Kingdom Hearts
Ch. 31
Deep Jungle
Keys and Kings
Back at the camp, the gang sat down and drank the tea Jane had promised earlier. They all slowly began preparing to explain their situation. Jane, her Father, Clayton, Ralum, and Dagger sat on one side. While Sora and the others sat on the other side of the tent. Jane went on explain their story and why they are here. "So you had trouble with the asteroids too and that's why your ship is in such bad shape," said Jiminy. Jane nodded; she then began to explain how everything began.
"Yes, 30 years ago, our former King Richard revealed that he has plans to start construction on several transportation ships which are designed for space travel. He proclaimed it was time for our people to move out and expand our horizons. He claimed that he was visited by someone from the outside world. Who encouraged that contact between different worlds is vital for everyone's benefit. Even though our world is aware of the outside. No one has ever been able to get from one world to another. These ships allowed safe travel through the lanes between. After 5 years of preparations three ships were complete allowing us safe passage to the outside worlds. But his plans fell through as a barrier around our world was preventing us from leaving. After the fleet was deemed a failure King Richard ended up dying without ever accomplishing his goals. His son Herod took over after his Father's passing. Instead of dismantling the fleet the young Prince had a solution to solve this dilemma. Our Prince managed to uncover a key which allowed him to unlock the barrier that surrounded our world. Then with the ability to travel to outer space. The fleet was soon launched, and our great pilgrimage began."
Sora and his friends tried to think of a response. "You mean to tell me that for over three years the people of London has been contacting other worlds."
"Yes, though it was actually 21 years ago we started exploring, The ships were difficult to mass produce since we only had enough gummi material to build three. But only after finding a way to mine gummi blocks from asteroids were, we able to build more," replied Jane.
Jiminy then took first note. "But you must know that we must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds. We are not meant to intrude on other worlders lives."
Jane sat back and sighed, "Yes we know but things changed. Originally the pilgrims only came in small groups to study and observe the cultures of each world. But then, they came!"
"Who?" asked Sora.
Jane clenched her teeth and grabbed her skirt. Her Father patted her on the back easing the tension. "The heartless," she said.
"They came in droves attacking both our world and the one's around us. They tore down the barriers between the worlds and invaded. If it wasn't for the Prince's mighty key I don't know. After a while, many worlds began to disappear including one where colonists were located at the time. Many were lost." Jane stopped as she tried to contain herself. Her Father comforted her.
Sora and friends remained silent while Clayton and the others out of respect spoke nothing. Tarzan raised his hand and touched hers. She managed to contain herself and continue. "I'm—I'm sorry. After different units went missing because of the threat of the heartless. The Prince issued an increase of military branches to fight of the enemy. He formed the Tactics Division and repurposed the Science and History branches. The army was tripled in size and the soldiers were better trained. He then refined the Elite Recruitment Program. Where the most powerful people in all of Britannia are brought together under the crown to protect the interests of the King. It was then declared that one member of each Division would accompany the convoy to a new world. Instead of being personal bodyguards and agents for the royal family. You see we are trying to save these worlds. The Prince has found a way to prevent worlds from being devoured by the heartless. With his key, he is capable of locking them away from the heartless."
"What!" they all screamed.
"That means there's hope after all. We can stop the heartless," cried Donald.
"Yes, I'm not sure how he does it. But after a new world's been colonized, he travels there and uses his keyblade to lock the world away." Upon hearing the word keyblade the gang jumped on their feet.
"What! Your Prince is a keyblade wielder?" they shouted.
Ralum smiled while Clayton kept smoking his pipe. Sora shocked about hearing the news looked to Jane and asked if it is true. She assured them it's the truth. "Geeh Sora, this Prince Herod is a keyblade wielder just like you," said Goofy.
Sora nodded his head and summoned his weapon. "Yeah, I have to meet him. It's important he may be able to help us. And who knows maybe he knows something about your King."
