DUDUDUDAAA! the final chapter is here! Thank you to everybody who supported this fanfiction:

God Fenrir
Hikari Heavns
Icestorm238
Kuroshiroryuu
Lady Lauviah
Night-kun
RockStar-DJ-Girl
Skysword
Ventus286
ZombiePandaPirateFrog
gummyninjagirl
lies-deception and honesty
nekoawesemo

thank all of you SO much, it really means a lot to me. and of course a thank you to all of you who commented as well! you guy are all the best! XD

[edit: thank you garby3 for alerting me to the fact that I overlooked a MAJOR plot point. It's fixed now]

"Such peaceful times they were, right ma cheire?" the blond prophet sat beside the statue of his beloved goddess, back pressed against the cool stone. "If only it could have stayed that way longer. I had an eternity's worth of affection and was only blessed with three short years." He sighed heavily; suddenly overwhelmed with grief and self- pity he rubbed a hand across his eyes.

"HEYBUDDY, WHAT DOYA THINK YOU'RE DOING?" a shrill voice cut through the quite night air like a bolt of lightning.

Waka sprang up immediately, keen blue eyes scanning the midnight covered area before him. He searched the shadows for a sign of life, any indication of who the voice had come from.

The lunar man slinked into the dark shadows created by the large pillars on either sides of the statue. "Who is there?" he hissed

"Down here blondie!" Waka shifted his sharp gaze to his feet where a little ball autumn brown light bounced rapidly. He could just make out the shape of a horned beetle in the glow.

The prophet let out a sigh of relief. "What an odd little bug." He mused, leaning in to get a better look at the creature.

The glow around the little bug changed from bronze to brilliant scarlet. "BUG! Who are you calling a bug you flamingo!?"

Waka scrunched his nose at the insult 'Flamingo?'

The not-bug's fervent bouncing slowed to a gentle rhythm but the angry red glow remained. "You never answered my question, what are ya doing hanging around Ammy's statue in the middle of the night, er you probably know her as Shiranui."

The young man blinked in surprise; did this creature know the goddess? "Pardon-moi but do you mean Amaterasu?"

The light paused mid-bounce, clearly equally as shocked as Waka was. "Do you know Ammy!"

"Oui"

"I'm just gonna assume that means yes."

Waka rolled his eyes.

"I'm Ammy's Celestial Envoy or, at least, I WAS, before…"

Ah, so that was it. Though the young prophet had distanced himself from the goddess during her hundred years in Nippon he had always kept a close eye on her. He remembered she had guarded the small village with a companion, this must be he.

Waka smiled wearily "My apologizes little sprite. I was unaware that you held such a high standing with the goddess."

The sprite's aura had returned to its original warm brown. "I'm not a sprite I'm a Poncal and I have a name you know, it's Ishaku."

"Well Ishaku, my name is Waka. I am an old- companion of the goddess'." The prophet sat himself back beside the stone wolf. "As for why I am here, I suppose I have made it a bit of a habit to drudge up the past here."

Ishaku hopped up on the man's knee. "Wait, so you knew Ammy before she and old snake face fell to Nippon."

Waka felt his chest constrict at the poncal's words, but he still managed choke out a response. "Oui, that is correct, my little friend."

"Well, what happened? Ammy never liked to talk about it."

The lunar man ran a hand through his gold hair, debating with himself. He let out a long, miserable sigh, shoulders slumping heavily.

"Whoa! Hey buddy, what's the matter?"

Waka turned his cyan eyes towards the sky, towards the moon; his stomach turned violently. He breathed out heavily "My little friend, would you like to hear a story?"

A twenty year old Waka tightened his grip on both his flute and the brass hilt of his sword as he stared ahead. Standing around him in a semi-circle were all fifteen brush gods, the thirteen elements of the Brush. At the center of the wide arch, directly across the expanse of dry ground, stood the Sun goddess, a sly smirk playing across her lovely lips.

The young man stood in the middle of a grand arena. He was garbed in his usual purple trousers and tunic of two different pinks. His gold hair was tied back in tight ponytail. He sifted his weight from one tall geta to the other, insides churning as he waited for someone to speak.

As if to comply with his unspoken wish, Yomigami, thin frame clad in battle clothes, spoke. "Waka of the Moon Tribe, you have requested to join the ranks of the Celestial Knights, is this correct?"

