From high on the bluff overlooking the sea, Tamatoa watched the latest canoe glide closer to the island. It was still too distant to make out any fine details, but he could see it was small-likely just a little single-man boat. Just a modest catch today, then. Most small ships held little treasure of interest, but occasionally one would have something unexpected aboard. Regardless, it was such minimal effort to draw them in that it was always worth it. Even if bare of shiny stuff, it still meant an early lunch.
The canoe angled sharply towards the island, moving fast over the waves. It was time to head down to the beach. Tamatoa hurried down the hillside, cutting quickly through the forest on a well-worn path to the cove below. It as imperative to beat the canoe there, otherwise the ruse would be shattered. He had this down to an art, though, and arrived with plenty of time to spare.
With a glance up to gauge the slant of the sun's rays, he selected a good spot with excellent lighting on the beach. With his back to the sea, he nestled carefully down into the warm sand. He dug in until the outer edge of his carapace was just barely settled into the earth, leaving just the glittering dome of his shell visible, sparkling enticingly in the late morning sun. Only his antennae, hidden safely out of sight from the water behind his shell, remained above the sand to indicate he was anything other than a massive pile of treasure.
Perfect.
Tamatoa felt excitement building in him as he patiently waited. This was the fun part and the rush of anticipation never failed to drive away the specter of boredom. As his only real entertainment on this monotonous rock, it was always a thrill-waiting for the inevitable crash or landfall of an approaching canoe. This one was likely to make it safely past the shoals, too, being so small and having such a shallow displacement. That, of course, brought an additional level of fun to the game. His antennae quivered slightly.
He heard the ripple of a sail in the wind. So close now.
After sailing through the night, the island he had once pulled from the sea came into view in the morning. It rose gracefully from the sea to a steep highland overlooking the surrounding waters, much as Maui remembered. What he didn't remember, however, was there being a glint of light from that tall clifftop. Even at this distance, it could be seen like a gleaming beacon-a bright flash of gold. As they approached closer, however, the flicker of light vanished suddenly. It was odd, but he wasn't concerned with it right now. Maui frowned, his mouth set in a grim line.
This wasn't how he planned to return here.
Maui desperately wanted to call the shipwrecked castaway he'd found a liar. He wanted his words to just be the fevered imaginings of a half-drowned man. Surely his old friend couldn't have done those things. The mortal had swallowed too much seawater, perhaps, and came up with some fantastic nightmare. He was just playing a joke on Maui-just a little joke. Maybe it was a different crab monster. After all, there must be more of them out there somewhere, right?
Except the mortal had no reason to lie. There were no other crab monsters. There was no other island along this particular current that a man could drift from and survive.
Yet, his mind rebelled at even considering it. Tamatoa wouldn't attack ships. It was ridiculous! Not Tamatoa. Not his friend.
He rounded the bend of the island and headed towards the sheltered little cove where he had said goodbye so long ago. The sails fluttered in the breeze as he skimmed over the shallow water.
There was an enormous pile of treasure on the beach-nearly overflowing with pearls and iridescent shells and glittery trinkets. It was far more than he remembered Tamatoa possessing, which at their last parting only filled a handful of baskets. He squinted at it in confusion as the canoe slid through the water. It seemed unlike Tamatoa to just leave his collection laying about on some beach, unattended and unprotected.
And where had it all come from, anyway?
The canoe gently scraped onto the sand of the beach.
Maui leapt lightly to the sand, not bothering to secure the canoe or even to take up his hook in his distraction. Perplexed, he peered at the mount of treasure. For a brief second, he though he saw a quick flick of pink and purple from the other side of it.
Oh.
Ohhh-
The realization struck him suddenly, only seconds before the pile of treasure began to move-rising from the sand.
Tamatoa had grown.
First, the telltale scrape of a hull on sand. Then footsteps crunching across the beach. Tamatoa's antennae twitched. It was go time.
He rose swiftly from the earth, shaking the sand from himself with an eager grin. Claws coming up at the ready, he spun to lunge at-
"Maui?!"
Tamatoa stood stock still in utter shock, frozen in his tracks even as he had been about to attack. He blinked, eyes wide and mouth agape. The demigod, absent for uncounted ages, was standing before him at last.
Uhoh.
