Oof, well, first of all happy new year everyone! Second of all this chapter 1. took me way longer to write than it should have and 2. isn't one I'm... super proud of mostly cause its kinda standard as far as a Disney chapter goes. Which sorta sucks cause I love, LOVE the movie this world is based on, but idk... it was just... kinda tricky to make things connect in it the way I wanted it to? Which is also why this chapter is shorter than it was original gonna be, mostly since I got massive creative burnout while working on it. Eh, it happens, but either way, I hope you still find something to like in it all the same. Enjoy!
Chapter 17: How Far I'll Go
See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me
But no one knows how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me,
One day I'll know,
If I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
"There's a line where the sky meets the sea…"
She ran away from the healing hut as fast as she could, grief and duty prompting every painful step forward. At the same time, she dared herself not to look back, knowing that if she did, whatever was still there for her was all too quickly fading away.
"And it calls me…"
She briefly feared that her mission was doomed before it had even begun when her mother caught her hastily packing up her supplies for the trip. And yet… she didn't stop her, instead understanding exactly what she needed to do and why as she helped her gather all that she'd need for the perilous journey ahead of her.
"But no one knows… how far it goes…"
With tears in her eyes, she parted ways with her mother, running off again, this time into the night. Into whatever fate had in store for her now.
"All that time wondering where I need to be is behind me…"
She ventured into the hidden shipyard alone, letting the heart guide her to the perfect vessel, the boat that she hoped would carry her, not just to her destiny, but to the salvation of her island and her people.
"I'm on my own… to worlds unknown!"
Not wanting to waste another second, she shoved her supplies below deck and pushed the canoe into the water, determination replacing the anguish that had first brought her here.
"Every turn I take, every trail I track,
Is a choice I make, now I can't turn back,
From the great unknown, where I go alone,
Where I long to be…"
Her heart pounded with both fear and excitement as she emerged from under the waterfall and drifted out onto the open sea. And yet, as she did, she finally looked back to the island she was leaving behind, catching sight of one hut in particular just as the lights-and the fading life within it-were ultimately snuffed out.
And yet… just as one life ended, a new one seemed to begin.
Before the grief of what she had lost could even touch her, a massive, graceful glow took shape in the darkness of the ocean below her. That light took on the form of a radiant manta ray, one that glided-no, flew-right under her boat, sparking warmth and comfort within her heart all at once to push her onward.
"See her light in the night in the sea? She calls me!"
She followed that light, her light toward the waves, toward the vast, unknown horizon ahead.
"And yes I know that I can go!"
Tears brimmed in her eyes against the cool breeze of the starry night, but they were hardly tears of grief this time. Rather, they were tears of hope, of love, for she knew that however daunting this journey might her, her grandmother would be with her every step of the way, just like she'd promised.
"There's a moon in the sky and the wind is behind me. Soon I'll know…"
With a strong pull, she unfurled her sail, bracing herself as her boat skipped over a high wave, finally breaking past the barrier of the reef for the first time. Past the barrier of everything she'd ever known before.
"How far I'll go!"
"Alright, Sora, this is it," Donald remarked with a smug, challenging smirk. "There is absolutely no way in the worlds that we're gonna find a Key here. Looks like that instinct of yours is finally wrong."
"Ya mean Sora's Keys Instinct?" Goofy inquired.
"Again, not calling it that!"
Sora didn't respond to his companions right away, instead looking at the vast landscape all around them. Or rather, the lack of a landscape, considering the fact that they were surrounded by nothing but endless ocean on all sides. The sun reflected brightly off the calm, bright blue waters, a color matched by the prestinely cloudless skies above. Likewise, the air was quite warm, tropical even, an atmosphere the Keybearer knew quite well with thanks to his own island home. And yet, as familiar as this ocean rung, no islands, or boats for that matter, seemed to dot it, save for the very simple, very small wooden raft the trio miraculously managed to find and scale up onto upon their arrival to this seemingly barren new world. And yet… something was indeed there, Sora could practically feel it, even if he had no real idea as to what that something was.
"Actually…" Sora grinned confidently as he surveyed the open seas once more. "I hate to break it to you, Donald, but… I'm pretty sure there is a Key in this world after all. Sorry."
"Oh, why?" the magician scoffed skeptically. "'Cause your 'instinct' told you so?"
"Yeah, pretty much," the Keybearer said, finally turning to face his companions, only to notice their change in attire. Such a change wasn't uncommon among many of the worlds the trio visited, often put on by Donald's magic as a way of helping them better fit in and maintain world order. This time around, their clothing was quite simple, matching the tropical vibes of their current setting, with well-crafted skirts made out of burlap, leaves, and various other natural materials, all coming together to create a fresh, island look that the Keybearer couldn't help but appreciate. "Hey, cool! Your outfits are… uh…" Sora trailed off, his smile fading as he took stock of the dumbfounded, practically shocked looks both Donald and Goofy were sending his way. He nearly asked them what was wrong until he happened to glance down at himself, catching a glimpse of his own new outfit, as well as something else. A secret that had, up until now, been quite well-kept, but was now completely laid bare for all to see thanks to that new outfit.
And of course, Sora barely even had time to let out a startled gasp over that before both Donald and Goofy were already pressing him for answers. "Sora!" the magician snapped hotly, angrily. "You told us the scar was gone! You promised us!"
"Y-yeah, I-I did," the Keybearer took in a deep, anxious breath as he crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best to cover the glaring, x-shaped scar. "I-I just-"
"You just LIED to us, several times!" Donald seethed, clearly furious by the deception. "We asked you over and over again about the scar and each time you said 'oh, its gone' or 'oh, it isn't there anymore' when it was there all along!"
"Sora," Goofy began, much more calmly, but still clearly upset himself. "Why would ya hide something like this from us? You know the only reason we kept askin' about the scar so much was just 'cause we were worried about ya, right?"
"I do know that," the Keybearer sighed remorsefully, stealing another worried glance down at the scar himself.
"Then why did you lie about it?!" Donald demanded harshly. "Especially when you knew I'd be able to heal it!"
"Because you can't heal it!" Sora suddenly snapped, largely without even meaning to. Even so, he wished he could have retracted this revelation based on the incredulous looks his companions sent his way upon hearing it.
"What do ya mean?" Goofy asked with a frown.
"I mean I already tried healing it on my own and-"
"Curaga!" Donald caught the Keybearer off guard, cutting his explanation off with a sudden cast of powerful healing magic. The warm glow of said magic did surround Sora briefly, and yet it ultimately did nothing to even ease the damning mark, which was still just as ever present, even upon a second attempt.
"...And it didn't work…" Sora finished fretfully, looking toward the sea to avoid having to look at the horrendous scar and all he knew it really represented.
"W-wha-but why wouldn't it?!" Donald asked, baffled as he shook his wand a bit, even though he was sure it wasn't the reason behind this magical malfunction.
"Maybe it's because of somethin' Young Xehanort did when he first gave ya the scar?" Goofy proposed thoughtfully.
"I-I… don't know," the Keybearer admitted, even if it was something of a lie. For a while now, he indeed had suspected that the young master had something to do with the scar's persistence, especially given all of the other concerning warning signs that had come along with it. In fact, the theory seemed to be downright common sense, all things considered. And yet, even despite this, the scar itself seemed to carry no other ill effects outside of its inability to be healed. While Sora had initially feared that the Organization would perhaps use said scar, or sigil, rather as a way of tracking his every move, they hardly even seemed to be doing that if Demyx's clear surprise upon running into the trio in the previous world was any indication. By all accounts, it seemed as though Xehanort himself wasn't doing much in regards to his supposed claim on the Keybearer's heart. Which was why Sora figured that, outside of the few relatively minor points of concern, including the scar itself, he didn't really have much of anything to worry about or fear after all. At least, that's what he continued to hope.
