Maui transformed into a sleek shark and sank into the depths of the ocean. Secretly he was glad that Moana was unable to follow him. Her tenacity was admirable, but the woman was going to get herself killed. He wondered when he had stopped thinking of her as a kid and more like a woman. Smiling to himself, he thought about the hero's welcome he would surely get when he had finished his task.
Moana sat sullenly on the boat, feet dabbled in the water as she waited for Maui to return.
"I see you left the boundaries of the reef again." Moana turned and gazed upon the slightly glowing figure of Tala.
"Grandma!" She breathed and ran to the woman, pressing their foreheads together.
"What troubles you, Moana?" Tala asked, tucking Moana's hair behind her ear.
"Maui fights the merpeople. Fights for the ocean. He does it alone! I want to help, but I can't." Moana stared down into the watery depths, balling her fists in frustration.
"What stops you from helping?" Tala asked, tilting her head.
"I can't breathe underwater!" Moana stared at her, frustration mounting.
"Is that all?" Tala asked again, a wide smile stretching across her face.
Moana opened her mouth to shout yes! Then paused. Thinking of Maui's warning. She could forget. Forget everything. Who she was, what she was, who she loved. Then she thought of the ocean. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than both of us. Am I willing to lose everything to do this? Taking another deep breath, she lifted her head and looked Tala in the eye. "Yes." she said, confidently.
"Then come to me, Moana. I can help you do this."
Maui shifted into an eel as he wriggled closer. The ritual was in full swing below. The twirling mermaids wove their complicated patterns with increasing intensity. The drums thrummed around him. He wanted to get as close as possible before he revealed himself. With any luck, he could dart in, kill both the mermaids, open the jar and throw it into the throng. He'd be back in Moana's arms by nightfall!
He worked his way forward, following the path that Moana and Kaha'i had taken earlier. There were a few more merpeople around, obviously agitated by Moana's visit. They seemed almost frantic to infuse more merpeople with the mana of the ocean. Maui was patient, working his way slowly until he was at the outcropping in front of the altar.
With a surge, Maui bolted from his hiding place. Transforming quickly into the great white shark, he sped to the dancers. Catching one quickly before they could react, he bit hard and heard the satisfying crunch as her chest collapsed, a cloud of blood and gore coloring the water. The infused merpeople grabbed their heads in unison, some calling out in pain. Maui lunged for the other dancer, but she had swam deep into the undulating mass of merpeople.
Confident that he would find her, Maui took a deep breath and transformed into his human form. Grabing the chains bound around the heart, bracing his feet against the ocean floor, he pulled with all his might. One by one they ripped out of the ground with distinctive ping. Shifting back into the shark, Maui caught his breath and looked at his handiwork. One chain remained. Maui was about to go for it when a spear slammed into the ground just ahead of him. Turning he saw a group of mermen coming at him, spears in hand. The merpeople had finally regrouped and were coming to drive him off.
Grinning, showing off his impressive array of teeth, Maui turned towards the masses and prepared for battle.
"Close your eyes." Tala whispered, hugging Moana close and stroking her hair. Moana obediently closed them, hold onto to her grandmother. She felt warm all over, soon her fingers and toes were tingling as if they had fallen asleep. The tingling grew up her legs and arms until finally her whole body felt alive with electricity. She could see through her eyelids a brightness of extreme intensity. Moana screwed her eyes closed tighter. Then the world tipped as Tala leaned backwards bringing Moana with her into the ocean.
It had been awhile since Maui had had so much fun. The merpeople were easy to break, but they were not easy to catch. Infuriated by his afront on their sacred rituals, they came at him in droves. Both male and female wielding wicked spears and sharp knives. Their quick jabs bounced off his thick protective hide, but the knives sometimes did lay back a few layers of skin. Quick and agile in the water, they swarmed around him, trying to find a way to take down the great beast.
Inwardly laughing at a failed but creative attempt to sever a fin, Maui rammed into a mermaid, knocking the wind out of her and probably snapping her neck in the process.
Maui searched for the other dancer while he twisted free of some ropes a group of merpeople had thrown over him in an attempt to wrestle him down to the ground. Spotting her, he charged towards the group she was hiding in. Maui was surprised when the entire group rushed at him.
