Chapter 15: The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
"Wanna play I spy?"
"NO!"
The group consisting of Tarzan, who was the leader, Alex, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Clayton had been walking for a short while, but already boredom had surfaced on Alex's face. It wasn't that the jungle wasn't an interesting place, it just looked the same. The color green would be forever implanted into Alex's pupils. The group had each of their weapons out, ready for any sudden attack by a jungle creature, particularly the leopard Sabor. Alex was a little eager to get revenge on the beast for his welcoming party.
Tarzan had stopped trying to impress Jane by walking like a human and had resorted back to his gorilla stance. Clayton pointed the shotgun forward, his senses working overtime to detect any movement other than his. Goofy was a little less aware of his surroundings due to his constant attempts at getting Sora and Donald to start talking again. The Keybearer and the duck would simply scowl at each other and turn their heads. Goofy just scratched his head, wondering if anything could get them to converse.
"We're here," Tarzan announced. Alex stopped walking, causing Sora, Donald, and Goofy to walk straight into one another.
"Move outta the way, will ya?" Donald said, pushing Goofy out of his way so he could see what was going on.
"This is astounding," Clayton lowered his shotgun with his mouth wide open. "I've seen paintings of these in museums, but nothing compared to the real thing."
Alex cut in front of the court wizard to see what all the fuss was about and instantly widened his eyes. Small pools of water lay in front of them with hippos bathing themselves in the fresh water. Thin trees grew out of the pools, shielding the hippos from any rays of sunlight. The lagoon was surrounded by tall hedges.
"About time this jungle gave us something to look at," Alex exclaimed. Sora nodded in agreement.
"You boys don't like basking in the greatness of mother nature?" Clayton chuckled, walking forwards to get a better look.
"Nah," Sora said. "Just skip to the cool stuff. That's what I say."
"Suit yourself," Clayton replied.
Tarzan was obviously not new to this kind of sight because he walked over to a thick tree to the left side of them. The tree was covered with moss and ivy, but that didn't stop Tarzan from leaping off of the ground and digging his hands into the non-poisonous ivy. Alex smiled as the jungle man climbed the ivy with elegance, just like how he surfed the trees. After pulling on the ivy to make sure that it wouldn't move, Tarzan jumped off the tree and landed back on the ground.
"We must climb," Tarzan pointed to the tree.
It was the last thing Goofy wanted to hear. "Gee, um do we hafta? Can't we just find this Kerchak feller some other way?"
Tarzan shook his head. "Kerchak. He lies deep in the jungle. Where the sun stops touching the earth."
Sora scratched his chin and said, "Do you mean the treetops?"
Tarzan nodded and Goofy gulped. "This is the only way to get to him."
"C'mon ya big palooka," Donald slapped Goofy's back. "Don't be scared."
"Oh, like you're not?" Sora smirked at Donald.
The wizard simply replied, "Of course not!"
Alex laughed at the thought of Donald not being scared, but started to question his own fear of heights. He knew he really wasn't all that scared, but climbing a tree in the jungle was something Alex wasn't experienced with. A lot of things could happen, such as the ivy breaking, or getting attacked by baboons. Either way, Alex knew they had to press on. This was the chance to find out the truth about Riku and Kairi.
Tarzan led the way and started to climb. Alex gripped the ivy hesitantly before finally reaching up with his arms and planting his feet on the thin grooves in the trees. Sora followed quickly afterward, not intimidated by the massive climb. Donald had to practically push Goofy onto the ivy before climbing up, telling himself mentally to not look down. The duck took a look back to see that Clayton had vanished.
That's odd, Donald thought. I wonder where he could have gone.
The wizard shrugged his worries away and concentrated on the climb ahead of him. Alex compared Tarzan on trees to Spider-Man on buildings. He moved so naturally, which made Alex jealous as his fingers ached under the pressure of holding up his body. His legs shook and Alex told himself it was because of the strain, but it was also due to fear. Sora had a bit of a hard time getting his big shoes into the indents in the ivy and tree, but the extra strength gathered from being the Keybearer was more than enough to make up for that.
The climb took about ten minutes. As they got higher into the trees, Alex was greeted with a sight that made him happy he had come all this way. Rays of light shined through the tiny space in between branches and leaves, illuminating the treetops and even higher canopies. Vines swung from their trees in the wind and Alex kept a cautious eye on the vines in case one of them turned out to be a snake.
