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 runs away from the healing hut as fast as she can, grief and duty prompting every painful step forward. At the same time, she dares herself not to look back, knowing that if she does, whatever is still there for her is all too quickly fading away.
"And it calls me…"
She briefly fears that her mission is doomed before it even begins when her mother catches her hastily packing her supplies for the trip. And yet… she doesn't stop her. Instead, she understands exactly what her daughter needs to do and why as she helps her gather all that she'll need for the perilous journey ahead of her.
"But no one knows… how far it goes…"
With tears in her eyes, she parts ways with her mother, running off again, this time into the night. Into whatever fate has in store for her now.
"All that time wondering where I need to be is behind me…"
She ventures into the hidden shipyard alone, letting the Heart guide her to the perfect vessel, the boat that she hopes will carry her, not just to her destiny, but to the salvation her island and her people both need.
"I'm on my own… to worlds unknown!"
Not wanting to waste another second, she shoves her supplies below deck and pushes the canoe into the water, determination replacing the anguish that had 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 pounds with both fear and excitement as she emerges from under the waterfall and drifts out onto the open sea. And yet, as she does, she finally looks back to the island she's leaving behind, catching sight of one hut in particular just as the lights-and the fading life within in it-are ultimately snuffed out.
And yet… just as one life ends, a new one seems to begin.
Before the grief of what she's lost can even touch her, a massive, graceful glow takes shape in the darkness of the ocean below her. That light takes on the form of a radiant manta ray, one that glides-no, flies-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 follows that light, her light toward the waves, toward the vast, unknown horizon ahead.
"And yes I know that I can go!"
Tears brim in her eyes against the cool breeze of the starry night, but they're hardly tears of grief this time. Rather, they're tears of hope, of love, for she knows that however daunting this journey might be, her grandmother will 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 unfurls her sail, bracing herself as her boat skips over a high wave, finally breaking past the barrier of the reef for the first time. Past the barrier of everything she's ever known before.
"How far I'll go!"
"Alright, Sora, this is it," Donald remarks 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 inquires.
"Again, we're not calling it that!"
Sora doesn't respond to his companions right away, instead looking at the vast landscape all around them. Or rather, the lack of a landscape. They're surrounded by nothing but an endless ocean on all sides. The sun reflects brightly off the calm, bright blue waters, a color matched by the pristinely cloudless skies above. Likewise, the air is quite warm, tropical even, an atmosphere Sora knows quite well thanks to his own island home. And yet, as familiar as this ocean rings, no islands, or boats for that matter, seem to sit upon its surface, 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 is indeed here, Sora can practically feel it, even if he has no real idea what that something truly is.
"Actually…" Sora grins confidently as he surveys 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 scoffs skeptically. "'Cause your 'instinct' told you so?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Sora says, finally turning to face his companions, only to notice their change in attire. Such a change isn't uncommon among many of the worlds the trio visits, often put on by Donald's magic as a way of helping them better fit in and maintain the world order. This time around, their clothing is 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 Sora can't help but appreciate. "Hey, cool! Your outfits are… uh…" he trails off, his smile fading as he takes stock of the dumbfounded, practically shocked looks both Donald and Goofy send his way. He nearly asks them about it until he happens to glance down at himself, catching a glimpse of his own new outfit, as well as something else. A secret that he had done his best to keep, from his companions, from Riku, even from himself. But thanks to his new outfit, it's all but completely laid bare for anyone to see.
Sora barely even has time to let out a startled gasp before both Donald and Goofy start pressing him for answers. "Sora!" Donald snaps hotly, angrily. "You told us the scar was gone! You promised us!"
"Y-yeah, I-I did," Sora takes in a deep, anxious breath. He crosses his arms over his chest in a feeble attempt at covering the unsettling, deep-set, x-shaped scar. "I-I just-"
"You just LIED to us, several times!" Donald seethes, clearly furious. "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 begins much more calmly, but it's still clear he's upset as well. "Why would you 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 you, right?"
"I do know that," Sora sighs remorsefully, stealing another glance down at the scar himself.
"Then why did you lie about it?!" Donald demands harshly. "Especially when you knew I'd be able to heal it!"
"Because you can't heal it!" Sora suddenly snaps, largely without even meaning to. Even so, he immediately wishes he could retract this revelation based on the incredulous looks his companions send his way upon hearing it.
"What do you mean?" Goofy asks with a frown.
"I mean I already tried healing it on my own and-"
"Curaga!" Donald catches Sora off guard, cutting his explanation off with this sudden cast of powerful healing magic. The warm glow of said magic surrounds Sora briefly, and yet it ultimately does nothing to even ease the damning mark, which is still just as ever present, even upon a second attempt.
"...And it didn't work…" Sora finishes fretfully, looking toward the sea to avoid having to look at the horrendous scar. To avoid having to think about what it really represents.
"W-wha-but why wouldn't it?!" Donald asks, baffled. He shakes his wand a bit, even though he's sure it's not the reason behind this magical malfunction. "You were a toy when you got that scar, but that shouldn't have anything to do with it not going away now."
"Maybe it's because of somethin' Young Xehanort did when he first gave you the scar?" Goofy proposes thoughtfully.
"I-I… don't know," Sora admits, even if it's something of a lie. For a while now, he has suspected that the young master's influence has something to do with the scar's persistence, especially given all of the other concerning warning signs that have come along with it. In fact, the theory seems to be downright common sense, all things considered. And yet, even despite that, the scar itself hasn't really carried any other ill effects outside of its inability to be healed. While Sora initially feared that the Organization would use said scar, or sigil, rather as a way of tracking his every move, they hardly even seem to be doing that if Demyx's clear surprise upon running into the trio in the previous world has been any indication. By all accounts, it's as though Xehanort himself isn't doing much in regards to his supposed claim on his heart. Which is why Sora figures that, outside of the few relatively minor points of concern, including the scar itself, he doesn't really have much of anything to worry about or fear after all. At least, that's what he continues to tell himself.
"Well, even if it won't heal, that's no excuse for not telling us about it!" Donald scowls, still clearly upset. "Especially after you promised you'd stop hiding things like this from us!"
"That's right," Goofy firmly agrees. "Like we've been sayin': we're a team, Sora. And teams don't keep secrets from each other!"
"I know…" Sora nods, 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's still keeping from them for a number of reasons. And yet, every single time he almost tells them… something always seems to hold him back and lock those secrets into silence. At least until they inevitably force themselves out into the open, until they can remain hidden no longer. "But I-wait." Sora 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 accuses and yet Sora largely ignores him, instead keeping his sights on the vast ocean ahead. He steps up to the edge of the tiny raft the trio is standing on, straining to make anything else out about the speck of movement he'd barely managed to spot from afar. That spark appears to drift in closer from the open seas, sticking out distinctly from the otherwise unchanging blue waves.
"Gawrsh, is that… a boat?" Goofy wonders, squinting off in the same direction
"What?" Donald squawks, 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 replies with a small chuckle.
"Wait a second…" Sora frowns as he takes 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 notes. "Oh! There's a few of 'em. Small and dark and twitchy, sorta like-"
"Heartless!" all three of them exclaim in startled unison as they notice the darkened swarm attacking the boat. However, the supposed Heartless are far from its only passengers, as a lone figure swiftly emerges 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 exclaims, startled as he summons his Keyblade and plunges its tip into the water. "We gotta help her! C'mon!"
