Chapter 13: Playing With Fire

"Is that it?"

"Yep. That's it."

"How do you know?"

"Princess, it's big and spewing fire, where do you think it leads?"

Maui's voice was terse with irritation as Moana chuckled into her hand. They had arrived at the entrance to Te Uranga-o-te-rā i just before dawn, allowing the immortal pair to see the large black volcano spewing out ember lava sitting quietly on the horizon. Maui had gone quiet the closer and closer they came to Te Uranga-o-te-rā i, and Moana didn't really need to guess why that was,

"Worried about seeing your wife again?"

Moana pulls at some ropes near the sheet, pushing Hei Hei back into the canoe's hold with a foot absent mindlessly as her favorite demigod mumbled something incoherent,

"What was that? I didn't hear you,"

"...no, I'm not worried,"

It was a lie, and both Moana and Maui knew it. She could see the firm line his jaw created as he clenched his teeth together, and the way he mindlessly let loose and tied up his hair.

'Funny' Moana thought to herself, observing the demigod work from across the canoe with a half-lidded gaze, 'I've never really noticed those things about him before,'.

Finishing up her knot, Moana slowly used the ocean current to guide them silently to the obsidian colored shore, jostling slightly as they hit the shallows,

"Careful of the sand here, it's pretty hot,"

Nodding, Moana stepped into the water and groaned in pleasure. The water was warm, like a hot summers day on Montuni. The black sand was softer then any Moana had ever felt, and it cushioned her calloused and dry toes, "enjoying yourself, Curly?"

"Yes! Ugh, I wish all sand felt like this,"

"Yeah well, Rohe always enjoyed the finer things in life. I guess her sand isn't any different,"

"Oh," Looking around slightly, Moana picked up Hei Hei from the canoe and held him up to look at her face to face, "stay here and guard the boat, Hei Hei,"

The Bird gave a slight cluck as Moana placed him safely in the canoes hold again and shut the lid gently. There was a moment of thudding inside, before Moana heard the pecking of Hei Hei in the darkness,

"You're really attracted to that chicken, aren't you?"

Maui lifted one of his highly expressive eyebrows as Moana nudged him with her shoulder,

"He kinda reminds me of you sometimes Maui,"

"What? Curly, I'm offended," Maui held a hand against his chest as he swung his hook up over one shoulder. Moana held out her hand and her oar appeared, materializing before her eyes and feeling familiar in her fingers, "you know, I wish I could do that sometimes,"

"You don't like hauling that heavy hook around with you all the time?"

"It's good to have on hand, but heavy is an understatement," Maui chuckled as he looked up at Rohe's volcano and faltered slightly, "I never thought I'd be coming back here,"

"Yeah. How do we get in?"

"We don't," Maui hauled up the rest of the beach to the very edge of the stone volcano, "unlikoe Lalotai or Tangaroa's place, you can't just walk into Te Uranga-o-te-rā i,"

Reaching out his hook, Maui tapped three times on one of the rocks, "we have to be invited in,"

Before Moana could say anything, the sand under Maui suddenly caved in, sending him hurtling down. By the time Moana got there, the sands had closed up again,

"Maui!?"

When no answer came, Moana groaned in irritation and stood where Maui had, reaching out her oar to tap on the same rock three times. The sand shifted again, but instead of collapsing, it merely vibrated as the entire mountainside moved. This revealed a dark stone staircase, leading down into the depths of the volcano. Swallowing nervously, Moana entered, jumping as the door slammed shut and she was left in complete darkness. However, it wasn't dark for long as the walls pulsed red and yellow, tracing elegant paths along the walls, guiding Moana down into Te Uranga-o-te-rā i.

The images were of the travels of the departed ones. How good spirits were treated to paradise, while the bad were treated to torture. Moana had heard all the stories before from Sina, as well as Grandma Tala. But as the images progressed on farther into the mountain, it told the story of Gods. Examining the images carefully, Moana frowned,

'These pictures depict humans giving up their souls to Rohe to become immortals,' Moana followed the images farther, 'but it's a trick, as Rohe turns them into beasts and sends them back into the world to cause chaos...'

"That is how all bad in the world is created, child,"

Moana whipped around in fight as the voice echoed through the cave and to the Wayfinders ears. Turning, there was a lone figure standing in the cave entrance, wearing a gleaming red lavalava and glittering red and yellow rubies. Her skin and hair was black as the obsidian sand outside, but her eyes glowed the color of embers, "what do you know of Te Uranga-o-te-rā i?"

"Uh, it's the place where spirits go to rest for eternity after death?"

"Ah, so you're a human? Or, at least, were raised by them,"

"Yes. And...are you Rohe?"

The beautiful woman chuckled and shook her head, "No, child, I am not the Goddess Rohe. I am her advisor, Pele. I've been sent to fetch you,"

"Fetch me?"

"Yes, Moana, Demigoddess of the Great Ocean, daughter of Tangaroa. You wish not to offend the great goddess upon meeting her, do you?"

