Key: Aw thanks and I will. :) What's the other one? I might want to give that a read.
jhalpernkitcat: I looked it up and now I'm thinking of the play "Harvey" only it was a rabbit and not a dog. Arataki IS in a relationship with Awhina, but whether or not it is a public thing or not is up to interpretation. I loved making her and her brother because I wanted to have a good female OC for a Moana fan fic and to also put a spin on the 'Moana must get married' fan fic cliche by having him into someone else from the start.
I WANTED Tamatoa to pull Maui's hair and force his head back so that he could see him face to face for this symbolism/contrast between their human forms, but I opted not to in favor of Tamatoa acting realistic. Plus Subuku No Jess gave me the 'you're welcome' being thrown at Maui idea and deserves the credit.
I wanted Maui's voice to be used against him, plus the idea of it being heard out of its owner many miles away is pretty funny... and now I see the irony in what I just wrote. I knew I wanted to use the 'pain in feet' nod (hate the original ending too, I was depressed when I learned about it as a kid) with Moana as well as the Vanessa song because it fit TOO well after I gave it some thought. I didn't imagine that scene as a 'pep talk' but Tamatoa WOULD make an interesting coach, wouldn't he? ("Sparkle and strike a pose! No limp movements!")
The teeth on the necklace bit worked in my favor (I planned to use that for his escape since I first thought of it) and then I forgot that the shark tooth wasn't sharp, which was why I lucked out in finding the tooth that I needed instead. Tamatoa wouldn't have HAD to worry about being found out or questioned after we see what Moana is doing right now, but yeah his vanity bit him hard since he didn't expect Maui to get help. Gods was it satisfying to finally do that homage as I had imagined it! (Oh yeah, Looney Tunes and 'duck/rabbit' season LOL.)
Dreamer-Sara/DeterminedSoul: Well he's where he needs to be but... ah, keep reading. But yeah, 'stay determined' is good and 'please Moana, don't go on a genocide route and stay pacifist' too. You don't want someone to 'give you a bad time' do ya? We ARE referencing 'Undertale' right? *looks to Tamatoa who just shrugs since he's never played it.*
LunaiWolfWings: Ah *is embarrassed but happily accepts cupcake* Wait which two? Me and Tamatoa, or both Tamatoas?
Tamatoa's response to LunaiWolfWings: *laughs as he accepts cupcake* I've heard of those two and I admire their style and flair but I can't be their biological son for obvious reasons (and no, especially not from Ursula since we are different underwater creatures). Still I'm quite flattered when you all consider me to be at the same level as those guys.
Tamatoa's response to Child of Dreams: You're we–*realizes what he's going to say and stops himself*...sssssuuuuure thing.
Nausicaa of the Spirits: I guess that's an animated movie I still need to see then. I've read that fanfic, its pretty good. Actually its really interesting when I see fan fics that feature Tamatoa as a human or acts nice/kind-of-but-still-vain-nice. There's a lot more on Archive of our Own like that but... yeah you need to carefully look at the tags since there's some I wouldn't easily recommend.
Tamatoa's response to Nausicaa of the Spirits: I respect your request *carefully takes your hand and kisses it gently as if you were royalty before getting you go*
OfficialWhiteFireTheDragon: Or is it? :) *Makes to lift hands off your eyes* peek a boo!
Tamatoa's response to OfficialWhiteFireTheDragon: *laughs* Heh, except he's still me. I would totally win against myself but I don't know about eating him–think about it, how you you feel about eating a version of yourself?
Tamatoa's response to the Guest who tapped the wall: You DO realize that the little human got in the middle of this the moment Maui decided to bond with her of all humans, right? Sure what happened to us happened LONG before she was born, but if she's the only one who stands in my way at this point, then I can't have her anywhere near him. Also the writer says that your review has been sent more than once for the past few days for some reason. You aren't sending it more than once... on purpose are you?
Enigma: Aw good, you gave him love. :) Hmm, we know little of the jerky movement technique but this carnival gig sounds like fun (except I HATE being jumpscared and *glares angrily at the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise* I hate it when its a gimmick in games.)
Subuku no Jess: *sings loudly at the top of her lungs* WHAT CAN I SAY EXCEPT YOU'RE WELCOME?! :D
I'm good, we are all good. She was a good cat. :) Anyway I HAD to make fun of the edgy Moana I somehow created and I couldn't resist making Arataki say that line. There's another place I could have written that reaction but it wouldn't have fit the situation. And I think you pretty much got Moana's issue with the spell down, but now its a matter of breaking it. Also *puts on sunglasses and drops the mic* BOOM! LIKE A BOSS!
Tamatoa's response to Subuku no Jess: *grabs a HUGE sparkling mic and then drops it, causing anyone around to almost fall over from the resulting mini earthquake, and grins* YOU GO THAT RIGHT, BABE!
Ok, so I can't believe I'm doing this, but instead of a beginning A/N, I'm getting this off my chest before we start instead of saving it at the end for the sake of the story. What was that outtake I kept referring to? Well, let's see what happens when we go back a few chapters and Moana gets the help she needs *spins a hammer in her hands.*
-Some point during chapter 9-
Moana struggled to breathe as the stranger grabbed her throat and she tried to pull out of his grasp. Just as he began to lift the necklace up to her face–
CRASH!
Tamatoa stopped what he was doing, but still kept his hold on Moana as he turned his head to see a large hole in one of the rock walls and a person stepped out of it while tossing a hammer over their shoulder.
"What the–?! I thought that thing was unbreakable!" He yelled before he realized who was before him. "Wait... wait a minute what?! When did this become an 'insert the reader story?!'"
The person was none other... than you yourself?!
"HOW DID YOU GET PAST THE WRITER?!" He yelled at you. The answer was given as you heard a squeal of delight and you both turned to the hole to see an overexcited blonde haired, green eyed person look as if Christmas came early over a couple of objects in a bell jar on a table.
