I'm making a few changes to the whole video-game thing – hope people don't mind! First off, the celestial brush. I know this is a massive part of the game but the idea of a wolf a paint brush is a bit daft (Ok, so my dear old Moon/Toast King is also daft but heigh ho :) Ammy will still have her powers but she won't be stopping mid-fight to paint a picture, lol.

Also, distances. I'm increasing them because I don't think there's much tension in a land where it only takes 5 minutes to get somewhere!

Liza... hope you like this...

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Falling snow smothered every sound as they left the village. All Issun could hear was the soft padding of Ammy's paws as they sunk through the cold carpet. The quietness was strange. The flurries of snow were slanted, but he couldn't hear any breeze.

If Ammy felt as uneasy as he did, she didn't show it. After a quick glance around, she was off, her feet tearing up the snow and the frozen grass beneath it. Issun didn't hear Oki change but the Oina warrior was suddenly beside them, panting in his wolf form as Ammy picked up speed. He couldn't keep up.

"Thought you said you could keep pace with us?" said Issun as they left him behind. He was about to laugh, but Ammy suddenly halted and Issun had to fight to avoid being thrown off her head.

"Ammy?" he said.

She was still, her ears pricked and alert. Issun found himself freezing as well. During the past few days there had been several moments when Ammy had suddenly tensed, but she had never felt like this. This was how she felt before they'd run in to monsters. Slowly Issun looked around, but the snow blurred everything. There seemed to be nothing but ice and fog.

Ammy's ears moved, but she remained statue-like. A moment later, Issun heard the quiet thumping of broken snow as Oki caught up with them "What's wrong?' he asked, stopping beside Ammy in his blue-wolf form.

"Ammy hears something."

None of them moved. Issun strained to hear whatever had bothered Ammy, but the land was silent, the soft snow making nothing as it slowly gathered on the ground. It was settling on Ammy too, covering her red markings and forcing Issun to constantly move to avoid being buried alive.

Oki changed. It was rather unsettling to watch and Issun couldn't stop himself from feeling queasy as everything under Oki's skin writhed. His limbs stretched and his blue colour shrivelled. Luckily he always had his clothes on when he appeared in human form, otherwise it was have been really gross. Issun liked Oki, but not that much.

Silently Oki stood and drew his sword. The snowy light glimmered across the blade as he stood ready, listening.

Ammy surged forward so fast that Issun was almost swept away by the wind. Leaping through the knee-high snow, she threw herself at a black tree that was half-buried by the snow. Issun hadn't even seen it in the hazy air.

"What ya doin', Furball? You can't climb!"

But she could. The tree groaned as her claws drove in to the bark and with a frightening speed she hauled herself upwards. There was a scream and Issun saw a flash of gold and green as someone leapt from the one of the high branches, landing clumsily in the deep snow. The person quivered and tried to stand. Issun almost drooled at the long golden hair that ran down the girl's back.

"It's a babe!" he cried. "Hey, Ammy, back off!"

Ammy jumped from the tree and growled. Issun fell off her but he didn't care. He couldn't stop staring at the girl. A golden waterfall… Wow… Pretty hair… Like sunshine or golden peaches or something like that.

The girl turned. Issun almost choked. It was a man! "Blech! Gross, gross, gross! He's all yours, Ammy!" Men should not have long golden hair. Freak! Plus he was wearing the brightest, yuckiest green shirt Issun had ever seen, along with bright blue trousers and silly yellow shoes that looked like small stilts.

Oki pointing his sword at the man's neck. "Who are you? Were you spying on us?"

"Um… ah… just wanted to see the nice doggy," said the man. Issun found himself frowning. Weird… There was something familiar about his voice. Not so much the sound of it… just the accent, but he couldn't place it.

Ammy roared as she sprang. The man shrieked and covered his face and even Issun found himself flinching. He'd seen Ammy tear in to hundreds of monsters but it was a little freaky to see her ready to rip a human apart. She was acting as if she'd come face to face with Orochi again.

