A/N: There are way too many reasons as to my lack of updates to list them all here. Let it be known, however, that I am glad to be back. I don't know how quickly I'll be able to update as I'm rather busy, having promised myself to more responsibilities than I realized. Thank you for your patience, review responses are at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer

Chibi Riku: . . . .

Chibi Cloud: . . . .

Chibi Squall: . . . .

Aries: They're on a silent strike, so I have to say the disclaimer myself. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the fantabulous characters herein. I do own Amaya and her own psychotic delusions of adequacy.

Chapter 12: The Dark Summon

People were screaming everywhere. Some were screaming people's names. Most were just screaming. They kept running past, no one noticing one more little girl in the crowd of panicking people. Where was Papa? How had the monsters gotten in to the main castle? Where was Papa? The stones were cold on her bare feet. Why wasn't anyone helping her? Why wouldn't anyone stop? Where were they all coming from? Where was Papa?

Through a gap in the crowd, she saw Squall up ahead, back to back with Rinoa, trying to fight off the monsters that seemed to spring from the shadows on the floor. Big people. Big people would help her. "Squall!"

He looked up, his face covered in sweat, and saw her standing there. A little girl, barefoot, in a thin cotton nightgown. She called out his name again, tears running down a sob-reddened face. Then the pressure on his back disappeared. He turned just in time to see her fall, and vanish, just before she hit the ground. "Rinoa!"

She stopped. There was terror on that face, and anger, and grief. He was crying as much as she was. He was just as scared. The big people wouldn't help her. Then she was really afraid. He had to snap out of it. He had to tell her it was all right. He had to help her! "Squall!"

He looked up from the spot where Rinoa had faded away. "Amaya."

He started pushing through the people to get to her. And then her vision was obstructed. Something huge loomed over her, it's giant horn sparking as it lowered it. She screamed. Not me not me not me don't hurt me don't hurt me . . .

And then it was cold. Bone-cracking cold. The screams were gone. The people were gone. The floor was gone. There was only a whisper all around her. You're just like them. Selfish. Just like them.

I'm not. I. . .

Yes you are.

Then there was grass beneath her knees. It wasn't like falling; there just wasn't ground and then there was. She opened her eyes and saw the land unfolding in all directions. Green hills, and a stand of trees, and, fairly close by, a castle. Safe. She was safe. For now. But what if those things came here? She had to make sure she was safe. Make sure she would be safe forever.

No.

Do you remember now?

Don't do it! Don't!

You can't stop her.

She fell forward on her hands, splaying them out on the ground A small circle of light began to grow between her outstretched hands.

No. Nonononononono.

It's too late. Watch the destruction you have wrought.

The circle grew bigger, until it encompassed her body, then billowed out, creating half a sphere. Tears ran down the little girl's face, but she kept pushing the circle bigger. Not enough energy inside. Had to pull it from outside. The grass began to wither and brown as she pushed the circle even further.

"How horrible."

A voice far away tried to ask me what was horrible. Couldn't they see? Couldn't they see what she was doing? What she was about to do?

The circle pushed out further, until it encompassed the hill. The ground was completely scorched now, with no trace of anything but ash and dust. The sphere pushed out further. The trees lost their leaves, before the braches themselves crumbled, leaving only the toughest limbs, burnt and twisted. And still she kept pushing the sphere larger and larger until it circled the entire world.

Life killer. Life taker.

She sobbed and curled in on herself. Safe. She was safe.

Life taker. Killer. Killer. Killer. Killer.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!"

Liar. You didn't care. You didn't care about anything but yourself. Killer. Killer. Killer. Killer.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!"

Did you even think to look for your sister? No. You didn't care what happened to anyone else as long as you were safe. So you killed that planet. That whole world.

Then the vision of the smoldering planet was gone, replaced by the darkness. But in the distance, there was a ball of blue light. Blue and green and brown and white, swirling and turning.

What . . .?

My world.

The voice was different now. It wasn't angry. It was nostalgic. Proud. My world.

