DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Four: The Voyager's Ocean
The cold, damp air licked her face. A distant clicking, like the calls of a cricket far out in the night, reached her ears, making her open her eyes. The world swayed back and forth in front of her, and Kairi had to cover her mouth or risk losing her lunch. Dangling, upside down, like a fish on a hook, she squinted at the bright, neon colors of the world she found herself in.
Something hot and moist constricted around her belly and hips. Looking up, Kairi stared at the thick, pink rope around her waist, following it with her eyes, up to the wide mouth it came from. A mouth that was slowly getting bigger as she was being pulled in.
Yelping, she pointed at the mouth and screamed.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning zipped over the thick muscle muscled tongue. A green, lizard-like creature with long, thin fangs snapped its mouth closed out of surprise as the electricity coursed through its body. Its teeth closed over its own tongue, slicing it off. Kairi fell hard onto a cold, rocky floor. The slimy tongue around her waist cushioned her fall.
"Gross, gross, gross!"
She wriggled out of the tongue, scrambling backward, looking around. Corals grew up from the ground, in all shapes and sizes. Some looked like lush brushes, while others loomed over her head like neon colored palm trees. Anemones grew out of the ground like wildflowers, lighting up her surroundings in bright blues, pinks, oranges and purples. Water reflections danced over the stony ground she stood on. Patches of sand covered the porous ground beneath her feet. Giant shells and barnacles created walls and cliffs all around her. Bioluminescent algae covered patches of rock like moss.
The floor rumbled beneath her. Seconds later, water burst from a round crater mere inches from her feet. She stepped away, watching as the pillar of water shot up into the...Kairi's jaw dropped. She stared as the shadow of a massive blue whale moved far above her head. The entire ocean loomed above, as though she were standing under the glass of the universe's biggest aquarium. Through the thick membrane of water, she could see the silhouettes of fish as they moved around above her head like clouds in the evening sky.
Looking back down in the nautical forest she found herself in, she quickly ducked behind a huge, glowing brain coral when she spotted a weird, four legged creature wearing the mask. The creature growled a low, clicking sound, getting closer to her hiding spot. Gathering magic, Kairi prepared to fry the weird tribal mask right off that monster. She never got the chance.
Her throat ached with pain. The tingle of despair scratched at her arms. The masked creature yowled. Peeking around the brain coral, Kairi saw the masked monster fighting a swarm of darkball heartless. She took her chance to run. Jumping over oversized clams, she climbed a wall of mushroom corals. Up above was a giant, spiral sea shell. Kairi ran straight into the cave like opening of the shell, looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't followed.
Wham!
Her shoulder hit something cold. Bouncing off the hard surface, Kairi rubbed her arm and turned to glare at the culprit that had caused her pain. Her glare turned into an opened mouthed stare. A mound stood before her, made entirely out of shiny, sparkly treasure. Solid gold seashells, scales, and sunken ship pieces glittered along the edges of the small hill. Giant, rose gold pearls and jewels sparkled on the mound and along the floors of the purple cave Kairi stood in. All around her, the reflections of the gold glittered on the violet walls of the cave, creating miniature nebulas alongside the water glow, making Kairi feel as though she were in an underwater planetarium.
Kairi leaned against the gold hill for a second, trying to catch her breath. Too bad she couldn't catch a break. The floor rumbled again. A giant claw rose up from under the sand and clamped down around Kairi's waist. She was lucky the claw didn't squeeze her till she popped. Too afraid to move, lest the creature decided to squash her like a grape, she was lifted off her feet. Moments later, she found herself floating in front of a face.
A lipless mouth opened wide in front of her eyes. The nauseating smell of fish breathe blew against Kairi's face and she stared at the barnacles on the creature's blunt teeth. She gathered magic for an attack, but when the mouth spoke, all of her concentration evaporated.
"Another human? What is this? Free admission to the realm of monsters day? What are you doing down here?"
Looking up from the mouth, Kairi stared at a pair of bug eyes. At least she thought they were a pair. They were so far apart, popping out of the crab creature's head like lollipops on either side of its pointy nose. One eye moved up while the other moved down and Kairi's attention snapped from one eye to the other, not sure which one to look at.
The crab snapped. "Just pick one!"
Squeaking, Kairi settled on the right eye.
The crab leaned closer, sniffing. "You know what happened to the last human that came down here?"
Kairi gulped. "They got out of here following a nice musical number?"
The crab's eyes actually synced when they narrowed. He lifted her over his head. Thinking quick, Kairi said. "Wow, you're so shiny!"
The crustacean bared his teeth in a smile. "I'm beautiful baby! There isn't a single decapod out there that's as shiny as me." His right eye narrowed again. "Though you're not here for that, are you? I won't fall for that trick twice."
"You're right. I'm not here for that. Actually, I'm kind of lost."
"Oh no, you're lost? You poor thing," said the crab in a high-pitched voice. He lifted Kairi higher, opening his mouth right beneath her.
"Lucky for you, you won't have to worry about that problem much longer."
Kairi pointed into the crab's mouth.
"Firaga!"
A burning ball of heat went down the crab's gizzard. The crab clenched his teeth, steam escaping from the corners of his mouth. He dropped Kairi. She landed on the mossy sand just as the crab wrapped his claw around his neck. He hacked.
