Huaka'i Pō (Night Marchers)
Disclaimer: I do not own H5-0.
Summary: A ONESHOT Halloween treat – for my most favorite holiday, EVER...aside from Christmas! The team assist Kamekona with a Hawaiian 'phenomenon'. A bit of team bonding. No pairings, but who am I kidding? Steve/Kono if you squint real hard. (This story is sans Lori)
Spoilers: None from the show, but definitely the movies Shaun of the Dead and Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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Kamekona's House
Kalihi Valley
"Chin? Are you sure we should be doing this?" Kono asked her older cousin worriedly.
Chin inclined his head and smirked as he heard the front door click and unlock at the turn of the knob. "McGarrett and Danny are on their way over, so it won't just be us," he stated as he walked through the doorway and headed inside Kamekona's house.
Kono cautiously followed behind, flipping on a few houselights. "But, still, they're haole remember?" she asked as she glanced around at the fancy, large home. The giant, elaborate grandfather clock in the hallway chimed at the 7pm mark and her brows arched almost of their own accord.
Chin stopped halfway down the foyer steps to look back at her. "And? What, you're scared?" he asked teasingly, with a triumphant older brother smirk plastered to his face.
"Don't act Cuz. You are too, I know you," Kono answered defensively, starting to fume slightly.
"I'm not scared or worried, I'm on alert," Chin responded just as defensively.
Kono snorted and headed towards the kitchen to unload the beer that they bought with them. "Yeah, but what about Steve and Danny?" she asked again as she came back into the living room, where he waited.
"You think just because they're haole, they're going to be more at risk?"
"Don't you? We're talking about ancient Hawaii here," Kono answered back, her voice rising slightly.
Chin studied her wary look and knew that they were treading unknown territory here. "Calm down, Cuz. We just gotta remember what to do," he said, reminding her of what they learned as kids from their parents and grandparents. After all, he knew, as well as she that you could fight a perp, a gunman or a criminal – what they would encounter tonight – no living being could.
Kono nodded, comforted somewhat and then jumped at the sudden knocking at the front door.
Chin chuckled and shook his head, despite the glare she shot him before heading towards the door to allow Steve and Danny to enter.
"The big guy lives in the middle of nowhere," stated Danny as he entered after Steve and greeted Chin and Kono with a nod.
"Hey, Grace finish her 'trick or treating' okay?" Chin asked.
Danny smiled proudly. "Oh, definitely and she's got the candy to prove it. She's got, what'd you call it Steve? A bam-"
"Bambucha load," Steve said, smirking at his use of bird lingo and the smiles it elicited from Chin and Kono.
"And that means the equivalent of 'boat-load' right?" Danny asked.
"Right," agreed Chin. "But it can refer to a different sizing as well, like I've got bambucha marbles," he said illustrating his point. Somewhere behind him, he heard Kono guffaw.
Danny's eyebrows shot straight up and Steve smirked.
Chin looked at all of them, rolled his eyes and snorted. "Seriously guys?" he asked, exasperated at their behavior. Kono and the boys laughed loudly then and Chin couldn't help but shake his head.
"Oh man, I'm making the popcorn," Kono said leaving the boys in the living room.
"Let's see what Kamekona left for us to watch while we do this 'favor' for him," Steve said, moving to pick up a set of DVDs that were left on the coffee table.
"So, let me get this straight, now we're 'ghost-busting' too?" Danny asked, not bothering to hide his disbelief. "Those DVD's better be worth it then," he added as he plopped down on the sofa.
Steve held up Shaun of the Dead and Rocky Horror Picture Show and Danny groaned.
"We're not actually 'busting' anything brah," pointed out Chin as he too, took a seat. "He just wants us to observe and back him up so that his relatives don't think he's loco."
"Yeah, well that remains to be said," Danny mumbled under his breath. Having learned long ago the bird term for 'crazy'.
"What was that Danno?" Steve asked, smirking and crossing his arms as he regarded his partner, splayed out on Kamekona's extremely large sofa.
"Nothing, I said 'I guess the big man needs some help'," Danny said with a Cheshire Cat smile, his hands neatly folded on his tummy.
