After having been told by Maui that she didn't help rekindle his and Tamatoa's relationship, she felt she wanted to cry and held back tears as she reached for her staff. Except there was one problem: it wasn't there.
Oh, crap... She thought, glancing at Moana, Guess it's time to head back into Lalotai.
Maui, also realizing he didn't have his hook, said, "Moana, where's my hook?" Moana smiled nervously.
"Oops..." She said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I...must've forgotten them since I was so worried about you guys and helping you up so we could escape. Sorry!" Maui sighed.
"Well, time to use you as bait again!" Maui said, getting up, "Let's go Curly." Moana looked shocked.
"What?! No! I'm not going as bait!" She protested, but Maui just picked her up and held her over his shoulder.
"Oh yes you are, Mo." He said casually, "You're the one who forgot my hook, now you're going to help me retreive it." April rolled her eyes as she got up.
Well, we have no choice. She thought, following Maui to the rock wall, We can't really do much without our weapons so I guess using her as bait will have to do.
Moana groaned in frustration before Maui set her down and began to climb. Moana and April both followed suit.
Guess I have to... Moana thought with a roll of her eyes, silently cursing herself for forgetting to give them their weapons, But next time I won't forget, just to avoid this happening again... Well, hopefully.
Once they entered Lalotai and got to Tamatoa's lair, they cautiously peeked inside. Their weapons were no longer lying near the entrance but placed atop the big pile of treasures.
Maui and April both looked at Moana, nodding their heads in the direction of the pile, signaling for Moana to go in. Moana just sighed and rolled her eyes before walking into the lair, Maui and April both rushing to hide behind the big rock in order to avoid being seen once Tamatoa rose.
"Hey!" Moana shouted, a serious look on her face, "I'm back for those two weapons I left behind!"
Just then, the giant pile rose to reveal Tamatoa. He narrowed his eyes at her as if trying to see if she was telling the truth.
"What? Did the weak demigod and his girlfriend send you?" He scoffed with a roll of his eyes, "Because if so, it seems completely like them to send one of their humans in here instead of facing me."
Maui tensed a bit at April being called his girlfriend, and April did too. They both were also tempted to jump out and prove Tamatoa wrong about the last thing he'd said, but they remembered their beating from earlier so they stayed hidden, knowing they were pretty much helpless without their weapons.
"No." Moana said firmly, "I came here to retreive them. Now, give them here." Tamatoa smirked, thinking she was pretty brave for standing up to him like that.
Suddenly he snatched her up with his claw, earning a yell of protest from her. Tamatoa snickered as he held her in front of his face.
"You really are a brave one, you know." He said, smirking, "But you're still just a puny, helpless human being."
Seeing the crab was distracted, Maui motioned for April to follow him and they both went up a path close by the wall and walked to where Maui stood the last time he and Moana visited Lalotai, watching in case Tamatoa moved within range of their jumping distance.
"Well, uh..." She began, glancing over to where Maui and April stood before looking back at the crustacean, "Most humans are brave! But, uh...did I ever tell you your shell looks...stunning? I didn't tell you it was before but if you stand a little to the right, I think it looks great on you! You know, like the way it dazzles. It really captures the...good side of your shell."
Tamatoa moved to his right before looking at his shell, his eyestalks twisting to his left to view it. Maui and April both let out a sigh of relief, glad their cover wasn't blown like it would've been if he had turned his eyestalks to his right.
"I don't think it looks that great, but I do love how shiny it is!" He exclaimed before looking back at Moana, "You know, it took years to gather all these treasures onto my shell, so it's good you realize it despite you taking one in order to distract me so you could save your friends."
Jeez, this guy's a blabbermouth. Maui thought with a roll of his eyes, Get him talking about his treasure and he'll talk about it for hours!
He and April then ran before jumping onto Tamatoa's shell, latching on to whatever treasure they could before standing up again. Quietly, they walked up to their weapons.
"Well of course I realize it!" She said, holding her arms out in front of her, "Whoever doesn't just...doesn't understand how beautiful it is! Or they could be jealous."
As both April and Maui reached their weapons and grabbed them, Maui was tempted to let out his famous battle cry in victory but remained quiet as he remembered the current situation.
"If you ask me, I think Maui is jealous of my beautiful, shiny shell." Tamatoa told Moana with a wink, causing Maui to tense, "He just wishes he was like me, but sadly he never will be because I'm just too fabulous!" Maui held in a snort before rolling his eyes.
Right... He thought sarcastically, his eyes halfway closed as he and April went to jump off Tamatoa's shell and onto the platform they were previously standing on before, Why wouldn't I be jealous of a giant, beady-eyed bottomfeeder?
Seeing they were off his shell now, Moana said, "Well it was nice talking to you, but I gotta go! So if you could please put me down–"
"Why are you so reluctant to leave?" Tamatoa asked her, "I was enjoying our little conversation."
Maui, now at the bottom of the path, looked at April with a smile. April smiled back as they both hurried behind the rock before transforming into hawks and flying up into the air, letting out eagle screeches as they flew above Tamatoa, making sure to stay out of his claws' reach. Moana grinned as she saw them before smirking at Tamatoa.
