The dense woods north of Whateley's main campus lay shrouded in darkness. Moonlight filtered through the autumn canopy, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor as Ethan, Kira, and Jordan moved silently between the trees. The night air carried an unusual stillness—no insects chirping, no nocturnal creatures rustling in the underbrush—creating an eerie, expectant atmosphere.

"This way," Jordan whispered, consulting a small device that emitted a soft green glow. His glasses reflected the light as he adjusted settings, transforming him momentarily into something otherworldly. "Security does their shift change in exactly seven minutes. That's our window."

Ethan moved carefully, her borrowed hiking boots finding solid purchase on the uneven terrain. The dark clothing she'd chosen—black jeans and a navy sweater—helped her blend with the shadows, though something about the forest seemed to render conventional stealth unnecessary. It felt empty, abandoned, as if the natural world had withdrawn from this area entirely.

"Something's not right," Kira murmured, her amber eyes scanning the darkness with unnatural acuity. In the dim light, her blonde hair with its distinctive pink streaks appeared muted, but her tension was evident in the slight twitching of her ears—the first sign of her fox features manifesting. "Even during our hike, there were animals. Now there's nothing."

Jordan seemed oblivious to the forest's unnatural quiet, his focus entirely on his equipment and their destination. "We're getting close. The energy readings are spiking."

Ethan felt it too—a strange tingling sensation spreading throughout her body, growing stronger with each step toward the artifact's location. Unlike the familiar buildup that preceded her teleportation incidents, this was different—a resonance that seemed to vibrate at the cellular level, calling to something deep within her transformed being.

"I can feel it," she said quietly, unconsciously rubbing her arms as if trying to dispel the sensation. "It's like it's... reaching for me somehow."

Kira's expression darkened, her ears now fully visible atop her head. "That's what worries me."

They crested a small rise and paused at the edge of a clearing. Before them lay their destination—a restricted area now transformed into a makeshift research site. Portable floodlights stood dark and silent, their power conserved during the night hours. Advanced monitoring equipment surrounded a central point where the artifact rested, partially covered by a specialized tarp. Barely visible magical wards created a shimmering boundary around the perimeter, and two security guards made regular circuits at opposite ends of the clearing.

"This is more intense than I expected," Ethan whispered, doubt creeping into her voice. The scale of the security operation suggested the faculty took the artifact far more seriously than they had anticipated.

Jordan didn't seem deterred. He reached into his backpack and withdrew a device that resembled a flattened sphere with multiple antenna-like protrusions. "I prepared for this. This will create a temporary blind spot in both the technological and magical surveillance. We'll have about three minutes to enter before the systems reset and compensate for the interference. Once we're inside, we should be able to move freely for a while longer."

Kira's tail had fully manifested now, lashing behind her in agitation. "This went from trespassing to something that could get us in serious trouble," she hissed, though she made no move to retreat. "We're talking detention for weeks, possible suspension, maybe even confined to Hawthorne for 'safety assessment.' Are you sure this is worth it?"

The question hung between them, heavy with implications. Ethan stared at the distant shape of the artifact, partially visible beneath its covering. The tingling sensation intensified, accompanied now by brief flashes of unfamiliar imagery—geometric patterns, star-filled voids, and stranger things that defied description.

"I need to know," Ethan said finally. "If there's any chance this connects to what happened to me... I have to try."

Jordan checked his watch. "Security shift change begins now. They'll converge near the southeast checkpoint for the handoff briefing. We have a fifteen-minute window at most."

With a deep breath, Ethan nodded. "Let's go."

Jordan activated his device, and a subtle ripple passed through the air. The magical wards flickered briefly before developing a small gap, like a curtain partially drawn aside. The three students slipped through it, moving with the careful precision of those who knew that discovery now would mean serious consequences.

As they approached the center of the clearing, Jordan deactivated the security blind spot device, preserving its battery. "We'll use it again to get out," he whispered. "For now, we stay quiet and get what we need quickly."

