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“It chose wrong.” Were the last words he said to Moana of Motunui. Then, with no small effort, Maui transformed with his damaged hook into the form of his giant hawk and flew away. He ignored her calls to him as he took off, each time he could hear her voice become more and more desperate. But he did not turn back, not once even as he passed the horizon and the small boat that he had been forced to live on for several months and the voice he had spent those months beside grew less and less with the distance.
The ocean was oddly calm bellow him, Maui noticed. He stayed high above, though, his wings spread wide as he let the wind carry him. He didn’t trust the water at the moment, not putting it past her to reach up and pluck him out of the sky and send him hurling back to that boat.
The wind carried him with no indication of trouble, yet he was finding it difficult to keep his flight steady. Maui looked to the underside of his right wing where the display of his hook formed along his feathers. Even in this form he could see the damage.
A fine mess he’d gotten himself into.
All of this did nothing to dispel the weight in his chest.
A sudden rumble brought his gaze forward. Looming in his nonexistent path (for Maui didn’t really know where he was going) was what you would call the great storm of horrible timing and inconvenience. It stretched too far for Maui to care to go around and too tall to go above. And he couldn’t very well turn around or else he’d be going back the way he came.
Maui sighed as rain and cold washed over him. By no means was this safe for him. But he wasn’t risking travelling by water, and again, by no means as he going to turn around.
He’d take a lightning strike from Apu-Hau any day over Te Ka, honestly.
Though maybe not today. Maui thought as a uncomfortably large bolt of lightning struck west of him. It was then the wind changed drastically and before Maui could adjust he was plummeting toward the ocean.
The once calm surface was now rising to terrible heights and cashing down in white spray. For the first time in over a thousand years, the wind seemed to turn on Maui as it was now sending him with a one way ticket to where he did not want to go!
But Maui wasn’t about to just give in. He pumped his wings and, by some miracle of his own strength, was able to level out. But it was too close a distance, and the ocean was now very insistent as a glowing blue tendril shot up and wrapped around his talons and yanked him down. Maui was ready though, transforming into a shark before he hit the water. It may be the ocean against him but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to put some semblance of a fight.
Knowing where the ocean was going to pull him, Maui swam with all his might in the opposite direction and deeper into the storm. His moved his fins as hard as he could, putting his entire body into the act of resisting. In his haste to fight, though, Maui didn’t notice until a moment later that the ocean wasn’t dragging him back but…pushing him forward?
He was suddenly very aware of how fast he was going as the massive storm was suddenly far behind him and the star light filtering through the water above was passing him almost in streaks. And he was suddenly very aware, in the water, of the reef that he was currently barreling towards.
The ocean didn’t give him time to wonder though as it spat him out at the edge of the reef. The momentum he had gained sent him flying, out of his shark form, towards an unfamiliar shore.
He landed face first in the sand. His hook landed beside him, almost perfectly straight, it’s roped haft digging into the sand as it stood with all the pride an inanimate object could muster.
Now, according to Mini-Maui, the magical fish hook had more points then him.
Wonderful.
Maui stood, coughing up sand and salt water as he did. He gave himself a moment to brush himself off, not very grateful for the send off he was just given (though a small part of him would admit he deserved it). Then he looked to the island he was kicked to this time.
It was certainly bigger than the last one (small favors) but not nearly as livable. What must have once been covered in green were now mountains and hills covered in a dying black husk of a forest. Flowers from bushes and coconuts from trees and long since withered into black ash that now covered the earth. More than just a touch of darkness from Te Ka no doubt about it.
A sudden gasp drew Maui’s attention back to where the black landscape met the shore. A woman, human.
Oh great, another one. Was all Maui thought as he turned to retrieve his hook. Wow, he truly was out of it if he wasn’t in the mood to give time for his fans. Though, he was quick to remind himself that he had no fans. He was, after all, responsible for the charcoal make-over this island was currently going through (a part of him wanted to joke that it was just a phase, but that probably wasn’t appropriate right now).
He stood before his hook, hesitant. Very few things went right since he got it back from Tamatoa and he wasn’t sure the ocean was going to let him off the hook(fake laughter) just yet, whatever it had planned.
Maui didn’t look as he heard small footsteps approach him. As each step came closer, Maui found he really, really wasn’t in the mood as he stood abrasive.
“Are…” The mortal woman started, a mix of fear and uncertainty woven in her tone. “Are you Maui?”
He sighed, grabbing his hook and swinging it over his shoulder as he turned, forcing the best smile he could. “You caught me! I know, I’ve been away for quite some time-“ Maui stopped abruptly as the woman got closer, a pleading look in her eyes.
“Please!” She begged. “Have you seen a girl at sea? Have you seen Moana?” Maui stiffened and the woman saw that he did. But she waited for his answer.
“I…I have seen her.” He answered, his mind raking for an excuse of some kind but he could think of none.
The woman put both hands to her mouth, as if choking back a cry.
Oh gods, please no. Was all Maui could suddenly think. Even Mini-Maui was starting to panic. Crying humans were not his specialty.
But the mortal quickly turned away from him, cupping her hands over her mouth toward someone behind the dying growth. “Tui! Tui come here! It’s Maui! He’s come and he’s seen Moana!”
Maui looked up just as the mortal man came passing through blackened undergrowth. It was still night, but Maui could see even from a distance the glint of whale bones that hung around a chief’s neck.
Oh boy.
The man did not hesitate to approach, a set look in his eyes as the woman had. He was sizeable by mortal standards, Maui noted as the man stood before him. He did not smile, not that Maui expected one. But, for that, Maui dropped his fake smile and met the chief’s gaze equally.
“You’ve seen our daughter?” It was more a demand than a question, Maui was already seeing the resemblance in both of them. “Where is she?”
