As expected, but with a twist, the moment Lass and Anya returned, everything played almost as they expected, everyone but Yuno was surprised when they saw Anya's new form, whereas he had a visual image he tried to convey from Lass's memories. However, Ikarisa instead waddled around for about half an hour, going back and forth as she tried to contain her anger, lost between worry and wrath, as the others pointed out the obvious and messed around with Anya's new form, gradually being able to get used to it.

"Stupid, but you lived. This tail of yours though...it's massive." Yuno compared his tail to Anya's, "I always did want something other than scales on mine."

"Kind of reminds me of Risa's fluffy hair now that you mentioned it. And her size in general is just way bigger!" Terna looked around Anya.

"You know, it's been hours since I've swapped to this, I kind of accepted but not gotten used to it, but you guys starring and comparing isn't making me any less embarrassed." Anya scratched her head as she felt awkward, "But it's not everyday this happens so...yeah."

After another couple of minutes, Ikarisa stopped finally going back and forth as she kept constantly thinking to herself, coming back with the rest of the group and standing in front of Lass and Anya as Terna and Yuno backed away, having healed both Lass and Anya before getting them ready for another round of scolding.

"Best hope the others step in to stop her," Anya whispered at Lass.

"Fingers crossed." Lass sighed as he whispered to Anya.

Her quick recap and interrogation started, "So you're telling that in the middle of the night, just because you ended up winning a card game, you forced Lass into a dungeon that was later revamped to Corosta's National Treasury, a literal safe of a country's most valuable assets, all for a...' love potion' who's existence was solely based on rumors-" she was interrupted by Anya.

"Actually, demon demis used that to replenish numbers and increase birth rates after all their war campaigns where they lost a lot of troops so...it's not that big a rumor." she tried to explain.

"You'll kill us both!" Lass worryingly said, knowing full well that Anya was sober enough to understand, her realizing what she had just done right after he whispered at her.

A face of chaos, death, destruction and devastation was all that remained on Ikarisa when she got interrupted, the souls of a thousand innocents screaming and begging to be released from the chains of eternal damnation as they came into the field of view of that grimace. Anya could only lose her wits, same with Lass, who was barely able to pinch Anya to stop her before she made an error more fatal than going inside the national treasury of a country while treating it as a game, getting face to face with a massive beast or fighting a literal god. All bravery and determination was lost before her presence, as if they were mere children who did an act so out of the boundaries that they had set out for them that they expected nothing more than all of their belongings, rights to freedom and physical integrity being taken within an instant. Another surprise to them after, Ikarisa did not choose violence, as her face returned to its normal angry and worried state, eventually calming down enough after freezing the souls inside their bodies to continue her interrogation.

"Now, I will continue. So, after all that, you got into a fight with a giant crystallized titan, almost got squashed, found a magical, talking book from the Previous Era, which miraculously is not magical but the Gate Of Knowledge that is now stuck on Anya as an app and program on her phone instead, and you came back bleeding head to toe with Anya as a now giant furry with an undisclosed amount of time where she will need to endure this form. Correct?" Ikarisa looked at both Lass and Anya, arms folded with an angry look.

"Uh...yea. I think that's all." Anya said with her head, ears and tail down.

"What the heck were you all thinking, are you-?" Ikarisa was interrupted by Terna.

Both Lass and Anya started thanking Terna for their looks alone, sweat rolling down their faces as they had thought that they'd be forced to fend off this colossal threat by themselves.

"That is not to say it was in vain, I mean...a magical talking book with infinite knowledge! That could come in handy, right?"

"Not so much magical. The Gates have long been scientifically proven to have the same life into them as other organisms, as Obsulyte which they are abundant of actually have the same properties of life as water does. The problem is, they're more akin to things that are volatile like dark matter, so no less dangerous. Studied all about them from the absolute abundance of time I had back in Kaci. Though I strongly remember that something was said about the Gate Of Knowledge being much more 'alive' than the others. Like being full-on conversable, intelligent and other things."

