It took some convincing on his part, but Maui absolutely put his foot down this time.

Standing with his back to the entrance of the shell-encased cave of Tamatoa's lair, he crossed his arms and tilted his head downward to meet the unwavering frown of his friend with a stony look of his own. This only made Moana toss her stick aside and plant her fists on her hips, her eyes bright with determination. Maui could have rolled his head back and growled to the gods, but then that would mean breaking the stare-off with the old woman. He squared back his shoulders.

"No, Moana. This time I'm making the rules."

Her frown deepened. "Hmph."

Okay, now he rolled his eyes. Honestly, she was too stubborn. He took on a steadier tone and tried a different approach.

"Look, I've got a right to make sure you're protected down here. You're not just another mortal for me to 'bestow heroic acts of service' to. You're my friend. Like it or not, you're not as strong as you used to be."

Moana opened her mouth and he shushed her by holding up a finger. "No. No, I'm not entirely stupid. I saw how shaky you got when we landed, and that's with me carrying you. All I'm saying is I'm gonna take the initiative and see if Tamatoa will behave himself so you two can have your little play date without any murdery acts from a giant crab."

He tipped his head to the side. "What's gonna happen if we both go in together right off the bat and he lashes out, eh? That stick won't block a giant pincer, you know."

Finally, a flash of resignation crossed her eyes and she blinked. The silver haired woman released a sigh and let her arms drop at her sides. "Okay. You win. This time."

"Thank you. Now, stay here 'till I give the signal."

Maui grasped the handle of his hook and yanked it from the ground. As he turned and started into the cave, Moana asked, "And what would the signal be, demigod?"

Maui tossed a glance over his shoulder. "Oh, anything ranging from, say, 'Come on in,' to, 'He's gonna eat me.'"

Moana waved a hand and crouched down to sit on her knees. "Okay. Got it."

The demigod, certain his elderly companion would stay seated at the entrance, stalked onward into the massive chamber. Right away he knew the giant crab wasn't camouflaged into the ground as a pile of treasure like the last time. Tamatoa's voice was bouncing around the walls of the cavern, his tone annoyed and seething with disgust. Maui paused beside a jagged blue rock and peeked around.

Tamatoa had his massive form bent over, using his two large pincers to poke at a crack in the ground, his back to Maui. The crab grumbled, "You'd think a cave for holding priceless treasures would be more treasure-proof. Puh! Why- Ooh, what is that … ?"

A pincer lifted to his face for inspection. He recoiled. "Ew! How long has that been down there?" He shook his claw and a small object went flying over his shell, landing near Maui's hiding place. It was a rotting fish. Maui grimaced. "Guess he only like fresh seafood."

Tamatoa growled, still continuing to dig, though Maui noted he wasn't using his full strength. He was being careful. Which meant something of great value must been trapped in the crack in the ground. Probably some shiny item from his hoard.

Maui blinked and raised his head, smiling. "Ideeea."

The demigod carefully sauntered out into the open, hook slung casually over one shoulder. He watched the giant crab digging at the ground for a few seconds before clearing his throat. "Digging for treasure, crabcakes?"

The crab started, sending a faint tremor through the cave, and his many legs spun him around. He saw Maui, his eye stalks lifting as shock washed over him.

Maui clicked his tongue and waved once. "How's it going?"

"YOU!"

The massive crab shot straight for Maui.

Maui frowned and tried to hold up a hand for attention. "Wait, wait a minute- Hey!" He thrust his hook in front of him in the nick of time, blocking a strike from a giant pincer. He dug his feet into the ground and set his jaw, meeting the furious, jeering gaze of his enemy. "I'm not here to pick a fight with ya, crabby."

"You stole from me! Then you went and left me abandoned, stuck on the ground. Like a fool!"

Maui raised an eyebrow. Technically, that was all Moana's work of art.

"Nobody makes me into a fool, Maui!"

"Oh, get over yourself," Maui grunted. His hook flashed and he shifted into a beetle, diving swiftly out of Tamatoa's grasp. He re-appeared as himself at the opposite end of the cavern. "Technically, you stole my hook, and I just got it back. But let's stop dwelling on the past, huh? I got a proposition for you."

Another pincer came flying down. Maui dodged aside, rolled, and shifted into hawk form, rising into the air. For the next several seconds the two performed a wild, semi-destructive dance around the cavern. Tamatoa threw punch after punch and did his best to strike the demigod from the air, and Maui darted and dodged, steadily losing his patience.

"Why would you come back here?" Tamatoa seethed as he chased the hawk.

Maui glared and beat his wings. "If you gave me a chance to explain you'd know by now, dum-dum."

"Augh!"

A clapping sound made them halt and turn their heads.

Moana stood at the edge of the cavern, lowering her hands from clapping, and she surveyed the two of them with narrowed eyes. One eyebrow lifted. "This doesn't look exactly like you're paving the way for a peaceful meeting, Maui."

"What are you doing here?" The hawk flashed back into Maui's human form and planted himself in a firm stance.

