Chapter Twenty
A New Hope / The Promise
Major Kane found his mercenaries and Tracy waiting for him, as well as Maui on the far side of the deck, still in the form of a brown hawk. A green emerald was wedged in between his beak. Ah, finally, the heart of Te Fiti.
Suddenly, the sound of a volcano erupting echoed through the air, and the waves grew choppier, causing the ship to be rocked back and forth as it travelled through the water.
"What's going on?" Tracy asked, holding on to a large crate to stop herself from losing her balance and toppling overboard.
"The end is near," Kane looked around at his surroundings. His predictions were correct. Now that the heart of Te Fiti had been removed from the goddess, the world was starting to crumble with disasters of all kinds. Good, this meant that he was one step closer to completing his quest. Then he could finally rest, and be reunited with his family.
"Bring it to me," Kane stretched forth his left hand, and the snake totem glowed red.
Maui's sharp clawed feet scraped across the ground as he obeyed the command, and in a flash of light, he shape-shifted back into his natural form of a man, and continued walking towards the Major, with the fish hook in one hand, and the heart of Te Fiti in the other. Another volcano eruption could be heard in the far distance. As he approached Kane, he slowed down and stopped in front of him.
The Major opened his palm and Maui struggled to regain control of his actions, his arm trembling as he attempted to defy the Major's command. His eyes twitched and colour began to return to them, as his brows furrowed in concentration.
"I said," Kane clenched his left fist and the snake totem glowed red as he landed a left hook on Maui's jaw. "Give me the heart."
Like before, the colour faded from Maui's eyes as they became glazed over again, and his body stopped twitching as he lost complete control over his actions. His face devoid of emotion, the demigod extended his hand and placed the heart of Te Fiti in the palm of the Major.
"Excellent." Kane gazed at the heart of Te Fiti in awe. Who would have guessed that a simple green stone was actually an ancient powerful heart that contained the power of creation? Or destruction, in his case. "With the heart of Te Fiti in our possession," Kane lifted up the heart for all his mercenaries and Tracy to see. "This world will crumble. And humanity shall be purified."
Among the mercenaries standing on the deck was the Major's right hand man, Santos. Witnessing all that was happening, he knew that there wasn't much time left. He had to make things right, at least for himself. Seeing as the Major was too busy admiring the small mystical emerald, Santos snuck away quietly, but unbeknownst to him, Kane noticed him leaving from the corner of his eye.
Santos walked down the stairs past the living quarters to the bilge of the ship where he was absolutely sure that no one would hear him. He looked around at the dark and cold bilge. This was where the Major had imprisoned all the merfolk that he used in the attack against Atlantica. The rusty cages were enough evidence to remind Santos that the good man that he had once known in the military was now gone, consumed by hatred and insanity. All that remained was a terrorist, no better than the people who had destroyed their village and slaughtered their families. He had been a part of this madness long enough, but now it was time to redeem himself in his own eyes, before it was too late to turn back. Reaching into one of the pockets of his military vest, he fished out the mobile device that he had used to contact the girl he had met back in Agrabah. He looked at it for a few seconds before turning it on, a look of resolve on his face.
###
"Again!"
Elsa threw another volley of ice at Moana, who neutralized the attack with a ray of light. Two arrows with flat arrowheads were released from the nocking point and they flew towards Moana. She spun round quickly, and with a swipe of her hand, conjured up white magic that changed the course of the arrows, and they landed in the sand.
The three girls stood on the beach, the bonfire still burning nearby as they practiced helping Moana control her white magic.
"Again?" Moana asked.
"Hang on," Melody bent over, leaning her hands against her thighs. "Not all of us here have superhuman endurance, you know."
"I think-" Elsa chimed in, wiping the perspiration from her face. "-I think you've got a pretty decent handle on your white magic."
"Feels like we've been training for hours." Melody continued. "Not that I'm complaining, but maybe it's time for you to try using your white magic to fix our ship. We are somewhat in a rush after all."
Elsa looked at Moana confidently. "I think you're ready."
"Thanks," Moana undid her bun and shook her head, letting her hair fall onto her back. "I guess we'll find out."