Without anything else to row with, Donald and Goofy also call upon their own weapons and join Sora in trying to get their raft moving. Unfortunately, a Keyblade, a staff, and a shield aren't exactly well-suited as substitutes for oars, which is why the raft barely even manages to move across the far-too still ocean at all. That is, until the Ocean itself decides to get involved.
Without any warning, the raft suddenly lurches forward, catching the trio off guard as they all clumsily fall back upon it. Even so, their makeshift vessel practically skips across the sea at a blinding speed, until it inevitably deposits the trio exactly where they want to go, onto the boat that's being beset by the Heartless.
Except… upon a second glance, it becomes quite clear that these creatures aren't Heartless after all.
Rather, these monsters, while every bit as dark and devious as standard Shadows, are arguably even more insect-like in appearance, with long, jagged antennae, short, pointed limbs and sharp, blaring red eyes. But what they do have in common with the Heartless is their aggression as they shriek and scamper about the boat, intent on causing as much relentless damage and chaos as possible.
"Huh?" Sora looks around at the rampaging, unknown creatures with apt confusion. "What are-"
"Hey!" He's succinctly cut off by the arrival of the girl the trio had only briefly spotted on the boat mere moments ago. She jumps down from her perch against the tall canvas sail, smacking a few of the shadowy creatures out of the way as she lands on the tiny boat's now rather-cramped deck. Her expression, while stressed, is fierce as her long, dark, wavy hair blows tousled by the stir of the chaos, the skirt her simple, natural outfit that looks quite similar to the new clothing the trio now wears doing the same. From a cursory glance, she seems to be roughly around Sora's age, with a slender yet steady build as she grips her oar tightly, ready to continue the fight, even despite the trio's puzzling, sudden arrival. "Who are you guys? Where'd you come from?"
"Don't worry," Sora assures, knowing there's no time for introductions as he calls his Keyblade back into his hands to ward off this threat. "We're here to help!"
The girl looks over the trio skeptically for a moment, before ultimately nodding to accept their aid. And with that, everyone launches themselves into the fray, tackling these bizarre new creatures with gusto, even as more appear to take the place of those that fall. And yet, the outnumbered group doesn't lose heart as they continue to battle this threat, with the trio being more than well-versed in taking on creatures such as these by now. The girl seems a bit less practiced, for even despite her apparent agility and dexterity, these monsters are clearly out of her element. Even so, she bravely stands her ground right alongside the trio, right until the very last of the creatures falls into the sea, defeated.
"Oof… looks like all those old stories were right," the girl sighs, exhausted as she leans against her boat's sail. "The ocean really is full of monsters… But thanks for the help," she smiles gratefully to the trio. "I gotta admit, I… kinda needed it."
"No problem," Sora warmly returns her smile. "So now that we're not surrounded by a ton of monsters… I'm Sora," he introduces himself as his companions do the same.
"I'm Donald!" the magician pipes up enthusiastically.
"And I'm Goofy," the captain waves . "Pleasure to meet ya."
"It's good to meet you guys too," the girl chuckles, charmed by their shared friendliness. "I'm Mo-" She suddenly stops herself short, clearing her throat as she straightens her posture to come off as more authoritative, almost as if she's reciting something she's 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 exchanges a curious glance at this, lacking the proper context to really understand much of what Moana just said. Even so, Sora still offers her a smile, albeit a bit of a confused one as he takes her word for it all. "Um… ok…. Anyway, Moana, have you ever seen monsters like those around here before?"
"No, never," Moana drops her serious demeanor for a more natural one. "They just showed up on my boat and started attacking me and Heihei."
"Heihei?" Goofy asks, confused.
"Oh! That's right!" Moana gasps. She glances around before reaching down into the boat's small storage cutout and pulls up a basket covering a previously hidden passenger: a scrawny, wild-eyed chicken. "Sora, Donlad, Goofy, meet Heihei."
The most Heihei offers the trio in the way of a greeting is a loud squawk, one that isn't even aimed at any of them but in the exact opposite direction instead. All the same, the trio exchanges an amused glance over the rather dim-witted chicken, especially as it tries walking forward, only to repeatedly run right into the side of the compartment it's standing in instead. "Uh, heya, Heihei," Sora greets with a good natured smile.
"You know," Moana speaks up as she pulls 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 frowns, casting a glance over to the sea.
"Actually," Donald interjects thoughtfully. "I feel like we have seen them before!"
"What?" Sora turns to his companions, confused. "No, we haven't. Or… at least, I haven't…"
"Hm…" Goofy ponders, scratching his head. "It's on the tip of my tongue… I remember the King told us somethin' about… nega-tive emotions?"
"...Unversed?" Donald suggests, somewhat offhandedly.
"Oh yeah! Them!" Goofy readily agrees, despite the fact that Sora is clearly still out of the loop. And he's far from the only one as Moana stands by in silence, even more lost than he is.
"Unversed…?" Sora repeats dubiously.
"Uh huh," Goofy nods. "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?" Sora asks, curious. "Aqua, Terra, and Ventus?"
"Yep! We need more dependable help than you!" Donald teases with a knowing smirk.
"Hey!" Sora snaps in faux offense.
"Still, how come the Unversed are showin' up now…?" Goofy wonders, getting the conversation back on track.
"Uh, hey, sorry, but, uh, I'm still here, remember?" Moana suddenly interjects, stepping between the trio. "Mind filling me in on what all this 'Unversed' stuff is all about?"
"Oh, sure," Sora agrees somewhat obliviously. "You'd like the King, he-" He's immediately cut off by his companions as they mutually rush in to cover his mouth before he could reveal anything else.
"Order!" they both exclaim with the simple, usual reminder that's easily enough to get Sora to comply as they let him go.
"R-right, uh… well..." he turns back to Moana, who's 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 smirks. "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 trails off. He looks to Donald and Goofy, who both silently urge him to not be as candid as before. "We're from… wait. Did you say you're from an island?"
"Uh… yeah," Moana nods. "Motunui. Have you heard of it?"
"Well, no…" Sora shrugs. "But it's a pretty cool coincidence; I'm from an island too!"
"Sora!" Donald immediately chastises, though this time Sora hardly heeds him.
"Really?" Moana asks, instantly intrigued. "Which one?"
"Um… let's just say it's an island that's… very far away from here," Sora explains, momentarily satisfying the hot-tempered magician. "In fact, it's so far away that you've probably never heard of it."
"Heh, you'd probably be right," Moana crosses her arms, her expression somewhat bittersweet. "Up until now, I've never even left my island before."
"Gawrsh, why not?" Goofy asks.
"Well, I've always wanted to, but let's just say… I never really had a chance to get out on the ocean before," Moana says, glancing out at the vast sea. "At least… not until the Ocean came to get me itself."
Her small smile widens as she turns to the ocean in full, prompting the others to do the same as they catch a sight that easily dumbfounds all three of them. Just behind Moana, a large swath of water rises up, seemingly on its own accord, taking on the shape of a standing wave that "looks" down at the group gathered on the boat before it.
"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Moana grins back at the clearly amazed trio behind her. "The Ocean is a friend of mine."
"Since when is the ocean alive?" Donald mutters incredulously. Of course, the Ocean hears this remark and responds 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 chuckles alongside both Goofy and Moana over the magician's misfortunate. "You gotta admit the Ocean has a pretty good sense of humor."