"Well, even if it won't heal, that's no excuse for not telling us about it!" Donald scowled, still clearly upset. "Especially after you promised you'd stop hiding things like this from us!"
"That's right," Goofy firmly agreed. "Like we've been sayin': we're a team, Sora. And teams don't keep secrets from each other!"
"I know…" Sora sighed, recalling all of the many times he'd almost told his companions about the scar. Or the times he'd almost told them about the jagged cracks marring his Keyblade, a secret he was still readily keeping from them. And yet, every single time he almost told them… something always seemed to hold him back and lock those secrets into silence, at least until they could remain hidden no longer. "But I-wait." The Keybearer stopped short, his focus drawn away from the conversation and out toward the distant horizon of the ocean far beyond them. "What's that?"
"Don't try to change the subject!" Donald accused and yet Sora largely ignored him, instead keeping his sights on the vast ocean ahead. The Keybearer stepped up to the edge of the tiny raft the trio was standing on, straining to make anything else out about the speck of movement he'd barely managed to spot from afar. That speck seemed to be drifting closer from the open seas, sticking out distinctly from the otherwise unchanging blue seas.
"Gawrsh, is that… a boat?" Goofy wondered, squinting off in the same direction as the Keybearer.
"What?" Donald squawked, finally joining his companions in taking a look. "We're in the middle of nowhere! Who would be crazy enough to be all the way out here?!"
"Shucks, ya mean other than us?" Goofy replied with a small chuckle.
"Wait a second…" Sora frowned as he took another, closer look at the still-far away boat. "It looks like something's climbing up its sail…"
"Oh yeah, I see it too," the captain noted. "Oh! There's a few of 'em. Small and dark and twitchy, sorta like-"
"Heartless!" all three of them exclaimed in startled unison as they noticed the darkened swarm attacking the boat. However, the supposed Heartless were far from its only passengers, as a lone figure swiftly emerged from the other side of the sail, doing her best to beat the invading creatures back with nothing but a wooden oar on hand.
"There's somebody on it!" Sora exclaimed, startled as he summoned his Keyblade and plunged its tip into the water. "We gotta help her! C'mon!"
Without anything else to row with, Donald and Goofy also called upon their own weapons and joined the Keybearer in trying to get their raft moving. Unfortunately, a Keyblade, a staff, and a shield weren't exactly well-suited as substitutes for oars, which was why the raft barely even managed to move across the far-too still ocean at all. That is, until the Ocean itself decided to get involved.
Without any warning, the raft suddenly lurched forward, catching the trio off guard as they all clumsily fell back upon it. Even so, their makeshift vessel practically skipped across the sea at a blinding speed, until it inevitably deposited the trio exactly where they wanted to go, onto the boat that was being beset by the Heartless.
Except… upon a second glance, it was quite clear that these creatures weren't Heartless after all.
Rather, these monsters, while every bit as dark and devious as standard Shadows were, were arguably even more insect-like in appearance, with long, jagged antenna, short, pointed limbs and sharp, blaring red eyes. But what they did have in common with the Heartless was their aggression as they shrieked and scampered about the boat, intent on causing as much relentless damage and chaos as possible.
"Huh?" Sora looked around at the rampaging, unknown creatures with apt confusion. "What are-"
"Hey!" The Keybearer was succinctly cut off by the arrival of the girl the trio had only briefly spotted on the boat mere moments ago. She jumped down from her perch against the tall canvas sail, smacking a few of the shadowy creatures out of the way as she landed on the tiny boat's now rather-cramped deck. Her expression, while stressed, was fierce as her long, dark, wavy hair blew tousled by the stir of the chaos, the skirt of her simple, natural outfit that looked quite similar to the new clothing the trio themselves were now wearing doing the same. From a cursory glance, she seemed to be roughly around Sora's age, with a slender yet steady build as she gripped her oar tightly, ready to continue the fight, even despite the trio's puzzling, sudden arrival. "Who are you? Where'd you come from?"
"Don't worry," Sora assured, knowing there was no time for introductions as he called his Keyblade back into his hands to ward off this threat. "We're here to help!"
The girl looked over the trio skeptically for a moment, before she ultimately nodded, accepting their aid. And with that, everyone launched themselves into the fray, tackling these bizarre new creatures with gusto, even as more appeared to take the place of those that had fallen. And yet, the outnumbered group didn't lose heart as they continued to battle this threat, with the trio being more than well-versed in taking on creatures such as these by now. The girl seemed a bit less practiced, for even despite her apparent agility and dexterity, these monsters were clearly out of her element. Even so, she bravely stood her ground right alongside the trio, right until the very last of the creatures fell into the sea, defeated.
"Oof… looks like all those old stories were right," the girl sighed, exhausted as she leaned against her boat's sail. "The ocean really is full of monsters… But thanks for the help," she smiled gratefully to the trio. "I gotta admit, I… kinda needed it."
"No problem," the Keybearer warmly returned her smile. "So now that we're not surrounded by a ton of monsters… I'm Sora."
"I'm Donald!" the magician piped up enthusiastically.
"And I'm Goofy," the captain waved. "Pleasure to meet ya."
"It's good to meet you guys too," the girl chuckled, charmed by the trio. "I'm Mo-" She suddenly stopped herself short, clearing her throat as she straightened her posture to come off as more authoritative, almost as if she was reciting something she'd been practicing several times over. "I am Moana of Motunui. And I am searching for Maui, shapeshifter and demigod of the wind and sea. He will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti."
Naturally, the trio exchanged a glance at this, lacking the proper context to really understand what Moana was really talking about. Even so, Sora still offered her a smile, albeit a bit of a confused one as he took her word for it all. "Um… ok…. Anyway, Moana, have you ever seen monsters like those around here before?"
"No, never," Moana dropped her serious demeanor for a more natural one. "They just showed up on my boat and started attacking me and Heihei."
"Heihei?" Goofy asked, confused.
"Oh! That's right!" Moana gasped, glancing around before reaching down into the boat's small storage cutout and pulling up a basket covering a previously hidden passenger: a scrawny, wild-eyed chicken. "Sora, Donlad, Goofy, meet Heihei."
While the most Heihei offered the trio in the way of a greeting was a loud squawk, one that wasn't even aimed at any of them but in the exact opposite direction instead. All the same, the trio exchanged an amused glance over the rather dim-witted chicken, especially as it tried walking forward, only to repeatedly run right into the side of the compartment it was standing in instead. "Uh, heya, Heihei," Sora greeted with a good-natured smile.
"You know," Moana spoke up as she pulled Heihei back onto the deck. "You guys seem like you've seen those sorts of monsters before based on how well you fought them."
"Well, we have fought monsters before, but… never ones like those…" Sora frowned, casting a glance over to the sea.
"Actually," Donald interjected thoughtfully. "I feel like we have seen them before!"
"What?" Sora turned to his companions, confused. "No, we haven't. Or… at least, I haven't…"
"Hm…" Goofy pondered, scratching his head. "It's on the tip of my tongue… I remember the King told us somethin' about… nega-tive emotions?"
"...Unversed?" Donald suggested, somewhat offhandedly.
"Oh yeah! Them!" Goofy readily agreed, despite the fact that Sora was clearly still out of the loop. And he was far from the only one as Moana stood by in silence, even more lost than the Keybearer himself currently was.
"Unversed…?" Sora repeated dubiously.
"Uh huh," Goofy nodded. "A while back, the King fought a whole bunch of battles against 'em with the three missing Keyblade wielders."
"The same three we're looking for?" the Keybearer asked, curious. "Aqua, Terra, and Ventus?"
"Yep! We need more dependable help than you!" Donald teased with a knowing smirk.
"Hey!" Sora snapped in faux offense.
"Still, how come the Unversed are showin' up now…?" Goofy wondered, getting the conversation back on track.
"Um, hey, sorry, but, uh, I'm still here, remember?" Moana suddenly interjected, stepping between the trio. "Mind filling me in on what all this 'Unversed' stuff is all about?"
