Moana was floating. Gradually, bit by bit, she became aware of her surroundings. She felt detached, like something was missing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The world around her was blue-black and had an odd muffled sound to it. Distantly she heard a rhythmic whump whump whump that throbbed insistently.

She looked around, able to make a little more sense of her surroundings. She was floating somewhere near the bottom of the ocean. I'm in the ocean she thought disjointedly. She had a moment of panic thinking I can't breathe! Before she realized she did not have to. Swallowing her panic, she continued looking around. The ocean floor was dimly lit, testament to how far down she must be. The droning whump whump whump seemed to be coming from her left. Moana started swimming.


Maui was frantic. He had shaken Moana, screaming at her to wake. Eliciting no response, he had gone to Kuolokele, shaking him roughly, trying to get some answer from the unconscious man. When smacking him hadn't even got a moan, Maui went back to Moana, cradling her against his chest. All these muscles, and you are powerless to help. "Come back to me, princess." He whispered, kissing her forehead and rocking her gently.


Moana crouched behind a rocky outcropping. She had seen a shape in the darkness sliding by, quiet as a ghost. Her gut had told her that the best thing to do would be to hide and she trusted that feeling. Quietly she waited, holding her nonexistent breath. The shape glided by, graceful and fluid. Moana held back a squeak of alarm. At first it had looked human, but then she noticed the thick tail, much like a porpoise, where the legs should have been. Skin smooth and pale, prominent gills fluttered at the thick neck. It's hairless head twisted around, searching. The slightly elongated face looked thinner with no ears to break the sleek transition from head to torso. The merman gripped a wicked looking spear as he glided along.

Moana had heard tales of the children of Vatea, but she had always thought they were elaborate embellishments of tricksters. Believe the stories about Maui, but ignore the ones about fantastical beasts. Smooth move. I'll never doubt another story for as long as I live.

Moana continued on, eyes searching wildly, ears straining for further signs of merpeople.


Kuolokele groaned and shifted. Maui set Moana down quickly but gently and rushed to the old mans' side. "What did you give her?" He said, shaking Kuolokele by the shoulders. Kuolokele blearily blinked bloodshot eyes at Maui, hand going to his head he shook it slightly and tried to sit up.

"What's wrong with her!" Maui nearly bellowed at the man. Kuolokele gave him an annoyed look, pointed to the kitchen. "Water." He croaked.


Moanas head throbbed in time with the insistent whump whump whump. Just ahead was a small hill in the landscape of the ocean floor. Bio luminescent reef and anemones provided small pools of light in the otherwise perfect darkness just beyond. Carefully she crept up the hill. Peering around a rock she looked down. The site below took her breath away. A small army of merpeople conglomerated below. Milling about they looked like a swarm of fish, undulating in a weird beauty that was mesmerizing to watch. A giant stone dominated the center of the area. It looked gritty and dark in the bright glow of its surroundings. Atop the stone was another, brighter stone. Moana was immediately reminded of the heart of Te Fiti. It pulsed a bright blue and was decorated with swirls, loops and whorls that called to mind images of the sea. This stone was bound down as if the merpeople were afraid it would escape. Large heavy chains crisscrosses the shiny surface. Moana felt sickened and had the insane urge to run to it, to save it.

"What happened to your tail?" A tiny voice asked from behind her.


Maui clenched his teeth in frustration. He had obediently brought Kuolokele some water, and now stood, waiting, while the old man thirstily slurped his fourth cup. "Ahh" he said in obvious relief, falling back on his mat in exhaustion, tossing an arm over his eyes.

"Well?"

Kuolokele lifted his arm slightly, looked at Maui in annoyance and said "What?"

"What did you do to her!" Maui exploded. Balling his fists in anger.

"I gave her what she asked for." Kuolokele replied calmly. "A way to find out what's wrong with the ocean." He waved his hand vaguely, then dropped his arm over his eyes again as if the effort was too much to continue.

"So..." Maui swallowed, relaxing a little. "So this is normal." He said.

Kuolokele gave a weak laugh. "Oh yes, quite normal."

"When will she wake up?"

Kuolokele chuckled "Oh. She won't be waking up. Not in this lifetime, at least." He said softly.


Moana spun around, heart pounding.

