Annabeth was silent, unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing, or at least what she thought she was seeing. The girl, it surely couldn't actually be Percy, just looked at her with the look of someone who had no idea what was happening. To be fair, Annabeth was sure she had the exact same look on her face.
Before she could even think of something to say, there was a voice outside, preceding a knock on the door, instantly catching the attention of both women.
Chiron POV
I'm old, far older than I look. Being as old as I am means I've experienced many things. However, being the camp activities director (and basically the only one doing anything half the time) has given me many new experiences I didn't get during my... many many as a hero trainer. Training those legendary heroes such as Jason (not the Roman one, though that would have made things... interesting) and Achilles brought experiences that were far different from those of my newer post. For example, Achilles had never woken me in the middle of the night because a young child had nightmares. Jason had never exploded the toilets (by the gods, that child had been a handful).
Yet, I can honestly say this job is just as fulfilling, perhaps more so. I have always been proud of seeing all these children come here to be safe, to meet their families, to make friends, and to grow into strong young adults. Some find their calling as warriors, workers, and entertainers, all heroes in their own rights. Each of my kids brings something fantastic to the camp, our home. Even if they don't always find it easily, everyone has something to share and be proud of.
Oops, got a little off track there. As the de facto leader of the camp (looking at you, Mr D), I have experienced many different incidents, an irritating amount happening in the early hours of the morning or late into the night (why can't things happen at noon?). Therefore, I was used to being woken by a camper, sometimes in the form of knocking, other times as a yell, and unfortunately, sometimes as a scream.
Despite this, it was peculiar for the scream to be from a single point. A scream would generally indicate an impending monster attack, usually followed by many others or the sound of metal as swords were unsheathed and armour equipped. Still, the fact that only one voice was screaming urged me to rush down towards the origin of the noise, the cabins.
Through many years of practice, I made it to the cabins in time to see Annabeth running to the Poseidon cabin. Of course, that's where the scream was coming from. At this point, I don't know why I'm even surprised anymore. Those two seemed to be at the centre of everything recently. Regardless of prophecies, it's still quite ridiculous.
Knowing that Annabeth was on the scene, I slowed my pace. She'd always been very reliable, especially regarding the lone inhabitant of the Poseidon cabin. Although the scream was certainly feminine, it was not something said inhabitant could be described as.
As I arrived at the cabin door, I turned to the crowd of... all the campers. With a sigh, I raised my voice to address them all, "Demigods, return to your routines; breakfast shall begin soon."
I waited a few moments to ensure that those in the vicinity (the majority of campers) understood the instructions. Reluctantly, many of them started moving, though many kept casting glances at the cabin as they left.
The only ones remaining were the head counsellors, without any younger kids to keep an eye on. However, Nico di Angelo seemed to be dragged off by a particular son of Apollo. With a silent order to stay outside, I turned to the cabin door. I knocked my usual knock, knowing Annabeth and Percy would recognise it. Waiting patiently, I heard a brief shuffle of feet inside before the door slowly opened to reveal the daughter of Athena, who had a very peculiar expression. I was about to ask her what had her making such a face, but she simply gestured for me to enter, which I did before closing the door.
I turned to her, but she said nothing once again and simply gestured to something behind me. I swivelled to follow her gaze, only for my eyes to land upon a mound on one of the beds covered by the blanket. I glanced at Annabeth, who gestured for me to go on as she went and sat on the other side of the bed.
I was thinking of how to begin when Annabeth gently tapped the mound somewhere vaguely shoulder-like.
Slowly, a pair of hands appeared at the edge of the blanket, hesitantly pulling it down to reveal the head of a young woman I could not recall meeting. I attempted to defuse the evident tension in the air, "Hello there, my dear. Am I correct in thinking you were the origin of the alarmed calls earlier?" A faint red hue appeared on her cheeks as she covered her face with her blanket. Not wanting to push her since she was very clearly uncomfortable, I decided to solve another mystery, the quiet in the cabin that was uncommon due to Percy's... energy (though he had sadly slowed down in recent years, with all that had happened to him I'm not truly surprised, but he always seemed to be able to keep that spark in him alive).
"Miss Chase, do you know where Mr Jackson might be?" I said as I scanned the otherwise empty cabin. To my bemusement, Annabeth merely raised her hand to gesture to the bed between us or, more specifically, the mound on top of it. "Miss Chase, do you mean to say that..." I could not even bring myself to suggest what I thought was transpiring. Annabeth simply nodded slowly, her eyes staring right back at mine before we both turned to look at the girl covered in blankets.