"Yes! Yes! YES!" The writer laughed with glee. "A Blu-ray of Moana! A ticket to a non-crowded theater for the live action Beauty and the Beast! Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild!" She made to grab at the jar. "I! Must! Have you! ALL!"
"Wow, I guess this explains a lot." Another voice echoed from the hole in a deadpan voice.
"I HAVE MY MATERIALISTIC NEEDS LIKE YOU, SO DON'T JUDGE ME!" The writer scowled as she hugged the jar.
...Turning back from that scene, you smirked as you got your weapon of choice out. Crab season was coming early for you and thank the stars he was not a fifty foot version of himself.
-A couple minutes and a decent fight later-
You hummed to yourself as you rummaged through an unconscious Tamatoa's belongings before finding the necklace he was going to use on Moana and took it. He kind of deserved what he had coming to him, and you did take some satisfaction in that.
You pondered over what to do with the necklace–give what was inside back to its owner, keep a hold on it, don't give it back, or use the voice inside to your advantage? Heck you knew the things you could do with that voice–think of the prank calls and wrestling fans you could play tricks on with it.
You then turned to Moana who was shaken, but ok and not a little ball of rage like Tamatoa had planned. With a smile, you say something kind and reassuring to Moana before heading towards her and helping her up. You knew that, despite whatever you intended to do with the voice in your possession, she needed to be somewhere safe so you both headed back to the village. You turned to see if the hole in the 4th wall was still there but it had been sealed up... for now.
All and all, this was a good AU of an AU.
Well it was that OR switch the necklace with Majora's Mask, which Tamatoa would have accidentally put on Moana, who would then summon the moon... but I doubt most of you guys would have gotten the reference.
...Do you need a moment after that outtake? It's ok if you go, go ahead and give yourself a moment.
Especially when you need to remember that the outtake isn't canon and we are about to see what will happen next.
Hmmm...
...You know I wish Moana won an Oscar for SOMETHING. Jerks.
But I did love Auli'i Cravalho performing 'How far I'll go' as well as the set. (MOANA MUSICAL PLEASE?!)
... I just realized that I corrupted a Disney princess in this fan fic. That is really weird to me.
...Ok are you ready to begin?
Ok, we are good.
So... I guess Motonui is actually spelled 'Motunui'? I don't know if I want to go back and change it all... ugh, IDK. Anyway, look carefully and there is a nod to two (or more) Moana songs hidden in this chapter.
Chapter 11: Who you are
Without any warning, the Chief's daughter had changed from a vision of beauty and promise of a great future for Motonui into a wild creature that harmed at least two people before reaching her father with an intent to kill him before the very eyes of all who were gathered together. Moana herself had paid no heed to the damage she had done and all she cared about was to free herself for good as the rage within was finally coming out and ready to be unleashed in a grand finale.
She let out the scream and brought the dagger down upon her father, whose eyes reflected horror for what his daughter had become rather than for his own life.
"STOP!" Sina yelled as she ran between her husband and her daughter.
In a split second, Moana acknowledged her mother appearing before her eyes and though she kept screaming, her hand twitched back long enough to give Sina a chance to grab Moana's arm. "STOP IT!" Sina yelled again as Moana tried to pull free and continued to scream out in rage, but her mother was able to grab the girl's arm with her other hand and braved the danger of the blade that was waving so wildly in the air that there was a good chance that she would get hurt. "MOANA, LOOK AT ME!"
Not a lot of people dared move an inch to help Sina as they waited to see what would happen and others didn't think that they could make it in time, though some cautiously stood up and were ready to jump to her aid if Moana got too out of hand. Even Maui had been caught by surprise at the woman's extreme bravery and stopped himself from smashing the shell between his hands as hard as he could.
As Moana began to pant through clenched teeth, she glared at her mother, who shot her a stern look. "This is not who you are." Sina firmly told Moana.
Was it a trick of her imagination, or did Sina see that Moana's eyes took on a faint purple color? She stayed her ground and carefully watched Moana as she guided Moana's hand so that she could see the blood upon the dagger. "This is not what you want to be." She told Moana. Deep down she regretted that she didn't see this coming and that she didn't try to talk to Moana about how she felt. "I know it."
Moana's eyes went from her mother to the dagger, whose blade was already coated in blood. This caused a small part of her to become aware of what she had done, even if it shot another bout of pain into her feet. But in the haze of her anger, a part of her remembered that she was almost going to kill off her own mother if Sina had not grabbed her arm in time.
This made the anger within vanish and, in a moment of clarity, Moana turned around to see that everyone was looking at her in both fear and concern as if she were a monster. Already there were parents hiding their children's eyes from her, while those she injured were cradling their wounds or applying pressure to stop the bleeding. The very people she had known since she was a child or had grown up alongside were now afraid of her and she had caused harm to them.
She was going to willingly kill her father in front of her people who believed in her and who she was supposed to help and support.
The pain was getting worse but Moana's horror towards her actions was making it impossible to allow herself to give in as she turned back to look at the dagger in her trembling hand. The blood upon it almost seemed to shine from what little sunlight there was left. Its not too late. A voice told her as the numbness was trying to force her thoughts back. Go ahead while you still can.
"No..." Moana's voice shook as she tried to fight the other voice and the pain inside her, no matter how much it hurt. "I can't... I can't..."
DO IT!
"Remember who you truly are." The woman's voice from the dream called out to her and her fingers began to loosen their hold on the weapon. She could barely remember who she was and she struggled to think, but the pain was trying to block it out.
Moana let out a yell of protest as the dagger finally dropped out of her hand and she collapsed to her knees on the ground–forcing her mother to let go of her in the process– as she tried to fight the spell that was upon her.
DO IT! The voice in her head screamed, but Moana tried to fight it back as she slammed her hands into the sides of her head as hard as she could. Everyone was still watching in concern and those closest to her were torn between stepping in or letting her go. In her mind she was sailing within a raging storm and she was trying her hardest to sail out of it.
I'M NOT A MURDERER! I DON'T WANT TO KILL ANYONE!