"Hmph, sure, it does…" Donald deadpans, 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 pauses, 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 unlatches the locket on her necklace and takes out a small green stone, one that glistens under the vibrance of the afternoon sun.
"Ooo…" Donald and Goofy are both quite fascinated by the obviously important relic, but Sora suddenly finds himself captivated by it, staring at the tiny stone with wide, wondering eyes. And all the while, he can somehow sense just how much life radiates from it, life that's so powerful that it nearly overwhelmed him entirely. And yet, he can also tell that whatever that power is, it's pure, it's good, and it is, without a doubt, something worth protecting.
"...It's a heart…" Sora whispers, his voice soft and reverent. His eyes never leave the stone, even as Moana abruptly pulls it back in a bit.
"W-what? How… how did you know that?" she asks, raising a cautious eyebrow. She stops short, however, as she glances back at Sora, noticing his usually blue eyes shining almost vibrantly, perfectly reflecting the radiance of the tiny green Heart in her hand. "Whoa… Sora, are… are you ok?"
When he doesn't answer, Donald and Goofy peer over at him, only to notice his dazed, almost unnatural stare set solely on the Heart for himself. "Sora!" they both exclaim, shaking him by the arms and shoulders. Fortunately, this proves enough to break him out of whatever trance he's under, as he lets out a sudden gasp and places a hand against his head, shaking it to clear it.
"Huh?" he blinks, his eyes back to normal, yet they still seem to naturally drift toward the heart. "What… just happened?"
"Well… you were looking at this," Moana nods over to the heart. "And your eyes started glowing."
"They… did?" Sora winces, confused and alarmed.
"Anything else you might want to tell us, Sora?" Donald asks pointedly as he sends another sharp, suspicious glare toward his scar. Yet this time, Sora doesn't waver under it. Largely because this time, he's not so sure he has anything to hide.
"No, I don't know what-" he cuts himself off, forcing his sights away from the Heart lest it mesmerize him once more. "Um… Moana, maybe you could tell us a bit more about that, uh, heart? Maybe that'll help us figure out… whatever just happened."
"Oh, uh… sure," Moana agrees tentatively. "This… is the Heart of Te Fiti," she carefully holds it up once more and this time, Sora intentionally avoids looking its way. "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 nods, easily understanding Moana's intended mission. "In fact, restoring hearts sounds a lot like something we've done before."
"Many times before," Goofy adds.
"You could say we're experts at it!" Donald chimes in proudly.
"So… if your experts," Moana begins with a bit of a knowing smirk. "Then that means you must already know what happened when Sora looked at the heart just now, right?"
Donald and Goofy can only exchange an uncertain glance at this while Sora crosses his arms and looks down toward the sea. Whatever might have happened is by all accounts unexplainable to all three of them, an odd phenomena on top of the already perplexing state of Sora's scar. Which of course, as if right on cue, Moana just so happens to bring up to the trio next.
"Uh… speaking of stuff that's sort of strange and unnerving…" she looks to Sora specifically, hesitating to pose the question that's clearly on her mind. "You don't have to explain if you don't wanna talk about it, but… how'd you get that scar? It looks pretty serious…"
"Oh! D-don't worry, it's not," Sora lies, catching a set of disapproving looks from his companions the moment he says this. After all, any scar that refuses to be healed even by magic is a serious scar indeed. "As for the scar, it's… um, kind of a long story-"
"No, it's not," Donald counters bluntly.
"One of our enemies cut Sora across the chest just a few days ago," Goofy explains to Moana. "That's all there is to it, really."
"Thanks, you guys…" Sora mutters, shooting a glare back at both of his companions.
"A few days ago?" Moana repeats incredulously as she takes another look at Sora's scar. "Well… if nothing else, at least it looks like it's healing up nicely?"
"I-I… guess you could say that," Sora frowns, rubbing the back of his neck. All while failing to mention that the scar isn't healing at all, and how he's steadily starting to wonder, and fear, if it ever really will.
As Moana picks up on his newfound apprehension, she's quick to put on a small smile once more in a kind attempt at easing it a bit. "Well, you must be pretty tough to be able to take a hit like that and still be up on your feet," she remarks, hands on her hips. She perks up even more however, as a sudden idea strikes her. "And come to think of it, you guys sure seemed to be really on top of it 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 agrees, despite Donald adamantly shaking his head against the thought of candidly meddling once again. "Actually, this will work out great," he turns back to his companions. "Not only can we help Moana, but we can also look for the Key along the way."
"Key?" Moana raises a curious eyebrow.
"Oh yeah. That's what we're out here looking for," Sora calls upon their most recent Key so he can 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 frowns, looking over the glittering Key in apt bewilderment. "But we can always keep an eye out for it along the way. So, let's go!" She grins confidently, sitting near the back of the boat to take up its controls once again. "Next stop, Maui." With this, she pulls the sail taunt, only for the wind to act against her, sending the boat drifting backward instead of forward. She briefly panics, trying to gain control of the sail once again by pulling on its rope as hard as she can, only to more or less bring the vessel to a stand-still altogether. Moana lets 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 exclaims confidently. Perhaps a bit too confidently though, something that Donald is quick to call him out on.
"Since when do you know anything about sailing a boat like this?" the magician asks flatly.
"Eh, how hard could it be?" Sora shrugs, going over to join Moana. She readily hands the rope over to him, pointing out the boat's rudder in the process as she holds onto the oar to be of some assistance when it comes to steering. "Ok, so you just take this…" Sora somewhat unsteadily pulls on the sail only for the boat to turn in a fast, full circle as a result. Moana sends him a knowing look at this, though even so, he tries his best to play it off with a flustered laugh before trying again. "Alright, so this thing does… um…" his smile ultimately falls as he reaches 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 shakes 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 asks with an empathetic smile.
"What? No, I totally…" Sora trails off, letting out a small, defeated sigh as he admits the truth. "Don't. Sorry."
"Heh, don't worry about it," Moana laughs warmly. "You're definitely not alone on that front." Her humorous manner drops as she looks back out to the sea. "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 asks, curious.
Moana nods, gripping her necklace that contains the heart of Te Fiti safely within. "M-my… my grandmother," she swallows hard, blinking rapidly, as if to fend of fresh tears. "She told me the Ocean chose me for a reason, but… why would it choose someone who doesn't even know how to sail…?"
Sora pauses, thinking over this bout of doubt before offering her the most natural response he can 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 smiles 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 begins, leaning back as he looks 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 nods up to his companions as they sit a bit ahead on the boat. Both of them gladly return his nostalgic smile, remembering that meeting and their very first adventure together too. "And… believe it or not, they were the ones who helped me find my way."
"Find your way…" Moana repeats, largely to herself as she wonders exactly who she has to help her find her own way. Especially now that one of the only people she had always looked to for guidance is gone...
"Gawrsh…." Goofy speaks up, looking past the pair at the back of the boat. "It's startin' to get a little cloudy over that way…"
"Cloudy?" Moana turns, though the moment she does, her heart instantly sinks at what she sees. Approaching all too quickly from beyond the horizon are unsettled, ominous clouds, covering the clear skies with pitch black darkness. But that isn't the only cause for concern, for as those clouds roll in, so does thunder, echoing across the sea as lightning flashes warningly over the water. "A storm!" Moana shouts, quickly throwing the sail's rope to Sora as she begins paddling as hard as she can with her oar.