The colonists who were just a moment ago cool and calm. Look at the weapon that lay in Sora's hand with unbelief. Dagger dropped the tea she was drinking while Clayton's pipe slipped out of his mouth. Ralum smile turned to a frown and without any warning summoned his weapon. In the blink of an eye he moved from the back of the room straight in front of Sora. The weapon he carried was a sliver scythe. It appeared in his hand as red petals danced around it. At full force he hit Sora with the blunt edge. Sora fell to the ground knocking the keyblade aside. "What is the meaning of this? Why do you carry this weapon?"
He pointed his scythe to Sora no more than two inches from his neck. Donald and Goofy were caught off guard by this abrupt response. The two friends took out their weapons and was about to help until the other two elites intervened. Clayton pulled his gun out aiming right at Goofy's head. At point blank range no less. Dagger stepped in and revealed her power. She created light daggers from her hand throwing them at Donald purposely missing as a warning.
"Ralum!" shouted Jane.
"Not until he answers my question." Ralum stares down at Sora says, "Only a pure blood of the royal family can wield such a weapon. Why do you have it?"
Sora looked angrily at his foe. Everything was going so well. He did not speak a word. Then quickly and out nowhere a small knife slide in front of Ralum's neck.
It was Tarzan with the knife in hand. "Back away," said the ape man. Ralum agreed and dropped his weapon. It disappeared leaving only rose petals in its wake. Clayton lowered his shot gun and Dagger stepped back. Sora not wishing to stay any longer got up and glared at them. Tarzan removed the knife and backed away from Ralum. Jiminy hopped over to Sora bouncing in his hood. Sora did not say a word. His keyblade disappeared after the truce was made. He quietly exited the tent with Donald and Goofy behind him glaring at the Elite.
Jane startled at the events that just took place raised her hand over her mouth. Tarzan stared deeply at Ralum before following Sora. They left the camp and made their way back to the ship. They entered the clearing near the camp where they landed the gummi ship. Sora thanked Tarzan for his help.
They were about to part ways until Donald felt something sniff him. He turned around to see a small gorilla was right behind him. It was the same young gorilla Donald met before. She seemed to take an interest in Donald. "Wah!" said Donald startled by the sight of the primate. He ran away screaming, "Get away from me."
Sora and the others laughed at Donald while Tarzan began to look around. Sora heard rustles in the trees. He stared up seeing gorilla's appearing around them. They slowly moved into sight walking on the branches of the trees. These rain-forest trees was so vast and large that even the tree branches were strong enough to withstand the weight of a 500 pound ape. There were many of them surrounding the ship. The gang looked to Tarzan hoping he knew what was going on. "Tarzan?" said Sora clenching his teeth.
Tarzan flinched at the question but finally spoke. "This is my family. Tarzan was raised as one of them." Sora remembered that Tarzan mentioned a connection between him and the apes. He wasn't lying he really is an ape man. Just then a colossal ape stepped forward on a jungle branch as well as a smaller brown one after it. The big one was black and had a giant head. Its fearsome eyes could strike fear in any opponent, and its great fangs could tear a boy like Sora to shreds. Tarzan called to the great ape, "Kerchak." It turned its head to the ape man blowing out its nostrils menacingly.
The creature named Kerchak took a step forward and then leaped off the branch. It fell about 50 feet landing on its massive feet. The impact caused the ground to shake. The force managed to trip up Goofy nearly knocking him to the ground. As Sora watched the ape hit the ground, he could have sworn he saw currents of electricity appear around its body. The small ape was very frightened. It ran away and climbed the nearest tree. The beast raises its head and looks directly at Sora.
Sora cringes as the creature inches closer to him. It steps forward and stands no more than two inches in front of his face. It begins to sniff him while Sora tried to remain cool. Then the ape backs away as a voice could be heard from a distance. "Tarzan?" yelled a young woman.
Footsteps could be heard in the distance. Then a young woman made her way through the jungle and moved over some plants. It was Jane. She called out to Tarzan again looking around the open area to see him. She smiled and ran towards him. "Tarzan," she repeated.
Followed behind her was Clayton. "Ms. Porter don't run off to far. Please come back to camp," he said. He made his way to the others only to stop dead in his tracks. He saw Jane whose smiling turned to a curious frown. In front of her was a mighty gorilla. She then looked around to see nearly 100 of them hanging in the trees. She stared in amazement and then smiled again. Jane was always interested in primates. Her parents were zoologists. She was surrounded by animals all her life. But of every species from lions and tiger and bears. Her favorite animals were always apes. She was interested in how these animals were so similar to humans.