"Whoa! That's some spicy stuff!" He coughed out a cloud of black smoke, his eyes turning red, tearing up. "Why you little brat!"
Kairi bolted. Seconds before she reached the cave entrance, a crab claw slammed into the ground before her. Jumping backward, Kairi ran under the crab's torso. One of the crab's legs was shorter then the others. Kairi got under the stumpy leg and pointed straight up.
"Thundaga!"
Electricity zapped through the crab, immobilizing him just long enough for Kairi to dash out of the cave. She had only taken a few steps when the spiral shell behind her burst, shards of shell raining down on her head as the crab stormed after her.
"You can't outrun me, girl! Come back here!"
Kairi jumped from coral to coral until she landed onto a patch of sand. Something slithered below her boots. Then the sand burst as something black popped up from underground. Yellow eyes looked up at her from the sand. Kairi froze, staring down at the round, spiky back of a heartless she had never seen before. The heartless' teeth opened, ready to bite. Jumping to the side, Kairi managed to avoid losing her foot.
The giant crab was still on her tail, but she was too focused on the heartless that was lunging after her. Kairi jumped over the heartless. It chased her, burrowing through the sand, its spikes sticking out like shark fins that were itching to stab her if she made the mistaking of tripping or stopping. The heartless threw its body at her. Screaming a reflect spell, Kairi watched the heartless bounce off her magical glass. It burrowed back into the sand, vanishing.
Just when she thought she had avoided one, a whole battalion of heartless popped out of sand. Even worse, darkballs appeared all around her. And if all that wasn't bad enough, before Kairi could even think to counterattack, there was a bone chilling voice from behind her.
"There you are!"
Thinking fast, Kairi ran back toward the crab.
"That's right! I love food that comes to me!"
The crab reached for her.
"Reflect!"
Kairi's magic glass bubble was too smooth and fast for the crab to get a good grip on. She rolled under the crab's belly, her spell popping right as she put a few feet between them. As the crab turned around to chase her, it was buffeted by the darkball and burrowing heartless. Kairi ignored the crab's battle cry as it began fighting back its new attachers. She ran blindly through the undersea forest, until she had to skid to a stop, narrowly avoiding falling off the side of a cliff. Gasping, she looked down at a vast underwater plain.
There were bat-like creatures flying in the great chasm below. But worse then that, there was darkness. Kairi felt its cold, dead touch on her skin, sensed it seeping out of the canyons on the sea floor. A force of sorrow and fury slammed into her, making her feel sick. There was so much that, for a moment, she wondered if she were back in the realm of darkness. Then a swarm of heartless burst out of the canyons below. Kairi could only watch, horrified as teams of darkballs, neoshadows, shadows, invisibles, and burrowing, earth core, heartless flew up from below. They soared up into the sea above her head.
"What's going on? How is this happening?"
A roar was her only answer. Kairi dared to turn around and face the reef she had just escaped from. The giant, shiny crab was still fighting the heartless, and he was losing. The burrowing heartless made the sand swirl below the crab's legs like a whirlpool. The crab was sinking, snapping his claws in vain at the darkballs as he went down.
Kairi bit her thumb, watching as darkness rose up the crab's legs. His shiny shell and back were beginning to dim.
"I can't believe I'm doing this!"
She ran back toward the giant crab. Lightning gathered in one hand, and a water spell gathered in the other. She neared the crab's legs and went all out offensive.
"Waterga!"
A tidal wave washed away the burrowing heartless, freeing the crab's legs. Now that he could move around, the crab began slicing through the darkballs with his claws. Meanwhile, Kairi attacked the burrowing heartless. Still disoriented from her water spell, the spiked heartless were defenseless. Kairi zapped them with lightning before she turned to face the crab, blasting heartless away from him with fire spells. Meanwhile, the crab slammed, sliced and squashed the heartless into pieces. When the last heartless went down, both Kairi and the crab were gasping.
"Well," the crab huffed and puffed, "why'd you come back, eh?"
"You're," Kairi heaved, "welcome."
"You didn't answer my question."
Kairi swallowed, trying to put some moisture into her dry throat. "Couldn't let you be taken over by heartless. Didn't feel right. What are you staring at?"
The crab's beady eyes flicked away from her. Clearing his throat, he said, "You totally helped me out. And for that, I will do you the honor of not eating you."
"Wow, that's really," Kairi cleared her throat, "gracious of you. Now if only I knew how to get out of here."
The crab grinned. Before Kairi could blink, he had snapped his claw down on the hood of her shirt. He lifted her up and stomped toward a crater in the floor.
"Wait!" Kairi panicked, flailing her arms and legs. She's used up all her magic in the fight. She was sunk! The crab stuffed her into the crater, peering down at her with an evil smile in his purple and pink face.
"You said you wouldn't eat meeeeeeeeeee!"
Cold water had erupted under Kairi's legs. She popped out of the crater, shooting upward like a rocket, straight into the membrane of water overhead. The force from the waterspout torpedoed her through the ocean, making her burst through the surface within seconds. She flew high, into the blue, sunny sky. Kairi marveled at the clouds she floated in, until she began to plummet back down into the ocean.
The roar of the wind was so loud in her ears that she couldn't even scream as she fell toward the sea. Soon there was nothing but the surface of the water in her eyes and she spared a moment to wonder if hitting the surface was going to hurt as much as she thought it was.