"Maybe we can outrun it," Sora proposes, looking up to his companions. "Any ideas?"
"None except for what Moana's doin'," Goofy says, urgently plunging his shield into the water to aid in the effort. "Paddle us outta here!"
Donald is 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 falls upon them. He lunges forward, barely catching the chicken by the leg just as a series of uproarious waves begin to rock the tiny boat back and forth aggressively.
"Uh, O-Ocean!?" Moana shouts breathlessly over the clanging thunder. "A little help here?!"
Unfortunately, the Ocean doesn't seem to comply. If anything, it only reacts harsher, the waves rising as a massive torrent of rain falls from the dark clouds above. As another one of those waves crashes into the boat, it lists hard to its side, practically knocking all five of its passengers off entirely. Still, they hold on, even as the vessel slams down onto its other side. And yet, that's clearly only the beginning.
The boat's sail wavers under the near hurricane winds acting against it, to the point that neither Sora nor Moana can hold onto it, no matter how hard they try. As a result, the vessel spins itself about wildly, the waves still casting it to and fro against the raging sea until it can remain upright no longer. A particularly momentous wave bombards it seemingly out of nowhere, one that's more than enough to tip the unsteady boat over altogether. Time seems to slow as it falls over, everyone upon it panicking to grasp onto something as they're plunged into the unforgiving ocean below.
Moana is the first to surface, clinging tightly onto the boat's underside as she desperately looks around for any signs of Sora, Donald, or Goofy amidst the roaring waves. Fortunately, all three of them are close behind her when it comes to emerging from the sea. But based on everyone's mutual struggle to even anchor themselves to the vessel simply to stay afloat, it becomes clear none of them will be able to hold out against such an intense storm for too much longer.
And of course, just to make matters worse, another alarming threat makes itself known almost immediately. A horde of winged Unversed suddenly emerge as if from nowhere, divebombing the beleaguered group down below. As caught up in simply trying to cling onto the boat as they are, there's little any of them can do to defend themselves against such an onslaught. Little except beg for mercy that may very well never come.
"O-Ocean!" Moana cries again, practically pleading with the sea against the pouring rain and the attacking Unversed. "Help us! Please!"
The trio is likewise equally on the verge of joining her in calling on the Ocean for its much-needed aid, that is, until said ocean submerges them with yet another unexpected wave. While that wave fortunately knocks out a good deal of the Unversed, as they all surface from the surging sea once more, they're met with the Ocean's ultimate answer to their distressful straits: another wave, one that's much more towering and terrifying than any of the rest. It rises countless feet above the tiny boat and those holding onto it, who can do nothing but stare up at the curling wave in horror as it bears down upon them, giving them no time, and no chance to escape it.
In an instant, the wave crashed down upon them, scattering the small group to the sea. The boat is tossed, Moana still clinging onto both it and to Heihei. Donald and Goofy fall a good ways away from it while Sora is knocked back into the water with a disorienting amount of force. He doesn't even have time to take in a single gasp of air before he finds himself sinking into the blackened depths, and while he'd normally, easily be able to swim his way back up to the surface, he finds himself struggling against the sudden weight pressing down against his chest.
As he flails against the deepening water, he's only able to catch a glimpse at what's anchoring him down as a bolt of lightning illuminates the silhouette of a large, aquatic Unversed forcefully shoving its full weight upon him. He takes in a sharp gasp of sea water, his Keyblade flashing into his hand before it quickly flickers out, unable to sustain itself as his head starts spinning and his vision grows dark. The Unversed clearly intends to drown him, and by all accounts, it's succeeding as his mouth is suddenly, unintentionally flooded with another bout of briny sea. On panic alone, he throws his arm upward wildly, his chest heaving desperately for air that's far too out of his reach by now.
And yet, the moment he lifts his hand, he feels a strange sort of sensation between his steadily fading senses. An odd burst of icy cold, mingled with a swell of burning heat. Something rushes through his body, something powerful and unknown as it courses its way from the depths of his heart, surging towards his hands until it pushes his way past his fingertips, out into the ocean entirely. Whatever it is, it strikes the Unversed squarely, small flecks of vibrant light glistening within the darkness of the raging ocean as the monster is torn apart by the mysterious magic acting upon it.
Sora doesn't even have time to realize he'd been the one to call such powerful magic forth before he finally succumbs to suffocating depths of the sea.
"Ba-CAW!"
Heihei's usual shrill cawing is muffled under the hallowed half of a coconut resting on his head. He does 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's more or less buried in that sand.
The girl darts upright, startled and weary, practically drenched in dry, white sand from head to toe. As consciousness returns to her, she briefly casts a look at her current surroundings: a seemingly small, rocky island with hardly any life to speak of upon it. An island that's 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 is still securely contained inside her necklace, Moana happens to find at least one 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 wonders aloud, peering over the edge of the boat.
For his part, Sora is nowhere near as sand-drenched as she is. Instead, he lies next to the shore, his body still and listless, even as Moana heads over to rouse him awake. "Sora?" she calls a bit louder, leaning down next to him. Her rising concern skyrockets when she shakes him by the shoulder and he doesn't show any signs of rousing in the slightest. "Sora!" she shouts in apt alarm. "Wake up!"
"Sora?!" Amidst her panic, Moana does feel a burst of palpable relief when she hears Donald echo her call. He seems no worse for wear from the shipwreck as he runs over from the far side of the shore, his eyes wide as soon as he spots Sora's still-unconscious form. "What's wrong with him?"
"I-I don't know," Moana shakes her head, giving the magician a bit of space to work. "He's not moving!"
Without needing any further prompting, Donald calls upon his staff and casts a healing spell over Sora outright, hoping that it can cure whatever injuries he might have that could be keeping him from awakening. And yet, just as that same sort of magic failed to clear his scar away, it also fails to help him wake up, something that only serves to make both Donald and Moana worry even more. That worry is all but worsened when the magician checks Sora's pulse, only to find it slow and fading… and when he realizes his chest isn't even rising and falling as it naturally should be.
"Oh! There you all are!" Goofy exclaims as he rounds the other side of the boat to join the group. "Glad to see we all ended up in the same place-and that everyone is alright."
"Sora isn't!" Donald snaps tensely. "Goofy, he-he's not-"
"He's not breathing!" Goofy gasps in horror as he drops to his knees alongside Donald.
From there, the pair immediately lunches into a frantic rush of trying to come up with some sort of plan or idea to swiftly revive Sora before it's too late. Moana readily pitches in wherever she can, despite her lack of expertise in such matters and despite her fear at losing a new friend so soon after losing someone else she cared about. As a noisy sort of distressed chaos erupts upon the shoreline, someone on the other end of the seemingly abandoned isle manages to catch echoes of it from a distance. Yet despite being at the center at that chaos, it all goes unheard by Sora as unconscious and fading as he currently is. Even so, he still manages to hear another voice entirely, somehow calling out to his heart from within the empty, nearly-lifeless void he's fallen into.
The day you will open the door is both far off and very near…
Something flashes across his vision, an ocean, different from the one he'd fallen victim to earlier. A shore he's seen so many times. The distant world he still calls home.
The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes…
Then, suddenly, that world is torn asunder. Flooded by darkness and destruction until its light goes out entirely. Every single soul that dwelled within it snuffed out in an instant… save for the three who were lucky enough to be scattered away from it all.
