Moana - Warrior's Journey (AU after the first film)

Chapter 41: Cold is the New Heat

"See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me... no one knows... how far it goes..." Moana hummed as she rubbed Pua's stomach. Pua liked it when Moana rubbed him on the stomach. "If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me... one day I'll know if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go..."

"Chief, you've been singing that song for a long time now," Maui said as he was lying down, playing catch by himself with a coconut. "Aren't you getting tired of it?"

"No, Maui. In fact," Moana said. "I am going to make this my national anthem after we come back from this adventure."

"Why don't you make the pattern on the sail as the national flag also?" Maui suggested sarcastically.

"Good idea," Moana said, ignoring his sarcasm. "But that's after the adventure."

"Which isn't far since we have four left," Maui said.

"But also, they're pretty powerful," Moana said. "Even Motonui was pretty strong. Who knows what will happen to the next one?"

"One statement kid: We'll be fine," Maui said. Moana smiled. It wasn't her 'Oh Maui, stop joking' smile. It was her 'Thank you Maui, you're the best' smile. She looked at him with a loving smile while Maui cracked the coconut open and chugged the whole coconut water, bit into a mango as he left all the juice around his mouth, and chewed like a big baby. She walked towards him and said, "Thanks, Maui," and kissed him on his cheek. 

Maui froze. I wasn't even being attractive right now... he thought as he wiped his mouth with a loud slurp and swallowed his mouthful. Does she genuinely love me?? Maui blushed.

"Well, there it is!" Moana called as she pointed at the island with a flat volcano. "Matatiki! Would you look at that... reminds me of Te Kā..." Moana said as she examined the ground that was made of lava.

"I wonder what mysteries bring us here," Maui said as he stood up and dusted himself. "Come on, Pugley, Drumsticks," Maui said as he picked them up. "We got another soul to recruit!"

When they docked and looked around, they saw hot springs everywhere. "Wow, I've never seen so many hot springs," Moana remarked as she examined at least six different springs in front of her. "I only heard about them, but I never got a chance to even see them!"

"You can even bathe in some of them," Maui mentioned. "They feel really good you never want to leave."

"Why don't we do that after the mission?" Moana suggested, but being Maui, he almost never listens. He felt the temperature for one of them, nodded his head that it was a right temperature, and dunk his whole body in.

"Ahhhh..." Maui sighed with pleasure.

"And, he didn't listen," Moana narrated.

"Chief! Come in!" Maui said as he waved at Moana, who turned to him and rolled her eyes.

He acts like a little kid sometimes... Moana thought. Before she can tell him to get out, something odd yet serious situation happened with the spring. The water started to drain and dragging Maui within.

"Moana! Hel-!" Maui exclaimed as he was sucked into the whirlpool.

"Maui!" Moana screamed in horror as she reached for him, but it was too late. The ground closed with a dip as it drained the last drop of water and Maui's hand. "Oh no..." Moana breathed in fear as she put her hands over her mouth. "I... I have to do something!" Moana picked up her oar, then Pua and Heihei, and ran around to figure out how to rescue Maui with her own hands. She remembered that Maui was sucked into spring and that is probably the creature she needs to capture in the island!