Waka nodded curtly "Oui, that is correct."

"You are aware of the responsibilities the title entails yes?"

"Oui"

"You are also aware that in order to be knighted you must prove your strength, not only of body but of spirit as well, against all thirteen Brush Techniques."

"Oui"

"You still wish to proceed?"

Voice level and gaze steady Waka nodded "Oui"

The dragon god nodded "Then allow the trial to begin."

The red and white gods and goddesses backed to the edge of the arena, leaving Yomigami standing before the blonde. Waka activated plasma blade inside his flute. He could feel its energy crackling in the air as he stared at the dragon god, the god of restoration, his first trial.

Waka made the first move, lunging towards the stoic odd god with his plasma sword poised to strike. Suddenly a large slab of stone materialized in front Yomigami, causing Waka to dig his heels into the dirt and jump to the left to avoid crashing into the tall wall of solid earth.

The prophet could see the dragon god standing there serenely behind his slab of protective rock but before he got the chance to attack he felt the ground shifting beneath his feet. He was sent careening backward through the air by another piece of stone. He landed on his shoulder where he continued to tumble across the dirt until his momentum slowed and he was able to get to his feet.

Waka dashed forward, golden ponytail whipping behind him. If he wanted to break through Yomigami's defense he would have to be fast. Another stone slab materialized in front in his path and he just barely sidestepped it, shifting his course to the right. Yet again the calm dragon god summoned a wall of rock to intercept the young man, but Waka was ready for it. Without a hint of hesitation the blond leapt up on top to the stone and vaulted over it. Waka was on a direct course with the older man, both swords poised. Another slab of thick stone blinked into existence right in the prophet's path. With nowhere to go and no time to slow down Waka did the only thing he could think of; concentrating, he snapped his eyes shut. Instead of a pink and purple clad figure hitting the stone a puff of sparkling smoke dissipated across its surface to the surprise of the spectating gods. The prophet reappeared on the other side of stone steel blade of the sword directed at his opponent's age lined face.

There was the district sound of metal on metal and a flash of sliver. Yomigami holds his sword in front of his face blocking Waka's attack with ease, his face was calm but he wore an approving smile. Waka's blade slashed viciously, trying to find a break the older man's defenses. Then, with a hollow twang the dragon god's sword flew through the air and landed in the dirt. Waka stood with his metal blade trained on Yomigami's neck, breathing heavily. His gold eyes were wide with surprise but it slowly melted off his face, replaced by a look of pride.

"Yomigami has been disarmed, Waka is victorious" the booming voice of Gekigami stated.

Yomigami bowed, Waka returned the respectful gesture and the slim man join the other gods at the edge of the circle, a smaller figure taking his place.

Tachigami's mouse-like feature did not stop at the round ears on the crown of his head. The boy's lank, white hair hung in his bright gold eyes. He was clad in battle gear and held a sword twice his size.

Waka knew not to be deceived by the boy's small stature, for this boy was the most skilled swordsmen on the Plain and the holder of the Power Slash technique.

"Let the second trial begin."

The small boy launched himself at the blond, swinging his large blade. Waka had to use both his blades to block the attack. He jumped back blocking the oncoming surge of power for Tachigami's power slash.

The two danced about on a flurry of slashes. Waka was struggling to keep up the speed of his young opponent's attacks, leaving little room for him to gain the upper hand.

Waka aimed a blow with the handle of his sword at the boy's a hands, trying to throw him off. It didn't do much but Tachigami's hands fumbled a bit to maintain his grip on the hilt and allowed Waka to finally take up an offensive position.

The tall man swung his plasma sword, the white haired god leapt out of the way. Waka kept him on the move not giving the boy any room to do much more than block. All he had to do was disarm his opponent so he focused on the boys wrists, slashing and stabbing in an attempt to loosen his grip.

One arch of his glowing green blade grazed the boy's knuckles on the one hand. With a yelp, Tachigami retracted his hand, relinquishing his grip on the sword. Seizing the opportunity Waka slashed his sliver blade at the hand that still gripped the blue hilt. The enormous sword hit the ground with a solid thud. Waka rushed forward, causing the boy to jump back from the weapon.

He felt the surge of energy too late to block it, the strength of it not only knocked him back but sliced though the fabric of his shirt. Using the space the power slash created between Waka and his sword Tachigami lunged forward. Waka lunged forward as well, kicking up a cloud of dirt in the process.