Just as Issun thought her claws and teeth were going to meet the man's flesh, she suddenly halted, altering her jump so that she landed right in front of the man instead of on him. She growled, her hot breath clouding the air.

"This 'doggy' may not be able to talk but she's not stupid!" said Issun. "I'd say she knows you from somewhere. Who are you?"

"Moi? Um… I…"

"I wouldn't lie if I was you," said Oki, moving his sword a little closer to the man's neck.

"I'm a member of the Moon Tribe!" said the man quickly.

"The what?" said Issun. He thought for a moment. Wait, he'd heard that before. He was sure his grandfather had mentioned them in a story once, and he was certain it hadn't been a nice story either. There had been lots of monsters in it. He strained to remember it, but it was no good. He shrugged. "All right, well whaddaya want, Moon Boy?"

"Um…"

Ammy roared and again the man covered his face. "Amaterasu, I'm sorry!" he squeaked. "It wasn't me who pushed you off those cliffs! I'm just a soldier! I do as I'm told or I'll get pushed off the cliffs. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't eat me!"

"Wow, you're so pathetic it's kinda funny," said Issun. "Tell us about these cliffs. Are they where Ammy fell from? Where are they?"

"On the moon."

Oki seemed to almost drop his sword and even Issun was speechless for a moment. "The moon? You fell from the moon, Ammy?"

She barked and then growled. Issun was amazed that she was able to hold herself back. He could see her claws digging in to the ground beneath the snow. She was desperate to attack and Issun didn't blame her. There was something unlikeable about this guy. Issun couldn't stand the accent. He knew he'd heard it somewhere before… he'd hated it then as well.

But they couldn't kill this man. He was the only clue Issun had as to what was going on, and to what had happened to Ammy. Oki seemed to be thinking along the same lines too. He glanced at Issun and then lowered his sword slightly.

"Who was with her?" said Issun. "Anyone we know?"

"We're not allowed to say his name. The Moon King will kill me."

"The Moon King? Ha! What a daft name! He can't hear you out here. Just tell us who was with Ammy."

Moon Boy glanced around at all of them and Issun noticed a slight confidence entering his eyes. Moon Boy knew he was wanted alive. He sat up slightly. "If he's not with Amaterasu then that does that mean he'd dead?" he said. "The Moon King will be pleased."

Ammy moved so quick that Issun didn't see her move at all. One moment she was poised in the snow, the next she was snarling on top of Moon boy. He screamed as Ammy's claws sunk through his shoulders. Ammy lowered her head, saliva dripping from her jaws as she prepared to bite. Issun felt a little quiver inside him. He wasn't quite sure he was ready for ithis.

"Amaterasu!" said Oki. "I don't believe you have ever murdered a human. Don't let him soil your soul."

She froze. Her teeth looked as if they were touching Moon Boy's face but there was no blood. Issun had no idea how she had managed to stop herself in time. He could see that she hadn't wanted to. She was tense all over.

"Ammy, don't," said Issun.

She pulled her head away from Moon Boy's face, but her claws remained firmly in the man's shoulders. She gave a low growl and Issun knew what it meant. One more comment from this man and she wouldn't hold back.

"That wasn't a pleasant thing to say about a friend of the goddess," said Oki, lightly brushing the tip of his sword against the man's pale neck. "Why are you here? Checking to see if the fall killed her?"

"Um…"

He obviously didn't want to answer but he was sweating, even though the air was freezing. Issun could see him shaking and every now and then he grimaced as the pain of Ammy's claws seemed to sink deeper in to him.

"I was sent to see if she and… and…" he swallowed, "…were still alive. And to find the sword."

"What sword?" said Oki.

"It opens the…" Moon Boy's face creased. "I can't say! The Moon King will torture me!"

"Who do you fear more, your king with the silly name or a goddess with teeth and claws?" snapped Issun.