Though she's observed many apes in captivity she's never seen a wild specimen. But when Jane saw Kerchek she began to feel fearful. But that's not what Clayton felt. He saw a savage beast that would harm poor little Jane. Being a quick thinking hunter he charged forward screaming out, "Jane get down."
The frantic motion of the hunter caused Kerchak to react as well. Clayton ran over to Jane hitting her on the back knocking her over. Though he was trying to protect her. She fell down pretty hard on her face.
"Jane!" cried Tarzan as he saw her hit the ground. Clayton brought out his hunting gun and pointed towards Kerchek. The great ape stood its ground. It got up on to legs and beat its chest and gave off a great roar.
Clayton took aim and pulled the trigger. But instead of taking the hit the gorilla managed to dodge the bullet. "What how can an ape be that fast," thought Clayton. Kerchak charged at Clayton with blistering speeds and stamina. It raised its right hand and was about to deliver a serious blow to the hunter.
Normally any man would take cover, but Clayton was no ordinary hunter. The beast swung its mighty arm in a horizontal direction. Clayton at the last second leaned back and dodged the creature's fist. The hand flew by no more than 3 inches from Clayton's face. But this wasn't just a swing of the arm. The force was so strong that a strong gust of wind blew by disturbing the leaves around the area. Birds began to fly off as the other apes began to scream. Clayton fell on his back after that punch nearly wiped his head clean off.
Watching the conflict Sora noticed the electricity again appearing around the ape while delivering the attack. "What kind of gorilla is this?" he thought.
Tarzan ran over to Jane to see if she's alright. She began to move. The injured girl pressed her hands on the ground and lifted herself up. She looked up at Tarzan her face covered in bruises. Tarzan gently put his hand on her cheek causing her to smile again. Tarzan then looked away with a serious glare. He watched the fight between the hunter and the beast unfold. Clayton laying on the ground looked up helplessly as the gorilla stared down on the man. It raised both arms and clenched its fists together hovering over the mere human. Clayton looked on in freight as Kerchak could crush his skull in single blow. Before Kerchak could finish the fight, a figure ran in and stood before him. It was Tarzan. He looked at his leader in an urgent face. His arms were spread out indicating to end the fighting.
"Kerchak!" he called. Kerchak huffed briefly and then lowered his arms. It then was about to turn and walk away but another conflict ensued. Two light daggers flew from the trees hitting Kerchak in the shoulders. The great ape wailed in pain. Sora still watching looked up in the tree to see who did that. Jane also looked. In the trees, the Elite Dagger stood with three addition daggers in hand.
Jane called out to her Elite, "Stop Dagger. Don't fight him." Dagger did not answer her subordinate. Instead she threw her remaining three knives at the ape. Kerchak raised its left arm allowing the daggers to pierce it. The great ape seem unphased as the daggers disappeared into nothingness.
The beast stood and banged its chest like any proud ape would. Dagger gave a small grin. "Stupid ape. I'm just the distraction."
Just then peddles began to swirl in the wind. The daggers was just a small distraction for the ape. But in a blink of an eye Ralum the red haired man appeared out of nowhere standing in front of the ape. With scythe in hand he lunged his weapon like a spear piercing the great apes chest. All the apes watching were screaming and shouting. They threw leaves and sticks to the ground. Ralum smiled and released his scythe from the creature's body. He spoke nothing while Kerchak remained silent as well. Then out of nowhere the creature began to stir. It clenched its fist tightly. Kerchak lifted his head snarling at the red haired man. Then Kerchak quickly raised his hand and snatched Ralum's hair. The gorilla 15 times stronger than a man swung Ralum with all his might. Throwing him with an extreme amount of strength.
Ralum screamed as the beast yanked his proud locks. He flung Ralum not in a random direction but straight at Dagger up in the tree. She quickly dodged with the look of shock. "This can't be real. An animal. A lowly animal is putting up a good fight. It's assessing the situation and making calculated moves. All the apes around here seem completely aware of the scenario. What kind of world is this?" she thought.