Steve glared at Danny and shook his head. "Uh-huh," he said as he took a seat next to Danny who looked on the verge of a retort. But before he could, Chin interrupted his momentum.
"You guys pick and put a movie in, I'm helping Kono get the beer," Chin said as he stood and left the duo with another shake of his head.
Moments later and halfway through the zombie outbreak, Danny suddenly asked, "now don't zombies have a sense of smell?" At feeling three pairs of eyes on him, the blonde detective couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. "I'm just saying," Danny continued. "They're trying to get to the Winchester and they walk through a mob of the undead and they don't get eaten? Not one zombie goes after them? I mean, come on!"
"You know Danny, I haven't really thought about it," admitted Steve. He looked across Danny to Kono and saw the warning look she was giving him. He'd seen that look from her, before. It was the one that said, 'please don't start another argument because everyone's tired of your we've been married for 50 years routine'. So he backed off, because the alternative of getting his ass kicked by Kono was less fun than fighting with Danny for no reason...or was it?
"So, what was Gracie's costume again?" Kono asked, distracting Danny.
Seemingly almost grateful for the change in subject, Danny brightened at the chance to talk about Grace. "Elphaba," he answered.
"From Wicked, that's awesome Danny," Kono enthused as she watched Shaun and his crew whack away at a zombie with random instruments that included a pool stick and a fire extinguisher. "Elphaba is one of my favorite heroines in musicals," she said, smiling fondly. This time she felt three pairs of eyes on herself. She shifted.
"I thought you said that was just a phase," pointed out Chin from the armchair next to her.
"You like musicals?" Danny and Steve asked almost simultaneously, both men being really obvious in their surprise.
"Don't judge me," Kono said.
And the boys laughed.
Another comfortable half-hour passed among them. Shaun and Liz were saved by the British military and seemed like they would be okay and the team decided they would put in the next movie. Much to Danny's consternation.
"I just don't get this movie," Danny griped as he watched Janet and Brad stand nervously in Dr. Frank-N-Furter's lab.
"But you've seen it before?" Chin asked.
Danny looked from Chin to Kono to Steve. "We all have, right?" he asked hopefully. His fellow team members laughed and nodded. "So you guys liked it?" Danny asked.
He got some half nods in response.
"I think the question we have to ask is, why Kamekona even has this in the first place," remarked Kono.
"Because it's a musical?" Chin taunted.
"Shut up, Cuz," Kono said with a smirk.
"This movie's okay I guess," reasoned Steve. "The best part though, has to be when Dr. Frank-N-Furter goes from room to room seducing Janet first, then Brad," he added. And then, three pairs of eyes fell on him.
"Oh come on," Danny said as he and Chin's eyebrows shot up.
"What?" Steve asked, struggling to hold a straight face. He saw the looks of disbelief on Chin and Danny's faces and the thoughtful look on Kono's and grinned. "Don't judge me," he said, emulating Kono's earlier plea and they all laughed again. "I'm getting more beer," he said, standing to stretch before heading off to the kitchen.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Kono said, still giggling as she disappeared down a darkened hallway. But, only seconds later, Kono came rushing back into the living room, practically knocking over Steve who had just handed off the beers to Danny. "I hear drums," she said urgently.
Steve could see how much she had paled and reflexively placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. He nodded at Chin to switch off the TV and turned his attention back to Kono. "Calm down, tell us again," he urged.
"I hear the faint drumming, Steve. You know what that means," she said. "This house is in their path, Kamekona wasn't kidding."
By this time Danny had stood and had moved to the windows to check the surrounding area. "I see lights flickering down the road," Danny said. "Whose path are we talking about?"
"Get away from the windows, brah," Chin encouraged. "This is the only house up here. There are no lights on this road Danny, remember? And I'm guessing what you saw didn't look like headlights?"
Danny shook his head 'no' and looked extremely perplexed.
"Listen to us Danny, do what we say. When we say get down, get down, don't look up or around, close your eyes, stay down on your belly," Steve instructed.