When the dust settled the observing gods and goddess could see the boy's small hand gripped on the hilt. He remained motionless on the ground looking upward at his opponent. Waka stood on the sword's blade, his own weapon trained on his face.

"Tachigami has been disarmed, Waka is victorious."

The two bowed to each other before the small mouse go exited the arena and the gangly Tsutagami replaced him. The moment he stepped into the circle large pink Konahana blossoms bloomed into existence around the perimeter.

Tsutagami was the youngest flora god and the one selected to represent the greensprout brush technique.

When Gekigami signaled for the fighting to begin, the usually soft-spoken man flashed him a cunning smile. Vines shoot out of the gentle flowers right at Waka who rolled out of the way just in time. The blond rushes at the flora god, dogging and cutting down green limbs that infiltrated his path. With a lunging jump Waka swung both his blades in a sweeping arch just barely missing the curly haired youth who flew into the air with the help of his vines.

To late Waka felt the creeping vine around his ankle. It lifted him into the air, filping him upside down so quickly and suddenly that he dropped his flute. Laughing mischievously the young man leapt on the vine that had Waka's leg in a vice grip. Contorting his body the lunar man tried to slash the foliage that detained him. Tsutagami shook the vine aggressively, making it harder for the blond to hit his mark. Finally the silver blade of his sword cut through the thick vine but it caused him and Tsutagami to fall the ground. The two scuffled in the dirt for a moment, though the young men were about the same size Waka was stronger, with ease he pinned his adversary to the ground, preventing him from reaching for the small dagger strapped to his waist.

Again Waka was named victorious, again he bowed to his opponent and again a new opponent entered the arena.

The lovely Nurigami faced him this time, her normal sweeping robe replaced by fitted black top and long white and red pants; she held a glittering katana in her hand.

The pool of water she raised was no big obstacle for him, his ability to glide gracefully over the water's surface made it easy for him traverse. Nuregami was not well versed in the way of the sword, it didn't take much to disarm her even with the spires of water she sent his way.

His next opponent Yumigami, the elegant goddess of the moon, dressed in her usual puffy pants and tunic.

She harnessed the power of the moon to summon a veil of darkness. Bright lights and whispering voices confused him, sending stumbling in the dark as the young girl pushed and punched him about. Every contact she made with him sent Waka's blades spinning in that direction, making no connection with the source.

Finally, after much fumbling in the oppressive darkness he the end of his steal sword made contact with her. When the darkness lifted he could see the long gash across her right arm. He wasted no time in advancing on her but she blocked him with her large mochi mallet. The weapon was too heavy for her to keep up with the blonde's quick movements and he disarmed her with ease.

Kazegami followed his after his younger sister and gave the speedy blond a run for his money. Waka struggle to keep pace with the wind god as he flitted just out of his reach. He lunged at Kazegami but for once he wasn't fast enough. The white haired man moved swiftly and gracefully out of the way, summoning a spire of wind. The whirlwind hit Waka hard, picking him up like a leaf caught up in breeze and tossing him across the arena.

Kazegami's wind and speed did not allow Waka to get close enough to disarm him, at this rate he would run out of stamina and lose; had to find some way to hit him. Close range attacks were obliviously out of the question and he didn't really possess any way to attack from a distance. He rolled out of the way of strong gust of wind that blew back his hair even though it missed him. Straightening from his roll Waka threw his silver sword at the wind god with as much force as he could muster. By some twist of fate the sword cut through the powerful gust and nearly hit Kazegami in the shoulder. At the last moment the young god leapt out of the way, preventing the blade for embedding itself in his shoulder but the movement broke his concentration and the intensity of the wind died down, dropping the dry earth it had stirred up.

Waka bolted forward before Kazegami could start up his wind again. His katana and Waka's plasma sword meet in the spectacular shower of sparks and a low hissing sound. The blond turned on his heel, pivoting around his opponent, snatching his other sword off the ground as he went.

Now the fight was up close and personal. The swords sparked and hissed as they clashed together. Though Kamigami was fast, Waka's sword skills were second only to Tachigami himself. Once the close range fighting began it did take all of that long for Waka to disarm the wind god.