"By the gods, Mr Jackson? How could that be possible?" The girl lowered the blankets a smidgeon, giving me a much clearer view of her face, and, to my utter shock, I recognised the eyes looking back at me. I recognised them as the same eyes as the twelve-year-old boy who had just lost his mother and taken down the minotaur. The eyes of the young man who had stood against gods and titans with nothing but a sword and his own will. "Percy? Perseus Jackson, is that truly you?" I questioned, in barely a whisper.
The young woman looked away and nodded solemnly. Annabeth reached out to take his/her hand, gently rubbing her thumb along the back comfortingly. Percy still refused to look at her, though, seemingly embarrassed to be seen in such a unique situation. "Perseus, what happened to you, my boy?" I immediately stopped after that as I realised that that may no longer be an appropriate address.
Annabeth gently laid her hand on Percy's cheek, guiding his/her head to look at her. "Percy?" she muttered gently. "Do you have any idea what might have been done... whatever has been done to you?" Percy responded with a sad shake of his/her head, but at least he didn't look away this time.
I decided to ask the uncomfortable question to get it out of the way: "Mr Jackson, is what we think to have come to pass, what has come to pass?" When Percy simply looked at me, confused, I turned to Annabeth, hoping she would say it so I did not have to.
She nodded and turned to Percy again, "Percy... are you a... woman?" No matter how she tried, it still sounded quite awkward a question. Percy seemed to agree as his/her cheeks again gained a red hue. However, he/she quickly popped his/her head under the blanket to check... something. I heard Percy let out a quick curse in a definitely female voice before he/she returned and nodded, clearly having discovered he/she was a woman, definitively.
We all took a moment to let what we had discovered sink in. Percy was clearly the fastest, as her face suddenly grew red with rage before she uttered a loud and passionate curse. Trying to calm the situation, I joked, "I'll let that one slide; I'm glad I told all the young ones to head off to breakfast." Annabeth let out a quiet chuckle, clearly trying to do the same as I was, but Percy just gave me an unimpressed stare.
We just stood there (or lay there in Percy's case) for a while as Percy calmed down. She was still clearly angry, but not at the red-faced, curse-yelling stage. Eventually, she spoke the first words out of her mouth that wasn't a scream or a curse, "When I find out whoever did this, I'm gonna kick their ass and throw them to the bottom of the sea." Reacting to her rage, the water in the fountain in the cabin started bubbling and evaporating. Annabeth quickly wrapped her arms around her... partner, effectively calming her. She started muttering into Percy's ear, but I chose not to listen as it seemed a private moment. Percy seemed to fully calm down by the time Annabeth had finished and smiled at her. Then, eerily simultaneously, they turned to face me. I addressed them both. "Well, I'm not sure how... this has happened, but for now, it seems you aren't having any difficulties. Am I correct?"
Percy held back the nod. Instead, she threw off the blanket with the same strength she had before and swung her legs over the side of her bed. Confidently (it seemed Annabeth's little pep talk worked), she jumped up to her feet and seemed satisfied until she turned to face us and found herself much lower than before. "Are you kidding me? Why am I short?" I couldn't help but chuckle when Annabeth muttered, "Don't let Nico hear you say that."
Percy gave Annabeth a mock glare and crossed her arms over her chest, which then gave Percy something else to react to. However, this reaction was a bit more positive as Olympus's saviour started tapping and pressing on her chest, giggling. I shared a bemused look with Annabeth, who looked just as exasperated at her partner's actions. She walked up to Percy, who was now gently bouncing up and down and put her hands on her shoulders, stopping the hero of Olympus from doing... whatever she was doing. "Well, at least you're not grumpy, but could you not play with yourself, please." Annabeth sounded as exasperated as she looked. Percy just smirked at her and whispered something that made the daughter of Athena blush. She lightly smacked Percy's arm, merely eliciting a soft chuckle from the shorter woman.
I cleared my throat as if it were hoarse (pun very much intended) to gain the attention of the two heroes. I couldn't help but smile at the two of them. I liked it when they were like this, joyous. "If you two ladies are quite done, we must head to breakfast." Percy's face had an odd look upon it, clearly unsure how to react to being referred to as a woman. Interestingly, Annabeth had a similar look on her face.