"Yeah, it had a little command from me after taking my body one step up closer to literally being man's best friend. Its name is Omnicode-something long after, but just say Omni and it'll be fine. As far as the phone thing, I literally have zero idea, I blacked out because of Gardardian vodka and having the soul beaten out of me, so ask the big guy here for anything more."

"Yes, because I'm so well versed in knowing the how and why a jacked up version of Worldpedia can play transformer into all sorts of things, material or code." Lass sarcastically said."

"Happens with every gate anyway. Obsulyte signatures are unique to an extent, and Gates are normally created with said unique signatures to be able to be held only by their 'creators' or whatever you want to call it. Kind of how I am Lass's Guardian, or 'Link' as they came to call it nowadays, but not completely similar. Adaptability comes in all of the Gates, most of them being able to better suit the current era or style of their user. Some can't do it through, but the gist is the same, they shift to fit, and all have their own special properties, subtle or very much noticeable that are hand crafter for their creators."

"So remind me why we didn't make Yuno the know-it-all nerd of the team before the flying book thing?" Anya said with a smug.

"It's not like I clearly told everyone my story and how I was stuck at the forest, casually studying the exact same thing and specializing in that one area for the better part of two decades. Or is it?" Yuno replied with sarcasm, "Mind you, not all Guardians are able to talk or do what I do. So count yourself lucky."

"I'd rather subtract myself from lucky." Anya kept bugging him.

"Alright you two, settle down." Terna tried calming them both down, turning at Ikarisa, "So, Risa, have you calmed down enough now, sweetie?"

"I have...somewhat. But I still can't believe that we got so enormously lucky and unlucky at the same time, essentially trading Anya's body for this Gate. Gates are extremely important, even if unusable by us, it means that we at least have control over them enough to let them fall into the hands of someone actually dangerous, like Makaro or Kikaro. The only way a Gate is created, is by absolutely extreme levels of Obsulyte powers, that are greater or similar to what you'd label as a god...but considering how much hurt it took to get our hands on a paperback fantasy novel with probable old, yellow pages, I'd rather use it as a fire starter in our next camping trip.", Ikarisa looked at Terna with a straight face.

"Risa is such a sweet and caring girl, almost completely similar to Lily and her personality...how the hell do you guys manage to get her so pissed off all the time, considering all the other pressing and horrible subjects she has on her shoulders? To me, it's wild how she doesn't get pissed off half as much for those as she does to your childish behavior!", Yuno whispered at Lass.

"I don't know but...I guess it has something to do with us not being an ethereal problem, but rather physically existing by her. Just guessing. And yeah...I got carried away, and so did Anya, and we know that. We basically called off all of these childish things back there, burying it along with that titan, golem or whatever thing and...Her. But I'll never be able to not admit to something. Proudly or not...I enjoyed it, despite the danger. It felt...good. That whole side adventure. Selfish for thinking so, I don't know, but it really felt nice at the very, very core. Plus, with Risa worrying once we got back. Yuno, I don't know how to explain this, or if I'm truly an asshole to my very core, but...I really, really feel so good when I see Risa worried for us when we're back. It's almost as if I...I can't contain these words anymore, I really can't. Something makes it so incredibly hard for me to explain this, but it honestly feels that way. You can poke my head, go ahead and see what I mean for yourself instead!" Lass whispered back at Yuno, confused as he mixed up his words without even realizing it.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"God bless..." Ikarisa rubbed her head, "I have such a massive headache."

"How about we get going instead of hanging around here for longer? Some fresh air ought to do us all some good! Let's clean everything up and be off!" Terna proposed, trying her best to defuse the situation.

"Let's just make sure of the GPS first. Maybe set a couple of settings off to get us close to the Corostan treasury to do this with the big guy, but hey, you didn't see that as well as the bottle I snuck in." Anya softly mumbled.

"What was that?" Ikarisa overheard her.

"Nothing, just my psychosis talking over how I turned into a furry monster and everything." Anya didn't dare to provoke her any further.

"My mood for breakfast is completely ruined at this point." Ikarisa frowned, "Give me this." she grabbed the car keys from Terna, "No breakfast. Everyone is in the car now and I'm driving. We're beam lining to Gardard to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen."