Moigami was his next advisory, flames encasing his blinding white blade. Waka used his flute sword to block the waves of fire the phoenix god sent his way with a flick of his wrist. His flaming sword grazed his legs, singeing his left pant leg. By this point Waka was use to fighting while dodging the different elements that gods used to distract him. They fought for a bit and finally he was able disarm Moigami with a quick jab to the wrists.

Kasegami followed her brother, just as aloof as always. Her mist covered the area, seeping into his lungs and brain. It slowed his thoughts, his body felt heavy as he tried to push towards her. The fluffy haired goddess moved about unaffected by the thick, purplish mist. She swung her large gourd at him, knocking him to the ground with ease. It took more effort than it should have for him to get up.

He told himself to concentrate, focusing on pushing the heavy fog from his mind. He was smacked to the ground once again and again it was much too hard for him to stand. The mist was thinning making it easier for him to move and think. It was his opening to take the offensive. He lunged forward and Kasegami sidestepped to the right easily but not quickly, his sliver sword sliced through the sleeve of her left arm and created a long gash on the pale skin. He swung a second time, catching her in the back of the leg. Eventually she tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground where she made no attempt to get back up, just lay there with a content expression.

Kabegami was by far his easiest opponent. The young girl's ability to climb walls served her no purpose in this fight and she had never liked training, often skipping it. Waka quickly disarmed her with a forceful blow to the top of her sword, sending it spinning end over end over her shoulder.

Gekigami was not nearly as easy. He shot blots of electricity at him that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. To his misfortune a blot struck his right leg. To his horror the muscles went stiff and the nerves buzzed before going numb. So he had to fight the fearsome tiger god with the equivalent and twenty pound brace strapped to his leg. It was difficult; he almost tripped over his leg twice and lost his flute sword in the process, but he did manage to seize victory.

His final opponent, Itagami stepped into the arena with an almost reassuring smile on his face. Waka darted left, eager to end this final battle quickly. His green plasma blade just barely grazed Itagami's left arm then he rolled to the right to avoid the large icicle that embedded itself into the ground before disappearing in a puff of blue sparkles. Waka moved fluidly behind him but the god of ice blocked his attack with his huge sword. Two more icicles materialized and flew at the exhausted blond with incredible speed. He jumped backward to avoid the first but his one leg was still paralyzed from his pervious fight and he couldn't move out of the way of the second in time. The blue ice hit him in the shoulder making the skin cold and stiff even through the shirt and the force of it made him stagger backwards. He didn't have time to take in the frost the ice had left on his tunic, another icicle was flying at him, he threw himself to the right to avoid it.

Itagami wasn't too far from his left so he made a beeline in that direction doing the best he could to maneuver the sword in his frozen right hand. His stiff limbs made it hard to move and fight but he fought as hard as he could regardless. A few sharp blows and Waka was able to knock the sword from Itagami's hands, placing the tip of his silver sword to the white haired man's throat as he bent to retrieve his fallen blade.

"Itagami has been disarmed." Gekigami said in his low voice. "Waka, you have been victorious in all his trials. And therefor have succeeded in your goal to join the ranks of the Celetial Knights."

Exhausted, battered, singed, and bleeding Waka stood before the semi-circle of gods and goddesses all of whom were smiling proudly at him, but none had had bigger smile then Amaterasu.

He kneeled as she approached him bowing his head slightly with respect and offered her his silver sword. She took it in both hands.

"Waka of the Moon Tribe you are hereby knighted into service under the Gods of the Brush" she touched the sword to his right shoulder. "From here on your title is Sir Waka, First tier knight among the ranks of the Celestial Knights."

"Yeah that's all fine and dandy but what happened to the Celestial Plain?" Ishaku asked impatiently.

Waka chuckled quietly "I was getting to that , little one."

"Hey! Who you calling little!"

A reception was held later that evening, apparently no one doubted in his abilities. An enormous white tent was set up under the inky midnight sky where both gods and celestial gathered to celebrate the new knight.

Waka was dress extravagantly; he wore long, deep purple pants under a vibrant pink tunic. The tunic was embroidered in gold and red around the hems and collar. On the back, in gold, was the royal crest of his people; an eye-like shape with three leaves at the bottom and three smaller circles around the center shape in semicircle shape, the two on the sides were crescent shaped and the one at the top resembled a half moon. On the front was an elaborate sun design. His hair, now free of dirt, was secured in a low ponytail and decorated with flowers and gems.