Moana held her head and yelled out in frustration as she rocked back and forth. It didn't take long for her headdress to completely slip off her head and collapse onto the ground in front of her, but she didn't care. The pain was growing and she was angry at herself for allowing this nightmare to happen. In her struggle to fight it off, she could see a flash of blue and recognized it as the necklace her grandmother gave her, which was hanging from her neck. "So long as you wear this, may you remember who you descended from and remember that we will always love you." Her grandmother's loving words broke through the haze.
I'm a girl who loves my island. She struggled to remind herself–she loved her people and she wanted to see them be happy, even if the task of leading them scared her. And there were people who cared about her, despite what she had believed.
"Do not let anyone change who you are."
And the girl who loves the sea. She wanted adventure and she would never back down from a challenge or an obstacle, no matter how hard it was. And there were people who supported this dream, even if she forgot about this.
"I hope you get to go back out on the ocean, kid. It likes people like you."
She had a heritage that she was part of that she wanted to protect and see it thrive so that it would not be forgotten. She had to fight in what she believed in and she couldn't do it if she gave into the rage.
"We know who we are, who we are."
Things like being by the sea, singing, going on a boat–those gave her happiness, but if she lost someone by her own hand she could never forgive herself. In her stupidity, she allowed herself to be used and she was so tired of being angry that she just–
"We know who you are, who you are."
That bitter and terrible storm of rage she allowed herself to become–that was not her real self. This version of herself was not the reason she had come so far at this point in her life. She was Moana and no one would take that away from her. "I'm–I'm–!"
"Remember who you truly are."
"I'M MOANA!" She yelled as loudly as she could as she ripped her hands away from her head and her hair came free from its binds and cascaded down her back.
At that exact moment, the shell on the necklace that had been used to control Moana cracked and the purple light died.
In a great big burst, the emotions that had been held back had completely returned to Moana and her eyes changed from milky purple and back to warm brown. The pain vanished and though it was replaced with something much worse inside her chest, it felt more real to her than any illusion. She almost felt as if she had been drained and the guilt over what she had done was almost too much to handle.
A great sob escaped Moana as she felt the tears escape her eyes. "I'm sorry!" Moana sobbed as she held her face in her hands. "I'm sorry!" She shuddered as she could barely face anyone after what she had done. How could she? "I didn't mean to! I didn't–!"
Sina knelt beside Moana and carefully moved the headdress aside before reaching her arms around her daughter. Moana immediately embraced her mother as tightly as she could when she sensed her close by and Sina gently held her as she stroked Moana's head.
"I'm sorry." Moana sobbed into Sina's shoulder as she held onto her. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright." Sina smiled with regret as she felt herself about to cry as she tightened her hold on her daughter. "You were hurting and I didn't comfort you when you needed it. I should be the one apologizing." She apologized, even though she was still not fully aware of the true nature of Moana's previous behavior. She didn't care why Moana attacked, she just didn't want her daughter to be that miserable anymore.
Everyone just stared in silence at the scene between mother and daughter and some were still afraid while others felt a strange sorrow or even remembered a similar (though less extreme, given the circumstances) moment in their own life. Others were just happy to see that nothing worse could have happened and that Moana came to her senses in the nick of time while being sympathetic to her. Not all of them knew exactly what was going on, but they could see that something had happened to lead up to this.
Tala let out a deep sigh and finally moved her hand away from her chest as she stood by her son, who felt as guilty as his wife, if not worse. He caused Moana to be so broken and so miserable that she almost went as far as killing him, yet he knew that it was all his fault. He almost lost his daughter, but not in the way he had worried about and that terrified him more than anything.
Tala herself had remembered what Moana said, and though she herself had been taken by surprise at what had happened, there was obviously more to the story that Moana tried to hint at. There was just no way she could have gone to the extent of attempted murder as a way to lash out or fight back against her father–it just wasn't like her.
Having felt the spell over Moana literally brake in his own hand, Maui looked down and carefully tried one last time to open the shell. He was surprised when the top part easily flipped open to reveal a familiar green pearl like object that he hadn't seen for three weeks and then it struck him.
In the end, Moana didn't need his help. With a little love from her mother, she was able to break the spell on her own.
Maui let out a small, short laugh and this time he could actually hear it echo back to him from within the green pearl. It never ceased to amaze him at how much the kid surprised him and maybe she didn't need to be someone who had to be saved all the time. She had been able to save herself when others would have given in and that made him admire her even more.
"What is the meaning of this, Tui?!"
Moana and Sina looked up to see Hoani stand up and glance at Moana before looking at Tui in anger. "Why did your daughter just try to kill you?! Why aren't you taking her away?!"
Moana felt a fear strike her in the heart, while Sina's hold tightened and she glared at Hoani. "It wasn't my fault!" Moana found herself yelling out as her tears quickly ceased. "Someone came to this island and put a spell upon me with a necklace!" But even as she said those words, she realized that no one would believe her. She could barely believe what she herself had just said.
There was a murmur of confusion at Moana's claim. "Oh a spell was put on her, she says!" Hoani rolled his eyes before gesturing to the girl. "See?! She's trying to deny it! That's your reason to lock her up and prepare her sentence!"
Maui's relief turned to panic. For one split second he had no idea what to do until he remembered he had more than enough evidence to prove Moana's innocence as well as the choice to finally speak again. He quickly took the pearl out of the necklace and shoved it into his mouth, where almost immediately he could feel it dissolve and become a part of him once more. Unlike the burning sensation that happened when his voice had been taken away, it felt comforting like taking a breath of air after being underwater for too long.
"I will not punish my daughter!" Tui yelled at Hoani and even Hoani's own siblings were growing annoyed at him as well as concerned that he would try to take action. "Our matters do not concern you!"
"They do if she chose the day we arrived to attack!" Hoani yelled as he looked down at mother and daughter. "Maybe she was going to kill my people too, so maybe we should have a say as well!" Moana's hold on her mother tightened up (why wasn't this nightmare ending?!) while Sina grabbed the dagger her daughter was using and was ready to use it herself. Sina scowled in determination as Hoani grabbed a spear from one of his men and even most of the islanders were ready to jump to Moana's aid if a war was to start. "Gods Hoani, just leave her alone!" Arataki yelled at her brother, but he paid no heed to her.