"Uh no offence Risa but your directions aren't exactly top-notch," Lass spoke with a low voice.

"Humanity has evolved into using guns, laser weapons, Obsulyte ones included, almost colonizing the moon and much more, so a GPS system is already a standard inside car of this generation. Two button presses away from eliminating any sort of need for doing any direction-seeking yourself!" she showed him the installed GPS system, pointing the obvious.

"Can she even drive though?" Yuno whispered.

"Eh?" Ikarisa got surprised by Yuno's question, "Of course I can! I've done it before, many times too!"

"Honestly, you'll probably do better than Anya...sorry, but you're driving really was something back at Delpha." Terna looked at Anya.

"Hey, no offence taken. Shall you ever need a driver to get you from A to B with extreme speed and epic, action movie-style maneuvering, call me." Anya shrugged, "But we will take the scenic driving of Risa this time."

"Everyone. Car. Now." Ikarisa pointed at the car.

"Yes ma'am!" everyone dashed around collecting their stuff and stacking them all in the trunk.

No one dared to say another word, Ikarisa already being as agitated as she was, and acted in unison as everyone swiftly got into the car. Yuno sat on Terna's head with Terna sitting next to Ikarisa. Lass and Anya both sat in the back seat again, not daring to say a word or start an argument as Ikarisa oversaw the entire packing before process that ended within minutes and without any troubles.

Ikarisa exhaled deeply, "I know you said that it'll be hard...coming back to the light and taking care of things, including everyone here. But at the same time, I can't do much else other than worry and scold them." she softly giggled, "I remember a time when Cecilia would do that to me, you know. Maybe I got one too many things off her during that period. Caring in her way as I am in mine...and to think it happened so fast. You will never be able to deny that they all at least changed me, rapidly so, when we got back together or even when we were little. If only Angelica could get some of the confidence and spark they gave me...hmm? Oh, I just briefly thought of the Sister Knights when I talked about my friends, that's why. Plus, when looking at Lass...it's hard for me not to remember both Angela and Angelo. Or even Freya." Ikarisa kept mumbling to herself, losing focus as she stood and calmed down on the grassy hill, getting lost in the breeze.

"Umm, Risa. We got everyone packed and ready. Are you calm enough to drive? We made sure to separate Lass from Anya as well, he will be taking the front seat alongside you." Terna approached her calmly to avoid startling her.

"Hmm...Yeah. Sorry for getting a bit rough back there."

"It is fine, I understand. I think we all do, actually. And to me, it's honestly very interesting seeing how you function off-stage and close to everyone! My friend used to do that back in the day too, she was kind of timid and to herself all the time!"

"That she was...but it's more than that. After I slowly started to remind myself of the past when I got comfy around Lass, rather quickly too, I also remembered what I had lost. People, especially those close to me went away in a fashion similar to what Lass and Anya did. Battles and carelessness. I don't look the part of some old lady that lived it all, because it's far from it. The only thing I have ever done is cycle through wars and battles, experiencing the same that I couldn't change. To me, I never earned the zeroes that are next to my age's number, because it has just been a monotonous repeat...but it's only now that I see a way out of it. Something in this world has changed. We're walking on the road to something completely new."

"Will gladly walk with you! I don't quite yet understand what that 'different' thing is yet to cause change, but you can be sure that I'll tell you when I find out!"

"Just talking from what little experience I know.", Ikarisa chuckled, "Never lived in this world without some sort of fear and a weapon by my side, to the point of having to get Lass to teach me the basics of how the world worked, but I'll experience that too."

"That being said, better not leave everyone experiencing more waiting! After all, you've got the keys!"

Ikarisa got snapped out of the moment, "O-Oh, yeah. Let's go."

As the last two got inside the car, the engine revved up as they set off once again. Same day as before, the times spoke of chaos and uncertainty that the weather did not reflect, as they made their way to another landmark destination. The drive was rather long and the silence of everyone after they faced an angry Ikarisa, followed it. Only after a while Terna began to break the silence, her and Yuno being the only ones not to be targeted by Ikarisa's already thinly stretched nerves.