The artifact lay fully exposed now, the specialized containment tarp having been partially removed by the security team during their assessment. Unlike their first glimpse in the forest, they could now see its entirety in detail. The object's surface continuously shifted between states—sometimes appearing solid and metallic with precise geometric patterns etched into its surface, other times seeming to liquify into an oily sheen that reflected impossible colors. Vein-like structures pulsed beneath translucent sections, carrying what looked like bioluminescent fluid in complex circuitry patterns.

The most striking feature was a five-sided aperture on its uppermost section that occasionally dilated and contracted like an iris, revealing glimpses of an interior space that seemed to defy Euclidean geometry. Around this opening, a series of crystalline protrusions arranged in a spiral pattern emitted the blue-green luminescence they had seen before, but now the light pulsed in what appeared to be a deliberate, almost mathematical sequence.

Jordan immediately began taking readings with his makeshift equipment, his expression shifting from excitement to fascination as data streamed across the small displays. "This is incredible," he whispered. "The quantum fluctuations are unlike anything I've ever recorded. It's like it exists in multiple states simultaneously."

While Jordan worked, Kira maintained a defensive position, her fox features now fully manifested—ears alert, tail extended, patches of pink fur visible on her arms and face. "Something about this feels wrong," she said, voice low. "It's like it's watching us somehow."

Ethan barely heard them. The tingling sensation had intensified to an almost painful degree, and the artifact's pulsing light seemed to synchronize with her heartbeat. Without conscious thought, she found herself moving closer, drawn by an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Brief flashes of what might have been memories—though certainly not her own—flickered through her mind: vast constructs of impossible geometry, beings of light and shadow moving through endless corridors, mathematical equations that seemed to restructure reality itself.

"Ethan, stay back," Kira warned, but her voice seemed to come from very far away.

"These readings are insane," Jordan muttered, adjusting his devices frantically. "It's somehow syncing with your quantum signature, Ethan! The patterns are aligning perfectly with your unique energy matrix. It's almost like... like it was designed for you!"

The artifact pulsed more brightly as Ethan approached, its surface becoming more fluid and active. Strange symbols or circuits flowed across its metallic skin in complex patterns, accelerating as the distance between them decreased.

"Ethan, don't get any closer!" Kira's voice cut through the strange haze that had overtaken Ethan's thoughts. "Something's happening to it!"

Too late—the artifact responded to Ethan's proximity with sudden, violent energy. A surge of power arced from its surface, connecting with Ethan's chest in a blinding flash. Jordan's equipment went haywire, displays blinking with incomprehensible data. The artifact's surface became animated, parts of it extending toward Ethan like pseudopods reaching for prey.

"I can't move!" Ethan cried, her body frozen in place as an invisible force began pulling her toward the artifact. Her clothes and backpack began to fragment into microscopic particles, dissolving away from her body like sand being washed away by an invisible tide. The materials seemed to lose cohesion at a molecular level, breaking down into a fine powder that swirled briefly around her before being drawn into the artifact's pulsing aperture—a process fundamentally different from her teleportation accidents where items simply remained behind. This was a methodical deconstruction, almost analytical in its precision, as if the artifact were cataloging the chemical composition of everything touching her skin.

Kira lunged forward, grabbing for Ethan's arm. "Hold on!" she shouted, but a field of energy repelled her, throwing her backward with considerable force. She landed several feet away, momentarily stunned.

"It's some kind of dimensional integration field!" Jordan shouted, frantically working with his equipment. "It's targeting you specifically! Your quantum signature!"

The pulling force intensified. Ethan struggled against it but found herself lifted off the ground, suspended in the air before the artifact. Its surface parted like a liquid membrane, opening to reveal a shifting interior filled with pulsing light and geometric structures that seemed to fold in on themselves impossibly.

"Jordan! Do something!" Kira screamed, recovering her footing and circling desperately, looking for a way to approach. Her fur stood on end, her entire body radiating panic and fury.

