It's been a long time since I've updated last. I'm really sorry I hope this chapter makes up for it. It's not exactly action pact, but there is some Leo angst. Please read my author's note at the end.

Disclaimer I do not own Percy Jackson all rights belong to Rick Riordan

Leo was happy to see the mother of one of his friends. The one who readily messed with him as if he were her own personal wind up toy. There stood Aphrodite in all her beautiful glory. At first she looked like his mother, her face shifted to many other loved ones and miss stepped romances; Reyna, Thalia, Khloie, and so on. Many shifts later Aphrodite's appearance decided on long caramel brown hair, olive toned skin, and beautiful brown eyes.

He swore he could smell cinnamon coming off her in waves.

"Aphrodite." Annabeth greeted with an almost guarded tone in her voice. "What are you doing here?"

Suddenly the ever lovely goddess (who still insisted on using Calypso's face) broke out into sobs. It seemed as if she were absolutely devastated. Frank was automatically looking for something to dry her tears and pulled a miscellaneous napkin out of his pocket. Leo decided that he didn't want to know why the formerly panda-like boy had it in there.

"Thank you Frankie that is so sweet of you." She accepted the little crumpled paper without hesitation. Leo didn't really see where her makeup had been at all damaged, but Aphrodite began reapplying her mascara as if it were second nature. "I'm sorry about that but,...I've waited five whole years for you and Percy to finally get together. Now all that waiting is about to be spoild. That boy is the sweetest thing, so polite. He deserves to be happy."

Annabeth gave a half chuckle, "You're right about the sweet part, but polite? You have seen the way he talks to Zeus. Right?"

Aphrodite shrugged and handed Frank the blackened napkin back. Leo could tell that the shape-shifter didn't know what to do with it. In the end he just ended up stuffing the soiled paper back into his pocket casually. It was kind of fun for Leo to find ways to laugh at the guy, although 'Iguana boy' didn't make it too hard.

"Don't tell me that the rebellious side of him doesn't excite you." The goddess of love teased. "You obviously see his features on my face."

The daughter of Athena blushed and casted her gaze down to her still muddy shoes. Leo wondered what Aphrodite had meant. Despite spending months at Camp Half-Blood he was still in the dark about a lot of godly facts. He sent a glance at Hazel and Frank who shrugged.

"Aphrodite appears to you as someone you love." Annabeth said as she cleared her throat. "To me she has Percy's black hair and his eyes."

"The eyes are what get you the most." Aphrodite said, almost sympathetically.

A tear traced down Annabeth's cheek. "His eyes are my favorite color."

"That can't be right." Leo interrupted loudly. A hot burst of anger came into his chest. "You look like Calypso to me. I don't love her. How could I?"

Calypso- Aphrodite turned to face him with a frown. "It isn't often we recognize soul mate when we first see them. We get side tracked, blinded by those who appear slightly more dazzling or those we form fake connections with. We may even go chasing for the person who is right beside us without even knowing it."

"Well I think you're wrong." Leo hissed, his voice cracked with hurt. "I don't love her and she sure as Hades dose not love me!"

"Leo," Hazel muttered fearfully as she grabbed his arm. "It's dangerous to speak to a goddess, especially her, like that."

"It's alright Hazel." Aphrodite spoke softly. "He's heart broken. There's no reasoning with him."

The son of Hephaestus crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever."

"Leo," Annabeth told him. "I know you're hurt, but arguing with a goddess isn't going to help solve our problem any quicker."

He sighed, "Fine. I'm sorry."

There was a silence that held them for a long moment. The tension in the air was slowly ebbing away as time went on. Frank cleared his throat uncomfortably. Annabeth was keeping her eyes on Leo, as if she expected him to start talking back again at any moment. Hazel finally decided she had enough.

"You never answered Annabeth's question." She pointed out politely. "Why have you visited us?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot!" Aphrodite smiled and reached into her Pandora purse. "I've got a little gift here for you that'll help you find Percy. Hopefully before that infernal wedding. Honestly, who do Gaea and Cupid think they are? Messing with my domain. Percabeth is one of the most perfect couples I've ever seen."

Leo could see a smile flash onto the daughter of Athena's face. He remembered hearing about how Percy and Annabeth often fought with each other. Some daughters of Aphrodite told him, if he had been around them, he'd have to be blind to not see how in love they were with each other. Drew, however, insisted that she'd be the better match for Percy or Jason. Leo knew that she was only interested in them because they were good-looking sons of one of the big three.

The fact both were powerful was also a big bonus.

"Ah, ha." The love goddess called out proudly. She held a rolled up piece of paper in her hand. It looked pretty old and worn. "I found it."

"What would 'it' be?" Leo asked.

Aphrodite casted her eyes onto him as her face morphed into his mother's features. Pain came screaming into his chest. He resisted the urge to brake out balling on the deck of Argo II. What you did to her is unforgiveable, a voice hissed in his mind. Leo clutched his biceps and let his nails bite into his skin. Seeing her face was like being haunted by a ghost.

It felt as if the whole ship was spinning around him. Everyone blurred together and became large colorful smudges. He almost thought he was caught into a kaleidoscope. Leo reached out for the first thing he could grab to support himself. The closest thing was Hazel's shoulder.

Hijto, I love you

"Stop!" He shouted and clutched his head. A few painful tears rolled down his cheek. "Look like anyone. ANYONE! Except...her."

"I can't chose who I look like. I'm sorry if it causes you pain. Your mother loved you. Other than Sally Jackson and Emily Zhang, I haven't seen any mother reach or exceed the kind of love she had for you."

"You can't know that!" Leo called out hysterically. He momentarily forgot he was talking to the goddess of love. "I'm a monster! She's gone because of me, because of Gaea, because of my powers."

