"Do you realize it's Moana's seventeenth birthday, today?" Sina asked Tui in Motunui.
"It is..." Tui and let out a big sigh.
"I hope she's doing all right," Sina said, worriedly. "It's way past two months. I really hope nothing happened to her."
"She should be fine, and she'll continue to be fine for the rest of her journey," Tui said. "She's with Maui. Even if she's not, I'm sure she can do fine on her own. She's a strong girl."
Even though Tui sounds relaxed, he was deeply considered about Moana's safety and well-being. Moana... happy birthday... I hope you're doing fine. Please... please, please, please, please, please... stay safe... Tui thought as he looked at the ocean and the horizon. Maui... please keep Moana safe from any danger... He let out one more deep sigh.
********
"Hey, chief, it's your birthday, right?" Maui asked.
"How did you know?" Moana asked.
"I asked your parents," Maui replied. "And then I counted how many days were left and today came."
"Wow, you counted that?" Moana said. "I'm impressed."
"Anything for my chief, who is also my princess," Maui winked. His facial expression became sad as he said, "But so unfortunate that you're on your mission when it's your birthday." Then he smiled once more and said, "I promise I will celebrate greatly when we go back to Motunui."
"Don't worry about it too much, Maui," Moana said with a relieving smile.
"Is there anything special you want to do when we go back?" Maui asked.
"I'll think about it," Moana said. "And, we're here."
"Allow us to help you before you face him," the wisp said from the charm. "I am the last one so allow me to give you the power to all five of your senses. Behold the power of reflexes." The wisp turned into a green marble of light and exerted the aura of light around Moana and Maui. "You will be able to dodge almost all attacks. The forceful ones are the priority, so I'm afraid you would have to find an alternative method to deal with the minor attacks."
"We still have our ointment," Moana said. "Don't you worry about us."
"We'll seal him by the end of the day," Maui said as he carried his fishhook over his shoulder.
"Let's go, Maui," Moana said to Maui, and turned to the wisp and said, "Thank you for this power."
The wisp went back into the charm so that Moana and Maui can face their final battle before the real combat between them and Kapu'uila. The island was rather spooky and dark. The trees had no leaves, the branches looked rather brittle, and the air had an unpleasant smell that Moana and Maui just could not identify.
"I just don't like the feeling about this," Moana said to herself. Even though Moana was speaking to herself, Maui would answer, but he was also distracted by the eerie atmosphere that he did not realize Moana even said a single word.
They walked cautiously into the forest, stepped through the dense fog, and paid attention to any sounds. Pua shivered in Maui's arm. "It's all right, Pugsley," Maui soothed him.
Heihei clucked in Moana's arms. "Heihei, sh!" Moana shushed him quietly as possible.
Before Moana and Maui both took another step, they leaped towards the opposite side of each other against their will. Before they tried to think about what happened to their body, a large branch whipped where they were both standing. "So that must be the power we have," Moana said to Maui.
"But you're not gonna last for long," a teenage male voice said and made a gesture that cleared the fog away. He had a bowl haircut, small yet sharp eyes, brown pupil, a bit chubby cheeks and belly, partially muscular arms and thighs, and was wearing a long blue vest with a golden circular pattern on the center of the front and back, a golden rope tied around between his stomach and chest, a large bamboo frame hat, and a shoe made of straw. He was in a pose that he made the gesture of swishing his arm to his side to clear the fog. His sleeve went down to his waist although his hand was on a level a bit lower than his shoulder. "Name is Harokau. Looks like you've captured everyone but me," he said as he placed and locked his hands in front of him. "You're not going to get me that easy, chief and her servant."
"I don't know who you are, but we're just here to help you," Moana said. "We are on your side. We are also against Kapu'uila. We're going to take you to him and-"
"NO!" Harokau screamed as he controlled the branches of trees around him to capture Moana and Maui, but thanks to their advanced reflexes, they were able to dodge Harokau's attacks before he got to trap them. "DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ME TO HIM!"
"We're just trying to help!" Moana said.
"LIES!" He screamed as he attempted to whip them with the branches and roots, but their reflexes helped them avoid the whipping.
"We're going to set things right with him!" Maui joined the persuasion. "Just come follow us and we'll make him break the curse!"
"I like the way I'm right now," Harokau said. "No one is going to change me nor bring me back to the past. Both of you will have to back up on this one."
"We're not giving up when we're so close!" Moana said.
"Try me," Harokau said as he went ballistic with the branches, roots, and every part of the trees that he controlled. Although Moana and Maui were able to avoid all the attack, there were still not able to reach him because they were getting farther from him as their reflexes involuntarily stepped far from Harokau as they dodged his attacks.
I can't reach him at this rate! Moana said as her body kept dodging the attacks. But also at the same time, if I do get hit, he will give me too much damage...
