Chapter Nine:

Wondrous & Mysterious

“Incoming!” The Doctor exclaimed.

Piper was startled awake and hastily grabbed the edges of the control board before she could fall out of her chair. The Vragman groaned and violently shook the sea. The Doctor ran to the rest of the controls to attempt to stabilize the Tardis. It was rocked back and forth by the forces of the water. The Vragman’s groaning turned from a small noise to a vibrating excruciating roar. Piper peeked outside and watched as the Volcano rose about two inches higher. His expression reflected his frustration. If he had teeth, he looked like he’d be clenching them. With the rum biking stopped, Piper regained composure.

“I don’t think this is working!” Piper stated.

“I don’t understand,” said the Doctor, “The Tardis has ran through nearly every language that exists and he’ll still growing!”

“Are you sure there isn’t anything we’ve missed?” Piper asked.

“I don’t know, but if the Vragmen continues to grow at this rate, the barrier we built will no longer be sufficient.”

 .

Suddenly, there was a sound of something scraping across the floor. The two timelords jumped. The Doctor put his hand in his pocket, ready to pull out his screwdriver.

“What was that?” Piper hissed.

“Something’s in here” the Doctor mumbled, “Get behind me.”

Piper obeyed. She looked around, then glanced back at the door. Maybe something came in from when she opened the door earlier? 

 .

The Doctor slowly got up from his chair. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and inches towards the place where they heard the sound. It was coming from behind two empty wooden crates with a drape over one of them (the Doctor had “acquired” them in his earlier travels). Finally, he leaned over to see what was behind them. There, hunched on his knees, was a young Polynesian boy.

 .

“Keonu!?” The Doctor exclaimed.

Keonu quietly stood up and revealed himself.

“Keonu! We told you not to come here! You weren’t supposed to see this!” Piper exclaimed.

“Oh come now Piper, you should’ve known how curious you’ve made everyone” Keonu stated, “I had to!”

“That’s no excuse! There’s no telling what damage you could’ve done-!”

“-Piper!” The Doctor cut in.

Piper stopped. It was clear that this discovery had gotten her extremely nervous. The Doctor had explained to her the rules of time travel, the major one behind “no changing fixed points in time or it’ll blow a hole in the fabric of space.” Which made Piper worried about how people in pre-modern times would react to seeing the Tardis.

“Piper, it’s alright” The Doctor assured, “There’s no need to worry.”

Piper started at the Doctor for a few moments. Then, she took a deep breath, and slowly nodded.

“Okay.”

 .

The Doctor turned back to Keonu.

“So, what do you think?” He asked, motioning to the splendor of the Tardis around them.

Keonu was quiet for a moment. He looked around, listening to the calm whirring of the Tardis’ gravity system. The gold and rustic copper colors of the control room seemed to shine around him.

Finally, he replied, “It’s…almost what I expected.”

“Emphasis being ‘almost’?” The Doctor clarified.

Keonu nodded. “I knew you weren’t man. I could tell from the moment you arrived on our island. You were too…”

“God-like?” Piper assumed with a defeated tone.

Keonu turned to Piper.

“I believe you when you say you are not gods,” He explained, “but you still come from somewhere far greater than my little island. So why did you come here? Why would you want to see a people that was so small compared to you?”

“You are not small Keonu” said Piper, firmly, “You and your tribe are a fantastic people! Your music and dancing and culture, are beyond any other kind of people that exist!”

“I wanted to come to Molokai because I wanted to see a glimpse of the untouched life of your people, pure and unique in its essence! It’s something that, quite frankly, is once in a lifetime to see!”

Keonu once again went quiet. However, he appeared to as if something lifted off of his chest and felt lighter as a result. The Doctor was smiling at Piper, proudly.

 .

“Now,” said Piper, a thought suddenly popping into her head, “I believe we could actually use your help with something.”

She gestured to the door.

“Uncle Doctor, may I?”

The Doctor nodded.

Piper gently took Keonu’s hand and guided him to the door. She turned the knob and opened it. The Tardis was floating a thousand feet below sea level. It was still dark and hard to see. However, Keonu was in awe.

“Where are we?” He asked.

“We’re in the sea, deep, deep into the sea” Piper answered.

“It’s so dark…Are you sure we’re not in the sky?”

Piper shook her head.

“No, the sea is blacker the deeper you go. That-”

Piper pointed at the Vragmen. “-is the guy who’s causing the tremors.”

 .