Both she and Ralum managed to gain their footing and land on the ground safely. Clayton looked on the fight in utter amazement. Over the years he's defeated many furious beasts. But never has he come across an animal like this. It took a spear to the chest and walked it off like nothing. Sora and the others looked on not wanting to make the situation worse.
After landing Ralum looked pissed. He glared heavily at the beast after being thrown 20 feet away. He grinded his teeth and summoned his weapon again. He looked around seeing if he could use the field to his advantage. Next to him stood a giant tree. Its trunk was 10 feet wide and upon staring straight up no one can see the top. Ralum knew what he had to do. He disappeared before reappearing behind the tree. Kerchak stamped the ground as more static like energy flew around his body. Before he could charge Ralum swung his scythe swiftly and precise. He sliced straight through the trunk of the tree. Sora could hear the weapon make the slash sound from where he stood. Ralum cut the tree clean off the ground. He smiled again but this time more devilishly. His grin reached the end of his cheeks while his eyes stared at the beast without blinking. Soon the top of the tree became visible as it came crashing towards both Kerchak and the others.
Tarzan quickly grabbed Jane before Clayton could. Jane wrapped her arms around his neck. Tarzan ran up the nearest tree grabbing some vines hanging from the branches. Clayton unable to save the young lady himself jumped out of the way. While the tree was in the way of Kerchak. It was also about to crush the gummi ship. Dagger moved to safety while the other gorillas did the same.
"What is he thinking?" she thought jumping from tree to tree.
Sora and the gang began to panic. "We got move!" cried Sora turning around and swaying his arm horizontally.
"No we can't the ship will be crushed," said Donald loudly.
"We have no choice," yelled Sora straight to Donald's face.
Donald frowned at his friend and screamed. "If the ship gets destroyed will be stranded here."
Goofy tired of their bickering stepped in and knocked them on the noggins. "Knock it off you two."
The shadow of the tree began to enlarge immensely. Jiminy panicking jumped into Sora's hood as he believed it was the safest spot. The gang looked up at the ginormous tree which was about to crush them. They all began to scream while Kerchak remained stagnant. He did not budge or even hesitate. He raised his arms in the air as the electric energy appeared only this time around his whole body. He roared a mighty roar as the tree fell on top of him. The rest of the gang continued scream. Sora closed his eyes ready to except his fate. After a few seconds he heard a loud thump. He opened his eyes to see the tree trunk floating in the air. Donald looked behind to see only some leafs have touched the ship. He set out a sigh of relief. They then looked back over to see who did this. Their mouths gaped open as they saw Kerchak holding the entire tree up with his bare hands. Clayton, Dagger and Jane all looked in shock as the mighty ape held the entire tree up effortlessly.
"What?" cried Ralum. He was in a state of disbelief. He then grunted clenching his weapon even tighter. He then lifted his weapon over his shoulder lunging forward at the beast. Screaming the whole way upon getting close enough he sounded, "Great Cuisine."
In an instant, Ralum cut the entire tree into smaller pieces tossing them in the air. "I can use the falling debris as cover. The stupid ape won't know what hit him," he thought. He wall jumped quickly through the debris until Kerchek lost track of him. Ralum stood behind one piece of the tree and bounced to another. The force was strong enough to turn the solid object around completely. Without looking he launched himself in the direction where the ape was first standing. Ralum memorized the spot that the gorilla stood in. It's important in a fight to know where your enemy is at all times.
He leaped forward raising his scythe in the air striking the ground with all his force. He was expecting to cut the animal in half. But discovered the ape had vanished. Kerchak was gone. "What, where did he go?" screamed Ralum struggling to pull his scythe out of the ground.
Soon the debris of the shattered tree began to finally hit the ground. Some slices were about to hit the gummi ship. Donald raised his staff and sounded, "Gravity." Then some of the tree slices stopped falling with a purple sphere appearing around the tree like a ring. It remained floating in the air but slowly turning without force being applied to it.
"Gravity?" said Sora not aware of this kind of magic. Donald thrust his staff causing the piece to float away from the ship before crashing down.