"Oh, sure," Sora agreed somewhat obliviously. "You'd like the King, he-" The Keybearer was immediately cut off by his companions as they mutually rushed in to cover his mouth before he could reveal anything else.
"Order!" they both exclaimed with the simple, usual reminder that was easily enough to get Sora to comply as they let him go.
"R-right, uh… well..." he turned back to Moana, who was more bewildered than ever before based on her incredulous expression alone. "I-it's not really that important. I'm sure that your whole thing about that-what was his name again?-that uh, Muoy guy is way more interesting."
"Uh… I think you mean Maui," Moana smirked. "You know, only one of the most infamous demigods ever? Everyone on my island has grown up hearing stories about him, so it's… sort of weird that you haven't heard of him. Where'd you three say you were from again?"
"Oh! Uh… we're…" Sora trailed off, looking to Donald and Goofy, who both silently urged him to not be as candid as before. "We're from… wait. Did you say you're from an island?"
"Uh… yeah," Moana nodded. "Motunui. Have you heard of it?"
"Well, no…" Sora shrugged. "But it's a pretty cool coincidence since I'm from an island too!"
"Sora!" Donald immediately chastised, though this time Sora hardly heeded him.
"Really?" Moana asked, instantly intrigued. "Which one?"
"Um… let's just say its an island that's… very far away from here," the Keybearer explained, momentarily satisfying the hot-tempered magician. "You've probably never heard of it."
"Heh, you'd probably be right," Moana crossed her arms, her expression somewhat bittersweet. "Up until now, I've never even left my island before."
"Gawrsh, why not?" Goofy asked.
"Well, I've always wanted to, but let's just say… I never really had a chance to chance to get out on the ocean before," Moana said, glancing out at the vast sea. "At least… not until the Ocean came to get me itself."
Her small smile widened as she turned to the ocean in full, prompting the others to do the same as they caught a sight that easily caught the trio off guard. Just behind Moana, a large swath of water rose up, seemingly on its own accord, taking on the shape of a wave that seemed to be held in place as it seemed to "look" down at the group gathered on the boat before it.
"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Moana grinned back at the clearly dumbfounded trio behind her. "The Ocean is a friend of mine."
"Since when is the ocean alive?" Donald muttered incredulously. Of course, the Ocean heard this remark and responded accordingly, aiming a direct deluge of water straight at the magician and completely drenching him in the process, much to his annoyance. "Hey!"
"Aw, c'mon, Donald," Sora chuckled alongside both Goofy and Moana over the magician's misfortune. "You gotta admit the Ocean has a pretty good sense of humor."
"Hmph, sure, it does…" Donald deadpanned, wringing water out of his feathers.
"This might sound a little crazy-well, not that this whole thing doesn't already sound completely crazy, but," Moana paused, taking in a brief breath before diving into her explanation. "The Ocean actually chose me to stop the darkness and save my people using this…" She carefully unlatched the locket on her necklace and took out a small green stone, one that glistened under the vibrance of the afternoon sun.
"Ooo…" Donald and Goofy were both quite fascinated by the obviously important relic, but Sora in particular seemed almost captivated by it, staring at the tiny stone with wide, wondering eyes. And all the while, sensing just how much life was radiating from it, life that was so powerful that it nearly overwhelmed the Keybearer entirely. And yet, he could also tell that whatever that power was, it was pure, it was good, and it was, without a doubt, something worth protecting.
"...It's a heart…" Sora whispered, his eyes never leaving the stone even as Moana drew it back a bit in surprise.
"W-what? How… how did you know that?" she asked, raising a cautious eyebrow as she held the precious relic closer, just in case.
"I-I don't know," the Keybearer shook his head as if to clear it. "It just… feels like it is one, you know?"
"I… don't…" Moana admitted, frowning. "But you are right; this is a heart. The heart of Te Fiti. It's why I'm out here, looking for Maui. He stole the heart from Te Fiti in the first place, which is why darkness is spreading across the sea. So now, he needs to go put it back so the darkness won't destroy everything. Does that make… any sense?"
"A lot of sense, actually," Sora nodded, easily understanding Moana's intended mission. "In fact, restoring hearts sounds a lot like something we've done before."
"Many times before," Goofy added.
"You could say we're experts at it!" Donald chimed in proudly.
"Experts, huh?" Moana chuckled, leaning against her oar. "Well, you guys sure seemed to be experts when it came to getting rid of those 'Unversed' things. So… if you three aren't busy with anything else… then I wouldn't mind having some backup-I-I mean, company on the way to Te Fiti. That is, if you want to…"
"Sure, we do!" Sora enthusiastically agreed, despite Donald adamantly shaking his head against the thought of candidly meddling once again. "Actually, this will work out great," the Keybearer turned back to his companions. "Not only can we help Moana, but we can also look for the Key while we do."
"Key?" Moana raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"Oh yeah. That's what we're out here looking for," Sora explained, calling upon their most recent Key so he could show her. "Long story short, we need to find thirteen of these, and I'm… almost certain there's one somewhere around here. You wouldn't happen to know where we might be able to find it, would you?"
"Uh… no?" Moana frowned, looking between the glittering Key and the Keybearer in apt bewilderment. "But we can always keep an eye out for it along the way. So, let's go!" She grinned confidently, sitting near the back of the boat to take up its controls once again. "Next stop, Maui." With this, she pulled the sail taunt, only for the wind to act against her, sending the boat drifting backward instead of forward. She briefly panicked, trying to gain control of the sail once again by pulling on its rope as hard as she could, only to more or less bring the vessel to a stand-still altogether. Moana let out a frustrated groan at this, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes before looking to the concerned trio before her almost pleadingly. "Uh… weird question, but… do any of you guys know anything about sailing?"
"Are you kidding, of course I do!" Sora exclaimed confidently. Perhaps a bit too confidently though, something that Donald was quick to call him out on.
"No, you don't," the magician argued flatly.
"Eh, how hard could it be?" the Keybearer shrugged, going over to join Moana. She readily handed the rope over to him, pointing out the boat's rudder in the process as well as she held onto the oar to be of some assistance when it came to steering. "Ok, so you just take this…" Sora began, somewhat unsteadily pulling on the sail only for the boat to turn in a fast, full circle as a result. Moana sent him a rather knowing look at this, though even so, he tried his best to play it off with a flustered laugh before trying again. "Alright, so this thing does… um…" his smile ultimately fell as he reached for the rudder, hesitating lest he end up turning the boat completely around altogether. "Ok, ok, I've got it this time, I know it," he shook his head, gripping the sail's rope tightly once more, only for Moana to do the same.
"You don't actually know a single thing about sailing, do you, Sora?" she asked with an empathetic smile.
"What? No, I totally…" Sora trailed off, letting out a small, defeated sigh as he admitted the truth. "Don't. Sorry."
"Heh, don't worry about it," Moana laughed warmly. "You're definitely not alone on that front." Her humorous manner dropped as she looked back out to the sea once more somewhat diffidently. "You know, it's kinda funny… My people, they were descended from voyagers. They used to sail all over the great sea, discovering new islands everywhere they went! Then… thanks to Maui stealing the heart of Te Fiti… they just… stopped. Without the heart, monsters started coming out of the ocean and… I guess it just scared everyone into staying on land."
"...Is that why you've never left your island until now?" Sora asked, curious.
Moana nodded, gripping her necklace that contained the heart of Te Fiti safely within. "M-my… my grandmother told me the Ocean chose me for a reason, but… why would it choose someone who doesn't even know how to sail…?"
Sora paused, thinking over this bout of doubt before offering her the most natural response he could think of. "Maybe… it's not about sailing. Maybe the Ocean chose you because it knows you can do something that nobody else can."
"You think so?" Moana smiled over to him, hopeful. "Well, I'd love to know what that something is… But, I guess that's why I'm out here in the first place, huh? To find out."