Opening his maw wide he prepared for a feeding frenzy. The merpeople agilely dodge around him only to turn and bodily grab him. Maui shook them off in annoyance, but they kept coming. Soon there were too many for him to shake off and the shear weight of them started dragging him toward the ground. Maui shifted into a blue whale, his increasing bulk shoving back the throngs. Quickly, he shifted back to the shark, the soft thud of the water rushing back to the once occupied space echoing dully in the water around him.
Undeterred, the merpeople flocked to him again, more this time. As they started to drag him down again, Maui went to shift again to the blue whale, and found that he couldn't! The increasing press of bodies becoming too great for the magic of the hook to move without causing him harm, it refused the shift. Changing tactics, Maui shifted to a slim swordfish and darted through the masses, goring a few as he went. Ropes looped around him and in his smaller stature, he was unable to tear them completely free from the hands that held them.
Puffing himself back up to the shark, he rolled with the ropes, ripping them from grasping hands, teeth chomping and tearing anything they could get ahold of.
Once again, the merpeople swarmed him. Pressing in quickly, thousands of them. Abandoning spears and concentrating solely on holding on and bringing him down, they piled on him layer after layer. Soon, Maui couldn't even see the ocean around him. He twisted and rolled in the water. He bit down on one of the merfolk, but with all the bodies, he was unable to spit it back out. Mouth now full and useless, Maui prepared to shift down to a smaller animal. Just before he committed to the change, he felt knives being pressed tightly to his sides. If he shifted now, his thinner skin would allow those blades to cut him deep. He struck out, fighting for any sort of advantage. The merpeople hung on and slowly Maui was drug down to the ocean floor.
Open your eyes. Moana heard this in the back of her head, like a whisper directly into her brain. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. She felt a wave of vertigo as she saw the world with new eyes. No longer did she have the thin spindly arms and legs of a human. No longer did she have the long flowing hair and forward facing eyes either. Moana saw that instead of an arm, there was a long flat fin stretching for what seemed like forever. She felt her body slide easily through the water, long whip-like tail slicing wickedly after her. Her eyes, now on the sides of her head, could show her a full 360 degrees around her entire body. Depth perception was a bit off, but the increase in visibility was amazing. Tala had bound herself to her granddaughter, transforming them both into the giant manta ray! Go. Tala whispered. Moana didn't need to be told twice.
Maui was in trouble. For every merman he shook off, there were five more to take its place. He twisted and fought, but he was wearing down. He was afraid to transform again as eventually they would get him down to the size where they could break bones or cut him with their sharp knives. He refreshed his struggles, writhing and twisting wildly. For a moment he thought he might actually get free, but then the mass renewed their efforts and the pressure of bodies increased.
Suddenly, Maui felt a blow on his right side. Through the group of exclamations and hisses, he surmised that something was happening, something the mermen didn't like, something that might be in his favor. Renewing his efforts, fueled by desperation, Maui fought with everything he had. The blow came again, on the left this time and he felt the pressure lessen considerably. Concentrating, Maui transformed into the whale again. He was relieved when he felt his body expanding, forcing the merpeople apart and away from him. Spitting out the remains of the merperson he had in his mouth, he twisted his tail and bashed two merpeople away, then he turned to see what had saved him. He was astounded to see a giant manta ray slicing through the water, tail whip-cording, stinging and whacking as it went.
Seeing that he was free, the manta ray dove towards the heart of the ocean. Maui transformed into the great white and followed the ray, intent on keeping the merpeople off of it as much as possible and finding that last dancer!
Gaining incredible speed Moana shot down headlong to the last remaining chain. With a dull thwack she hit the chain with enough force to temporarily daze her, a nasty weal surfacing across her face where she had smashed into it. Shaking herself, she tried to work her way under the chain in hopes of being able to pry it up with the ray's incredible strength.
Come on! Moana cried in her mind. She had managed to get herself under the chain and was now pushing with all the strength she had trying to get the chain to let loose from its stakes in the ocean floor. The chain bit painfully deep into her back as she heaved with all her might. The chain quivered against its bonds, groaning under the strain then abruptly snapped loose, snaking through the water, hitting a mermaid along the way, breaking its spine with a sickening crack.
