His Father's Glory

Chapter 15

My drink nearly came out of my nose.

"You want a picture?" Percy whispered.

Looking back at the table, I could see a small cyclops, looking to be six or seven, waiting with an awestruck face.

"My boy here is a big fan, and well, so am I," the cyclops confessed. "He's been hearing stories about you since he was old enough to listen. Tyson is a good friend of mine and you're almost all he talks about."

I was speechless as I sat in the booth, still trying to wrap my head around their conversation.

"How are you going to take the picture?" Percy asked. "Technology and demigods don't exactly mix."

"My son, Raiden, developed a camera that doesn't break or send out a signal." The father said with pride. "He's working on a phone next."

"Really? That's amazing!" Percy exclaimed. "Alright, let's take a picture. You're going to have to walk me through it, though!"

As I watched Percy play and laugh with the small cyclops, a small smile made its way onto my lips.

"He will make a good father one day," the cyclops said as he sat across from me.

"That he will," I agreed. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "I didn't catch your name."

"How rude of me, these days I go by Lito," he introduces himself. "I would ask who you are but you make it obvious."

"Well, so do you," I grumbled. "How are you brother?"

"Technically, we are stepbrothers," Lito said.

"Family trees are so confusing, why bother with steps and in-laws. Family is family."

"Fair enough," he conceded.

"So how are our other brothers from another mother?" I asked with a playful smirk. Lito chuckled.

"Brontes keeps in touch every now and then. He's got a family now. A wife and two little girls."

"I'll have to pop in for a visit," I mumbled. "And Arges?"

"Off the grid," he sighed. "I would think he's down under, so to speak."

"Huh, I haven't seen him."

We sat in silence as we watched Percy and Raiden play and take goofy pictures together. I could see a weight lifted off his shoulders as his burdens were pushed to the back of his mind.

"Does he know?" Lito asked nodding to Percy. "About your pops, I mean."

"As far as he's concerned, my father is Hades."

"That's going to come back to bite you," Lito taunted. I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe," I agreed. "But I can't exactly tell them the truth."

"Just be careful. Danger lies ahead. The monsters aren't safe anymore."

I looked back at Lito. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can't say too much, but listen to me, Cleo. Something is coming, and it's not just coming for the demigods. No one is safe."

Before I could say anything else, Lito stood suddenly.

"Raiden," he called. "It's time to go now. Say goodbye to your friend."

Raiden pouted but with a stern look from his father, he begrudgingly said his goodbyes to Percy.

"Hey, little man, do you mind if I keep this one?" Percy asked holding up a polaroid with a smile.

"Of course! I'll even sign it so you'll remember who you took it with!" Raiden jumped at the chance to leave Percy with a token to remember him by. As Lito and Raiden left the diner, I could hear the small cyclops ranting and rave about meeting the famous Percy Jackson.

"Looks like you made a friend," I chuckled as Percy slid into the booth.

"Yeah, he's a cute kid. Super smart too."

"Well, that's to be expected given who his dad is," I said as I took a sip of my Pepsi.

"What do you mean," Percy asked, his brow furrowed. "His dad's a cyclops right?"

Just then our orders came to the table, a blue cheeseburger with fries for Percy, and a double-decker burger for me. Perfect. I don't know how they do it, but they always seem to give you what you want without having to ask for it.

"Not just a cyclops," I whispered. "He's the cyclops. Well, one of three. He's one of the first three cyclops in existence."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. Do you know the story?"

"Not exactly," Percy mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That was Steropes. He and his brothers Arges and Brontes were three of the eighteen children born by Gaia and Uranus. They were the first cyclops. While they were imprisoned, the brothers used their magic to build things. Helped with the boredom, I guess. They spent hundreds of years perfecting their craft. They built Zeus' thunderbolt. One of their greatest creations."

"They were imprisoned?" Percy asked before taking a bite of his burger. "This is a good dam burger. What did they do to get locked up?"

"They were born," I shrugged. "Uranus didn't like that his children were monsters, so he locked them away in the deepest, darkest pit he could find. Later that pit would come alive and be known as Tartarus." I watched his face grow pale as he shuttered.

"That's messed up," he grumbled. "I felt the same way when I was younger. Honestly, I sometimes still feel like I'm looked down on just because I was born."

"The myths called them violent but violence was all that they knew," I explained. "Things are different now. Steropes, or Lito, I guess. He has a family now. So does one of his brothers. I'm not talking about a couple of kids from different escapades. They are settling down. Trying to rewrite their stories."

"I hope it works out for them."

"Me too, Percy," I said as I stared at the photograph that lay on the table, Percy and Raiden's smiles seemingly never-ending. "Me too."

~~~

A/N: Ok so this whole diner thing actually has a story behind it. A couple of years ago, my mom and I were looking for somewhere to eat while we were visiting Tillamook, the town where the Tillamook cheese factory is. We googled restaurants and one of the best-rated was called "Out of the Blue". We figured, eh, why not, and started driving. In the middle of nowhere, with not a turn-off in sight let alone a building, google said we had arrived at our destination. We were so confused! We couldn't find it and ended up eating somewhere else. I figured with a name like "Out of the Blue" it seemed fitting to write it into this story! Stay tuned for the next update!

Love you all, Charlie xoxo