Amaterasu hung off his arm dressed in beautiful gown. The sleeves were long, brushing against her knuckles. As the fabric flowed down to her waist it flared out it a billowing full skirt that was longer in the back and shorter in the front. Scarlet patterns swirled across the dress. Her pearly hair was pinned to the side and cluster of red and white roses were woven in. The area around her eyes, above her markings was dotted with tiny rubies. As stunning as her outfit was it couldn't compare to the brilliant smile she wore.

The two wandered through the crowd, mingling with the guests.

"Waka, there you are." The couple turned to see Itegami politely pushing his way through the milling crowd.

"Hey Ite!" the goddess chirped.

Waka dipped his is head respectfully. "Good evening Itegami"

"Hello both of you. Waka, I bought you a little something to congratulate you on your knighthood." The ice god handed him a sword.

Upon pulling it from its sheath Waka notice that this was his sword the one he had used in conjunction with Pillow Talk earlier that day. He quirked his eyebrow questioningly at him.

Itegami laughed heartily. "Go on, give it a swing,."

Waka took the smooth brass hilt in his hand. To his amazement the silver blade of the sword began to glow and a bluish aura engulfed it.

"I infused it with my power. You can call upon the power of ice whenever you use this sword."

"Thank you very much, Itegami."

Amaterasu pouted "Awww Ite, how come you never give me any speci-"

Suddenly the soft white canopy burst into flames. People began to screaming in confusion but it was drowned out almost immediately by a defining roar. Hot ash rained down from above. Fear seized Waka's chest, squeezing the air from his lungs. He grabbed Amaterasu, who was covering the fluffy wolf ears on the crown of her head with her hands, by the arm and dragged her through the crowd of panicking people. Once they were out from under the canopy of flames the blond could see what was going on and the sight made his blood run cold.

A mountainous form loomed over the smoldering remains of the tent. Eight scaly necks caught the light of the flames as they thrashed, each with dragons head on top.

"Waka come on we have to move!" Amaterasu shouted, but he was frozen in place. So she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. It was a feeling that he had felt before; the screams of the crowd, the jostling of other bodies against his, it was all so familiar.

"What is that thing?" Amaterasu shouted over the din of the crowd, pulling Waka's attention back on her.

Waka knew what it was, there was only one thing it could be. "It must be some sort of demon" he shouted back.

She dragged him out of the center of the fleeing mass to the top of a small hill. "We have to protect the Celestial!"

"Amaterasu!" Kazegami dashed up the grassy slope towards them, in a moment he was at their side. "Amaterasu the Celestial are in a panic, we have to stop this beast before it reached the settlements."

"I know! Go assemble the other gods"

Kazagami nodded, handing Waka his flute and Amaterasu her large, golden galive before sprinting away.

Amaterasu turned to him "The ark, Waka take the Celestials to the ark and get them out of here."

He tightened his grip on her hand "What will you do?"

"I have to fight, I hav-"

"No." his voice was deep and firm. "You will come with me."

The pale goddess smiled weakly at him. "Waka-"

The blond clutched his head in pain suddenly.

"Waka what is it?"

Shaking slightly the young prophet relayed to the goddess the vision he had just had. "A human, he is the only one that can defeat this fearsome beast, a young man by the name of Nagi."

Another ground shaking roar rang over the Plain, Waka and Amaterasu turned their focus on the enormous creature.

"Petty deities," the beast spoke. "I am Orochi, lord of the underworld. I seek the fitly moon child who hides among your ranks. Surrender him to me and I shall consider sparing your pathetic existence."

Waka's stomach dropped so drastically he thought he would be sick. He was unable to meet the goddess's shocked gazes.

She squeezed his hand tightly and placed a loving kiss on his lips. "Go, I'll catch up to you. Just take as many Celestial as you can to the ark. "The silver haired girl slipped from his grip and ran into heart of the destruction. "Hey! Snake Face! It you want him you're gonna have to go through us!"

"Insolent god, you will be overcome by the power of my wrath for your defiance."

One of the scaly necks struck the trunk of a large tree, snapping it in half and sending the top half careening into the crowd.

From his perch on the hill Waka watched as in the Brush Gods advanced on Orochi. To the east he could see the ominous shadow of the ark. A mob of golden figures was headed towards the forest; he raced down the hill as face as his legs could carry him.

