I was in the middle of writing a short for PMD: Heroes of the Past when someone on Discord had to bring this up. Thanks Garmfild, you gremlin.

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Amaterasu trotted along happily, holding a rather funny football in her jaws. This new world was filled with so many oddities, so it was nice finding something relatively normal that she could take with her. It was comforting, in a fashion, reminding her of her time in that other world, playing ball across the entire state of Montana with Hulk. He could kick far, and she ran fast, it was a perfect combination!

... Though this ball was made of metal, and she was certain she'd break a few teeth trying to catch it. Well, she couldn't win everything.

Yet.

She wandered her way over the broken concrete and pavement, scanning the brown and grotesque landscape for something that resembled civilization. Anything mildly familiar looking would do, like some kind of royal palace, or a little wooden shack. Ammy wasn't picky.

Every few steps she would swipe her tail across the broken road, repairing the path behind her for the next inter-dimensional wanderer who might happen their way down the road. A sprained ankle or stubbed toe was quite the annoyance.

Yet, as she walked, there was no sign of anything. Well, almost anything. There were some rather large cockroaches that smelled *off* and some sickly looking bear she healed with a swish of her tail. They exchanged pleasantries, and a little snoot boop for good measure-though not before Amaterasu put down her football. The bear referred to it as a Spicy Ball.

Better than a Spicy Cube at any rate. And it didn't actively hate her, score!

Giant mutant lizards waved at her, but other than pointing in a general direction, was unable to give her any helpful information on where to find humans. She left it to its rather bloody meal, allowing it to scoop out the meat from a strange looking metal man. What oddly shaped food capsules.

Finally, after the better part of an hour, Amaterasu managed to stumble upon something that looked vaguely human-made and in relatively solid condition... If the massive holes in the walls counted as solid, anyway. The roof on the structure looked about ready to collapse, the windows were blown out, and the whole place smelled vaguely of rotting meat and plant life.

Ammy gave an excited (muffled) bark around the Spicy Ball and raced toward the structure. Her ears stood tall, listening for something that would give her an indication that something living and human-like existed in the area. It certainly smelled like there were people in the area. They must have... *questionable* opinions on personal hygiene. But who was she to judge, baths were awful.

Heavy paw-steps brought her to the entrance of something called the Red Rocket. It was a curious name, but made sense considering the massive, well, rocket on the roof. What else could it be referring to?

Amaterasu nosed the door open, glancing up as a small bell above the door jingled at her entrance. Immediately she heard the sounds of people, and voices sounding out from the back of the store.

"Who the *fuck* is that!?" someone shouted.

"Leave or we'll blow yer fuckin brains out!" another cried.

Heavy footsteps sounded out behind her, and a shadow fell over Amaterasu, indicating that there was a third person as well. She craned her head back, looking up at the absolute behemoth of a man behind her. He looked kind of funny, wearing baseball padding as armour, and he didn't have any pants! What a funny way to play baseball.

... She was relatively certain baseball bats were not supposed to have metal spikes sticking out of it.

"Marv! Grab the fucker-"

The owners of the other two voices finally stormed around the corner, just to be met with a terrified grunt from the man behind her. Amaterasu looked ahead again, finding two people pointing weapons at her (rude!), looking her over.

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"Oh, it's just a mutt." the woman on the left muttered. She lowered her gun, not listening to the terrified and muffled noises that this 'Marv' behind her was making. "Think she belongs to someone?"

"Who cares? Fresh meat!" the man on the right growled. He was an unsightly fellow, with yellowing skin, thin arms, and more missing teeth than an infant. There was also a rather prominent hole in his face where his nose should have been.

"Bwrff!" Ammy retorted, her words muffled around her football.

"Jim, quit thinkin' with 'yer stomach for two damn minutes. A dog is useful!" the woman turned around and smacked 'Jim' over the head with her gun, the man staggering to the side, crying out in pain. "Marv, grab it, we can-"

Another muffled sound came from behind Amaterasu, and she turned again, finding the absolute unit of a man had retreated halfway across the parking lot, and ducked behind a metal column that was barely supporting the roof.

"What are ye doin', Marv? Grab the-" the woman's eyes widened, and the gun in her hands clattered to the ground. "NUKE!" she cried.