But don't be afraid… You hold the mightiest weapon of all…
A Keyblade flashes into his hand, but it's not the one he's most familiar with. It bears a certain semblance to it, yet it's much larger, much grander, much more powerful than any weapon he's ever seen before. A weapon tied to the very Heart of all worlds.
And yet… you are not where you belong...
That Heart appears in all its terrifying radiance, shining brightly amidst a starless sky. Thirteen Keys form a spinning halo around it, glowing in response to the power they were made to unlock. He reaches for it without thinking, but the moment he does, he's pulled back into the empty haze of darkness once more.
Your heart is not ready for what it was created to do… For now you must awaken… Return to the worlds until you find your path Home...
He takes in a breath for the first time in what feels like years. The dull sounds of other voices begin to reach him, the sensation of rough sand below him and the warmth of the bright sun above him starting to become apparent. Yet before he can open his eyes to see it, that faint, unknowable voice whispers to him one last time.
And don't forget… you are the one who will open the door to light...
Back within the world of the waking, the Heart of Te Fiti, tucked safely within Moana's necklace, briefly pulses a bright, pure flash of green. And the exact moment that it does, Sora suddenly bolts up, wide awake as he takes in a sharp, heavy gasp of air.
"Sora!" Donald, Goofy, and Moana all exclaim in immense relief. Sora hardly pays any of them any mind, however, as lost in catching his lost breath, his hands digging into the sand as he slowly manages to ground himself back into reality. The memories of his final fleeting moments before he nearly drowned and the vague, momentary images of the bizarre dream he'd had just prior to awakening are all but left behind. Because at this point, the most he can think about is how lucky he is to even be alive at all after the near-deadly ordeal he just went through.
Once it seems as though he's finally breathing normally again, Moana places a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Sora, are you alright?" she asks, her expression tight with worry..
"Y-yeah…" he nods, offering her a small, reassuring smile. "I'm fine."
"You weren't fine just a second ago!" Donald counters, clearly upset. He doesn't have time to stew in his anger however, before Goofy suddenly pulls him and Sora into a tight, happy hug.
"You weren't even breathing a minute ago!" the captain cries, letting out something that's between a laugh and a sob. "We thought you might've… t-that you were…" He stops himself, laughing genuinely this time as Sora and Donald share his bright, allayed smile. "We're so glad you're alright!"
"I'm glad you guys are all ok too," Sora grins as the embrace disbands. He hesitates briefly for a moment or two, lightly recalling what had happened before he'd blacked out. The strange sensation of some unknown sort of strength that had coursed through his veins, that had seemingly managed to take down a massive Unversed in but a single blow. And yet, with his head still as foggy as it currently is, he's not so sure that wasn't something he had just dreamed of in the uncertain haze between awakening and slumber. So he keeps it to himself, not wanting to worry the group with anything else after what they've all just been through. "So, uh… where are we anyway?" he asks instead, taking a glance around the dry, stony island surrounding them.
"No idea," Moana huffs, brushing a bit of sand out of her hair. "Thanks to a certain Ocean…" Her expression sours as she stands over, glaring hotly at the now-calm sea lapping onto the shore almost mockingly. "Um… WHAT?!" she demands, seething with fury over the peril her supposed 'friend' had just put them all through. "I said help us! But you go and nearly get us all killed! And wrecking my boat? Not helping!" In a further show of frustration, she makes an attempt at kicking the water, only for said water to suddenly, intentionally rescind, sending her tripping and falling flat on her back. "Fish pee in you!" she shouts, jumping to her feet again and pointing to the Ocean accusingly. "All day! So… augh!" With that, Moana turns on her heel, storming away from the Ocean altogether lest she continue an argument that she clearly won't win.
"Uh… are you ok, Moana?" It's Sora's turn to be concerned now as he stands and walks over to her.
"To be honest? No," Moana replies flatly, leaning against her boat as she lets 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 trails off, her anger dissipating into wonder as she looks toward the towering stones that make up most of the island. Stones that have been marked with a myriad of countless tally marks, all of which are arranged into the very specific shape of a very familiar hook. "No way…" she mutters in disbelief, briefly glancing back over at the Ocean for an answer. "...Maui?"
The Ocean swiftly collects itself into its usual swath, one that only offers Moana a single, solidifying nod before splashing back down into the rest of the sea. Surprised, she looks to the trio, eyes wide as she silently communicates to them what the Ocean had just told her.
"Wait, so this Maui guy you're looking for," Sora begins, looking around for anyone else. "He's here?"
"I-I guess so?" Moana shrugs, glancing over at the markings on the rocks again. "But if he is, then where-" She stops short, taking in a fearful glance as loud footsteps echo across the sand from just behind the rocks. Sure enough, a large, intimidating shadow looms on those stones, one that's clearly, steadily approaching the shore, along with all of them. "Maui!"
Acting quickly, Moana takes the initiative, grabbing her oar first, then Heihei, all while beckoning Sora, Donald, and Goofy to follow her as she hides away behind the semi-buried boat. "Garwsh, Moana, I thought you were lookin' for Maui," Goofy notes in a somewhat confused whisper. "So why are we hiding from him?"
"I-I just need time to think!" Moana says 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… Ooh, what if he doesn't listen?"
"Then we'll make him listen!" Sora assures, 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 notes to his companions. "We should be ready for anything."
"Right," Donald and Goofy both nod in firm agreement.
"O-ok," Moana says much more nervously as she grips her oar tightly. "Ok… I am Moana of Motunui." She begins again, daring to peek out from beyond the boat to try and catch a glimpse of the demigod. "You will board my…" She trails off, frowning in confusion as she realizes Maui is nowhere to be found. Until…
"Boat! A boat!" The entire group is completely caught off guard as the boat itself is suddenly pulled out of the sand by none other than Maui himself.
Maui certainly lives up to the legendary title of demigod with his large, powerful figure, adorned by an incredible patchwork of ceremonial tattoos that cover just about every inch of him. He heaves the entire boat up into the air with hardly any effort at all, clearly happy to see it as he holds it high above his head. "The gods have given me a-AH!" The demigod lets out a frightened shriek the moment he spots the group standing before him, accidentally dropping the boat as he shrinks back in surprise.
Even so, Maui does bother to lift the boat once more to see if he actually did drop it on his unexpected guests. However, the only thing that emerges is Heihei, fortunately not completely crushed as his head pokes lazily out of the sand.
"Ahem." Maui's confusion only grows as he turns, boat still in hand toward the group standing directly behind him. Moana still holds 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 delivers evenly and resolutely, knowing there was no turning back now.
"Maui," she starts, her tone and manner firm and unyielding, even as Maui looks down at her, bewildered. "Shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea-I am Moana of-"
"Hero of men."
Moana pauses, caught off guard as she exchanges a brief, confused glance at the others. "W-what?"
"It's actually Maui, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea…" Maui explains with a proud smile. "Hero of men. I interrupted; from the top, hero of men. Go."
Despite her initial surprise at this tangent, Moana shakes her head, continuing her introduction with a level tone. Even if she doesn't manage to get very far. "I am-"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Maui cuts 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 whispers to his companions, baffled by such a claim. "What kind of 'hero' steals someone's heart?"
