“If the ocean’s so smart, why didn’t it just take the heart back to Te Fiti itself? Or bring me my hook? I’m gonna tell you why, baby face: ocean’s kooky-dooks.”
Moana looked down to the ocean, now hundreds of feet below. She took a deep breath and continued, focused on making her way to the top.
“But I’m sure it’s not wrong about you, right? You’re the Chosen One!” Maui shoved Moana up the last little bit to help her get to the plateau.
At the top, she looked out at the expansive horizon and closed her eyes. “It chose me for a reason.”
“If you start singing, I’m gonna throw up,” said Maui as he heaved himself the last few feet to solid ground.
Moana looked around the small, desolate mountaintop, searching for a way in. “Not seeing an entrance,” she said.
“It only appears after a human sacrifice,” said Maui. Then he smiled. “Kidding. So serious.”
Maui inhaled and let out a heavy breath, blowing dust off the top of the plateau. Then he gave a big warrior cry, stomping his feet dramatically before he jumped onto the rocky ground. It trembled and cracked, revealing a massive face on its surface. The mouth of the face slowly opened, and a strange vortex swirled a thousand feet below. Moana stared at it in awe, completely intimidated.
“Don’t worry,” said Maui. “It’s a lot farther down than it looks.” Then he held his knees, jumping in like a cannonball and shouting, “Cheeeee-hooooo!”
Moana watched anxiously, frozen for a moment. Then she heard him yell, “I’m still falling!” He finally disappeared into the portal. Moana stared nervously from the ledge as the whirlpool started closing.
“You can do this,” she said to herself, willing some confidence. “Go!” she yelled. Without another thought, Moana dove in, and the open mouth slammed shut behind her.
After a long fall, Moana finally hit the ocean waters of the portal and dove deeper and deeper. Her eyes bulged and her vision blurred as she started to run out of air. At the very bottom, a purple spiral swirled supernaturally. In a flash, she was sucked into its depths.
Below her, Maui burst out the floor of the ocean and crashed through the ceiling of the strange underworld. Thunderous growls and groans came out of the fog from enormous monsters lurking in the shadows. Maui landed with effortless grace.
“And he sticks the landing,” said Maui, cheering for himself.
He looked at Mini Maui, who smiled as he pulled out a little scoreboard and gave a check to Moana. “What?” said Maui, confused. “Dum-dum, she’s not even here. You saw her face; no mortal’s gonna jump into—”
Maui stopped midsentence as he watched Moana break into the underworld, right where he had. She smacked into him, bounced off his body, and rolled downhill into a glowing forest made of oddly shaped bioluminescent trees and plants.
“Well, she’s dead,” Maui said nonchalantly.
Mini Maui gestured for Maui to go help her. But the demigod chose to ignore him.
Moana tried to get her bearings, but she was hanging upside down. Before she knew what was happening, she felt a strange force slowly pulling her up. Then she realized…she was wrapped in the tongue of a giant monster! The beast looked like an oversized frog with big lumpy eyes, and Moana was like a little fly trapped in its tongue. The wart-covered monster was slowly but surely slurping her toward its drooling mouth!
As she started to wriggle and panic, an even bigger monster—in the shape of a giant flower—chomped down and ate the first monster in one bite! Luckily, Moana fell to the ground and out of the second monster’s reach. But she was still trapped in the slimy severed tongue.
“Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!” she said, trying to untangle herself from it.
She quickly ran for cover and peered out to discover a glowing neon world within the mist. Giant anemone trees swayed slowly as sea urchin spines rose up, reaching out, threatening to strike. Creepy sounds and growls echoed all around in a chorus of nightmare terrors. It was the most frightening place Moana had ever been.
“Maui?” Moana whispered urgently, wondering where he had gone. “Maui?”
A monster appeared right in front of her and cast a shadow so dark that it blocked out all light and made it impossible for her to see! As it reached for her, it stepped on a small vent that hissed and erupted, shooting out hot, steaming water. The powerful geyser blasted the shadowy monster up into the ocean before he could grab her!
Moana tried to calm herself and realized she was sitting right next to an enormous shell-shaped cave. She peeked inside and could see the unmistakable shape of Maui’s magical hook! It was sitting on a pile of shimmering gold and jewels. Maui appeared right behind her and gazed at the giant hook, too.