Her back jerked in pain as something clamped down hard on her upper arms. Flapping reached her ears and she saw the edges of large, brown wings moving up and down on either side of her. Tilting her head back, Kairi stared at the sight of a giant hawk. She wasn't sure which was worse, getting smashed into the ocean or being eaten by a oversized bird.
Thankfully the hawk lowered her down and dropped her safely into the water. Swimming up to the surface, Kairi spotted a canoe with a red spiral on its sail. The small boat came to a stop a few feet away from her. A brown skinned girl with flowing, dark hair leaned down from the canoe, extending her hand to Kairi. As Kairi grabbed the girl's hand, she stared, mesmerized, at the necklace the girl wore. A grey, oval seashell had been carved to that the top half looked like a wave. The bottom half of the pendant have been shaved so that the mother of pearl under the shell shined bright and blue, like the ocean itself.
The girl easily pulled Kairi up onto her canoe. Stumbling onto the deck and landing hard on her behind, Kairi sat and began wringing the water out of her hair. She froze when she felt a tapping on her foot.
A rooster was pecking at her boot. The sun reflected off the chicken's brilliant blue-green tail feathers and body. His neck and face were covered in rich orange. The comb on his head was a deep red. His colors were so vibrant, yet he was the silliest looking bird Kairi had ever seen. Big, bug eyes, a tiny beak and a skinny body made the chicken look as though someone had taken some goodly eyes and feathers and attached them to a stick.
The rooster twitched, giving Kairi a cross-eyed look. Then it continued to peck at her shoe.
"Stop that, Hei Hei."
The pretty girl with the pendant grabbed the chicken around the neck and placed him in a little box that was dug into the canoe's deck. "Stay."
The chicken, Hei Hei, didn't seem bothered to be put in a box. He walked in the tiny compartment. Two steps and he hit the wall of the box. Then he turned around, walked two more steps and hit the other wall. Kairi would have laughed if the canoe hadn't suddenly bounced as something heavy thumped onto the deck behind her.
Turning around, she looked up at the giant hawk that had caught her in midair.
The hawk winked. "You're welcome."
See, the thing about Kairi was that two of her best friends were a magic using rabbit and a dual wielding dog knight. Plus the fact that she had just fought with a giant, shiny crab. Thus, she was in no way surprised when a giant hawk spoke human words. Heck, her best friends were teammates with a mouse king, a duck mage and a dog captain of the guard. Despite all these facts, at that moment, all her brain could produce were the words, "Cool! Talking Hawk!"
"Close, but no," said the hawk. In a flash, he changed shape. The brilliant, brown feathered creature morphed into a tall, burly, brown skinned man with silky, curly, black hair and a barrel chest covered entirely by intricate tattoos. In his hand was a giant, white, fishhook covered in detailed, tribal patterns.
The man bowed. "I am Maui." He stood, flexing his muscles. "Shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, and hero to all. Impressed?"
The girl with the necklace cleared her throat, making Kairi turn around. With a single eyebrow raised, necklace girl pointed her oar at Maui. The "demigod of the wind and sea" sighed, and gestured to her.
"And this is my friend, Moana," he said half-heartedly.
"Of?" Moana prompted.
"Motunui," Maui huffed.
"Hey, you got to say your whole title, the least you can do is say mine," the girl laughed.
Kairi opened her mouth to introduce herself, but just then, Hei Hei jumped out of his little box, walked along the deck of the boat and flopped right off the edge. He floated by, feet up, with his head underwater. Sighing, Maui reached down and snatched Hei Hei out of the ocean, tossing him at Moana.
"Did you have to bring the drumstick?"
Moana put Hei Hei back in his box. "He's good luck."
"Really?" Kairi squinted at the dumb looking chicken.
"Yes. There's more to Hei Hei then meets the eye," said Moana. She turned to Kairi. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. Thanks for catching me and pulling me out of the water." Kairi crossed her arms. "Stupid, shiny crab! He could have at least warned me before he popped me into that geyser! He's lucky I'm so nice, otherwise I would have left him to be heartless dinner."
Moana and Maui stared.
Kairi fidgeted. "What?"
"You took on Tomatoa? By yourself?"
"And you survived?" Maui walked around Kairi. "A little purple girl like you? Get out of here."
"Hey!" Still sitting, Kairi poked Maui's foot. "This little purple girl can take care of herself, thank you very much."
Maui's look was dubious. "I don't buy it."
Kairi didn't have enough energy to blast him with a water spell, and she was about to stand to give him a few well deserved pokes, when her stomach let out the loudest, angriest growl she'd ever heard. She barely had time to blush before Moana reached into the compartment under the canoe's deck. She pulled out a mango and tossed it at Kairi.
Catching it, Kairi snapped at Maui. "You got lucky."
Maui shrugged, walking around to the canoe's sail and fully opening it. As Kairi munched, she watched as Moana leaned to the side of the boat and put her hand in the sea. Moana then jumped onto the back end triangle of the canoe and put her oar into the water, using it like a wooden lever to steer. Moving the oar slightly, Moana angled the boat, making it sail a little ways due north.
Kairi watched Moana work. The girl knelt on one knee, with one hand on the oar, and the other holding the rope that was tied to the sail. She tugged on the rope and the sail curved, catching the wind. The canoe cut through the water. Kairi whistled.