When the party reached the top of the tree, they all took a short break. Alex bended his fingers repeatedly and Sora stretched his legs out. Donald was too busy trying to calm Goofy down. Tarzan crouched with his knuckles planted on the treetop and sniffed the air. Alex guessed he was trying to find the scent of the gorillas.
Tarzan stopped his sniffing and turned to the rest of them, pointing through the trees. "We must go that way."
Sora stepped forward and asked, "And how do you expect us to go that way? There isn't any path. And I don't think we can even jump across these treetops."
Tarzan grunted and grabbed a nearby vine, showing it to the group. "We swing."
Alex stared at Tarzan with an annoyed look. "You're kiddin' me, right?"
"I don't think he is," Sora whispered.
Goofy smiled weakly and said, "Y'mean we gotta....swing on vines."
Tarzan smiled. "Is something wrong?"
Goofy shook his head and Alex muttered, "Oh, possible breaking of my body and perhaps death, but other than that, nope nothing wrong with me."
"C'mon. Kerchak is not far," Tarzan gripped the vine, got a running start, and leaped off the treetop. He twisted his legs around the vine for support and yelled as he swung like a pro. Alex couldn't help but be somewhat impressed. The comparisons to Spider-Man kept showing themselves. Tarzan let go of the vine as soon as he had another treetop to fall on. The leaves crunched beneath his feet and the branches creaked, making Alex nervous about the stability of the trees.
"It is as easy as...cake," Tarzan said as he swung the vine back over to the others.
As Alex grabbed the vine, he replied, "I think the word you're looking for is pie, my good man." Alex took hold of the vine with both hands and casually tested it out by tugging on it. Even though he saw Tarzan, a man who weighed more than he did, swing easily across, he would be stupid not to be cautious. Alex slowly walked to the edge of the tree and peered over the edge. Mist covered the earth below him which made Alex even more nervous than he already was.
"For those about to die, we salute you!" Sora mocked and gave a fake salute to Alex. Donald and Goofy gave slight giggles, but realized that they would have to swing sooner than later. The Gummi block in Goofy's pocket was a constant reminder that the King might be somewhere on this world.
Alex took a deep breath and muttered, "Here goes nothing." With that out of the way, Alex sprinted forward to get enough speed. The edge kept getting bigger as he advanced and soon enough Alex jumped off the edge and wrapped his legs around the vine. He saw lush greenery speed by him and the hovering mist showered his face.
"OOOOO-AAAAA!" Alex imitated Tarzan's yell as he got closer to the jungle man. The sword wielder timed it just right as he let go of the vine and landed right by Tarzan. Tarzan gave him a pat on the back and complimented, "Good."
Sora was up next who showed little fear as he swung across the jungle and landed right next to Alex. "Show-off," Alex muttered.
Donald was more scared than he let on, but he didn't want to look like a coward in front of Sora. He quacked all the way to the next tree. Goofy took the longest. The captain of the guard took a lot of convincing from his companions until he finally swung across with his eyes closed, so he wouldn't look at the ground. Unfortunately, this caused Goofy to totally miss his landing and slam head-on into a tree. Alex winced as the knight crashed into the tree.
"He's gonna fall," Donald yelled as he pointed to Goofy. The knight was slowly starting to regain consciousness and began to pull himself out of the indentation he had made on the tree. But as soon as he did that, he took a step away from the tree and, since there was nothing beneath his feet, he fell. Tarzan was the first one to react as he grabbed another nearby vine and swung towards the falling knight. When Tarzan realized that he had too much height, he let go of the vine slightly and slid down it like a fire pole. When he knew he was at the right height, Tarzan tightened his grip and extended his arm, catching Goofy and taking him to another treetop.
"Man that was close," Sora said as he wiped sweat off his forehead. The others swung over to Goofy faster than before and asked him if he was alright.
"Aw, I'm okay fellas," Goofy chuckled. "It's gonna take a little more than a short fall to stop me." Alex mentally thanked every single god that was out there for Goofy's safety. The big lug was starting to grow on him.