"If it makes you feel any better," Sora began, leaning back as he looked to the clear skies ahead. "When I first left my island, I didn't really know what I was doing either. I was lost and alone and scared and all I wanted to do was find my friends and get back home. But then… I met Donald and Goofy," he nodded up to his companions as they sat a bit ahead on the boat. Both of them gladly returned his nostalgic smile, remembering that meeting and their very first adventure together just as well as the Keybearer himself did. "And… believe it or not, they were the ones who helped me find my way."
"Find your way…" Moana repeated, largely to herself as she wondered exactly who she had to help her find her own way. Especially now that one of the only people she'd always looked to for guidance was gone...
"Gawrsh…." Goofy spoke up, looking past the pair at the back of the boat. "It's startin' to get a little cloudy over that way…"
"Cloudy?" Moana turned, though the moment she did, her heart instantly sank at what she saw. Approaching all too quickly from beyond the horizon were dark, ominous clouds, covering the clear skies with pitch black darkness. But that wasn't the only cause for concern, for as those clouds rolled in, so did thunder, echoing across the sea as lightning flashed warningly over the water. "A storm!" Moana shouted, quickly reaching throwing the sail's rope to Sora as she began paddling as hard as she could with her oar.
"Maybe we can outrun it," the Keybearer purposed, looking up to his companions. "Any ideas?"
"None except for what Moana's doin'," Goofy said, urgently plunging his shield into the water to aid in the effort. "Paddle us outta here!"
Donald was ready to do the same, only to notice Heihei verging on the edge of walking right over the edge of the boat just as the storm fell upon them. The magician lunged forward, barely catching the chicken by the leg just as a series of uproarious waves began to rock the tiny boat back and forth aggressively.
"Uh, O-Ocean!?" Moana shouted breathlessly over the clanging thunder. "A little help here?!"
Unfortunately, the Ocean didn't seem to comply. If anything, it only reacted harsher, the waves rising as a massive torrent of rain began to fall from the dark clouds above. As another one of those waves crashed into the boat, it listed hard to its side, practically knocking all five of its passengers off entirely. Still, they all held on, even as the vessel crashed down onto its other side. And yet, that was clearly only the beginning.
The boat's sail absolutely wavered under the near hurricane winds acting against it, to the point that neither Sora nor Moana could hold into it no matter how hard they tried. As a result, the vessel spun itself about wildly, the waves still casting it to and fro against the raging sea until it could remain upright no longer. A particularly momentous wave bombarded it seemingly out of nowhere, one that was more than enough to tip the unsteady boat over altogether. Time seemed to slow as it fell over, everyone upon it panicking to grasp onto something as they were plunged into the unforgiving ocean below.
Moana was the first to surface, clinging tightly onto the boat's underside as she desperately looked around for any signs of Sora, Donald, or Goofy amidst the roaring waves. Fortunately, all three of them were close behind her when it came to emerging from the sea, but based on everyone's mutual struggle to even anchor themselves to the vessel simply to stay afloat, it was clear none of them would be able to hold out against such an intense storm for too much longer.
"O-Ocean!" Moana cried again, practically pleading with the sea against the pouring rain. "Help us! Please!"
The trio was likewise equally on the verge of joining her in calling on the Ocean for its much-needed aid, that is, until said ocean submerged them with yet another unexpected wave. However, as they all surfaced from the surging sea once more, they were met with the Ocean's answer to their distressful straits: another wave, one that was much more towering and terrifying than any of the rest. It rose countless feet above the tiny boat and those holding onto it, who could do nothing but stare up at the curling wave as it bore down upon them, giving them no time, and no chance to escape it.
In an instant, the wave crashed down upon them, everything going black as all four of them were seemingly lost to the wrath of the sea.
"Ba-CAW!" Heihei's usual somewhat shrill cawing was muffled under the hallowed half of a coconut resting on his head. He did somehow manage to shake it off, only to wander right off the skewed tip of the sail he had been perched on, landing squarely on the sand below. Or rather, on Moana, who was essentially buried in that sand.
The girl darted upright, startled and weary, practically drenched in dry, white sand from head to toe. As consciousness returned to her, she briefly cast a look at her current surroundings: a seemingly small, rocky island with hardly any life to speak of upon it. An island that was unquestionably in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and quite clearly abandoned, at least from an initial glance.
After taking a moment to make sure that the heart of Te Fiti was still securely contained inside her necklace, Moana did happen to find another sign of life in the form of a pair of feet poking out from the far side of the overturned boat stuck in the sand behind her. "Sora?" she wondered aloud, and sure enough, the Keybearer sat up, tiredly leaning forward from beyond the boat to reveal he was just as covered in sand as she was.
"Ugh… what happened?" he asked, shaking his head and brushing off sand in the process. "Where are we?"
"No idea…" Moana sighed, standing up. "Are Donald and Goofy ok?"
"I don't know if I'd use the word 'ok'..." Donald grumbled, sullenly trudging over to the pair, seaweed slung over his beak and a starfish clinging onto his arm. The magician let out a noisy huff as he got rid of both of them, ignoring the amused chuckles from pair before him.
"Wait… where's Goofy?" Sora asked, glancing around for any signs of the captain.
"You mean he's not with you?" Donald asked, raising a concerned eyebrow.
"No…" the Keybearer frowned, growing increasingly worried himself. "Goofy?!" he called, joining Donald in further searching the island. "Where are yo-" Sora was abruptly cut off upon tripping over something sticking out of the sand. Upon a second glance, both Sora and Donald realized in dumbfounded surprise that it was none other than a pair of arms, clearly Goofy's, resting peacefully on the sand, with the tip of his nose also surfacing as it lazily snored away. The rest of the captain, however, was completely buried in a sizable sand dune, at least until the Keybearer and the magician worked together to pull him out of it. As soon as they did, however, both of them quickly fell back into the sand, allowing Goofy to properly sit up and stretch himself out from his bout of slumber.
"Oh, heya, fellas!" he greeted his disoriented companions warmly. "I gotta say, that was just about the best nap I've had in a long time. Who could've guessed that sand was so… well, comfy!?"
"Speak for yourself…" Donald glowered, brushing the sand off his tailfeathers as he stood.
"Well, at least we're all safe and accounted for…" Moana noted, walking over to the trio. "No thanks to a certain Ocean…" Her expression soured as she began to march over to the shore, glaring hotly at the now-calm sea lapping onto it almost mockingly. "Um… WHAT?!" she demanded, seething with fury over the peril her supposed 'friend' had just put them all through. "I said help us! And wrecking my boat? Not helping!" In a further show of frustration, she made an attempt at kicking the water in retaliation, only for said water to suddenly, intentionally rescind, sending her tripping and falling flat on her back. "Fish pee in you!" she shouted, jumping to her feet and pointing to the Ocean accusingly. "All day! So… augh!" With that, Moana turned on her heel, storming away from the Ocean altogether lest she continue an argument that she clearly couldn't win.
"Uh… are you ok, Moana?" Sora asked, genuinely concerned.
"To be honest? No," Moana replied flatly, leaning against her boat as she let out a disgruntled sigh. "I thought we were on track to finding Maui, but… who even knows where we are now! It could take us days just to figure out how to… how… to…" Moana trailed off, her anger dissipating into wonder as she looked toward the towering stones that made up most of the island. Stones that had been marked with a myriad of countless tally marks, all of which were arranged into the very specific shape of a very familiar hook. "No way…" she muttered in disbelief, briefly glancing back over at the Ocean for an answer. "...Maui?"
The Ocean swiftly collected itself into its usual swath, one that only offered Moana a single, solidifying wave before splashing back down into the rest of the sea. Surprised, she looked to her companions, eyes wide as she silently communicated to them what the Ocean had just told her.
"Wait, so this Maui guy you're looking for," Sora began, glancing around for anyone else. "He's here?"