Maui swallowed, answering in the straightest voice he could. “She’s sailing back as we speak.” At least he hoped the kid had enough sense to do that, though now that Maui thought about it, that was unlikely.
Tui, as Moana’s mother called him, saw right through his lie. The man’s brow furrowed and his frown deepened, but made no indication of snapping just yet. “You’re lying to me. I do not care if you are a demigod, I demand to know the truth.”
Maui looked at the woman, who wore a similar, if not the exact same expression. He had to give credit where it was due, they were both just as not willing to put up with his lies as Moana was. Certainly seems to run in the family.
Finally the demigod sighed, letting his hook fall to his side. “If I had to guess: sailing straight to Te Fiti.”
Now he thought, after all these years not a lot would surprise a demigod. He was clearly wrong as the man yanked him down by his necklace so they were now face to face.
“And you left her to fend for herself?!” The chief had nearly yelled, a raging fury that easily rivaled his daughter’s. “Have you any idea as to the stubbornness of that girl? She’d jump into the maw of Lalotai no matter how many times you told her not to!”
Oh Maui did not doubt it. He looked to the woman, not expecting help, but still a bit surprised to see the woman had her arms crossed and an unpleased look on her face.
Now he could definitely see where the kid gets it from.
When he expected more yelling, it did not come. Instead, the human chief released his hold on the demigod and backed away, suddenly looking tired as his ire subsided. As if his outburst had taken so much energy from him.
As if he had very little energy to begin with.
“Was she safe, at least?” Was the next thing the man asked. “When you left her, was Moana safe?”
The way he worded his question suddenly didn’t sit right with Maui.
He left a mortal alone at sea, on a torn up boat, expecting her to give up as he had. He left a kid to fend for herself.
He left Moana.
Maui did not answer as he looked from the two worried parents to their dying island, now seeing the huts and structures of a village barely hanging to life. Then to the ocean to let his gaze rest on the horizon. For the first time since he left, the weight in his chest did not pull him down but toward that line where the sky met the sea. This was not the first time he had felt this pull to the water, but never had it pulled him as strongly as it did now.
He looked one last time at the two parents. They obviously must have seen something in his expression, for theirs had changed to one of hope. He turned back to the ocean, stepping forward until the tide was at his ankles. The ocean swirled at the contact of his skin, knowingly. Where it any other time, Maui may have taken it as being cheeky, but for the first time in a long time, the ocean’s touch was a comforting one.
“Maui.” He did not turn at his name as Moana’s mother spoke. Her voice was calm. “Demigod of the wind and sea.” As if reacting to her words, the wind began to gently rise, as if pulling Maui further into the ocean. “What are you going to do?”
He lifted his damaged hook into view. His grip on it tightened to where his knuckles began to pale as magic coursed within and shined through the godly markings. Like lightning bolts, its energy zapped and fizzled from where it was blackened and cracked from Te Ka’s blow.
He honestly had no idea.
***
With the ocean’s help, Maui was maybe an hour behind Moana. In his shark form he swam with all his might, not slowing even for a moment within the ocean’s current. And with the ocean guiding him, he barely needed to look where he was going. He just needed to get there and pray to the gods that he made it in time.
It wasn’t until the day had risen and the bright sun as beginning to be blocked out by dark, ashen clouds that Maui knew he had arrived. Propelled by the water, he shot himself out of the ocean and turned from shark to hawk, taking flight before he hit the water. The wind rustled beneath his feathers, once more on his side, giving him the speed he needed to close the distance between himself and Te Fiti.
His gaze immediately fell on Te Ka, who had already risen up on the barrier islands. But to his confusion, the demon was not looking outward, but inward.
He didn’t need to guess why.
Circling above, he could see that Te Ka’s gaze was focused on a small boat that had just sailed through her barrier islands. A boat with a swirl on it’s sail and a head strong daughter of the chief at it’s helm.
Of course the kid had made it passed her! Maui couldn’t think of anyone else who could.
The swell of pride in his chest didn’t last long though as he watched Te Ka hurl a sizeable fireball at the boat. It missed, thank the gods, but it was close enough that it sent the boat tipping over. And it was close enough to make even Maui’s heart miss a beat. He felt immediate relief as that mass of curly black hair breached the surface of the water, climbing back onto the boat just as Te Ka made a reach for her.
Oh, that wouldn’t do at all.
Maui, from his high vantage point, tucked in his wing and dived. As Te Ka was reaching out to the boat the kid was trying to pull back upright, Maui, in his hawk form, let out a shrill cry. It was enough to get Te Ka to pause for a moment, but not enough time for the demon to move before Maui turned back into his original form and used his hook to slice right through Te Ka’s forearm.
The demon reeled back with a painful screech as her dismembered limb fell into the ocean and sank like a rock. But above the noise, Maui heard Moana’s voice just before he landed on her boat.
“Maui!” She called to him, this time her voice filled with a relief and joy that pulled at his heart. He couldn’t stop himself from honestly smiling when he saw her face brighten at seeing him. Even after all that he had done, she was happy to see him. And, frankly, just that was all he needed.
The rest, as you may know, is history.
***
He told Moana all of this.
Maui told her all that had happened after he had left. And she in turn had told him what happened to her(Maui will admit, though, he didn't like the idea of being visited by a dead grandmother).
He didn't hesitate to tell her, as they both sat on their boat enjoying the calm water and the view of the stars, of how proud he was of her. As both mentor and friend. How he couldn't think of any other human he'd ever want tattooed on his chest besides her.
Moana laughed at that as she laid down on her back to look up at the sky. Maui would soon join her, but not before looking at the kid's face as she smiled peacefully. A wave of pride, fondness, and love would beat through his chest.
He would admit to himself then. No matter how many time he'd walk, fly, or swim away.
Maui would always return for this.