Maui made scaling the vertical cliff look simple as he climbed higher and higher. Before long, two hands appeared next to him, straining to keep pace. Maui rolled his eyes when he saw Moana but wasn’t surprised that she had followed him. Moana breathed heavily as she jumped to catch rock after rock, pulling herself up the spire.
“So, ‘daughter of the chief,’” said Maui as he climbed, “thought you stayed in the village kissing babies. I’m just trying to understand why your people decided to send—um—you.”
“My people didn’t send me,” said Moana, reaching toward another rock. “The ocean did.”
“Right. The ocean. Makes sense: you’re what ... eight? Can’t sail. Obvious choice.”
Moana was aware of Maui’s sarcasm. “It chose me for a reason,” she said.
“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 sad, 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 though—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.
攀爬這陡峭的巖壁對(duì)毛伊來(lái)說(shuō)輕而易舉,因此他越爬越高。過了會(huì)兒,他發(fā)現(xiàn)身旁出現(xiàn)兩只手,還一直和他保持相同的速度往上爬。他看到莫阿娜跟著他時(shí),并未感到吃驚,只是朝她翻了個(gè)白眼。莫阿娜則奮力去夠一塊塊巖石,氣喘吁吁地朝塔頂爬去。
“所以,‘酋長(zhǎng)之女’,”毛伊邊爬邊說(shuō)道,“我還以為你待在村子里帶小孩呢。我只是想知道為什么你的島民們會(huì)派——嗯——你來(lái)?!?
“不是他們派我來(lái)的,”莫阿娜爬向另一塊巖石說(shuō)道,“是大海選中了我?!?
“是是是,大海選的。倒也說(shuō)得過去:你是那什么……老八吧?連船都不會(huì)開,真會(huì)選人。”
莫阿娜聽出毛伊在諷刺她,說(shuō)道:“大海選我,自有理由?!?
“如果大海真有那么聰明,為什么它自己不把特菲提之心放回去?為什么不幫我找回魚鉤?告訴你實(shí)情吧,小屁孩:大海其實(shí)就是個(gè)笨蛋?!?
莫阿娜看了一眼下方離他們幾百英尺遠(yuǎn)的大海。她深吸一口氣,繼續(xù)集中注意力往上爬,好快點(diǎn)到達(dá)塔頂。
“不過,我知道錯(cuò)不在你,對(duì)吧?你是個(gè)被選中的倒霉蛋!”毛伊說(shuō)著便往上推了莫阿娜一把,助她爬上了這座高高的島。
到達(dá)塔頂后,莫阿娜放眼望向廣闊的地平線,然后閉上眼睛?!按蠛_x我,自有理由?!?
“如果你再嘰嘰歪歪,我就要吐了?!泵琳f(shuō)著,奮力翻身上了塔頂。
莫阿娜又掃視了一眼這個(gè)狹小、荒涼的塔頂,搜尋著入口?!皼]有看到入口?!彼f(shuō)。