Tarzan continued to lead the group further into the jungle. Alex had to fight the urge to ask if they were there yet. Along the way, Alex saw a herd of elephants below him, but he didn't call out to them. He knew better than to scare a large animal. Donald and Sora continued not to talk to one another and it was beginning to get on Alex's nerves, but he knew there was a pretty good reason for it. Eventually, the team reached their stopping point. Tarzan directed their attention to a tree branch above them. Standing on it, were two gorillas. One of them had black hair that appeared shiny in the sunlight and he was big. Alex knew from the looks of him that this gorilla was the leader. The other animal was a little smaller and her hair was brown. Alex couldn't remember who she was.
Tarzan walked forward slowly before saying, "Kerchak."
Sora whispered in Alex's ear, "So, this is Kerchak? He's bigger than I thought he would be." Alex nodded in response.
Despite the fact that Tarzan was raised by these creatures, Kerchak did not look happy with the jungle man. He stared at Tarzan, then scanned the others with him and growled. Alex guessed he didn't like other people knowing about his clan.
Tarzan stood up on both legs, almost as a way of showing defiance to his leader, and spoke, "Kerchak, please listen to me." The gorilla narrowed his gaze and grunted.
"I know the nesting grounds are secret," Tarzan continued.
Shockingly, Kerchak said, "And yet you still brought the strangers to us. What were you thinking?!"
Tarzan hung his head down and said, "I-I trust them."
"You are so naive," Kerchak growled. "Strangers aren't trustworthy. This is a small group now, but they'll be back with more. And they will destroy our home. Do you really want that?!"
Tarzan brought his head up and met Kerchak's stare. "B-but, they... need us." Alex knew that it must take great courage for Tarzan to stand against his own family like this and he felt that he should repay the favor.
The female gorilla put her hand on Kerchak's arm and said, "Kerchak, please. Let them speak."
Kerchak's eyes wheeled around at the female in surprise. "You support his decision, Kala? How can you defend this?"
The female gorilla, Kala, said, "I want to hear what the strangers have to say." Alex and the others reeled back in surprise. The last thing they wanted to do was intrude on this family feud.
Mostly out of fear for what might happen if they didn't speak, Goofy stepped forward and said, "Erm, uhm, Your Highness. Please don't yell at Tarzan. He was only tryin' to help us find our friends."
Kerchak was a little surprised by what Goofy said and asked, "And who are these friends of yours?"
Immediately, Sora jumped in front of Goofy and said, "Riku and Kairi. Riku's the one who has long, blue hair and Kairi has short, brown hair. I know they're here. Have you seen them?"
Before Kerchak could give an answer, Donald cut in front of Sora and quickly said, "King Mickey, have you seen him? He's a little short, but he has big, round ears."
"Excuse me," Sora pushed Donald out of the way. "But I was just explaining to Kerchak who we are looking for."
"Never heard of 'em," Donald lied. Alex and Goofy stepped in between the two and pushed them back before they could come to blows.
"Look," Alex explained. "We are not here to destroy your nesting grounds, despite what you might think. We're just looking for our friends and that's it. I realize that you want to protect your family from any outsiders. I just want you to know that we mean you no harm."
Kerchak snorted at the human below him, right before he shifted his head in a different direction of the jungle. He flared his nostrils, sniffed the air, and growled in frustration. He leaped off the tree branch and landed on the jungle floor. Kerchak got out of Alex's eyesight as the gorilla bounded through the jungle.
Tarzan hung his head and fell to his knees, mumbling, "Kerchak."
Kala climbed down to her son's level and hugged him tightly. Alex swore he could hear muffled cries coming from the jungle man, which pained him greatly.
Donald and Goofy turned to each other and, not wanting to interrupt Tarzan and Kala, whispered, "He seemed kinda distracted by something."
Kala and Tarzan separated after awhile and Alex could see faint red marks on his cheeks.
Sora walked up to Kala and asked, "Has he always been like this?" He was hinting toward Kerchak.
Kala sighed. "No. Not always."
"What happened?" Sora asked, interested to hear about the gorilla's past.
"It's nothing," Tarzan said before Kala could get a word out. "He has always despised me. And it is because I am...different."
"Well gawrsh," Goofy said. "You can't treat someone like that just because you're different."
