"Good riddance you filthy pile of pebbles," Maui called joyfully as he paddled the canoe. There was an unhappy tapping over his left breast and he looked down to see Little Maui tapping his foot. "Oh no no no, don't look at me like that. It's a beautiful cave. She's gonna love it," he explained in his defense. "And I'm going to love you," he said plopping the chicken down on the boat, "in my belly." He pointed to his stomach for effect. "Now lets fatten you up drumstick."

Just a little closer. While Maui fed Hei Hei, who proved even more stupid by pecking at the boat rather than the pile of seeds, Vahi'a snuck alongside the canoe.

There was a small splash and the boat tipped with an added weight. Maui turned finding a woman with leaf-colored eyes and a sea blue fish tail sitting on the edge of his boat. His first thought, where had this beautiful woman been the last thousand years. "Hey fishy lady," he said, his voice low as he grinned. His second thought came after her tail whipped across his cheek with a loud crack, she didn't look happy. "You came with the kid," he realized with a sigh. "Oh well, I don't got time for this."

With a stinging cheek he grabbed the end of her tail and threw her. What he hadn't anticipated was her tail encircling his wrist, using his momentum she was flung into his chest knocking him onto his back. She sat up triumphantly glaring down at the man with shoulders three times the width of her own. "You will go back," she informed him.

He laughed. Her thin build was made to travel water, not intimidate over-large demigods whose palm spanned the length of her collar bone. Restraining her was easy, he rolled over pinning her to the wood. "Not gonna happen babe," he told her with the same grin as before.

The two looked up at the sound of bellowing to see Moana leap from the edge of a cliff with her arms spread to tackle Maui. She fell short and hit the water with a stinging slap.

"I could watch that all day," he said when the girl broke the surface of the water with a gasp. Vahi'a was sprawled beneath him, her wet hair splayed over the edge of the boat. She met Moana's wide gaze, but before she could squirm from beneath the giant oaf he fastened a hand around her wrists and sat up reaching for the rig. "Enjoy the island. Maui out."

Wind caught the sail and the canoe sailed away, leaving Moana behind. Maui lifted Vahi'a by the wrists and lowered her to the water. "You're gonna stay right here," he told her, tying a rope around her wrists fastening her to the canoe's outrigger.

"Excuse you," she said twisting so that she could hit him with her tail again. "I'm neither a toy nor a prize. Now let me go."

He knew her trick and easily caught the end of her tail and held it up for her to see. "Hit me again and I'll tie this too." In his hand he could see the years of near capture from the fraying of her fin, the tears and holes – the pain. From the way her wrists pulled and maneuvered she was minutes away from becoming free. He pulled on the rope tightening it again and set about getting them away from the island and the girl with the heart. Away from all his mistakes.

There was a surge in the ocean. Vahi'a stopped her struggling and sank in the water, narrowing her eyes she could see Moana racing toward them. It was her turn to smile as she sat up turning to Maui's now surprised face as the ocean set Moana onto the boat. "Did not see that coming."

In a huff Moana turned to Maui, her hair turned with her slapping across her face. Vahi'a sighed setting about trying to free herself as Moana marched toward Maui. "I am Moana of Motunui. This is my canoe and you will journey to Te F- ah!"

Vahi'a didn't turn at the splash, she knew Maui had tossed Moana in the water. When she got out she was gonna drag him to bottom of the sea, they'd see if he could capture her again.

Water spilled over the wood. "And she's back," Maui muttered.

"I am Moana of Motunu-ah!"

In inpatient annoyance Vahi'a's eyes raised glaring at the side of the boat. Why had she ever wanted companions? Fish were never this annoying. She couldn't untie the knot, not with her teeth, not with pulling or twisting. But she could untie the string around the bar of wood Maui had fastened her to – the people who had crafted the boat were not demigods, their knots were not so tight. Undoing the tie that held the two ends of the wood together Vahi'a slipped her still bound wrists from the bar and sank into the water swimming away from the boat. She still couldn't undo the rope, the thought of having to ask him to do it angered her more. She'd find a shark first, if she gave them a fish they were always willing to help. She wouldn't even have to catch a fish, Maui would be great shark food.

She looked up to see a flash of green in Maui's hand as he threw the heart. In a rush of irritation she leapt from the water catching it and hauled it back knocking him in the forehead. Stunned he fell onto his back and she swam back to the boat a little happier.

"What is your problem?" Moana demanded after the ocean returned Maui to the canoe before he could flee. She picked up the heart seeing him flinch. "Are you afraid of it?" she asked in surprised delight.

Vahi'a sat her elbows on the side of the canoe watching with mild glee. "No, no," he laughed as though it were preposterous. "I'm not afraid of it." Though the tattoo him didn't agree, he proceed to chew his nails and run around flailing his arms before smugly turning to Maui. "Stay out of it your sleeping in my armpit," he told him before turning to the woman seeing from the way the corners of her eyes crinkled that she squinted when she smiled. "Wipe that look off your face or I'll tie you to the top of the mast." He then turned to Moana, who still held the glowing heart out to him. "You, stop it. That is not a heart it is a curse," he scooted back. "The second I took it I got blasted out of the sky and I lost my hook." He turned from the sea to see the stone now inches from his face and he jumped scrambling backward. "Get it away from me."

