The September sun beat down on Ethan's back as he lounged in Jordan's backyard, a half-empty can of soda warming beside him. It was one of those lazy weekend afternoons where time seemed to stretch endlessly, a welcome break from the first few weeks of their senior year that had already proven to be more demanding than expected.

"So I've been thinking about our D&D campaign," Ethan said, flipping through a dog-eared Player's Handbook. "Maybe we should restart with new characters instead of picking up where we left off last time. That dungeon was a total party killer."

Jordan didn't respond. He was checking his watch for the third time in as many minutes, clearly distracted.

"Dude, are you even listening?" Ethan tossed a bottle cap at his friend.

"Sorry," Jordan said, looking up. "I've been working on something. Actually, I wanted to show you." He hesitated, then added with poorly concealed excitement, "It's pretty cool. In the shed."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Jordan had always been into building things—custom computer rigs, modified Nerf guns, elaborate Halloween props—but lately, he'd been weirdly secretive about his projects.

"In the shed? That tiny thing can barely fit a lawnmower."

"Just come on," Jordan said, already standing up.

Curious despite his skepticism, Ethan followed his friend across the yard to the weathered garden shed. Jordan unlocked the padlock and pushed open the door. Inside was exactly what Ethan expected: garden tools hanging on the walls, a lawnmower in the corner, bags of fertilizer stacked against one wall.

But then Jordan pushed aside a false panel in the floor, revealing a steep staircase descending into darkness.

"What the hell, man? When did you build an underground lair?"

Jordan grinned. "My dad's always working late, and I needed more space. Started digging last spring. Pretty cool, right?"

"Pretty illegal, probably," Ethan muttered, but he followed Jordan down the stairs anyway.

The underground workshop was surprisingly large—maybe fifteen feet square with a low ceiling reinforced with wooden beams. The space was cluttered with half-assembled electronics, tools scattered across workbenches, and what looked like computer servers humming in one corner. The air smelled of solder and ozone.

"Dude, this is insane," Ethan said, genuinely impressed despite his concerns. "You built all this yourself?"

"Yeah. I've been getting these... ideas. Like, I can just see how things should fit together." Jordan's eyes lit up as he talked. "It's like the schematics appear in my head fully formed. I just have to build them."

Ethan nodded slowly, taking it all in. This wasn't just Jordan's usual tinkering. The complexity of the equipment, the detailed diagrams pinned to the walls—this was beyond high school hobbyist level.

"So what did you want to show me?" Ethan asked.

Jordan's excitement visibly increased. "That," he said, pointing to the far wall.

Ethan turned and noticed for the first time the massive contraption that dominated the back of the room. It looked like some kind of sci-fi movie prop—a jumble of computer parts, strange crystalline structures that glowed faintly, and at its center, what appeared to be a transparent cylinder large enough for a person to stand in.

"What is it supposed to be?" Ethan asked, approaching cautiously.

Jordan followed, practically bouncing with excitement. "I'm calling it the Quantum Image Replicator. QIR for short."

"That doesn't tell me what it does."

"It creates things," Jordan said, his voice dropping to a reverent near-whisper. "Real things. From images. Watch."

He moved to one of several small pedestals connected to the main apparatus by colorful cables. On each pedestal sat what looked like action figures or small statues. Ethan realized with mild embarrassment that they were anime figurines—including several characters he recognized from shows they'd binged during previous summer breaks.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ethan said as the realization dawned. "You're trying to build a girlfriend?"

Jordan had the decency to look slightly chagrined. "Not just any girlfriend. The perfect girlfriend."

"Based on... anime characters?" Ethan couldn't keep the incredulity from his voice.

"They're just reference models," Jordan said defensively. "The machine scans them to create a three-dimensional template, then combines attributes to generate the ideal form."

Ethan stared at his friend. "You can't just... build a girlfriend, Jordan. That's not how anything works."

"I can if I have the right equipment," Jordan insisted. "And look, I know it sounds crazy, but I've tested it on smaller stuff." He gestured to a nearby shelf where several objects sat—a perfectly formed glass orb, what looked like a miniature tree complete with tiny leaves, and something that appeared to be a small moving clockwork mechanism.