"The Moon King sent Yami and a horde of monsters after the last man who defied him. Those monsters will chase him forever. I don't want to be hunted for the rest of my life. And the Moon King will get the sword eventually. They'll be far worse creatures than Yami when he opens the… the…"

"The what?" Oki pressed his sword harder against Moon Boy's neck.

Ammy roared but it wasn't Moon Boy who she attacked. Instead she sprang at Oki, knocking him over in a cloud of snow. As if by instinct , Oki changed, his shape contorting as he assumed his beast form. Angrily he snapped at Ammy who let out a snarl that Issun knew was louder than anything Oki would ever be able to manage.

Jumping away from him, Ammy ran back to where Oki had been standing. There was a golden arrow embedded in the snow that looked as if it was made entirely out of light. The air around it crackled, similar to the funny electric keys Ammy had used to pick up, only Issun sensed that this was much more powerful. He was a good distance away from it but it made his hair stand on end. Even the air seemed to have changed. It felt thicker and it tickled the back of Issun's throat unpleasantly as he breathed in.

"What-" Issun didn't get to finish the sentence. Everything suddenly happened at once.

Oki shouted in surprise as he leapt out of the way of half a dozen golden arrows that suddenly hit the snow silently. Moon Boy laughed and then leapt to his feet and ran, the blood still dripping from his shoulder.

"Stop him!" Issun cried.

Ammy was already tearing after him, her claws throwing up the snow. Issun managed to grab the end of her tail just as she swept by. Quickly he climbed on to her back. "Get him, Ammy! There's no way he can outrun you!"

Behind them, Oki let out another shout. Ammy skidded to a halt and turned. The ground around Oki was a pin cushion of golden arrows. In his wolf form, Oki jumped and leapt around them as he tried to run. In the air above, Issun saw more golden streaks making their way towards him.

Issun looked back at Moon Boy. He wasn't a fast runner and he was wobbling all over the place in those silly shoes of his. He would be so easy to catch. He could sense Ammy thinking the same thing as she stared after him, but finally she turned and dashed back to Oki.

"Don't let him get away!" Oki roared.

"By the time we get back you'll have been turned in to a rug you blue lump of fur!" said Issun. "Where are those arrows coming from?"

Abruptly they stopped. Dozens of them stood crackling in the ground and the air fizzed so much that Issun could feel it prickling very part of his skin. Carefully Ammy leaned close and sniffed one, but even she didn't seem to dare touch it.

Suddenly there was another streak of gold in the air. Oki jumped, just as the light sliced in to the snow between his paws. He backed away and shook himself. "I've never seen weapons like this before. What have they done to the air?"

He was panting as he struggled to breathe and Issun could hear Ammy gasping too. The air was too thick and Issun felt as if his chest was filled with needles whenever he breathed in. He felt dizzy. Gradually the snow and the winter trees began to tilt and spin.

"We can't stay here," said Oki, "and I need to check on the village. Who are these people?"

"Dunno, but I hate them. Furball, let's move before I hurl all over you. I feel sick."

Ammy and Oki broke in to a run. As they left the arrows behind, the air returned to normal, though it seemed colder than earlier. It still hurt whenever Issun breathed in, but this time it was because he felt as if he was freezing inside. Finally he sat up. The arrows had given him a headache.

"Why aren't they shooting any more?" said Issun, staring hard at the frozen air.

"It's difficult to hit a moving prey with an arrow," said Oki, "and I don't think they want to risk hitting Amaterasu. I, on the other hand, am not as important. I think they wanted me out of their way."

It made sense. Moon Boy had said he'd been sent to look for Ammy, not kill her, but that didn't make Issun feel much better. The Moon King would soon know that Ammy was alive and what would he do next? Issun thought of the scar on Ammy's side. He was willing to bet it had come from the Moon King. Judging from the damage that weapon could do, Ammy was lucky to be alive…

Oki stopped and sniffed the air. Ammy copied him and then both of them were still, listening. Issun did the same, but he couldn't hear anything. The falling snow had thickened and the land was silent.

