The Moon King was happy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd grinned this much. The memory of the battle spiralled around his head and he loved it. It had been so easy. He'd expected so much more from a god, but he supposed that her weakness shouldn't have surprised him. After all, she had spent 100 years as cold stone.

Her new best friend hadn't been much use either. Killing him had been almost as good as killing Amaterasu. The Moon King had wanted him dead for a long time.

The Moon King sat in his throne room surrounded by the coloured shadows cast by the stained glass windows. The room wasn't large. It didn't need to be since he rarely tolerated guests. It was more of a place for him to sit and remember battles. The walls were covered with relics; each holding a memory of an enemy he'd defeated. There were glaives, shields, crystals, helmets – dozens of ancient objects from the mortal world, as well as the celestial plain. Even the plum carpet was a relic he'd had taken from the palace of one of his old enemies.

In his hands he held the mirror Amaterasu had carried on her back. She'd looked magnificent when she'd stepped on to the moon. If there had been any way to turn her back in to stone at that moment he would have done it. She'd have been a wonderful addition to his collection. He already had a row of stone celestials in the palace courtyard. How wonderful would it be to have a goddess to go with them…

Still, at least he had the mirror as his prize. Moving to the back wall of the throne room, he studied his trophies. He was always amazed by how primitive everything was and yet somehow it was fascinating. Strange how mortals lived without technology… the celestials were even worse. They could have anything they wanted on that plain of theirs and yet their lives were as primitive as the mortals'.

Moving everything took a while. Every ornament had to be lifted carefully. The collection had taken hundreds of years to assemble and some of the old tools had brittled so much with age that he was worried they would snap. Every prize was important.

But the mirror was his proudest achievement. He set it in the centre, grinning as the light from the electric lamps on his desk glimmered across the engraved surface of the instrument. Perfect. Standing back, he watched the patterns of light on the mirror. He'd never seen anything shine like this before.

But suddenly he frowned. The battle had been exhilarating, but something about it bothered him. When he'd had Amaterasu and her friend cornered against the Moon Cliffs, he swore they'd jumped just before he'd knocked them off with his spear.

Only cowards took their own lives. Amaterasu was no coward and yet she had chosen to leap to her death rather than stand her ground. He'd wanted to kill her himself.

Or maybe she had stood her ground... It had been difficult to tell whether he'd knocked her off or not.

The Moon King returned to the domed desk in the middle of the room where he'd placed his spear handle. It was stained with the goddess's blood. Had he knocked her from the moon or had she jumped? He remembered grinning just as the spear was about to pierce her throat, but then she had been gone. He wanted to think he'd killed her, but every time he did a dark uneasiness filled his chest. He'd never missed a target before. She should have been his.

Her friend had fallen with her, which was also irritating since he'd had the Moon King's sword in his hand at the time. No matter how hard the Moon King had tried during the fight, he hadn't been able to get it back.

There was a chime from the door and the panel beside it glowed a pale blue. Sitting back in his throne behind the grey desk, the Moon King calmly folded his hands across the smooth metal. He didn't want his men to see him concerned…

… but there was no need to be concerned. Amaterasu was dead. Maybe she had jumped, but he was the one who had forced her to. He still claimed the victory of the battle. He grinned, ignoring the uneasiness that still lurked inside him.

"Come in," he called. As he spoke, he pressed the small panel beneath his desk to activate the doors at the end of the narrow room.

A soldier entered and saluted. The Moon King couldn't remember his name. He'd never really seen the point in learning the names of those beneath him. Besides, they all looked the same in their silly uniforms and stilted shoes.

"Your highness-"

"Did you find my sword?"

The soldier hesitated. "I'm afraid not, your highness."

The Moon King curled his fist and then quickly uncurled it as he tried to ignore his frustration. He'd been without it this long, a little longer wouldn't hurt… though it was infuriating.

The soldier cleared his throat. "It will have fallen to the mortal plain with Amaterasu and-"

The Moon King picked up the spear handle. As soon as he touched it, green light spilled from the ends and the air around the weapon fizzed. "Don't speak his name."

The soldier swallowed, his nervousness making him unsteady on his stilted shoes. "As you wish, your highness."

The Moon King frowned. The soldier had red shoes. Only the captain wore red shoes. Who had put this idiot wreck in charge of the others? He needed to pay more attention to what was happening in the palace. Maybe it was even time to learn the names of soldiers, though the thought almost made him grimace.

"You, man, what is your name?"

"Raik, your highness."

Idiotic name. "Raik, take some men and go down to the mortal land. Find where our enemies fell and then find my sword."

"Your highness? They could have fallen anywhere."

"Then you'll have to look everywhere."

He glanced at the blood on the spear. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that there should be more blood. "Find the bodies and bring them to me. I don't care how long it takes."

That mongrel had survived Orochi and every other monster he'd thrown at her. He was just as bad as well. How had he survived that ark? The monsters were supposed to have killed him before the celestials! Idiots! He'd practically handed him to Yami on a plate…

He needed the bodies. He needed to know he was rid of them for good.