"I guess it's different for gorillas," Donald suggested. "I mean, everyone in their group has to look somewhat the same. Where we come from, Disney Castle, everyone looks different and we're used to it. Maybe gorillas aren't."
Goofy shook his head. "Bein' different shouldn't matter as long as you love each other right?"
"No," Kala said. "It shouldn't." Everone turned to the female gorilla to hear what she had to say.
Kala turned to Tarzan and said, "Tarzan, I'm about to tell you something I've never told you before." Tarzan saw how serious his mother was and listened intently.
"Before you came around," Kala explained, "Kerchak and I had a son."
Tarzan's eyes widened. "What?"
Kala looked at the ground, not wanting to face her son. "Our son was beautiful. He was going to be Kerchak's successor as the leader of our clan. I still remember the days I used to watch him sleep. His eyes were full of kindness and wonder. I loved him with all my heart, as did Kerchak."
Sora had a feeling that Kala had planned this out as a private conversation between her and Tarzan. He felt out of place as this mother divulged her deepest secret in front of complete strangers.
Suddenly, Kala peered up at everyone, her eyes full with tears, but her voice was serious and focused. "Then, one night he was taken away from us. He must have woken up in the night and gone to explore, but he never came back."
Due to the powerful way Kala was telling her story, Donald felt a twinge of anger at whatever took her son away. "Who did it?"
Kala paused and, with tears streaming down her face, looked at Alex and said, "You know who."
At first, Alex didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but he soon realized that the murderer of Kala's son was none other than the leopard, Sabor. It was bad enough that that bastard of a kitty tried to kill Alex as soon as he got here, but now Alex learned that the beast had killed Kala's innocent son. Alex vowed that upon their next meeting, Sabor wouldn't come out of the fight alive.
Tarzan had been taking this all in and said, "Mother, if this is true, why didn't you tell me?"
"There is much more for you to learn my son," Kala said. "And I will tell you when we get there."
"Then let's go," Sora said. "I bet it's where Kerchak is heading, right?" Kala nodded in response.
"Alright!" Alex declared. "Let's saddle up and go."
The tree house hadn't changed all that much from Alex's initial scrap with Sabor except for one small thing. Now, an old globe sat in the middle of the tree house. A small female gorilla was playing with it by continuously pushing it so it would spin around. The creature was fascinated by this round object because it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Even with all the dust and grime on it, she could still make out drawings on the object, along with names of places she didn't even know existed nor that she was interested in. Subtle creaks of the floorboards did nothing to detach her from the globe.
The hunter raised his shotgun, the cold steel of the barrel gleaming in the sunlight. He was situated just outside a broken window that was out of the gorilla's eyesight. The hunter was impressed that he was able to get this close to his prey without it realizing he was there. Even though he was barely in his forties, Clayton still had the cunning of a cat. He didn't make a sound for fear that he would scare the gorilla away. He stopped breathing and tightened his grip on the gun. He aimed the shotgun and pulled the trigger slowly.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Had Clayton been paying attention, he would have realized the small group of people coming up the large tree branch which lead to the tree house. Donald had spotted the hunter first and had sprinted as fast as he could before letting out a yell that pierced the entire jungle. Unfortunately for Clayton, Donald had yelled right into his ear and the hunter fell backward, realizing that he had temporarily gone deaf. Alex, Sora, Tarzan, and Kala caught up with the duck and it didn't take long for Tarzan to put two and two together about what Clayton was doing here.
"What the hell are you doing Clayton?" Sora yelled. Clayton, due to his temporary deafness, could only stare warily at Sora.
Tarzan walked into the tree house to make sure his friend was alright. The gorilla had hidden behind some crates that were by the broken stairway.
Tarzan peered behind the crates and asked, "Are you okay?" The gorilla poked her head out slightly, but upon realizing who she was speaking with, leapt out from behind the crates and gave Tarzan a hug. The jungle man smiled as he patted his friend's back.
Sora was about to yell at Clayton once more, but he saw Kerchak and Kala enter the house from the top floor. The gorillas were near the broken stairway and they surveyed the situation. Kerchak could only shake his head in sadness before starting to turn away.
Tarzan ran forward and yelled, "Wait Kerchak, please!"
The gorilla sighed and turned to face Tarzan. At first, Tarzan believed that Kerchak was actually going to listen to him, but the expression on Kerchak's face was not one of understanding.
