood and gather the attention of all the gods.

The old man said he taught me everything he thought that was useful for my growth and it's time for me to go to camp in Montauk and get more experience under Chiron as well as having more social interactions which didn't include him or his creations.

He's been like a father to me and despite it not meaning much because Zeus was my 'dad' and all.

"Since today's the day you go I packed some things you might need in your journey." Said Daedalus.

I looked through the bag and found some water, bread, nectar and ambrosia for food. A couple of books and gadgets I could use despite being a demigod. A compass that always leads to the place you want to go, a tent that is expanded on the inside, some spare clothes with some special enchantments on them, a stack of dollar bills and a pouch full of drachma.

(AN: Enchantments mean tech in clothes to help prevent wear and tear, warming and cooling etc. He doesn't actually know how to use magic.)

The old man handed me a glove, claiming it was something special. Knowing Daedalus, special could mean anything from a genius invention to a tiny death machine disguised as a harmless trinket. But when I willed the glove to transform and a silver blade extended from my hand, I had to admit—it was incredible.

It was a 3 and a half foot long silver sword which was double edged and had a leather grip.

"Woah" I exclaimed, the old man never fails to amaze me.

"It's made of some Atlantean silver I found a long time ago and it's unbreakable and can conduct lightning efficiently to help you in combat" he chuckled due to my facial expression.

I twirled the sword experimentally. It felt light and perfectly balanced, like it had been made just for me. "A sword that turns into a glove… You really outdid yourself this time."

Daedalus chuckled "Don't go thinking it'll do all the work for you, kid. It's just a tool. You're the weapon."

I nodded, pocketing the glove-sword. His words carried more weight than usual. For three years, he'd drilled me in combat, mechanics, and strategy, making sure I'd be ready for… well, whatever was waiting for me out there. He called it preparation; I called it a way to keep my mind off losing my mom and the mess that was my life before.

But now, standing at the edge of his workshop with a bag full of enchanted gear and a head full of doubts, I wasn't so sure I was ready.

"Camp Half-Blood, huh?" I muttered, tightening the straps of my pack. "Think they're ready for me?"

Daedalus smirked, but there was something softer in his expression this time. "They'll have to be. Remember, you're not just anyone—you're a son of Zeus. That comes with power, but also responsibility."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "Great power, great responsibility. I've heard that one before."

"Don't get cocky," he warned, but his smirk widened. "And don't forget to keep your head down when you get there. The gods are already watching too closely. You don't need to give them more reasons to interfere."

That part hit a little too close to home. The gods… I wasn't sure how I felt about them. Zeus, in particular. I'd never met him, but the idea of some all-powerful absentee father swooping in to claim credit for my existence didn't exactly sit right with me.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," I said, trying not to sound bitter.

With that, Daedalus reached out and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Take care of yourself out there, kid. And remember—no matter what happens, you're not alone."

For a second, I thought I saw something like regret in his eyes. But then he stepped back, his usual stoic mask slipping into place. "Go on now. You've got a long journey ahead."

I nodded, tightening my grip on my bag. "Thanks, old man. For everything."

Without waiting for a reply, I turned and headed toward the woods. The path to Camp Half-Blood was supposed to be straightforward, but nothing ever is for demigods like me.

As I walked, I couldn't help but draw both swords. The imperial gold spatha in my left hand and the silver blade in my right gleamed in the dappled sunlight. They were perfectly balanced, both physically and in meaning. One was a gift from two years ago that I got from Daedalus—a reminder of how far I'd come. The other was brand new—a symbol of the challenges ahead.

After I had reached a couple miles away from the workshop in some dark woods—I swung them experimentally, feeling the raw power and potential in each stroke. Two swords. Two blades to face whatever monsters or gods dared to cross me.

Let's see what Camp Half-Blood has in store, I thought, a rare flicker of excitement rising in my chest. And let's see what the gods think of me.

With that, I broke into a jog, letting the forest swallow me. The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear—this was just the beginning.

(AN: I know using the labyrinth would have faster but think of this as character development.)

