Chapter 10: The Lost Comet

Moana had no idea what she was thinking! Not even a demigod like Maui was foolish enough to march straight into the lair of an underwater God. She had even disrupted some kind of argument - and a fiery one at that. How could she possibly be so stupid!

Swallowing nervously as two pairs of blazing, God-like eyes looked down on her, Moana puffed out her chest slightly. There was certainly no backing out now, especially when she was finally in a place to complete her task,

"Tangaroa? God of the Great Ocean, enemy to Auahitūroa? I am Moana, Demigoddess of the Waves and friend to Maui,"

Moana motioned to the larger demigod, who was watching the exchange silently while glancing every so often as his distant hook,

"How did you get here, foolish child?"

Tangaroa was as monstrous as Moana had imagined him to be. His dark chest was covered in black ink, and glimmered with droplets of water, while a long grey ponytail fell from his head, pulled back tight to reveal every single defined feature of his face. The God stood as tall as the palm trees in a grove, and had glowing eyes which resembled the sun,

"I have traveled far from my home, where Rehua has cursed my people to a terrible illness,"

"You dare bring me into this?"

Rehua, like Tangaroa, was the size of many palm trees, and was covered in ink tattoos. But his lavalava was made of golden frawns, and his face was completely obscured by a coconut shell mask,

"You have infected my people with your stars!" Moana snapped frustratedly, "and all because of this!"

The young demigoddess flipped open her necklace to reveal the glowing blue heart, causing both Gods to still,

"Impossible," Tangaroa growled, "are you a witch? I gave my heart to the Ocean-"

"The Ocean is a friend of mine," Moana interrupted bravely, closing the necklace as her dark curls brushed slightly against her cheeks, "it brought me your heart for a reason,"

"And why would it choose you?" Rehua chuckled deeply, using one of his fingers to knock Moana backwards and onto the floor, "you're just a little thing. Surely Maui is more fit to protect such an important artifact-"

"I sailed the Great Ocean and tamed the fire demon, Tē Ka with nothing but my mortality. You don't scare me,"

Moana felt cowardice. Her foolish bravery was outweighing her judgement. She was only half-Goddess, surely a true God would have no trouble wiping her from the face of the planet? Biting her lip, Moana got to her feet and inhaled shakily, trying not to tremble as she clutched her oar. She just wanted her death to be quick,

"Hear that? She's not scared of me," Rehua grumbled, "so she's not scared of you either, old man,"

"I'm a thousand years younger then you!" Tangaroa complained, throwing his muscular arms into the air. To Moana's surprise, both Gods began to shrink down to a normal size. Soon enough, they were standing before her the size of regular (very intimidating) men, "you have my heart, child. What is your reason for coming all the way back here?"

"Well..." Moana glanced to Maui, who was inching towards his hook, "I originally came to return it to you, Tangaroa. But now my people are ill, and I am willing to barter with Rehua-"

"You will do no such thing," Tangaroa growled, "I will not have my heart fall into Auahitūroa's hands cause a little girl wanted to play with the big boys. Give me my heart,"

Tangaroa held out his hand as Moana took a rapid step back and held her necklace,

"No. I'm willing to give my heart to Rehua if he take back his disease,"

"Now we're talking," the masked god stated, slamming Tangaroa on the shoulder with a hand as the grey haired God grunted, "I'd be glad to take back my stars kid. Just hand over the heart-"

"You will not. I never swallowed up Auahitūroa's useless comet-"

"You did so! We all saw it fall beyond your horizon and disappear!"

"I didn't take it!"

The two Gods were nose to nose again as Moana blinked confusedly. She somehow thought gods would have been more...well...godly? These two were acting like children, whom were fighting over a toy. Clearing her throat again, both Gods turned from one another to glance at Moana,

"I hate to be a bother here, but maybe I can help resolve..." Moana made a motion with her hands, "this?"

