Maui's scream was cut off as the body on the ground in front of him shuddered, a choked gasp breaking through the unnatural silence before it lurched to the side and began to vomit and expel the water in their body. Maui moved automatically without thought, grabbing her hair and gently moving it out of the way, the previously dull red strands slowly gaining their vibrant color back. Pale blue skin slowly returning to its more natural color of a light caramel, her entire being flooding with color slowly as she regained her breath and reveled in the fact that she was still alive.
As soon as she wiped her mouth, Maui pulled her into a tight hug, taking care not to hurt her from holding her too tightly.
Mele inhaled sharply in surprise from the sudden hug, not at all expecting such an emotional display. She exhaled slowly before breathing in slowly, her body feeling heavy from the experience, and as she breathed in, the scents of the ocean breeze, wet forest, and something deeper, something that she couldn't place her finger on but was both relaxing and caused an odd feeling to grow in her chest. To try and dispel the odd feeling, Mele gently and slightly awkwardly hugged the demigod back, patting his shoulder kindly before moving away from his, oddly, comforting embrace.
"Sorry for the scare I gave you, I have a terrible fear of falling from heights, also, I'm sorry for getting so angry with you and-" Mele began awkwardly, refusing to meet Maui's dark brown eyes, eyes that were currently piercing into her.
"You weren't breathing." Maui stated seriously. Mele jerked up, startled at the hidden tone of distress his voice had taken. "You were dead."
"Well, clearly you did something that helped save me. Thank you for that by the way." Mele replied quietly and awkwardly. They stared at one another for another moment before Mele cleared her throat and stood up, only to sway heavily, nearly falling and passing out from the blood rushing through her until Maui's hands quickly reached out and steadied the mermaid, one hand gently on her waist with the other on her shoulder.
"Careful, you should be resting." Maui told her in quiet seriousness. Mele felt annoyance and something else well up inside of her. She didn't acknowledge it.
"I am fine. I am the healer in this group, stop worrying about me. I don't need any more help." She muttered aggressively. Maui flinched back slightly, guilt immediately took over her emotions and as an apology made itself on her lips, he removed his hands and began to walk past her.
"Of course, you're fine. How could I have ever thought otherwise." Maui coldly replied. Mele felt herself flinch but knew that an apology now would be unwelcomed. As Maui got further away, Mele finally decided to follow behind him a few feet away so as not to get lost. It was a while later, nothing but awkward silence, when Mele barely veered off from running into Maui's back when he stopped walking and had jerked back slightly. The sound of flesh harshly smacking flesh made Mele peer around Maui curiously.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I thought you were a monster and I-" Moana rapidly began to explain, a small fist sized print on Maui's cheek caused Mele to snort in amusement which earned her a glare from the demigod. This caused her laughter to instantly become snuffed out, the guilty feeling welling up within her once more.
'I've messed up.' Mele winced internally, feeling horrible for acting so standoffish. She quietly watched as Maui lifted her charge with a single hand on her head and moved her off to the side while she babbled away nervously.
"And you're right! This Tamatoa guy really likes his treasure- "Maui dropped her right beside Mele, the quiet mermaid looking down and the now surprised girl.
"Stay." Was his only command, his eyes serious and his expression annoyed.
"What? No! I'm the one who found- "
"Listen. For a thousand years," Maui started, his hand gesture out in a stop motion to cut her off, "I've only been thinking of keeping this hair silky, getting my hook, and being awesome- "
Mele tuned him out with a role of her eyes, walking around them and gazing into the glittering and bright, garishly bright, cavern. Maui's fishhook was on top of the glittering pile of shiny bits and baubles, almost being plain and boring aside from its size. She heard shuffled footsteps and saw Moana shuffle into the cavern about to go past her with a drum and a bone, covered in sparkling shells. Her hand reached out on its own and grabbed the girls' shoulder, stopping Moana in her tracks to ask her with panic laced through her voice, "What in the name of the Ocean, are you doing?!"
"She's our bait." Maui stated casually. "I need him distracted so I can grab my hook!"
"No, I can see that are you an idiot?! Don't answer that, I already know the answer! She's a HUMAN! He will KILL her either by physically mangling or eating!" Maui looked unimpressed, his usually warm brown eyes looking at her almost coldly with anger beginning to burn.
"She came down here, she chose to be here." Mele grabbed her hair and pulled it slightly out of frustration. Only she didn't notice Moana sighing and moving further into the cavern to act as bait.
"I know what she chose! I'm here to keep her from being killed!" Maui watched Moana out of the corner of his eye, watching as she banged the drum and called out in a bland voice about the shininess of the cavern.
"Really?" Mele's eyes glittered darkly, warning him as did the rest of her body with it shining ever so slightly. "Because she's already in there."
Mele gasped and spun around, her hair teasingly going across his skin in her hurry. He took that chance and climbed to a ledge that went around the upper part of the open cave, and watched as she went to chase after Moana, only to dive behind a rock as the shiny golden mountain of golden items began shaking and lifting, quickly revealing a rather large coconut crab, one claw catching Moana as she slipped and fell from accidentally standing on the edge of his shell. Laughter echoed in the cave, a creepy yet excited laugh. "What have we here? It's a sparkly, shiny…. Wait a minute."
Tamatoa tossed Moana up in the air, catching her after all the shiny items flew off. Mele winced as it looked like he pinched her hard, although it may have been soft for him. "Ugh! It's a human! What are you doing down here, in the realm of the- "
"Just pick an eye babe." He stated as Moana turned to look at each eye, Mele fighting herself not to smile or giggle at the oddly comical sight. "I can't concentrate on what I'm saying if you keep… Yeah, pick one, pick one!"
