A friend of mine asked me before if Amaterasu prefers her human form or her wolf form. I've decided to let Ammy answer that question. Ammy?
Amaterasu: I honestly don't really notice the difference that much anymore. But if I had to choose, I'd say my wollf form. It's just what I've been used to for a long time. That's not to say that my human form doesn't have any perks to it. Opposable thumbs are always handy, no pun intended.
Well, there you have it, folks. With that out of the way, enjoy the new chapter!
-o-
Amaterasu ran for cover as Matrigohma smashed through a pillar. It was really all she could do at the moment. She knew nothing about Hyrulian monsters, and couldn't think of anything to do to beat the oversized arachnid. She ducked behind a mound of rock, panting heavily. She needed to come up with a plan, and fast. Otherwise, she and the others will become lunch for a spider the size of a house.
She heard Matrigohma speak. "Find her for me, boys! I'll reward you!"
"Of course, ma'am!" both Link and Issun replied simultaneously.
Great, Ammy thought with a sigh. Fighting Matrigohma would likely be hard enough, but with Link and Issun in the way, things would only get more difficult. She silently cursed the existence of spiders in general. She would have to think fast.
"Found her!" called Link's voice. The sun goddess turned to see Link charging towards her, the Master Sword ready to cleave her in two. She jumped away as Link slashed downward, his blade lodging into the ground. She responded to his attack by casting simple spell that covers the target in ink. The Hero of Twilight sputtered and spit ink out of his mouth as he tried to wipe his eyes clean, failing miserably.
"Look out!" she heard Issun's voice shout. She saw the small Poncle bouncing toward her, rapidly slashing his sword, as if to look intimidating. He would be much more difficult to deal with than Link, Ammy thought. Not because of skill, but because of his small size and shocking agility. She also knew firsthand that being cut by Denkomaru stung like a bee sting.
"Back off, Issun," Ammy warned her longtime partner as she raised her hand, preparing for a Celestial Brush Technique. "I don't want to hurt you."
"If ya don't wanna fight," Issun said in a threatening voice, "then just surrender! It'll be less painful for you!"
Amaterasu replied with Galestorm, the technique of Kazegami. A powerful wind began roaring, blowing Issun back a fair distance, but getting a lot of ink off of Link's body. The Hylian warrior took hold of the Master Sword's hilt and yanked it out of the ground, then charged at Ammy. Amaterasu hadn't noticed in time to dodge. Her eyes widened in shock as the heavenly blade swung toward her torso… and harmlessly passed right through her. Link's eyes went wide with surprise, giving Amaterasu an opening to kick him in the gut, then run like hell to hide behind a pillar.
As she hid, she raised a hand to her chest, where the Master Sword would've sliced her in two. Not that she wasn't grateful that the blade didn't hurt her, but she had to wonder why the blade didn't hurt her. Was it because she was a goddess? Could it be possible that the Master Sword couldn't harm the truly divine? Or was there something else to it?
She shook her head. She didn't have time to wonder. She had to think about how to beat Matrigohma. Preferably, without hurting Link and Issun in the process. She began running through strategies in her head, a habit she picked up during her adventures throughout Nippon. She dismissed a lot of them, because they all ended poorly.
Hmm… maybe if I… She ran through tactic after tactic. None of them could end well.
"Need some help, ma cherie?" She jumped at the sound of Waka's voice, though she managed not to yelp and give away her position.
"Waka?" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"I sensed that you were in grave danger," the prophet explained, "so I thought I'd come on by and see how my favorite goddess is doing. Not too well, I would assume."
"You would assume right," Ammy replied with a sigh. She quickly informed him of the situation. He nodded as he received the information, then moved to draw his sword.
"Controlling their minds, eh?" he said calmly with a smirk on his face. "All right then. I'll keep them busy. You deal with the spider."
"But-!" Before Amaterasu could say anything more, Waka dashed and clashed swords with Link, who was unsurprisingly caught off guard by the newcomer. Ammy heaved a breath and went after Matrigohma, who was hanging back as Link and Issun fought Waka.
"Moegami!" she shouted as she drew a figure-eight in the air with her hand. "Fireburst!" The spider-woman was greeted by an explosion of flame right in her face. She shrieked in pain, stumbling on her eight huge legs. When she recovered, hair singed and eye smoking somewhat, she glared furiously at Amaterasu.
"How dare you!?" Matrigohma exclaimed in outrage. "You've marred my beautiful face! I'll bury you for this insolent transgression!"
"Me insolent?" Amaterasu said in a taunting tone. "You're the one who's trying to kill a goddess here, not me!" She held her right hand to her left side. "Tachigami!" She swung her hand. "Power Slash!" A blade-shaped flash sliced across Matrigohma's massive thorax. "By the way, you're one of the ugliest monsters I've ever seen. Seriously, you make Blight look like a male model! And he's just a suit of armor!"
Matrigohma roared in a rage and charged at the snow-haired goddess. Ammy quickly turned and ran as the gigantic arachnid chased her. She turned, running backwards, and decided that now was as good a time as any to try something new. But first, she needed to by a little time. "Kasugami! Veil of Mist!" She marked the air with two brief lines, creating a time-slowing fog. She then stopped and drew several lightning-shaped arrows in the air. "Gekigami! Volt Arrows!" Six arrows of lightning struck the Gohma birthmother square in the chest, eliciting a pained cry from the spider.