There was no way she could prove her innocence, Moana realized as her eyes widened in fear for her fate–she had no actual proof to confirm it. Sina herself was ready to lash out and tell her daughter to get off the island while Hoani began heading towards them. Sina's grip on the dagger tightened, though neither she nor her daughter was aware of the person who was about to come to their aid as he forced himself through the crowds and ran towards them as fast as he could. "So if you don't want a word about this to get out," Hoani began as he reached the two "Then you'll do your job or else I'll–"
"Lay a hand on her and I swear I'll make you regret it!"
There was a shocked silence amongst nearly everyone, but for multiple reasons. No one expected that the man without a voice had escaped and would come to stand right behind both Sina and Moana in a protective manner and they definitely did not expect him to actually speak. Some of the visitors thought they recognized the voice as well as the man, but his appearance was a lot different than what they had seen of him last time. In fact they almost were convinced that it couldn't possibly be the same person.
But the person who was most surprised was Moana because she knew that voice. She hadn't heard that voice since she was a child but it was still exactly as she had remembered it. The depth, the warmth, and images of the sun it invoked were still there, even if the voice was incredibly angry when it let out that warning. She did not expect that voice to come to her aid and when she realized the owner was right behind her, she turned around to finally see the man who saved her all those years ago.
Moana let out a gasp and placed a hand over her mouth as her mother also turned to see who it was that came to their aid. The identity of the voice of the owner almost shocked her and yet not quite as a part of her knew it had to be him of all people.
Maui would have been overjoyed to hear his voice again, but he was too focused on the matter at hand to care as he stayed right behind Moana and Sina. Seeing the other man go after Moana was one thing, but when it looked like he was about to separate her from her mother, it just made him even more mad then he already was. He glared at Hoani, who seemed incredibly confused at who was before him, but the moment the horrified recognition in his eyes kicked in and his mouth opened, Maui was quick to respond.
"You don't get to say anything, so shut it!" Maui pointed a finger at the Chief. "In fact, anyone who isn't from Motonui doesn't get to speak!" He glared at the other visitors. "I haven't been able to speak for the past three weeks so its my turn, not yours! My turn!" He pointed to himself before pointing to them. "Not yours! So shut it!" He made a gesture as if chopping the air in half for extra emphasis.
Hoani stared in shock before he scowled "You can't–!"
"SHUT UP!" Kahurangi angrily yelled at his brother who turned around in surprise. The young man shot an apologetic smile at Maui before waving at him to go on. Maui smiled in appreciation at the young man before turning to Tui and held out the broken necklace as he came towards him.
"This was being used to control your daughter." He explained as he came close enough for Tui to take a careful look. "The guy who used it on her is knocked out by this fale–he's wearing similar trinkets and has one leg. He's too shiny looking to miss."
As Tala's eyes widened as she stood beside Tui, Maui continued. "I tried to stop the spell, but your daughter was able to brake it herself." He gave it to Tui whose eyes widened in recognition, which Maui did not like. Gods, how much could have been avoided if Tui gave him or Moana a hint of the fact that Tamatoa got onto Motonui?
This is like the object. Tui realized as he saw the flecks on the shell that looked similar to the mysterious object. He was horrified at the implications, but he still couldn't help but feel suspicious towards this man who not only knew so much, but was suddenly able to speak as if he hadn't been a mute to begin with. "Give me one good reason why I should believe you after all that's happened." Tui demanded and the man before him was incredibly annoyed that he still had to be drilled about the lack of trust issue. In fact, Maui was about ready to yell a few choice words at Tui now that he had his voice back.
"Because that's the man who saved me all those years ago!" Both men turned their heads to see Moana stand up from her spot and her mother joined her as she gave her father a determined look. "I know that voice! I never forgot it!"
Maui couldn't help but smile but then let out an annoyed sigh as Tui addressed his daughter. "Even if that all had been true, how else could you prove it?" He demanded as Maui turned around to face him. "That was–"
"Did it look like she had some purplish black colored stuff on her eyelids?" Maui asked as he pointed to his eyes for emphasis.
This made Tui stop as he remembered the night Moana came back. He remembered it all too well and he remembered that Moana did have something like what the man mentioned on her eyes that kept her from seeing for a short time. He never believed her stories, but if this non-native of Motonui knew about it, then apparently they had to be true after all.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Maui smugly noted as he saw that Tui knew what he was talking about. On the other hand he was just glad that the whole matter was finally sorted out and that Moana was finally proven innocent. He wanted to say a lot more to Tui in regards to his parenting abilities, but that wasn't as important as the one person he needed to properly reunite with.
Moana had no idea if this whole day was a dream or not, and she didn't know how the man before her had escaped, but somehow he came to her aid right when she needed it the most. A part of her tried to remember back to what little she had been able to see or feel of her savior; she could almost close her eyes and when she went back to the memory, she could actually see the man standing before her on that fateful night. The owner of the voice looked almost exactly as she had imagined him to be for quite some time and when he turned around to smile at her with a welcoming familiarity, she could not imagine anyone else.
"I guess the ocean likes you after all, huh kid?" He asked her with a knowing and mischievous smirk at the little in-joke while raising an eyebrow at her.
Not even caring about anything else, Moana ran towards him as fast as she could–without any pain in her feet–until she collided right against his body and almost knocked him over but he was able to grab her upper arms and shoulders before she could fall over.
"I knew it had to be you!" Moana exclaimed with joy. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry but she was too happy and too relieved to care. She wanted to help this man get his voice back if it were possible and when he finally spoke he turned out to be the same man who saved her all those years ago. Finally she was reunited with him at last!
"I had this feeling and I–!" She bumped her head against his body as her hand went to her mouth as she felt the tears coming. There was so much to take in; she had to deal with being under a spell and then, right before she was about to be taken away to face her doom, this man came to help her when she needed it the most.