Well, this was awkward. For what it was worth, Maui was staring up at Tamatoa in similar dumbstruck shock.
It suddenly occurred to Tamatoa how small the demigod was. How long had it been since he had last seen him? He didn't even know. It was impossible to tell, so long had he been on this island without anything to mark the passage of time. How funny that he could still remember being small enough for Maui to pick him up.
In the long stunned moment that seemed to go on interminably, he noticed that Maui had a great deal more tattoos than he once did. Almost every patch of skin was covered now, down to his wrists and ankles. It was impressive, really. What had he been up to all this time? And was he doing something different with his hair now? It looked like he was doing something different with it, yes. Maybe washing it with something new.
Tamatoa shook free of those ridiculous thoughts. Maui was here at last. There was a flare of gladness in him. Maui was here! Then anger flowed swiftly in. Where had he been all this time? His ire snuffed out again just as quickly, replaced by another flicker of happiness. Maui was here now!
And so Tamatoa simply stood there, vacillating sharply between joy and anger. Another stray thought, however, went unheeded in the back of his mind-a far more concerning one that he really shouldn't ignore.
Maui took an instinctive step back as the crab emerged from the sand. He stared in a mix of horror and awe as Tamatoa's full size was revealed. The crab towered over him now, nearly four times as tall as Maui and with an impossibly wide leg span. It was incredibly jarring and threw into sharp relief just how long he must have been away. Every inch of the crab's broad shell was decorated in shimmering treasures, leaving not even the slimmest glimpse of it's natural color. Where had he gotten it all?
Maui couldn't help but flinch back when the crab spun suddenly and started aggressively towards him, a rather toothy grin on his face and a wild look in his eyes. Tamatoa froze when he saw him, however, instantly aborting what certainly looked like the start of an attack-something Maui did not fail to note.
His old friend stared at him, slack jawed. A variety of expressions flickered across the crab's face over the long, silent moment, but eventually settled on one that actually looked rather pleased to see him-an almost warm smile emerging.
It made Maui hesitate and, for a moment, he nearly forgot his purpose. He very nearly forgot it all and just went to joyously greet his friend instead.
Then he thought about the hoard of treasure on the crab's back-treasure that could never have come from this island or by any legitimate means.
His eyes narrowed. "Tamatoa, what have you done?"
All the warmth drained away from the crab's face and his smile faded.
"What have I done?" he said, irritation already rising in his voice. "Where have you been?!"
Maui glared sharply up at him, ignoring the crab's question. "Is it true what I've heard?"
Tamatoa matched his glare note for note. "I have no idea what you've heard, man" he fired back. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"I was on my way here," Maui said, although it sounded a touch defensively even to his own ears. Then his tone sharpened, "and then I find out that you are causing shipwrecks? Is it true?"
Please say it's not true.
Tamatoa flicked his antennae dismissively. "Is it my fault some rubes can't navigate across a simple shoal?"
Maui stared at the crab in disbelief. With a sinking feeling, he remembered the winking flash of golden light from the headland and the seemingly unattended pile of treasure on the beach. It all came together with horrible clarity.
"I saw you," he said slowly as it all dawned upon him. "On the cliff. You're-" He trailed off, trying to wrap his mind around the impossible. "You're luring them here."
"If greed causes humans to wreck in the shallows, who am I to argue?" the crab said matter-of-factly, as if it were nothing at all. He didn't even have the decency to sound contrite about it.
Maui felt his insides twist. "And the humans aboard?"
Tamatoa gave him a chilling smile.
Maui felt dizziness sweep through him, suddenly lightheaded. No. He couldn't have. No, not the little crab he could once hold in his hands. No.
"You-" Maui said, but faltered in horror. "You didn't-"
The crab didn't even bother to deny it. There was no hint of shame. "Waste not," he quipped.
No shame at all.
Maui's blood boiled and he saw red. But when he spoke, it was colored with anguish. "Why? Why would you do this?! You were my friend!"
Now Tamatoa was roused back to wrath, his eyes narrowed. "You left me here alone!"
"That's not a good reason!" Maui blurted out, a mix of exasperation and desperate anger.
"You never came back!" the crab continued, voice filled with accusation. He took a swift step towards Maui, looming over him.
