As boulders rained down, Moana swam toward the canoe and tried to flip it, but she was not strong enough to pull it up. Te Kā raised a fist to deliver a hefty blow, but a moment before it hit, there was a loud screeching noise and a flash of white light. A giant hawk knocked Te Kā’s hand away just in time. Maui had returned!
He resumed his demigod form and smiled at Moana.
“Maui?” She couldn’t believe he had come to help her. “But your hook…?”
Maui lifted his magical hook and used it to flip her boat back over. Then he looked at Mini Maui. “Yeah, well, we were talking about what you said…well, it’s funny, I realized I am the only one who can make me, me.”
Behind him, Te Kā rose up again.
“Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm,” said Moana, trying to wrap it up. “Maui, there’s…uh, Maui…”
Maui continued to ramble on about his feelings. “Do I have abandonment and self-worth issues? Yes, I do. Also some latent narcissism and—”
“Maui!” Moana screamed as a fireball flew right by them. Te Kā loomed above.
“Right. Another time—I got your back, Chosen One. Go save the world,” said Maui as he turned toward Te Kā.
“Maui!” Moana shouted again. “Thank you.”
Maui glanced at Moana with a sincere smile and said, “You’re welcome.”
Taking a deep breath, Maui channeled his energy, transformed into a hawk, and flew toward Te Kā. Once he was over the lava monster, he transformed into a lizard. “Hot-hot-hot-hot-hot!” he said, scurrying over the monster’s fiery arm.
Standing strong at the helm of her boat, Moana unfurled the sail and dodged lava, handling the boat like she never had before. As Moana headed closer to Te Fiti, Maui cheered her on as he slipped between Te Kā’s fingers and then turned into a hawk…until Te Kā knocked him out of the sky! When Maui hit the ground of the barrier islands, he transformed back into a demigod as the crack in his hook grew. But that no longer mattered. Maui saw Te Kā holding up a lava ball, aiming for Moana, and knew what he had to do. He wielded his hook and, with all his might, smashed it into Te Kā, distracting it from Moana.
Moana docked her boat and raced up the shore of Te Fiti to put the heart back. A blinding explosion lit up the sky behind her as Maui slammed down to the ground with a thunderous boom. His hook smashed into the rocky surface beside him and shattered into pieces.
As Moana scrambled to reach the top of the hill, she suddenly stopped, confused. She frowned as she lifted her head and looked around desperately. Something was very wrong.
“No…” she said, feeling a tightening in her chest. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
Of all the things Moana had been expecting, she had never imagined this. There was supposed to be an island beyond the hill, but instead, there was a hollow shell with…nothing in the center.
Te Fiti wasn’t there. Only an empty crater stretched before her. There was nowhere to put the heart. “Te Fiti…she’s gone….”
Maui continued to fight Te Kā, even without his hook. “Come on! COME ON!” he yelled at the lava monster.
No longer sure what to do, Moana took a deep breath to calm herself and listened for her voice inside. She turned and saw Te Kā looming over Maui, volcanic lightning flashing all around them. And then she spotted something on Te Kā’s chest. A glowing spiral covered up by cooling lava. Moana looked over her shoulder at the empty crater where Te Fiti should be.
“The spiral…” she said, looking down at the heart in her hand. Its glow brightened with her every step and she looked to the ocean. Moana knew what she had to do.
As Te Kā lifted a mighty fist to destroy Maui, a blinding light glowed from the heart. Moana held it above her head like a beacon, shining brighter and brighter. Te Kā noticed the light and turned its eyes toward it.
“Let her come to me,” Moana said to the ocean. And the ocean began to recede and part, like it had so many years ago when Moana was a toddler on the beach. As she walked along the path, the water continued to part…opening a channel all the way to Te Kā’s barrier islands.
“Moana! What are you doing?” shouted Maui.
Te Kā, full of fury, raced down the open channel toward Moana and the heart! But Moana walked peacefully and deliberately toward Te Kā. She looked directly at the raging monster and sang to it calmly, completely focused on it. Moana reminded the monster that there was still a voice down deep inside that no one could ever take away. She explained that she knew what it was like to lose that little voice, and she encouraged the monster to listen to its own.
As Te Kā listened to Moana’s words, the lava monster became quiet and calm. It soon came to rest at Moana’s feet. Moana reached out and put the heart of Te Fiti into the spiral on Te Kā’s chest and whispered, “Know who you are.”
Te Kā closed its eyes, and suddenly its rocky exterior cracked open and crumbled apart, revealing a beautiful, serene green face. Te Kā was Te Fiti! A vibrant crown of flowers and leaves bloomed around Te Fiti’s head.