"I don't think we're being followed," said Oki finally. " I suppose they have the information they want and they'll be running back to their king. What will you do, Amaterasu? I believe this land will be a dangerous place for you from now on. They may be sent to kill you next time."

And they didn't have any protection against those eerily silent arrows. Ammy didn't have any weapons with her, though Issun doubted if even her mirror could defend against those things. The Moon Tribe… Darn it, Issun knew he'd heard a story about them. Why couldn't he remember it? He'd thought he could remember every story his grandfather had told him.

"Well, what do you think we should do, Ammy?" he asked.

She looked around, scrutinising the land. She stared back the way they had come and then at Oki.

"I think our attackers are gone. I'll be all right going back to Wep'Keer by myself if you have other plans," said Oki.

Issun glanced at him in surprise. How had he known what Ammy was thinking? Issun had known she was worried about his safety, and he'd also known that she hadn't particularly wanted to walk all the way back to the village with him, but Ammy hadn't given anything away. She always had the same expression on her face. Issun only knew what she was thinking because he'd been with her for so long.

Oki seemed to notice his silence. He laughed. "I spend half of my own time as a wolf, remember? I can understand what animals are thinking. Amaterasu, you want to go after that man from the moon. I'd go with you but… I can't leave the village. There could be more of those men."

"They'll need you if anything happens," said Issun.

Oki nodded, but Issun knew he didn't want to go. He looked as if he was about to say something else but Ammy seemed impatient.Turning, she broke in to a run that quickly became a sprint. The snow was deepening but that didn't seem to stop her. She bounded forwards almost effortlessly.

Issun lowered his face in to her fur as the snow whirled about him; each flake was enough to drench him. "How are we going to find that weirdo Moon Boy?" he said, trying not to swallow or breathe in any snow.

Ammy was silent, but she was speeding up, her movements determined. She seemed to know where she was going and Issun decided not to question her. Soon she slowed and sniffed the ground. She scraped at the snow with a paw. Peering over her head, Issun saw a red stain. "Blood," he said. Of course. Moon Boy had been bleeding. Issun grinned as Ammy wagged her tail and sniffed the air, searching for Moon Boy's scent. Growling, she sprang forward.

Issun had forgotten how fast she could run. The land became a blur of haze and swirling snow. Even as the blizzard thickened it didn't halt Ammy's progress. Issun could hardly believe how weak she had been when Oki had pulled her from the lake.

But there was something odd about the way she was acting. Issun had a feeling that a lot had changed in the year they'd been apart. She was definitely stronger and faster, and Issun was willing to bet that her powers would be incredible when she decided to use them. There was something else too… It was the way she was acting. She was angry. Upset. Of course, most people would never have been able to tell but Issun knew her better than that. The way she had acted with Moon Boy… she could have killed him. It wasn't like her to jump at a human like that.

He'd have to keep an eye on her. It didn't feel right her being this furious. Ammy had always been so happy and playful. The change was almost frightening.

Suddenly she stopped. Issun raised his head. He didn't know where they were. Everything looked the same in Kamui. Snow, trees, snow, ice, rocks, trees, more snow…

And a valley. Issun hadn't realised this existed. The ground sloped steeply in to a narrow dip full of deadened trees. At one end there was a long clearing in the snow, as if something huge had been there earlier. The blizzard hadn't yet covered the gap. Issun climbed on to Ammy's head to get a better look. As he did, a shadow fell across them. He glanced up and felt his mouth gaping.

It was similar to the Ark of Yamato, but only in the fact that it was a boat that was able to fly. It was smaller, but brighter and sleeker. Its hull was made of a silver that was blinding against the glare of the snow. Silver sails billowed in the blizzard, but, strangest of all, the boat was moving in the opposite direction to the wind.

As the shadow passed over them completely, Issun felt the same crackle to the air that had surrounded the arrows. He held his breath and he felt Ammy doing the same. He could hear the air fizzing. There even seemed to be tiny yellow sparks flickering in front of him that stung as they hit him.