Moana's boat blew the raft Kairi had made out of the water. All she, Riku and Sora could manage was a measly wooden deck with a single sail. Moana's canoe was long and sleek. Shaped like a thrombus with smooth edges, the canoe had a single outrigger coming out of the left side. The wooden framework of the outrigger balanced the boat. In the middle of the canoe was a single mast. A triangle shaped sail was attached to it. Kairi sat on the small, square, wooden deck behind the sail, watching Maui climb the mast, balancing himself on the pole with one hand holding the mast the other other shielding his eyes from the sun.
"I have got to get me one of these," Kairi said as she stood on the deck.
Maui turned on the mast so that he looked down at her. "So, what were you doing in Lalotai?"
"Lalo-what?"
"Lalotai," Moana repeated. "The realm of monsters, where Tomatoa lives."
Kairi shrugged. "I have no idea how I got there. I was just sailing and then I got whiped out by a big wave. Next think I know, I wake up next to Tomatoa's shiny cave."
"Waking up in a random place right after getting wrecked by a giant wave. I know how that feels." Moana stared at the sea with an almost judgmental expression, as if she were disappointed in the ocean for being itself.
Maui raised an eyebrow, smirking at Moana. "Was that back when you were still a 'self-taught' wayfinder? And you still don't wipe out now, even though you're a seasoned pro?"
Moana pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes.
Maui put up his hand. "I'm just saying."
Moana's annoyed expression morphed into an evil grin. Kairi recognized that look. She loved using that look. This was going to fun.
"We both had to start somewhere. Right, Mr. Shark Head? Plus, wasn't it my self-taught sailing skills that got you off that island you were trapped on for a thousand years?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Kairi waved her hands, her face scrunching. "Shark head?"
Maui glared at Moana, and she responded in kind with the cheekiest smile.
"Well? Bring on the shark head."
"No," Maui barked.
"Please?"
Maui flopped off the mast, landing hard onto the deck of the canoe. He crossed his arms, giving the girls his back. "Not going to happen."
"Come on," Moana cheered. "I'm just to keep asking."
Kairi began clapping. "Yeah. Do it! Do it! Do it!"
Maui groaned, peering over his shoulder, glancing from Kairi to Moana. "Oh great. There's two of you now."
"What?" said Kairi and Moana, at the same time.
"See? Two of you."
Moana blew a raspberry. "We're not that alike. I mean her hair is red and my clothes are," she frowned, "red."
"Very compelling argument. I'm totally convinced."
"We just met." Kairi huffed. "You barely know enough about me to make a fair comparison. We're two different people."
"Let's see." Maui began counting off his fingers. "Tiny girl out on an adventure all by herself. Took on Tomatoa, and won. Reckless. Constantly pestering me to do something I don't want to do. I swear, you're like her soul twin or something. I'm just going to call you Moana Two."
Moana didn't comment. In a quick motion, she pulled her oar, making the boat jerk to the right suddenly. Maui lost his balance and fell to the side.
Kairi reached out and pinched Maui's ear. "Hey, I am Purple Girl, thank you very much."
Maui gave Moana a look. "Well, look at that. She even grabs my ear the same way you do."
Maui put his big paw of a hand on Kairi's head. Her feet dangled over the deck as Maui held her up like an overgrown radish.
"Hey, wait a minute. You changed the subject. I still want to see a shark head!"
"That's a hard 'no,' Purple Girl."
"You know I was only kidding about the 'Purple Girl' thing. I have an actual name. It's Kairi."
"If I call you that, will you drop the shark head thing?"
"Nope."
Moana pouted like a manipulative toddler. "Don't you want to show off for us mere mortals?"
"Forget it."
Maui plopped Kairi back onto the deck and turned around.
Landing back on her feet sparked an idea in Kairi's mind. She clasped her hands together and heaved a long, miserable sigh.
"Moana! I see what's going on here! It's so sad!"
The girl in red blinked, confused.
"Don't you get it?" Kairi sniffled. "Maui doesn't want to shape shift into a shark head because he forgot how!"
"What? I didn't forget."
Kairi ignored him, wagging her finger at Moana. "You really shouldn't tease someone like that."
"Okay, now we're starting to make sense! Thank you, Purple Girl."
"Especially when they've lost their sense of humor," Kairi continued.
Moana's confused, and slightly annoyed expression, brightened as she grinned evilly.
"Yes, exactly what I-" Maui did a double take, glaring at Kairi. "WHAT? No sense of humor?"
"As the 'demigod of the wind and sea,'" Kairi began, "you must have a reputation to keep. You poor thing! I can't imagine how boring life must be when you have no choice but to be so professional. He probably forgot how to have fun!"
Moana nodded, closing her eyes. "She's right. I am so sorry I ever teased you, Maui. A hero truly has to make sacrifices. Can you ever forgive me?"
"All right, that's enough, you two!" Maui stomped over until he was standing over Kairi. She didn't even flinch, looking up at him with unabashed pity in her eyes.
"I'll have you know that I am funnier then the two of you combined."
Kairi patted Maui's arm sympathetically, her voice shaky. "Of course. Of course. I so believe you."
Moana whipped a fake tear. "How tragic! He's forgotten how to laugh!"