"I'm trying!" Jordan replied, his fingers flying over his devices. "It's creating some kind of resonance with her warper energy! The quantum patterns are shifting dramatically!"

Ethan felt herself being drawn inexorably into the artifact, its surface enfolding her even as she fought against it. The sensation was both terrifying and strangely familiar—like the original transformation that had changed her from male to female, but deeper somehow, reaching into the very fabric of her being.

As the artifact pulled her completely inside, suspending her within its translucent exterior, Ethan remained conscious but immobilized. She could see Jordan and Kira outside, their frantic movements seeming to occur in slow motion. Within the artifact, mechanical components and organic substances merged with her form. Sparks and currents of energy flowed into and through her body, each pulse bringing a new cascade of transformations.

Her perception expanded impossibly—she could see the quantum structure of reality itself, the delicate threads connecting all things, the hidden dimensions folded into the fabric of existence. And beyond that, something else—a presence, vast and ancient, pushing against the boundaries of reality, seeking entrance through the dimensional tear the artifact was creating.

For a brief, terrifying moment, Ethan felt herself becoming a conduit—a bridge between worlds, a doorway for something that shouldn't exist in this reality. The presence pushed against her consciousness, alien yet somehow familiar, as if recognizing something of itself in her warper abilities.

Outside, the entire clearing erupted in brilliant light. Security alarms blared across the campus, and multiple security personnel converged on the area, weapons drawn. Chief Delarose's authoritative voice cut through the chaos:

"Nobody touch that thing! Establish a perimeter!"

Officers with specialized equipment rapidly surrounded the artifact, maintaining a careful distance. Jordan was forcibly pulled back despite his desperate protests.

"You don't understand!" he shouted, struggling against the security officer restraining him. "My readings show it's physically changing her! We need to get her out now before the process completes!"

Kira resisted more violently, her fox features fully manifested in her distress. "I'm not going anywhere without her!" she snarled, crouching in a defensive stance until a security officer managed to speak calmly to her.

Chief Delarose spoke urgently into his communicator: "We need Dimensional Response Team Alpha immediately at the north woods site. We have a student integrated with the anomaly. Repeat: human integration in progress. Warper specialist required ASAP. This is a Code Indigo situation."

A flash of light announced the arrival of Professor Webb, teleporting directly to the scene. Her silver-streaked black hair was pulled back in a hasty bun, and she wore what appeared to be pajamas beneath a hastily donned lab coat. She immediately began analyzing the artifact and Ethan's condition.

"The artifact is creating a sympathetic resonance with her dimensional energy pattern," Webb announced, her voice clinically precise despite the urgency of the situation. "Her warper abilities are somehow amplifying whatever this device is doing."

Inside the artifact, Ethan's body underwent dramatic transformations. Metallic components emerged from her skin then sank back in. Her arm transformed into what appeared to be a cybernetic appendage before shifting back. Her features altered to become more feline, then insectoid, then returned to human. Each transformation was brief but complete, cycling through different forms as if the artifact were testing different configurations.

Professor Webb attempted to approach the artifact but was stopped by Delarose's outstretched arm.

"Wait. We're detecting dimensional incursion attempts," he warned, consulting a handheld device. "Something's trying to break through from outside the campus."

A security technician with monitoring equipment reported urgently: "Sir, the school's outer wards are under attack! Multiple breach attempts! We can't locate the source—it's coming from... everywhere and nowhere."

"Whatever it is," Webb added grimly, "it's using this artifact as a focal point!"

Jordan's confiscated equipment continued to function, displaying readings that alarmed the security technicians. "These readings suggest massive dimensional energy spikes," one said. "There's some kind of communication attempt happening through the artifact. It's using the girl as a conduit for something much larger."

Two mages teleported into the clearing—one elderly with flowing white robes, the other younger and dressed in practical tactical gear. "Stand back," the elder commanded. "We need to establish containment immediately."