The words Kerchak spoke cut Tarzan to the core. "I asked you to protect this family. And you have betrayed us all." With a final grunt, Kerchak exited the tree house the same way he came in.
"Mother," Tarzan bellowed before she left. Kala looked at the boy she had raised for a long time and followed Kerchak. Tarzan couldn't believe that she had left him too. He felt like his whole world was crumbling beneath him. The others looked at Tarzan with sympathy and wanted to do their best to help him. But some matters had to come first.
Alex's face turned from one of sympathy to one of anger as he looked at the hunter lying on the ground. Clayton looked up to see four very angry faces looking down at him. He gulped and decided to improvise. "You don't understand! I was only trying to..." He struggled to find the right words to say. "A-a snake slithered by you see! I was going to shoot it and save that poor gorilla."
"But you didn't shoot," Sora said, "so why didn't it bite her?"
Clayton got up off the ground, dusted himself off, and said, "I guess the snake must have been scared off by this duck's loud voice." The hunter pointed at Donald who decided to take the hunter's words as a compliment.
Tarzan walked over to the hunter. Clayton was scared that the jungle man was going to attack him, but Tarzan didn't. He only stared at Clayton with utter malice in his eyes before he took a deep breath and walked away.
"How could you DO such a thing?!" Jane shrieked.
The group had retreated back to the campground and Alex explained everything to Jane. After Alex had finished, Jane began to lash out verbally at the hunter.
Clayton backed off defensively, raising his arms in surrender, and said, "Now Ms. Porter, as I tried to tell you, I was not aiming at the gorilla."
Jane pointed her finger at Clayton and poked him in the chest upon every word she spoke. "You are not to go near the gorillas again."
Clayton couldn't believe how stubborn she was. He couldn't allow this to happen. "All because of one little mishap, come now!"
It took Clayton a second to realize that his words had done nothing to quell the anger within the tent. Every single person had their arms folded and was doing their best to remain calm, which some were doing better than others. Clayton chuckled slightly, while backing up out of the tent, trying to break the tension. He felt the tent flap with his hand and turned his back as soon as he was outside, wanting to make sure Tarzan didn't try to attack him from behind.
He walked to the middle of the campsite, making sure he was out of ear range, and twisted his face into a frustrated scowl. "What am I doing with these imbeciles? Blasted gorillas!" The hunter gripped his shotgun tightly as he spoke. "I'll hunt down every last one of them. I'll track them down somehow! I'll stake my life on it." The hunter took a big breath to calm himself and put his pipe in his mouth. He lit a match and was about to light his pipe.
Suddenly, he heard a loud rustle within the bamboo trees. His eyes went wide and his body went on full alert. He lowered the pipe into his pocket as he heard more noises. He shifted his head from side to side to try and find the source of the noise, but there was nothing to be seen. As the noises began to get louder, he began to circle his entire body around, constantly darting his eyes to different parts of the trees. He held his shotgun in a hunter's stance and did his best to pinpoint the sound. He heard one more rustle in the trees and realized where it was coming from. He aimed carefully and fired, the shot echoing throughout the jungle.
"What the hell?!" Alex exclaimed.
"That was a gunshot," Sora said.
"Then it must have been Clayton," Donald deduced rather easily.
"He really needs to loosen up," Goofy said.
Jane wasn't convinced. "Maybe he was shooting at something real."
"Who cares?" Donald shrugged. "That guy should get what's coming to him."
Alex thought that was a little harsh, but didn't want to argue with the duck. "Maybe we should go check guys. I mean, who knows what's out there."
Alex was trying to make a point to Sora, Donald , and Goofy. Luckily, all of them nodded without Jane or Tarzan seeing them.
"I really don't think you have to," Jane said. "Mr. Clayton isn't bad underneath. He's just impetuous."
"Sounds just like someone else I know," Sora said while staring at Donald, who folded his arms in protest.
Not wanting to get into another argument, Goofy said, "Well, I think we should look for him." Alex nodded in agreement and summoned his sword. "Let's go prepared this time."