"Everyone go to the ark!" he shouted as he pushed his way through the panicked crowd. No one seemed to hear him so he grabbed the shoulders of the Celestial nearest to him and turned them around. "The ARK! Come, follow me, I will get you out of here."

Finally the mass began to turn, changing their course from the forest to the ark that loomed out of the darkness. Waka lagged behind, making sure that those of the back of the pack where secure. As he escorted the mob around the fighting he stole a glance at the battle.

Each god was summoning his or her power to hold back Orochi. Amterasu was in the center of the action swinging her large glaive in wide arches.

It took all of Waka's composer not jump in and join her. Chest constricted with worry for his lover he pushed on none the less, leading the celestial onward.

As they continued a faint cry of distress meet his ears, barely audible under the din of the crowd, the cracking of the flames and Orochi's fearsome roars. He staled, scanning the open field for the source of the sound; his sharp blue eyes came to rest on a large tree at the forest's edge that's roots protruded from the earth and formed a small cavern underneath. The prophet veered to his right, strides long and hurried as he approached the tree. Peering inside Waka found two small celestial children, a boy and a girl, curled up and cowering in the dirt. Soot covered their round faces, making their terrified green eyes glow even more in the shadowy hole. Orange and red light from the raging inferno flickered across their battered, dirtied and singed wings.

"Come with me, hurry" Waka extended his hand to the frightened children.

With hesitation the little girl grabbed onto his hand, holding the boy's as Waka dragged them out. He hoisted them into his arms and dashed off in the direction of the mass and the ark.

The celestial were pressing themselves as close to the ark as possible, some of those who were close enough slammed their hands against the ships metal side. Waka handed the children off to the nearest adult before pushing his way thought the crowd.

The celestial stood on the earth, an action they rarely did, their wings pulled tight to their heads, Waka stood taller than them all. He pushed on as fast as he could but the winged people were so closely pressed together that it made it hard. Women wept and the few children there were wailed. Other jostled him as he went, frightened people looking for their loved ones. He had almost reached the ark when a small boy burst from a particularly dense patch of bodies. His chubby face as tear stained and he was shouting for his mother. Waka let him pass with ice in his stomach. The scene was too close to the last time this had happened, except, back then it had been him searching the throng of people waiting to board the ark for his mother.

"Everyone please step back!" his voice barely able to be herd over the sounds of the battle that he could see in the distance.

He didn't wait for them to start moving, he turned to the ark and shouted over the noise in his own language "Yamato, open hatch!"

With a mighty shudder and the grinding sound of metal on metal that drowned out the wails of the people the large door on the arks side began to descend. The crowd surged back, out of the way of the painfully slow moving door. When it finally touched the ground the mass of golden figures scampered up the metal slop and into the ark, Waka lagged behind them. From this distance he couldn't clearly see the fighting, or Amaterasu. Heart in his throat Waka sprinted up the incline, dodging celestial as he sped towards the ships cockpit.

On his entrance the room as filled with pale blue light and the control panel flickered to life.

"Yamato commence take-off sequence but do not activate autopilot until given farther command." The lunar language felt bitter on his tongue.

The engine whirred to life, humming lightly as the ship ascended in to the sky. It stopped in the air a few hundred feet from the ground.

"Computer display three hundred sixty degree external visual."

A visual of the outside covered the screens the encompassed the entirety of the room but Waka only had eyes for the area on his left where the monstrous shadow was. He navigated the scene to zoom in, focusing on Amaterasu. She had her reflector out and was pushing it against the beast scaly body. The image was so shape, so clear that he could see the lines in her scrunched up face, could see the sweat on her pale skin and her markings glowing with power. Then, she fell out of view. Panic seized him and his fingers fumbled to zoom out. He watched with wide eyes as the tragedy unfolded.

Amaterasu had pushed Orochi over the edge of the Plain but she was falling herself, a streak of blinding white light chasing a mighty black mass.

"NOOOOO!" the cry ripped through him so fiercely that his throat stung but he didn't care. His knees wobbled beneath him.

"NO! NO!NO! NONONONONONO NOOOOO!" hot tears built up behind his eyes meeting no resistance as they roll freely down his cheeks.