Ralum looked around for the beast but could not see it. Just then a piece of the tree slammed right next to him nearly crushing the man. Ralum too focused on the fight was almost unaware of it. As he tried to find his enemy the tree slice exploded moments after it hit the ground.
Ralum turned around to see Kerchak with the electric energy swarming over both his arms. His fangs were proudly displayed as he landed on the ground just a foot away from the red haired man. He roared a mighty roar and threw a giant punch straight in Ralum's chest. Ralum coughed in agony not even having the time to react. The force of the punch was so strong it launched Ralum back with an incredible force. Thrown back Ralum slammed into a nearby rock. He still managed to stay on his feet despite the pain. He stood up and wiped the blood off his face.
He placed his arm over his chest tending the wound. He then looked up to see Kerchak charging at him. Both fists came at him with bursts of energy. He ran up to the red haired man and swung his mighty hands at Ralum. Both arms were about to hit. Ralum moaned in fear as the beast was about to deliver the final blow. But instead of punching him the great ape clamped both hands together making a flower shape. Ralum not knowing what this is stood silently. Then Kerchak sounded in ape tongue, "Great Lotus." Then the force and energy he carried with both his arms blasted onto Ralum. He screamed in pain as the rock behind him cracked into small pieces. All the visitors from the other worlds looked in awe. While apes kept screaming out loud. Banging on the tree branches.
Ralum bloody and beaten fell to his knees and then face down. Kerchak upon defeating his enemy put his foot down on red haired man's back. He stood up straight, beat his chest, and roared as loud as he could. All the apes joined him in his victory howl. Sora and the gang looked as the man who threatened to kill him earlier was defeated by a mere animal. Ralum lost consciousness at this point. The blood on his face began to stain the grass.
Tarzan lowers Jane down after the winner was decided. Jane gulped at the sight of Kerchek. She couldn't believe her eyes. An ape, an animal defeated an Elite. The strongest heroes in all of her world. "How can this be?" she pondered over the outcomes of this battle.
"How could a simple minded animal actually see through Ralum's actions? The ape showed cunning and strength in the fight. I knew gorillas were strong but they're not capable of lifting anything bigger than their own weight But that's a question for another time. What's interesting is how the creature responded to attacks? It was able to predict outcomes and premeditate its attacks. Like with the strategy it used to hit Ralum. This world has been untouched for generations. Only animals resided here. Could it be that over generations certain animals are evolving to a point of human like understanding? I mean just look at Tarzan who hasn't met a single human in his whole life. But he is easily capable of learning and understanding our way of life and language. According to studies on feral children. After a certain point in a child's life they will begin learning an imitating the individuals around them. But if they are not being cared for by humans, they'll won't ever be able to learn or improve their skills past a certain age. But Tarzan doesn't fit that description. Could the apes he lives with actually interact with a higher level of intelligence?"
She then looked over to Sora and the gang. "A talking dog, duck, and bug. They are from other worlds too. Have animals begun to evolve equally humans."
Clayton looked at his fallen comrade who was beaten by the lesser creature. "Kerchak," he thought remembering that's what Tarzan called him. He looked to the ape man and remembered back to a few days ago. When Tarzan finally began to learn English.
(9 Days Ago)
At the camp on a warm sunny day, Clayton tried to keep cool by waving a tiny fan in his face. Mr. Porter brought over tea while Jane was teaching Tarzan more about English. She had a bunch of cards with pictures of animals on them. She placed them into a projector allowing them to appear on a screen. "Goat," said Tarzan.
Jane nodded acknowledging that he's right. She pulled up another one, "Snail, Tiger, Penguin, Whale."
"Good job," she said congratulating him. She held up a card with a gorilla.
Tarzan spoke proudly, "Gorilla."
Jane giggled and said, "Well that's enough for today." She turned off the projector and sat down with her Father. Tarzan joined them as they drank some tea together. Clayton was not a tea man, so he chose to stay in his seat.
Tarzan then repeated the phrase "Gorilla."
"Yes Tarzan you're right." She sipped a bit of her tea then set the empty cup down. "Um Tarzan," said Jane softly. Tarzan looked at her implying that he's listening. She then went on, "Tarzan, I know you were raised by apes and I was hoping you could bring us to meet your family in the jungle."