Maui felt the sharp prick of guilt at hearing that truth stated so plainly, but it was swiftly overwhelmed and drowned out by his outrage. His voice turned cold. "I should kill you for this, you-" He couldn't even think of anything bad enough to call him. "-you miserable bottom feeder. If it was anyone else-"
Tamatoa didn't back down this time. "Just try it then, man. I dare you!" he challenged from his superior height.
Maui had a terrible decision to make now. He clenched his empty fists and it now occurred to him that his fishhook was laying on the deck of his canoe behind him, well outside of easy reach. He was sure that fact was not lost on Tamatoa, who had always been too observant for his own good.
Maui had put down countless monsters over the centuries without a second thought. This was different, though-this was his friend, the crab he had raised from a tiny little thing. He couldn't just couldn't do it. Maybe there was another option, though.
"If it were anyone else," he repeated icily, "I would." He gave the crab a piercing look, pure fury burning in his eyes as he made his choice. "You're nothing but a monster. And monsters belong in Lalotai. It's time you went back."
Tamatoa snapped his claws, no idle threat now. "I don't think so."
"Too bad, you're going back."
"Not a chance."
With shocking speed, the crab lunged.
Tamatoa was absolutely furious. After all this time, Maui finally decided to show his face and then proceed to threaten him with further exile? Wasn't this floating prison enough? Well, he had only just begun to actually enjoy this place. He wasn't going to be tossed out again!
It did occur to him, however, that perhaps he hadn't thought things through when he leapt at the demigod. It was admittedly a rash and poorly considered thing to do. He had no plan. He also had no real desire to kill his friend. Neither did he want to be sent to Lalotai, though.
Maui had left his hook on the canoe, so if Tamatoa was to have any chance of winning this fight he had to strike first and before he could get it to it. Over centuries of adventuring with the demigod, he had learned a fundamental truth-the best way to gain the advantage in a fight was often surprise.
Man, did Maui look surprised.
Clearly, the demigod wasn't expecting him to make the first move. The look on his face was proof of that. He recovered quickly, though, and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the snap of Tamatoa's pincers. Maui was on his feet in an instant and made a dash towards his canoe. Tamatoa had anticipated this and darted over to cut him off, reaching the canoe first. He gave it a quick push with one of his legs, lifting it off the sand and sending it-and Maui's fishhook-drifting slowly into the lagoon.
That evened the odds.
It also infuriated Maui, who leapt at him with a roar and the fight was on.
Tamatoa was holding his own, superior size working his favor. However, he was definitely out of practice for this sort of thing. Ambushing dumb little humans on the beach was lazy work, but dealing with Maui was an entirely different matter. Even without his hook, the demigod was putting up a fierce fight. If Tamatoa could just get him pinned down and subdued, maybe he could force Maui to abandon any notion of sending him to Lalotai.
It was a flimsy plan and Tamatoa knew it, but he'd started this fight and now he had to finish it somehow. Even now, he was reluctant to actually do serious damage to the demigod who had been his friend for centuries. His heart just wasn't in it. He just didn't want to get sent away again.
Perhaps that's why Maui managed to catch him distracted and slam his shoulder into him, knocking him off balance. Losing his footing, Tamatoa went down hard in the sand. He scrambled to get back up and defend against the next blow, but it never came. Maui wasn't there. He looked around for him frantically, anticipating an attack from elsewhere. Then he froze.
The canoe had drifted back to the beach.
Maui had used his moment while Tamatoa got back up to race to the landed canoe. The demigod now stood firm on the beach, his face twisted up with fury and his hook in his hand.
Tamatoa could not tear his gaze away from the sight of that hook, glowing harshly blue even in the bright morning sunlight, and for the first time in his long life, he was afraid of Maui.
He took a step backwards, then another. "Wait," he began nervously, "Maui-"
There was a flash of blue and a hawk's high scream. It was over before it even started. Maui struck lightning fast and before he could blink, Tamatoa felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. Once, he never would have imagined that his friend would use that hook against him. His last thoughts as his vision blurred were of betrayal. Betrayal and loss.
Darkness closed around him.
"Tamatoa."
It was dark and warm and cozy.
"Tamatoa," Maui's voice came again, "come on out."
Tiny antennae poked out of a hole in the earth. "No, I can't!" the little crab cried piteously.