The screams became less sad and more angry. "NO! NO! NO! DAMNIT!" he slammed his fist down on the controls repeatedly, making them splutter and glitch. Eventually his anger failed him, he sunk onto the controls with is arms over his head. Taking two long, shuddering breaths Waka lifted his head.

"Computer, initiate auto pilot system YAMI," his voice was horse but firm. "Plot a coarse to Nippon." He was going to follow her, he would get her back.

The ship chugged once, then it tipped slightly and began its decent towards the land below. Just when Waka had thought he had earned a moment of peace a blood chilling scream cut through the stagnant air of the ship.

"Computer, display internal visual now!"

The videos sprang up on the screens, displaying the images of the gold glowing celestial being consumed by horrid black masses.

"Wha- what's going on? C-computer, where did all these demons come from!?"

To the blond's great shock a message appeared on the main screen in faint blue text.

'You will all die here'

Suddenly, the ship lurched to the right, knocking Waka off balance. Warning sirens blared in his ears while the grizzly videos of the arks interior were covered by brightly colored messages telling him that the ark had lost stability, that they were losing altitude fast, that the auto pilot system had failed. Another message, same as the first, popped up over the mess of multi colored warnings.

'This blood will sever to strengthen the power of I, the Lord of Darkness, Yami.'

If he had had the time Waka would have found this incredibly baffling but now was not the time for that and if he didn't do something there never would be. Staggering over the uneven ground he made his way over to the control panel. There was a small leaver on the dash that would active manual control. A flick of his wrist moved the switch to a upright position and wheel of made of blue light materialized before him. Grabbing the ship's wheel Waka threw his weight to the left to level the ark. The screen to his right counted the distance to the ground.

40000 feet- He finally got the ship to level out.

30000 feet- flashing lights reminded him that they were falling to fast.

20000 feet- the auto landing sequence was inoperable, as was all other means of slowing down.

10000 feet- He braced himself against the wheel.

Darkness.

Waka awoke with a start, cyan eyes popping open with a sense of urgency. His whole body ached and the incessantly blaring sirens were doubling the pain in his pounding head. After a moment of organizing his thoughts Waka let out a cry of shock and stumbled back from the flickering wheel that he had had in a white-knuckled grip and landed with a splash onto the ground. The water was so frigid that he nearly went into shock, gasping at its bitter coldness as he rocketed up, despite his screaming muscles. The icy water did knock the last bit of fog from his brain and he reeled as the memory of it all rushing back to him. His gaze scanned the room fervently, hair falling from his ponytail as his head whipped back and forth.

The light in the cockpit flicked on and off, sporadically bathing the room in a bluish glow. The ships control panel was sputtering out of life and the screens that lined the walls were just static. Waka stood ankle deep in frigid water while the blaring sirens began to fail, their high pitch sound morphing into a low, ugly wail.

As quickly as his water logged clothed and numb feet would allow Waka waded into the next room, the water level rising up to his waist as he went.

The sight in the next room was a hellish one.

Corpse floated serenely on the water's surface, some so luck as to still be intact. Less fortunate torsos were missing appendages which bobbed about here and there, impossible to distinguish who the original owner was. Thick, dark red blood oozed from the bodies, spreading through the water like menacing storm clouds. In the darkness the celestial green eyes glowed, blank and lifeless.

Stomach bile mixed with the water and blood.

Wiping his mouth on his sleeve Waka stumbled over to the half-submerged entrance. His thin fingers fumbled to input the key that would open the door. The hatch swung open and the blond man tumbled into the freezing water.

Waka gasped in shock as the cold water made contact with his skin, water flooding his lungs. He broke the surface, coughing and hacking icy water out of his body while he struggled to stay afloat. Waka had never been a strong swimmer it took all of his fervent energy to fight against his sore body to get to the snowy shore. He pulled himself on the bank, exhausting and shivering. His moment of rest was short lived however as a horrid roar echoed through the valley. Lifting his head out of the snow he gazed at the ark, ignoring the frozen white clumps that clung to his hair.

Demon, legions of them were pouring from the arks dark opening. Slowly the horde was making its way to the shore, a black mass spreading out from the center of the lake where the ark had crashed.

His eyes went wide, if he didn't do something these monsters would wreak havoc on this land of humans, he couldn't allow them to reach the shore. But it was already too late for that, to his dismay he noticed that hundreds of demons had already made it to the shore and were heading into the surrounding mountains while more continued to spill from the ship's depths. Still, there had to be something he could do, something to prevent more of these atrocities from touching the earth.