"Impossible. You're merely a child," Tangaroa complained,

"Let the girl speak, seaweed head," Rehua snapped back, "she probably has more brain in that head then you've ever had-"

"Ok!" Moana stepped forward and placed herself between the two Gods, who looked ready to tear one another to shreds again. This certainly was not the way Moana expected this meeting to go, "let's just all calm down. Ok, so Tangaroa says he never swallowed the Comet?"

"No, I didn't," Tangaroa said, folding his arms stubbornly. Nodding, Moana turned to Rehua,

"And you say the Comet was swallowed up by the ocean?"

"I saw it happen," Rehua insisted, "there's no other explanation for what happened. Tangaroa took it-"

"And the comet hasn't been seen since it fell?"

"No. It's been centuries and Auahitūroa hasn't managed to locate it," Rehua explained, "that's why I am retrieving the heart for him, so we can force Tangaroa to tell us where he hid it,"

"I told you I don't have the stupid comet,"

"Well, neither of you have seen it, so obviously neither of you have it. Where exactly did the comet disappear?"

"On the horizon, where the sun sets," Rehua stated. Nodding again, Moana glanced to Maui, who was still fighting to get to his hook without being noticed. Turning back to the gods, Moana sighed heavily. This was such a bad idea,

"What if Maui and I went to find the Comet?"

There was nothing but silence in the throne room as two faces once again set on Moana, "obviously the comet fell to earth on its own. It's still here somewhere-"

"What's the catch, girl?" Tangaroa questioned, "that's a far journey for even the most experienced Wayfinder,"

"My price is that Rehua heal my island," Moana stated, "my people must live,"

"And what if you come back with nothing?" Rehua complained, "I can't just sit here and then go back empty handed,"

"If we can't find the Comet, I give you the heart to take back to Auahitūroa. But if we do find it, then you will have something to take back,"

Moana looked between Tangaroa and Rehua as they glowered slightly at one another, "is that a deal?"

Both gods shared one last glance before nodding,

"Please release Maui from your guard,"

"Fine, young demigoddess,"

Tangaroa waved a hand as he returned to his true size and sat down on his massive throne. Nearby, Rehua stood against one of the pillars. Smiling as Maui grabbed his hook, the water guards turned to puddles as the shapeshifter blinked in confusion and approached Moana,

"Did I miss something?" He whispered. Moana rolled her eyes slightly and nodded,

"I'll fill you in later-"

"Moana, Demigoddess of the waves, I will not heal your people fully until the Comet is safely returned to me," Rehua explained loudly, "none will die, but if you decide to betray me, all of them will. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes,"

"And you will keep my heart protected until your return. If something happens to it, I will go and kill your island myself,"

"Of course," Moana swallowed thickly as Mini Mo ran about nervously on her shoulder, "we'll be back in three lunar cycles time,"

"Good. Now leave my palace at once,"

Tangaroa waved a hand as Moana bowed out of respect, nudging Maui to do the same before they both scurried out of the room like ants. As water servants slammed the doors closed, Moana ran a hand through her hair. What was she thinking?

"You could have easily gotten yourself incinerated," Maui grumbled, "so, what are we doing now?"

"Traveling to the horizon to try and find Auahitūroa's lost comet,"

"What? That could take centuries, let alone only three moon cycles!"

"I know, I know! I just needed to buy us more time. Didn't want to get incinerated, after all. Look, we'll just head West-"

"Actually, I think I might know a place to start looking," Maui stated, tapping a square finger against his chin, "but it's dangerous to get there. Even for me,"

"Really? Where is it?"

"To the West. I've only ever been there once, but it's supposedly home to...to..." Maui winced slightly and kicked a small shell across the floor as Moana lifted her eyebrow,

"Who lives there, Maui?"

"Well...her name is Rohe, and she's the goddess of the underworld. But she's also...my wife,"

A/N: Dun dun daaa! Haha thanks for waiting guys! I really appreciate your patience. I'm trying to get back into the grove of stuff now that I'm on break, so my chapters should be getting back on track soon. Anyway, love you all.

-Rose