"I-I guess so?" Moana shrugged, looking to the markings on the rocks again. "But if he is, then where-" She stopped short, taking in a fearful glance as loud footsteps began to echo across the sand from just behind the rocks. Sure enough, a large, intimidating shadow loomed on those stones, one that was clearly, steadily approaching the shore, along with all of them. "Maui!"
Acting quickly, Moana took the initiative, grabbing her oar first, then Heihei, all while beckoning Sora, Donald, and Goofy to follow her as she hid away behind the semi-buried boat. "Garwsh, Moana, I thought you were lookin' for Maui," Goofy noted in a somewhat confused whisper. "So why are we hidin' from him?"
"I-I just need time to think!" Moana said anxiously before plunging back into a frantic round of practice of her earlier spiel. "Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, I-I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat-No, you will board my boat… Oohhhh what if he doesn't listen?"
"Then we'll make him listen!" Sora assured, calling upon his Keyblade, just in case. "If Maui goes around stealing people's hearts, then he could be dangerous, just like the Organization," he noted to his companions in particular. "We should be ready for anything."
"Right," Donald and Goofy both nodded in firm agreement.
"R-right," Moana said, much more nervously as she gripped her oar tightly. "O-ok. Ok… I am Moana of Motunui." She began again, daring to peek out from beyond the boat to catch a glimpse of the demigod. "You will board my…" She trailed off, frowning in confusion as she realized Maui was nowhere to be found. Until…
"Boat! A boat!" The entire group was completely caught off guard as the boat itself was suddenly pulled out of the sand by none other than Maui himself.
Maui certainly lived up to the legendary title of demigod with his large, powerful figure, adorned by an incredible patchwork of ceremonial tattoos that covered just about every inch of him. He heaved the entire boat up into the air with hardly any effort whatsoever, clearly happy to see it as he held it high above his head triumphantly. "The gods have given me a-AH!" The demigod let out a frightened shriek the moment he spotted the group standing before him, accidentally dropping the boat altogether as he shrinked back in surprise.
Even so, Maui did bother to lift the boat once more to see if he actually did drop it on his unexpected guests. However, the only thing that emerged from the sand was Heihei, fortunately not completely crushed as his head poked lazily out of the sand.
"Ahem." Maui's confusion only grew as he turned, boat still in hand toward the group standing directly behind him. Moana still held onto her oar tightly, Sora, Donald, and Goofy standing supportively alongside her, all their weapons equally drawn and their expressions similarly stern. Even so, they let Moana lead with her well-practiced speech, one that she delivered evenly and resolutely, knowing there was no turning back now.
"Maui," she began, her tone and manner firm and unyielding, even as Maui looked down to her, bewildered. "Shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea-I am Moana of-"
"Hero of men."
Moana paused, caught off guard as she exchanged a brief, confused glance at the others. "W-what?"
"It's actually Maui, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea…" Maui explained with a proud smile. "Hero of men. I interrupted; from the top, hero of men. Go."
Despite her initial surprise at this tangent, Moana shook her head, continuing her introduction with a level tone. Even if she didn't manage to get very far. "I am-"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Maui cut in once more. "And women. Men and women. Both. All. Not a guy/girl thing. You know, Maui is a hero to all."
"A hero?" Sora whispered to his companions, baffled by such a claim. "What kind of 'hero' steals someone's heart?"
Neither Donald nor Goofy had an answer to this, though Moana, on the other hand, was growing increasingly frustrated with the demigod's haughty attitude. "What? No!" she scowled, pointing her oar at him threateningly. "I'm here to-"
"Oh, of course!" Maui grinned, dropping the boat before taking the oar right out of her hands. "Maui always has time for his fans. And hey, it's not every day you get to meet your hero, so why not?" With a lack of anything else to write with, the demigod snatched Heihei out of the sand and used the tip of his beak to carve out a heart and hook on the flat side of the oar before presenting it back to Moana. "What about you, kid?" he glanced over at Sora next. "You want that-what is that thing, a key?-signed too? Huh, might have to find something sharper than the chicken for something like that though…"
Before the Keybearer even had a chance to respond, Moana cut in herself, abruptly bringing the flighty demigod back to reality with a swift swing of her oar to his midsection. As Maui doubled over in pained surprise, Moana grabbed him harshly by the ear, bringing him down to her level as she addressed him with a hard, angry tone. "You are not my hero. And we're not here so you can sign my oar or Sora's key or anything else! We're here 'cause you stole the heart of Te Fiti! And you will board my boat and sail across the sea and put it back!"
"That's right!" Sora agreed just as adamantly, still brandishing his Keyblade as Donald and Goofy did the same with their own weapons. "We're not about to let you get away with stealing hearts!"
"So you gotta help us put it back, just like Moana said!" Goofy chimed in.
"Or else!" Donald snapped, glaring the demigod down distrustfully.
However, despite these stern threats and warnings, Maui simply chuckled, clearly not taking any of them seriously, much to the group's continued annoyance. "Um… yeah. It almost sounded like you guys didn't like me, which is impossible because I got stuck here for 1,000 years trying to get the heart as a gift for you mortals."
"Yeah, right," Sora scoffed, clearly doubtful. "How is a heart a gift?"
"Uh, it is when it gives you the power to create life itself, duh," Maui pointed out smugly. The others all looked to each other in surprise at this news, wondering if there really was more of a motive behind the demigod's infamous theft of the heart of Te Fiti after all. "So yeah. I believe what you were trying to say is 'thank you'."
"Thank you?" Moana repeated, baffled.
"You're welcome!" Maui exclaimed brightly.
"Wha-no!" Moana countered, flustered. "I didn't-I-I wasn't-why would I ever say that-"
"Ok, ok," Maui chuckled, deciding to take a different tactic instead. Because at least from his perspective, these mortals were clearly confused so perhaps they needed just a bit of a reminder as to how important and powerful he truly was. And as far as the demigod was concerned, there was no better way to deliver that reminder than in the form of a song.
"I see what's happening here,
You're face to face with greatness and its strange."
At this, Maui pulled his shark-tooth necklace aside to reveal one of his many tattoos, this one depicting a tinier version of the demigod himself. However, what caught the others completely off guard was the small, friendly wink that tattoo somehow sent their way.
"You don't even know how you feel. It's adorable!
Well it's nice to see that humans never change."
Maui and his mini self continued this bout of playfulness as the tattoo scampered over to a blank spot on his arm before exchanging a brief fist bump. At this, the demigod grabbed Moana's hand and spun her about, stealing her oar in the process and setting her off even more, though he hardly seemed to notice as he continued.
"Open your eyes, let's begin,
Yes, it's really me, its Maui, breath it in!
I know its a lot, the hair, the bod-
When you're staring at a demigod!"
Caught up in his own upbeat melody, the demigod broke into an enthusiastic dance, one that he tried to pull Sora, Donald, and Goofy into it along with him as backup. Though given the circumstances, all three of them, of course, declined the offer.
"What can I say except 'you're welcome'?
For the tides, the sun, the sky.
There's no need to prey, it's ok, you're welcome!
I'm just an ordinary demi-guy!"
"Hey! What has two thumbs and pulled up the sky
When you were waddling yay high?
This guy!"
As Maui detailed such grand feats, his tattoos showed the stories for him, with Mini Maui carrying each of them off with just as much bravado as the original had.
"When the nights got cold, who stole you fire from down below?
You're lookin' at him, yo!"
"Oh, also I lassoed the sun-
You're welcome,
To stretch your days and bring you fun."
"Also I harnessed the breeze-
You're welcome!
To fill your sails and shake your trees!"
For each of these incredible deeds, a crowd of tiny, tattooed folks cheered Mini Maui on, clearly hailing him as a hero for all he'd done for them. And the more they listened to his grand, courageous tales, the more Moana, Sora, Donald, and Goofy alike realized that perhaps Maui really hadn't been lying when he'd called himself a hero to all after all.