Beside the blond was a large stone that touched the water's edge. The ice infused blade that was strapped to his waist glowed bluish as if making its desire to be used known. Waka shakily got to his feet unsheathing the sliver sword as he did so. He limped over the rock, posing the blade over the snow speckled stone. He struck it with all his strength, forcing the glowing blade in by the brass handle. Blue light shot across the lake's surface from the sword, freezing all water it touched. The ice began to spread, creeping along the surface and encasing the steel ark in its frigid grip. Every monster it touched disappeared in a flurry of snowflakes.

Now that the immediate threat was gone Waka could no longer cox his fatigued and battered body to go on. With a shudder he collapsed onto his knees.

Moments passed in complete silence, except of the sound of the wind as it blew over the snowy landscape, but even that sounded unfamiliar and strange.

Suddenly a vision flashed across his mind. The sword he had just embed in the rock. A young, arrogant man. A flash of bluish light and the surface of the lake cracking open.

He could hear the sound of a multitude of boots on snow meet his ears by the time he had returned to his physical surroundings. He turned his head so he could see over his shoulder. Standing in the valley's mouth was a swath of roughly dressed people whose faces he could not see because of the masks they wore. A little girl with long lavender hair spoke up, pointing at him from her position at the front of the group. Waka scraped together his knowledge on the rudimentary language so he could understand what she was saying.

"Look, he is the one that fell from the sky, I told you ."

The people muttered amongst each other, Waka was only able catch piece of what they were say but from what he could piece together they all seemed to be saying the same thing.

"He must be some kind of god."

"Look at his hair, what else could he be." Someone said.

"I need help" the blond said, tainting their language with a mixture of Lunar and Heavenly accent. "I- I need someplace to rest and get warm."

The crowd continued to mutter.

"Look, did you see that symbol on the back of his robes, it must be the mark of the gods."

"If this man is a deity we must help him or we will all surely die."

"Will you please help me?" Waka was on the border of pleading as he asked.

Slowly the crowd approached, women ushering him towards them tentatively. As he fell into their ranks the young man remembered the vision he had just had.

He faltered "W-wait, I have a prophesy for your people." A murmur of awe swept through the people. "The wall of ice shall shatter and the way to the heavens will open, when the ice blade glows sliver." He stumbled over the words in his exhaustion, muddling his languages on the word 'ice blade'. He hoped they would still understand but just to be sure he gestured to the sword jutting from the rock. Energy spent, Waka allowed the people to lead him toward their village.

"It took me three days but the moment I had recovered I traveled to this land in search of the goddess." Waka sighed heavily. "But when I found her, I could not bring myself to reveal my presence to her, I was afraid she would blame me for what happened and I did not think I could stand it."

"Wow, that's pretty heavy." The little poncal said. "But it's also kinda selfish of you."

The blond's eyes went wide for a moment but they slowly slide shut. Waka ran a hand over his face with a weary chuckle. "I suppose your right mon ami, it is rather selfish."

All of a sudden he was overcome by one of his visions; it gripped his chest and halted his breathing for a moment. When the feeling had passed he gasped to catch his breath, oblivious of Issaku's worried cries for a moment.

"H-hey blondie, Waka! Are you alright?!"

The lunar man cracked a half smile. "I am just fine, my little friend. In fact, I have a prophesy for you."

"Eh? Alright let's hear it ya weirdo."

"I saw your grandson, he will be a talented artist. So talented that he shall become the sixth celestial envoy."

The bouncing brown light paused. "Wait an envoy? But wouldn't that mean….?"

Waka's smile grew.

Ishaku laughed "Well, I'll be damned! So, I'm gonna have grandson hu? Guess that means I should be getting myself a wife."

For the first time in a hundred years Waka laughed, a real, genuine laugh. "Oui, and he will be a boisterous young boy, he will need your guidance."

"Right, well I guess I should be moving along then. I come from the northern land you crashed down in. If you think you could ever stomach another visit come find me, my village is in the center of Yoshpet." The poncle hoped of Waka's knee.

Waka nodded "I will, any companion of Amaterasu is held high in my regard."

Securing the winged headdress on his head the young man leapt up into the night air, soaring thought the sky with a new lightness in his heart.