Ethan had to admit, the craftsmanship was impressive. But there was a world of difference between making small objects and creating a living person.

"Even if this thing works—which I seriously doubt—it would be wrong, man. You can't just create a person."

Jordan waved away the concern. "I'm not creating consciousness or anything. Just... you know, a form. The rest is just biochemistry."

"Just biochemistry," Ethan repeated flatly. "You're talking about building a sex doll with extra steps."

"It's not like that!" Jordan protested, though his reddening face suggested Ethan had hit uncomfortably close to the mark. "Look, I just need help calibrating the final sequence. Then you'll see."

Against his better judgment, Ethan found himself curious. Part of him wanted to see if the machine would do anything at all, while another part wanted to be there when it inevitably failed so he could talk Jordan out of this bizarre obsession.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked reluctantly.

Jordan's face brightened. "Just hold these two components together while I initiate the sequence," he said, pointing to two metal rods protruding from the side of the device. "They need to be perfectly aligned, and I can't reach them while I'm at the controls."

It seemed simple enough. Ethan positioned himself by the metal rods while Jordan moved to a keyboard and monitor setup on the adjacent workbench.

"Ready?" Jordan asked, fingers poised over the keyboard.

"I guess," Ethan replied, still not convinced this was anything more than an elaborate science project destined for failure.

Jordan began typing, and the machine hummed to life. Lights flickered across its surface, and the crystals embedded throughout began to glow more intensely. The anime figurines on their pedestals were bathed in scanning light, rotating slowly as data was collected.

"Everything's nominal," Jordan called out. "Keep those conductors aligned!"

Ethan held the metal rods steady, feeling a slight vibration through them. The machine's hum deepened to a low throb that he could feel in his chest.

"Is it supposed to be this loud?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard.

Jordan didn't answer, too focused on the readouts flashing across his monitor. His expression shifted from excitement to confusion.

"That's weird," he muttered. "The energy readings are spiking. The pattern recognition algorithm is—"

A sharp crack interrupted him as one of the crystals in the machine fractured. Sparks erupted from a nearby junction box.

"Something's wrong," Jordan said, his earlier confidence evaporating. "The feedback loop is—"

"Should I let go?" Ethan called out, but it was too late.

The machine's vibration intensified, and the metal rods in Ethan's hands suddenly grew hot—not enough to burn, but uncomfortable enough that he instinctively tried to pull away. To his horror, he found he couldn't. His hands were locked in place as if magnetized to the rods.

"Jordan!" he shouted in alarm.

Jordan was frantically typing commands, but the machine wasn't responding. "I can't shut it down!" he called back, panic edging into his voice. "The failsafes aren't—"

Before he could finish, the central cylinder lit up with blinding intensity. Ethan felt a sudden powerful pull, and in a disorienting moment, he was no longer standing next to the machine but inside the transparent cylinder.

Everything happened at once. The air around him seemed to liquefy, filled with swirling patterns of light. His skin tingled painfully as if every cell in his body was being systematically unraveled and rewoven. He tried to scream, but no sound emerged.

Through the transparent walls, he could see Jordan shouting something, frantically working at the controls, but the sound was muffled to nothing. The workshop around him began to blur as the pain intensified.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. The light faded, and Ethan collapsed to his knees inside the cylinder, disoriented and nauseous. The door slid open automatically, and cool air rushed in, carrying the acrid smell of burned electronics.

"Ethan! Are you okay?" Jordan's voice seemed to come from far away.

Ethan tried to respond, but his voice felt strange in his throat. Higher, softer. He coughed and tried again. "What... happened?"

Even those two words told him something was terribly wrong. That wasn't his voice.

He looked down at his hands, and a wave of disbelief washed over him. They were smaller, more delicate, with longer fingers and smooth skin. And beyond them...

Ethan scrambled to his feet, a wave of dizziness almost sending him back down. His body felt wrong—the balance was off, the proportions altered. And there were unmistakable new contours beneath his now-loose t-shirt.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded, the unfamiliar voice rising in panic.

