Percy Jackson: Genderbent

Chapter 26

Perci's POV:

Uh oh. My eyes wandered around, looking at everywhere except Jason. "Um..."

Then my eyes fell on the clock, and I jumped. "Oh, gods! The time!" I gasped, looking at the clock. The three boys turned, and their eyes widened when the looked at the time. Jason whipped around to look at Leo. 

"Leo! The pendant!" Jason exclaimed, and Leo dug around his tool belt. He pulled out the pendant, letting it dangle from his hands. Though it was no doubt beautiful, I didn't take the time to admire the craftsmanship.  

"What do we do?" Nico asked frantically. "I don't know!" Leo wailed, and Jason started panicking. "Twist it or something!" he said, and grabbed onto Leo. Following his example, Nico grabbed Jason while I quickly grabbed Leo's other side. 

Leo's fingers grazed over the jewelry, but still didn't do anything. His eyes held a look of awe that wasn't necessary for this situation. "Just do it, Leo!" I said frantically. 

If I didn't make it in time... there would be no going back. Leo rubbed the heart, then tried twisting the pendant. Nothing happened. He kept trying different things, and the clock kept ticking. Jason's initial panic wore off, though he was still stressed. Nico held a trace of worry in his eyes, but other than that, he appeared calm.

Me... well, let's not talk about what I did. I think it was safe to say it wasn't one of my brightest moments. 

Finally, Leo managed to get it working. The world spun around turning into a vortex of pink light. When we finally landed, I stumbled a couple steps before looking around. 

We were on the beach at Camp Half-Blood. Looking around more, I realized it was the very same place where this whole mess started. 

"Welcome, heroes," a voice said. I spun around to see the goddess Aphrodite in all her glory. I ignored my friends bowing beside me and shrugged on the girdle, marched over to her. I dumped the girdle at her feet, and looked up at her angrily. "There," I said. "You got your stupid girdle." 

What can I say? You'd be mad at her too if you'd been changed genders and forced to go through your best friends loving you. 

Aphrodite looked startled, but it was nothing to my friend's faces. Leo looked like he wanted to laugh, while Nico looked shell-shocked. Jason looked downright appalled. It would have been funny except I was absolutely fuming. 

"It's done. You got your girdle, and... everything else you wanted." I growled angrily. Aphrodite seemed to get over her shock, and smiled dazzlingly at me. "Of course, young hero. I'll change you back."

Leo made a time-out gesture with his hands. "Wait... turn her back? What in the actual Hades?" Nico shot Leo a warning look, which was ignored by pretty much everyone. Aphrodite turned to me. "Ah, I see you kept your promise."

I could barely control the anger bubbling inside me. "Only because you blackmailed me!" I growled. Aphrodite paused. "Hmm, yes, I suppose I did." 

"Blackmailed her? With what?" Jason asked. Aphrodite looked amused, her eyes darting between me and the others. "Oh, just something important to her." I scowled. "Don't play with them! They deserve to know. I don't know why I took that stupid oath in the first place." 

Aphrodite's eyes twinkled. "If you didn't, things wouldn't have gone to plan."

Something inside me snapped, and I marched up to the goddess. 

"TO PLAN? THIS WHOLE STUPID QUEST HAS BEEN PART OF SOME PLAN? ALL OF THIS... JUST FOR SOME STUPID PLAN?" I roared. I was reaching the end of my patience, here. 

Aphrodite flinched, while the others had a look of horror. You don't want to anger a goddess, they seemed to be saying. You never know what she could do to you as a punishment. 

Yeah, well, I thought bitterly, there's not much more she could do to me now. 

Aphrodite looked at me. "Hm. I suppose it's time for you to be turned back, then," she said, waving her hand. 

I felt a pink light surround me. Actually, that's not the kind of thing you feel. I saw a pink light surrounding me. I lifted a hand up to my face, and noticed it was glowing. Slowly, features were changing. 

I would not play Aphrodite's game. From here on out, I play by my own rules. 

The thought came to me like a lightning bolt, suddenly with no warning. I realized that was exactly what she was doing now: using me as a pawn in her game.

I immediately saw what would happen. I would turn back into a boy in front of my quest mates, and Nico and Jason would be shocked. Later, they'd be hurt. After all, I'd let them kissed me. I hadn't told them who I was. Scenarios flew through my brain lighting speed. My friends shunning me, them being hurt, never trusting me again. With a steely determination, I realized I could not let that happen. 

In a spit second, I made my choice. Turning my back on Aphrodite's cry of dismay, or Jason, Nico and Leo crying out in shock, I sprinted to the beach. I heard feet pounding after me, on the sand. 

No, I thought desperately. I could feel my hair getting shorter, my face changing. Just a little longer. Before they could catch up to me, I plunged into the ocean. I asked the currents to aid me, bringing me as far down under the ocean as I could go.

The ocean aided my progress, making my transformation faster. Finally, it finished. For the first time, I felt like me. My hands touched my face, feeling the once-familiar features that were there. I tugged my once-again short hair, looking down at the rest of my body (I had clothes on, don't worry).

The stress of the week suddenly crashed down on me, and I remembered everything. That had probably been the weirdest week of my life. Though not in a good way. Being a girl, not being able to tell my friends who I was, and... them actually falling in love with me! That was probably the part that boggled me the most. No doubt Aphrodite helped with that, I thought bitterly. 

I sighed, and watched as the soft pink glow lit the murky waters. I didn't really feel anything different while I was changing. I could almost believe Aphrodite was just pranking me, except I could see my features change before my eyes. 

I think it's safe to say you do not want to change genders. Ever.