Maui was in mid-lunge when he saw the remaining dancer. Changing direction quickly he darted past the merman he was fighting and shot off towards her. She saw him coming and swam as quickly as she could towards the reef. Just before she reached the relative safety of the close confines of the jagged walls, Maui bit down on her tail and pulled her back into the open water. Shrieking and hissing, she clawed at his sandpaper hide, twisting and punching, trying to get free. Maui had a good grip, but he was unable to do more than hold on as the mermaid twisted in his mouth. Turning, he swam back into the fray, snapping his head violently back and fourth in hopes to cause as much damage as he could. Mermen swam to the mermaid's assistance. Unwilling to stab him with their spears for fear they'd stab the mermaid, the came in close, holding onto the big body as best they could, trying to slow him down. One brave merman wedged himself under Maui's flipper. Taking a small curved blade from his belt, he jammed it deep into Maui's mouth. The blade cut deep! Maui flinched and opened his mouth in surprise. The mermaid frantically swam free, the mermen swarmed Maui, stopping him from following her.
Moana let out a silent but triumphant cry of joy as she felt the chain give way. Floating up, exhausted, she looked at the heart. Now what? She thought, knowing there was no way she would be able to lift the stone, let alone move it to safety. She felt the current twisting her sideways. Fighting to stay faced in the same direction, she looked around her. The ocean was in turmoil. Merpeople fought against the currents that swirled around them. Debris and mud churned from the ocean floor making the water more murky than before. A deep ongoing groan could be heard all around, rising in force and intensity. In awe, Moana watched as the heart was lifted and sucked away out of sight in the blink of an eye.
Moana frantically looked for Maui. She spotted him, fighting against a small group merpeople. They were stabbing at him with their wicked spears, tossing thick ropes around his twisting body, skillfully avoiding his sharp teeth. One spear skipped off Maui's thick hide, sliding under the leather thong that bound the container to his neck. The thong strained then snapped, container falling quickly through the water before it smashed into a rock spilling its contents into the churning waters. Moana watched as the water churned the faintly glowing green potion.
Move! A voice yelled in her head. Moana turned and flew through the water. Abandoning the fight she put every effort into getting away. She had just gotten up to speed when she felt a horrible piercing pain in her left fin. Dragging her around a full 180 degrees, four mermen hung onto the rope that was attached to a well-thrown grapple which pierced her fin. Moana fought wildly as more and more ropes were thrown about her, dragging her back to the thick of the fight and the quickly spreading potion. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dancer swim off towards the reef, a trail of blood streaming behind her. Still worth everything? Moana thought.
Without a second thought, she dove towards the mermen dragging her down. Startled, they released the ropes. Moana slammed into them, knocking them about and put on a burst of speed chasing the dancer. Blood stained the water around the dancer as her tail pumped out blood where Maui had bit her. She crouched against a rock, knife held in front of her, waiting. With a yell she swung the knife as Moana bore down on her. Moana easily avoided the tiny blade and slammed her tail into the mermaid. The dancer stared at her, eyes wide and glassy, then slumped in the water. Moana felt a moment of satisfaction of a job well done before the faintly green-glowing water swirled around her.
Maui watched the manta ray chase down the mermaid. Grinned in satisfaction as he saw the tail impale the dancer, yelled in triumph as the mermen he was fighting suddenly grabbed their heads in agony while lightning shaped cracks flashed across their skin just before they exploded into light. All around him, other flashes of light signified the mass-destruction of the infused merpeople. With each flash, the waters increased their turbulence. The turbulence spread the potion faster than before and soon all the remaining merpeople sat listlessly as their minds were wiped of memory.
Maui turned to head back to the surface, to Moana, when he noticed a glow emanating from the ray. Curious, Maui glided towards the glow, the churning waters making progress difficult. The human form of Tala materialized in front of him. "Help her!" She pointed at a form floating in the water. "She's forgotten who she is! I cannot bind with her if she does not know me!"
Realizing his worst fear had just come to pass, Maui shifted into a hammerhead shark, shoved his broad head underneath Moana's limp form and charged towards the surface of the ocean.
Note:
As always, thoughts and critiques welcome and wanted.
Further Note:
I've taken the liberty of swapping the order of chapter 4 and 5, re-writing chapter 4 (after Maui plays in the wind), and touching up the first paragraph of chapter 5 for ease of transition. I was having a serious issue with the relationship advancement of Moana/Maui. It was eating me alive and ruining the flow of my writing. I feel much much better with the updated chapter. It does nothing to change the current story, so a re-read is not necessary for current events. Apologies for any issues this may have caused.