"So what can I say except you're welcome?
For the islands I pulled from the sea.
There's no need to pray, its ok, you're welcome!
I guess it's just my way of being me!
You're welcome! You're welcome!"
"Well-come to think of it..."
"Kids, honestly I could go on and on, I could explain every natural phenomenon: the grass, the tide, the grass, the ground! Oh, that was Maui just messin' around! I killed an eel, I buried its guts; sprouted a tree, now you've got coconuts! What's the lesson? What is the takeaway? Don't mess with Maui when he's on the breakaway! And this tapestry here on my skin is a map of the victories I win! Look where I've been, I make everything happen! Look at that mean Mini Maui just tippity tappin'-ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, HEY!"
By now, the others were all enthusiastically caught up in the excitement, watching both Maui and his tattoo dance and sing about as they thoughtlessly followed his lead to another part of the island. The demigod's excitement seemed to grow at this as he went into his final verse, knowing that he was quite close to getting exactly what he'd been waiting 1,000 years straight for.
"Well, anyway, let me say you're welcome
For the wonderful world you know!
Hey, its ok, its ok, you're welcome!
Well, come to think of it, I've gotta go!
Hey, it's your day to say, you're welcome,
'Cause I'm gonna need that boat!
I'm sailing away, away, you're welcome!
'Cause Maui can do anything but float!"
"You're welcome! You're welcome!
As the others finally began to dance a bit to Maui's tune, he readily spun each of them out in turn. Out into the entryway of a cave that none of them had even noticed until they were on the verge of being trapped within it by none other than the demigod himself.
"And thank you!"
And with that, Maui rolled a heavy rock in front of the cave's entrance, easily locking all of them within.
"Wait, what?!" Sora exclaimed, caught quite off guard by this turn of events.
"Gah! He trapped us!" Donald shouted, infuriated by the deception.
"Gee, how come we didn't see this comin'?" Goofy asked, scratching his head. "Then again, that song was pretty distracting… and catchy!"
"Hey!" Moana shouted, taking the initiative as she furiously pounded against the rock trapping them inside. "Let us out! You lying, slimy, son of a-"
Of course, Maui heard none of these angry protests as he happily began making his way over to the now-abandoned boat, more than ready to use it to get away from the place that had essentially been his prison for the past millennium. Or at least he would have if Mini Maui didn't briefly pull him back by one of his other tattoos, sympathetically motioning toward the cave and the group his larger counterpart had just trapped inside it. "What? No," Maui scoffed at the tattoo. "I'm not going to Te Fiti with a bunch of mortals. I'm going to get my hook. You have yours, and I'm not Maui without mine." With that, the demigod continued on his way to the boat, snatching Heihei along the way so he could make a possible 'boat snack' out of him on the way to at long last reclaim his missing magical fish hook. And in the process, stay as far away from both Te Fiti and her heart as possible.
However, his getaway wouldn't be as smooth as he would have liked. For what Maui hadn't anticipated was Moana and Sora's shared resourcefulness. Resourcefulness that, when paired with Donald and Goofy's help, granted the entire group a hasty escape out of the cave and out to freedom atop one of the islands higher outcroppings. By then, Maui had already set sail, paddling away from the island and out toward the open sea, barely even wanting to look back.
"Good riddance, ya filthy pile of pebbles!" the demigod exclaimed, only to catch a disapproving glare from his mini counterpart. "Oh, no, no, no, don't look at me like that. It's a beautiful cave, they're gonna love it."
Of course, little did Maui know that the group had already slipped out of said cave. Moana did so first and she didn't even hesitate, not even waiting for Sora, Donald, and Goofy in her frustration as she raced forward toward the edge of the high cliff. And, largely without thinking, she lunged off of it, hoping to land squarely on the boat Maui had claimed as his own. The demigod was alerted by her fierce war cry as she did so, watching boredly as she ultimately ended belly flopping hard into the ocean directly behind him.
"Moana!" Sora exclaimed, concerned, as him, Donald, and Goofy remained standing atop the island's high point. Fortunately, Moana surfaced, unharmed, only for Maui to instantly taunt her the moment she did.
"You know, kid, I could watch that all day," he smirked down at her, barely even noticing the spots of darkness starting to form on the sail behind him. At least, until Moana's startled gasp alerted him to the presence of the horde of shadowy creatures starting to invade the boat from seemingly out of nowhere. "What? Hey!" the demigod stood, glaring down at the small, twitching monsters. "Get lost, you… uh… whatever you are! This is my boat!"
"It's my boat!" Moana snapped, struggling to swim to get on it.
"Correction, curly, used to be your boat. But hey, thanks again for the generous donation."
"Augh! I didn't donate anything to-ah!" Moana narrowly ducked out of the way of one of the small creatures that Maui tossed over the side of the boat. And in doing so, he allowed the trio still on the island to get a better glimpse at exactly what was happening down below.
"Unversed!" Sora shouted, quickly calling upon his Keyblade once more. While Donald and Goofy were more than ready to find a safer way to get down to the shore, the Keybearer simply followed Moana's example, stepping back a bit before racing right over the edge of the cliff, much to his companions' shared alarm.
"Sora!" they both shouted, startled by his reckless approach, though unlike Moana, they were relieved to see Sora actually stick his landing squarely on the boat.
The suddenness of said landing nearly tipped the boat over entirely, though that, paired with a larger Unversed storming the boat at the exact said time was what ultimately ended up knocking Maui off the back of the boat himself. Moana couldn't hold back a smug, satisfied grin as he clumsily splashed into the water alongside her, clearly far from pleased that he'd lost his recently-claimed boat already.
"You know," Moana echoed with a wry grin. "I could watch that all day."
Maui simply groaned at her, instead turning back to the boat to watch Sora begin taking on the Unversed. The collection of creatures ranged in size this time, from the tiny, Heartless-like creatures from before, to much larger, more varied monsters, though all of them were equally as fierce and vicious. Even so, Sora faced them squarely, bereft of Donald and Goofy as they were no doubt working their way down to the shore to enter the brawl in a much safer way than he had. While the rather tiny boat didn't offer much room to move around on, he made do with what he had, wisely tackling the smaller Unversed first before working his way up to the more monstrous of the group.
At first, his pace was steady as he knocked out the first round of Unversed, only for more to rise up to take their place. Unlike Heartless or Nobodies, Sora really had no idea what these creatures were or what they wanted, other than Donald and Goofy's vague explanation of 'negative emotions'. But if that's really what they were after, then why would they be showing up here and now in the first place? What or who could be putting off such intense negative emotions to attract a horde of Unversed as massive and ravenous as this?
As distracted as he was by such puzzling thoughts, Sora didn't even notice a few of the winged Unversed hovering around the boat suddenly divert their attention away from him and toward someone else instead. More specifically, Moana still wading in the water behind the boat as she struggled to climb aboard, competing with Maui as he did the exact same thing.
"Outta the way, kid," the demigod said, shoving her back into the ocean. "I've got a boat to catch."
"So do I!" Moana protested, trying her hardest to push him aside, only for his impressive girth to stop her in her tracks. She let out yet another disgruntled groan, her annoyance only increasing as the trio of winged Unversed began to swarm around her. Given their relatively small size, she initially ignored them, swatting them away as she continued her persistent attempts at getting her boat back from both the Unversed and from Maui alike. However, the birdlike creatures did become her immediate concern the moment one of them managed to catch her off guard by latching its claws onto her necklace. The very same necklace that contained the heart of Te Fiti.
"N-no!" she shouted, grasping onto the necklace tightly before the Unversed could snatch it away. She remained frantically kicking in the water to try and keep herself afloat, all while refusing to relinquish her hold on the locket containing the heart, even as the Unversed tried its hardest to pull it away from her. "Let go of it!"
