To Sky: I've finally read your story, brilliant! Too bad I don't have Deviantart account hence I couldn't leave any comment.

To my loyal reader: Ok, a hard chapter to write, a lot of complicated things happened in this section. Also pardon for my language slip up, real life situations intervening with my writing and just so happen this piece is not beta'ed yet (but I wouldn't have a chance to post it this week since my husband is away). Thank you once again for all your support, as a fiction writer, your voice as readers means a great deal to me! Thank you.

A few chapter ago... remember Anahera was advising Maui not just to 'tell' but to 'show' how he felt for Moana? He would take her counsel down to the word! Ending is not far now, I promise you it'll be sweet and heartfelt :-)

Now, without further ado... let's begin.

"No, you can't be Maui! Tell me you are not!"

Her wounded shout startled him, and the last embers of hope were extinguished with the chill of her voice.

Maui. For Moana, that name should be spelled out adventure, excitement, and happiness now instead brought her betrayal and anger. A confused and damaged expression hung over her face as she drove her accusation.

How could he do this to her? The smile that was minutes ago imprinted on his face, now wrecked havoc in her bleeding heart the longer it took him to tell her the truth.

"You! YOU LIAR! How could you?!"

How could she be so ignorant and conceded to just accept his advancement, sweet words and every single thoughtful action to simply delude her broken heart? How could she allow her feeling to be ensnared twice in such a short period of time? And thinking about how similar the traits between Maikai and Maui were―how could she even miss it? Or…had she suspected but mentally denying it?

Maui flinched at Moana's biting, acidic outburst, but have nothing else to retribute. He deserved this.

Positively indignant, Moana tossed her chin, flicking her wet hair that slapping right across her miffed face once again. She stomped on the floorboard of the canoe with such a force that they shook its frame, and stayed like that for a long time.

The next couple of hour was spent in hostile silence. Maui had tried to talk to her, persuade her to eat or drink, but her answers were the same.

"Not. Hungry." Her voice was small but full of spite.

"Moana, please?"

"GO AWAY!" It was hard to sound menacing when she was a nineteen-year-old girl, with a flower tucked by her ear, with an oar that had a random fish hook and a heart scribbled on it, but it didn't stop Moana from trying.

"Don't you feel a little sorry for me? I've done this five times now," Maui moped, looking at a few other banana leaf plates that had been rudely ignored. At first, he thought Moana didn't fancy eating the fish after having the same thing three days in a row, so he tried prawns, but again she said no. Perhaps squid would do the trick?! Barbecued squid garnished with spicy seaweed―surely no one couldn't resist that?!

"Six times actually," She snapped indignantly. When Moana still decided to fast, Maui went on a vegetarian option. Even after close to a day without food, Moana still adamant that she was too upset to eat.

"Look, I know you are angry, but at least you have to eat," he implored.

"Do I?" came her voice, challenging him.

"Geez, I've had an easier time making Heihei eat. At least he didn't argue when I pushed his dimwitted head to peck the floorboard," Maui deadpanned. "Oh come on, Curly! When are you gonna forgive me?"

Silence was her answer.

"You know ―we are on this super dangerous mission. You don't want to be ill when we arrived in Kailua."

Again there was no answer. Maui huffed helplessly. Surrendering to his fate, he sat at the far corner edge of the canoe, facing his sight towards the endless sea. Then he heard gentle footfalls on the plank. Discreetly, he stole a glance just to witness Moana began digging into her food.

Maui relaxed against the wall, enjoying the sound of Moana's rapacious chewing alternated with glugging sound. Maui was quite positive Moana would never trust him anymore, but at least she listened to him. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Have you eaten?"

Her change of intonation startled him, but Maui tried to sound normal. "No, but I'm okay," he fibbed, the truth was he had not been eating nearly as long as Moana. He was so worried about her, that he hadn't eaten yet. Suddenly a piece of fish rocketed into his mouth, completely uninvited.

