This is an update of the original chapter. I have added that Piper is the champion of Aphrodite. Enjoy!

Percy POV

"Hello Annabeth speaking" She said.

I immediately cut the connection. "What was I doing?" I thought realising how stupid I'd been. I couldn't just call her out of the blue. Perhaps I don't need her for this plan I could do it by myself but it is always good to have someone as smart as Annabeth on a team, and it has been more than a year. Then my brain scolded me for that one stupid thought. "Come on Jackson think about it, she cheated on you she can't be trusted".

"Hey I'm back!" yelled Frank. The baby faced man stumbled into the living room "Hey how's the plan going to get Hothead and Jason back?"

"I'm thinking of calling Annabeth." I mumbled. "I know it's a dumb idea so you don't have to tell me"

"Dude... No, we can do this without her remember we've got Thalia, Nico, Hazel and Piper working with us" Frank said, worry evident in his voice. "I don't want her to hurt you again".

"I know" I sighed. I let my head drop into my hands. "But she is the best tactician alive today and if she can help us save Jason and Leo then I don't care about any history"

Franks just stared accusingly at me "You know what I think you need," he said "I think you need a smack upside the head to get you thinking straight. She cheated on you Percy, you can't trust her!"

"I know!" I yelled back. "But I thought you would understand how much we need her" I suddenly realised something I hadn't thought about since Annabeth and I started dating. She was driving us apart again. "Listen I need time to think about whether I am going to ask her to join us or not. Okay" I said as calmly as possible.

"Fine but I hope you realise that if she does come with us I am not helping you when she breaks your heart again" Frank said as if stating the future.

Nico

Thalia was distraught. That's all I could think about. I tried lying down next to her to calm her down. "Hey come on," I said, making my voice as smooth as possible. "Where is the strong, resilient girl we all know and love?"

"She went away as soon as they got Jason" Thalia sniffed.

I have only seen Thalia cry once before and that was on the plane to Florida when she had buried her face into my shoulder and had gripped my hand so tightly she almost broke it. "I want to get him back from the Sacrificial Men but I don't know how"

"Well Percy just called to see how you're doing and to tell us an idea he has been working on" I said, my arms wrapped round her waist. "It's an idea which will help get Jason back"

She sat up instantly and looked at me intensely with hope and weariness in her electric blue eyes "Really, because if you are lying I swear to Zeus I will zap you so hard you won't…"

"Chill!" I said putting my hands up defensively. "I'm serious, He is thinking about ambushing them whilst they're on their way to the temple" I said. I saw hope and light in her eyes. I knew what I said had helped her out.

"Well then, better tell him yes and start training" She jumped up and walked out the door.

"How she does it, I do not know" I thought wondering if I will ever understand the strange creature I called my girlfriend. I sat there for five minutes and got up and walked out the room. When I left the room I saw that Thalia had already changed. She spiked up her hair and was waiting for me to shadow travel us to Percy's place. She was wearing her favourite pair of jeans, which had lots of holes, and a plain black shirt with a jacket over the top. I focused on her shocking blue eyes and grinned at her. She flashed me one in return I could have sworn that it could light a whole room. That's when I realised how lucky I was. And with that thought I travelled us both away.

Piper

I was half way through my third cookie dough ice cream tub when my mother appeared before me. As expected she appeared right when I didn't want to see her. Her incredibly strong perfume wafted over me. I almost gagged.

"How are you holding up sweetie?" Aphrodite said. As if she cared.

"Oh I'm great, I have a boyfriend who is about to be sacrificed and I have probably eaten my weight in ice cream." I said my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey no need to get testy, I am only looking out for the champion of Aphrodite" she said smiling in a way that took centuries to perfect, "It has been a lousy birthday hasn't it darling?"

"That is an understatement" I shouted rage flaring in my voice. Why I was getting angry at my mother I wasn't even sure. I needed someone to unload my anger at. She just happened to be there at the wrong time. "Why didn't you flash down to stop them? He was their saviour he shouldn't have even been in that crystal ball let alone picked!"

"So you noticed it too" Aphrodite said her smile dropping.

"Notice what"

"That out of the 8 people that were granted general amnesty from the choosing, Leo and Jason were still taken" She said as if trying to spark something in my mind. That's when it dawned on me.

"It was rigged" I stated realizing what had happened. Someone wanted revenge on us and threw our names on balls so that we could be chosen, and that would split us up.

"Looks like not all my children are bimbos." she said clearly enjoying the fact one daughter was smart.

"I have to call Percy." I said. I rushed to the phone and started dialling his number.