A/N: Another chapter for another Friday! I had this chapter written out for a couple days but decided to post it on a special occasion. Friday is a special occasion, right? In any case, enjoy this chapter, which I would have named, "In Which Things Get Real Serious", but I realized that was the name of another chapter and figured it would be sloppy of me. Not that I'm already not a sloppy author. But hey, I like to pretend.

Chapter 37: In Which Ammy Fights Old Battles Alone

It was strange being without Link. She had briefly felt this way before, when the Lucky Mallet knocked Link through the hole in the wall of the Emperor's Palace and she thought he had run off to hide in shame and anger. But this was different. She knew he couldn't catch up to her this time—the rainbow had disappeared and the door of the ark was sealed shut, leaving behind no trace of where it had been. Her back felt strangely cold and empty.

"Dammit, this is getting too serious for me," she muttered, blinking her eyes fiercely. They were merely adjusting to the light, of course. Or lack thereof.

Finally, her eyes actually did adjust, and she took a look around the ark. It was surprisingly spacious. Her first instinct was to explore around the bottom of the ark for hidden treasure, but when she tried to jump down she was abruptly stopped by a large, semi-transparent man wearing a garland and a toga.

"No, Okami Amaterasu, please do not jump!"

His eyes were wide with concern, and she looked at him strangely.

"I know sometimes life is not working out as you might like, and it's really hard to deal with, but understand there are people who need you out there, Okami Amaterasu! Please do not take your life!"

"Oh, that's what you were talking about," Ammy said, stepping away from the ledge. "I was really just trying to explore, and besides, I'm a god, I don't think I would die that easily. Thanks for caring, though."

"Phew," the Celestial sighed in relief. A scroll along the bottom of the screen announced that his name was Marco. "That is good to hear then. I have not seen you in so long, dear Okami Amaterasu. It is good to see that you are well."

"And it's good to see that…that, um…you're taking death well…" Ammy replied, trying to be considerate. It was hard when you had to watch your words carefully and not make any accidental death jokes. On second thought, she decided that it was better Link wasn't with her after all.

Marco smiled sadly. "I have come to terms with my death, yes. So have the others. They wish to speak with you as well, before you charge into battle to avenge us."

"Avenge?" mumbled Ammy. She thought she was just here to tie up this crazy adventure and go home (or die again and become a statue). Oh, and to save the world, too, she supposed.

"If you would be so kind as to leave us an offering, I will give you what I can," Marco told her, and to be polite she bought as many exorcism slip Ls that maxed out her items.

"Good luck, beloved Okami Amaterasu!" he called after her as she headed to the center of the ark and down the path with a glowing figure that she interpreted to be Ninetails.

"Amaterasu!" Another Celestial sparkled into being in front of the chamber, this one titled Hakuba. "It has been worth waiting under the cold ice to see you again. We thought we would never get to see you once more after we fled the Celestial Plain on this terribly fated ark. Good luck on this battle, Amaterasu. Even though I am but a spirit, I will utter my most heartfelt prayers to your cause."

"Thanks," was all Ammy could say before Hakuba disappeared again. She had kind of hoped that—gah, it was stupid. It was stupid, but…she had kind of hoped that Hakuba would join her as a sort of battle companion or something. Even when she was Shiranui, she never battled alone.

A portal whisked her to an open battlefield, eerily similar to the one from the top of the castle on Oni Island. There were even lightning clouds that conveniently thundered in the distance.

The ugly, black smoke Ammy recognized from the corpses of her slain enemies rose and swirled to meet her in the form of Ninetails, who grinned and loomed craggily over her.

"You thought you had done in for me, hadn't you?" he chortled. "Well, the Lord of Darkness called back my spirit before it was completely destroyed. His power is strong here, fake god. And so am I!" He lifted his pronged sword high in the air. "Prepare to feel the wrath of JUSTICE!"

"Feh. This is just the same old thing, isn't it?" Ammy said, and promptly struck the pseudo-jedi master with true divine justice.

"DIE, MINIONS OF EVIL!" she shouted maliciously, cackling as she zapped the oncoming shawled foxes one by one. She dispatched Ninetails much more quickly than before, and spat in his good eye before dealing the final blow.

"Stronger, you say?" she repeated. "I say too weak."

And once and for all he disappeared in a flourish of grass and flowers.

"Okami Amaterasu!" Hakuba cried when she emerged from the chamber. "It seems one being of darkness has left our midst. If we could cleanse the ark of its darkness, then I am sure it will return to the Celestial Plain. I wish you good luck on the rest of your journey. Farewell."

Hakuba's spirit went limp, and she disappeared in a small sprinkle of sparkles.

