A petite, auburn-haired girl

The 'Ready Room' that Sonja was brought to was small, with a bed tucked against the back wall and room for two chairs and wall-mounted computer. It felt sparse, clinical. She'd peeked into a few others as she walked along, each looked identical, likely on purpose. This was meant to feel like becoming someone new, and part of the illusion was that she would be waking up as a new person. She caught glimpses of her body in reflections on the glass of some of the closed doors as she walked. Normally, she would've felt a tinge of repulsion looking at her masculine face, even if she tried to keep her current body healthy. Sonja likened her current body to a hand-me-down car a kid inherits from their parents: it's probably not what they want, but takes them places if they keep it in good condition. Finally, she was going to trade up to something new, and travel in the style she always wanted. She already felt that disconnect with her reflection, as anticipation grabbed at her from within.

What if this body that she ends up in isn't right either though? What if it reminds her of someone she knew, or it doesn't feel like it represents her well? There were all these nerves that orbited the unknown, and they grew bigger and bigger until she had been led to Room 4. Curiously, there was a second Room 4 across the hall, but that door was already closed.

Re-Vital staff motioned Sonja to the bed, where some plain clothes were left. A white t-shirt, some sky blue pajama pants, some plain boxer-briefs. They were really serious about wiping away any threads of identity that they could... after giving her some privacy for a moment, she slipped out of her jeans and sweatshirt, removing everything and piling it up on a chair. Even her phone had to go, until there was nothing of hers left. Staff returned once she was dressed in the basic clothes, her currently masculine form no longer very hidden by bulkier fabrics, and traded her personal belongings for the Ascend receiver.

"So I just..." Sonja made a motion where she put a hand to her face as she sat down on the bed, and the staff nodded. One man, one woman, both in their mid-twenties, smiled at you.

"Just put on the receiver, lie down, close your eyes, and listen to the voice prompts in the headset." The staff remained standing near Sonja's bed as she lay down, and after a moment of hesitation, affixed the mask to her face. She felt a slight static cling, sort of like a balloon that had built up a charge, but in moments she didn't even notice the mask was on her face. She gave the staff a final look before closing her eyes.

Pleasant music started to play in the Ascend headset, it sounded like she was at a spa or something. It was relaxing, as she listened to a soft voice. "Hello, my name is Hilda, I'm Hideki's digital assistant. We're going to sync you up for the tether now, so please stand by." The voice was soft and soothing, almost like she was being sung to sleep. Sonja didn't move a muscle the whole time.

"The tether is ready to engage. Imagine for a moment that you are lifting into the air, that the world is drifting away. For a moment, you're weightless." This voice prompt was almost too good, as Sonja really did feel weightless in that moment. Had it begun, or was she just being hypnotized?

She was tempted to try to open her eyes, but Hilda caught her. "The tethering is in progress. You'll feel the world start to come into focus again, but keep your eyes closed and your body relaxed. Focus on the music. Right now, you're asleep. I am influencing your brain to produce delta waves, just as if you were in a deep sleep or deep meditation. This is all like a dream, but soon you will wake up to your new self. You're already sending signals to your new body, and it's sending them back to you. You are already fast asleep inside your new form, breathing in and out. Inhaling and exhaling, peacefully present as your body and mind work as one subconsciously."

That thought filled Sonja with so much joy, even if she wasn't even sure if she was dreaming or not anymore. It felt like she was more relaxed than she had ever been. That she was already enjoying the restfulness of her new form.

"The tethering is complete, initial sync time 26:42," the AI said calmly. Had it really been nearly a half hour since she closed her eyes? It felt like a minute, tops. She really had been resting in her new body, then... "Welcome back to the world, you may open your eyes now. Please remember, take everything slowly and don't overexert yourself until you understand your new body. From all of us at Hideki, we hope you feel like you have ascended."

Cute, Sonja couldn't help but smile a little at that sign-off.

She was smiling. She could feel the twitch of her lips, the movement of her cheeks as she did. She was hyper aware of the sensation, since it felt so different already...

Sonja opened her eyes, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, taking a large breath. For a moment, she was scared to look down at her body, to reveal whoever she had become. To delay the inevitable, she turned her head to look over at the door, where a little 4 was painted. The assistants from before, the man and woman, stood there smiling, as if they had never left. Did the procedure not work, or something? Sonja was confused.

Finally she looked down. She saw a t-shirt, and blue pajama pants. But... her body... it was different! Two lumps appeared on her chest, rising and falling with her breathing. She'd tried to simulate this appearance in the past, but her body frame had always felt out of place... but now she had slender arms, slender shoulders, to go along with the shape! The chest wasn't massive, perhaps a B-cup, but they felt larger given that her whole body was smaller it seemed, particularly the ribcage. She sat up a little further, peering down at her stomach, this petite little waist she had that the shirt clung to! It was so tiny, her bellybutton peeked out from between the shirt and pants, and her waist looked so soft...

Her eyes trailed down further, as she lifted her legs up on the bed. The hips widened, rather dramatically--at least compared to her waist, as the legs and hips still were rather slender themselves, defining a clear feminine shape. Further down, her bare feet looked so small, with carefully manicured but plainly polished toenails to boot.

She sat fully upright, feeling her hair tumble over her shoulders. She hadn't even realized her hair was so long until that moment! Or at least, longer than she was used to. Glancing at it, Sonja saw her reddish-brown hair tickle against her. The brief sensation made her jolt upright a bit more, like someone had brushed a hand across her back. She blinked, in shock for a good long while, before turning to the staff.

"Is there... a... mirror?" Sonya asked slowly. Her voice was different, high pitched, with a feminine timbre, but her words were monotone. She felt like she spoke like a robot, it sounded off, but the important part was that she sounded nothing like her deeper voice! She choked up a little, putting a hand on her sternum as she fought back tears.

The staff opened up a drawer embedded in the wall of the room, and pulled out a hand mirror, handing it to Sonja. It felt big in her hand, surprisingly so. Or, maybe, just her hand was smaller... she looked at her face. She didn't know what her paired body's face looked like, and it didn't matter at the moment, because she almost recognized the face she was staring at. It looked so similar to her original face... more like her mother or sister, really, but not quite. Her chin was small, her cheeks dainty, as was her nose. The eyes, coupled with the nose and mouth, were shaped just enough that she could recognize the influence her old face had, but...

...it looked perfect. This wasn't her becoming someone else. This was Sonja becoming herself. Her most true self.

She couldn't help it, the tears started to form. Happy tears, of course! The Re-Vital staff sat down with her, so she was able to hold onto someone, to let her tears of joy flow from her body. She wasn't sure if it was all her own feeling, recalling in the tether that there was someone else in the mix, sharing those emotions since Hideki hadn't figured out how to alter that yet.

...Someone else. When she finally was able to compose herself, the two staff members smiled at her, holding Sonja each by the shoulder.

"Are you ready to meet your partner, Sonja?" they asked, using her preferred name to refer to this new incarnation of her. Sonja nodded, looking forward to seeing someone else who would be going through the same thing with her, from the other side.

"Good, we've got him ready in his room. We'll have you two introduce yourselves, talk a little about things like your preferences and hobbies that you want to keep doing in your current body, and then we'll start practicing your speech and movements, okay?"

Another nod. Sonja was ready.