Aphrodite handed Annabeth the map and walked to him. For a brief moment he thought she was going to hurt him. Instead she grabbed both of his shoulders and looked into his eyes with eyes that reflected his mother's. Leo tried to look away, the pain in his chest was becoming burning inferno. She grabbed his chin and made him look at her.

"I know when you and other's think of true love, you may think of a first kiss that brakes a spell or someone you have a romantic relationship with. The reality of true love is so much more complicated than that. Your mother, she loved you with all her heart. Just like Percy and Frank's moms, she'd sacrifice herself if it meant you'd be safe." Aphrodite spoke slowly and calmly. Her voice even picking up his mother's slight accent. It was comforting to hear her talk.

Leo closed his eyes hoping that he could fall back into old memories. He imagined that he and his mother were tinkering with stuff in her shop. She would sing to him in Spanish and make sure he was fluent in both languages. The fire starter imagined, for a brief moment everything he had experienced from that horrible night at the work shop and on was just a dream. Aphrodite's voice brought him back into the present.

"Your mother, she wouldn't want you to be miserable, to make yourself miserable, for the rest of your life. Honor her death by living for tomorrow, not yesterday. Hold onto the happy memories, but let the painful ones go." She finished. "Remember, you are loved."

"I'll...try." Leo told her. He wondered why he suddenly felt lighter, less inhuman.

She ruffled his hair, "Good."

"Why are you so...nice to me?" He asked. "I've been rude to you this whole time."

"Well you are my step-son. Besides," She winked. Her face shifted back into Calypso's "I'm not all about the gooey romance. I encompass all things love. Including the love between a parent and child."

Leo looked at Annabeth. She clutched onto the map tightly and nodded at him. He imagined that what Aphrodite just told him was what she was trying to get through his thick head the whole time. Despite how happy she seemed that he had been finally sorted out, Leo could tell she wanted to get back onto the subject of the map and saving Percy. Everyone felt that way.

"How is this map supposed to lead us to Calypso's island?" Annabeth asked. "I thought the island moved all the time."

Aphrodite pulled a brush from her purse and began to run it through her hair. Although, just like her makeup, not a single bit was out of place. It was weird to see her go from giving a very deep speech to worrying about her flawless appearance.

"It does move all the time, but someone had made a map and I had enchanted it." Aphrodite began. "There was one other guy, a long time ago. I thought he might be the one who could free Calypso from her curse. When he had been marooned on her island they talked, laughed and enjoyed each other's company.

Unfortunately like so many other of her potential lovers he had to leave, but he promised to make a map and come back. He swore to her he'd stay true her from the moment. I thought he could be the one for her, so I enchanted this map he had made. It would have led him to her exact location, but he didn't stay true to his word." She paused before continuing. "He forgot about her when the first ship with many beautiful women showed up. I took the map and hoped I could find someone more worthy."

"Why didn't you give the map to Percy after he had left the island?" Leo asked. Annabeth looked as if she were prepared to murder him for even suggesting the idea.

"He's meant to be with Annabeth." She told him simply. "Besides, I kind of thought he was the one the first big prophecy said was going to die."

"So." Annabeth began. She wanted to change the subject. "Is there any special way to work the map?"

"With your heart." Aphrodite said with a smile.

Both her hands rested over her chest. Leo laughed about how cheesy that was. He had tried to hold it back but the chuckles kept on coming. It was hilarious for a skeptic and machine lover like him to imagine the human race being so gooey. He became weak in the knees, still laughing like a mad man.

"Leo?" Hazel asked as she knelt at his side. "Are you alright?"

He bit his lip and looked at her. "Follow your heart!"

"Okay," Piper muttered somewhere behind him. "The Human Torch has lost it."

Leo turned to look at his friend. Her cheeks were still flushed with anger. Obviously seeing Annabeth kiss her boyfriend was still bothering her. He too was still surprised by the daughter of Athena's tactic to getting what she wanted. It wasn't like kissing Leo would have effected Piper too much.

"Oh Piper, are you airtight?" The goddess of love asked her daughter.

"Fine mom." Piper said softly.

"Are you sure?" Aphrodite asked. "I'm sure Annabeth would let you kiss Percy to get even."

Piper's face flushed an even deeper shade of red. "Mother!"

"What I'm just saying..."

"No, no!" Piper covered her ears. "Kissing Percy wouldn't make me feel any better!"

"You could just surprise him." her mother shrugged. "Annabeth's done it before."

"Mother!" the young demigod protested again.

Leo decided he wanted to see how the daughter of Athena was handling Aphrodite's suggestion. Annabeth was definitely not happy about the idea, but obviously she was keeping her mouth shut to keep from seeming hypocritical. The map in her hand was becoming slightly crumpled in her hands.

"Fine." Aphrodite sighed. "But may I at least suggest something to release the tension on the ship. I swear you'll all be half crazy by the time you reach the island."

"What's your suggestion?" Piper asked as she held her face in her hands.

The goddess of love giggled like a little girl. "Lets have a good old fashion game of truth or dare! Besides you all need something fun to do."

Before anyone could protest Annabeth spoke up, "Alright, but first thing tomorrow we go to save Percy."

Leo wondered if Annabeth had lost her mind, until he realized that the sun was already near setting. Maybe a quick girly game was the exact thing they needed to pass the time.

PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Okay I know this might not have been the most interesting chapter, but I hope you like it. I will try to update sooner. Do you guys think I should also do a chapter from Sally's point of view. I know what my next few chapters are going to be about. But I was just curious if you'd like to see what Sally's been thinking since she arrived on Calypso's island. I will put the game of truth of dare up soon. Any suggestions?

I'll take them into consideration when writing.