Jon opened the door, revealing Zoe standing there. On the sidewalk nearby stood Zoe's friends, Athena DeVries, Zelda Whitefield, Sabrina Johnson and Trevor Blake. Were it not for the wish to know what everyone at school thought about the events of the day, Jon wouldn't have recognized Trevor, for his Emo Gun created look was much different from his usual Goth appearance.
"Uh, who are you?" Zoe asked, staring at the red-haired girl in front of her with a hint of annoyance.
"It's me. Jon." Jon said.
"You're a girl!" Zoe exclaimed.
"I guess I am." Jon said, and laughed, mostly at herself. "I almost forgot."
"You forgot you were a girl?" Zoe replied.
Jon laughed again. "I can prove who I am. I'm always telling you to turn down that Goth metal music you have on every morning. Do you need any more proof?"
"Did you get changed?" Zoe asked.
"By one of the Transformation Guns, you mean?" Jon asked. "Yeah. Come inside."
Zoe turned to Athena and the others. "Wait here. This'll be a few minutes."
She stepped inside the house, and looked around. Karyn sitting on the living room couch watching TV came as no surprise to Zoe, as Karyn and Jon were close friends. But she was surprised to see Sarah McMillan sitting next to her.
"What is SHE doing here?" Zoe exclaimed. "I thought you hated each other!"
"Calm down, Zoe. We can explain everything." Jon said.
Karyn spoke. "We've come to an understanding." she added.
Sarah nodded. "Something like that."
"It's a long story." Jon said. "Sit down and we'll tell you everything."
"Everything?" Sarah asked.
"What about Athena?" Karyn asked. "You said we'll need to fill her in."
"You're right." Jon said. "Zoe, tell Athena to come inside, but no one else. This concerns her too."
Zoe approached Athena, who was still waiting on the sidewalk outside the house with Zelda, Sabrina, and Trevor.
"Jon and Karyn told me they need to talk to you, but only you." Zoe said.
"Did they say why?" Athena asked.
"No. But it sounds important. There's something they want you and me to know." Zoe said.
"What about the rest of us?" Sabrina said. "If this is about the Transformation Guns, I helped out ... a little."
"You'll have to stay out here. They didn't say why." Zoe said.
Athena turned to Sabrina, Zelda, and Trevor. "This won't be too long, I hope."
Jon, Karyn, and Sarah led Zoe and Athena upstairs to Jon's room and closed the door, in case Jon's mother or Mikey came home while they were talking. This would allow them some privacy.
And so for the next few minutes, Jon, Karyn, and Sarah told Zoe and Athena everything they had seen and experienced. They told everything about the stone.
"So all this ... the Transformation Guns and everything ... happened because you wished that 'something interesting would happen?'" Zoe said. "That's .. I don't know what to call it, it's that messed up!"
Athena was more understanding. "I've read about magical artifacts like this. This matches what I've read about the mysterious 'jewel of Cusco'. The wishes that change reality, the fact that wishes can't be undone directly, but they can be re-interpreted, the range limitation. All of that matches the description of the artifact known by that and a few other names."
"Grandfather should have sent it to me. I wouldn't have messed up like that!" Zoe said.
"We all make mistakes." Athena said. "I know I've screwed up a few times."
"I still think storing the stone in a safe place is a good idea." Karyn said.
"That stone needs a time-out." Sarah added. "Until we get our acts together."
"Or until something big happens that we can't fix in any other way." Jon added. "Whichever comes first."
Athena nodded. She then changed the subject. "So that wish you made, to know what everyone at school was feeling, let the three of you know what everyone was thinking and feeling except me? Looks like the Blackhawk pendant came through again. It's my best pendant."
"It's a shame they don't mass-produce them." Karyn said. "Especially now that Transformation Guns are out there all over the world."
"You know what I told Jay." Athena said. "These pendants are rare. I don't know how one would go about duplicating them."
"I know! You could use the stone to wish there were hundreds of them!" Zoe suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea." Sarah said.
"Except I don't think it'd be that simple." Karyn said.
"Neither do I." Jon said. "Could something magical create something designed to protect AGAINST magic?"
"To be honest, I don't really know all the details about how pendants like the Blackhawks pendant and the Banshees pendant were created in the first place." Athena said. "I'd have to do a lot more research, ask the right people. But my guess is these pendants are rare for a reason, and that reason may be that creating them may be a lot harder than one thinks. It's probably something only someone with a LOT of experience and expertise in these matters can do."
"Anyway, it makes sense that the stone wouldn't be able to duplicate the pendant." Karyn said. "If the pendant kept us from seeing the day from Athena's point of view or knowing what she was thinking or feeling, then it'd block wishes about the pendant itself."
Athena nodded. "It's probably best we don't try it for now. At best, nothing will happen. At worst ... then Jay Duncan or someone else more scientically minded would describe the results as what happens when matter meets anti-matter."
"Speaking of which, you can't tell anyone about this." Karyn said. "Not Jay, not Zelda, not Sabrina, not Trevor. Not anyone. The wishing stone has to remain our secret."
"So we're all part of a secret club?" Zoe asked. "The Sisterhood of the Stone?"
At this, Jon laughed, as did Sarah. Athena smiled.
"What? I just thought the club could use a cool name!" Zoe said. "One that sounded mystical and mysterious, the kind Athena would like."
"And we don't know if Jon's going to stay a girl." Karyn said.
"I'm okay either way." Jon said. "I haven't really decided."
"Jon's not the only one who had a sex change." Sarah said. "Between the Babe Gun and the Random Gun, a lot of people switched. Reggie seemed like he hasn't decided. But I think Chris is going to stay a girl."
"I think so, too." Karyn said. "The three of us heard her thoughts, and sensed her feelings. She's happier now than she's ever been."
"Anyway, those still on the fence have about a month to decide before the transformation becomes permanent." Athena said. "Then the Restoration Gun will no longer work, and those who change their minds about it later are stuck. Unless someone uses the stone to change them back or something."
"That gets us right back to the point. We can't tell anyone else about the stone." Jon said. "You were there, Athena. You saw what people getting carried away with Transformation Guns is like. The stone could be a lot worse. The less people know about it, the better."
"So it's just us?" Zoe asked. "We're the only ones who know about it?"
"There's Nicole." Sarah said. "I told her about it, but she didn't tell anyone else. She didn't want to get people's hopes up, in case the stone didn't work out or anything. And now that we all know about the Restoration Guns, she doesn't have to. But next time I talk with her alone, I'm going to tell her not to tell anyone about the stone."
"You think she'll listen?" Zoe asked.
"She got zapped with the Geek Gun." Sarah said. "If she has all the geeky knowledge the Geek Gun gave her, she'll know the value of keeping secrets like this."
It was then that Sarah received a text on her phone.