"You better let her go, Crab Cake!" Maui demanded, now flying in place in front of him but still above him and out of his reach, April right beside him.
"What if I don't want to let her go?" He asked, glaring at the demigod. Maui smirked.
"If you don't want to let her go, well...I think we know the answer." He remarked, glancing at April before looking back at Tamatoa, "And I don't think you'll like it."
"What? You're going to take one of my other legs?" He questioned before throwing his free claw up in the air and adding in a mocking voice, "Oh, I'm so scared!"
Maui smirked at April and nodded. April smirked back at him and nodded back. Moana watched, wondering what they were going to do.
"You should've listened Crab Cake." He warned as April flew up into the air.
"Yeah, all we want is to be friends again, but I guess you're not interested." April added, looking down at him and aiming for the top of his head like she did earlier, "Which is a shame because we didn't want to hurt you."
"Please, you hurting me?" Tamatoa questioned with a roll of his eyes, "I believe that earlier I was hurting you, not the other way around. And I guess I need to do it again because you don't seem to have learned your lesson from earlier's beating." Maui laughed dryly.
"Don't make me laugh." He told him, "We demigods? Yeah, we never learn... Not from our enemies, at least."
Just then April made the dive down, striking where she had intended to strike Tamatoa, right in the top of his head, causing him to drop Moana. April then flew down to catch her on her back before she and Maui flew straight for the entrance before turning back to their human forms, April putting Moana down.
"Get back here!" They then heard Tamatoa shout, and as they looked they noticed him starting to chase them.
"Well, gotta go Crab Cake!" Maui said with a smile, he, April and Moana quickly running to the geyser, "Nice seein' ya again!"
Tamatoa growled, then got an idea. He decided he could try to earn their trust then betray them, just to get some revenge on Maui for taking his leg after they were friends for years and also get back at April for betraying him earlier.
"Okay, fine!" Tamatoa growled, "You want to be friends again?! Then...let's be friends." He then winced slightly, the words not sounding right to him.
Maui, Moana and April then turned to look at him, Maui and April being kind of skeptical and raising an eyebrow.
"Look, Crab Cake, is this for real?" Maui asked, his free hand on his hip, "Because if it is, then..." He trailed off as he glanced at April, who just shrugged.
"If it is for real, then you better not try anything funny!" April said, giving the crab a serious look, "So you better mean it." Tamatoa smiled and nodded.
"I do!" He lied, a grin stretched across his face. Maui looked at April, both still being a bit skeptical.
"Well Crab Cake," Maui said as he twirled his hook, "we can try." He then glared at the crab as he raised his hook in front of him, its familiar blue glow emitting from it. "If you try to attack us in any way, you're losing another leg." Tamatoa rolled his eyes, unfazed by his threat.
"Yeah, sure." He said before looking back at them, "So when do we leave?"
"Right now." Maui said with a smile, his hook resting over his shoulder, "So let's get ya up to the surface."
After getting to the surface, Maui, Moana and April started to wonder how they'd get Tamatoa on the canoe to sail with them.
"Well if I may make a suggestion, I think we should throw the fattest one off." Tamatoa said, pointing to Maui with his claw, "It'd weigh the boat down less at least." Maui glared at the giant crustacean.
"You wanna say that to my face, Crab Cake?" Maui asked, holding his hook in front of him. Moana sighed.
"Look, can't we all just get along?" She asked, "I know you're enemies, but can you try to get along for once?" Maui let out a huff.
"Not if he keeps calling me fat." He muttered, rolling his eyes, "Because I'm not that fat. Most of it is just muscle. So I'm more muscle than fat!" Tamatoa snorted.
"Sure you are." He said with a roll of his eyes, causing Maui to glare at him again.
"So, uh...how do we all fit on one boat?" Moana asked, looking around at everyone.
"It'll be nighttime in a few hours." Maui said, his hands on his hips, "So I guess we could sail to a nearby island, grab lots of wood and make a boat that Crab Cake can get on without it sinking. If we work together it should take maybe an hour or two." Moana and April both nodded.
"Got it!" They both said in unison with a nod.
"Tamatoa, you wait here." Maui said, looking at the giant crab and picking up his hook before holding it over his shoulder, "We'll get you and bring the other canoe when we're done with it."
"You'd better not abandon me like last time." Tamatoa said, his eyes narrowed, "If you do–"
"I won't." Maui interrupted with a roll of his eyes, "Trust me this once, okay?" Tamatoa huffed.
"Fine..." He said, crossing his arms, "But I still don't trust you with anything else." Maui shrugged.
"Eh, your choice Crab Cake." He said, his eyes halfway closed. He then turned to Moana and April. "Alright, let's set out!" He ordered, twirling his hook as he walked back to the canoe. Moana and April both followed suit.
Finally this chapter is done! Anyway, tell me what you think in the reviews (if you want)! Am I doing good? Does it suck? Feel free to let me know and don't be shy! I respect your opinions and I appreciate constructive criticism if you have any but no flames (hate)! Thank you!
Also I love getting reviews on my stories, but that doesn't mean you have to review if you don't want to. What matters is that you're reading this story and enjoying it!
Speaking of enjoying it, I'm trying to keep these characters in-character, so if I make a mistake, please don't hesitate to let me know!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!