"Hey, why not just let the little guy have it?" Maui asked, leaning an arm against the boat as he watched the ongoing struggle, amused. "Then you can just forget about that whole 'restore the heart of Te Fiti' kick, hang back here, and let me have your boat as a parting gift. Sounds like a pretty solid plan, huh?"
"S-stay out of this!" Moana huffed, sending a sharp glare the demigod's way as she pulled back against the Unversed with all her might. Yet even her severe perseverance proved to not be enough as the Unversed ultimately ended up pulling the necklace away from her entirely. And the moment it did, Moana forced herself into action without a second thought. Using all her strength (with perhaps a little bit of help from the Ocean), she practically launched herself onto the boat, scrambling onto its deck as she ignored Maui's baffled gasp as the Ocean more or less knocked him back in the process.
"Stop!" she cried, reaching for the winged Heartless as it started flying out of her reach. "Give it back!"
"Moana?!" Sora exclaimed, turning away from the Unversed he had just defeated to see her standing on the far side of the boat.
"Sora!" Moana yelled back, anxiously pointing up at the creature perched atop the sail, the necklace still in its grasp. "It's got-" She was suddenly cut off as one of the larger Unversed suddenly knocked her over, its clawed hand gripping her by the ankle before pinning her down, intent on a much more brutal attack, one that she was entirely defenseless against.
"No!" Sora panicked upon seeing this, to the point that he didn't even bother with his Keyblade as he reached a desperate hand out instead. "Stop!"
It was a moment that happened so quickly that Sora barely even had time to process it. A surge of energy, unknown, and immensely powerful, rushing through him. A sudden spark of vibrant gold flashing through his eyes. And a burst of raw, strong, practically overwhelming magic that exploded from his open palm, one was somehow blindingly bright yet shrouded in darkness all at the same time.
And that magic acted fast, slamming straight through the Unversed that was pinning Moana down and swiftly tearing it apart from the inside out until there was nothing left of the creature at all. From there, that magic burst into multiple spires of darkened light, each one targeting the remaining Unversed and in the process, wiping them out in one single, sufficient wave, effectively ending the threat they were currently posing altogether.
While Moana was quite surprised by the sudden save, no one was more shocked than Sora himself. As the last remains of that initial burst of magic faded, he looked down to the hand he had unintentionally cast it from, the very same hand he'd first noticed that shadowy patch of darkness on. And by all accounts, that darkness had seemed to grow a bit, stretching across almost his entire palm by now and reaching out toward his wrist and fingers. And yet, what was most mystifying was the aura of power that surrounded that hand now, wrapping it in a strange sort of darkness that contrasted sharply the luminous light that was equally engulfing it. Two equally powerful, yet absolutely opposite forces, both at war and at harmony with each other in a way the Keybearer couldn't even begin to understand.
"O-ok…" Moana spoke up, breathlessly sitting up and barely even noticing as her necklace fell squarely into her lap. "I don't know what that was, but… whatever you just did there, Sora? It was amazing!"
"I… I have no idea what it was either…" Sora admitted, still staring at his hand, even as the magic surrounding it slowly began to fade. "I've never been able to do… anything like that before. But…" He paused, glancing around the boat, now bereft of any sort of Unversed thanks to his unexpected show of immense strength. Strength that, if it was capable of clearing out threats and foes so easily, might not be as sinister as it initially seemed after all. "I guess it was pretty amazing..."
"Tch, now we've got humans running around with magical powers?" Maui said as he finally hoisted himself onto the boat. "What else did I miss over the last 1,000 years? What, can the chicken actually read and write too?" He asked, nodding down to Heihei, who had somehow wandered onto the boat from seemingly out of nowhere.
Before Sora could even try to explain himself to either Moana or Maui, Donald and Goofy finally emerged onto the shore of the still nearby island, not hesitating to wade out into the shallows so they could swim over to the boat themselves. "Sora!" Goofy called. "What happened?"
"Where are all the Unversed?" Donald asked as they both reached the boat.
"Uh…" Sora began, somewhat uncertain as he helped his companions onto the ship. "Well… I-I-"
"Oh! You guys should have seen it!" Moana chimed in excitedly. "Sora took out all of those monsters all at once with magic! I've never seen anything like it before!"
"Ah, please, kid, you act like it was the best thing you've ever seen," Maui scoffed, unimpressed. "It was passable, at best. Heck, if I had my hook, then I could have done the same thing ten times faster with my eyes closed." Of course, Mini Maui immediately called his bluff on such a hefty claim, shaking his head knowingly until the demigod quickly bumped him around to his back.
"Magic, huh?" Donald asked, raising a critical eyebrow at Sora.
"Uh, y-yeah, magic," the Keybearer nodded, deciding not to explain said magic further. At least not right now. "Looks like all those lessons in magic you used to give me finally paid off, Donald."
"Mm hm…" the magician nodded, still quite skeptical that the Keybearer had successfully managed to take out an entire horde of monsters only using magic. Especially when he typically favored simply using his Keyblade over it.
"Well, at least they're all gone!" Goofy cut in brightly.
"Which means," Moana turned to Maui with a determined grin. "We can finally set out to Te Fiti so you can restore the heart."
"Uh… yeah. No," Maui said flatly. "Not gonna happen. Not now, or ever. So, if you'll excuse me," Out of nowhere, he easily picked Moana up by the shoulders, depositing her over the side of the boat and back into the ocean first. "I've got a hook to go find. Now, which one of you guys is gettin' off next?" he asked the trio. "Unless you wanna make things easier and just all hop off at once, in which case, by all means, go for it. I'll wait."
"Oh, no," Sora shook his head firmly, taking on a stern tone with the tricky demigod. "We're not going anywhere until you help us restore that heart!"
"Uh, kinda hard to restore a heart I just tossed into the ocean along with curly there," Maui nodded over at the sea he'd just tossed Moana into. "So yeah… I feel for ya, kid, I really do. But that's gonna be a hard 'no' from me."
The trio was more than ready to keep this argument up, but fortunately they Ocean did so for them as it suddenly picked Moana up and dropped her squarely right back onto the boat directly in front of the dumbfounded demigod. He abruptly stood from his spot at the back of the vessel, stunned as he looked between the Ocean and the girl it had just recovered. "Did not see that coming…"
Even so, Moana swiftly turned to face him, furious with his continued antics as she pressed her mantra upon him once again. "I am Moana of Motunui. This is my canoe, and you will journey to-" She was suddenly cut off the moment Maui unexpectedly tossed her off the boat once again, only for the Ocean to, once again, pitch her back onto it mere seconds later. Annoyed, the demigod made a third attempt, this time jerking the boat backward in an attempt to knock the entire group off of it to leave him alone. But the Ocean was having none of it as it landed them all back on its surface, refusing to let Maui sail away without them.
"...This is just gonna keep going on forever, isn't it?" the demigod asked flatly.
"It will unless you restore the heart!" Moana snapped, pulling said heart out of her necklace. However, the moment she did, Maui snatched it, swiftly tossing it as far as he could out into the ocean, only for the Ocean to just as quickly toss it right back. "Oh, come on!"
"What is your problem?" Moana asked, reclaiming the heart and noting the demigod's anxious expression as she did. "Are you… afraid of it?"
"No!" Maui exclaimed, a bit to fearfully as he backed away from the heart, only to try laughing it off a moment later. "N-no, of course I'm not afraid."
"It sure does seem like you are," Donald pointed out knowingly.
"What kind of a demigod is scared of a heart?" Sora asked with a challenging chuckle.
"That is not a heart," Maui shook his head. "It's a curse. The second I took it, I got tossed out of the sky and lost my hook. G-get it away from me."
"Get this away?" Moana grinned, holding the heart out to him.