If only I can overcome the reflexes, Maui thought. He transformed into a beetle to reduce his size so that Harokau can barely see him. With the uncontrollably moving branches and Moana, Harokau missed flying Maui-beetle in his sight. As Maui got close, he transformed back into a human and kicked Harokau hard that he flew back, making him stop controlling the branches as he fell on his side, showing his back to Moana.
Moana quickly ran towards Harokau to seal him, but then his reflexes were also advanced that he turned himself toward Moana and controlled the branches to capture her. Moana's reflexes helped her dodge all the attacks, but once again, her reflexes made her step away farther away from him. He sent her far away from him as he can so that he can confront Maui.
Harokau was finally able to catch Maui beetle in his sight and focused on attacking Maui. His reflexes also made him dodge all the incoming branches. Maui then had a different strategy: he transformed into a human, chopped off the branches, turn back into a beetle, then transform into a human again, chop off the branches again, and repeat the whole process.
As Harokau started to run out of branches and roots, he also came up with a different strategy: he transformed into a large, creepy-looking tree. It grew taller than any other trees on the island, even taller than palm trees. The eyes and the mouth were cut into the shape, showing complete darkness inside the tree through those holes. The face on the tree looked like one of the demons that Moana and Maui witnessed at Reigna. Their eyes were widened as Harokau turned into a demonic tree. "Let's see how you weeds can try this!" Harokau roared as he blew out a storm of leaves, repeatedly thrust with his branches, and consecutively whipped with his vines.
The reflexes immediately categorized the vine-whipping and the branch whacking as the least of the priority, so Moana was whipped by the vine in the face, and Maui was whacked by the branch on his back.
"Ugh..." Moana groaned as she tried to relieve the pain on her face by rubbing her hand gently against the spot where the vine hit her.
"Urgh..." Maui grunted as he rubbed his back to relieve the pain by the branch.
"Didn't see that coming, didn't you?" Harokau's taunt made Moana and Maui glare at him. Their grudgeful glare turned into a frightful stare as Harokau grew almost ten meters taller and wider.
"How does he do that?" Moana asked in fear.
"How should I know?" Maui responded in fear.
"Be... prepared..." Harokau roared in a deep voice. He sent out several leaf tornadoes that exerted much more force than the last storm he sent, the whipping and whacking that was faster and harder. Moana and Maui quickly hid Heihei and Pua in the bushes that Harokau was not using.
Darn... Moana thought as she shoved Heihei in the bush. I guess we would have to take some beatings and whippings in order to reach him. She took a deep breath and ran towards Harokau.
I guess there's no choice... Maui thought as he gritted his teeth, gently placed Pua in the bush and transformed into a giant hawk. Looks like I gotta take the beating and return the beatings that I have gotten from that old log.
Moana ran towards him, dodging the storms and branches, and leaving red marks on her arms, legs, and waist.
Maui glided towards him, dodging only the storms, and being whacked several times by the flying branches and dancing whips.
Before Harokau knew it, Moana's foot was right in front of his eyes, and Maui's wing was right behind the back of his head. Moana kicked Harokau in the eye while Maui whacked the back of Harokau's head. His barks shattered into pieces. Because Moana and Maui have fought so many before him, they were stronger than before the journey. With the damage he received, he was not able to maintain his monstrous tree form. He slowly reverted back to the human form. Doing so, he formed a leaf storm that made Moana and Maui jump backward with their advanced reflexes.
Harokau turned back into a human form but he remained his left arm like a hammer and his right arm as a sword. He decided to attack Moana first as he thought that she was the weaker one. Moana grabbed her oar and those to started combat and blocked his wooden sword. Maui attempted to glide behind him but then his vines were still working. At the same time the vines attacked, Harokau also swung his hammer hand. Maui was able to dodge the hammer but did not escape the vines. He tried to loosen himself from the vines, but before he was able to do so, the vines tied around him, and then the branches emerged from the ground and tied Maui along with the vines. The vines and branches strangled him hard.
"NO! MAUI!" Moana exclaimed in fear.
"Make a move, you'll be crushed," Harokau warned to Maui. "Whatever you transform into, you'll be crushed into a flat carpet. That's right, stay in the hawk form." He turned to Moana and said as he raised his hammer and sword, "Let us begin."
"You'll pay for this," Moana said as she raised her oar.
Harokau and Moana both exclaimed as they ran towards each other and hurled their weapons against each other. Moana was able to dodge all of his attacks with her given reflexes, but Harokau was not so lucky as he let his guard down for a second and was hit in the face.
Before Moana was able to seal him, he stood back up and swung his sword upwards. His swing did leave a scratch on Moana's cheek, but that did not stop Moana from kicking Harokau. She meant to kick him in the shin, but somehow, Harokau's swing elevated Moana's target and kicked him right above his shin.