Maui growled, taking a step back from Kairi and lifting the fish hook over his head. "You want a shark head? I'll give you a shark head!"
A quick flash later and Kairi had to take a step back as a row of sharp teeth nearly bit off her nose. Blinking, she stared at Maui. From the waist up, his skin was grey. His nose had been flattened, replaced by a wide set of nostrils. His eyes were now deeply set into his fishy face. Triangle shaped teeth poked out from under his wide, lipless mouth.
"There," snapped Maui, crossing his shark fin arms. "Happy?"
"That is so cool!" Kairi moved around Maui, poking the dorsal fin on his back and standing on her tiptoes to get a good look at the gills on the sides of rounded head. "I wish Sora were here. He would love this! It's like a reverse mermaid! What else can you turn into?"
Maui's mouth expanded to show all of his sharp teeth. He winked at Moana before he dived into the sea. A moment later, Kairi spotted a flash. Then the shadow of a giant whale moved beneath the boat. There was a mark on the whale's back, in the shape of a fishhook. The whale breached the surface of the water, spraying Kairi with a face full of seawater.
In midair, the whale changed shape, turning into a tiny beetle. It buzzed toward the raft, flying around Kairi and Moana's heads. Hei Hei tried to peck at it when it flew by him, but he missed, pecking his own foot instead. Maui fluttered around Moana's ears for a moment before he dashed upward and turned into a green iguana. He landed right on top of Moana's head.
"Who has no sense of humor now?"
Moana swatted Maui off her head and he transformed back into his usual form before he hit the deck. Kairi clapped. Maui bent down in a glorious bow, but when he straightened he wasn't wearing his usual arrogant smile. Instead, he squinted, looking at something out in the sea, beyond the canoe. Kairi looked over her shoulder.
The canoe had sailed into a blanket of fog so thick that the only way Kairi knew they were still on the sea was because of the taste of salt in the mist and the swaying of the boat as it bounced on agitated waves. The atmosphere dimmed, and the sprinkle of cold, wet unknowns made goosebumps rise on Kairi's arms. Through the blurry fog, a feeling fluttered over. Despair and confusion tingled along her skin, and Kairi only had an instant to realize what was coming before she pulled Moana forward, making the girl stumble onto the deck.
"Look out!"
A darkball heartless flew over the end of the boat. Had Kairi not reacted, the heartless would have smashed into Moana's head. Said girl was now holding her oar in front of her defensively, searching the fog.
"Maui! It's those creatures we ran into before."
Settling into a wide stance, Maui twirled his hook. "Don't lose you heads, ladies. I got this!"
"No, wait, there's-"
Before Kairi could finish her warning, a darkball heartless flashed down from above, slamming Maui down onto the deck. The canoe bucked like an enraged bull. Kairi flew up and backward, her shoulder slamming into the mast. The entire boat slanted, about to flip over. Moana, having just regained her balance, leaped into the canoe's outrigger, using her body weight to slam it back down onto the ocean, rebalancing the boat.
Maui, meanwhile, turned out to be made of sturdier stuff. He grabbed the darkball on top him, and squeezed it till it popped like a balloon. Another darkball came flying out of the now purple fog. It crashed into Maui's back. He swung his hook, but missed when the darkball twitched to the side. Maui tried to swing again, but then another heartless came at him from his blind spot, biting into his shoulder. Yelping, Maui reached to pry the heartless off, but then a third darkball came down from the sky, opened up its mouth and swallowed Maui's head.
Moana cried out. Leaping forward from the outrigger, she landed on the deck and swung her oar so hard that she pummeled the heartless into dust. Too bad the oar kept going into it slapped Maui in the face. He glared at Moana, his eye twitching.
"Ow?" He said as he punched the heartless still chewing his shoulder. It burst into nothing.
Moana hid her oar behind her back. "Sorry! I was trying to destroy the thing and set you free but now I see that that was stupid idea, and I should have thought-"
Maui thrust out his hand. "Let the demigod take care of this mess, Princess. Last thing I need you to do is to ruin my beautiful mug."
"What? No! I'm not just going to stand here! I want to help!"
Maui looked as though he were about to say something but then another darkball whizzed between him and Moana, barely missing them when they jumped back in surprise. Maui swung his fishhook when the heartless came back, cleaving it in half, without noticing another heartless sneak up behind him. Moana jumped behind Maui and swung her oar down like an ax, smashing the heartless into the boat and cleaving it into dust.
Maui turned around to give her a surprised look.
"Yeah, that's right," Moana quipped, "I just did that."
Kairi pointed into the mist. "Nice job but here comes some more!"
Seven more heartless rushed out of the fog, surrounding the boat. Maui and Moana smashed and sliced through the attack. All Kairi could do was hold on to the mast and scream warnings as to which direction the heartless were coming from. She barely had recovered enough magic for one spell and if there was one thing she knew about heartless, it was that there was always a chance something worse would be coming her way.
A darkball heartless nearly bit into Moana's face. She took a quick step back, and the heartless teeth chomped down on her shell pendant instead. Moana wrapped her arms around the chain, trying to pull her necklace out of the heartless' mouth. While she was distracted, another darkball slammed into her back. The necklace snapped off and the darkball swallowed it.