Neither Donald nor Goofy have an answer to this; Moana, on the other hand, grows increasingly frustrated with the demigod's haughty attitude. "What? No!" she scowls, pointing her oar at him. "I'm here to-"
"Oh, of course!" Maui grins, 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 snatches Heihei out of the sand and uses 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 glances over at Sora next. "You want that-what is that thing, some sort of key?-signed too? Huh, might have to find something sharper than the chicken for something like that though…"
Before Sora even has a chance to respond, Moana cuts in, abruptly bringing the flighty demigod back to reality with a swift swing of her oar to his midsection. As Maui doubles over in pained surprise, Moana grabs him harshly by the ear, bringing him down to her level as she addresses 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 agrees just as adamantly, still brandishing his Keyblade as Donald and Goofy do 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 chimes in.
"Or else!" Donald snaps, glaring the demigod down distrustfully.
However, despite these stern threats and warnings, Maui simply chuckles, 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 scoffs, clearly doubtful. "How is a heart a gift?"
"Uh, it is when it gives you the power to create life itself, duh," Maui points out smugly. The others all look to each other in surprise at this news, wondering if there really is 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 repeats, baffled.
"You're welcome!" Maui exclaims brightly.
"Wha-no!" Moana counters, flustered. "I didn't-I-I wasn't-why would I ever say that-"
"Ok, ok," Maui chuckles, deciding to take a different tactic instead. Because at least from his perspective, these mortals are clearly confused, so perhaps they need a bit of a reminder as to how important he truly is. As well as all of the miraculous gifts he's happened to give them across the thousands of years of his life. "I get it, you're all still trying to figure out how to deal with standing in the presence of a mighty hero, a powerful demigod. It's normal, natural even, for humans like you," he quirks an eyebrow up as he regards Sora and Moana in particular. "Isn't it, buddy?"
At this, Maui pulls his shark-tooth necklace aside to reveal one of his many tattoos, this one depicting a tinier version of the demigod. However, what catches the others by surprise is the small, friendly wink that tattoo somehow sends their way. Maui and his mini self continue this bout of playfulness as the tattoo scampers over to a blank spot on his arm before exchanging a brief fist bump with the demigod himself.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaims, duly impressed by such a feat.
"Sora…" Donald scolds, crossing his arms.
"Oh, come on," Sora counters back in a whisper. "When have we ever seen a moving tattoo before? You gotta admit, that's pretty cool."
"Cool's only the tip of the coconut tree, kid," Maui interjects with a broad, proud smirk. "I'm just getting started."
"Getting started with wha-ah!" Moana gasps as Maui suddenly grabs her hand and spins her about. He manages to steal her oar in the process, setting her off even more, though he hardly seems to notice as he continues.
"See the sun up there?" Maui nods, diverting the trio's attention skyward. "You only got that 'cause of me."
"Gawrsh, really?" Goofy asks, curiously.
"Of course!" the demigod smirks. "I used my hook to lasso it down from the heavens to shed a little light on you mortals way back when. Brought you longer days, warmer weather, the works. You're welcome."
"Tch, that's just an old legend," Moana scowls, crossing her arms.
"A true legend," Maui counters easily. "Just like the one about how I stole you fire from the deepest depths of the earth so your nights would be just a little less chilly." He nods down to one of his many tattoos, which re-enacts the aforementioned event of the demigod doing exactly that. "You're welcome."
"That's not how any of that works-"
"Also," Maui swiftly cuts Donald off as he begins leading the way to the far side of the island. "I convinced the wind to start blowing all across the sea, so you mortals could use all those nice little sails you built to get whenever you need to be. You're welcome!"
"Wow," Sora chuckles, hoping to finally get a word in edgewise here. "It... sure sounds like you've done a lot."
"Way more than a lot," Maui proclaims, spouting off another lengthy list of his various accomplishments. "I pulled islands out of the sea, buried an eel's guts so it would sprout the first coconut trees, fought off countless monsters and demons, oh, and did I mention I'm an expert shapeshifter who uses his incredible powers solely for the benefit of mortals like you? You're welcome."
"Are you done yet?" Moana asks, beyond exasperated with the demigods haughty bragging by now.
"Almost, kid, hold your seahorses," Maui hastily rebuffs her as he leads the group into a cave near the back end of the island. Inside is a massive statue of the demigod himself, clearly still a work in progress by the looks of it, one that he's spent years working on crafting perfectly in his own image. "See that? It's a little passion project of mine. I've been out of the loop for the past odd thousand years or so, but I bet you folks have all sorts of monuments just like this set up all over whatever island you're from, huh?"
"Why would we ever set up any sort of monuments after you stole the Heart of Te Fiti and cursed the entire ocean!?" Moana crossly retorts, but for his part, Maui more or less completely ignores her.
"So, hey, since you guys traveled all this way just to thank me for all the wonderful things I've done for you and your people, then it's your lucky day!" he smirks as he walks past the others, back to the cave's entrance. "See, I can do just about anything… but float. And that little sailboat you all came here on is just the thing I've been waiting for to finally find a way off this lovely rockpile here. So-"
"Wait, the boat?" Sora turns around at the same time as Moana, only to see Maui standing just outside of the cave with a smug, triumphant grin on his face. "What are you going to-"
"Sooo, yeah, I'll just be taking it off your hands if you don't mind," Maui hastily says before any of the others can get a single word out in edgewise. "You're welcome!" he sings brightly as he bids then all a cheerful wave goodbye. "Oh, and thank you!"
"Wait!" Moana shouts, but it's already too late. Before any of them can stop him, Maui quickly rolls a heavy rock in front of the cave's entrance, easily locking all of them within.
"Hey!" Sora shouts angrily, pounding a fist against the immovable stone. "Let us out!"
"You can't just trap us in here!" Donald yells just as furiously as he shakes his first. "And you can't steal our boat either!"
"Um, fellas, I don't think he's coming back..." Goofy frowns.
"Ugh! I can't believe this!" Moana seethes hotly. By all accounts, she's outraged, downright livid that the very demigod she'd come all this way to find turned out to be anything but the brave, noble hero she'd been hoping for. "That lying, slimy, son of a-"
Of course, Maui hears none of these irate protests as he happily makes his way over to the now-abandoned boat, more than ready to use it to get away from the place that's essentially been his prison for the past millennium. Yet before he can get too far, Mini Maui briefly pulls him back by one of his other tattoos, sympathetically motioning toward the cave and the group his larger counterpart just trapped inside it.
"What? No," Maui scoffs 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 continues to the boat, snatching Heihei along the way so he can make a possible 'boat snack' out of the chicken on the voyage ahead of him. A voyage to reclaim his long-lost magical fish hook, and, in the process, stay as far away from both Te Fiti and her Heart as possible.
However, his getaway isn't as smooth as he would have liked. For what Maui doesn't anticipate is Moana and Sora's shared resourcefulness. Resourcefulness that, when paired with Donald and Goofy's help, grants the entire group a hasty escape out of the cave (thanks in no small part to Maui's self-made statue giving them an extra boost) and out to freedom atop one of the island's higher outcroppings. By now, Maui's 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 exclaims, 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."
Still, as he turns back toward the sea, Maui doesn't see the group slip out of said cave. Moana does so first and she doesn't even hesitate, not even waiting for Sora, Donald, and Goofy in her frustration as she races forward to the edge of the high cliff. Without really thinking, she lunges off of it, hoping to land squarely on the boat Maui's claimed as his own. The demigod is alerted by the fierce war cry she lets out, but he watches boredly as she ultimately ends belly flopping hard into the ocean directly behind him.