Despite seeming to have regained her confidence, Percy suddenly looked unsure of herself. I understood that this situation was far from what one would call comfortable and certainly not something one would generally want to share. However, there frankly was no avoiding it, as we had yet to learn how long this would last if it would indeed end. I tried my best to be comforting, "Percy, I understand your hesitance to be in front of others, given your current predicament, but it is truly unavoidable. Now, if I knew Perseus Jackson, he would stand strong and face anything in the way. I find no grounds for a female version of said hero being any different." Percy gave me a mischievous smirk, "Wow, I never knew you looked up to me so much." Looking down at her and giving an unimpressed look, I sighed and turned to the door. There was a hushed discussion behind me before Annabeth spoke up. "Um, Chiron. Before we head to breakfast, it might be a good idea to fetch Percy something more appropriate to wear." I glanced back at the demigods and took in her outfit, still her male clothes. The clothes were designed not for Percy's new body but for her original, larger one. Nodding, thinking of where to get her a spare set of clothes closer to her new size, I decided upon one of their friends. I gave them both a humoured smile, "Well, merely at a glance, I would suppose that you'd be most proximate in size to the leader of the Hades cabin." Percy let out a loud, exaggerated grown, clearly not looking forward to Nico seeing her. She made as much known, "Nico? Oh man, he's definitely gonna make fun of me for this after all the short jokes I made about him." Annabeth and I chuckled at her annoyed expression. Still, Percy did acquiesce for us to retrieve a spare set of clothing from the son of Hades.
After carefully opening and closing the cabin door, ensuring the surrounding cabin leaders would not see the two inside, I made my way to the dining pavilion, gesturing for the leaders to follow. Despite clearly wanting to ask about the situation, they all knew to stay quiet as I would address them if necessary. As we approached the pavilion, the sounds of joyful youths grew more audible, bringing a smile to my face.
Our arrival garnered the campers' attention, and the conversations abruptly ended as they all shifted to face us, or more accurately, me. I sighed, realising an explanation would have to be given to ensure no false information spread. I raised my voice to ensure everyone could hear me, "As I am sure you are all aware, earlier this morning, there was a loud sound of distress down by the cabins. To be clear, the situation was not of a dangerous nature and is now under control." I looked at each table to confirm everyone had heard what I said, knowing that many of them would have been on edge after hearing those screams early in the morning; many warriors were here. After confirming everyone had gotten the message, I addressed the most immediate predicament. I looked over to the Hades table, where Will was chatting to Nico (or, more accurately, at Nico), clearly trying to get him to laugh (once, someone had tried to remind Will that you were not supposed to sit at someone else's table... he did not care for that and ignored him). His efforts were rewarded with a rare smile, well, rare to anyone but the son of Apollo; Nico seemed quite a lot happier when in the boy's presence. Quickly addressing the pavilion, "As I said, the incident is now being taken care of, so you all may bring breakfast." I turned to the pair of boys, "Mr Di Angelo," his head snapped to me, losing the smile he had been trying not to show. "If you would come with me, your assistance is required." As Nico began to stand, Will did the same, though I swiftly waved him off, emphasising that only Mr Di Angelo was needed in this case. With a quiet reassurance that everything was fine, Nico approached me. I gestured for us to depart and turned so we could make our way back to the cabins. As Nico was not a talkative individual, the walk was in silence.
Before we headed to the Poseidon cabin, I asked Nico to go to his cabin and collect a spare set of his camp clothes. He made his confusion at my request known, but nevertheless, he got a spare set anyway. Fortunately, he rarely wore the typical camp attire, so he had some that were practically new. So, with Nico following with a spare camp t-shirt, shoes, and shorts, I knocked on the door to Percy's cabin.
Rather than come to the door herself, Annabeth simply called for me to enter. Doing so, I held the door for Nico to do the same. He obliged, looking around before his eyes landed on Annabeth and the girl who had gone back to sitting on the bed next to her. I closed the door behind us and gestured for Nico to approach them. "As agreed, Mr Di Angelo has brought some clothes that should fit you, at least until we get you some of your own." As Nico approached, Percy seemed to grow more tense. Seeing this, Nico slowed his movement until he got close enough to gently place the clothes beside her. She silently thanked him, reaching for the pile with her left arm.