That was kind of sad, Ammy thought. She moved on to the next battle, which looked like an ox with a sword. Who the hell could this be? She wondered.

"YOU DARE FORGET ME AGAIN?" Crimson Helm roared. "FOR THAT YOU SHALL DIE! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ammy was finished before she even had time to remember Crimson something-or-other's name.

"Ah, that's right!" she exclaimed. "Crimson Helm!"

"CURSE…YOU…" Crimson Helm rumbled bitterly, before bursting into bloom.

Ammy whizzed on to the next battle, but was stopped by another Celestial named Sado.

"Lo and behold, it's the guardian of our home, the Celestial Plain!" said Sado. "Okami Amaterasu! I knew as soon as the ark began to stir that it was you." He paused, pondering something with a frown. "Why did such tragedy befall us? The ark was built by the lunar civilization as a rescue boat. When the monster attacked us, we all fled here, thinking it to be safe. Who knew we would all be devoured in the end. Please, Okami Amaterasu," Sado said, looking her in the eyes. "Relinquish us from the darkness. Good luck."

Damn, the Celestials' lives sucked, Ammy thought as she was warped to a battle with the Spider Queen. This battle was slightly harder than the other two only because she was depressed by the Celestials' story and because the Wii remote was being its irritating self as usual and refusing to connect lines. In the end, however, even the Spider Queen joined her brethren beings of darkness in Yomi, or wherever it was they went after this.

"Okami Amaterasu!" Sado called urgently. "I can feel another presence on this ark. Could it be that man of the moon tribe?"

"Yeah, he was the one that let me in here," she said.

"Oh. It seems you are one step ahead of the game, as usual," Sado chuckled abashedly. "But you must return the Celestial Plain without delay! I pray that you will watch over from the heavens, and that you will bestow peace upon us all."

His spirit, too, left the ark, leaving Ammy with a few winking sparkles shimmering in the air.

"Alright," Ammy muttered to herself, entering the chamber of Orochi. "I guess it's that time again."

"What time, foolish god?" Orochi sneered. Ammy noticed he was wearing his True Orochi armor this time, and that there was already sake in the rivulets. She remembered the past two times of sake disputes with Link during Orochi battles and couldn't help chuckling a little.

"Time to kick your ass for the fifth time, that is!" she cried.

"Five?" Orochi scoffed. "It can't have been that many. You're overestimating yourself."

"Well, I'm counting this one too, even though it hasn't happened yet," Ammy said, "but if you really want, I'll count it out for you. So there's the time on the Celestial Plain, as Shiranui. Then there's the time 100 years ago as Shiranui. And the time in real time with Susano. And then the time again when I came through the Spirit Gate with Oki 100 years ago. Add this, that's five."

"You can't count what happened 100 years ago twice, that's cheating!" Orochi hissed.

"Take it like a man," was all Ammy's reply, and after some tedious busy work making all the heads drunk, she sent that tenacious bastard's ass away for good.

"One more," she told herself, to keep her spirits up. Once again, she was stopped by a Celestial with strange hair named Azumi.

"Okami Amaterasu, I'm afraid my fleeting spirit will not last much longer," she said. "But I am glad to have met you before I depart. Long, long ago, you and Orochi fell together to this world. Here, you waited for the chosen one to put an end to Orochi's life. When at last Nagi was born, you killed that dreaded monster of the moon. You may not have realized it, but that was one ripple in a wave of darkness! This is your last battle. I hope I can hold out long enough to see your victory."

"Don't worry, it'll be a breeze," Ammy assured her, and portaled her way to a fight with Blight, who she wasn't sure exactly why was there.

Blight was so unimportant, in fact, that he couldn't say any last fighting words before she finished him off.

"Okami Amaterasu!" Azumi exclaimed. "It has begun at last. The waves of darkness have begun to roll. All this evil power…I cannot hold on much longer! Good luck, Amaterasu…and tell the man of the moon tribe with the golden hair…tell him…we remember he fought beside you on that fateful day…and are forever grateful."

Azumi's sparkled out of existence, and Ammy thought her sparkles looked like tears.

"Okami Amaterasu…"

Ammy had forgotten about Marco. He appeared before her at the central portal. "Just being able to see you with my own eyes…I can't tell you how much joy it brings me. It pains me that I can't remain with you until the end, but I know that you won't let us down. I pray that you will always shine brightly, Amaterasu!" And he too disappeared, leaving her totally, completely, all alone.

"Well, Link," she said. Her voice echoed sadly in the dark, spacious ark. "Leap before you think, right?"

A/N: Next chapter: Secrets are disclosed and the lord of darkness is unveiled! Stay tuned and don't forget those reviews!