The girls walked across the beach to where their damaged ship was. It was slanted to one side and half sunken into the sand, looking like a sorry wreck that had seen much better days.
"Okay," Moana took a deep breath.
"You got this." Melody said encouragingly, placing a hand on Moana's shoulder.
"Just remember, focus on the light inside you and what you want to see happen, and let the magic do the rest." Elsa reminded her "protégé", anxious to see if her plan would actually work. She herself hadn't gained full control over her powers, and yet she had attempted to teach Moana to harness hers. What if it didn't work?
Moana exhaled and looked at her hands. She could do this. She had to. After all, everyone was counting on her to get them back in the game. No pressure there. Closing her eyes tightly, she tensed her hands, pointing them in the direction of the ship. Then, her hands relaxed and the crease on her brow faded away as she began to breathe calmly.
Melody and Elsa watched from a distance with bated breath, hoping that the short but intense coaching had been enough to help Moana gain control over her white magic. Sure, they had faith that Moana could pull it off, but in the event that it didn't work out, then they would be back to square one: stuck on the island with no chance of stopping the Major.
The necklace around Moana's neck started glowing yellow, and smooth streams of yellow energy flowed from Moana's hands and through the air.
"It's working!" Melody whispered excitedly to Elsa, who was equally elated. The two girls watched as the white magic worked its way towards the ship slowly. As the yellow streams of light reached the ship, they began to weave in and out, circling the wreckage like a family of snakes. The energy appeared to multiply itself, and continued to cover the ship, and slowly, the white magic engulfed the ship completely in a blinding aura of pure yellow light.
The two spectators shielded their eyes from the now glowing ship, and slowly the light began to fade. The yellow streams of light slowly dissipated into the atmosphere, revealing a ship that was in perfect condition. Melody and Elsa stared at the ship, and then at each other, speechless at what they had just witnessed.
Moana opened her eyes slowly to see the repaired ship. "It-it worked." Moana gasped, covering her mouth in awe. "It actually worked!" she exclaimed a little louder when she realized what she had done. "I didn't think it was possible!"
"It's like a brand new ship!" Melody walked towards the ship and touched the hull. Even the paint job looked great!
"You did it! Now we can get off this island, all thanks to you!" Elsa beamed at Moana, relieved that her sketchy plan had actually worked. It was a miracle!
"Wouldn't have been able to do it without your help," Moana grinned at Elsa. "You too, Melody." She glanced at Melody, who smiled back.
"Kane has a pretty big lead on us," Melody said as she leapt and grabbed onto the edge of the deck. "We should get going. But where to?" She pulled herself onto the deck, and threw down a rope for Moana to climb.
Elsa used her own ice powers to lift her off the sand and up to the deck. "Well, there's just one problem with my plan."
"We don't know where he went." Moana said, climbing onto the deck.
"Yeah…"
"Any ideas?" Melody asked.
The three girls stood in silence, staring at the floor, the ocean, the sky, all trying to think of a plan. Then suddenly, Elsa left the group and started to walk around the deck, looking for something.
"What are you doing?"
"Wait, hang on, I know it has to be here somewhere," Elsa frowned. She looked around a couple more times before walking down the stairs to her quarters, and Melody and Moana followed her.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Melody asked, gazing around at Elsa's room. Wow. It was so neat and immaculate, prim and proper just like her.
"It's uh…" Elsa mumbled as she looked around her room, not even registering Melody's question as she was fully focused on finding what she was looking for.
Moana looked over at Elsa's tidy desk. There was something foreign looking on it. She reached out and lifted up a small stone. "Some kind of mystical object?"
"Yes! That's it!" Elsa cried, darting over to Moana and practically snatching the stone out of her hands.
"Wait, I don't understand," Melody was puzzled. Why was Elsa so excited about a stone?
"I met one of Major Kane's mercenaries back in Agrabah, but he was different. He wants to help us stop Kane's quest, so he gave me this so that he could contact me from a distance." Elsa explained excitedly. "He told me about Kane's plan to invade Atlantica, and gave us an opening for us to ambush him back on his ship."
"Hold on. I'm confused," Moana put her hands on her hips. "So when you told us you had a strong hunch that Kane had left his ship, you actually had legitimate intel from one of his mercenaries?"