And if he wasn't… well, it give him the chance to kill them properly himself.

The sun was up early, the weak rays brushing lightly against the snowy ground and reflecting brilliantly from the pools of icy that dotted Wep'Keer. Ammy seemed to be back to her normal self as she rolled a giant snowball round, must to the delight of the Oina children.

Issun watched her from atop Oki's shoulder. Usually he still rode around on Ammy, but he'd wanted to get a good look at her from a distance. What he saw bothered him. The wound on Ammy's side had closed, but a pink line had been scoured in to her skin. It didn't look as if it would ever fade.

"That has to be some weapon that could that to a god," said Issun.

"It's a sad sight, but perhaps in time it will disappear," said Oki.

Ammy didn't seem bothered and it certainly didn't seem to be hurting her as she picked up speed with the snowball. Rolling it back to the children, she wagged her tail and then dashed away to leap over a fence. Isusn grinned. It was good to see her back to her playful self, though he still worried. Occasionally Ammy still went quiet, especially at night. She'd taken to pacing the village as soon as the sun set. She'd always climb up to one of the ridges where she could look down and see everything, including Laochi Lake. She'd sit there for most of the night staring at the moon. Often Oki would join them in his wolf form but neither he nor Issun would speak. Questions were useless. Whatever had happened, Ammy had to bear it herself. Issun had tried getting her to draw in the snow with her paw but the only symbol she ever made was the moon.

"At least she's better," said Oki. "She's not limping and she certainly has her strength back."

"Yeah." Issun smiled as Ammy dashed round and round the tiny iced pool in the centre of Wep'Keer. She seemed to enjoy being with the villagers. They'd kept away from the village as much as possible but today they'd arrived to collect supplies, as well as to say goodbye to Tuskle and the others. It was time to be off and Issun was having troubling bundling up his excitement. It would be brilliant racing around with Ammy again and he knew that she was keen as him to be on the move.

She'd been restless as they'd stayed with Oki and nobody had been able to persuade her to rest. She was constantly pacing or sniffing the air. She was eager to look around her land to see that everything was in order. Through a conversation of simple questions and barks she'd told Issun that she had rested for long enough.

"I've been thinking that perhaps I should go with you and Amaterasu," said Oki suddenly.

Issun glanced at him thoughtfully. He liked Oki and Ammy seemed to as well. She'd spent a lot of time play fighting with him in his wolf form during the past few days.

"I haven't seen any danger and I believe the village is safe," Oki continued. "Besides, I'd hate for Amaterasu to be injured again. You and Amaterasu have fought with me against those twin demons. You know I can keep pace with you."

"The company would be good but…" How did Issun put it without sounding selfish? He'd been looking forward to it being just him and Ammy again. Just like old times.

"It's all right, Issun. I understand. You and Amaterasu are very good friends. All right, I'll remain in Kamui, but I shall travel with you until we reach the edge of the land." He didn't sound angry or annoyed. There never seemed to be any emotion in Oki's voice, but somehow Issun sensed that he was reluctant. Issun kinda felt sorry for him, but it just wouldn't be the same having Oki around, though he felt guilty for the way he was thinking.

"The goddess comes," said Oki.

Ammy was dashing towards them at full speed. Issun grinned. She'd seemed so miserable and weak when Oki had pulled her out of Laochi Lake and yet now she was just as he remembered. The yellowness was gone from her fur, leaving a colour that was crisper than the latest cover of snow. Her eyes were bright and there was a slight hint of mischievousness as she stared at Issun. He knew what was coming, but Oki seemed caught offguard as Ammy leapt up at him, knocking the Oina warrior flat on his back. Ammy licked his mask and then turned to Issun, but he'd already leapt off Oki's shoulder and was bounding across the snow.

"Nope! No wolf slobber for me thanks Ammy!" he called.

If wolves could smile, she would have been grinning as she jumped up from Oki and bounced across the snow after Issun. He couldn't outrun her and she was on him in moments. She licked him hard.

"Yuck! Bad Ammy! No wolf slobber! Yuck! Yuck!" said Issun, jumping up and down as he pretended to be angry while Ammy stared at him, her tail wagging. "All right, Furball. I take it you're ready to go then now you've beaten your snowball rolling record?" She barked and Issun jumped on to her head. "Well, let's move it then, Furball. Mush!"

She sprang towards the village entrance. Issun clung to her fur hard. "Come on, Oki!" he called, looking back to see that Oki still lay winded in the snow.

Ammy slowed as they reached the edge of the village and then stopped. She looked around, suddenly tense.

"What's up, Ammy? You hear something?" said Issun.

She often did this. One moment she would be running happily or rolling in the snow and then she'd freeze, suddenly becoming alert. It was what made Issun certain that something was about to happen to the land. Ammy was agitated. Though she couldn't explain what was happening, it was clear she was ready for trouble.

And there was trouble almost as soon as they left the village.

Comments would be appreciated. I'll hopefully have another update Friday or Monday. I've started making drafts of later chapters too and i've discovered that Waka is the biggest pain ever when it comes to writing!!