"I wanted to meet you again for so long." Moana confessed. "If I knew earlier, I wouldn't have acted like such a brat. I'm–" She took a breath. "I'm sorry for all I've put you through." Gods, that and what happened yesterday seemed like such a lifetime ago. She shook her head and was able to use the back of her fingers to wipe away whatever tears that managed to escape. Then her hands reach up to him until they were touching both his chest and his necklace as she moved to look up at him. She could see that he had already forgiven her for that time period in his eyes and in his warm smile. "But I guess its almost pretty ironic now!" She couldn't help but laugh. The irony was not lost on her and though a part of her regretted her childish behavior, most of it was genuinely amusing now, if not bittersweet.
Unknown to her, Pua smiled as he finally got to see that Moana had properly reunited with her savior like she wanted, even if she still didn't know the whole truth just yet. This was good enough in his opinion. Meanwhile Heihei was back to pecking the ground and could care less about what was going on.
Maui himself was more than happy to finally get this one moment when Moana learned who he was and especially because she recognized him after all this time. The fact that he had been able to help her on time and that she was safe was also comforting to him and it was all to the point that he almost felt about ready to get misty eyed as he let out a sigh of relief.
"My voice was stuck in that thing, so I owe you big time." Maui told Moana. "Trust me, I really wanted to tell you when I realized who you were, but–" He froze as he remembered that it was his fault she had ended up in this situation. He also didn't have much time left as he became aware of just how little sunlight there was left around him. Why couldn't there be a way to stop that accursed sun and make this one moment last longer?
He didn't want to just abandon her like this; in fact he knew he would miss his time here and he would miss her, but he would rather not let her feel like she was being used ever again.
"Listen Moana–I'm the reason that crab went after you." He told Moana with slight regret as his hold on her loosened up and he frowned. "I admit that I did some pretty selfish things and the last thing I want is for you to feel used again. I promise I'll explain and make it up to you when I'm done with him and then I'll leave."
Moana was confused by what he said, but her attention was drawn to the last part. "What–?! No!" Moana protested as she tightened her hold on his necklace. "I just found you again! You don't have to go, I–!" She paused. How did it get to this point? For half the time she knew this man, she couldn't stand him and then for the other half he became her friend who was able to help grant her deepest wish, who then also turned out to be someone she wanted to meet for a really long time. And now he was saying he was going to leave not long after she just put the two identities together into the same person. "I don't want–" she tried to say but had a hard time saying it.
Maui could sense what was going through her mind. He knew that for the longest time he had wanted to feel genuinely wanted and appreciated; he wanted the need to please someone to stop becoming a never ending cycle with each new generation. He wanted to feel like he belonged and he could almost feel it with this girl and her island and it made him more than happy.
But he also knew that he'd give away his one chance to stay the way he currently was for Moana if given the choice. He valued this one friendship too much to risk losing it forever, yet there was only one way for Moana to stay in his life–and for him to stay in hers–and he had to completely give that power to her.
"Would you really want me to stay, kid?" He asked her with a small, yet slightly hopeful smile.
Moana stared at him as she heard those words. He had no reason to stay after what her father had done, how much trouble she got him in, and life here was otherwise not that exciting–she wouldn't have been surprised if there was more to him than what she knew, but she knew the answer to his question.
Moana gave him a huge smile and opened her mouth as she was ready to jump up, hug him, and let him know just how much she would have liked that if such a thing were possible for him when all of a sudden–
"I wouldn't answer that question, mon princesse."
Moana flinched in horror when she heard that other familiar voice while Maui cringed and internally cursed as he realized he almost completely forgot about a certain someone. He drew Moana close to him in a protective manner as they–along with everyone else–turned to see the one who had hypnotized the teenaged girl. The person in question looked a little roughed up, but Maui could see that he was easily enjoying (no, more like basking in) the attention that now shifted to him.
"Especially now that I know how you'll react to the truth." Tamatoa smugly told the girl. He took awhile to wake up, but he had seen enough to know that (as he had suspected) there was still one more way to completely ruin Maui and it was all going to be thanks to the little human.
For one split second, Moana remembered what the man did to her–she remembered that despite appearances he was definitely not human–and though she was a little afraid and wanted to stay by someone she knew would protect her, she was also angry at the stranger for what he had done. "Moana, wait!" Maui protested as Moana forced herself out of Maui's grasp and stormed up to the stranger, but not before snatching a spear from one of the villagers and pointed the head at him.
"Oh what, are you going to try to kill me instead of your daddy?" Tamatoa asked in a deadpan manner while Maui almost nervously watched on, though he admired that Moana was gutsy enough to try to threaten Tamatoa. Did she even have an idea as to who she was facing?
"And do the thing you wanted me to?!" Moana demanded. "No! You had a reason to be here and I wont let you have it! And I know you aren't human, so you can't fool me anymore!"
"You really think you can threaten me like that?" Tamatoa snorted, unaware that both Arataki and Awhina sneaked around him with their own weapons.
"You think you can say that with all of us around, sparkles?" Arataki growled as she and Awhina pointed their own weapons behind the stranger. This made Tamatoa look back and he flinched when he saw that he was nearly ambushed by the two women. When he looked back, he could see that a huge majority of the villagers and the visitors were equally more than mad at him–especially all three members of the girl's family, who looked about ready to tear him apart–and some were just on edge after what happened earlier and were a little terrified. The only person who knew any better was Maui and his concern for his human friend was all too clear on his face.
"Get off Motonui and leave us all alone for as long as you live." Moana calmly demanded in a steady voice. For one moment she was as if she already were the Chief of Motonui and it was a glorious sight to see.
Despite her command, Tamatoa merely took one look at the sky before letting out a chuckle. "Oh that's cute." He began as he casually moved Moana's spear from his face with the back of his hand. "You're brave, you have a lot of people who want to help you, and even the ocean itself is on your side, but you still don't know what you got yourself caught up in." He then gave Moana a dark and very eager grin that almost shook her to the core. "Remember that personality question I asked you earlier? What would you say if Maui turned his back on the human race and left them because they all took him for granted?"