Mr. Porter nodded his head, "Yes Jane, I find that an observation of wild gorillas in their natural habitat would be quite fascinating."
Tarzan tried to shrug it off. "Do you understand?" she asked.
"I understand," he said drifting his head to the side. Jane and her Father were delighted. But Tarzan shot them down. "I can't," he replied.
"Why not?" they asked hoping for a reason why.
"Kerchak, my leader forbade it."
"Ah, yes the head male" explained Mr. Porter brushing his mustache. "Tarzan, can you convince him to change his mind."
Tarzan did not speak at first then finally answered them. "Kerchak is the strongest one in the entire forest. No other animal is as strong as him."
Clayton overhearing the conversation was intrigued with this ape named Kerchak. "May I say? Is what you claim to be true? Then a gorilla would be King of the Jungle? Not an elephant or a lion?" Clayton got up and pulled out his favorite pipe. He lit a match and placed it in the pipe. Clayton wasn't just a hunter. He was The Hunter. One of the reasons he became an Elite and travel to other worlds was to shoot and kill powerful animals presiding there. The number of beasts who fell by his hand are numerous. He had enough skins to start a pelt business.
Tarzan looked to Clayton before getting out of his seat. He starts walking away before stopping. He raises his head and speaks. "Kerchak is the strongest one there is. Many moons our family always had one leader. And from what Tarzan knows no one ever beaten the leader. Even other males don't stand a chance. But it's not because Kerchak stronger. But because he holds the Spirit of the Jungle.
The Spirit of the Jungle grants any gorilla with power. Even elephants aren't great enough to overcome it. The spirit remains with the leader until death. After that, the spirit chooses a new leader. And then he succeeds the previous one."
After Tarzan finished explaining no one knew how to react. The story did interest Clayton. But he wasn't too gullible. Many tribes and native people have been known to over exaggerate different species of animals. But this time it wasn't just a story.
(Present)
Back in the present, Clayton stared openly at the great ape. He clenched his shot gun and smiled. Kerchak turned to face Jane and Clayton. It stared menacingly at the two. The sight of its face could make a weak woman faint. It beat its chest again and roared. It then began to charge at them again. Jane looked in fear and ran away. Clayton on the other hand pointed his gun at the beast hoping to kill it. He fired his gun and the bullet pierced its shoulder. But the gorilla just brushed it off.
Before Kerchak could kill Clayton, something impeded him from doing so. Tarzan who has climbed up the trees swooped down and landed on Kerchak's back. The ape fell to the ground and struggled to remove the ape man. Tarzan wrapped his arms around the ape's neck and began to squeeze as hard as he could. Clayton took the opportunity and ran over to Ralum. He picked up the beaten man and ran back towards camp. Jane followed. Kerchak stampeded around the area. The electrical energy surging around his body. He hit the ground as hard as he could causing the ground to shake.
The apes in the tree ceased crying as they watched the events unfold. After Tarzan saw that Jane was safe, he released Kerchak from his grip. "Kerchak I," he said regretting his actions. The beast stood up and began to breathe heavily. It looked at its kin with a disappointed face. It got up and pushed Tarzan aside. The ape man not knowing what to do ran into the tree tops out of sight. The other gorillas watched in silence as Kerchak walked towards Sora and the others. He passed by Sora who moved out of the way for the ape. Kerchak walked towards the gummi ship and began to examine it. He then lifted his arm as more energy appeared around them. He grabbed the wing of the red ship and thrust it with all his might.
Donald's pupils shrunk as the 500 pound ape threw their ship far out into the jungle to who knows where. He then turned to Sora and sniffed at his face. He could feel the breath of the animal. This without warning Kerchak rose up and roared at Sora banging his chest. This scared Sora enough to knock him down. Kerchak fell back down and presided to leave. All the other apes followed. Sora and the others looked around to see the mess caused by one animal.
They then looked at each other not knowing what to do. They all gave a sigh instead of speaking. They all then trotted off in the direction of the gummi ship again. After just reclaiming it.
Unknown to them was that on a nearby tree. A figure in a black cloak was watching them. He felt around the tree and found a piece of white fabric hanging on a branch. He tore it off and then disappeared in the shadows.