AYDA

Lolotei

"You're staying on the boat." Maui said firmly.

"No! I'm not letting you go down there alone!" I fumed.

Of course, Maui hadn't bothered to tell me that this Tamatoa character lived in Lolotei, realm of monsters.

Maui grabbed my waist and pulled me into a hug. I was surprised. What had happened to the stubbornness of his attitude?

"I don't want you getting hurt, Ayda." He growled near my ear.

I was frozen. No. I was going into Lolotei with him even if it killed me.

I tried to push him away. "Maui," I said. He shivered. "I'm going whether you like it or not!"

I ducked out of his arms and ran towards the steep stacks of stones, using my momentum to gracefully flip onto the smooth top.

I slipped instantly, my feet sliding backwards along the smooth surface.

Maui caught me by the waist and pushed me up onto the next rock.

"You're so stubborn..." He grumbled as I caught my footing and vaulted up onto the next outcropping.

It took us half an hour to reach the top. It was covered in dust.

"There's nothing here!" I exclaimed, sitting down hard on a lumpy rock in disappointment.

The rock opened under me, in the shape of a mouth, and I fell quickly into a violet-lit abyss.

I screamed. "Maui!?"

And then my back hit something hard, which I instantly sank into. Water.

I took a huge breath, then the world dissolved into colors too bright to see.