OHMYGOSH sorry it's been so long since this got updated but I'm back! Let's not delay any longer, but as always Rick Riordan owns everything.

Frank's POV

Piper and Frank trudged through the woods away from the boat, being careful to look out for any sign that the two boys had been or landed here. Frank wasn't sure what to think about Piper. Most guys would've thought she was hot (despite her efforts not to be), especially being the daughter of Aphrodite and all, but he was with Hazel and he really liked her. Then there was the charmspeak. Her ability to control people so easily was a little unnerving to Frank, so he didn't feel like he could totally trust what she was saying, but everyone told him she was a good person. He did feel bad for her though, he couldn't imagine how he would feel if he saw Hazel plummet to what should've been her death. He fumbled with the piece of firewood in his pocket that was his life force and wondered, as he often did, if his grandmother was still alive.

"There's no sign of them anywhere, but where could they have gone," said Piper, rubbing her forehead in distress.

"Maybe Jason regained consciousness and flew them away," suggested Frank

"No, when he has to carry someone, especially if he was just regaining consciousness it would've just slowed their fall."

"Well, it's almost time to meet back at the clearing to see if Hazel and Leo found anything, and to keep an eye on Leo," thought Frank.

Just then, they came to stream running through the woods, it was only a few feet wide and maybe ankle deep, but it was clear and smooth so they filled up their water bottles and drank. When they stood up, standing in front of them was the most beautiful woman Frank had ever seen. He couldn't describe her, as her appearance kept changing, but each change was more gorgeous than the last. At first she looked like an old teacher he'd had a crush on, then like various movie stars, and for a while, she looked kind of like Hazel. The woman wore an elegant red dress that seemed to change hue slightly as the woman's skin tone changed. Frank's mind went blank, and he couldn't remember how to speak quite correctly.

"Uh . . . uh. . . uh," was all that he could muster.

"Mother! What are you doing here, and stop drooling Frank," exclaimed Piper.

He shook his head, the world coming back into focus, and quickly wiped a thin line of drool off of his chin.

"Sorry, I uh, just, wow."

"Why thank you young man," said Aphrodite, as she waved her hand and caused a picnic blanket and nice meal to appear, "please sit down, there is much to discuss."

Frank, still dumbstruck, but with a growling stomach happily sat down on the picnic blanket and began to sip what he discovered was a Shirley Temple. He munched quietly while he listened to Piper and her mother talk.

"So, why are you here, not that I don't love your little visits, but usually there is an ulterior motive," began Piper

"Such a smart girl! But yes, I am here to bring news of Mt. Olympus. Manny of the gods will not be much help to you on this quest, I'm afraid. They are . . . sick. Their Roman and Greek halves are battling for control within themselves, so many are incapacitated by the pain that this causes. I luckily, am not very affected by this, aside from some minor headaches and so was able to come tell you. And of course, ask you how your love life is going!" replied Aphrodite.

"Mom! Besides, I'm sure you already know. Still trying to, 'keep it interesting' I see."

"Of course! I save my best for my children," explained Aphrodite, while pouring Frank more Shirley Temple.

"Wait, don't we need a god to be able to help us in case we face any more giants," asked Frank.

"And why aren't you affected," added Piper.

Aphrodite's beautiful face turned troubled, "Yes, you will encounter giants on this quest Frank, and you will need the help of the gods to defeat them." Then she looked up and smiled again, "Luckily, there are some who, like me didn't get changed much by the Romans and so aren't feeling as distressed by the split between their aspects."

"Like who," said Frank.

"That, my dear, is for you to discover on your own. Oh, look at the time! I really must be going, but first," she turned to Frank, her eyes changing from dark blue to brown, the color of Hazel's eyes. "You should know that I have taken particular interest in that daughter of Pluto you so like. You'll have to fight to keep her, in more ways than one," then she told Piper, "And your boyfriend, Jason, and the other one, Percy, are fine. You all should go on, they will join you eventually. You should head to New Orleans and seek out Calchas; Annabeth needs to speak to him about her stick-in-the-mud of a mother."

