senses, and understands the "old tongue" (the language spoken by Gaia to her first children). Tyson is close with several characters and magical creatures in the series, including Rainbow the hippocampus, the hellhound Mrs. O'Leary and the harpy Ella, who eventually becomes his girlfriend. In The Sea of Monsters, Tyson first appears as a huge homeless kid that is taken in as a class project by Merriweather Prep, Percy's school. Tyson is sensitive, childish and bullied with Percy being his only friend. However, it's also suggested that Tyson's presence in Percy's life has shielded him from attack throughout the year as monsters are too afraid to attack Percy while he is with a Cyclops. When Laistrygonian giants attack in the guise of a dodgeball game, Tyson's powers as a Cyclops shield him from harm and level the playing field, allowing him to defeat several of the giants before Annabeth Chase intervenes to finish the job. Due to her own bad experiences with Cyclopes, Annabeth reluctantly takes Tyson with them to Camp Half-Blood where his immunity to fire proves to be vital in defeating the attacking Colchis Bulls. Annabeth reveals Tyson's true nature to Percy and the young Cyclops faces a great deal of prejudice from the other campers due to his monster heritage and frustration from Percy when Poseidon claims Tyson as his son, causing Percy to be bullied as well. The sole exception to the bullying is Charles Beckendorf whose father, Hephaestus, employs Cyclopes, causing Beckendorf to befriend Tyson and train him in metalworking. When Percy and Annabeth secretly leave on a quest for the Golden Fleece, they only reluctantly take Tyson along and he befriends the hippocampus Rainbow who transports them to the Princess Andromeda. While trying to enter the Sea of Monsters, Tyson is apparently killed when the CSS Birmingham explodes as Tyson is trying to fix the engine at the time, the only one capable of withstanding the extreme heat. Tyson later resurfaces on Polyphemus' island, having survived the explosion before being rescued by Rainbow. Polyphemus calls Tyson his half-brother, but Tyson helps Percy to defeat Polyphemus, rejecting the other Cyclops for his evil ways. After returning to camp, Tyson repairs and upgrades Percy and Annabeth's chariot for the second chariot race and provides them with weapons. His gift to Percy, a wristwatch that Tyson had spent the summer working on, turns out to be a