Jordan stood frozen, staring at him with an expression of shock that gradually morphed into something else—fascination? Awe? His mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to speak.

"The reference models," he said weakly, gesturing toward the anime figurines. "The machine must have... I didn't think it would actually..."

A particularly prominent figurine caught Ethan's eye—a red-haired female character from an anime they'd watched together last summer. The recognition hit him like a physical blow.

"Ranma?" he asked incredulously, voice shaking. "Your perfect girlfriend template was RANMA? The character who switches between male and female forms? Are you kidding me?"

"I didn't... I mean, she wasn't the only reference model," Jordan stammered. "The machine was supposed to sample multiple attributes and create an ideal composite, not just copy one character. I don't understand what went wrong."

Ethan stumbled to a small mirror hanging on the workshop wall and found himself staring at a stranger. The face looking back at him was undeniably feminine—delicate features, big blue eyes, and long red hair flowing past his shoulders. Her shoulders.

"Change me back," Ethan said, turning to face Jordan, voice dangerously quiet. "Now."

Jordan's expression shifted from shock to distress. "I... I don't know how. The machine wasn't supposed to do this. It wasn't designed for... transforming people."

"You built this thing!" Ethan shouted, the strange new voice cracking with emotion. "If you can build it, you can reverse it!"

"I'll try," Jordan promised, his own voice shaking. "I'll figure it out. I just need time to understand what happened."

"Time?" Ethan repeated incredulously. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Go home like this? What about school? Tell my parents their son is now their daughter because my best friend was trying to build himself an anime girlfriend?"

As he spoke, his anger and panic built. The air around him seemed to shimmer faintly, though neither boy noticed.

"Look, you can stay here," Jordan offered desperately. "My dad's on a business trip for the next three days. I'll work non-stop to fix this, I swear."

Ethan ran his hands—these unfamiliar, smaller hands—through his new long hair, trying to think clearly through the panic.

"This is so messed up," he muttered. "You're a freaking pervert, you know that? Building girlfriends in your basement. And now you've turned me into one."

"I didn't mean to—"

"I don't care what you meant!" Ethan shouted, slamming his hand down on a nearby table.

The beaker sitting on the edge of the table vanished with a soft 'pop' sound, reappearing instantly in mid-air across the room before crashing to the floor.

Both boys froze, staring at the shattered glass.

"Did you..." Jordan began.

"No," Ethan said, looking at his hand in confusion. "I didn't touch it. It just..."

They looked at each other, the implication dawning simultaneously.

"The transformation," Jordan said slowly. "It must have done more than change your appearance. It gave you... powers."

Ethan closed his eyes, struggling to process this new development on top of everything else. "Fix this, Jordan," he said finally, his voice quiet but firm. "Find a way to change me back. Because if you don't..." He left the threat unfinished, too overwhelmed to even articulate what he might do.

Jordan nodded rapidly. "I will. I promise. Whatever it takes."

As Ethan turned away, he caught his reflection again in the mirror—a stranger's face looking back at him with his own eyes, holding his own fear and anger. Whatever Jordan had done, whatever this machine had changed, Ethan knew with grim certainty that nothing would ever be the same.

What neither of them realized then was that in less than two weeks, they would both be enrolled at Whateley Academy, a school they'd never heard of, leaving behind the shambles of their normal lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of Chapter 01.5

Hey All!

SO, this is 2 big things for me.

My First attempt at the wonderful Whateley Academy Universe!
AND
My First Contest Entry!

There will be 10 chapters in total for my entry plus 3 flashback chapters.
I will release them daily or so (so as not to overwhelm the front page)

Likely I will be continuing this series, and no my other series are not on pause. I did slow down on them just a little bit while I go this one pounded out. But they are not put to the side.

https://discord.gg/NYjPU3auVy(link is external)
Join Me and some other people to talk shop, discuss artwork, stories, chatter, or just share fun videos or memes!

If you want future chapters ahead of my posted works support me on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/c/alyssnancyonymous(link is external)

Also, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or wanna comment.

TTFN Everyone.