This, however, caught the attention of the boy-or more precisely, the underside of her left arm did. Her left arm still had the trident and SPQR tattoo from Percy's time at Camp Jupiter. Nico's gaze then went to Percy's long black hair, and he moved his hand to take a strand of the lone grey streak. The son of Hades was speechless, just standing next to the bed with the grey hair between his fingers. He repeatedly looked between the strand in his hand and the face of the girl whose head it was attached to. "N-no way." Nico turned to Annabeth, dark brown eyes wide. The woman simply nodded, clearly getting his unspoken question.
At this point, Percy chuckled lightly, blushing a bit. "Heh, surprised?" True to form, Nico rolled his eyes and replied with heavy sarcasm. "Oh, definitely, you've done something different with your hair. It's cute." Percy laughed at that, a higher-pitched laugh, but still, deep down, the same laugh we all loved (most of the time). She responded with the same tone. "Why, thank you for noticing, I wanted to try something new with it." Initially, I was surprised that Nico didn't react more. However, I then recalled that Nico wasn't one for outwardly reacting.
Percy then stood up from the bed, giving Nico a complete look at her new body, which he couldn't help but smile at. Then, he did something very uncommon for the boy; he laughed. "Well, well, well. Look who's short now."
Percy gave him a false glare. "I'm not shorter than you." In response, Nico laughed again and patted Percy on her head. "Sure you aren't, sport; you're very tall." It was odd watching them as they were nearly identical in height. Percy swatted Nico's hand away before grabbing the t-shirt from the pile and waving it in his face. "Shut up and get out, idiot, I need to get dressed." Nico smiled and, while jokingly saying he had no interest in watching (which he didn't), made his way out of the cabin and stood outside. I followed him, leaving the two women alone in the cabin again. We stood there for around ten minutes, acting as if we were not listening to the yells from inside (though we were both struggling not to laugh).
"Annabeth, turn around... I don't care if you're also a girl; it's weird... no peeking... ANNABETH, I SAID NO PEEKING... shut up, they are not big... QUIT LAUGHING... no, I'm not wearing that... why do you even have one in here... I don't care if it's for comfort; I'm not wearing one of your... QUIT IT... fine, there, happy?"
By the end of the ordeal, my face ached from trying not to smile. The door to the cabin was flung open as Percy stormed out, stopping between the two of us. Nico's spare clothes were a near-perfect fit, barring the shirt, for natural physical differences between her new body and Nico's. She had a scowl on her face, looking straight ahead but clearly addressing the three of us through gritted teeth. "Not a word." I gave her an acquiescing nod, whereas Nico gave her a mischievous smirk, indicating that there would be multiple words. Percy didn't even look at him, simply sighing and announcing, "Might as well get this over with; I'm hungry anyway." With that, she strode off toward the dining pavilion, a no-nonsense air around her. An air that lost its effect when Annabeth suddenly rushed forward and scooped Percy up in her arms. Percy made the appropriate complaints and threats, but they fell on deaf ears as Annabeth carried her like a princess. Naturally, Percy wasn't trying very hard to make the daughter of Athena put her down. Still, she wasn't going to let it happen silently. "Annabeth put me down right now, or so help me, I'll make sure your hair is permanently soaking wet." The girl merely threw her head back and laughed. "Nope, sorry princess, I'm gonna take advantage of this rare opportunity of being bigger." They bickered like that the entire walk. The ENTIRE walk. I decided to walk ahead to save some of my sanity, while Nico seemed to do the opposite for the same reason.
As the pavilion came into view, Annabeth finally put Percy down. When her feet touched the ground, she maturely stuck her tongue out at her before they both turned to me. We briefly discussed how to approach addressing the other campers; Annnabeth believed we should be honest, which I agreed with. Percy wanted to make up a more impressive tale than just, 'I woke up this morning and was a chick. Weird, right?' Ultimately, we concluded I would provide a quick summary without the more personal details.
We continued the rest of the way to the other campers, again my sudden appearance attracting all their attention. However, this time, they were eating rather than just conversing. I guided Percy to stand beside me, causing many gazes to shift from me to her. They returned to me as I spoke, "Campers, I'm sure you'll be glad to learn that the incident earlier this morning has been solved, for the most part." A murmur rose regarding the ambiguity of the last comment. "For all those wondering what exactly occurred, which I'm sure is most of you, the truth is simultaneously far more straightforward and more complicated." I let out a sigh before gesturing to Percy to step forward.