Maui watched in complete shock as Te Fiti rose and the ocean lifted Moana up into the air. Without warning, Maui was also grabbed by the ocean, sucked under, and dragged to the shore. He was placed right next to Moana. The ocean then carried Heihei and deposited him beside them, too.
“The chicken lives!” shouted Maui, looking at Heihei.
The ground rumbled and shook as Te Fiti used her hand to lift Moana and Maui up toward her face.
Moana knelt and pulled Maui down to his knees, too. Te Fiti nodded in gratitude to Moana, and Moana nodded back. Then Te Fiti looked at Maui…who shrugged, embarrassed.
“Hey there, Te Fiti. So…how ya been…?” Maui said, trying to be charming. Te Fiti stared at him, unimpressed, and Maui looked down at his feet. “Look, what I did was…I have no excuse. I did it for myself and…and I’m sorry.” Maui looked up sincerely.
Te Fiti raised her fist and waited just a moment before opening it. In her palm was Maui’s magical hook. Maui couldn’t believe it—it was fixed and looked as beautiful as it had the day he’d gotten it!
“YES! Chee-hoo!” he said, overjoyed. He stopped himself and lowered his voice, trying to remain respectful. “Thank you, uh, thank you…your kind gesture is deeply, deeply appreciated.” He added a small, “Chee-hoo!” Then he turned into a tiny bug and flew off.
Te Fiti lifted Moana close and gave her a hongi. She lowered Moana next to Maui on the shore and faded into the island as blossoms exploded all around them. A sea of pink petals floated through the air, swirling onto the sand over Moana’s boat, now fully restored and decorated with bright, beautiful flowers!
Maui scattered some birdseed for Heihei. “Gonna miss ya, Drumstick,” he said. Heihei tried to eat the food but missed. Maui smiled fondly and shook his head. “Don’t ever change.”
Maui looked at Moana, and they both knew it was almost time to say goodbye. Moana gazed out to the ocean. “You could come with us, you know,” she said. “My people are going to need a master wayfinder.”
“They already have one,” said Maui.
He smiled as a new tattoo appeared over his heart. It was a picture of Moana, the proud wayfinder. Mini Maui smiled at Moana, then lifted the sky of the particular tattoo he was in and comfortably settled into place.
Moana jumped up and pulled Maui in for a big hug. When they parted, Maui swung his hook mightily, charging up and turning into a hawk. With one last smile, he flew off into the sky.
Moana hoisted her sail and glanced back at the island of Te Fiti, awash with color. She dipped her oar into the water and headed out to sea.
The black, dying plants across the island of Motunui suddenly sprang to life. An explosion of green foliage and colorful flowers circled Sina and Tui. Sina took one look at the vibrant plants and raced for the shore. Tui dropped an armful of supplies and followed, running to catch up. From the water’s edge, they could make out a boat in the distance.
Moana’s canoe blasted over the ocean’s whitecaps as it
sped toward the lush green peaks of Motunui. Moana soared over the reef. When she got close enough, she jumped out of the boat and ran up to her parents. Sina grabbed her and wrapped Moana in her arms. With tears in his eyes, Tui hugged Moana tightly. The family held each other for a long moment, happy to be reunited.
“I may have gone a little way past the reef,” Moana said.
Tui smiled and looked at the boat. “Suits you,” he said with a nod.
Soon the villagers joined them on the shore, and Pua excitedly rushed over to Moana, nuzzling against her and covering her with kisses. “Pua! Whoa, snout in the mouth!”
As Moana played with Pua, a pack of village kids raced past and leapt onto Moana’s canoe, pretending to be wayfinders.
Days later, the whole village pulled the huge double-hulled, ocean-voyaging canoes out of the cavern. Moana smiled proudly as she gazed at the boats of her ancestors. The ocean spiraled at her feet, and a little wave carried her conch shell, washing it onto the shore. Moana knelt down and picked up the beautiful, sparkling pink shell. Taking a walk, she placed the shell at the very top of the highest peak in Motunui, raising the island higher, just like her father and his father before him.
It wasn’t long before the villagers stood at the water’s edge, cheering a fleet of departing canoes, led by Moana. Tui and Sina raced next to her, on their own boat. Tui pulled a rope and their huge canoe passed Moana’s. She quickly maneuvered her sail and rocketed to the front of the fleet, looking back at her parents proudly.
As she leaned out on the outrigger, a spectral manta ray swam beneath her and she smiled, knowing it was Gramma Tala.
In the sky above, a massive hawk screeched as it dove toward Moana, slicing the water and creating a wake for her to jump. Her canoe crested the swell and landed smoothly, gliding across the water. Standing confidently at the helm of her boat, Moana—the wayfinder, the warrior, the next great chief of her people—knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Moana Junior Novel Page 7