With that and a wave of her hand, Aphrodite and the picnic she had brought (including the shortbread cookie Frank was about to take a bite of) vanished in a puff of smoke. So, Frank and Piper picked up their things and began walking back to the Argo II. At first, they were too stunned with this new information about their loved lives to say much, but then something occurred to Frank.

"Wait, Hazel is from New Orleans. At least, when she was alive the first time."

"Yeah, so what, that should be an advantage to us that she knows the city. How much could it have changed in. . . 70 . . . years. Never mind," reasoned Piper.

"I'm just not sure that it would be good for her to go back there, especially with all that stuff about Leo-"

"Wait, what's going on between her and Leo?"

"You know, she thinks she remembers him from her past or something."

"Oh."

They then walked through the ring of trees that surrounded the retention pond where they had landed just as Hazel was stumbling aboard supporting a fragile-looking Leo. Annabeth rushed to Hazel's side and helped her support Leo's weight. They were taking him below decks to the infirmary when Frank and Piper made it aboard. Moments later, Annabeth and Hazel appeared back on the top deck and Frank hurried to Hazel's side.

"What happened? Is he okay," asked Piper

"He. . . had a vision and passed out," replied Hazel, and Frank could tell she was frightened. Whatever he'd seen had been important.

"What did he see," said Annabeth, "Was it Percy and Jason?"

"It was . . . New Orleans," answered Hazel, but Frank could tell she wasn't just scared, she was holding something back. Before he could say anything, Piper spoke up.

"Oh good! Frank and I had a run-in with my mom who told us to go to New Orleans. She said that the boys were okay and that they'll meet up with us later, so we should go on," explained Piper, "She also said that most of the gods would be out of commission because their Roman and Greek sides are fighting for control."

"So she didn't say anything else about Percy and Jason. She just expects us to trust that they will meet up with us eventually! When? Where are they," argued Annabeth.

"She didn't say, just that we, or you specifically needed to speak to some guy in New Orleans," said Frank.

"Calchas was the guy, and I'm sure that they're fine. I don't like my mother meddling in my love life, but I trust her on this one. And the thing about Calchas, you're supposed to talk to him about your mother," added Piper

Annabeth had turned away and was looking out beyond the deck of the ship into the woods where Percy was supposed to have fallen, but upon hearing Calchas, she turned to face Piper.

"Calchas? He's dead. He was a seer, but during the Trojan wars he was defeat in a game of riddles by Mospus and died from grief. He's in New Orleans?"

Hazel had finally pulled herself together and said, "It's not so surprising, I mean, lots of people that are supposed to be dead have come back to life recently. If we're going to New Orleans to find someone though, we need to get there fast."

Everyone else gave her a confused look, and Annabeth asked her why.

"Am I the only one here who watches the news? There's a hurricane headed towards New Orleans. A pretty nasty one, category 4. They're evacuating the city, and both of our storm experts are gone."

Leo then appeared climbing out from below the deck, looking mostly fine, but still shaken up by whatever he had seen. Frank wanted desperately to ask what he had seen, but if Hazel didn't want to say, he felt he needed to respect that. There was something new in Leo, something in his eyes that made Frank uncomfortable. He stared at Hazel weirdly, like looking at her hurt and when Frank looked back at Hazel she was giving him the same look.

"Oh my gods," thought Frank, "the vision, did he see himself . . . and Hazel? No, he can't really be Sammy, can he? How would that even be possible?"

Leo apparently realized that he had been staring a little too long at Hazel, and looked up, giving a little laugh.

"So, did I hear that right? We're headed to New Orleans to find a dead guy and have to beat a hurricane there," said Leo, that grin that made Frank feel like Leo was totally insane and loved every minute of it.