Tamatoa backed away from the demigod and eyed the old woman, eyes squinting sharply. He visibly shivered. "Ew. What's a human doing here? Tch. Little pests."

Moana walked forward. She'd brought along the glowing stick and used it as a cane. Her face was sober as she stared at the looming crab ahead of her.

Maui braced himself and tightened his jaw. He wanted to give Moana the ability to make her own decisions, but the moment things turned even remotely sour, he would put a stop to it, hook slashing. He'd torn off one of those crab's filthy legs before. He could do it again, easily.

The silver haired woman motioned at Tamatoa with her cane and called, "I've got something to say to you."

Tamatoa's eyes hardened. The giant crab took a few, menacing steps toward the little old woman. Maui could tell that even though his enemy had the power to so much as strike out one claw and do away with what he probably saw as a meaningless human pest, there was a faint cautiousness to Tamatoa's movements as well.

The crab sneered. "You have something to say to me? What would a puny human have to say to the might of Tamatoa?"

The hunched old woman planted her fists against her hips, squared her shoulders and lifted her silvery head. A wide smile brightened her worn face, and her eyes sparked fearlessly. "I liked your song."

The crab was silent as he processed her sentence. One could almost see his mind at work.

Tamatoa blinked and relaxed, smirking. "Did you? Well, it's nice to see someone has an actual sense of style- What, hey! Hey. You can't be ..."

Moana tipped her head, still grinning.

Tamatoa studied her, eye stalks twitching. His mouth dropped open as he gasped, revealing barnacle-sprinkled teeth. "It's you, isn't it? You're the other puny human! I mean, you're the same puny human, but … Jeez, what happened?"

"Hello Tamatoa."

He growled and shook his head. "No, no, none of that. What's going on here? No mortal to have survived sneaking into my lair once would dare come back. Why did you return, hm?"

"I will tell you why. You promise not to eat an old woman?"

" ... Fine."

Moana let out a short sigh and plunged her cane into the ground, immediately moving forward in short, even strides while her free hands reached into her pouch. "It occurred to me in the many years since we last met, that you would probably not have been in the best of moods, or circumstances, after we reclaimed Maui's hook."

"A gross understatement." Tamatoa planted his two pincers against the cave floor and lowered his front half, eye stalks trained on Moana as she came closer to him.

Maui edged around, keeping both human and monster in full sight, to be safe. Tamatoa was curious - and somewhat annoyed - for now, but if he failed to find Moana's answer to her reappearance in Lalotai acceptable … Maui doubted Moana would be able to dodge one of those bulky claws. "Just take it easy, big boy," the demigod muttered.

"Honestly, we needed his hook back. Kinda went with the whole 'saving the world' idea, and whatnot." Moana stopped before Tamatoa. "I'm not saying I appreciate your attempt to eat me and Maui, but I do feel guilty for how things were left. So I bring you a gift, Tamatoa."

The red gemstone was extended in the palm of her hand, lifting further into the gaze of the speechless crab.

Tamatoa blinked and pulled back, frowning. Maui guessed it was discomfort on his face, not disgust.

Tamatoa stared at the old woman. "Tch. Oh, come now, really? Not only a puny human but an old one as well, and yet you still …" His face softened, but his frown remained. "... came back?"

Moana nodded. "Yup." She tapped the gem in her hand, still holding it up for Tamatoa. "This is a gift, my friend. Not a trick."

Tamatoa's frame jerked at the word 'friend,' and he, for some reason, turned his head and sent Maui a glare.

The demigod's eyebrows lifted. "What? Whatcha lookin' at me for, crabby? This was her idea, not mine. Definitely not mine."

The giant crab scowled before returning his attention back to the very sincere old woman who watched him with large, brown eyes. After a few silent seconds, Tamatoa lifted a pincer. With incredible skill that must have come from fussing over precious, shiny trinkets over the years, he picked up the ruby red gem in his claws and brought it up to his face for inspection. He stared at it for a long moment before lowering his claw to look at Moana again. His face was wary. Then …

"Thank you."

Maui sucked in a breath and froze. Never mind if his cheeks were bulging. That no-good, selfish crabcake had said the one thing he'd never said before.

Still standing in front of Tamatoa, Moana glanced past him, saw Maui, and nodded her head. Her eyes moved back to the crab's face. "You're welcome."

"Well, now that we got that over with …" Tamatoa reached back and gently added the gemstone to the rest of the glittering golds and shining gems that encased his enormous shell. He smiled. Then rounded onto Maui, growling, "You completely interrupted my recovery attempt earlier!"

"Huh?" Maui released the breath he'd been holding. He frowned and pushed back his hair from hanging in his face. "Well, I was going to ask if-"

"Digging for something?" Moana gestured to the mangled crack in the ground.

"Yes. It's a gold-plated mirror. Fell from its place on my shell," said Tamatoa.

"Oh. Maui, why don't you help out and get it back for him?"

The demigod plastered a forced grin onto his broad face. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Retrieving the mirror was no big deal – all it took was a shift into beetle form, diving into the crack to find the mirror, grab it and bring it back up and out. No problem. Easy.