They began rapidly enhancing the existing protective wards around the site, adding additional layers of thaumaturgical protection. Glowing runes of Enochian derivation interwoven with quantum-anchored protection sigils appeared in concentric rings, their geometric precision establishing multi-phasic barriers against extradimensional incursion. As the mages reinforced these magical defenses, Ethan continued to transform within the artifact—her body cycling between human, cybernetic, and various biological mutations. Each form appeared more stable than the last, as if the artifact were experimenting, refining its approach through iterative quantum state optimization.

"The Hilbert space boundary is collapsing!" the elder mage shouted. "We need to seal off the probability tunnel! Focus on the fifth brane harmonic! It's attempting to establish a permanent M-theory bridge!"

"We know she's being used as a dimensional anchor point," Webb replied impatiently. "The question is how to stabilize the quantum foam disruption before it cascades beyond our containment capabilities!"

Jordan frantically tried to explain to the security personnel holding him: "The artifact is reformatting her at a quantum level! It's like it's testing different configurations for her body and powers! Please, you have to listen to me! This isn't random!"

As the mages completed the first major protective circle, a brilliant flash of energy erupted from the artifact. The shockwave hit the newly reinforced magical barriers with tremendous force, creating a spectacular light display as the bulk of the power was redirected upward in a towering column of iridescent energy that momentarily outshone the moon. The residual force that escaped the containment swept outward in a diminished but still potent wave, knocking several people off their feet. The attack on the school's outer wards suddenly ceased, and the artifact's glow dimmed significantly, its movements slowing as though exhausted by the failed breach attempt.

"We've temporarily blocked the dimensional bridge," the elder mage announced, looking grim but relieved. "But the girl is still connected to it. We need to work quickly. Whatever was trying to come through... it hasn't given up."

Security teams quickly established a full containment zone. Jordan and Kira were held at a safe distance while the mages continued their work. Ethan remained suspended within the now-subdued artifact, her body still cycling through different forms, though more slowly now.

Within hours, a full containment tent had been erected around the artifact and Ethan. Medical personnel stood by with specialized equipment while the mages continued their complex rituals. Jordan and Kira were being held in a small security tent nearby, separately debriefed about the incident.

Jordan sat across from a stern security officer, his glasses slightly askew from the earlier commotion. "What made you three decide to investigate a restricted area?" the officer demanded.

Jordan hesitated, torn between scientific honesty and self-preservation. "The artifact was emitting quantum signatures similar to Ethan's," he finally admitted. "We just wanted to understand how it connected to her transformation. I think it's some kind of 'change engine'—it modifies quantum states."

In another section, Kira was being interrogated by Chief Delarose himself. Her fox features had receded somewhat, though her ears and tail remained visible, betraying her continued agitation.

"Ms. Devereux, you've shown more sense than this before," Delarose said, his tone less accusatory than disappointed. "I need to know exactly what you observed about the artifact's effects."

Kira's defensive posture softened slightly at his approach. "It was targeting her specifically. Like it was... hungry for her," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. "She didn't touch it—it reached out and grabbed her." She looked directly at Delarose, her amber eyes intense. "What are they doing to get her out? Is she going to be okay?"

Inside the main containment tent, a team worked frantically to extract Ethan. Professor Webb created precise warper fields to isolate dimensional energies while the two mages maintained the containment circle, adding inner workings of increasing complexity. Dr. Abel Quintain monitored Ethan's biological readings on specialized equipment, calling out changes as they occurred.

Headmistress Elizabeth Carson arrived, her blonde hair perfectly styled despite the hour, her commanding presence immediately shifting the energy of the operation. "What's our situation, Professor Webb?" she asked, her voice cutting through the tension.

"The artifact has integrated with her on a quantum level," Webb explained, not pausing in her complex manipulations of dimensional energy. "It's using her warper abilities as a conduit for something. We can extract her, but there may be... lasting effects."

The elder mage added troubling information: "Whatever was attempting to breach our dimension was powerful. The artifact appears to be a tool—a way to reshape reality. The student has been partially reconfigured already."