We swooped down lower. I felt like I was being cradled in a warm embrace, but I couldn't turn to see his face. All I could sense was the protectiveness and gentleness as he showed me his world. We flew over endless fields, where animals that I had never seen ran in herds and alone. We skimmed over vast oceans, and playful fish surfaced and chattered at us, jumping, rainbows catching each drop of water on their smooth skins. He showed me jungles, where the infinitesimally small dwelt beside the impossibly gargantuan. And deserts, where lizards sunned themselves on the rocks, and forests, with rainbow-colored leaves, and mountains, with snow dusting their peaks.

It's beautiful.

My world. The anger returned. They didn't care about all this.

No. No, not this world, too.

All they cared about was themselves.

A city came into view in the distance. We flew through the solid wood gates as though they were nothing but air. A voice was ringing out somewhere, its words far too faint to hear.

There they are.

We flew through what seemed to be endless twisting side streets, surrounded by tall sandstone walls, until we reached a plaza crammed full of people, surrounding a hastily made stage.

"Hail, King Luminox!" They cried, as a dark-haired man smiled on the stage. He turned and looked over their heads, straight into her eyes. She froze.

He's . . .beautiful.

Don't let his beauty fool you.

"My people!" He called out over the crowd. She gasped. His voice . . .

It was like someone had taken gold and crafted it into a sound. It was mesmerizing. Forget beautiful. He's beyond beautiful. Someone like this shouldn't exist. It's like . . .

Staring at the sun.

He smiled, and it was like the golden afternoon sun dancing on the water, "We have been victorious! We have driven the darkness from our hearts, and soon, we will drive it from our planet!"

Cheers rang out, and if it weren't for the tension coming off her guardian, she would have cheered, too. He was gold. He was light. He was good. All things light would be good. She just had to listen to him, listen to light, and all would be well and all pain would be gone . . .

"We have cleansed the world! The only thing remaining is one small shadow that hides under the rocks of our own city."

Not here? She found herself questioning. Where is it? I'll destroy it for you. Just tell me where!

His voice is . . .mesmerizing, isn't it?

She tried to turn to her guardian, but found that she still could not move to see him. Her cheeks burned with shame. Had she forgotten where such talk lead so quickly? Had she forgotten about the balance? With just the sound of one man's voice?

Many before you fell to him in such a way. They follow him now, to their destruction, and the destruction of this world.

Where are you?

She almost felt a bitter smile, You'll see me soon enough.

"So let us drive out the non-believer who still lurks on our very streets! Let us tear down the false idols of the shadow-worshipers! They call it nature; what tree praises the darkness, when it is the sun that gives it life?"

The crowd's cheering rose to a fevered pitch, "Will you follow me, to our kingdom of everlasting light?"

"Hail, King Luminox!"

"Then let us root out the last of the evil!"

The people cheered and started running through the streets, off toward a district in the west of the city. Her guardian had picked her up and begun his flight again, keeping just abreast of the crowd running through the streets. They smashed through the wooden gates and began swarming over a beautiful, but clearly deserted, square. Everywhere on the walls were images, carved or painted, of men and women and children, and trees, and animals. A fountain stood in the center of the square. The spout of the fountain was shaped like a tree, and two children and some small, tailed creatures laughed and climbed together. Around the outside of the fountain, grazing animals and predators were carved in relief.

One of the men stood up from the crowd and swung a hammer at the fountain, breaking off one of the trees smaller branches. This started a frenzy, as everyone in the crowd starting tearing apart whatever parts of the sculptures and frescos they could reach.

She stared in shock, Why?

Because they fear it. The world is wonderful because it is complex, but they want everything to be simple, understandable, controllable. And so they fear and hate and destroy.

Water started to flood through the square as someone hit the fountain's main pipe. A piece of one of the children's faces landed near her, water sliding down its cheek.

"Where are you hiding?" Screamed the beautiful king. Even now, in his terrible rage, with his hair flying lose across his burning eyes, he was beautiful. Gold shining in the sun.

He is not hiding, he is waiting for you.

They took flight, so fast that she only saw blurred shapes as they traveled through the streets, into a small chapel, built right next to the wall of the city. There was a man there, his back to them, kneeling on the floor, his head bent in fervent prayer. She could not seem to hear his words, or maybe he was speaking a different language. Her guardian seemed to sense her confusion.

He prays that they will see the truth. That they will see wisdom and return to the ways of balance. And also . . .he prays for himself. He is afraid to die. He said this last part as if it were shameful to him.

