As a new day came by, the sun started to intrude on the windows with its first rays of light. Her eyes reacting to its touch, she started waking up to the day's call. She looked around and started to scan her surroundings. IVs stood beside her as a small needle connected her to them, a big TV in front of her and a tray of food on the nearby desk. Anya yawned as she woke up, feeling cramped but yet still, she was fine. Images flashed through her head quickly as she remembered the reason behind why she was engulfed by these surroundings. An old doctor came into her room, carrying a big-looking report.

"Morning, Mrs. Golver. I see you're wide awake today. How do you feel?"

"Like shit." Anya felt grumpy, "How do you know I'm Anya anyway?"

"We did DNA testing upon your arrival at the hospital. We needed to find out your blood type for your surgery and we ID you per protocol. With massive transformations such as yours, from demi-human, human-wolf breed, we needed a possible way to ID you to notify your next of kin."

Anya jolted up, "What? Ah, god dammit! What next of kin are we talking about?"

"Your father."

"This is about to be a whole lot of bullshit I definitely don't want to deal with right now..." she whispered anxiously, "Did...did you inform him about...well all this?", she showcased her body.

"Rest assured that appropriate measures were taken so your father was properly informed about your condition. Now as far as that goes...I need to do some basic questions about the origin of your transformation and injuries."

"My transformation was because of a magical talking book and my injuries...because I fell down the stairs while drunk."

"Uh huh." the doctor looked at her, "And what about the stab wounds? 28 stab wounds?"

"Sharp stairs. I fell at a perfect 45-degree angle on them."

"28 times?"

"28 times. I should've honestly gone to the casino at that point."

"Mrs. Golver, I was instructed to subtract enough believable information out of you from your father, otherwise I will be forced to call the police."

"I wonder who will get in more trouble. The monster of a daughter no one can recognize anymore for not willingly talking to the cops, or the doctor who didn't notify the police immediately upon suspicion of a recently checked-in patient in the I.C.U. being involved in possible criminal activity. As stated in the Insinia and Reingard law. My body was injured, doctor, not my head."

The doctor stuttered, "We are doing this for you. We aren't against you."

"Then you should've probably not mentioned my father if you don't want to be against me."

The doctor nodded as he put the report in front of him, "Alright. I'll proceed then. You've been diagnosed with Obsulyte Invert Externalization, which is the name we decided to give the recent condition of demi-human Obsulyte users turning into full-fledged-"

"Monsters? Furries?" Anya said with a sad tone.

"I was going to say more...feral, bipedal forms. Make of that what you will. You've also been diagnosed with OIA. It stands for Obsulyte Incompatibility Reaction. Unlike an ABO Incompatibility Reaction due to difference in blood type, this condition is more...severe. There's currently no treatment and the effects are highly unpredictable, depending on the external Obsulyte type received. Some effects can be positive, however. Your contact with that different type gave you immense skin durability off combat and almost impenetrable skin durability during times where you choose to use your abilities."

"What? Then what about this?" Anya showed her hand, with the needle penetrating it.

"I said powerful inside of combat. Obsulyte users are in a dormant state until they actively choose not to be in one. Even then, however, it took a special Damascus needle with titanium and excessive force to penetrate your skin, which is fascinating nonetheless."

"Wait...what about the negative side effects?"

"Aside from that, I believe that the injuries you received are far beyond what a normal monster or a set of stairs would be able to inflict." the doctor ignored her.

"Doc?"

"We, unfortunately, haven't figured out anything else regarding your case-"

"Doctor!" Anya demanded.

The doctor paused as he sighed and fixed his glasses, lowering the tone of his voice, "Look...Ana. The Obsulyte type you received is...it's not normal. It works as a poison. The abilities it gave you will heavily protect you from external damage but...it eats you. From the inside."

Anya momentarily froze upon hearing the exact negative side effect of what her new abilities brought for her, realizing now, more than ever, how dire the situation had gotten. She mustered her strength, mimicking her best friend and being strong when she shouldn't holding in her tears and moving forward with the questioning.

"How...how much left?"

"If we are taking into account the accumulation speed recorded last night on vital organs...a year and a half, maybe two. We...we've never seen this before. I took the liberty and prescribed you a new type of medicine we produced for people with your condition. It's a painkiller infused with neutral Obsulyte, way more powerful than the normal thing. It's the only thing that can actively affect a body that's going through constant overflow such as yours. It will lessen the pain, maybe fight back against your condition but...no promises. It's a new drug so, we were unable to test the long term effects yet."

"So a year and a half before this cancer...damn. Such a tight time restraint."