He had outgrown his borrowed shell, the one he had been carrying since Maui first brought him out of Lalotai. He needed a new one, but had no idea where to find one in the surface world. It was too late now and he even couldn't go look for one, unprotected as he was. So, he'd stayed buried in his little burrow and refused to come out.
"Hey," Maui beckoned gently, peering into the dark hole. "It's okay, I promise," he soothed. "Just come out."
"I can't," he repeated, a note of panic taking over.
"Well," Maui said, his tone light-teasing, but not mocking. "I guess I'll have to find another tiny crab monster to give this to."
Safe inside the burrow, Tamatoa did not reply. Although, his curiously was piqued.
"It's shiny," Maui said enticingly, drawing out the word.
At this, Tamatoa very tentatively poked one eye out of the burrow. Then another.
Maui held out something in his hands so that he could see it and Tamatoa let out a tiny gasp. It was a spiral shell-bigger than his old shell, but more importantly it was shiny! The shell was a pale tan-gold color, polished with an iridescent sheen and had pale white streaks along the whorls. It was perfect.
Maui grinned. "See?" he said triumphantly. "Now c'mon out. Everything will be fine."
He set the shell down near the burrow's entrance. Tamatoa scurried out and slipped into the new shell hurriedly.
He looked up at Maui, eyes full of gratitude and relief. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome!" Maui smiled and laughed warmly. "What are friends for?"
It was dark and cold and damp. Tamatoa woke slowly, feeling dizzy and battered. The wisps of a forgotten dream slipped away as he came back to consciousness, elusive as vapor on the wind. It left behind a hollow feeling in its wake.
Where was he? It took a few moments to get his eyes to focus, foggy as his mind was. Once his vision sharpened, he suddenly wished it hadn't.
The landscape around him was alien and entirely foreign, but not without a vaguely distant familiarity. He had not been here in more centuries than he could even count, but he knew where he was nevertheless. He was back in Lalotai.
Once again, he was alone. Maui was nowhere in sight.
He shook his head, still trying to clear the fuzziness from his thoughts. He looked around to take his bearings. He was sprawled in an open clearing, amidst a handful of tall neon trees, their palm-like fronds covered in suckers like octopus tentacles. Coralline polyps like bushy plants glowed softly purple, scattered in low-lying clusters along the ground. In the distance, the haunting cries of unknown creatures drifted across the surreal land.
He pushed up from the ground with great effort, getting his legs back under him unsteadily. He knew well enough that it wasn't wise to just lay there and wait for some larger creature to come by. Standing felt awful, though, and he was aching all over, so he slid back down to the ground with a huff-just to rest a bit longer, he assured himself.
A sudden, terrible thought caught him and he glanced quickly over his shoulder at this shell. Relief washed over him as he found his treasure was still there. At least he still had that.
How had Maui even gotten him back here? By all accounts, it should seem a near impossibility. Even another makeshift raft would have a difficult time supporting him now and that was assuming there was an entrance to Lalotai close enough and large enough for him to pass through. He squinted around him, looking for some indication of how he might have arrived. There was nothing to explain it, though. Coming up with no sensible answers, Tamatoa just gave up wondering and marked it down as some stupid heroic demigod nonsense.
It didn't matter anyway. It didn't change the facts. He was stuck down here, exiled and alone.
He let his gaze drift upward. There was no sky, no stars in Lalotai. Instead, there was nothing but the rippling underside of the ocean, cold and indifferent. It filled him with aching misery. He missed his warm, sunny beach where he could nap in sultry afternoon. He wanted to look up and see the millions of glittering stars in the night.
His antennae drooped, hanging limply on the ground before him as he silently moped-slumped in the dirt and fully immersed in his own self-pity. Finally, though, something began to cut through his despondency like a knife-betrayal. Maui had done this to him. Maui had left him alone on that forsaken island for ages. Maui had returned only to exile him yet again. With those feelings of betrayal came slow kindling of resentment, building as his misery crystallized into deep seated rancor.
It was this newfound reserve of anger that finally drove him to his feet. This wasn't over. Somehow, he knew that inevitably that little semi-god would find his way to Lalotai on some foolish heroic mission. Well, he'd be waiting. He'd be ready and he wouldn't hold back next time.
First things first, though. It was time to carve out a new home here.
