And so Liana and Izabel were suddenly back in the oak forest, in the full morning light. At least when travelling through the gate she was not exhausted as when she floated between the worlds under her own power. Liana noticed that this time the gate was not set up in Inaya's house, but in a wide clearing among the oaks. Akhina was waiting for them, accompanied by a still irritable Ellen and Derek.

“What is that creep staring at again?” Izabel asked her in a whisper when she caught sight of him.

Indeed, the moment Liana and Izabel had come out of the gate, he'd stared at them both with an eager look that made Liana feel very uncomfortable. The onnobolda's tight-fitting combat attire was probably a little more distinctly feminine than what she normally wore, but still…

She looked at Ellen, who'd long given up on responding to her boyfriend. And then people wondered why she didn't want anything to do with all this hassle.

"We're not staying here, we're going straight to Inaya's house." Said Akhina who immediately left.

“There will probably be more people and things coming through this gate today and then we can't get in the way. For the two of you, your job is done for now.”

“Does that mean we can go back now?” Ellen asked.

“No, the council first had to look at everything and clear things up. But if I have understood correctly, the STC has been defeated and all their technology has been rendered useless?” replied Akhina.

Liana nodded.

“Then it is only a matter of time. Although I suspect that Liana will still be needed as an ambassador. But first you may rest.”

Ellen looked reproachfully at Izabel.

“Why did you abandon us?”

Her gaze looked even more stern, if possible.

“Who abandoned whom? I did my best to help Liana who was in mortal danger. And all of humanity was in danger from at least two different sides. You have abandoned me and her and the whole Earth!”

Ellen clearly didn't agree.

“You can't expect high school students to save the world, can you?”

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Isabel was furious. “I never expected much from you for a long time. And now even less of you, Mister Creep McCreeperface!”

That last comment was aimed at Derek, of course.

She grabbed a dazed Liana's hand and dragged it toward Inaya's house.

“I'm going to wash myself and change clothes so that I look normal again. See you stay away from that creep of a friend of yours, because I have a very short fuse for anything that threatens me today. I've seen fights with deaths today and they might inspire me now!"

They left Akhina with the bewildered couple and went into Inaya's house to freshen up. Liana could still feel the tension between the three when they were long gone from sight.

*

“Ah, it feels good to be me again.”

Liana was dressed in her usual sweater again, her curls hanging loose in all directions. Izabel looked more gothic, in black jeans and her Flying Spaghetti Monster T-shirt.

“There's nothing like looking a bit normal…” she muttered.

After a whole meal, they came back to the oak wood as two very new girls, and found Akhina talking to a very uneasy Derek. They had missed the conversation, but he was a little pale.

"I would go find your girlfriend, and try to make up for what you can." They heard Akhina say as Derek got up in a bad mood and went into the woods.

"What's his problem?" asked Isabel. "Ah, I've told him of myths and legends of male Gorchbolds in this world, and of male-devouring forest nymphs in tales of your world."

Isabel looked at her. “But those are fairy tales, aren't they? Men are not monsters. And you are not man-eaters…” she said.

“Ah, some of the men in your world are as good as the monsters of our stories…” Akhina said.

“But they're not all like that…” Liana said, thinking about her best friend Joris. “No, and we may be like forest nymphs but not dangerous man-eaters, as long as you don't really piss us off and harass us…” Akhina said.

"That's a joke, isn't it?" said Isabel.

“Maybe…” Akhina said darkly, who seemed to be thinking of something else. “But that's not the problem now. That boy must be kept away from all female Nummerfa who are afraid of influences of 'the shadow of Oranderra', for his own health. I hope you can leave soon.”

Liana saw that Izabel was taken aback at those last words.