Keonu observed the creature, staring at it with widened eyes and awe.

“What a magnificent creature!” Keonu exhaled, then frowned, “He looks sad.”

Piper frowned. “He is. Something is causing him to grow, faster than he’s supposed to…something sad. It’s almost like, he’s…grieving…”

Keonu nodded. “He is…”

The Doctor interjected, “We need to find out how to communicate with him. All attempts we’ve made have failed. We need to tell him to stop causing the tremors so your tribe can live in peace!”

“Maybe even figure out why…” Piper added.

The travelers stood in silence. The Tardis was filled with solem, almost hopeless silence. Piper exchanged glances with her uncle, who gave her a hesitant look.

 .

Just then, Keonu spoke in a loud, boisterous, melodious voice. At first, it started out as chilling words of the ancient voyagers of the sea. Then the Tardis slowly began to translate it:

“Fragrant with the breath of hala and lehua,

This is the sight I long to see,

Of this, my present desire,

Your coming fills me with eagerness,

Now that you have come,

Love comes with you,

Greetings, greetings.”

 .

A great moan arose from the blackened water, shaking the three passengers in the Tardis. They were astounded. The Vragmen stirred and opened its eyes. Its eyes were pure yellow and orange. Its mouth unsealed into a cracked, parted frown. The Doctor ran up to the door to see it for himself. He and Piper exchanged shocked faces, then looked at Keonu. Keonu was dumbfounded.

“I didn’t actually think that would work” he stated.

The Vragmen groaned and blinked, then, observing his surroundings, he spotted the blue box floating a few feet away from him. He blinked again. His eyes widened slightly. He opened his giant mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Keonu grew restless.

“It’s looking at me…!” he hissed.

Piper looked to the Doctor for help.

The Doctor came to a realization.

“Keonu, call to it it normally” he ordered.

“What?”

“Just do it!”

Keonu awkwardly turned back to the water barrier.

“Erm, greetings…!”

“-Vragmen…” Piper whispered.

“Greetings Vragmen! On behalf of the Aulani Tribe, I welcome you!”

The Vragmen made no response. It just continued to stare at the strange, tiny human in the blue box.

“Now, call it using the chant” the Doctor instructed.

Keonu glanced back at the mighty Vragmen and spoke the call:

“Hiki pü me ke aloha

A hiki mai nö ‘oe,

Aloha ë, aloha ë, aloha ë.”

Once again, the Vragmen stirred. It made a long grunting sound, like it was attempting to respond. The frequency made it appear it was attempting to mimic the pitch and octave that Keonu spoke. The Doctor began to get excited.

“Hold on, I’m going to get the Tardis to record his sounds and see if the ole’ girl can make any kind of translation from it!”

“‘Girl’?” Keonu echoed.

“We refer to the Tardis as a ‘she’,” Piper explained in a whisper, “She’s in herself a living being, so we treat her like one.”

 .

The Vragmen began to stir and move as it began to heave itself upward. The ocean shook with violent vibrations. Keonu and Piper hung onto the door frame, watching the Doctor’s hands fly across the keyboard while also holding onto the control panel. The controls violently shook in their bolted holders. Then, he stopped.

“That felt a whole lot worse!” Piper exclaimed, “Uncle Doctor, you’ve found anything!?”

“Of course…” The Doctor mumbled.

Piper and Keonu looked at him nervously.

“Doctor?” Keonu asked, anxiously.

The Doctor suddenly threw his hands up in the air.

“Of course! How did I not think about this before!?” The Doctor exclaimed, “The frequencies of the chant is what he’s responding to!”

“‘Free-quenc-ees’?” Keonu repeated, slowly.

“Your tone, the way you voiced the chant, that’s what he responds to! Not the Polynesian language itself, but the musical articulation of it!”

“Basically,” Piper translated, “He can understand you when you’re chanting, not just plain speaking.”

“So, what do I do to stop it? I do not know a chant for telling someone to stop doing something!” Keonu expressed.

“Firstly Uncle Doctor, do you know if the Vragmen can communicate back to us?” Piper asked.

“Despite the fact he has a mouth, he doesn’t verbalize words very well” said the Doctor, “However, the Tardis can translate feelings based on his tone of grumbling.”

“So all we need to do is to find a chant to get his attention, then we can find out why he’s growing so fast!” Piper exclaimed.

“Bingo!” cried the Doctor.

“I will have to speak to the other tribesmen,” said Keonu, “Maybe they will have a good chant we can use.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Piper declared.