"No!" Moana jumped onto the darkball. It thrashed, throwing Moana off. She landed hard onto the deck of the canoe. The same time that Moana regained her feet, Kairi felt the tingling of darkness from every direction. There were too many dark points for Kairi to count and soon, dozens of heartless attacked their tiny boat at once.
Moana and Maui had no time to think about anything except keeping the heartless off the boat. Then several darkballs appeared below the water. They smashed their heads into the underbelly of the canoe, sending Maui, Moana, Hei Hei, and Kairi flying. Moana caught the chicken, and Maui, after changing into a hawk, caught her and Kairi.
The canoe flipped upside down below them, but that was not a concern. In midair, darkball heartless surrounded them from above, from below, from the left, from the right, like a swarm of poisonous meteors that were a mere twitch away from pummeling them into jelly.
Kairi looked up over her shoulder. "Maui, I only have enough for one magic spell, so don't waste this shot. Look for an opening and go all out!"
"Magic? What are you talking about? You're a mortal!"
The heartless flew closer, a hoard of open mouths and empty, lifeless eyes blocking out the sea and the mist until Kairi and the others were surrounded in an artificial night made entirely of hungry monsters. Moana squeezed her eyes shut. Kairi felt the stale breathe of darkness on her cheeks. She gathered up what little energy she had and screamed.
"Reflect!"
The heartless smashed into her protective sphere, bouncing off. They were pushed so far back that a gap had opened below Kairi and Moana's legs, allowing them to see the ocean below. Kairi's magical glass vanished.
"Maui, now!"
The claws around Moana and Kairi's arms loosened. The girls fell down into the water. Above, Maui flashed, changing shape from a bird into a man, into a bird, and into a man again, as he flew and sliced, flew and sliced through heartless. Below, Moana resurfaced from the water. She swam to her canoe, grabbed the rope, swam under the boat, and looped it around the outrigger. Jumping onto the outrigger, Moana clenched her teeth as she pulled the rope, finally flipping the boat back right side up.
Kairi spluttered as she surfaced for air. She spotted Hei Hei floating by and grabbed him by his tail feathers. She had managed to pull herself back onto the canoe just as Maui cut through the last darkball overhead. Kairi put Hei Hei back into his box before she collapsed onto the deck of the canoe. When Maui landed back on the boat, he leaned over Kairi, looking down at her with actual awe instead of disbelief.
"I've got to hand it to you, Purple. That was incredible. Never seen a mortal do such a thing."
"Do you believe this little purple girl can take care of herself now?"
"Sure do. Yet another thing you and Moana have in common. Full of surprises. Oh, and speaking of which. I think this is yours."
Maui extended his fist to Moana. He opened up his fingers, revealing Moana's pendant.
"Maui, you're my hero!" Moana threw the necklace around her neck and then jumped on Maui, hugging him.
Letting him go, Moana covered the shell pendant with both hands. "Thank you!"
"What can I say, except, you're welcome."
"Oh, and thanks for protecting us. That was-" Moana closed her mouth. Now that her necklace had returned, she realized that Kairi was still lying flat on the canoe's deck. She leaned down and gently tapped Kairi's shoulder. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. I just fought a giant crab, and then used up all the last of my energy to help take down a bunch of heartless. Just give me a second."
Maui dug into the compartment under the boat, pulled out a banana and then dropped it on Kairi's stomach.
"Nothing like a snack to get your strength back."
He found himself a coconut next and sliced it in half, giving one half to Moana.
She sat down next to Kairi's head and drank the coconut water.
"You said, 'heartless.' Is that what those dark things are called?"
Kairi, having taken a bite of her banana, was only able to answer in one word. "Yup."
"I've battled at lot of nasties on the oceans," said Maui, "but nothing like those creatures."
Kairi swallowed a bite of her banana, sitting up. "Heartless are attracted to the darkness in people's hearts."
"And what do they do with the hearts if they find them?"
"Swallow them, corrupt them, pull them into the darkness." Kairi rubbed her arms. "They pretty much eat and destroy."
Moana and Maui gave each other worried looks.
"You don't think Te Fiti could be in danger again, do you?" Moana said.
"I haven't seen any darkness like the kind we had seen back when Te Ka was around," Maui replied. "So it's fair to say that Te Fiti still has her heart, but it would be a good idea to go there just to make sure." Maui leaned back, looked up to the sky and sighed. "All I wanted was a nice fishing voyage with my old buddy, and I get roped into another 'save the world' trip. You mortals. Never satisfied. Well, let's get going so that I can say 'you're welcome.' Again."
"So is anyone going to tell who Te Fiti and Te Ka are?" Kairi asked.
"Te Fiti and Te Ka are the same person. Te Fiti is the mother island," Moana explained. "Her heart has the power of creation, to create life itself. Without her heart, she is a demon of earth and fire."
Kairi gulped. "A heart that has the power of creation? I would hate for the heartless to get their hands on something like that."
"Does that mean you're coming with us, Purple? Or do you have another thing to do?"
Kairi looked out into the ocean. The mist was slowly fading. As they passed through the last of the fog, the sun shined on the water. The breeze was soft, yet strong enough to push the canoe's sail forward. She looked out into the shining waves, hoping to see a raft with a pair of boys one it. No such luck.
"I got separated from my friends, and I don't think I'll be able to find them that easily. Besides, I can't help but feel I should travel with you two for a while."