Nuke? Her name was Amaterasu, thank you very much. Unless she was referring to the football in her jaws. Maybe this world had a funny sounding name for footballs. Maybe they were scared of footballs? She didn't see why, they were plenty of fun. She'd batted this one around for hours when she first found it. There was nothing scary about it!

Despite her calm demeanor, the others did not feel the same. 'Marv' was now nothing more than a speck in the distance, cowering over the lip of the hill the truck stop sat on. The woman whirled herself around and sprinted away, pumping her arms hard, vanishing around the corner. A moment later the sound of glass shattering sounded out. Ammy wandered forward, and ducked around the corner.

She'd jumped out of a window.

Huh. People sure were scared of wolves in this world.

"Fresh meat!" the voice of Jim spoke up off to the side.

Ammy backed herself up, and glanced at the man. He'd lost his gun in the minor scuffle with his friend, and was looming over her, hands outstretched, drool running down his barely-existing lips.

Well, this wouldn't do. Amaterasu had to correct the man. Her name was not 'Fresh Meat' as he kept calling her, nor was she dinner. She opened her mouth to clear up the minor misunderstanding, allowing the football to drop to the ground.

"Bark-"

Tink!

The world exploded into white around her, hit by a massive wave of pressure that launched her straight into the air. Amaterasu flew upward, flipping end-over-end, all five limbs flailing about as she struggled to orient herself. It was too bright to see, and too loud to really head anything other than a ringing sound in her ears.

Amaterasu reached the peak of her flight, and managed to glance down briefly, seeing nothing but fire and smoke rising up to meet her.

Now she would really need a bath… Dammit.

Ammy dropped through the cloud of fire and ash, back into that bright heat that rose to meet her, enveloping her body in light, heat, smoke, and spicy feeling air. She hit the ground hard and bounced, landing on her front, all her limbs splayed out around her.

"Grrff…" Amaterasu groaned.

Slowly she sat up, blinking through the smoke and ash that started to fade away around her. Amaterasu shook her head hard, clearing away the glowing green birds flitting around her head, and huffed, forcing herself to all fours.

She immediately slipped, the ground crumbling beneath her, leading Ammy to roll a short distance, end-over-end once again.

With a grumbling huff Amaterasu took a moment to accept her spot, stuck in what felt like a hole in the ground, all four legs up in the air. It took some doing, some wiggling and wriggling and scrambling and flailing before she finally managed to snake her way out.

Amaterasu clambered up the slope, taking time to find footholds and purchase on the unstable ground. It took some time, allowing for the smoke and ash to clear out and drift away in the wind, leaving the area relatively clear. Finally, she pulled herself up and over the lip of the hole, and looked around.

The truck stop was gone. A single wall remained, as did the unstable looking roof with the massive red rocket sitting atop it. Everything else was gone, nothing but a smoldering crater where the building used to me.

Amaterasu looked around for the rather rude individual who she'd been trying to speak with, but there was nothing around her. Nothing, that is, except for a pair of shoes that had somehow wound up on the power lines across the road.

Her gaze roamed the landscape, her ears folding back as she realized that, maybe, the Spicy Football could have been a bit more dangerous than she realized. But… did they all explode, or was it just hers? She'd have to test that out later, for science.

As for the other two people who'd fled from Amaterasu's explosive entrance… The duo were hiding behind the edge of the hill, their eyes wide. They were silent as Amaterasu walked out of the still sizzling crater, and slipping through the haze of smoke and ash that hovered over the ground.

Amaterasu blinked. She'd completely forgotten her goal!

With an excited bark, Amaterasu raced toward the humans.

They screamed (Marv let out a muffled 'MMMFFFF!') and sprinted away from her as fast as their likely irradiated legs could carry them.

Unfortunately for them, Amaterasu was faster. But the chase made it more fun! Her tail wagged faster as she ran down the terrified humans, intent on making her first actual friends in this new world. Wasteland or not, people were people, and she was going to win them over.

Whether they liked it or not.

In the distance, the remnants of the Red Rocket gas station collapsed inward. The bright red pillar, a beacon of Humanity's existence, crumped to the ground, limp, and lifeless.

Terrified screams and excited barks sounded out across the landscape.