And then she saw what it was that the man prayed before. It was a painting on the wall, but a most strange one. It was a face, of that she was certain, but first it seemed to be a man with black and orange stripes, and then a woman with hair like willow leaves, and then a creature with dark, soft eyes, and then something she could not name, for it was all these things and none of these things.

The noise outside grew louder as the mob grew closer. The man's head bent lower, the bottom of his robe shifted and one sandaled foot showed itself.

His prayers will not save him, nor his world.

She heard footsteps in the atrium that she only just realized was behind them. He hadn't even bothered to shut the door.

"So, here you are, still praying to your darkness."

The man on the floor raised his head, but did not turn, "You must stop this madness, Soren. The pure light you are chasing will destroy us all. It will burn you to nothing. We were friends once; listen to me now."

The king shook his head, "It is only because we were friends that I have not executed you as I have the other heathens. Why do you insist on keeping to the old ways? They never brought us the enlightenment we seek. They never will."

"Enlightenment? Even now you speak of understanding as being something that only the light holds. What happened to your vow to uphold the balance? The vow that has been honored by all the kings for centuries?"

"Those vows never brought us anything," Soren retorted angrily.

The man rose from the floor and turned toward Soren, "Never brought us anything! What do you call decades of peace for our people, living in harmony with the land that gives us life? We always had all we needed; why was there a need for more?"

"Keeping to your 'balance' leaves us only as a small piece of this—do I not have the right to rule my own destiny?"

The man shook his head, "Still you do not understand, Soren."

A few more men ran into the chapel and saw the two men's confrontations, "Ah! My king! You have found the last of the infidels! Shall we kill him now, or would you prefer to arrange an execution?"

More people came in from outside, until it seemed all his followers were crowded into the small building. For a moment, it looked as though tears stood in the king's eyes, but they soon became cold. Cold. Gold is not warm; it's cold.

"He is an unrepentant sinner, and so must die to make way for the light."

The only sign the condemned man gave of his fear was one deep sigh, before he knelt on the ground, head bent, hands clasped behind his back.

"Will you not," the king made one last appeal, "Turn to the light? Even now, it is not too late to turn toward heaven."

"I pledge myself," his voice shook just a little, "To spend all that remains of my existence fighting your kingdom of light. If that is heaven, I choose hell!"

The king's face worked with both grief and rage. He silently signaled one of his swordsmen. Amaya screamed and turned her face away from the scene. When she opened them again, the body was crumpled on the floor, and the head rolled about the other men's feet.

The king seemed to have regained his composure completely, "The deed is done! We may now enter the kingdom of light!"

A huge tremor rocked the ground, and the mob was suddenly quieted. "Do not fear, my people," cried the king, "This is the coming we have waited for. The advent of the kingdom of light!"

The people began to cheer, but soon the tremors became worse. Children began crying, and their parents could not shush them. A great cracking sound began and the walls around them began crumbling. People began to panic and started running, anywhere. A large crack began to open in the floor, a red glow bathing the faces of all those trapped near it. The limp body slid toward the gap. The light bathed the face of the king, hot wind and bright sparks flowing through his hair as he, too, was pulled into the abyss.

Her guardian flew her up and away from the carnage, back up to the place where all they saw was the blue and green orb floating in space. But now red, jagged lines covered its surface. The heat was growing too much to bear, even out here. Then it blew apart.

Amaya covered her face as huge mountains of rock flew past her into remote areas of space. For a long time, everything was darkness and light and confusion.

Open your eyes.

She opened them and saw All the worlds.

Here there was a mountain. And there the plains. And there the desert. And there the jungle, and there the sea. All in pieces, completely separated from each other.

So the one world died, and the many were born.

Personwithlongname: Sorry for the long wait, but your patience has been rewarded. Aw, you think the fic is good? I'm so happy!

LethalFroggie: I'm so flattered! Here's the next chapter!

Riku: Ok, cliffie ended (finally). Geez, getting your reviews gives me such a great ego boost! I wuv you! (gives Riku of Darkness an obnoxiously big, heart-shaped basket of goodies)

Ice Dagger: Well, now you know why she's freaking out. Chapter 13 will be up soon, so you'll be able to see everyone else's reaction.