"Mrs. Golver I...I have already signed the papers for your leave, given that your current physical condition is almost normal. It seems the normal boosted healing abilities normal Obsulyte users get are even more boosted for you. But if you wish to stay, I have certified experts, colleagues and the psychology department of the central hospital."

Anya took off her IV and got up, "Doc, with limited time left and this form, going out in public and spending time with a shrink is not of interest. I'm calling upon the same law that left this world amidst war. And I'm requesting that all details of this case remain 100% confidential from everyone, including and especially revolving around family and friends. I don't want this showing anywhere."

"I understand and I'll do as you please. Won't even include it in the general statistics of these types of cases."

"And are you well off, doctor?"

"Well off? As in...money?"

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Yes."

"I am, sure. Why, however, would the daughter of the richest man in the world ask?"

"Because if you have enough money to do whatever, then my dad's bribes for opening your mouth should not be of interest to you.", Anya got up, heading towards a pair of bags with bows.

"Mrs. Golver, please. I took an oath."

"So did every cop, politician and judge in Reingard. Funny how they think they'll be buried in green when they are already overflowing on it."

"You are making major accusations-"

"Everyone knows, doctor. Unfortunately, even if you speak out, you'll never be heard anyways, so it doesn't really matter. All this aside, what are these gifts?"

"A couple of friends of yours passed by yesterday...Nikki and Sonia, I believe their names were. They left you a pair of new clothes fitting for your new size. I had to, unfortunately, send them away after a long argument of them demanding to stay. We were way too overcrowded and your condition wasn't good enough to let them come into your room yesterday. I hope you understand."

"Hmm...those two. Alright, I'll check the clothes out. Anything else before you have to go? Unless there are any other medical mysteries I've got in this body."

"Yes, indeed. Your father requested that you go to your workplace after your scheduled release from the hospital today. He is informed only of your change in physical appearance."

Anya took a deep breath, "Alright, thank you then. Let me change and I'll pass by the front desk when I'm done."

"Ah, yes, before we part ways I...I need to inform you of something, for your own safety."

"Hmm?"

"You might...you might want to avoid the public."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm being entirely subjective when I say this. Recently, cases where people less fortunate than you, who don't have the same skin durability but body differences were...hunted down."

"What the hell do you mean?" Anya asked in a worried manner.

"There are multiple cases where human-animal demi-humans who swapped to their feral forms have been pursued and actively hunted down. The morgue has confirmed at least 122 deaths in the last month or so. All clear acts of violence...brutal ones too. As a doctor, I see no difference in terms of how my patients look but...the public outcry can no longer be quelled. Homes aren't safe either. There have been cases where feral patients were dragged out of their own houses and were..." the doctor paused, "Obsulyte users, especially the obviously different looking ones are getting less and less popular among non-Obsulyte users nowadays. So please, take care. I'm unofficially telling you this out of fear of ending up with another one of my patients' bodies on my hands after a small period of them staying at the hospital."

"God...what the fuck is wrong with people? This...war of power, economics, child soldiers, Obsulyte users...now this?"

"It's...dark times."

Anya exhaled, "I got the memo. Thanks doc. I'll be off in quiet...and about that medicine?"

"I have emailed you my prescription which you can use to pick up a set amount from any pharmacy, as well as dosages for morning and night times. Upon you checking out, you will receive enough for at least a month, paid by your insurance company. Stay safe, Mrs. Golver."

As Anya opened her gifts and looked at her new duffle bag and outfit, basic clothing at first and specific pieces such as shoes for her new form, she realized too, what the choice of clothing was trying to convey. A hoodie, tight jeans, gloves and thick boots...it was a matter of hiding everything her body had to show. Upon wearing the clothes and grabbing the bag, she headed down to the front desk and checked herself out of the hospital, receiving the medicine and heading out. She passed quickly through the streets, going through as many alleyways that she could. Nothing on her way looked unorthodox or dissimilar to what daily life in the bustling capital would be like. Same old bright day without a cloud in the sky, people going about their day, some more happy than others to attend their routine, until she finally reached her workplace. As she stepped in, she was surprised to see a store completely empty of wares, with dim lighting and no one around.

"The hell? What happened here?"

She heard muffled crying nearby and went to check on it, before realizing who it really was.

"Wait...Sonia?" Anya approached her.

"Ana? Ana!" Sonia lodged at Anya, hugging her tightly.

Anya held her hood, trying to hide herself from Sonia, "Sonia! What the hell happened? Are you ok?"

"N-No...I was fired! Same with everyone else who worked in the store! Nikki got away but...they took everything, even the wares!"

"What?! Who did it?!"

"Your...dad."

Anya got extremely angry, quickly enough for Sonia to realize, "That jackass. That, is it."