A tiny merchild floated a few feet from her, looking at her legs in open fascination. "Did a razor eel get you?" He asked, looking at her curiously.

"Uh, no." Moana said, goaded by his innocent look. "These are legs, I don't have a tail."

"No tail!?" The kid nearly screamed his disbelief.

"Shhh!" Moana said, holding her arms out as if she could physically hold back the noise of his outburst.

The kid clapped his hands over his mouth, eyes huge, he looked around to see if anybody had heard. "Sorry." He whispered loudly. After a moment, his brows drew down in puzzlement. "Why are we being quiet?"

Moana thought frantically. "Because,"

The kid gave her a sly look. "You're trying to see the ritual, aren't you."

"Uh..."

"My papa says I'm not to see it either. But I still sneak down here to watch sometimes." He flashed a wide grin showing a considerable amount of pointed teeth. "My names Kaha'i." He said, shoving out his hand. Moana solemnly shook it, giving her own name in return. Kaha'i glanced around, then bent towards her as if sharing a secret. "You wanna see it closer?" He whispered, eyes dancing with mischief.


"What?" Maui asked. Floored by Kuolokele's unconcerned statement. Certain he had heard him wrong.

"She only asked for the knowledge of how to help the ocean." Kuolokele said languidly. Not bothering to remove his arm from his eyes. "She did not, however, ask for the ability to help, or even survive attaining the knowledge." He lifted his arm and looked at Maui, His eyes glinted crazily. Maui felt the world turn to ice, dread slicing through him. Panic raising its ugly head once more.

"You see, Maui." Kuolokele said, slowly with relish in his voice. "I see no reason why you should have a happy ending. You have defied the gods on numerous occasions and never been punished. It is not fair that I do it once and get cursed. No, Maui. Moana will not be coming back. You will not have your happily ever after." Kuolokele started to laugh. A high pitched whining laugh that echoed loudly in Maui's ears.


Moana followed Kaha'i as quickly as she could. Unable to swim as fast as he, she was nearly seen twice. Still, the kid was a great guide. Knowing all the cubbies and hiding spots only a child would think to find. He brought them down to a small outcropping of reef nearly directly in front of what looked to be an altar.

Two mermaids were flanking a third merman. The mermaids danced and whirled in complicated patterns. The merman knelt on the ground in front of the stone, head down, arms outstretched, seeming to wait for something. On either side of the chained stone, large mermen pounded enormous drums, causing the incessant whump whump whump that Moana could feel throbbing around her.

"What are they doing?" Moana wondered aloud.

"Collecting the ocean's mana." Kaha'i replied in an offhand manner. "What's this?" He asked, poking her in the ear.

Moana jerked and shook her head.

"Mana?" She asked, still rubbing her ear.

"Don't you know anything?" Kid said in exaggerated disappointment. Then, chest puffed out with his great wisdom and importance, he explained.

"Mana. The life force of every living thing. Everyone's got some. But the bigger the mana, the bigger the life force. My dad figured out how to take the ocean's mana and put it in something else. We're taking it to make my tribe strong. We're gonna rule the whole world!" He flexed his tiny arm.

The drumming had reached a frantic pace. Kaha'i squirmed up next to Moana and excitedly whispered "it's happening!"

Faintly, a small light started glowing in the space between the kneeling merman and the glowing stone. The mermaids twirled, a blur of motion. The light grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly it shot into the merman. The man screamed and twisted into a massive seizure. Bucking wildly it looked like he was tearing himself apart. His muscles bulged and he seemed to grow in size. No, he WAS growing in size. He was now a full two feet taller than the other mermen, muscles distended grotesquely. There was a bright flash then the light disappeared. The merman floated in the water, unconscious.


Maui picked up Kuolokele by the neck and punched him in the face. Teeth shot out of his mouth with an explosion of blood. Kuolokele coughed broken laughter as his split lip healed instantaneously. He smiled a broad grin at Maui and the demigod could see teeth growing back with incredible speed. "It's a wonder, isn't it." Kuolokele said. "Unlike you, I cannot die." Kuolokele laughed bitterly. "Don't you think I've tried? At first, I was afraid of dying. But then, I started to look for it. For awhile there, I tried everything I could think of to try to kill myself. Yes, The gods did quite a job on me."