“除非有人英勇獻(xiàn)身,否則入口不會(huì)出現(xiàn)?!泵琳f(shuō)。然后他笑道:“開個(gè)玩笑啦,別當(dāng)真。”
他猛吸一口氣,重重呼出,吹掉了覆蓋在塔頂?shù)幕覊m。接著,他又來(lái)了個(gè)勇士般的吶喊,夸張地跺著腳,然后跳到一塊巖石上。巖石開始搖晃破裂,表面隨即出現(xiàn)了一張巨臉。這張臉上的嘴慢慢張開,一股奇特的渦流打著旋向下延伸,有一千英尺深。莫阿娜畏怯地盯著這漩渦,十分害怕。
“不用怕,”毛伊說(shuō)道,“這漩渦其實(shí)比看上去深得多?!比缓笏еp膝,像顆炮彈般俯沖而下,隨即傳來(lái)他“喲——嚯!”的叫聲。
莫阿娜焦急地看著這一幕,呆立了會(huì)兒。然后她聽到了毛伊的喊聲:“我還在往下落!”最后他消失在入口處。這張大嘴上的漩渦開始變小,莫阿娜站在一旁緊張地盯著它。
“你可以的?!彼o自己打氣,想找點(diǎn)自信?!拔襾?lái)啦!”她大叫著,不假思索地縱身躍入漩渦,這時(shí)巨臉上的大嘴在她身后合上了。
在漩渦里下落很久之后,莫阿娜終于落到了入口處的海水里,往下越潛越深。當(dāng)她開始缺氧時(shí),她的雙眼突起,視線變得模糊起來(lái)。一個(gè)神奇的紫色漩渦從海底旋起,一轉(zhuǎn)眼,她就被吸入渦流深處。
在她身下,毛伊撞破海底,沖進(jìn)了奇特的地下世界。重重迷霧之中傳來(lái)潛伏在暗處的巨獸們發(fā)出的雷鳴般的咆哮與呻吟。此時(shí),毛伊以優(yōu)雅的姿勢(shì)輕松地著陸了。
“我成功啦?!泵翞樽约簹g呼道。
毛伊看了看小毛伊,只見他笑著拿出小計(jì)分板,在莫阿娜的名字后面畫了一個(gè)鉤?!笆裁??”毛伊不解地問他,“你個(gè)小笨笨,她都不在這兒,你看她那副樣子,沒有一個(gè)凡人能跳進(jìn)——”
毛伊才說(shuō)到一半,便看見莫阿娜也從剛剛那個(gè)入口闖了進(jìn)來(lái),猛地撞到自己身上,又彈了出去,一直向下滾,滾到了一片發(fā)光的叢林中,那里長(zhǎng)滿了奇形怪狀的發(fā)光植物。
“好吧,她死掉了?!泵聊魂P(guān)心地說(shuō)道。
小毛伊示意毛伊去幫幫她,可半神毛伊卻視而不見。
莫阿娜想弄清自己身在何方,卻發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正被倒掛著。還沒來(lái)得及搞清楚狀況,她就感覺被一股奇怪的力量往上拽。然后,她意識(shí)到……自己正被卷入一只大怪獸的舌頭里!這頭怪獸看起來(lái)像只雙眼凸起的巨型青蛙,莫阿娜則像困在它的舌頭上的小蒼蠅。這只滿身疙瘩的怪獸正流著口水,卷起舌頭,準(zhǔn)備將莫阿娜當(dāng)點(diǎn)心吃進(jìn)去。
莫阿娜驚恐萬(wàn)分,開始扭動(dòng)著往外爬。突然,一只體形更大像食人花的怪獸,咬住那只巨型青蛙,一口吃掉了它!幸運(yùn)的是,莫阿娜掉到了地上,落到食人花怪獸夠不著的地方??伤员焕г谀菞l異常黏滑的舌頭上。
“哎呀!哎呀!哎呀!”莫阿娜掙扎著從舌頭上爬出來(lái)。
她迅速找到地方掩護(hù)自己,然后向外張望,發(fā)現(xiàn)霧里有一塊霓虹閃耀的地方。在那里,巨大的??麡渚徛?fù)u擺著,海膽的刺直挺挺地豎立,隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備襲擊。令人毛骨悚然的咆哮聲回蕩在周圍,合奏成一支驚魂夢(mèng)魘曲。這真是莫阿娜到過最可怕的地方了。
“毛伊?”莫阿娜著急地輕聲喊道,想知道他去哪兒了?!懊??”
一只怪獸突然出現(xiàn)在她面前,投射出一個(gè)巨大的黑影,擋住了所有的亮光,使她什么也看不見了!它朝莫阿娜逼近時(shí),不小心踩在一個(gè)間歇泉口上,一陣嘶嘶聲過后,冒著熱氣的泉水噴薄而出。這只怪獸還沒來(lái)得及抓住莫阿娜,就被這股強(qiáng)有力的水柱猛沖進(jìn)了海里!