"The short version, this is Percy. Yes, that Percy." Gasps rippled through the pavilion; everyone knew who Percy was; Perseus Jackson was practically a legend already. Though she may not admit it (most of the time). Once the mutters died down, Percy herself stepped forward. "Yes, you heard that right. I'm technically female now. We don't know why or how long it will last, but this changes nothing." She made sure to look every single camper in the eyes, ensuring they understood her words. Seeing Percy's mannerisms- how he would stand, cross his arms, even his glare- now being mimicked on this woman's face and body was odd. Looking at her standing there, there was no doubt that the woman before me was Percy Jackson.
As expected, despite her glare, there were a few mean comments. Most came from the children of Ares; demigods were very good at keeping grudges. (sorry, any Ares followers, but he ain't a Percy fan). One of them, I couldn't make out who, even claimed that this form suited Percy because he was a... well, another word for cat (I would have to talk to that boy about his language). I needn't worry about that one because he was swiftly thwacked on the back of the head by a scowling Clarisse, who did not appreciate the sexist insinuation.
One particular comment seemed to resonate in Percy's head, as when she heard, "Guess we're gonna need a new hero, aren't we, given the last one's now a weak little (female dog), well more than before at least." her face contorted into a rare look of anger. "Which one of you idiots said that? Huh? Say that to my face, coward. Say that to my face and prove that I am what you say I am." She feigned realisation. "Oh, actually, before you do that, you may want to ask your dad what happened when he did the same." That, unfortunately, set the entire Ares table off as they all got their feet simultaneously, not about to let a slight against their father slide. They seemed ready to lunge at Percy- who merely took a deep breath and turned her palms so they faced away from her sides- so I prepared myself to intervene, as did many others.
However, it was all for nought as a sudden rumbling echoed around the pavilion. The ground started slowly shaking, with the intensity growing exponentially as Percy raised her hands from where they were held out at her sides, palms facing the sky. Cracks broke out around the Ares table, and mighty water jets were blasting out of them. Soon enough, the children of the war god were surrounded by a wall of water, moving so fast it could cut you. Percy glared right into the eyes of the boy who had made the comment that started the ordeal and spoke in a loud, commanding voice. "Do you still wish to challenge me? Do you still see me as unfit?" She started moving her arms in a circular motion; simultaneously, the wall of water began following the same path, spinning faster and faster around the Ares campers before surrounding only the young man. His terror was evident on his face, even through the twister of water surrounding him. The foolish young man shook his head and raised his hands in an apparent surrender. Instantly, the water stopped and flew off towards the lake. The ground had stopped shaking, and the pavilion appeared as if it had never been touched.
All eyes were on Percy, who lowered her arms and put them behind her back, clasping her hands together. She was also smiling innocently (too innocently). "Great, glad that's all sorted. Now, if you don't mind, I'm still quite hungry, and there isn't very long left for breakfast." She cheerily walked to her table and plopped herself down (the most appropriate word for the action, believe me) as if nothing had happened. Annabeth and Nico shared a bewildered look before they simply shrugged and walked to their tables. Nico was quickly rejoined by his favourite blonde-haired son of Apollo. From what little I overheard, Will asked why he had been called down, and when Nico told him, Will threw his head back in laughter.
Percy seemed content sitting alone at her table, stuffing her face with blue pancakes as usual. To the untrained eye, she seemed oblivious to all the stares directed at her. As someone with many years of experience in the conundrum that is Perseus Jackson, I could tell her battle instincts were still very much aware of her surroundings.
Slowly, conversations started back up. The atmosphere retained some tension, but they seemed inclined to ignore it. The rest of breakfast continued that way, with stares aimed at Percy as she maintained the aura of someone without a care in the world.
Annabeth explained the situation to her siblings throughout the meal; the children of Athena were always an inquisitive bunch, wanting all the details.
However, something troubled me, something so unusual that it caused me quite a bit of worry. Percy and Annabeth never looked at each other. In the past, during meals, they would always talk to each other, shower the other in affection or try to make them laugh. Yet, throughout the meal, they never once smiled at each other, gave the other a funny look, or even noticed them. Almost as if they were barely even friends, never mind what they are.
Suddenly, a giant flash of light caused many younger campers to scream in surprise and fall off their seats. Before anyone could prepare for a fight, the light faded, revealing a woman more beautiful than anyone I'd ever seen. Her face was contorted in rage as she looked rapidly from Annabeth to Percy and back again, seemingly looking at something beyond the physical world. The woman seemed to grow even more enraged as she inhaled angrily before bellowing at the top of her lungs.
"NOOOO!"
Much longer chapter this time. You can probably guess who the woman is.