Moana finally picked an eye, her fear speaking volumes on her face and in her soft brown eyes. "You're a funny-looking little thing, aren't you?" Tamatoa stated as his other claw moved to pick at her necklace holding the Heart of Te Fiti. Moana immediately grabbed it back, her upper body trying to curl around it protectively while exclaiming that it was her grandmother's. Mele tuned out the conversation and looked around the rock she was hiding behind, spotting Moana and then looking around for Maui, seeing him on the upper rim of the cavern hiding behind his own rock. The cavern was glittering as the crab spun around, his voice echoing in song as he sung to Moana, and Mele realized that maybe it is a good thing that Maui sang to her, as it does build up resistance if it is not their goal to hypnotize. A shriek resonated through the cave, Mele's neck cracking with the force of her twisting her neck to look at Moana only to see her being stretched ever so slightly between the enormous claws, then being clamped between the pinschers of one claw.
'I need to do something!' She screamed internally at herself. She watched as he spun around before shining his shell in such a way that caused fish to fall out of a watering hole from above him.
Wait.
Water!
'That's it! I can distract him and make enough time for Moana to get away!' Her fingers gripped the rock harder, her knuckles turning white. Moana screamed as she went closer to Tamatoa's mouth with the intent on eating her whole, and just as Mele started glittering in anger and went to move, Maui shouted, "Hey, crab cake!"
Everyone looked to the top of the golden shell, Maui stood there with a dark yet delighted grin, his eyes glowing with anger and what Mele assumed was relief. "I'm back. IT'S MAUI TIME!"
Tamatoa gasped, his fear causing him to drop Moana, Mele barely catching her to prevent any further injury as she slid across the ground herself while cradling the girl, stones and other organisms scratching and marking up her back harshly. Without any water nearby that she could touch, she couldn't heal Moana, or herself, up from their injuries. Instead, they moved away quickly, as a shout echoed through the cave, followed by a bright flash of blue lightening and a shock like sound. Mele and Moana looked up and saw that instead of a large animal they assumed he would turn into, he was a small red, orange, and purple tipped fish.
Another shout, several animals flashed by, only for him to stand there as himself, a scared and horrified look on his face as he glanced between Tamatoa and his hook. Mele felt herself pale as she realized she was the only creature or being in the cave who could get them out of this mess. Moana pulled on Mele's arm a worried and determined look in her soft hazel brown eyes. "I am going to try and distract him, you grab Maui and run."
"Aren't I the one who's supposed to do the distracting?" Mele questioned sarcastically before rushing to another rock, the sound of flesh smacking into the wall ringing in her ears as she moved, trying to ignore her heart pounding, almost as loud as thunder in her chest, and her blood rushing through her ears like the underwater currents. Tamatoa grabbed Maui by his hook as he swung it with fear and anger, his chest rising and falling quickly, the demigod was thrown upwards into the ceiling, the sounds of rock cracking and flesh hitting the rock caused Mele to wince, and then she winced again when we landed face first in the rough, gravel-like sand. Moana, in her concern, booked it towards Maui only to be blocked by pinschers, picked up, and tossed into a makeshift cage, her scream the only thing telling her she is alive. Mele whimpered.
Darkness enclosed the cavern as something closed off the main source of light from above, the water hole still shimmered letting her know that she could still have access to it. The crab pointed out Maui being abandoned by his family as he continued to hurt and beat him, the demigod not even trying to defend himself any longer.
A dull glowing began where Mele was hiding as she listened to the crab's awful song, her anger building as she realized why Maui did what he did, and that she treated him wrong. The glowing got brighter and blended well with the other glowing objects, and just before she jumped out to help and stop the brutal treatment of the demigod, Moana shouted, "I've got something shiny for ya!"
"RUN!" Mele yelled, her voice echoing with power and force that caused Moana to immediately run away from the crab now chasing her. Mele ran to Maui and helped him up, a soft grunt the only hint as to her having some troubles as she used her free hand to pull the water from above down, sending some it to the hole Tamatoa was making trying to grab the Heart of Te Fiti, causing the dirt to become wet and bury it better. Moana rushed towards them carrying Maui's hook, running completely on adrenaline.
"Take the hook and run! Maui and I are right behind you! Get to the water vent!" Moana nodded and ran, Mele just a few steps behind her with a struggling Maui. A loud yell from behind them notified that time was up, but thankfully, they reached the water vent.
"Take him, don't look down!" Mele pushed the demigod into Moana who swore and groaned as she tried to help him stand. Maui looked shocked and tried to reach out to bring the mermaid along, he was too slow as she stomped one foot and pushed her hands straight up, the water in the vent sending both the human and demigod up and through the ocean, back to the surface. Mele turned and waited for the crab to come closer to her, the water in the channels beneath the soil filling up again quickly as they rumbled the ground.
"GET BACK HERE!" Tamatoa shouted as he reached out for the glowing mermaid, desperation and anger in the crabs different colored eyes. Mele stomped her foot again and raised her arms up, only, nothing happened. It was too soon and not filled enough. Pinschers immediately grabbed her, squeezing her waist, cracking sounds caused a scream to be torn from her body, the crab grinning maniacally. "Since you helped them get away, you're coming back with me!"
His gleeful jeering made her whimper, then sand filled her face as he slammed her into the ground. The rumbling beneath her became loud and frantic, and just as the crab reached for her once again, she rolled into vent closest to her, a roar of anger as he reached in after her, looking down as she fell.
Then she soared up, her leg cracking against something hard as or harder than rock, a yell and a sound of something breaking as she soared up into the ocean, very quickly passing by other aquatic creatures and through the water, then she was floating in the air, the sun felt reliving and warm against her light caramel skin, then she was falling again, and was met with sand, the shouts of Moana and Maui mixing as her world went dark once more.