"Moana!" Sora exclaims, concerned, as he, Donald, and Goofy remain standing atop the island's high point. Fortunately, Moana surfaces, unharmed, only for Maui to instantly taunt her the moment she does.
"You know, kid, I could watch that all day," he smirks 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 alerts him to the presence of the horde of shadowy creatures starting to invade the boat from seemingly out of nowhere. "What? Hey!" Maui stands, glaring down at the small, twitching monsters. "Get lost, you… uh… whatever you are! This is my boat!"
"It's my boat!" Moana snaps, struggling to climb 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 ducks out of the way of one of the small creatures that Maui tosses over the side of the boat. And in doing so, he allows the trio still on the island to get a better glimpse at exactly what's happening down below.
"Unversed!" Sora shouts, quickly calling upon his Keyblade once more. While Donald and Goofy are more than ready to find a safer way to get down to the shore, Sora simply follows Moana's example, stepping back a bit before diving right over the edge of the cliff, much to his companions' shared alarm.
"Sora!" they both shout, startled by his reckless approach. Unlike Moana, however, they're relieved to see Sora actually stick his landing squarely on the boat.
The suddenness of said landing nearly tips the boat over entirely, though that, paired with a larger Unversed storming the vessel at the exact said time is what ultimately ends up knocking Maui off the back of the boat himself. Moana can't hold back a smug, satisfied grin as he clumsily splashes into the water alongside her, clearly far from pleased that he's lost his recently-claimed ship already.
"You know," Moana echoes with a wry grin. "I could watch that all day."
Maui simply groans at her, instead turning back to the boat to watch Sora begin taking on the Unversed. The collection of creatures range in size this time, from the tiny, Heartless-like creatures from before, to much larger, more varied monsters, though all of them are equally as fierce and vicious. Even so, Sora faces them squarely, bereft of Donald and Goofy's aid as they work their way down to the shore to enter the brawl in a much safer way than he had. While the rather tiny boat doesn't offer much room to move around on, he makes due with what he has, wisely tackling the smaller Unversed first before working his way up to the more monstrous of the group.
At first, his pace is steady as he knocks out the first round of Unversed, only for more to rise up to take their place. Unlike Heartless or Nobodies, Sora really has no idea what these creatures are or what they want, other than Donald and Goofy's vague explanation of 'negative emotions'. But if that's really what they're after, then why would they show 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 is by such puzzling thoughts, Sora doesn'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, toward Moana still wading in the water behind the boat as she tries to climb aboard, competing with Maui as he does the exact same thing.
"Outta the way, kid," the demigod says, shoving her back into the ocean. "I've got a boat to catch."
"So do I!" Moana protests, trying her hardest to push him aside, only for his impressive girth to stop her in her tracks. She lets 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 ignores them, swatting them away as she continues her persistent attempts at getting her boat back from both the Unversed and from Maui alike. However, the birdlike creatures become her immediate concern the moment one of them manages to catch her off guard by latching its claws onto her necklace. The very same necklace that contains the Heart of Te Fiti.
"N-no!" she cries, grasping onto the necklace tightly before the Unversed can snatch it away. She remains 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 tries its hardest to pull it away from her. "Let go of it!"
"Hey, why not just let the little guy have it?" Maui asks, leaning an arm against the boat as he watches 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 huffs, sending a sharp glare the demigod's way as she pulls back against the Unversed with all her might. Yet even her severe perseverance proves to not be enough as the Unversed ultimately ends up ripping the necklace away from her entirely. And the moment it does, Moana forces herself into action without a second thought. Using all her strength (with perhaps a little bit of help from the Ocean), she practically vaults herself onto the boat, scrambling onto its deck as she ignores Maui's baffled gasp when the Ocean more or less knocks him back in the process.
"Stop!" she shouts, reaching for the winged Unversed as it starts to fly out of her reach. "Give it back!"
"Moana?!" Sora exclaims, turning away from the Unversed he'd just defeated to see her standing on the far side of the boat.
"Sora!" Moana yells back, anxiously pointing up at the creature perched atop the sail, the necklace still in its grasp. "It's got the-" She's suddenly cut off as one of the larger Unversed suddenly knocks her over, its clawed hand gripping her by the ankle before pinning her down, intent on a much more brutal attack, one that she's entirely defenseless against.
"No!" Sora panics upon seeing her in such peril. He doesn't think, he only acts, not even bothering with his Keyblade as he reaches a desperate hand out instead. "Stop!"
It's a moment that happened so quickly that Sora barely even has time to process it. A surge of energy, unknown, and immensely powerful, rushes through him, one he swears he felt before, when he was on the verge of drowning in the storm earlier. Only this time, a sudden spark of vibrant gold flashes through his eyes as that power pulses through him. And a burst of raw, strong, practically overwhelming magic that explodes from his open palm, one's somehow blindingly bright yet shrouded in darkness all at the same time.
That magic acts fast, slamming straight through the Unversed that pinning Moana down and swiftly tearing it apart from the inside out until there's nothing left of the creature at all. From there, that magic bursts 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 pose altogether.
While Moana is quite surprised by the sudden save, no one is more shocked than Sora himself. As the last remains of that initial burst of magic fade, he looks down to the hand he had unintentionally cast it from, the very same hand he'd first noticed that shadowy patch of darkness on. By all accounts, that darkness has seemed to grow a bit, stretching across nearly his entire palm by now and reaching out toward his wrist and fingers. And yet, what's most mystifying is the aura of power that surrounds that hand now, wrapping it in a strange sort of darkness that contrasts sharply the luminous light equally engulfing it. Two equally powerful, yet absolutely opposite forces, both at war and at harmony with each other in a way Sora can't even begin to understand.
"O-ok…" Moana speaks up, breathlessly sitting up. She barely even notices as her necklace falls squarely into her lap, the Heart still somehow safely tucked inside it. "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 admits, still staring at his hand, even as the magic surrounding it slowly starts to fade. "I've never been able to do… anything like that before. But…" He pauses, glancing around the boat, now bereft of any sort of Unversed thanks to his unexpected show of immense strength. Strength that, if it's 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 says as he finally hoists 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 nods down to Heihei, who had somehow wandered onto the boat from seemingly out of nowhere.
Before Sora can even try to explain himself to either Moana or Maui, Donald and Goofy finally emerge onto the shore of the still-nearby island, not hesitating to wade out into the shallows so they can swim over to the boat. "Sora!" Goofy calls. "What happened?"
"Where are all the Unversed?" Donald asks as they both reach the boat.
"Uh…" Sora begins, somewhat uncertain as he helps his companions onto the ship. "Well… I-I-"
"Oh! You guys should have seen it!" Moana chimes 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 scoffs , 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 calls his bluff on such a hefty claim, shaking his head until the demigod quickly bumps him around to his back.
"Magic, huh?" Donald asks, raising a critical eyebrow at Sora.
"Uh, y-yeah, magic," Sora nods, deciding not to explain said magic further. At least not right now. "Looks like all those lessons you used to give me finally paid off, Donald."
"Mm hm…" the magician nods, still quite skeptical that Sora could have successfully managed to take out an entire horde of monsters using only magic. Especially when he typically favors simply using his Keyblade over it.
"Well, at least they're all gone!" Goofy cuts in brightly.
"Which means," Moana turns to Maui with a determined grin. "We can finally set out to Te Fiti so you can restore the Heart."