"And he talked to you through a rock?"
"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Elsa answered sheepishly. "I didn't know what you would have done if you knew I had been in contact with a mercenary on the inside."
"So why tell us now?" Melody asked.
"We don't really have any other option. This is our best bet." Elsa held up the stone.
"Can we really trust this guy? I mean, what if he's been playing us to gain our trust and set a trap?" Moana folded her arms.
"I believe him. He told me back in Agrabah that he got in too deep with the Major before realising that it was too late, and now he's trying to help us stop millions from being killed."
Elsa was confident that Santos was sincere. After all, he had given them solid intelligence once already, and he had let her go without harming her back in Agrabah. If he was really on the Major's side, he would have killed her for sure. But then, what if Moana's right? What if Santos is just playing the long endgame to gain my trust? What if…this is all part of the Major's plan?
"Are you sure?"
"I…I don't know," Elsa looked at Moana, and then at Melody. "What do you think?"
"I think we don't have any other choice," There was a certain measure of confidence in Melody's voice which brought some relief to Elsa and Moana. "We either accept his help, or we're back to square one, with no clue where the Major is headed. It's a risk we're going to have to take. Make the call."
Elsa nodded and looked at the stone in her hands. The stone was grey, and parts of it had been chipped off. It had probably been damaged when Kane conjured up the tornado to send their ship far away from him. She hoped that it would still work. Her finger hovered over the stone, unsure of how it worked and pondering whether she was making the right decision to call Santos.
Just then, as if by total coincidence, the stone began to grew hot. This time, she was quick enough to drop the stone on her desk as it began to display an array of colours. Elsa looked at Moana and Melody, before tapping the stone.
"Hello? Elsa, anyone?" Santos' voice rang out urgently from the stone, faint but clear enough for all three girls to hear.
"Santos?"
"You survived!" Elsa could hear relief in Santos' voice. "Are you all alright?"
"Not exactly, one of our teammates betrayed us, another was hypnotized by the Major and we were shipwrecked on an island, and now we don't even know where we are."
"The Mozambique Channel." Santos replied.
"What?"
"He sent you to Africa, the farthest place from where we're going."
"Which is?"
"The North Pole. Our ship is headed there now, and your demigod retrieved some mystical green stone for him."
"The heart of Te Fiti!" Moana exclaimed. "Kane hypnotized Maui to retrieve the heart. With the heart stolen, the world will be destroyed by earthquakes and other disasters!"
"We're already beginning to feel the effects here on this side of the world," Santos said. "You have to hurry, we don't have much time left."
"We will." Elsa assured him. "Thank you for helping us."
"It's the least I can do after everything that has happened. Come quickly." Santos finished in a haste and hung up.
The stone's colours dimmed and faded as the call was ended, and Elsa's room fell into silence.
Melody walked out of the room, beckoning for the other two girls to follow. "Come on, we have to go!"
"But you heard Santos, Major Kane sent us to the Mozambique Channel!" Elsa said as she and Moana walked up the stairs to the deck, closely behind Melody. "We're in Africa, and the Major is already nearing the North Pole. How are we going to get there in time!"
"I think I know a way," Moana chimed in as the girls reached the deck of the ship. "With my influence over the water and white magic, I can conjure up the waves to propel us towards the North Pole, and try to speed us along using white magic. I don't exactly know how, but it's worth a shot."
"Let's do it." Melody nodded, and so did Elsa.
"Alright." Moana walked to the edge of the deck and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and brought her breathing to a constant rate. Then, she lifted her hands with her palms facing upwards, and water rose and moved inwards to the coast where the ship was lying on the sand. The water surrounded the ship from all sides, and lifted it above the sand, carrying it into the ocean.
As the ship splashed into the ocean once more, the water behind the ship rose again into a small but strong tidal wave, pushing the craft through the ocean rapidly. Moana kept her eyes closed, and unlike before when she would tense herself and her eyebrows would furrow in intense concentration, she let herself relax and kept a calm demeanour. Her family necklace shone, and yellow streams of energy appeared in the waves that pushed the ship, causing the height of the water to increase. The waves glowed brightly and the ship was propelled even faster than before, speeding across the ocean towards the North Pole.