"You may not be able to die, old man." Maui said slowly, threateningly hulking over Kuolokele. "But you can feel pain. I beat the sun into submission, I can beat you just the same. How's an eternity of pain sound?" Kuolokele stared at him in horror.

"Now, just what did you give her?"


Moana stared in horror at what had just happened. Mouth agape, she stared at the limp body, still twitching from its ordeal.

"Kaha'i!" She heard a voice call. Moana didn't register the importance of the call until the kid piped up loudly "I'm here mama!" Moana gulped and frantically looked for a place to hide just as a mermaid swam around the corner.

"Oh Kaha'i, I've told you a thousand times it's-"

Moana and the mermaid stared at each other in amazement. It was hard to tell who was more surprised. With a shriek, the mermaid snatched at Kaha'i, yelling "Intruder! Intruder!"

The water was alive with activity. Moana tried to make a break for it, but even being a quick swimmer, she was no match for the merpeople. She was quickly overwhelmed, bound and then brought to the alter.

Spears pointed threateningly at her, they fumbled at tying her to a rock. Obviously not used to dealing with legs, Moana was fairly certain she could slip free of the bonds, she just had to figure out the best time to do so.

The merpeople seemed to be waiting for something, Moana took the time to look around. The infused merman still floated, very near her currently, his twitching had subsided.

"What is a wayward spirit of a topsider doing here!" A voice rang out. Moana turned to see a regal, almost beautiful mermaid floating majestically towards her. Moana chewed her lip. No Maui to help you out of this one. THINK!

The mermaid floated to her, roughly grasped her chin and twisted her head to each side. Slowly she floated around Moana, making noises in her throat as she went. Facing her once again, the mermaid smiled cruelly. "You don't even know how to get back, do you? I dare say you don't even know what you are." She laughed menacingly, leaned close to Moana and seemed to take a deep breath of her. "Yessssss." She drew the word out in a long whisper. "You are strong, aren't you. You will do nicely as an added bonus. The power of a topsider will come in handy."

Smiling she turned and snapped her fingers at the two dancing mermaids, now stilled as the ritual was done. "Start the transfer. This one" pointing to the still unconscious merman "will take her mana."

The two mermaids looked at each other dubiously, but quickly hurried to do her bidding. One of the mermen drug Moana and the rock she was bound to in front of the altar.


Maui ransacked the pantry. It had taken very little to convince Kuolokele to tell him what had been done. A simple spirit splitting with a homing place of the heart of the ocean as a tether. Unfortunately, that meant there was no spell to break. The split had happened, and now Moana was adrift. Even if her spirit wasn't destroyed, she had nothing to tie her to her body. She would be incapable of re-inhabiting the shell that was her own body.

Or at least that was Kuolokele's belief. Maui thought otherwise. Kuolokele sat on his mat, laughing quietly as he watched Maui's frantic rummagings. "You won't find a cure. There is no cure. She's as good as dead, trickster. Bury your beloved, I'll water the flowers on her grave!"

With a grunt, Maui found what he sought; a large jar of honey. Praying it would be enough, he ran to Moana, scooped her up and ran from the house. Maniacal laughter following him out.


A mermen floated next to Moana, wicked spear lazily pointed at her as he watched the mermaids doing their dance. Shortly after they had started, Moana had started feeling a pressure build in her head and chest. Fighting against what seemed like a strong tide, she surreptitiously tried to release herself from her bonds.

The drums hammered their heartbeat, the mermaids swirled and flitted, the guard became entranced, Moana felt her bindings slip free. Doing her best to not do anything to draw attention to them, she sized up her guard. He floated, an easy arms length grab for her, completely enthralled with the mermaid dance.

Fighting the onslaught of a terrible headache, Moana waited until the mermaids were high above her, drawing the gaze up and away from her. She lunged at his spear, spinning it like she did the oar of her boat, she smacked the guard upside the temple, knocking him aside. The mermaids stopped their dance and shrieked in surprise. Before anybody could do anything, Moana slammed the spear point first into the infused merman, still unconscious from his earlier ordeal.

The explosion was incredible. The alter the stone sat upon cracked, huge rends appeared in the ocean floor. A bright light shot out of the point where the spear had pierced the body. Slowly, tiny lightning zags of light crackled their way across the body until it was consumed entirely. In one final concussive blast, the body disintegrated into light.