"What? What are you talking about, it's just a ghost, right?" Danny asked. The gravity of the situation was starting to dawn on him as he noted the uneasy reactions from Kono and Chin. "Tell me."
"These are Night Marchers, Danny. It's not just one, it could be thousands," started Kono as she quickly flipped off the remaining lights. They all moved to the living room, this time to sit on the floor in the dark.
"The huaka'i pō were ancient Hawaiian warriors. These incidents are said to be them trying to find an entrance into the other world. Or, that they're either returning or going to battle again. Some say they're warriors, some say they're Hawaiian royalty. Whatever the reason, whoever they are, it is advised to get out of their way," Chin explained.
"But how? If Kono says there are thousands -" Danny started to say but then, the house started to rumble gently.
"I hear a conch shell," Steve said, interrupting him, not bothering to hide his look of worry.
"That means they're coming," Chin said, visibly gulping.
"Wait, what? What does that mean? What'll happen to us?" Danny asked, clearly starting to freak out.
"Nothing, if we get out of their way," Steve answered.
"Again, I ask, HOW Steven?" Danny gritted out, but his breath seemed to catch and then house shook even more.
Unknown lights caused shadows to flicker against the darkened walls and the sound of heavy wind rushing everywhere, over took them. Kono cast a fearful glance at the three men and edged closer to Steve. Chin crawled over and pushed Danny, who looked like a fish gasping for air, down and then told him to stay still as he got down next to him. Steve and Kono flipped over onto their bellies as well, his arm protectively covering her shoulders. All four team members lay prone on their stomachs, silent and barely breathing with their eyes closed. Kamekona's house continued to shake and rumble loudly, as if hundreds of people were walking through. A chill filled the room, faint drumming and chanting could be heard and then, it was gone.
The eerie silence that followed seemed like a blessing in comparison.
"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" Danny said, sitting up.
"We told you Danny," Steve answered as he stood and pulled Kono up beside to him. He stuck his hand out to pull Danny up next.
"Yeah, I know. You all told me," Danny said, gesturing wildly. "But – but, that?" he asked, stuttering. "That was insane! And all of a sudden I couldn't breathe, and-"
"Danny." "Danno." "Brah!" The remaining three members of Five-0 tried simultaneously to get the blonde detective to calm down.
"What?" Danny asked, stopping mid rant.
"You're okay, we're all okay," Chin pointed out as he moved to switch on ALL of the house lights. He rolled his eyes when he caught Kono's knowing smirk. "Just remember brah, next time, if you hear the drums, get out of the way."
Danny squinted from the brightness and shrugged and looked from Steve to Kono to Chin. "Okay."
"That's it? 'Okay'?" Steve asked, surprised. He expected more of a rant from Danny and knew that Chin and Kono did too.
"Listen, I don't need much convincing other than what just happened. Just tell me again, does this happen everywhere?" Danny asked.
"No," Chin answered. "The Night Marchers only followed particular routes apparently. Kamekona's house just happens to be in the direct path of one route."
"Unfortunately for him," added Kono. "No wonder he never spends Halloween at home."
"Huh," said Danny.
"'Huh' what?" asked Steve back.
"I'm gonna kill him," Danny said, pointing an index finger for emphasis. But then he seemed to reconsider. "No, first I'm going to do him the favor of telling him he's not loco and that yeah, they actually do pass through his house – THEN, I'm gonna kill him," he said smacking his lips and clapping his hands together happily. He looked at his teammates who had all stopped to stare at him. "So then he can come back and haunt his own house himself," Danny said by way of explanation.
The End.
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A/N: Happy Halloween! I know, silly and not so scary, but scary for someone from Hawaii – always heard the tales growing up, and NEVER want to encounter the marchers. I did take some liberties with the legends though. Hope you liked it!
The Nightmarchers: (This excerpt was taken from Wikipedia) In Hawaiian legend, Nightmarchers (huaka'i pō) are the ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors. On the nights of Kane, Ku, Lono, Akua, or on the nights of Kaloa they are said to come forth from their burial sites to march out to past battles or to other sacred places...Anyone living near their path may hear chanting and marching, and must go inside to avoid notice...However, if you have time to get out of the way it is best to do that...