"Have some," she said without looking, her intonation was uncaring and nonchalant. But her gesture said otherwise,"You are such a lousy liar, do you know that?"

Maui stared at her blankly, fishtail still dangled out of his mouth.

"I'd wish I had never met you," she said, but her voice didn't sound as vicious as it used to.

Maui nodded remorsefully. "I'm sorry… I felt terrible just thinking of it."

"Hearing it ain't that sweet either," she responded. "If I wanted to be truthful, I felt idiotic now that I...―"

"Look! Flying Pig!" Maui exclaimed, eyes sprouted out with feigned shock. But Moana already knew his decoy. "Maui! Focus!" He had been using the same trick all over again. It's his classic defense system to avoid serious talk with her.

"Right, sorry… talking, uh…emotional… heart-to-heart kinda thing wasn't, wasn't my forte." He whined flatly."I wish… I'd never… ―"

"Don't say it," Moana interjected,"Life is not built out of ifs, buts, and wish."

"I know, you've been saying that for the…. Million times. But. You'd be happy if I didn't come to Motunui a couple of weeks ago."

"I would say you'll be dead of boredom," she snickered. "And I'll be a sex slave of a perverted psychopath."

"Sound promising," Maui butted in, scoffing in sarcasm, "But none of us would know the difference." Maui tried to reason,"If you never call me in the first place, we wouldn't find out about Akoni's revenge, met that wicked Tane. Probably that guy would stay civil if we didn't found out his devious plan."

"I hate to destroy your fantastical musing, but that's highly impossible. That guy is clearly an experience fraudster," Moana defended her opinion.

"Ok, at least… less…. Painful. Perhaps? Ignorance is bliss remember?"

"Nice try," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes derisively at him.

Maui took a large measure of breath and sighed audibly. "Look Mo, I have a reason for this. I am truly am. I do all this because… ―" Suddenly his mouth became dry, a nervous twist forming in his chest. But, this was his chance.

"Because of what―?!" Moana demanded impatiently.

Marshaling his courage, he pressed the word out of his heart. "Because I love you!"

Moana made a sarcastic sound to express what's in her mind, and Maui knew, he couldn't blame Moana if she didn't take his confession seriously. Reflecting on the train of events, he was lucky enough to just get a snicker when deep down he had expected a slap or something more.

"Is this another of your trick? Another cruel joke? Let me tell you this, it isn't funny."

"What?" Maui's turned to feel insulted, somehow getting a hit his love proclamation wasn't considered seriously. "Mo, think about this―you won't let me accompany you to Kailua if you knew Maikai and I was the same person, right? Especially when you know how much Tane wanted my head as a decoration on his fale," he spat. "And then, I wouldn't need to disguise myself, and you wouldn't fall for my amazing charm, good looks, arresting eyes, captivating smile and flawless wit… ―"

"Oh! Please! Enough of all your gloating!" she rebuked, voice raised.

"And you would never have known how my lips taste like," Maui added coolly, somehow enjoying the growing irritation on her face. Didn't she know she looked positively irresistible when angry?

Moana gawked incredulously. "What―? Really?" She rolled her eyes, but deep down she knew Maui was just trying to keep things light to ease the bristling tension between them after his ugly disclosure.

"Apart from that, I had an important revelation to tell you," Maui added.

"Oh gosh, I am so not ready for this. Wait….wait," Moana raised her hand, stalling him,"Is this going to undo the damage you made, or would it make it worse?"

"Ugh, hard question. The truth is I don't know."

"I think my lungs just collapsed from acute tension," Moana feigned a choking face.

Maui snorted before wearing his serious voice. "Listen, Mo. I might have lied using my looks, my touch, and gesture. But I didn't lie when I say how much you meant to me," he said, his tone was firm, sincere. His eyes were genuine and thick with affection. "I know I have done wrong, and I really need to apologize, but please….just give me a chance to make things right, okay?"