Maui hunched in the bush. He hated this. Hated being helpless. Hated having to wait. He was much better when in action. Battles of the body he could do. Battles of the mind were not his cup of tea. Battles of doing nothing but waiting drove him crazy.

Maui had heard tales long ago about the Adarna bird. This elusive bird could cure with a song. You could be at deaths door, and the call would close that door, returning you to your body in perfect health. Maui hoped it could return a spirit to a body, prayed that the bird existed and that the method of capturing it was correct.

Legend had it that the bird ate nothing but honey. To capture the bird you had to take a jar of the sweetest most tantalizing honey and pour it onto a rock. The bird would land on the rock to eat and become stuck in the honey. You could then tell the bird you would set it free if it would grant you its call.

What better honey to tantalize an elusive bird than with the honey collected by the oldest and most skilled honeykeeper in the world.


Moana floated for a moment, stunned after the cacophony of sound and light. Then she started swimming as fast as she could towards the reef. Hoping to become lost in there and later finding a way to escape, she ignored the small voice in her mind that said then what? The merpeople were completely disoriented. Most were holding their heads or swimming in circles. It didn't take long for some order to be reestablished, official looking mermen and mermaids barked orders. Moana found a small cubby and crushed herself in as far as she could.

She froze when she heard a swish somewhere near her. Holding as still as possible, she waited. The merman slowly slinked around the bend, spear held at the ready, head twisting and turning, looking for his quarry. He passed so close Moana could see every mark on his skin, a faint tiger striping shadowing the underside of his belly.

He passed by without a backward glance. Moana let out a silent breath of relief. Suddenly a spear slammed into the wall next to where her legs lay braced. A horrible hiss filled the air as the spear was withdrawn. She had nowhere to go, there was nowhere to run. Moana cowered in fear as he drew back his arm to strike again.


Lightly the bird reached out its delicate claws and reached to land on the rock. Maui held his breath. C'mon you stupid bird. Land!

The Adarna bird had arrived and was flitted around the honey, drawn to it but refusing to land for what seemed like hours. Maui fought the urge to leap at the bird and throttle its neck. Maui watched with baited breath as it settled lightly on the honey covered rock. It licked at the honey a few moments, the spread its wings to fly. The bird gave an uncomfortable squawk and flapped harder, fighting to take to the air. Shrilly calling now, it started twisting and turning, miring itself deeper in the honey. Maui ran to the bird, grabbing it around the neck and staring deep into its eyes as it hissed and tried to bite his hand.

"I caught you, you blasted bird." He snarled, lifting Moana's body to the it. "Now bring her back!"


Moana cowered back as she watched the spear plunging towards her. She closed her eyes and felt a moment of sadness for not being able to help the ocean and for never seeing Maui again. Time seemed to slow and Moana felt her body start tingling. She heard a beautiful song in the back of her mind, small at first, but growing louder as she listened. It was a beautiful and lilting. It brought to mind the idea of home and comfort. Moana was filled with happiness. The song was replaced with a dull moan that quickly increased to a thunderous roar. Gasping, Moana opened her eyes only to see the shocked look of the merman as she was jerked backwards and away from him with frightening speed. She flew up and out of the ocean, hurtling through the air. Moana felt a frantic fear consume her as she hit a black wall and the world went dark.

Moana was jerked awake, gasping for breath. She became vaguely aware of that Maui was holding her, talking to her, cradling her to his big chest. In his hand he held a beautiful and very disgruntled bird covered in honey.

Note

Vatea- half human half porpoise god.

I find this god fascinating. It makes a heck of a lot more sense to have a human/porpoise hybrid, instead of the human/fish. For one, both human and porpoise are mamals. For two, most fish tails are vertical, as opposed to porpoise which are horizontal. Porpoise do have skin instead of scales, making that transition go so much smoother. All in all, I give total props and kudos to the Polynesian people for having such an awesome and practical answer to the mermaid lore.

Thank you for reading. Not quite as action packed as I had originally wanted, but the chapter was dragging on a bit, and I found I almost put Maui in a very dark place a few times. Figured it would be best to wrap it up. Hope it's not too confusing with the constant bounce back and fourth.

Comments, thoughts and critiques appreciated.