Chapter 14
As the night wound down (though it was hard to tell in a cave with no natural light) everyone began to make camp. Jayson set up his tent but decided against using it in favor of keeping watch in case any heartless appeared. He could hear the pitter-patter of water falling from the stalactites onto the cave floor, it was so rhythmic that he began to nod off… only to be sharply awoken by the sound of hushed voices. They sounded like the Commander and Helga. He stealthily made it way behind the drill, and listened closely,
"...but the kid could get in the way of the plan, you saw how Milo acted after he went to go fetch him. I think he's onto us."
"If he's done something it wouldn't matter, Milo is powerless and the kid won't attack us without good cause, he assumes we're all on the same side, you're being paranoid over nothing-"
"Helga, if this kid tries to stop our takeover it'll be on your head, got that?" Jayson gasped, quickly shoving his hand over his mouth to stop them from hearing, but it was too late. Swiftly - too swift and quiet for someone like the Commander - Jayson was overtaken and lifted, hand trapped over his mouth, unable to scream for help.
"I knew it! The little bastard was spying on us!"
"What should we do about him?" Helga placed a hand on her hip, expression stiff. Jayson could feel the commander eyeing their surroundings and noticed something that caught the young wielders eyes as well. "The waterfall! Shit shit shit shit shit shi-!" Before Jayson could scream, and even before he was able to take a breath in, he was tossed over the edge, careening down into the waves below. He began to struggle immediately, trying to find what was up from down, but the force of the waves began to push and pull him in all directions, before being spat out into a dark chamber, completely different from the rest of the caves he had seen previously. On one end of the room was a stairway leading upwards, and near the center of the room, floating high above his head, was a great stone statue of many faces, with a blue pulsating crystal in its center. As Jayson surfaces, he began vomiting water, shivering from the cold and shock of being tossed around like a ragdoll. But now he knew where the darkness was coming from in this world. "I've got to find a way to warn the others." Suddenly there were several people surrounding him, each wearing a large mask, extending down to their feet, leaving no trace of their bodies to be seen, they each bared a spear, pointed directly at the boy's neck. Jayson gulped nervously as the masked person in front of him spoke.
"Who are you, and why are you in this sacred place?" The voice was feminine,
"I-I was tossed down a waterfall in a cave up above, I barely managed to survive, I promise to explain everything to you as long as I can make it out of here alive!" The onlookers seemed stunned, not realizing what he had done. The woman - Jayson assumed it was a woman – spoke again.
"How do you know our language, outsider?" "This must be part of the abilities the clothing has, thanks Yen Sid!" Jayson warily stood, the spears following his movements with caution, and he held his hands up in surrender.
"I'm not from these lands, or the lands above, I come bearing a light to push away the darkness, please let me speak to your leader so that I can explain everything to them… please…" His voice became small, and sounded almost pleading, even to himself. Jayson was a bit embarrassed. The woman laughed before lowering her spear slightly.
"Prove it, outsider." Jayson wasted no time in summoning his Keyblade, and all the masked people immediately jumped back, before collecting themselves and taking a knee, all chanting the word 'Keybearer'. The woman stayed standing, gazing in awe at the blade, before lowering her spears and barking orders to the underlings in a language that Jayson couldn't understand before being flanked and lightly pushed forward, towards the staircase, the woman following a bit to the right. As they ascended the stairway a small amount of light could be seen, and as they broke through the barrier between below ground and above, Jayson's jaw dropped when he gazed upon the absolute majesty of the city he had been escorted into. There were vehicles flying in the air as if they were swimming, and the moonlight perfectly lit the blue and orange hues of the shops and homes. Adults and children alike were bustling to and fro, merchants were selling their wares and food items. It was bathed in the light of the hearts within the city, and Jayson felt as if he had known of such a place, filled with light, but he couldn't place a finger on it. The woman chuckled softly.
"It is beautiful, is it not?" Jayson nodded dumbly instead of giving a coherent response, which caused the woman to chuckle even harder.
"We will take you to the palace, you will be given a place to rest and recover for the night and tomorrow you will meet with our leader." Jayson began to nod before remembering what he had witnessed before being tossed down the waterfall.
"W-wait! I have something important to tell your leader, it's crucial to your people and to my mission that I tell him before anything bad happens, please!"
"I am terribly sorry, but he has to rest just as much as you do, please understand…" Jayson sighed before accepting the offer, hoping to tell them of the impending doom as quickly as possible.
After some time in his room, Jayson plopped onto the bed made for him and rolled over, determined to stop the Commander and Helga's plan before they could start it, and with that hope, he fell into a restless sleep filled with vague dreams of blood splattered stone and a light in the darkness that he was trudging through.
As a dark corridor opened into the heart of the city, a woman with light blue robes and the mask of a snake stepped forth, gazing up towards the palace with envy and sadness. "If only you hadn't tried to stop fate so long ago none of this would be happening… Ava…"