Crash!
Eugh. That was longer down than he had thought. Quickly shaking his head, Tamatoa did his best to recover from the fall so he could return to the task at hand. His claws and body ached from the struggle to gouge a large enough hole in that mountain, but he couldn't let that slow him down now. The crab trekked through Lalotai hurriedly, trying to figure out where Nafiira could possibly be.
Damn it all, she could be anywhere. This is like trying to find a needle in a-
Oh wait, there she is.
Nafiira was perched on a low-hanging branch of a dead-looking tree, picking at the remains of a small bat monster she must've caught earlier.
"Hey!" Tamatoa shouted at her, making his way to the base of the tree. Unfortunately she was just out of the crab's reach.
Nafiira took her attention away from the prey to glance down at the crustacean. "Oh wow. Didn't expect you to find your way back here."
"Cut the crap." The crab growled hatefully, narrowing his eyes. "Where are Moana and Maui?"
"None of your business."
"You really don't want to test my patience right now, Nafiira. Where are they?"
She smirked, amused by his concern for them. "Not telling. There's nothing you can do for the twerps anyway."
A threatening hiss came from Tamatoa. "If you've hurt either of them-"
"What? Whatcha going to do about it, fish-for-brains?" Nafiira sneered, her smirk growing wider. She was confident that Tamatoa had changed, certain that a monster that decided to live with humans over his roots in Lalotai was far too soft to actually kill again. Tamatoa had the chance to kill her last time, after all, and he didn't. On top of that, he chose running away to protect his precious little friends over fighting her like a real monster. How laughably sad. "You've become too soft to get anything from us real monsters. So shout all you want, but I know what kind of an influence those human things have had on you. You haven't got the gall to get what you want from me, Tammy."
The crab twitched in response to the bird's condescending mannerisms.
To Hell with it. I don't have time for this.
With one swift movement, Tamatoa snapped the trunk of the tree in half, causing it to topple over. Nafiira squawked in alarm, barely able to jump off her branch in time to stay out of the crab's reach. She tried to fly away, but Tamatoa came prepared.
"Oh, no you don't." He snarled, grabbing one of the nets from off his back and launching it at her.
"What th-?!" The fowl was ensnared by the net, restraining her wings and causing her to fall to the ground. Before she could get back up and rip the net off, Tamatoa pinned her down with a leg.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" The crab hissed, a sinister grin appearing on his face. "Where. Are. They?"
Nafiira narrowed her eyes defiantly. "I'm not telling you a thing, bottom-feeder. Find them yourself." Clearly she still didn't believe that someone who lived with humans was capable of any real harm.
Oh, well. Her mistake.
With an annoyed click of the tongue, Tamatoa said, "You know, I am having a reeeaaally bad day. I'm not in the mood for your antics. But hey, at least nobody can say I didn't try to ask nicely." With that, the crab grabbed her left wing with a claw, then proceeded to rip a chunk of feathers out of her.
"Agh!" She gasped from the sudden pain. The bird started to raise her other wing to retaliate, but Tamatoa was quick to pin it down with his claw.
"Where are they?" He demanded, voice growing colder by the minute.
Nafiira only shook her head in response, her eyes maintaining that defiant glint.
That's it. Patience lost.
Tamatoa tightened his grip and broke her wing with ease, earning another sharp gasp of pain from the bird. Before she had the chance to respond, the angry crab flung her across the clearing.
"So you think I'm not a fucking threat?! You think I won't destroy you if I find out they've been harmed?!" He lunged at the bird, snatching her in his claws and repeatedly slamming her into the ground. Stopping for just a moment, he held Nafiira up to his furious face, eyes burning with fury. "I am THIS close to thoroughly shredding you open and force-feeding your innards to you!"
Again, before she could respond, she was flung into a boulder.
"Where are they?!"
Filled with rage, he smashed her with a claw, shattering the boulder she was against.
"Where are they?!"
He latched onto her by the tail and swung her around the clearing, smashing her into any object he could reach.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!"
With that final shout, the crustacean slammed Nafiira into the ground so hard that it made a slight crater. With the small moment he finally gave her to respond, she could barely catch her breath from the beating. Silent for a few seconds, she weighed her options. Considered her chances.
Apparently she still underestimated the crab's kill switch even after that thrashing, because all she did was cast him that same, defiant look.
Something must have snapped inside Tamatoa, because his entire demeanor changed in reaction to her persisting defiance. The fierce rage that had displayed in his eyes just moments before was now replaced with an ice-cold look of pure venom, a look that could chill even the fieriest of souls. His voice was even colder.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." He hissed, bringing his other claw to her left wing once more. "Mana'aihue must have promised you something grand if you're being this difficult..."
Doing everything she could not to tremble with fear, Nafiira said, "H-How did you kn-" She cut herself off with a gasp of pain as Tamatoa tightened his grip.
"I am not an idiot." He snapped, taking on a viciously threatening tone. "You being so insistent on getting Maui's hook last time? Someone that happens to apparently perfectly resemble me attacking Motunui later on? Not as stupid as you think I am, babe." With another dark smile, he continued, "Nor am I as merciful as you thought, isn't that right?" An evil chuckle rose from his throat as the fear in her eyes became more apparent. "Oh yes, I haven't forgotten how things work down here. I'm just as familiar with Lalotai's ways as you, and let me tell you, it is a delight to be able to indulge in a bit of violence again~!" He laughed coldly as he broke her other wing, the yelp of pain from her being very satisfying to him. "But all good things must come to an end, unfortunately. I don't have time to scour all of Lalotai searching, and I'm becoming very impatient with your reluctantness. I did not come all this way - I did not cross the ocean, tear down a stone wall, plunge through a water portal, and plummet several stories to the ground just so YOU could stand in my way."
The crab moved a claw to her neck, narrowing his eyes to slits. "Last chance. The next thing I break will be your skull." Leaning in threateningly, he snarled. "Where are Moana and Maui?"
Nafiira, though terrified, still couldn't bring herself to give up their location. Must have been promised something really damn good if she was still willing to risk calling Tamatoa's bluff.
"... Hm. What a shame." Tamatoa commented, any sign of mercy completely disappearing from his voice and eyes. "Well, you brought this upon yourself."
He raised a claw to finish her off, and Nafiira finally caved in. "Okay, okay...!" She begged, voice hoarse from pain and fear. "H-He took them t-to your lair...! T-That's all I know, I swear...!"
The decapod lowered his claw, smirking victoriously. "Aw, thanks, babe. See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" He purred, voice dripping with sarcastic gratitude. Not giving her the chance to reply, he dragged her over to the fallen tree and hooked the net on the broken branches and splintering wood to trap her there.
"What are you doing...?!" Nafiira squawked, confused.
"Well, can't have you trying to get away, now can I?" Tamatoa crooned as he turned to leave. "After all, if you've misinformed me, we'll have to have another... chat." With that, the crab continued on his way, feeling assured that the fowl was too injured to break out of the net.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the crab quickened his pace, heading to his old home.