The shadow passed. The boat climbed higher and soon its silver shape sunk through the thick snow clouds. Issun let out the breath he'd been holding. He'd held it for so long that he felt ill.

Ammy growled and then barked. She was tense. Angry. Issun patted her nose. "They'll be back, Furball," he said grimly.

And somehow they'd have to fight them. Normally Issun loved a good fight but this time… this time he felt frozen inside.

He shook himself. Bah. He wasn't scared. It was just the cold weather.

"Come on, Ammy, we can't stay here. I have a feeling those moon freaks will come and find us when they're ready. Let's get back to Wep'Keer before we turn in to ice statues."

Ammy snorted. She howled and suddenly the wind strengthened. Issun had to fight to hold on to her fur. He'd been right; she was definitely stronger. Ammy had never created a gale like this before. The snow was disappearing as the clouds were pushed aside to reveal a cold blue sky. In the distance was the silver gleam of the ark. Ammy growled until it was out of sight and then slowly turned and started back the way they had come.

After only a step, she paused. She jumped around.

There was no one there. Issun frowned. Without the snow, the valley was perfectly clear. "What's spooked you, Furball?"

She stared, her eyes studying everything carefully. She was tense but she wasn't growling. She didn't seem to think there was any danger. Instead she was more… hopeful? Issun wasn't sure.

She was motionless for a while. Without the clouds, the land seemed even colder and Issun shivered. He swore his insides were icing up.

"F-F-Furball…" he said, giving up on finishing the sentence as his first word came through chattered teeth.

She seemed to shake herself. With one last look about the valley, she turned and began the long run back to the village. Issun hunkered down in her fur. It was too cold to think much but that didn't stop the Moon King from looming in his mind. They had to be ready. Another attack would come.

And next time Issun knew those arrows wouldn't miss.

--

From opposite the valley, he watched Amaterasu and her celestial envoy as they left. She looked strong as she ran, the deep snow no problem for her powerful limbs. Tres bien. He'd been a little concerned after the fall, even though he'd glimpsed the future beforehand and known that they would both survive. He hadn't felt quite so confident when they'd been falling. It still amazed him that all his bones were in tact.

Amaterasu was already almost out of sight as she bounded forward. It wasn't difficult to pick her out of the snow. Her fur was whiter than anything. He smiled. "Well ma cherie, I'm glad that little tumble hasn't turned you back in to the washed out wolf you were a year ago. I couldn't stand to see you like that again."

Easily he jumped down from the tree, using his wings to steady himself as he landed. Wings were so useful, and these were even better than his old pair.

He moved across to look at where the boat had been. The technology had a changed a lot since he'd lived on the moon. He could still feel the electric fizzing of the air in his ears from the boat. Not pleasant.

Now then, he had a lot to do before the Moon Tribe returned. And he'd have to keep an eye on Amaterasu and her little friend. She could look after herself, of course, and he supposed that her envoy would be of some help, but he'd still watch her. Just in case.

Hopefully he would be able to keep his distance. He needed to stay away from her. His latest prophecy kept filling his head, begging to be spoken aloud to someone. He couldn't bottle it up for much longer. He'd have to speak it.

But as soon as he did that, the prophecy would be set in motion. He'd never spoken one that hadn't been true, but he desperately wanted this one to be wrong.

Amaterasu may be able to survive death and be reborn, but the rest of the people on this mortal plain would not be so lucky. Himself included.

But his head was threatening to explode. He couldn't ignore it for much longer.

Well. One step at a time. He'd deal with the prophecy later. First stop: Kamiki.

Amaterasu's gale had faded. Instead, he called his own, a little trick she'd taught him two hundred years ago. Leaping up in to it, he spread his wings and allowed the wind to carry him out of the valley. Landing in the snow where Amaterasu had stood before, he stopped and stared. There she was. Almost out of sight but not quite.

Waka folded his arms across his chest. In one hand he held his flute. "Don't fret, ma cherie. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

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What do you think? I've slaved all week to give you this!