"I don't care." Moana growled as Maui immediately knew what Tamatoa was going to do and he was torn between telling Moana to not listen to him or to tell Tamatoa to shut up.
"Why don't you go ahead and ask him about that yourself." Tamatoa's voice deepened in a sinister tone and he grinned as he looked to Maui. "Especially since he was on this island the whole time." These words confused Moana, who lowered the spear. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
At that moment the sun gave off one flash of light as if to deliver its own moment of triumph over Maui before vanishing into the depths of the sea to signal that Maui's time as a human was up.
When Maui felt a familiar burning sensation inside him, it came so fast that he took in a sharp breath of air and collapsed to his knees as he clutched his body. This alerted Moana to her friend and she dropped the spear and abandoned an incredibly delighted Tamatoa as she hurried to Maui.
"What's wrong?!" Moana demanded in concern as Maui clutched his chest and was panting heavily. Gods, this was not going to be pleasant and already the burning inside him was about ready to make him scream out. It was taking all his will power to not let it happen, but he couldn't hold it back. The burning was coursing through his body, from his head to his toes and it was going to get much worse.
"Don't watch this." He panted the warning to Moana and winced as he managed to look up at her as she tried to reach a hand towards his shoulder. The poor girl was alarmed and had no idea what she was about to be in for, yet she still tried to reach out to him.
He didn't want her to find out the truth like this.
"Trust me Moana, its not going to be pleasant!" He tried to hiss out before gritting his teeth. Now he was starting to feel it on the outside of his body and he was not looking forward to what would happen next.
"What isn't?!" Moana demanded but then her eyes widened as she saw a faint blue light begin to surround her friend as well as form strange markings upon his body from the neck down.
"I SAID DON'T–!" Maui yelled but it was too late as the light engulfed him completely and Moana–as well as almost everyone else–was forced to close her eyes and shield them with the back of the arm before she would become blinded by it.
As Moana kept her eyes shut, she could hear her friend screaming in agony. It was much worse than when she tried to fight off the spell and she could hear that he was in a lot of pain from whatever was happening to him. In fact it was so awful that she could also empathize with him after having to go through her own ordeal–it was like she could feel his pain within her body. But what exactly was happening to him?
For Maui it was much more horrible because it was all that he had suspected and worse. Feeling his mana–his power and his immortality–return back to him felt as if he were thrown into the fire again and it felt like he was being repeatedly stabbed to death in almost every inch of his body. He could barely hear himself screaming, but he could almost feel that he would lose his voice again just from doing the action so much. It felt like it would never end no matter how much he wanted it to stop. It was enough to once again make dying seem like a better option but this time he couldn't pass out from the pain as it kept him awake.
Moana continued to hear the screams and just when she couldn't take it anymore and wanted it to stop before she would go insane, she heard the light die away and her friend finally ceased screaming before she heard him collapse to the ground with a thud.
Slowly Moana opened her eyes to see that the light was gone and that the man before her was laying against the ground and was heavily breathing. She immediately knelt in front of him and made to reach out and help him back up, but she noticed something about his appearance had completely changed and it made her stop. She could hear others around her murmur or whisper in confusion, but her attention was only on her companion as he grunted and slowly tried to get back up, though the way he gingerly moved said that he was still dealing with some of the discomfort from whatever happened to him.
The many scars that once covered most of his body had vanished, but in their place was an incredible tapestry of many different and detailed tattoos upon skin that looked as if it had never been damaged to begin with. Even the tattoos he previously owned had changed. His hands had been spared from the artwork but Moana quickly saw that he had far more tattoos than she could see, to the point it was like he was a living tapestry. She didn't know how, but when her eyes drifted to look at the tattoos, she saw that his lavalava had become a skirt of many different leaves that looked like something her ancestors would have worn.
She watched as he got himself in a kneeling position and was looking down at the tattoos on one arm, which he rotated so that he could see them in their entirety. His hair was blocking his face and he had his head bent down low enough that she couldn't see his face or his reaction to the change. For one moment she was afraid that she would see something terrifying when he would look up, like the night before, before a part of her forced it down and reminded her that he was still her friend no matter how much he changed before her eyes.
And then just when she thought she couldn't be surprised anymore, she looked at the tattoos again– all the stories on his body and all the creatures were centered around a certain figure that she easily recognized. Adding up all the facts, such as his personality, his build and the fact that she thought he was a warrior, the fact that he had been so calm about the ocean being alive and how he could have saved her when she was a child from the kakamora in the first place–
No...
No it couldn't be.
"M–" She was almost too nervous to say it and she almost couldn't believe she was going to say it, but for the first time she attempted to guess his name and also confirm the third and final identity of the being before her. She took a deep breath and then, in an uncertain tone, asked "Maui?"
He finally looked up at her and she was almost surprised to see that his face remained completely unchanged–there was no tattoos upon it, no supernatural characteristics, but it was still the same face she knew. There was a look in his dark brown eyes that spoke of someone who had been caught in a horrible act and had a lot to regret, but there was much more that she never saw before. For the first time she could see that there was an agelessness in those eyes that extended well beyond the seemingly physical age of his body.
He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face as he let out a deep sigh. He then moved his hand away from his face and opened his eyes before he answered her in a slightly weary and almost broken voice with little to no attempt at being dramatic. It was like he didn't want to admit it and yet he had to force himself to say it.
"Yes it's really me, its Maui... breathe it in."
If Moana could collapse she could, but instead she just stared at Maui in wide eyed shock. She heard the tales about Maui so often and she herself once said that one would be lucky if you so much as ever saw him. And now it turned out that the man who had saved her as a child, who had been with her for three weeks on her island, and who helped her fulfill her dream, was none other than the legendary hero of all himself. This was who he really was and this was his true form, which seemed to suit the identity of a great demi-god, but why had he taken on a slightly different form to begin with? Why didn't he tell her when he could?