"Maybe Te Fiti can point you in the right direction," Moana suggested. "After all, she is a goddess."
"That would solve one of my problems."
"What's the other one?"
Kairi shrugged. "Let's just say that the world just got a lot bigger, and who knows what kinds of problems that would cause."
Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi caught Maui glaring at her. His frown was so intense, that, for a moment, she thought he was going to bang her over the head with his hook. In a blink, his expression changed, back to his usual relaxed smirk. He flopped onto the deck, putting his hands behind his head.
"Well, good to have you along, Purple. Moana, you know the way."
"So you're just going to lay there and make me do all the work?"
"Pretty much."
Moana leaned her cheek in her hand, her expression tired.
"Don't worry," said Kairi, standing up to go to the back of the canoe. "I'll keep you company. Now, teach me how to sail."
Moana's happy expression morphed into one of annoyance when Maui said, "Asking for sailing lessons. See? What did I tell you? Moana Two."
"You sure learn quick."
Moana lounged on the deck of the canoe, looking up at the stars. Kairi sat at the end of the canoe, steering the boat with an oar in one hand while pulling the rope to open the sail in the other. A few lessons was all it took for Kairi to get the hang of sailing. She had taken the first shift of the night, allowing Moana to rest on the deck for a while.
Silver lines shined in the water, reflecting the stars above. At the front of the canoe, Maui stood, holding up his hand to the sky as though he were measuring the stars. Kairi's mind was too full of questions, keeping her wide awake, which was perfect since she needed to focus on sailing. Her mind wandered to the heartless she had seen above the ocean and in the realm of monsters. She swallowed a lump in her thought as she remembered all the heartless bursting out of the dark chasm at the bottom of the sea.
Trying not to think too hard, Kairi waved at Moana.
"Tell me about your island. What's it like?"
Moana closed her eyes. "The people in my village live off the island. We harvest coconuts, we weave our nets from their fibers, we use the leaves to make fires, we cook up the meat inside, we weave baskets, we practice dances and sing in choirs."
"It sounds like paradise."
Moana nodded. "It is."
Maui turned around, pointing at Kairi. "So what about you? What's your island like?"
"We have two islands, actually." Kairi replied. "The main island is where the town is. My school is there too. Then there's a smaller island where the kids go to play. It's where I used to hang out with my friends."
"Used to?"
Kairi blinked. Why had she said that? She knew in her heart that she would run into Sora and Riku again. After everything they had been through, there was no way those two would give up on finding her, or each other, again. So why did she suddenly feel as though her days on Destiny Islands were numbered.
"I mean, I still hang out with my friends and everything. It's just that we've, you know, started a new adventure out in the sea."
"Uh huh." Maui went back to looking at the stars. "We'll get to Te Fiti by sunrise." Maui stiffened, the muscles on his back tightening.
Moana sat up, "Something wrong?"
"The stars."
The girls looked up. The night sky had no moon, so the stars were able to shine bright and bold. Or at least, they should have. Instead of billions of glittering lights, sections of the sky were completely black, as though a painter had taken a splotch of ink and painted over sections of the stars. A lump of cold, bitter coal settled in the pit of Kairi's stomach. Something was indeed going on in the worlds. For the first time since being separated from them, she dearly hoped that Sora, Riku, and Ariel were safe. Then, an image of a lucky rabbit popped into her mind. Whatever was going in the realm of light could have had an impact on the realm of darkness as well. Kairi hoped that Oswald was all right.
"Is it the darkness," Moana asked.
"No," replied Maui, "I have a feeling this is something worse, something," he gave Kairi a look, "beyond our understanding."
Moana followed his line of sight. "You think it has something to do with Kairi?"
Maui shook his head. "What? With Purple? Naw. I was just being dramatic. You're so serious."
Moana rolled her eyes. When neither of them were looking, Kairi puffed up her cheeks and let out a sigh of relief.
"Still," Moana frowned at the sky, "those dark patches can't be a good sign, right?"
"Been seeing some of weird stuff happening lately," Maui said. "Heartless popping up in the sea, making sailing too dangerous for your people. I even saw a giant, monster whale swimming in the sea when I was flying around a few weeks ago."
Monstro, Kairi thought.
"Whatever is going on can't be good," Maui continued, "let's just hope that Te Fiti has some answers."
The group settled into an introspective silence. Only Hei Hei's clucking interrupted the sound of the waves and the wind. Kairi caught herself staring at the sky. Back on Sora's first adventure, as the heartless destroyed worlds, stars would vanish from the sky. The patches of dark sky overhead were nothing like back then. Whole sections of the sky were cleared away, the black voids in their place reminded Kairi of the stale, vast abyss that was the realm of darkness. If the worlds were somehow melting together, Kairi wondered, did that mean there was a chance that the realm of darkness could be added into the mix? It was a scary thought.
Her turn at sailing ended. Maui took over, allowing Kairi to sit down by the mast. She tried not to think, to focus on her task until she could find a way to reunite with Sora and Riku back at Disney Castle. Kairi shook her head, trying to knock out the annoying thoughts from her mind. Whatever was happening, she would find a way to solve it. She was sure of it. They had saved the worlds twice before. A third time shouldn't be a problem.