Ammy smirked. The Volt Arrows were her own original creation that she came up with when playing with Gekigami's Brush Technique, the Thunderstorm. She figured that if she could manipulate lightning, with enough training, she would be able to create it as well. The result of six months of hard work was the Volt Arrows, bolts of lightning that actually home in on the target to certain degree. It wasn't without its flaws though, as the arrows would sometimes just explode or not appear at all. This was the first time she actually used it in battle.
"How do you like that, spider-girl?" she asked mockingly. "Had enough yet?" Matrigohma replied by slamming one of her legs into Amaterasu's stomach, sending the goddess flying into a wall.
The Gohma woman chuckled darkly. "That was actually pretty good. But you hit the wrong spot on my body, goddess." Her huge, orange eye glowed with malice. "You'll never be able to defeat me, wench. I'm far more powerful than any of my children. And now you die!" Her eye slowly began to glow brighter and brighter. Ammy could easily see what was coming. That look in Matrigohma's single eye practically petrified her. She clenched her eyes shut.
THUNK!
The goddess's eyes opened wide. She looked to her left to see Waka's regular katana jammed into the wall. "Use it!" he shouted to her as he blocked an attack from Link with his glowing sword Pillow Talk.
Amaterasu immediately grabbed the weapon with her right hand and pulled herself out of the wall, falling to the ground with a soft thud. She looked up at Matrigohma, who was still charging up whatever attack she was preparing. "Here goes nothing!" the goddess shouted as she leaped at the giant spider. She grabbed onto one of her many legs and flipped onto her back. The Gohma matriarch struggled to turn and face the goddess, but she lacked the flexibility.
Ammy ran down the Gohma queen's back and up to her torso, where she gripped her neck in a headlock with her left arm. She twirled Waka's katana so that she held it in a reverse-grip, then rammed the blade through Matrigohma's huge eye. The light from Matrigohma's orange orb faded quickly. Amaterasu let her grip on her neck slacken a little.
She leaped off of the spiderlike form and saw that Link had apparently suddenly blacked out, leaving a confused-looking Waka. The goddess could only assume that the same happened to Issun, since she couldn't see him anywhere.
Suddenly, Matrigohma roared in agony, catching Ammy and Waka completely off guard. "NO!" she hollered in agony. "Master, please! Spare me!"
"Master?" Amaterasu inquired.
"I'll do anything!" Matrigohma screamed in her suffering. "Give me a second chance!"
"There are no second chances," said a deep, powerful baritone from everywhere and nowhere at once. "You should know that by now, with all the failures of your precious children."
"NO!" Matrigohma's body slowly began to fade into dust that blew away. She screamed in agony as she soon faded into nothingness, and Waka's katana clattered on the ground. Amaterasu could only stare in shock.
"You've done well, sun goddess," the baritone said with a malevolent chuckle. "I'm impressed that you were able to defeat Matrigohma, even if it was with the aid of a seer."
"Who are you?" Ammy demanded with a glare at the ceiling. "Show yourself!"
There was a dark laugh. "My, aren't we fiery? Don't fret, goddess. We shall meet sometime in the future. That is, if you live long enough, of course." There was a moment of silence. "Though I suppose it would only be fair to let you know just who you're dealing with. I have gone by many names: the Gerudo King of Thieves, the Demon King, the Dark Lord, the King of Evil. But my real name is-"
"You must be Ganondorf," Amaterasu theorized. The voice of the Evil King laughed.
"Am I so infamous that even foreign lands know of my power? It appears that you easterners aren't the mindless savages that I thought you to be." There was dark laughter. "I'm certain that my new partner, Yami, would love nothing more than to eviscerate you himself. Farewell, Amaterasu. We shall meet in person someday." With that, the voice faded.
"Well," Waka said, "that was definitely sinister." He heard Link groan beside him. "Looks like he's waking up."
"Where's Issun?" Ammy asked the blond prophet.
"Over there," Waka replied, pointing over at a pile of rocks, where Issun lay unconscious. "He'll be fine. So should your boyfriend."
The goddess took a breath of relief. "Thank goodness for-" Something suddenly clicked in her head. Her face went completely red. "Wait, what!? Link is not my boyfriend!"
Waka laughed. "Relax, ma cherie. I was just kidding. Though your reaction actually suggests that you would like to be more than just friends with him."
"What? No!" Amaterasu was now redder than a tomato.
Waka laughed again at her expense. "Keep telling yourself that, ma cherie. I can see it written all over your face." He looked up at the hole in the ceiling, and before Ammy could say anything else, he said, "I have to get going. You have a mission to do."
Amaterasu sighed and nodded. "Stop Yami. Again. Got it. I guess I'll see you later then."
The prophet nodded. "Farewell for now." And with that, he vanished into a rainbow of small lights. She heard Link groan as he picked himself up off the ground.
"Ugh…" he moaned. "I feel I got hit by a boulder. What happened? Where are we?"
Amaterasu sighed, and when Issun came to and hopped over to join them, she began explaining what had happened. Both males looked both embarrassed and terrified that they had been brainwashed like that, which Ammy just couldn't help but find to be a little funny to her.