As for Maui, he could feel his full power (despite how much his body ached) and he should have been glad to see his tattoos again, but he didn't. His worst fear was coming true before his eyes and he didn't want Moana to hate him, even though he knew she was going to in mere moments.
Moana heard a triumphant laugh from behind her that made her turn around to see that the stranger was more than happy to see that Maui had returned back to normal. But it wasn't in a good way–that mean spiritedness from before once again appeared in his laughter.
"Oh you foolish girl, if you actually made him feel wanted and gave him more love then you would have made him a human forever like he desired!" He told her before he calmed down and began to explain. "You see, because you and the others were taking advantage of him and because the burdens of immortality were finally getting to him, he wanted to stop helping you and end his days as a human. But that only would have been permanent if you had accepted him for who he was before this day ended–without him being able to speak." He added with slight annoyance. "So I hate to break it to you, but you were just a means to an end for your beloved 'hero', mon princesse." Tamatoa looked at Maui and watched as the demi-god cringed and made no attempt to deny his words while trying to avoid looking Moana in the eye as well as everyone else who was shocked to find this out.
Moana's family was especially surprised to discover the true identity of the man who was tasked with watching over Moana, though Tala was calm about it as she knew that something about the voiceless man seemed rather unique from the start (but in a good way). It was Pua who was by Tala's feet who was crushed for both Moana and Maui as he hadn't wanted Moana to find out in such a terrible manner.
Moana herself could not believe what she was hearing. That was why the constellation had been missing this whole time? And this was why he had grown close to her? But that's not true. She tried to tell herself. If he had recognized me–if he hadn't– She didn't want to believe what the stranger was telling her–that the friendship she gained was false.
Tamatoa then added to Moana in a slightly mock cheerful tone "But hey, he was just a means to an end too, right? You couldn't have gotten out onto the ocean without his help, so that doesn't exactly make you better than the others, does it? I mean he did get in a lot of trouble thanks to you and you just denied him his only chance at being happy as a mortal."
Moana almost felt sick to her stomach as she took those words in. To hear those accusations was unbearable because she could see the bit of truth in them and to be accused of using another person in anyway made her feel horrible. She could not have fulfilled her wish if she hadn't–
But how the heck could she have seen this all coming? She didn't even know how to react or if she should be angry at someone. Who was she supposed to blame for this?
As for Maui, he quickly felt himself get angry at Tamatoa because this was all his own fault, not Moana's. And now Tamatoa was going to pin the blame on her anyway?! Maui then yelled at Tamatoa as he felt the last of the pain within him die off. "Hey lay your overgrown claws off her!"
Moana then remembered something when she heard the odd choice of words used in her defense. She saw this creature's real reflection last night in the waterfall... and then she realized that Maui knew this man and that he called him a crab... and this man was covered in unusual adornments and was missing a leg.
"Oh you got to me kidding me." Moana whispered in dread as she realized who the stranger was and why he had hypnotized her to begin with. Who else would want to go this far and try to ruin Maui?
"By the way, he was also dumb enough to turn this into a bet with me, but since he failed I get something out of this like he agreed to." Tamatoa added with a knowing smile.
"You already damaged my reputation like you wanted, what more could you possibly want?!" Maui yelled at Tamatoa. Seriously, Tamatoa pretty much destroyed him in front of all these humans with the reveal of his identity and why he had done what he did and if he wanted to ruin his friendship with Moana then Tamatoa did his job a little too well.
"Oh mon ami." Tamatoa chuckled as he shook his head. "Remember that I said I would take something you hold most dear and that I would be thinking about it the whole time you were a human? Well at first I thought I knew what it was, but then I started thinking about things a bit more and... Well, sadly for you, I know for sure what it is you value over even your one chance of becoming a human again, and guess what?"
And then Maui could only watch in mute horror and regretted ever even thinking of taking up Tamatoa's offer in the first place–heck, everything that lead to making that choice, and for being stupid and not fast enough to have not seen this coming–as Tamatoa gestured a hand out to Moana.
"She's going on a one way trip back to Lalotai with me!"
Moana felt her heart stop when she heard those words and she made to get up and take a few steps back away from Tamatoa as everyone around her took action.
"You're not taking my daughter away, you monster!" Tui yelled in anger as almost all the villagers all made to get ready to attack and took up anything they could use as a weapon. He already put Moana in a lot of danger because of his stubborn and over protective nature and he was not going to do it again. Even most of the visitors were ready to join in to help save Moana from the stranger.
"Said the loving father who practically handed her over to me." Tamatoa merely replied back, though he was not aware that Moana's grandmother had quickly picked up on who he really was and when she looked him over, she saw something hidden among his adornments that looked extremely familiar. It was a lot smaller than it should have been and was carefully hidden away, but there was no denying what it was.
"Was Maui's hook part of the deal, Tamatoa?!" Tala challenged the crab with a grin as she saw that maybe there was a chance to stop the creature while giving away his identity to everyone at the same time. "I see you wearing it like a trophy!"
Tamatoa shot Tala a very enraged look as Maui realized what the woman was trying to imply, while others like Arataki quickly figured out that this would not end well if the stranger was indeed Tamatoa. He would kill the old hag if he wanted to... except...
Unfortunately for Maui, Tamatoa sensed that his own time was up. Good, he was starting to get uncomfortable in this form (like he could burst out of it at any minute) and was hating the restrictions and feeling of being contained that came with it.
He calmly turned to the demi-god, who slowly made to get up and back away to reach his precious little human friend. "Hey Maui," Tamatoa began. "You're dramatic reveal was good... but I bet mine'll top yours." He held his hand up to reveal that it was starting to glow with a faint sickly purple as he shot Maui a dangerous and knowing grin.
Maui knew just what was going to happen and he was not going to take any chances.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" He yelled at everyone as he grabbed Moana by the wrist and almost made her fly as he pulled her alongside him and ran as fast as he could away from the area and towards one of the many forested areas on the island.