His earnest confession evoked the stream of nostalgia, over the things he did for her the past weeks. Moana knew Maui didn't need that chance, he had won her heart through every selfless sacrifice that he made. But how could he lie to her?

It was then the beads of tears began to form on the edge of her eyes.

"Oh great, now you just emotionally blackmailing me." Maui groaned, but his hands were creeping on her back to offer her some consolation.

It pained her, she knew somehow that despite all these, there was no way they could reverse what had been done, and bridged their broken friendship. It was altered forever.

"Please, don't say it again. You've made things worse.. ―"

"No.. no, I won't say things anymore. I just wanted to ask, did you truly mean you love me, or the image of Maikai?"

"That's really unfair, Maui. You lied to me now you demanded the truth?" Her teary eyes flashed with anger and betrayal.

"Ugh sorry," Maui squeaked.

"Look, I always looked up to you as my protective big brother, my partner in crime," Moana began, mustering whatever strength she had to draw her point across.

"I remembered how cool we were fighting Tamatoa together, climbing that stupidly high peak in Lalotai only to plunge myself down. And how amazing it felt when you boldly defended me, distracting Te Ka even if that would destroy your beloved fish hook… I will be lying if I say the sixteen-year-old in me didn't squeal excitement every time I imagine you and me doing this all over again. I adore you, Maui, but never loved that version of you. But, there would always be a place for that Maui in my heart.

"But then when you appear as Maikai, it sort of gave me a new start… it gave me time to think, to look and evaluate you without that big brother context looming in the background. To consider you as my equal, my partner… And that's when I realized how much you meant to me. Not the legendary Maui, not the demigod, the shapeshifter. It was you, the real you―the person that I got to know defending me without relying to any superpower, spending time on the deck talking mindlessly about anything, the guy that cracked jokes and enjoyed humiliating himself. Just Maui… this Maui. I didn't think of who you are before, but who you are now. I had never fallen for Maikai's looks or his magnificent physique, it was his kindness and personality that gets me. "

That moment Maui was staring in disbelief, his mind racing to digest her long confession.

"Satisfied?!" she said, breaking into his thoughts."Now you can dump me." Her voice dropped together with her eyes, and something in the rigid curve of her expression spoke of overwhelming disappointment.

"What?! I thought I told you how much you meant to me?!"

"You told me before, Demigod." Moana jabbed his pectoral fiercely that he flinched."God and mortals never meant to be together. Correct?"

Then Maui got that distant, sad look in her eyes. He knew that deep down she was worried whether she could love and serve him all the same even when time and age ate her figure, whether when her time on earth was up, Maui wouldn't be left alone again, sorrowful and lonely.

"Perhaps you were right. I should've just surrendered to my fate and marry Tane instead."

"Mo, that's not what I meant!"

"No, it's enough! Maui, we are just friends. And friend we will be!"

They were so focused on hitting each other on the battle of viewpoints that they'd failed to notice an army for giants swarming them like termites.

"Fancy meeting you two here," said the middle-aged man that Moana quickly recognized. It was Rangi. Tane right-hand man.

"I guess rightly then, that you would venture to visit us, Miss Waialiki. But I didn't expect you'll be taking the Demigod with you," the man grinned, subtly signaling the rest of his men to capture Moana and Maui. "Which work perfectly inline with our plan, our chief would be delighted knowing that the prey had invited himself into the trap," Rangi said, staring pointedly at Maui.

Maui's immediate reflexes were to brandish his Fish Hook in defense, sweeping it menacingly towards the army of men who surrounded him. "How dare you!" he hissed, but Rangi had anticipated this and cleverly seized Moana and placed his taihia next to her throat.

"Demigod, I won't be so feisty if I were you," he cautioned him calmly, arching his weapon to just barely graze Moana's delicate throat.