"Get this away?" Moana bringing it closer.

Vahi'a smiled at her taunting him, looking back to her still tied hands pulling at the rope. She scoffed at his threat to smite, or smote, her because without his hook he was a strong oaf and nothing more.

"Come for this. The heart. You mean this heart right here." Moana held the heart above her head yelling. "Come and get it!"

"No, Moana," Vahi'a said as Maui shushed her. For a thousand years Vahi'a and kept it hidden, had run from every thing that had tried taking it.

"You are gonna get us killed," Maui told her, a faint tremble heard in his deep voice.

"No I'm gonna get us to Te Fiti so you can put it back," she told him. "Thank you, you're welcome," she sung the last part and bowed.

Vahi'a turned feeling the way the water changed, large ripples breaking against her back. Something was coming. A loud whir had her ducking against the side of the canoe, hearing a thud as it struck the wood. She peeked over the edge to see Maui holding a bone that had been carved into a harpoon. "Kakamora," she breathed at the same time he muttered.

"Kaka-what?" Moana asked.

"Murdering little pirates," he answered bending down to grab Vahi'a's wrists using the bone as a knife to cut the rope. She sank in the water turning to the clouds rolling on the sea, hugging the small canoe as though it might hide her. "Wonder what they're here for," he said turning to Moana who still held the heart in her hand.

The fog cleared revealing three coconuts with arms and legs sticking out of the sides standing on a rock facing them. "They're kinda cute," Moana said. Until they drew warrior faces on their outer shell and pulled on their armor brandishing their weapons. They'd been so intent on the three Kakamora they didn't notice the shadow behind the fog growing until a large ship appeared with massive sails bearing an army. Vahi'a flinched as they pounded their drums, having never been one for a fight. She longed for her cave nestled against Te Fiti, where it was warm and safe.

"Ocean. Do something. Help us," Moana pleaded.

Maui scoffed pushing past her. "The ocean doesn't help you, you help yourself." He reached down plucking Vahi'a from the water and tossed her onto the outrigger. "You hold on." The last thing they needed was for her to get caught in one of their nets. In a loud bark he ordered, "Tighten the halyard, bind the stays." He turned to the girl when she didn't move, seeing her blank panicked face. "You can't sail!"

Moana searched for an answer. "I uh, I'm self taught."

He wasn't amused. He pulled on the rope opening the sail so that the wind caught it, leaving Vahi'a clinging to the wood so she wouldn't fly off. Not good, this was not good, it was very bad, and she hated everyone. The music behind them grew louder as their massive ship began to chase – and they would easily catch the small canoe.

"Can't you shapeshift or something?" Moana asked thinking Maui had to be able to do something. He was a demigod of the wind and sea, hero of man and all that.

"Do you see my hook?" he asked her. "No magic hook no magic powers."

Vahi'a had never been so sorry to be wrong, she wanted him to be more than a strong oaf. A louder whirr sounded overhead and she looked up to see a sky full of harpoons. She couldn't move fast enough, a choked gasp tore from her throat by a sharp pain at the end of her tail, anchoring her to the boat. Sitting up she found a harpoon had missed her neck by inches, another had stuck in the wood by her arm, and another had caught her fin. She was lucky it was only her fin, it didn't hurt as much. Nor would it bleed.

The canoe lurched as the ropes attached to the harpoons were pulled taut reeling them in. Maui began yanking harpoons hoping to free them. Beneath one he saw glistening blue and he turned, away from the many harpoons that were closer to him, to free the fish woman. At a sudden bellow they looked up to see the ship separating into three, an army of Kakamora on each one and several now using the ropes attached to the harpoons to descend upon the boat.

"Their boat is turning into more boats!"

Maui tore the harpoon from the wood and without sympathy yanked it out of her fin and tossed her into the water. "Get away from here," he told her. Fish were shy creatures, timid and fearful of anything bigger than them and most of the smaller things too. From what he'd seen of the fish woman, whose name he thought he knew, she was no different. But instead of running away she began pulling at the harpoons imbedded in their canoe. The two pulled and jerked at every harpoon stuck in the wood, she'd come across one that required more strength than she had to give and he'd wrap a large hand around it and heave.

Another whirring. This time lower, which meant bigger. While Maui moved around the ship grabbing more harpoons Vahi'a turned seeing a net opening as it soared toward him. The sound finally caught up to him and he turned thinking it was more harpoons and instead saw the net, with hooks on every end so that when it closed they snagged catching in the skin of a captive so they couldn't escape. He knew this net, and he breathed waiting for the sharp prick of the hooks in his skin. There was a flash of blue and the net closed around the fish woman who fell against the canoe with a harsh thud. Maui reached for her as she was reeled in, his large hand grazing her smaller one before she was yanked out of his reach.