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Upon finishing his call to Elsa, Santos quickly stuffed the stone back into one of the pockets of his military vest, and turned to walk back to the stairs leading out of the bilge. Turning around, he spotted the silhouette of a tall and burly man standing on the halfway mark of the stairs. Santos froze, fearing the worst, and after a few moments, he finally mustered up the courage to take a few steps forward. "Sir?"
The figure stood silently on the stairs, watching Santos as he approached the stairs.
"Sir, is that you?" Santos asked again, trying to sound confident to hide the fear in his voice.
The figure slowly walked down the stairs, and Santos saw that it was the Major. Each time Kane's boot made contact with the rusty steel steps, Santos could feel his heart skip a beat. Kane stepped down into the partially submerged bilge, and Santos took a step back. "What are you doing down here, Sir?"
"I could ask the same about you." Kane's voice had a tone of danger, but yet at the same time cool as ice. "You know, it's funny,"
Santos braced himself, knowing that his secret was out.
"I was thinking to myself, back in the waters of Denmark, how did Moana and her friends know when I was going to leave the ship to invade Atlantica? Their attack on us seemed coordinated, although a failure. Was it just a terrible coincidence that they boarded our ship at the right time, or did they somehow know of my plans?" Kane inched closer to Santos, who stood his ground.
"Sir," he chuckled nervously, trying to feign confidence. "I think maybe you're a little unnerved after everything that has happened."
"I don't get unnerved."
"Honestly Sir, you're overthinking. You're so close to the end, you don't need to worry about a couple of teenagers." Santos attempted to reassure the Major.
Kane continued to stare at Santos, his gaze unrelenting.
"They've already tried to stop you. Twice. And you put them in their place!" Santos continued, trying to bootlick the Major and fuel his ego. "They're not even a threat to your plan."
"Yes, they're not."
Maybe he had a chance to talk his way out of this.
"But you are."
A chill went down Santos' spine. "Me?"
"You disappoint me, Santos." Kane's voice was filled with genuine hurt and sorrow. "I used to think that you believed in my crusade. We've known each other since before my quest, and you've always stuck by my side. I even made you my right hand man after we commandeered the Hanedale, trusted you with my battle plans and to carry out my mission together, and this is how you thank me?"
"Thank you?" Santos knew that there was no turning back now. Kane knew everything. "five years ago, you made me a promise that we would return to see our loved ones again. Remember that? Instead, after you slaughtered our enemies, you dragged me on your quest to build an army of mercenaries and 'save humanity'. The only reason I stayed with you is because I cared about you. You were hurting. We all were! But you buried yourself into your quest instead of taking the time to grieve the loss of your family and our fallen comrades."
Major Kane narrowed his eyes at the mention of his family and his failure to prevent the deaths of his own men.
"I stayed with you to keep you sane, but now I realize it's too late." Santos spit out harshly. "You think of yourself as a saviour, a pilgrim on a mission to save the world? The truth is, you've become nothing more than a ruthless eco-terrorist who has lost his sanity because he became obsessed with black magic. You're no better than the people who destroyed our village."
Santos paused to take a breath, staring boldly at the Major. "But me? I've done enough wrong in your name. Enough is enough. I don't want to die an evil man."
There was a long and eerie silence, and the sound of water dripping echoed throughout the bilge. The two men stood in the dark, staring at each other, both unrelenting.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Kane broke the silence, his face a complete blank, and his emotions unreadable. Then, he clenched his fist, and the snake totem glowed red in the darkness of the bilge.
Santos gasped for air, his throat tightening. His knees grew weak and he collapsed into the water that sloshed about on the ground. Fumbling at his throat, his frantic actions gradually began to slow. In a moment of realisation, he relaxed and stopped struggling, resting his head on the ground. Half submerged in water, a haunting yet calm smile appeared on his face. "Thank you… for keeping your promise…" Santos whispered, and breathed his last.
With no trace of remorse, Major Kane looked at the lifeless body that was half submerged in water with disdain, and turned to climb back up the stairs leading out of the bilge.