"Eve of Destruction"
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is copyright Disney and SquareEnix.
"It's time to go to bed, Sora." Maia told her six-year-old son.
"But what if there's a monster under my bed?"
"Don't be silly. There's no such thing."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Maia stroked her son's hair. "But I'll tell you a story about Kore. And then she'll protect you in your dreams."
"OK."
"This is the story about Kore's biggest challenge ever. Once upon a time, there were twin goddesses. The elder twin was Calamity, who had hair darker than blackest pitch. The younger sister was Mnemosyne, who had hair of sunshine gold. They were supposed to keep the world running smoothly, but Calamity began to resent this. She wanted all the humans to worship her. She set fire to people's homes, created horrible monsters to kill their children, and sent plagues of locusts to eat their crops. Mnemosyne wanted to stop Calamity, but they were too evenly matched. Mnemosyne called upon the Maiden of Light, Kore. And so Kore and Calamity fought. It was a hard fight. Several times, Kore considered giving up. But she couldn't. Not while Calamity was threatening people. Finally, Kore was victorious. Mnemosyne sealed Calamity's soul within her own body, so that Calamity would be unable to reincarnate and hurt anyone ever again."
"Kore was really strong, wasn't she?"
"Yes. But her strength came from her kindness, not her sword. You should try to be like her."
"I will."
Maia pulled the covers to her son's chin and kissed his forehead. "Good night, Sora."
"I love you, Mommy."
"I love you too, Sora." Maia turned off the light and closed the door. She was halfway down the hall when she heard a blood-curdling scream.
"MOMMY!"
Maia bolted back to the bedroom and threw open the door. A black snake-like thing had its fangs buried in Sora's right shoulder. "Get away from him!" She looked around the room for a weapon. The creature released its bite and dove toward Maia, slinking across the wood floor with a speed that belied its form. Upon closer inspection, Maia could see a pair of wings protruding from its back, as well as four stubby limbs. The creature snarled, snapping its jaws at Maia's foot. It was too fast for her to try to step on. "Sora, get out of here!"
"But Mommy! I'm scared!"
"Go get Daddy!" Maia once again looked for something heavy enough to club the monster.
The thing looked from Maia to Sora with silver eyes. It seemed to be thinking. Then it turned and ran toward Sora.
"No!" Maia dove forward. Her hands managed to grab the thing's scaly tail. Her hands stung. "You're not hurting my baby!" She swung as if swinging a Louisville slugger and dashed the monster against the wall, hard. It groaned in pain. Maia took that as a good sign and struck it again. Then again. The creature arched its back and managed to claw Maia's hand. Terrible pain shot through her arm. Maia screamed and released the creature. It fell to the ground, oozing dark blood from a head wound. It moved slower now. "Get out! Leave my son alone, you hateful thing!" Maia's hands suddenly glowed white. White light enveloped the creature. With a whimper, the monster was gone. The only thing to indicate where it had been was the black blood that had dripped on the floor.
"Mommy? What was that?" Sora asked, cradling his injured shoulder.
"Let's get this cleaned up," Maia said quickly. They walked to the bathroom. Maia took a washcloth from a cupboard and handed it to her son. "Hold this to your shoulder while I clean up." She glanced at her hand as she held it under the running water. The bleeding slowed, revealing a ring of puncture marks. She bandaged her hand, then moved to Sora's injury. The bites didn't seem to be too deep. Maia delicately applied topical antibiotic, then bandaged the shoulder. "There, there. Mommy's got you. There's no need to be afraid."
"You lied, Mommy. You said there were no monsters."
"Mommy was mistaken. I would never lie to you, Sora. You know that." Tears dripped from Maia's eyes onto Sora's brown hair. "And I don't want anything to hurt you."
And so they sat together, mother and son, until the morning light.
To Be Continued