Instantaneously, Maui considered his action and dropped his stance. "No…! Please―! Don't hurt her!" He even threw his Fish Hook on the side as a sign of compliance.

The pitiful tone of Maui's voice scraped fiercely on Moana's heart. She had never heard him plead… not even when Tamatoa tortured him or not even when the Te Ka launched her lethal assault. Maui was a hero with personality as big as his body. He was a respected and prideful Demigod. Yet, he was so quick to yield, to beg, succumb and reduce himself in defeat to ensure her safety. Did he value her….this much? Inadvertently, her eyes began to leak again as she stared at him, chest twisted from a strange mixture of piercing sadness and warmth.

"Good, now follow us if you want your little girl's head stayed intact," came Rangi's voice alternating with a slight chuckle. Moana's body jerk as the man that held her hands shoving her forward, forcing her to move.

Maui's eyes were printed on her back, gnawing his own lips in anger witnessing how they treated her. He growled viciously, but surrendered his hands and let the mortals tied his wrists. He was about to say something when he felt a sharp pain pierced his neck, and everything went black.

The next time Maui opened his eyes he was inside a cage with numerous hulking giants as big as him, pointing their weapon in anticipation of his ambush. He must have been unconscious for at least a day because his immortal body felt weak and his energy was running low. Sluggishly he picked himself from the ground, a seething white pain rewarded his effort and he instantly fell back to the ground. A guard immediately dashed out of the room, perhaps alerting the Chief that their captive was conscious. Less than a minute later, an old man who wore an intricately patterned skirt. He must have been two decades older than Tui, his hair was white and his small frame was crooked with age. Maui conjectured he must be Akoni.

Maui's lips pulled into a snarl watching them approached the cage, staring at them indignantly, but when he saw the silhouette of a girl they dragged behind them, his expression fell. "Moana!"

Her hand was bounded, thankfully there were no visible laceration, bruises or any evidence of assault. Instinctively, Maui ran towards the railing of the cage, instantaneously alarming the guards pointing their weapon to provoke him, Maui didn't care less about them hurting him, but he stepped backward when Akoni hovered his taihia next to Moana's neck.

"Watch whatever you are doing, Demigod," he warned, and Maui obediently complied.

As soon as she saw the Demigod, she struggled defiantly to break free. "I knew your plan, you evil people! And I am not afraid!" came Moana's incensed voice. She ignored the weapon which inching closer to her skin and remained stubbornly unfazed.

"Moana, don't!"

She withdrew at his exclamation. It tore him deeply to saw her eyes glistened in frustration and exasperation as she looked at him through the bar.

Moana was horrified by what she saw. Maui was caged like a sacrificial animal. His limbs were fettered to each other in order to limit his movement. His immortal body was covered with cuts and wicked looking gash that made Moana cringed if she imagined how those lacerations came about. His tattooed skin was stained with blood, he looked weak and positively exhausted. But her attention was briefly interrupted when her fiance, Tanemahuta, made his entrance. To her bewilderment, he looked equally shocked at the Demigod's condition.

"How could you do this to him?!" Moana glared angrily at Tane. How could she marry a man as wicked as him? However, to her bewilderment, Tane looked equally shocked at the Demigod's condition as much as she was.

"Honestly, if you think about how many people he had killed, our treatment almost too kind for a monster like him," Tane replied solemnly, laying foundations to justify whoever had inflicted the brutal torture.

"Tane, Maui is no monster! You are!" Moana spat back barely contained her anger and disgust. "He stole the Heart of Te Fiti to be given back as a gift of life to humankind."

Anger flashed in his eyes hearing Moana's accusation. "What did you call me?" he snarled. But suddenly, a loud sound of lashing followed by a howling pain interrupted them both. Maui crunched in pain as the whip made contact with his abused flesh. Next to him, Akoni grinned wordlessly, caressing the whip with deep satisfaction.