"Hey! H-hey, I'm a demigod, ok? Stop that! I will smite you! You wanna get smote? ...Smotten? Gah!" Frustrated, Maui stood, glaring the group before him down heatedly. "Listen, that thing doesn't give you the power to create life. It's a homing beacon of death. Why else do you think we were attacked by those weird creatures? If you keep waving it around like that, then all sorts of monsters are gonna be comin' after it."
"So?" Sora asked, quite unconcerned. "We can handle more than a few Unversed."
"Or any other monsters that come our way!" Goofy added confidently.
"Yeah! In fact, you just saw us take down a whole bunch of them!" Moana grinned brazenly. "Well… technically Sora took them down, b-but still. We're not afraid, unlike you."
"How many times do I have to tell you, kid, I'm not afraid!" Maui snapped stubbornly. "And I'm not taking that thing back. You wanna get to Te Fiti? You gotta go through a whole ocean of bad. Not to mention Te Kā," As Maui walked past them, he pointed to the most central tattoo on his back, one that depicted a fearsome monster, the very one that had struck the demigod down a thousand years ago. "Lava monster? Any of you ever defeat a lava monster?"
"Uh, that one Titan we fought back in Olympus counts as a lava monster, right?" Sora whispered to his companions, aside. Moana however, was quite blatant in admitting her lack of experience on that front.
"No. Have you?" she questioned Maui quite pointedly.
While the demigod was clearly flustered by such a dig, he calmly turned around all the same, facing the rest of the group squarely. "I'm not going on a suicide mission with a bunch of mortals," he said with a flippant grin. "You can't restore the heart without me… and me, says no. I'm getting my hook." Stern in his rather selfish resolve, he sat at the back of the boat, ready to steer it to wherever his treasured weapon lied and nowhere else, despite how intent the others were on changing his mind. "End of discussion."
Of course, even despite the demigod's succinct conclusion, none of the others were about to give up so easily, especially Moana. And fortunately, as she took a closer glance at Maui's many tattoos depicting his legendary feats of the past, she came up with a clever idea, one that she was quick to let Sora in on as subtly as possible.
"You know…" Moana began, her tone quite leading as she addressed Maui. "You'd be a hero…"
"That's right," Sora agreed. "A big-time hero. In fact, you could say you'd be… a hero to all?"
Maui did actually perk up a bit, somewhat interested as Moana continued. "That's what you're all about, right?"
"Tch, please," the demigod scoffed, calling their bluff. "I am a hero."
"Maybe you were," Moana corrected. "But now? Now you're just the guy who stole the heart of Te Fiti, the guy who cursed the world!"
"Sounds like you're the exact opposite of a hero if you ask me," Sora added, crossing his arms.
"Yeah? Well nobody asked you, kid," Maui glowered, though even as he did, Moana, Donald, and Goofy all agreed, shaking their heads disapprovingly at the demigod. Likewise, even Heihei and the Ocean itself seemed to carry the same sentiment, much to Maui's genuine surprise and even slight disappointment. Disappointment that was, perhaps for the very first time ever, reserved solely for himself.
"But…" Moana's smile widened as she showed off the heart of Te Fiti once more. "Put this back, save the world? You'd be everyone's hero."
Mini Maui seemed to agree with this ploy as he rushed over to a crowd of tiny tattooed people, conducting them in a round of excited cheers. Cheers that were given an audible voice by Moana, Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they all whispered along to them.
"Maui! Maui! Maui!"
"You're so amazing!" Moana capped it off, nearly convincing the demigod entirely until he ultimately forced himself back into reality.
"We'd never make it without my hook," he said dismissively as he rose to stand. "Not past Te Kā."
"Well then let's go find it!" Sora said enthusiastically.
"Yeah," Moana readily agreed. "We get your hook, take out Te Kā, restore the heart-"
"And get that Key!" Donald chimed in vigorously.
"Key?" Maui asked, out of the loop.
"Uh… we can explain that part along the way," Sora said quickly, lest they lose their momentum they were starting to gain in changing Maui's mind altogether. "That is… if you're up for coming along…"
"Unless…" Moana added just as pointedly, extending a hand out in offering to him. 'You don't wanna be… 'Maui, demigod of the wind and sea'... Hero to all?"
The demigod hesitated, clearly conflicted by the sheer danger of the mission, a danger he'd faced and failed against before. And yet… the promise of his former glory, the chance to attain the fame and adoration he'd once known… it was an opportunity that sounded far too good to turn down. "First, we get my hook," Maui said firmly, making it quite clear where he still stood on the matter.
"Then save the world!" Moana nodded, readily shaking the demigod's hand as he held his out to her.
Only for him to suddenly toss her back into the ocean for the briefest of moments until it carried her back onto the boat, just as it always did. "Eh, worth a shot."
And with that, Maui returned to his spot at the back of the boat, easily taking control of its sail as he plotted out their course using the emerging stars alone as a guide. Even though none of them knew exactly where he was planning on taking them, the others all watched in amazement as the demigod effortlessly steered the boat in the proper direction, guiding it over the rolling waves with a level of speed and expertise that had to be admired. Especially by Moana and Sora, given their shared, previously admitted abject lack of any sailing skills whatsoever.
Which was why Moana eagerly made the move to ask Maui for a few (or, more realistically much more than a few) tips when it came to sailing. Sora nearly did the same, that is, until he happened to catch one final glance of the seemingly abandoned island they were swiftly starting to leave behind.
He wasn't sure if it was his eyes playing tricks on him or the dawning darkness starting to settle over the island as a result of the sun setting over the sea. But for the briefest of moments, he saw it: a lone, human-like figure, shrouded in shadow as it stood atop one of the island's several rocky precipices. A figure that was clearly watching them from afar, and even despite the distance and even though he was unable to make really anything out about them, instantly set Sora on edge from the moment he saw them.
"Sora?" Goofy spoke up, noticing the Keybearer's strangely tense manner. "Is somethin' wrong?"
Sora only briefly turned away to look to his companions, noting their concerned expressions as he slowly released the fists he hadn't even realized he'd been clenching. He prepared to answer them, though as he looked back to the island once again, he found that the figure, whoever they'd been, was now completely gone.
"N-no," he said, even though it was a lie. "Nothing's wrong. I just… thought I saw something, but…" He finally turned away from the island, shaking his head. "If I did, whatever it was is gone now, so nothing to worry about, right?"
Fortunately, Donald and Goofy both bought his thinly-veiled smile and Moana and Maui were already distracted. For as Sora took up a spot on the far side of the tiny boat, he couldn't deny he felt something striking at his heart, though from where or what, he didn't know. And yet, what he did know was that it was intense, familiar, and terrible. A flash of rage and hate and darkness so strong that he didn't even notice that the reflection staring back at him from the water, despite being practically identical to him in every way save for the pitch black hair and bright golden eyes, wasn't even his own to begin with.
Likewise, the lone figure now standing on the shore of the left-behind island looked down to the water, to meet his own reflection as well, one that shined far too brightly for his liking. One that accurately presented his currently-hidden face in all but it's warm brown hair and ocean blue eyes. "So, I'm just his mirror now, huh?" he asked aloud, his still-somewhat incorrect reflection mimicking the bitter smirk hidden under his mask. "His shadow? Their shadow? Well then, he ought to get himself ready," He let out a twisted laugh as his dark Keyblade flashed into his grip. And with that Keyblade, he violently tore into the ocean, into the reflection of his incidental twin, just as he planned on doing the very moment he finally released his sleeping other half from the depths of his heart. "Because that's all about to change…'
Ohohoh that foreshadowing for the very next chapter though... Anyway, yeah pretty standard setup stuff, the more fun stuff usually always comes along in the second Disney chapter, huh? Hopefully that's not a trend I'll keep on following with these, but at the same time... its kinda hard not to since most of those second Disney chapters include dramatic encounters and "boss fights" and whatnot. Ah well, I still had fun writing Moana and Maui so that's neat. Either way, if you liked what you saw, then feel free to REVIEW! Until next time!