Maui shifted back to his human form and weighed the mirror in his hands. It had a small, worn stand, meant for propping it up. Likely some gadget the foreigners used. A small crack had formed in the mirror itself, but the golden shell it was encrusted in was still intact. "This what you wanted, crabby?"

"Yes, there it is." Tamatoa brightened. "Ooh, set it down." He glanced at Moana. "You've just got to see what happens when it catches the light."

The elderly lady laughed softly and folded her arms.

Maui lightly rolled his eyes before crouching, placing the delicate object on the floor and stepped back. They waited quietly a few seconds. Tamatoa beamed, obviously excited. Probably because he rarely had an audience to show off his precious collection to.

"AHHHH!"

Without much else for warning, a yelling blur fell from above and landed in the chamber.

With their backside entirely crushing the mirror.

Akamu froze where he had landed, dark eyes going wide as his gaze shifted nervously around the room.

"Well … That was unexpected," said Maui.

"I'm sorry. I-I got worried," Akamu tried to explain as he got up, only to wince and grunt in pain. "Aw, yeah. Yeah, that really hurt."

Moana spun a hand upward as she stared at the boy. "What were you doing?"

"I was up on the ledge of the cave, just watching. I wanted to see what the mirror would do, so I … kind of leaned over … too far."

The mirror lay on the ground, the mirror portion completely shattered. The golden back had cracked and split. The treasure was undoubtedly destroyed.

Maui pursed his lips, murmuring 'Oooh' to himself as he had a perfect view of Tamatoa slowly turning a burning gaze onto the young man in the cavern. Akamu looked up at the crab, did a double take, and yelped. He took a few steps back. "No! No, no, no, no, no. It was an accident."

"Insufferable, human pest! You'll pay for that. No one messes around with my shiny stuff."

Tamatoa lurched forward, his multiple legs propelling him expertly after one very panicked young man. Akamu babbled something and raced out of range, but only barely.

Moana stayed put and watched the giant crab chased his prey. Maui ducked one of Tamatoa's legs and strode up to stand beside her. "So, should we help the kid or what?"

"In a moment. This is kinda funny, watching from the sidelines."

Akamu's yelling turned into outright shrieks when a pincer nabbed him. Tamatoa burst into maniacal laughter and held the struggling boy over his head. An evil grin stretched across the crab's face. "No, nobody gets away with breaking or stealing from me without paying the consequences." He barred his teeth. "Mm, and I could use a good snack right about now."

"No!" Akamu kicked and flailed, finding himself lowering much too close to the crab's open mouth. "No, no, no. Moana! Tell him!"

"Okay, that's enough," she said, clapping her hands and making a few whistles to grab Tamatoa's attention. He turned, Akamu still dangling near his mouth, and eyed Moana.

The old woman fixed them both with a look of impatience. Moana gestured one hand, flatly. "What if Akamu agrees to make compensation for your broken treasure, by promising to return before he dies with a shiny gift of his own?"

Tamatoa's face drooped disappointingly, but he tossed Akamu to the floor. "Fine. But only this once. And within the next ten years. And if he doesn't show ..."

Akamu, laying flat on his back on the ground, raised his hands. "I'll show, I'll show. Promise. Bring a shiny gift for Tamatoa in exchange for my life. I can do that."

"You surprised me, kid," Maui remarked, leading Moana and Akamu out of Tamatoa's lair.

The boy offered a small smile and shrugged. "If you mean, coming down here, then don't be. It took me five minutes before I realized my vow is more important than my fear."

Moana lightly punched Akamu's shoulder, chuckling softly. "There's the Akamu I know. Not many mortals come down here and live to tell about it."

"Yes, and I see why. I'm never diving into water this deep-" He cut himself off, turning stiff at his own words. "Oh. Right."

"Mhm. You've made another vow." Moana nodded, still chuckling. "So don't think after this journey that your days on the ocean are behind you, Akamu."

He shut his eyes. "Curses. What have I done?"

"A classic rookie mistake." Maui turned around and settled for walking backwards, smirking broadly at the young man. "Made a giant crab angry."

Akamu huffed and rubbed the back of his head. "I know. Okay, so, how do we get back to the surface?" He jutted a thumb up at the canopy of underwater settings that stretched infinitely around and above them.

Maui glanced at Moana with a partial smile and raised his brows. She blinked, then brightened and nodded. The demigod laughed and moved over, slapped a thick arm across the slender boy's shoulders. "See, we've got this really cool way of getting out. Think of it as a … short cut. It totally bypasses the jump into oblivion used to get down here."

Akamu straightened, his expression hopeful. "Really? Where is this shortcut?"

Maui's arm gripped him and lifted him off the ground. In one smooth action, he'd cast the startled young man to the side, right as one of the many geysers of Lalotai burst. The powerful jet of water carried the yelling figure to the surface.

Maui cupped his hands around his mouth. "Remember, just keep those arms and legs moving!"

Author's Note: Tamatoa is tons of fun to write. I hope I captured his character. Thanks to everyone who follows/favorites/reviews this story! I'm glad you all enjoy it as much as I do.