莫阿娜盡力使自己平靜下來(lái),然后發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正坐在一個(gè)巨型貝殼狀的洞穴旁。她往里面偷瞄了幾眼,看見一個(gè)清晰的輪廓,那正是毛伊的魔法魚鉤!它被堆在一摞閃閃發(fā)亮的金銀珠寶上。這時(shí),毛伊出現(xiàn)在她身后,也盯著這個(gè)大魚鉤看。
“哇哈哈哈!”毛伊興奮地笑著,迫不及待地想再次拿起它。再次看到那把和自己分開足足有一千年的寶貝魚鉤時(shí),他高興得說(shuō)不出話了。
莫阿娜被背后傳來(lái)的聲音嚇了一大跳,快速轉(zhuǎn)身,本能地奮力一拳,正好打中了毛伊的肚子。毛伊絲毫沒感覺,只是盯著莫阿娜看。
莫阿娜搖晃著拳頭,想緩解手上因?yàn)橐u擊毛伊帶來(lái)的疼痛?!皩?duì)不起,我以為——又是一只怪——之前這里就有一只很大很可怕的——但是我發(fā)現(xiàn)了你的魚鉤,所以那個(gè)——”她結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說(shuō)道,害怕得發(fā)抖。
毛伊用手抓著她的頭,將她一把提起,放到洞的一旁,輕聲說(shuō):“待這別動(dòng),別出聲”。
“你說(shuō)什么?我不要?!蹦⒛日f(shuō)道,想跟上他。
“你想和螃蟹怪對(duì)決嗎?”毛伊眉毛上揚(yáng),嘲諷地問道,“為了拿回魚鉤,我都等了一千年了,螃蟹怪本身就難對(duì)付,要是再被你一個(gè)凡人搞砸,我就前功盡棄了,況且你來(lái)這里又沒什么事兒,除非……”毛伊頓時(shí)心生一計(jì),降低了音量。他想出了一個(gè)好主意,兩眼放光,說(shuō)道:“除非你可以當(dāng)誘餌?!?
莫阿娜臉色一沉,還沒來(lái)得及反對(duì),就被毛伊推進(jìn)了洞里。
莫阿娜進(jìn)入這個(gè)滿是珍寶的獸穴,一路不停敲打著各種金器,發(fā)出類似鐃鈸撞擊的聲音。洞穴里撒滿了各種各樣的奇珍異寶,每個(gè)角落都金光閃閃。
莫阿娜深吸一口氣,準(zhǔn)備當(dāng)好誘餌的角色?!巴廴彼蠼衅饋?lái),聲音太過響亮且極不自然,“這里有好多閃亮的東西啊!”
“再大點(diǎn)聲?!泵炼阍谝淮蠖腰S金后面小聲提醒她。
“哇,好多黃金啊,黃金,黃金!”她大叫起來(lái),聲音稍稍響亮了一點(diǎn),“我好喜歡黃金?。 ?
莫阿娜在獸穴里四處走動(dòng)著,踢翻各類珍寶,繼續(xù)弄出更大的響動(dòng)。
毛伊仍躲在一旁,對(duì)她輕聲說(shuō)道:“只要他一出現(xiàn),你就設(shè)法讓他分心,引導(dǎo)他吹噓自己。你知道他就是那種——喜歡自吹自擂家伙。”
“你們倆肯定相處得十分愉快。”莫阿娜說(shuō)道。
“在我扯掉了他的腿后,我跟他就不愉快了,”毛伊說(shuō),“不過那個(gè)家伙,可不止一條腿。他有好多腿?!?
“你說(shuō)的是腿?”莫阿娜開始緊張起來(lái),“你說(shuō)他有多少條腿?毛伊?喂?喂?”
可毛伊已經(jīng)走了。突然,莫阿娜身后的珠寶窸窣作響,不斷上升。她打起精神來(lái),準(zhǔn)備對(duì)戰(zhàn)螃蟹怪。
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