With this assessment complete, the extraction procedure began in earnest. Professor Webb stepped forward, her usually casual demeanor replaced by intense focus. She removed her lab coat, revealing specialized equipment strapped to her forearms and torso—devices designed to amplify and direct her natural warper abilities.

"Beginning phase-space destabilization," Webb announced as she raised her hands. The air around her fingers shimmered with distortion effects, reality itself bending as she manipulated the fundamental properties of spacetime.

Her movements were precise and choreographed, each gesture creating complex patterns of energy that mirrored the artifact's own quantum structure. As she worked, small tears in reality briefly opened and closed around her—controlled micro-rifts that demonstrated her mastery over dimensional manipulation.

"Creating counter-resonance field at 438.7 terahertz," she called out, her voice strained with effort. A sphere of warped space began to form around the artifact, visible as a distortion in the air similar to heat waves but far more pronounced. "Initiating harmonic inversion now!"

The elder mage and his younger colleague positioned themselves at precise points around Webb's workings, their own energies flowing into specific runes that pulsed with increasing brightness. The younger mage sweated visibly with the effort, while the elder maintained a serene expression despite the obvious drain on his resources.

"Establishing Klein-Gordon countermeasures against probability recursion," the elder mage intoned, his hands weaving complex patterns in the air. "Stabilizing brane boundaries to prevent cross-dimensional bleedthrough."

Medical staff stood ready with specialized equipment, their tension evident as they monitored Ethan's life signs through the artifact's semi-transparent surface. Dr. Quintain calibrated a device resembling a defibrillator but with exotic components that occasionally shifted position as if they existed partly in another dimension.

"Quantum signature isolation complete," Webb announced, her hands now trembling with the strain of maintaining such precise dimensional manipulation. "Beginning extraction on my mark. Three... two... one... NOW!"

With a final surge of power, Ethan was suddenly expelled from the artifact, propelled outward with considerable force. She landed on the cold ground several feet away, completely unconscious and unclothed. Medical personnel immediately rushed forward, checking vital signs before carefully transferring her limp form onto a waiting stretcher. As they secured her to the gurney, a female EMT gently covered her body with a specialized thermal blanket designed to stabilize dimensional fluctuations while providing both warmth and privacy. The artifact immediately went dormant following the ejection, its lights fading to barely perceptible pulses as if it had exhausted its energy reserves.

"Vital signs stabilizing, but quantum signature is altered," Dr. Quintain announced, reading from his monitoring equipment. "Brain activity is off the charts—multiple consciousness patterns. She's physically intact, but there are significant changes to her energy pattern."

Headmistress Carson surveyed the situation with practiced calm. "Get her to Doyle Medical immediately. Full isolation protocols," she ordered. "I want the artifact secured and moved to Research Facility Omega. Bring in the two students who were with her. They're witnesses, not criminals."

As Kira and Jordan were escorted from the security tent toward campus, they caught a glimpse of Ethan being loaded into a medical transport. Her vermillion hair seemed more vibrant somehow, with an almost metallic sheen in the emergency lights.

"Did you see her?" Jordan whispered to Kira. "She looked... different somehow."

Kira nodded grimly, her ears flattening against her head. "Whatever that thing did to her, it's not over."

As they were led away, security personnel encased the artifact in a specialized container lined with magical symbols and technological safeguards. Headmistress Carson watched the medical transport depart, her expression troubled.

"Professor Webb," she said quietly, "I want your assessment. What exactly was trying to break through? And why was it so interested in one of our students?"

Webb's response was lost as the security team escorted Jordan and Kira back toward campus, the night's events hanging heavy between them.

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

End of Chapter 10a

Note 1 - So, sorry for the long delay. I had a total computer BORK when working on this.
Here is the link describing it: https://www.patreon.com/posts/update-129360611

Also just a note. If you see a problem in my story? Like continuity issue or otherwise? Feel free to message/notify me. I'm just a one person show after all. I miss stuffs. And I thank EVERYONE who has been helping me catch things!!!

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.

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TTFN Everyone.