"Uh… yeah. No," Maui says flatly. "Not gonna happen. Not now, or ever. So, if you'll excuse me," Out of nowhere, he easily picks 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 asks 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 shakes 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 nods over at the sea he'd just tossed Moana into. "So yeah… I feel for you guys, I really do. But that's gonna be a hard 'no' from me."
The trio is more than ready to keep this argument up, but fortunately the Ocean does so for them as it suddenly picks Moana up and drops her squarely right back onto the boat directly in front of the dumbfounded demigod. He abruptly stands from his spot at the back of the vessel, stunned as he looks between the Ocean and the girl it had just recovered. "Did not see that coming…"
Moana swiftly turns to face him, furious with his continued antics as she presses her mantra upon him once again. "I am Moana of Motunui. This is my canoe, and you will journey to-" She's suddenly cut off the moment Maui unexpectedly tosses her off the boat once again, only for the Ocean to, once again, pitch her back onto it mere seconds later. Annoyed, the demigod makes a third attempt, this time jerking the boat backward to knock the entire group off of it to leave him alone. But the Ocean has none of it as it lands 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 asks flatly.
"It will unless you restore the heart!" Moana snaps, pulling said Heart out of her necklace.
However, the moment she does, Maui snatches it, swiftly tossing it as far as he can out into the ocean, only for the Ocean to just as quickly toss it right back. "Oh, come on!" he groans, beyond disgruntled at this point.
"What is your problem?" Moana asks, reclaiming the Heart and noting the demigod's anxious expression as she does. "Are you… afraid of it?"
"No!" Maui exclaimed, a bit too fearfully as he backs 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 points out knowingly.
"What kind of a demigod is scared of a heart?" Sora asks with a challenging chuckle.
"That is not a heart," Maui shakes 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 grins, 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 stands, 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 asks, quite unconcerned. "We can handle more than a few Unversed."
"Or any other monsters that come our way!" Goofy adds confidently.
"Yeah! In fact, you just saw us take down a whole bunch of them!" Moana grins 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 snaps 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 walks past them, he points to the most central tattoo on his back, one that depicts a fearsome monster, the very one that had struck him 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 whispers to his companions, aside. Moana however, is quite blatant in admitting her lack of experience on that front.
"No. Have you?" she questions Maui pointedly.
While the demigod is clearly flustered by such a dig, he calmly turns 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 says with a flippant grin. "You can't restore the Heart without me… and me, says no. I'm getting my hook." Stern in his selfish resolve, he sits at the back of the boat, ready to steer it to wherever his treasured weapon lies and nowhere else, despite how intent the others are on changing his mind. "End of discussion."
Of course, even despite the demigod's succinct conclusion, none of the others are about to give up so easily, especially Moana. And fortunately, as she takes a closer glance at Maui's many tattoos depicting his legendary feats of the past, she comes up with a clever idea, one that she's quick to let Sora in on as subtly as possible.
"You know…" Moana begins, her tone quite leading as she addresses Maui. "You'd be a hero…"
"That's right," Sora agrees . "A big-time hero. In fact, you could say you'd be… a hero to all?"
Maui does perk up a bit, somewhat interested as Moana continues. "That's what you're all about, right?"
"Tch, please," the demigod scoffs, calling their bluff. "I am a hero."
"Maybe you were," Moana corrects. "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 adds, crossing his arms.
"Yeah? Well nobody asked you, kid," Maui glowers. Even so, he notices Moana, Donald, and Goofy all shaking their heads disapprovingly at the demigod. Likewise, even Heihei and the Ocean itself seem to carry the same sentiment, much to Maui's genuine surprise and even slight disappointment. Disappointment that is, perhaps for the very first time ever, reserved solely for himself.
"But…" Moana's smile widens as she shows off the Heart of Te Fiti once more. "Put this back, save the world? You'd be everyone's hero."
Mini Maui agrees with this ploy as he rushes over to a crowd of tiny tattooed people, conducting them in a round of excited cheers. Cheers that are given an audible voice by Moana, Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they all whisper along to them.
"Maui! Maui! Maui!"
"You're so amazing!" Moana caps it off, nearly convincing the demigod entirely until he ultimately forces himself back into reality.
"We'd never make it without my hook," he says dismissively as he rises to stand. "Not past Te Kā."
"Well then let's go find it!" Sora says enthusiastically.
"Yeah," Moana readily agrees. "We get your hook, take out Te Kā, restore the heart-"
"And get that Key!" Donald chimes in vigorously.
"Key?" Maui asks, out of the loop.
"Uh… we can explain that part along the way," Sora says quickly, lest they lose their momentum. "That is… if you're up for coming along…"
"Unless…" Moana adds 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 hesitates, 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's an opportunity that sounds far too good to turn down. "First, we get my hook," Maui says firmly, making it quite clear where he still stands on the matter.
"Then save the world!" Moana nods, readily shaking the demigod's hand as he holds his out to her.
Only for him to suddenly toss her back into the ocean for the briefest of moments until it carries her back onto the boat, just as it always does. "Eh, worth a shot."
And with that, Maui returns to his spot at the back of the boat, easily taking control of its sail as he plots out their course using the emerging stars alone as a guide. Even though none of them know exactly where he plans on taking them, the others all watch in amazement as the demigod effortlessly steers the boat in the proper direction, guiding it over the rolling waves with a level of speed and expertise meant to be admired. Especially by Moana and Sora, given their shared, abject lack of any sailing skills whatsoever.
Which is why Moana eagerly makes the move to ask Maui for a few (or, more realistically much more than a few) tips when it comes to sailing. Sora nearly does the same, that is, until he happens to catch one final glance of the seemingly abandoned island they're swiftly starting to leave behind.
He isn't sure if his eyes are playing tricks on him or if it's a result of the dawning darkness starting to settle over the island as the sun sets over the sea sea. But for the briefest of moments, he sees it: a lone, human-like figure, shrouded in shadow as it stands atop one of the island's several rocky precipices. A figure that's clearly watching them from afar, and even despite the distance. Even though he's unable to make really anything out about them, the moment he so much as sees them, Sora finds himself instantly set on edge.
"Sora?" Goofy speaks up, noticing his strangely tense manner. "Is something wrong?"
Sora only briefly turns away to look to his companions, noting their concerned expressions as he slowly releases the fists he hadn't even realized he'd been clenching. He prepares to answer them, though as he looks back to the island once again, he finds that the figure, whoever they'd been, is now completely gone.
"N-no," he says, even though it's a lie. "Nothing's wrong. I just… thought I saw something, but…" He finally turns 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 buy his thinly-veiled smile and Moana and Maui are already distracted. For as Sora takes up a spot on the far side of the tiny boat, he can't deny the strange feeling of something striking at his heart, though from where or what, he doesn't know. And yet, what he does know is that it's intense, familiar, and terrible. A flash of rage and hate and darkness so strong that he doesn't even realize that the reflection staring back at him, despite being practically identical to him in every way save for the pitch black hair and bright golden eyes, isn't even his own to begin with.
Likewise, the lone figure now standing on the shore of the left-behind island looks down to the water to meet his own reflection as well, one that shines far too brightly for his liking. One that accurately presents 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 asks no one, 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 lets out a twisted laugh as his dark Keyblade flashes into his grip. And with that Keyblade, he violently tears into the ocean, into the reflection of his incidental twin, just as he plans on doing the very moment he finally releases 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!