Blinking, Moana shook her head as the woman smiled, revealing a mouth of shimmering white fangs, "do not fear. All of us working in the Palace are holoholona. Come with me, the chambermaids will help get you ready to meet Goddess Rohe,"

Nodding slightly, Moana let Pele take hold of her hand and guide her down farther into the dark. Soon though, a glowing red firelight illuminated the long stone halls of a palace. Every wall was draped in fire red cloth with gold trimming, and depicted some sort of story. Padding along behind Pele, Moana was led down the hall, to the left and towards a large black door. Waiting outside were three girls Moana's age. They had the same black skin and ember eyes as Pele, but had their hair braided into long plaits, and wore thin red togas with golden slippers.

"So beautiful,"

"Rohe will be pleased,"

"We can do so much with her,"

The girls mouths never moved, though their hushed whispers reached Moana's ears as the wayfinder blinked. There was little time to comprehend it though as her arms and shoulders seized by the three girls as she was taken into what looked to be a bedchamber. Soon enough, her oar was gone and Moana was sitting before a shrouded mirror, unable to see the different acts the chambermaids were preforming. One of them was spreading a black mixture onto her skin, while another was pulling and smoothing back her hair before braiding it. The final one was setting out red clothing and different types of golden bangles, all three of them chittering between each other in a similar manner to birds or lizards.

All the while though, Moana's mind wandered back to Maui,

'I hope he's not alone with Rohe,' Moana thought, watching as her fingernails were buffed and polished with a file like stone, 'it was very clear that she never wanted to see him again-'

Moana was brought from her thoughts as one of the girls pricked her arm, causing a small cry to escape from the demigoddesses throat. The chambermaid holding the sea anemone needle merely smiled, turning Moana's head towards the mirror as the other two girls lifted the vail in presentation. The young Wayfinder didn't even recognize herself, as her coconut colored skin had been painted obsidian black to match her chambermaids. They had forced her dark curls flat and into a long single braid, which twisted with golden threads down over her right shoulder. And finally, somehow, Moana's eyes had become a brilliant ember bronze, and her tattoos had burned up through the black paint and shone brightly as fire outlines.

Touching her face with a hand, the chambermaids giggled to themselves and urged Moana to stand, pointing at the crimson clothing and gold bangles lying on the bed. Getting the message to change, the girls were polite enough to turn around as Moana stripped from her other clothing and into the red garmets, fitting a thick bracelet about her upper arm, four rings on her right hand and another bracelet on her left. Finally, the maids presented a pair of golden slippers,

"So lovely are you, Demigoddess," one of the girls mind-spoke, blinking her big eyes with a fanged smile, "Rohe will be pleased. Now come, come! No doubt Pele is waiting on you,"

Being urged forward again by the three young girls, Moana is once again met with the beautiful face of Rohe's advisor, who grinned at Moana in an unsettling way,

"Rohe will see you now. Come."

"Wait. What about my friend Maui, he's-"

"Already in the throne room, child. Now come,"

Clicking her jaw shut slightly and nodding, Moana followed Pele again through the long black hallways of the Palace, glancing out all the windows to see the beautiful lava landscape outside. Soon though, the journey was over and Pele motioned for Moana to wait outside a pair of grand golden doors, "wait here. I'll announce you,"

Agreeing softly, Pele vanished behind the doors as Moana went to the closest window. The Palace was overlooking the entire underworld. And in the distance, Moana could barely make out the shimmering blue sea, and lush greenery of paradise. Surrounding it, was the fiery pits of the Lost, where Moana could just barely see shadows flicking across the red stones. The Wayfinder turned however as Pele returned and beckoned her,

"Rohe will see you now, Moana, Demigoddess of the Great Ocean,"

Swallowing thickly, Moana walked slowly past Pele's figure and into the grand hall of the throne room. It had no ceiling, and appeared to travel upwards forever. The obsidian marble floor was covered in a brilliant red runner, and on the top of a throne made of gold sat Rohe. She, in a similar manner to her holoholona, had obsidian black hair and skin. But was marked head to toe in intricate gold designs. Her eyes were the same molten gold color, as a red dress which moved like fire flowed about her feet, and a bright star - a comet - rested about her neck. And there, on the steps of her throne, was Maui.

Gasping slightly at her own rudeness, Moana fell down to her knees respectfully, 'what else do you do before a goddess?'

"Well, at least this one has some manners,"

Rohe's voice was milky and soft, soothing to Moana's ears as the Wayfinder's chin was lifted with a black hand, "why have you come here, Demigoddess? I gave you so many warnings to turn back and yet here you are, bowing of all things at my feet,"

Rohe cocked her head to one side, standing before Moana with a deep frown, "do you have no sense of pride?"

"I don't come baring ill-respects," Moana choked, standing as Rohe motioned for her to rise with a hand, "I have come on behalf of Tangaroa and Rehua,"

"Yes, I know what you've come for," Rohe pulled at the chain which the lost Comet now rested on, "you want this. Hmm, imagine this little thing causing so much trouble up there in the clouds,"

Rohe looked to the sky contemplatively for a moment before turning back to Moana and smiling. Unlike others Moana had met, her teeth were normal,

"I like you, Moana. As I've watched you journey here from very far away. So I will give you my comet, but I must have something in return, as nothing is free,"

Moana twisted her lip and looked to Maui, who was chained and silenced, with his hook gone,

"W-what's your price?"

"Him," Rohe pointed to Maui with a thin lipped smirk, "I'll give you back your comet, in exchange for Maui,"