"MOANA!" Sina yelled for her daughter as someone grabbed her and pulled her away from the stranger, while Tui made to grab a weapon. Already some were following Maui's advice and ran for it (and parents quickly picked up their children and hurried as fast as they could to safety) while others stayed and were ready to fight.
"Oh what, you aren't going to stick around for it like I did?" Tamatoa demanded to Maui in an offended tone. "Some friend you are." He added before the light engulfed him.
Meanwhile, Moana found herself struggling to run alongside Maui as he pulled her away from her people. She could feel how strong he actually was when he almost yanked her arm off and crushed the flowers and leaves around her wrist as he held onto her lower arm. Now he had already gone past several fales in half the time it would have taken a normal human and she could barely keep up with him. As if he sensed that Moana wouldn't keep up, Maui quickly and easily grabbed and lifted her up before he slung her over his shoulder for the second time in her life and this time she made no attempt to get out of his grasp. In fact, due to the circumstances it was now quite the opposite.
"What are you doing?!" Moana yelled at Maui as she struggled to hold on to him as he ran away from her village.
"Getting us a head start!" Maui yelled back at her. "Trust me, he'll catch up to us in no time! And don't even think of slapping me again!" He yelled out a warning at Moana as he felt her digging her hands into his back as she tried to hold on. In the process, Moana accidentally moved his hair away from his upper back and saw the tattoo that took place of the worst of the scars that he previously had.
"What the–?!" Moana gapped at the image of a long haired woman tossing an infant into the ocean. Why did Maui own this tattoo and why did it get the worst of the scarring in his human form? Maui himself realized seconds too late that Moana saw the one tattoo he always tried to hide, but he had no time to think on it or tell her to quit looking at it.
There was an explosion in the distance, followed by screaming of many people, and Moana looked up in alarm to see a huge light erupt from where the community fale had been, followed by a scream that grew in size that almost reminded her of Maui's screams of pain. Then she felt her stomach drop as she heard the scream turn into a familiar laugh of triumph and she watched as a large creature escaped from the light and damaged a lot of fales as it charged towards them.
Right before Maui carried her into the forest that could hide them under the trees, Moana could properly see the real form of the stranger who sang to her, who tried to charm her, and who almost made her kill her father in his desire for revenge. It was a gigantic crab of many vibrant colors and the mountain of golden or pearl hued adornments and treasures that covered his shell and his legs made them pop out. He was also large enough that he could easily cover up a good portion of the village under his body and she could clearly see the familiar crooked teeth as his eyes focused on her and Maui. It felt like a lifetime since she pretended to act like that monster for the children and now he was right behind them and ready to take her away into the realm of monsters with him as another addition to his treasures.
"I'M COMING FOR YOU!" Tamatoa's voice boomed out in an almost sing song tone as he chased after the both of them at an alarming speed, despite that he was not used to the bumpy terrain of Motonui.
Moana tightened her hold on Maui as she realized that she was now going to have to fight for her life as well as demand a heck of an explanation from Maui. Meanwhile, Maui kept his hold on the girl as he ran as fast as he could into the forest and knew that he would have to figure out a way to get his hook back if he wanted to save Moana.
And that meant that he needed to get ready to improvise the heck out of this situation, take advantage of Motonui's landscape and the surrounding waters, get Tamatoa off this island, and fight to the death if he had to because he was ready to get himself killed for this girl if that was what it would take to keep her safe.
Where do I begin? So much pain but so much love! (That and that this chapter's alternate title is 'Lots of screaming in pain.')
First I wanted Moana to be able to save herself from the curse on her because I didn't want her to get rescued all the time. Plus I wanted the power of familial love be just as important as the love that comes through friendship. It felt important to her character and the theme of identity that is presented in her film.
Secondly...
Oh boy, when I first did this fan fic, I didn't expect people would be into it enough for it to go beyond a one-shot. Several views, over 80 followers (the most I've gotten for ANY fan fic), 100 reviews, and ten chapters later, I finally got to the part where Moana would learn who saved her that night. It felt good to allow Maui to talk again and even better for them two finally have that proper reunion... just... argh! And at this point I wanted Maui to be more excited, but then I realized he had a lot of growing up and thinking to do and I realized he would try to come clean with her, but for him to try to give her the power to make him human was super important for me. God, I wanted these two to hug, but if they did then... well, you saw why Tamatoa stopped Moana.
In my mind I almost compare Maui turning back into a demi-god as something similar to 'Thor' but maybe not through the same circumstances.
Also, some of you guessed almost from the start it was going to be Moana that Tamatoa would want to take from Maui. I debated about this choice, but I knew that no matter what, it had to be Moana because of what she meant and represented to Maui. His reputation as a hero COULD have been a better choice, but how better to ruin Maui then take away the thing/person he cared a lot about?
Actually since I know some of you wanted Maui to fail and stay as a demi-god, I wonder how many of you were rooting for Tamatoa. I kind of enjoyed writing him out as a huge jerk to both Moana and Maui in this chapter. Though Sina would have totally gone after him if given the chance and we all know that you do NOT want to make a parent from a Disney film angry.
Ok... if writing Zelda fan fics taught me anything, its that ANYTHING involving lots of fighting can take a month to write out as well as careful planning. As well as knowing the area in question and how your characters fight, which means I probably NEED to see the movie again. But hey, when you got a shapeshifter, a determined girl, a giant crab, a few promising areas to fight in, that equals a lot of fun potential for me to not waste. I don't know how long it will take or if I'll need to cut the chapter in half, but I promise an epic and suspenseful showdown because honestly there is a lot you can do with a giant crab and a guy who can shape shift (and maybe make him shape shift into a few large creatures too).
In the meantime, I've been working on some more drawings for this fic for fun and I will post them on deviantart/tumblr, but I am aiming to post them either tomorrow or the day after that, so keep your eyes peeled (and again, it will be under the name tornrose24).
Until then, our duo has reunited and is being chased by a giant crab who should be sued for property damage and more. See you next time and enjoy yourselves until we come back.