“Haaaaaaa!” Maui said, yearning to hold it again. He could barely speak, overjoyed to see his prize possession after being separated from it for a very long one thousand years.
Startled by the sound of Maui behind her, Moana turned and instinctively threw a wild punch, right to Maui’s gut. He barely flinched and instead just stared at her.
Moana shook her fist, trying to ease the pain in her hand that hitting Maui had caused her. “Sorry, I thought—there was a monst—Earlier there was a big, horrible—But I found your hook, so that’s goo—” she stammered, trembling with fear.
Maui palmed her head and picked her up, placing her to the side of the cave. “Stay here. Be quiet,” he whispered.
“What? No,” Moana said, starting to follow.
“’Cause you’re gonna face Tamatoa?” Maui asked sarcastically with raised eyebrows. “I’ve been waiting a thousand years to get my hook, and it’s gonna be hard enough without it getting screwed up by a mortal, who has no business being in a monster cave except…” Maui’s voice trailed off as a plan brewed. His eyes brightened when he came up with an idea. “Except maybe as bait.”
Moana’s face fell, but before she could protest, Maui put her to work.
As if clanging cymbals together, Moana banged a pile of gold objects noisily as she made her way through the treasure-filled lair. A variety of jewels and treasures were strewn all over, making every corner of the place sparkle and glimmer.
Moana took a deep breath as she prepared to play her part. “Wow,” she said, sounding stiff and overly loud. “There is a lot of shiny stuff in here!”
“Louder,” Maui whispered from behind a big mound of gold.
“Gold, gold, gold!” shouted Moana, a little louder. “I love gold!”
Moana walked around the lair, tripping over jewels and continuing to make as much noise as she could.
Maui remained hidden and whispered to her, “When he shows up, keep him distracted; get him to talk about himself. You know the type—loves bragging about how great he is.”
“You two must get along great,” said Moana.
“Not since I ripped off his leg,” said Maui. “Although with that guy, it’s really more of an arm. He’s got plenty.”
“Of arms?” asked Moana, starting to feel nervous. “How many does he have? Maui? Hello? Hello?”
But Maui was gone. Suddenly, the pile of treasures behind Moana rumbled and rose. She braced herself, ready to meet Tamatoa.
“Hello,” said a sinister voice.
The ground beneath Moana’s feet shook, and she turned to see a fifty-foot crab monster staring at her! The sparkling gold and jewels were all piled up and calcified, hardened onto the back of his enormous shell. He snatched Moana in one of his pincers and held her up to his creepy face. She screamed in terror, but Tamatoa covered her mouth and rudely said, “Mute that!” He looked her up and down and said, “Little human, whoa-ho-ho…in the realm of monsters.” His protruding eyes circled her, checking her out from every angle as Moana followed them fearfully. “Well—pick an eye, babe. I can’t concentrate on what I’m saying when you’re going back and forth like—Just pick one,” he said as she looked at one of his eyestalks and then at the other one. “Pick one,” he demanded. As Moana tried to focus on only one of h
is eyes, he asked, “What are you doing down here, human?”
He flipped her in the air to get a better hold on her, and Moana could see Maui attempting to sneak around behind Tamatoa. Maui silently motioned to Moana, wanting to remind her of the plan to get Tamatoa to talk about himself, but it was clear that Moana did not want to go that route. When Tamatoa turned one eyeball to see what Moana was looking at, Maui was gone.
“I, uh…I love your shell,” said Moana awkwardly, trying to follow Maui’s idea.
“Everyone loves my shell, mon poisson. It’s spectacular,” Tamatoa said nonchalantly. “But you didn’t answer my query.” He used a jagged claw to poke threateningly at Moana. Behind him, Moana could see Maui sneaking forward, closer to them.
“Why are you here?” Tamatoa asked sharply as he fiddled with Moana’s necklace.
“Don’t! That’s my gramma’s,” Moana said, swatting at him with her hands.
“‘That’s my gramma’s,’” Tamatoa said, rudely mimicking her. “I ate my grandparents. Why are you here?” he asked, louder. He pulled her in even closer, and she shrank back in fear.
She peered behind Tamatoa and could see Maui moving toward them.