A couple of days later, The journey between Brooklyn and Montauk was a long one, approximately 115 miles long. Instead of just catching a bus or using any other transport for that matter—I decided to walk the entire way to gain some experience against monsters as the only thing I had been fighting from the past few years was either the old man or his creations. Despite only fighting them for so long— I had developed ways to defeat common monsters and learnt all about their weak points. Oh and I had only just started to beat Daedalus 2 months ago. Say what you want about him but he does not slack off on his training despite more than a 1000 years old.

In these few days I met a lot of monsters each day and practiced my flight and lightning against them. I then realized I should pause my dual wielding training as I needed more practice with elemental powers and should dedicate more time to them as I had mainly trained my combat style before.

Daedalus told me that as a child of Zeus, I should posses an arsenal of abilities tied to the domain of the sky and storms. The most prominent power being the ability to summon and manipulate lightning, channeling it through his weapons or hands with devastating precision. This electrical control should also grants me an enhanced resistance to electricity, allowing me to absorb or redirect bolts of energy. I should be able to manipulate the winds to create gusts strong enough to disarm enemies or propel himself through the air in short bursts, almost like gliding.

Now this may sound sweet and all but only a child of Zeus at their prime would be able to do this with decades of experience, and I don't have that. Besides a big disadvantage of it is that intense storms seem to form around them when their emotions run high, making it crucial for the user to remain in control.

So for now I'm just experimenting with my powers for now see what I can do without restrictions.

After a couple of fights—I realized that lightning powers didn't come as naturally to me as wind. Despite wind being the harder one to master of the two. Some demigods lean towards one affinity of their god-parent than others. Only rarely will a demigod inherit all the domains of a god.

I found out that I couldn't do much with lightning—only send send streams of it like palpatine and it was very draining as well. On the other hand I could use my wind powers to fly as well as knock back enemies. I realized I could use it in a sandy or plain terrain to blind enemies as well as making them lose balance in fights.

Finally, the last part of my powers were storm powers I could not activate it at all as you would require a high amount of control over both lightning and wind, which I lacked the mastery for or if I had emotions I couldn't control.

One thing that was progressing slowly was my dual wielding training since I had mainly dedicated my time to my elemental powers. I could even channel electricity through my blades or make a weak wind blade projectile.

Of course, the monsters didn't give me much time to rest. That same day, I ran into a Dracaena—a snake-woman hybrid wielding twin swords. She was faster than I expected, her strikes coming at me like a storm. For the first time, I tried combining my powers in a fight. I used the wind to throw up a burst of dust, temporarily blinding her, then followed up with a jolt of lightning to her chest followed 2 slashes in quick succession with my swords. It wasn't perfect though as she got a good slice across my arm before I took her down—but it was progress.

As the days went on, I started to feel stronger. Not just physically, but mentally too. Walking gave me a lot of time to think—to apply more strategies in fights and to be more fluid in them.

I had calculated the distance I needed to travel and found that I would reach camp around a week.

6 days later, When I had started this journey I thought it would be smooth sailing maybe kill a couple of monsters on the way—nothing too extreme you know, but of course it wasn't the case I mean I'm a demigod a child of Zeus of that as well, I was bound to have worse luck than I would think.

But despite being pessimistic I did not expect to fight at least a HUNDRED monsters PER DAY and they the numbers only getting higher each day. I haven't gotten sleep for 2 days and I'm really starting to wish I took the bus when I could have.

I swear it's like a god caught wind of my existence most probably Hades as the number of hell hounds I had fight at least quadrupled and I was not fancying my chances as Hades had gotten to Thalia last time despite having help, but I had a

secret weapon—training and a never give up attitude.

It's been a couple of hours and I'm really tired as I have been fighting non-stop, my nectar and ambrosia supply is getting dangerously low and I'm just tired, but at least there is only a couple hours to go before I finally reach camp.

Oh my gods, I finally see it in the distance. It's been wayyy too long for comfort and I have completely burnt my godly food supply for the exchange of not feeling like shit for every second that I live.

Then I see something that would haunt my dreams forever. An ARMY of hundreds of monsters from the under world and the gods damned FURIES leading the charge. Even though I was one whole mile away from camp I instantly flew to it as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough. Just when I was around 2 football fields away the unthinkable happened.

They caught up to me.

I had no choice but to ditch my bag pull out my swords and get to work.

(AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger but the next chapter will be done soon)