TITANS 2: The Monsters Kingdom (Moana / Kong - Disney Moana / Monsterverse)

Chapter 9 - A God Among Us

Time was now counted for Tim. His shoulder injury continued to bleed and made him suffer terribly. The young man, carried without difficulty by the mighty Maui, groaned and delirious in his half-consciousness. Following the demigod eagerly through the frightening night jungle, Moana, Rapunzel and Flynn feared the worst for their friend. Every second spent taking the risk of seeing him die of an infection, and this time Moana could not do anything. What did Maui have in mind? She had wondered, but her demigod friend had been very quiet and mysterious about it. While running, Flynn held a flaming torch in his hand, watching with great attention all around to check that no nocturnal predator was following them. Rapunzel remained near her husband, frightened, hearing all around them the cries and other sounds of animals in the jungle.

_ "Maui, we've been running for almost an hour, Tim will not survive if we drag too much!" Moana insisted on her friend while continuing to run. Maui gave her a look that was certainly worried, but also confident.

_ "Don't worry. Where I'll take you, he'll be saved, believe me."

What could he talk about? Moana would have liked to insist even more, but given the urgency of the situation, she preferred not to slow down Maui with more questions and trusting him entirely.

A few minutes later, after passing a large waterfall feeding a small freshwater lake, the group arrived in a remote and secluded part of the jungle, but also, strangely, much quieter. In the light of Flynn's torch, some surprising shapes appeared. Stacks of stones piled one on top of the other, but in an architectural way .... Moana, Rapunzel and Flynn, while walking, contemplated with amazement what had appeared to them as .... ruins! Remnants half covered by the vegetation of the forest, worn and moldy, which seemed to be here for centuries and centuries .... a proof that a human civilization had lived on this island very long before their arrival.

But as they arrive in front of the remains of a large stone arch, Maui stops suddenly, and gestures to the others to do the same. A few seconds later, human silhouettes slowly emerge from the shadows, armed with fiery spears and torches. Moana, Flynn, and Rapunzel remain frozen, somewhat anxious, while these men and women, also natives with bodies covered with strange tattoos and symbols, approach them, staring at them with their faces closed. Raising his hands, Maui walks towards them without fear to talk to them.

_ "No worries, they are with me. Friends." the demigod said to them. Keeping her hands up, Moana was able to carefully observe the appearance of these natives. Their faces and bodies, for the most part, were covered entirely with tattoos and paints, some of which managed to blend in with the environment and become almost invisible. One of the natives, the one who seemed to be the leader of these warriors, wearing a red feathered headdress, advanced to Maui, and both put their hands on the shoulder of the other, as friends greeting each other.

_ "Do you think they'll kill us?" Rapunzel asked anxiously, staying curled up near Flynn, who also did not show much confidence before all those warriors armed with spears and closed faces.

_ "Don't worry ...." Maui answered, having heard the princess of Corona "... they don't look like this at first, but they are friendly when you get to know them."

A heavy groan from Tim brought everyone back to the urgency of the situation when the young moss rolled his eyes and fainted in Moana's arms, who gasped with concern, tried to wake him up. She noticed that his wound was still bleeding severely.

_ "Tim? Tim! No, please, wake up! Hold on!"

The young man was not reacting at all, and his breathing had become almost non-existent. Maui then explained the reasons for the arrival of his friends in the village, and on this the natives seemed to understand. Several of them advanced to Moana, inviting her to step aside without jostling her, and took Tim in charge with great care. The leader of the warriors, by signs, addressed Moana and the others, and Maui made it his duty to translate.