Tamatoa raised his voice, demanding an answer from her as he leaned in. “Why are you—”
“To rob you!” Moana blurted. “I came to—to steal one of your treasures. But now, in the presence…of your…splendor…” Moana said hesitantly, searching for the right words. “I just—I honestly just want to know how you became so beautiful.”
Tamatoa stared at Moana for a beat, looking at her skeptically. “Are you trying to get me to talk about myself?” he asked. Moana looked at him, unsure of how to react. But to her surprise, he flashed a big eerie smile and said, “Why didn’t you say so?”
The monstrous crab struck a pose and bragged about all the shiny stuff on his back. Maui was right; Tamatoa was more than happy to chat about himself and told her he liked feeling beautiful. He explained that his obsession with decorating his shell with treasures was practical, too: he never had to look for fish to eat because they were lured in by all his glittering gold. He demonstrated by eating a whole bunch of fish. They had been hypnotized by his shell and had swum down to the bottom of the ocean. Then they had fallen into the realm of monsters, and Tamatoa’s mouth.
Tamatoa flipped Moana up into the air. From there, she could see Maui struggling to climb toward his fishhook.
Tamatoa caught her in midair and then dangled her over his mouth as he eyed her hungrily. He was already prepared for his next meal. Moana panicked as she searched for Maui…but he had disappeared! Tamatoa brought her closer to his teeth, and just as the giant crab monster was about to chomp down on her, Maui leapt in and grabbed his hook, yanking it from the shell.
He hurried to Moana and scooped her up, then posed like a superhero, feeling like he was on top of the world. “It’s okay, you’re safe now,” Maui said.
Moana smiled gratefully…until she realized Maui was talking to his hook.
“Whaddaya say, little buddy?” Maui asked, looking to Mini Maui for a suggestion. Mini Maui transformed into a hawk. “Giant hawk? Comin’ up! Chee-hoo!” shouted Maui as he triumphantly held the hook above his head. It glowed and flashed brightly, and he transformed into a…fish. Maui tried again, but he transformed into a bug, then a pig…then he was back to being a demigod.
Tamatoa stared at Maui, wondering what was wrong. Maui shook his hook a little, attempting to fix it. He tried a third time, but his shape-shifting powers were just not working. The demigod was getting more and more frustrated.
Tamatoa sneered, thoroughly enjoying Maui’s predicament. He moved toward Maui and knocked him across the cave with one of his giant legs. When Maui pulled himself up, Tamatoa hit him again.
“Stop it!” yelled Moana, shocked by his violent force.
His attention returned to Moana, and Tamatoa tossed her into a makeshift cage made out of whale and fish bones. Then he continued to torture and mock Maui, not noticing when Moana managed to slip through the slats of the bone cage. She looked around for a way out and spotted a crack in the cave’s wall leading outside. Moana glanced back to see Maui getting beaten up and knew she couldn’t leave him.
As he poked and prodded Maui, Tamatoa talked more about himself and his love of collecting shiny things. He grabbed Maui’s hook and jammed it back into his shell. Then he pushed Maui to the ground. Using the sharp, jagged edge of his torn claw, he cut into a tattoo of a woman and baby on Maui’s back. Maui tried with all his might to push Tamatoa off, but he seemed paralyzed by the crab monster’s force.
Tamatoa laughed wickedly and tossed Maui against the wall of the cave, pinning him there with one of his pincers. As he prepared to end Maui’s life with a final blow, Moana called to him. “I’ve got something shiny for ya!” She held up the glowing heart to get Tamatoa’s attention.
“The heart of Te Fiti,” Tamatoa said eagerly.
Holding the heart, Moana ran off. Desperate for the elusive treasure, Tamatoa instantly dropped Maui to chase her. Maui watched, stunned, as Tamatoa gained on her. Moana lost her footing, tripped, and dropped the heart. It rolled and fell down into a crevice!
As Tamatoa rushed toward the crevice, Moana ran up his shell and grabbed Maui’s hook! She jumped down and dragged the heavy fishhook to Maui as Tamatoa tried to get to the heart.
Moana noticed the cut in the tattoo on Maui’s back and wondered if he was okay, but she knew there was no time to ask. “We gotta go,” she said, eyeing Tamatoa as he continued to dig into the crevice.