"So uh...Anya. I guess you'll be needing a new look with this form, right? Some clothes and stuff that fit?" Terna smiled.

"Uh...I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh, come on! There are plenty of species out there with this form, Anya! You don't have to be ashamed or anything!"

"Species of what? Animals? Monsters? The last time I checked, I was a human...granted, I had some more assets than a human would, but still. It's their form. Not mine. I've been waking up with a different body than this for the past 20 years...how do you think I should feel right now?" she reminded herself of her situation in the silence of it all, being stuck in the same loop she has been trying to get Lass off.

"It's not that big a deal! Really! We just have to get used to you again, granted, you make that really easy most of the time!" Terna encouraged her.

"Name one thing that can possibly come out as positive from this." Anya folded her arms.

"For one, your tail! Look at just how beautiful and fluffy it is...plus, if I recall correctly, the bigger the tail amongst Wolven, the more they consider one an Alpha!", Terna happily said, "And don't forget, Lass and Ikarisa can do all sorts of crazy things with their weapons, like the Key Of The Gate or the Gate Of Eternity and stuff Yuno told me about, and now you have your very own unique one!"

"Yes, a phone app while Risa has a lance that can summon things and Lass has a sword that summons other weapons. Boy, don't I feel cheated on for having my weapon be shit compared to the main character of the story, who lives their power fantasy like a badass?"

"Life's a bitch, but it is what it is.", Lass said with a smug, finding the perfect moment to make fun of Anya.

"Just wait until I get beefed up and I'll show you bad-assery. Believe me, because you're sharing the stage here, big guy."

"Hey, never said that I'm more important than others or that the world should be revolving around me because of my powers, of course, everyone has their own unique life and story to tell. And everyone is equally important to something or someone else in that life." Lass explained, "But that still doesn't change the fact that your Gate is boring as hell.", he snuck a last one in.

"Do not even attempt a comeback and leave it as is," Ikarisa warned them.

"Too sad to do so anyway. Now for the Alpha thing, uh...not that simple. It takes more than just a fluffy tail to consider someone an "Alpha". And don't you think you're being a little too...primal? No offence, but said rituals date so far back in Wolven culture, I too struggle to remember them. Sure, yeah, culture and stuff, but at the end of the day, it should be condensed to civilizations and countries, not individuals. Just look at Sandaco, the demon land. We went to their treasury by accident, and apparently, spikes are a huge part of their culture. And I really mean a huge one. The thing was like 90% spikes and 10% rock monster."

"I mean, it still doesn't make it any less pretty to look at! Come on, cheer up and only look at the positive side."

"I'm just praying fanart when I get famous doesn't end up exactly how I'm thinking it will. Though let's be honest, Birdie is a thing, and so is Semori! And RebelArt. As soon as I'm shown on TV kicking ass or closing major company deals...yeah." Anya said with a straight face.

"How about we get our head out of the gutter first?" Yuno proposed.

"Screw you, I'm 23 and hormonal, it's what I think of doing all the time. Or like a good 30% occupation of my maximum brain capacity until I have a go at it, find out what it's all about then get bored of it and it goes down to like 5%."

"And what's the other 70% of your brain filled with? Epic fan fiction where you wear spandex and save people from danger?" Lass asked.

Anya paused briefly as realized that Lass came extremely close to hitting the mark, "No comment."

"You're not gonna get much after that," Lass said, looking at Yuno.

"Have you guys ever heard of 'Too close too quickly?" Yuno sarcastically said, sitting atop the flat part on the back seats.

"Yes, I have. Unfortunately or fortunately, I struggle to know, this is starting to become a foreign subject to me," Lass folded his arms.

"Hey, come on! It doesn't hurt that much, getting close to the people you click with and having fun!" Terna happily said.

"Not saying that it isn't, but at this speed of getting close, we will have a crash or something. Hell, we survived yesterday and are heading to tomorrow, that's enough of a miracle already." Lass shrugged.

"I still have not scolded you as much as I'd like to, you know." Ikarisa somewhat annoyingly said.

"Don't worry. The next adventure will be girls only anyways. You will come to live in my world very, very soon after that." Lass ominously said.