While Harokau crouched and held the area where Moana kicked, Moana walked up to him and said, "I'm sorry, Harokau. I promise to make things clear with Kapu'uila. You'll get your life back. I promise." She gently placed the last charm on Harokau, sealing him. As soon as he was completely sealed in the charm, the vines and the branches around Maui started to loosen up. As he transformed back into a human, he coughed violently and breathed heavily to catch up on his breath. His head was close to a purple color due to the lack of oxygen. Moana ran up to him to check up him. "Are you okay now?" Moana asked as she knelt down next to Maui who was kneeling down, still breathing heavily, and his body leaning forward, and his hands buried in the sand.
"I'm... fine..." Maui said. As soon as he finished his words, the image of Harokau started playing:
Harokau was a teenage boy who had sick parents a crush on another girl in the village.
Every day, he would work as much as three people combined to help his parents become better, but their sickness became worse and worse every time, and there was no doctor in his village. No one else in the village did not help him, but he was fine with it. He knew that there was nothing the villagers can do to cure their unknown sickness. So he spent all day farming and all night cooking for his parents.
He wanted to go out with the girl he had a crush on, but he did not have time to approach her due to his time to take care of his parents. While he was harvesting or hunting, he would peek over at the girl from time to time to get a quick glance at her. Even if it was for a split second, he was happy to see her.
One day, he heard that the girl he has a crush on was getting married. He was so devastated that he spent crying under the tree that he did not do any harvesting nor hunting for that day. When he came back with a swollen face from crying, he saw his parents, who passed under their blanket. Already devastated, he once again wept as he lied down between them.
Several days after his parents' funeral, he overheard some villagers talking that the only thing that they had to feed his parents were mugwort juice and that would've cured them almost immediately. They also talked about the girl he had a crush on got married only to avoid being married to Harokau.
Realizing he has been betrayed by the whole village, he made a decision to take his life away. He tied the rope on the tree and made a noose. Before he made the final movement, Kapu'uila granted him a special power: being able to control the plants. He also made an agreement to take down the village together.
Soon, the whole village was caught on fire with Kapu'uila and Harokau standing together on the top of the hill, smiling down at the burning village. Satisfied, they both promised to meet together as soon as Kapu'uila felt that he had enough people recruited.
While he was out recruiting, Harokau, went from island to island and avenged the ones who were betrayed by the others. Harokau started to have followers as a lot of people were thankful for Harokau for helping them get the revenge that they wanted. Because Harokau had his own clan, he no longer wanted to be with Kapu'uila. Hoping that he would understand, Harokau confessed.
Kapu'uila aggressively disagreed, which led to the skirmish between them. It turned out that Kapu'uila has been betrayed by everyone he helped so he was hoping that at least Harokau would join him. Kapu'uila, with raging fury, turned everyone he helped into a monster or a creature. Ladaimonio, Wuruhi, Rangibi, and some others were not completely turned into monsters, but they still had their instincts to harm, sometimes, uncontrollably that the gods have noticed them. Harokau, Mo'ewai, Waiata, Pumanu, and Motonui, who were too powerful and emotionally damaged, were not turned into monsters, but Kapu'uila placed a curse to have their fate and destinies to be the same. Due to the curse, all five were imprisoned as Kapu'uila was prisoned with the creatures he created, even though they have not harmed anyone.
The illusion disappeared from their heads.
"So... we know the whole story now," Moana said with a sad frown.
"Yeah..." Maui agreed.
"We're gonna teach him a lesson," Moana said with an angry frown.
"Good job getting all of the Kapu'uila's cursed creatures," the wisp said as it emerged from the charms, along with its four other wisps. "Now it's time for us to give you a final hope to face Kapu'uila. Your necklace from the Whakamehara, please?"
Moana handed them the necklace she had on along with her grandmother's necklace. The wisps used their final power to seal all the charms in the necklace. And the light and all the paper were sealed into the sapphire pearl part on the center of the necklace. "What is this?" Moana asked herself.
"This will be your protection charm," the wisp spoke from the necklace. "I don't have much time so I'll make this quick. Kapu'uila is very powerful. With the protection, we may be able to increase your durability but I cannot guarantee. If the move is too powerful, you will start dying and will lose your life no less than five minutes. Please be careful and stay safe..." The wisp's voice faded.
"Thank you," Moana said as she looked at the pearl part of the necklace. Then she faced Maui and said, "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready when you are chief," Maui said with a confident smile.
Pua oinked and Heihei squawked as they hopped out of their bushes and walked up to them after noticing that they're safe now.
"Next and final stop, Kapu'uila!" Moana said as she pointed at the direction with Maui standing next to her, holding Heihei and Pua in each of his hands.