“But the heart…” said Maui.
“He can have it,” whispered Moana. She revealed the heart inside her shell necklace and smiled. “I’ve got a better one.”
It was then that Tamatoa finally pulled out what he thought was the heart…but it was only a nasty old barnacle covered with glowing green seaweed. He instantly knew he had been tricked, and he was furious.
“Come on! Run!” shouted Moana, taking off.
Full of rage, Tamatoa charged at them, his claws rapidly tapping against the ground as he ran faster and faster. Moana quickly ducked, and Tamatoa smashed into the wall, knocking a hole into it. As Moana pulled Maui through and out of the cave, he transformed into a fish. Moana picked him up and carried him as she continued to run from Tamatoa. But without warning, Maui transformed back to his normal form, and she dropped him! Right behind them, Tamatoa reared up, ready to attack. Moana yanked Maui onto a geyser hole—and it hissed and erupted just in the nick of time, lifting them out of Tamatoa’s reach!
The force knocked Tamatoa back on his shell, and he was stuck, like a turtle. His glittering treasures cracked off and spilled all around as he flailed helplessly.
“Chee-hoo!” shouted Moana. The mighty geyser blew them straight up through the ceiling of the underworld and back into the arms of the ocean!
Moana and Maui shot through the water while Maui continued to randomly transform into a variety of figures. When they finally burst through to the other side, they crashed down into the shallow water beside the spire island.
“Whoo!” shouted Moana triumphantly. “We’re alive, we’re al—AAAGH!”
Moana turned to Maui, who had only half transformed. Now he had his normal body but the head of a huge shark!
“Listen,” started shark-headed Maui, “I appreciate what you did down there, took guts, but, uh—”
Moana nodded blankly. “Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm.” She was trying to listen but was having a hard time taking the strange talking shark head seriously.
“Sorry, I’m trying to be sincere for once, and it feels like you’re distracted,” said Maui.
“No, nope,” Moana said coolly.
Maui stared at her suspiciously through his shark eyes. “You’re looking at me like I have a…” He sighed, finally realizing. “Shark head.”
“Do you have a shark head?” Moana asked, trying to keep a straight face. “’Cause I didn’t even—”
“Agh! Just…the point is, for a little girl…child…who had no business down there, you did me a solid…. But you also almost died…and I couldn’t even beat that dumb crab. So chances of beating Te Kā? Bupkis. This mission is cursed.”
“It’s not cursed,” said Moana.
“Shark head,” said Maui, proving a point.
“It is not cursed,” said Moana.
She lifted Maui’s hook and placed it in his little flippers. The hook flashed, and he zapped back to his normal form. Moana smiled, but then Maui continued to uncontrollably transform into a series of different animals as his hook flashed and zapped.
He went from being a pig to a fish to a bug to a whale in the blink of an eye. Once he finally stopped changing form, his top half was back to normal, but his bottom half was shark.
“Cursed,” said Maui, standing up on his shark fins and looking at Moana with a deadpan expression.
Moments later, Moana and Maui were on the boat, feeling beaten down and exhausted. Maui had his hair wrapped up on top of his head in a bun and was somberly lying on his back. Moana looked down at the heart of Te Fiti inside her necklace, trying to figure out what to do next.
Maui, feeling hopeless and depressed, sang a strange-sounding tune to himself. “Hey, what can I say? Te Kā’s gonna kill us, gonna kill us…”
“Can you at least try?” asked Moana, attempting to get him back on track.
Maui put a lazy finger on his hook and fritzed a few more times, changing into a variety of forms before turning back to his normal self. He started to sing again, this time louder. “Hey! Today’s our last day. Te Kā’s gonna kill us, gonna kill us.”
Unable to put up with any more of Maui’s negativity, Moana poked him in the side with the oar. “All right—break time’s over. Get up,” she ordered.
“Why?” asked Maui. “You gonna gimme a speech? Tell me I can beat Te Kā ’cause I’m Maui?”
Mini Maui protested Maui’s attitude with a stomp and scowl.
“Take a hike,” Maui said to the little tattoo. He pushed him over his shoulder. As Moana watched Mini Maui move to Maui’s back, she spotted the tattoo of the woman holding the baby that Tamatoa had been digging into.
Moana Junior Novel Page 5