Besides, this was the easy stuff. It wasn't like Kairi had to decide whether or not she had to leave her friends behind for good to accept the responsibility of-Kairi smacked the side of her head with her palm. No! She would not think about that. Not now. Even if they saved the realm of light for a third time, she still had one more thing to do, one more friend to find, so that day, the day she refused to think about, had to wait until at least after that.
Maybe it was because of the sound of the waves, or caress of the wind against her neck, but Kairi somehow drifted off to sleep, only to wake up minutes later when the sun shined in her eyes. In front of her, Moana sat up and stretched. The patchy night sky had been replaced by a clear blue day.
"Morning, Moana," said Maui, pointing to the back of the boat. "Your turn is up."
Moana jumped onto the back of the boat and grabbed the oar. "How close are we to Te Fiti."
"Can't be long now till we see the island over the horizon," Maui replied, digging into the compartment under the deck for something to eat. He accidentally picked up Hei Hei. The chicken turned around to look at them, and then let out a shrill scream. Kairi covered her ears, and Maui wrapped his hand around the chicken's beak. The screaming didn't stop. And it was no longer coming from Hei Hei.
"Maui! Look!" Moana pointed to the horizon.
Turning around, Kairi and Maui echoed Moana's frightened cry.
A swarm of darkball and invisible heartless flew around a lush, green island that was shaped like a sleeping woman. Darkball heartless dive bombed into the tropical forests of the islands, while the invisible heartless sliced through trees with their swords and set sections of the island ablaze with their dark fire spells.
Moana pulled the sail tight, and the boat sped toward the island. Maui turned into a hawk, flying ahead. As he neared the attack, the island suddenly moved. From the hills that greatly resembled a woman's shoulder, a green arm reached up and started to swat away the islands.
Kairi gasped, watching as the island changed shape. The mountains bent and shifted, and then a massive, beautiful woman sat up in the ocean. Her skin, her long, flowing hair, her dress, matched the brilliant, emerald green that had been on the islands only a second before. A crown of flowers adorned her head. If it weren't for the fact that she was swatting desperately at the heartless that were relentlessly attacking her, Kairi would have been absolutely speechless.
"Moana! Get ready!"
"Whatever you're going to do, do it!"
Kairi jumped onto the end of the boat, right behind Moana, and put her hands in the water.
"Waterga!"
A blast of magical water pounded into the sea, creating a miniature tidal wave that gave the canoe an extra push. Moana pulled the sail tight and the two girls rushed forward like a speedboat, catching up to Maui. Up in the air, he shifted from hawk to human, cleaving through heartless. From her place on the boat, Kairi threw fire and lightning spells up into the sky, careful not to hit Maui. Realizing that new opponents had arrived, the heartless dive-bombed onto the canoe.
Moana smashed the heartless back with her oar. The three of them destroyed countless heartless, but still could not protect Te Fiti from the monsters that attacked her body. Not even Maui could maneuver around the endless hordes and soon, much like the sky at night, Te Fiti's body was covered in dark splotches as the heartless swarmed over her torso and chest.
Kairi's lungs seized. Dark pressure pounded in the atmosphere, making the very air too painful to swallow. She stumbled, barely able to hold onto the mast and lift her head to see her worst fears come true. Te Fiti's forests blackened as clouds of darkness seeped into her chest. Her eyes filled with smoke, shifting from lovely green to a sickly yellow that was soon the only brightness in her face. Her frightened expression hardened into one of emptiness. Every patch of green on her body turned into ash, her forests razzed by a smokeless fire that left her as nothing more then an empty husk.
The heartless stopped attacking, holding still in the air. Slowly, all their eyes, as well as Te Fiti's turned to Kairi and Moana's boat. Lifting her giant arm, Te Fiti swung at the canoe.
"Kairi! Moana!"
Maui landed on the front of the canoe, his hook shining. He lifted his weapon up. Te Fiti's palm slammed against it. A shockwave of energy knocked Kairi out. She didn't hear Maui and Moana's screams, didn't feel the boat thunder under her as the three of them flew over the waves. All she heard was a voice from deep within her heart.
One light alone will not stop the deepest darkness.
Jiminy's Journal
Tomatoa (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A giant, shiny crab that lives in Lalotai, the realm of monsters. He likes to collect things, especially anything sparkly, because he believes it makes him look beautiful. For someone that's so narcissistic and selfish, it was a surprise he actually didn't eat Kairi, choosing to throw her out of the realm of monsters instead.
Moana (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A girl that loves to sail the seas in search of new islands and adventures. Moana may be clumsy and stammer a lot whenever she's nervous, but she's also headstrong, fearless, and kind. She has a lot in common with Kairi (though Kairi has a bigger temper), which would explain why it's so easy for the pair of them to team up when they're teasing Maui.
Maui (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A boisterous, shapeshifting demigod that loves to show off and be the hero. Despite his arrogance, Maui is actually is quite good at defending others. He may have a hard time believing in mortals, but once they've proven themselves, he gives them the necessary respect. His and Moana butt heads at times, but it's obvious that their bickering is really just two best friends showing affection for one another.
Hei Hei (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A rooster that serves as Moana's sidekick. He's rather oblivious to his surroundings and doesn't seem to be very smart. He's also severely uncoordinated as he often misses the target of whatever he's pecking at. Still, his silliness is endearing enough that everyone on Moana's boat watches out for him.