"Maui!" Instinctively Moana wrestled to break free but soon realized her action only would cause more harm than good. She withheld her desire, only to watch helplessly with tears streaming down her eyes.

"No… please, I beg you. Don't… don't hurt him. Take me instead and let him go!" Moana begged relentlessly. Her miscalculation nearly killed them both. How different Tane was to the man who benevolently had offered his provision, embraced her villager with his amiable smile. He was the man who had romantically tried to woo her in earnest a few weeks ago with his charming smile and good deeds.

"Tane, I'll be your wife, if that's what you want. I'll obey you as if you are gods, I promised to stay faithful to you, but please… let him go."

"Moana, you can't!" Maui interjected, only to be silenced by another lash of whip at his audacity to interrupt.

Moana felt her blood run cold and her heart throbbing in wild panic as she watched Maui's face contorted in agony, barely able to keep his consciousness intact as he dealt with overwhelming the red daze of pain.

"It's not that easy, my dear," Akoni returned to address Moana. His voice was calm but cold and deadly. "Do you think I am that gullible? If we let him go, he would avenge everything that we've inflicted on you. We are not that naive."

Maui replied with an obstinate gruntle. Moana racked her brain to come up with another clever suggestion hastily. Unfortunately, she ran out of options.

"Then, what do you want? I'll do anything, but I beg you… don't hurt him anymore."

Akoni's smile grew a fraction wider while Tane remained resentful.

"Anything?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Now, I want you to go back to Motunui to fetch your father. I will send Rangi and his men to accompany you."

"What? What do you… ―?"

Her question was left hanging, only to be responded by Akoni's sinister laugh. Clearing his throat as he paced up and down in front of her, Akoni went on, "And then you marry Tane. Only then we let your Demigod friend lived, but he had to remain as our prisoner."

Moana gasped, but her antagonizing words died prematurely on her lips as Akoni leaned closer to the cage, immediately aware of the impending threat if she impulsively uttered something foolish.

"May I… at least speak to Maui?" Her voice sounded so small, so unlike Moana that Maui knew. Thankfully this time Akoni paid the guard a small nod, and they lowered their weapon.

"Mo, listen to me," Maui whispered, gripping the railing to help him to stand up."Don't do what he said. If you take your Dad here, he'll kill him….and… and if you marry Tane, that means you'll be his prisoner too… that made both of us stuck here."

Moana rested her head on the bar of the cage, her shoulder slumped in defeat. "I can't Maui… I can't let them do this to you."

"So, do we have a deal?" Akoni's commanding voice interjected their moment.

"F-fine," she relented, falling on her knee helplessly, her eyes looked troubled as she briefly flicked her worry gaze on Maui.

Maui closed his eyes in anger and despair. Moana was the bravest mortal he knew. She had remained unyielding and unfazed through their fight with Te Ka, and now…. she only able to look at his captor beseechingly. Moana had never plead for mercy, and she was reduced to one because of him! Moana's only vulnerability was her loved ones, and Akoni had used that against her.

It frustrated him. He supposed to be the one who kept her safe, her protector, her hero! Instead, he had become her stumbling block, her weaknesses, a device Akoni and Tane had used for their benefit to get what they wanted and to control, to crush and to bend the most courageous mortal according to their will.

Tears cascaded down her unwilling eyes as she turned around, obediently being shepherded outside like a calf heading to be slaughtered.

"Moana! No!" He desperately reached his hands through the bars. But his imploring words only fell on deaf ears and reaching hands only grasped empty air as they took his heroine away from his sight.

Notes: I know some of you wanted to chop Akoni by the end of the chapter, well yeah, me too (which is strange, I am the writer! I could just decapitate him with a metaphorical cleaver if I wanted to). However, the lesson from this story (thus you will find out in the next chapter), that murder, vengeance, and hatred, hardly could solve our problems―it just escalated the psychological wound into something more vicious (sometimes even fueled more hatred and triggered a chain of tragedy... just like in this story).