Sonia tightened the grip on Anya's hand, preventing her from going up while fuming.

"Ana please, relax!"

In the motion of her head turning back, Anya's hoodie fell down, fully revealing her face to Sonia. In a jerking motion, she pulled back in an instant, covering her face with both her hands.

"N-No!"

Anya dropped down while still covering her face, trying to push herself away from Sonia as much as she could. Noticing her mood completely changing, Sonia wiped away her tears and attempted to approach Anya.

"Hey, Ana...it's ok. I've already seen it anyways. Back at the hospital."

Anya crumbled up as she let go of her cover, feeling it is useless, "Sorry I..."

"Yeah, I know. Especially with the uprising nowadays. Look, I'm sad, yeah, but...Maria is upstairs. Sarah and Wendy stayed behind with Misha to keep her busy."

Anya got surprised, "Maria?! I...why is she here?"

"I don't know. But your dad is waiting in your office. Please..."

Anya reminded herself of her anger, getting up and encouraging herself to go on, "I got it. I don't want to leave you but..."

"I know. I'll wait for you, ok? Nikki is out too, to get me something to eat, so she will be back shortly."

Heading upstairs, before the door to her office, Anya's older sister was eagerly waiting to see her. Covering herself up once again, she had hoped to completely and quickly bypass her sister and avoid 'that' conversation. With her reflexes, however, Maria who was already in an alert state turned around to face Anya. She was constantly feeling her tail, rubbing it against her long-sleeved shirt, trying to calm her anxiety.

"Ana..." Maria melancholically said.

"Maria...I...I see that you're still fidgeting your tail. Never letting go, huh?" Anya tried to make small talk for her façade.

"'That sensitive part is only at the base of the tail, Ana..." Maria giggled, trying to break the ice.

"Heheh...yeah. I'll go in for a bit now."

Maria spoke quickly before Anya could escape her once again, "Little sister...please. I need you to tell me something. Why...why are you avoiding all of us? It's been 3 years ever since any of us saw you, not even on your birthdays or New Year's. Wendy and Sarah, as well as I all rely on Misha for news on how you're doing."

"I just...I don't want to be around that place."

"That place...or us? Answer with honesty."

Anya answered with a trembling voice, "Both."

"Misha was the only one that remained with you anyway. I know now, way better than the others who are still escaping what you went through, that we ignored the obvious but...I'm an asshole. I'm sorry." Maria began to rub her tail faster.

"Huh?" Anya let go of the door, "Maria?"

"We all realized it a little bit before you left, why exactly you were like that...we can only praise you, at least for Misha's sake, for what you did. But...dad..."

"Maria, wait. What does all of that even mean?"

"Having you being surprised over a heart to heart only makes me realize it more. Ana. Valian began to tell me what had been going on back then, a few days after you left with those two out of the city. When I told Sarah and Wendy...we are all incredibly sorry."

"No reason to be apologetic now. You guys lived your lives and that's all that matters. At least Misha was kept out of it."

"Sacrificing you to live our own lives made it unbearable to live anymore."

"No one was sacrificed, Maria. Come on, don't go all drama queen and make it bigger than it is."

"Facing things the way you do...it reminds me of that friend of yours, back when we were in Dirunon. Ana...please. Show me your face. It's been 3 years already."

Anya avoided Maria, "No. Not now..."

"Ana...please. I want to see you again. I want to see my sister again!" Maria jumped Anya, pinning her against the wall and uncovering her face.

Maria was left in awe by what happened, looking at Anya's new body and face, unable to believe that the person standing in front of her was actually her little sister.

"I told you, not now god dammit!" Anya pushed Maria away, her face starting to tear up, "Why don't you ever fucking listen to me?! Not then and not now! Had you all just listened to me through your green bills, you'd have known all the bullshit I was forced into! All the time I spent since mom disappeared just to forth fill a seat and look at you all going out and having fun! All the screaming and the punishments, thank god I had Vali and Misha as a baby back then! Just listen to me for once! Had it not been for Dante, I'd still be exactly what dad wanted, and right now, I both pity myself for who I was, shitting myself every time I saw his face just pass by, let alone come to me, as well as what I've become!"

Maria began sobbing as she moved backwards. Her swift movements revealed her tender arms to Anya for a brief moment, through her long-sleeved shirt. Anya stopped her emotional outburst immediately, grabbing Maria from her hands and pulling her back close to her. Maria seemed scared, not because of the monster Anya had become, but because she knew that through her words and tears, her always smart and cunning younger sister was about to receive yet another unwarranted burden to bear.

"Ana, no-", she resisted in vain, unable to escape Anya's grip.