The others summoned their weapons, causing Jane to jump in surprise. Tarzan held on to his spear and lead the way out of the tent. The jungle man pushed open the tent flap, but didn't go out right away. He sniffed the air around him and shifted his eyes from one side of the campground to another. He slowly pointed his spear forward and stepped out into the campground, the others following right behind him.
Alex noticed a change in the weather. The sun wasn't out anymore, instead the sky had turned a moody gray and mist began to make its way onto the campground. Alex really didn't like this scenario and rose his sword in front of him. Sora's Keyblade provided some light to the area, but did little to stave off the chills going up his spine. Goofy was having a bit of deja vu considering something similar to this happened to him in Wonderland. He tried to put his old skills into action again. Tarzan held the spear low and kept sniffing the air. Something was wrong. Usually, he could find the enemy just by its scent, but this time there was no scent. As if, whatever was out there wasn't really alive. Alex was about to call out to the others when a pool of darkness appeared in front of him. A creature leaped out of it and Alex was shocked to see the Heartless in such a form. This Heartless looked like a monkey. It was different shades of blue all around. The Heartless insignia was plastered on its chest and its face was complete blackness except for its yellow eyes. It had large fists and it walked with its legs and hands just like Tarzan did.
"Guys!" Alex screamed. "They're monkeys now!"
Everyone got the message as several of these Powerwilds appeared throughout the area. Alex thrust with the sword, but the monkey Heartless leaped over it. As it came down, the Heartless extended its fist, catching Alex on the side of his head. Alex grunted, but continued to attack with a vertical chop. The Powerwild dodged to the side, but Alex shot it with a fireball, sending the scary monkey crashing into the large pile of crates. Before the Heartless could get up, Alex stabbed it in the chest.
Donald blocked the Powerwild's punch with his staff and kicked the Heartless in the face. Another Heartless jumped into the fray only to be met by Donald's upgraded fire spell. Donald was suddenly tripped by a Heartless that had slid on the ground and kicked the duck's feet out from under him. The Heartless leaped up and kicked out, trying to break the wizard's back, but Donald spun in the air and whacked the Powerwild in the face. Still in the air, Donald shot the Heartless with a blizzard spell. As he raised his staff, urging more to meet their demise, Goofy jumped over Donald and crashed into the group of Powerwilds. The knight crashed his shield into the enemy, the evil monkeys flying through the air and crashing into the ground. Goofy yelled, "Tornado!", and wreaked havoc upon the group of Heartless. If they weren't decapitated by the edge of Goofy's shield, then they were without a chest, considering Goofy punched through it.
Sora and Tarzan fought side by side, with Sora leading the way against the Heartless. Sora slashed at a Powerwild, and when it dodged, he blasted it with lightning. A Heartless swung its fist in a fast manner at Sora, causing the Keybearer to go on the defensive. With his heightened reflexes, dodging the punches were easy and Sora quickly found an opening to stab the Heartless. The Keybearer looked back to see Tarzan fighting like a beast unleashed. The jungle man howled as he thrust his spear into the chest of the Powerwilds. He blocked a punch with the shaft of his spear and quickly shot up the sharp point into the face of the Heartless. He roared as he twirled his spear with the speed of a cheetah, killing all the Powerwilds who got in his way. When the last of the Heartless grabbed his staff, the two engaged in a tug of war. Tarzan gritted his teeth as the strength of the monster overcame his own and his spear went flying. Luckily, Tarzan was just as much a threat with or without his spear. The jungle man punched the Heartless in the gut and elbowed it in the face. Then, Tarzan kicked the Powerwild onto a table, causing all the beakers and lab equipment on it to be smashed. Tarzan leaped in the air and slammed his fist straight through the Powerwild, causing it to disintegrate right before his eyes.
After the Heartless were gone, everyone took a deep breath. The group regathered in the center of the campground.
"I was wondering when those guys were gonna show up," Alex exclaimed as he hyperventilated.
Sora cast a questionable look in Alex's direction, asking, "So, you wanted those things to find us?"
Alex shook his head. "No! It just took them a little longer than I thought for them to find us."
Sora couldn't help but agree. "That's true."
"What were those things?" Tarzan asked, looking at anyone for an answer. The others hesitated because they didn't want to tell Tarzan the truth about the creatures.
"They're just monsters," Alex finally said. "Monsters that have been following us for awhile. We need to stop them from whatever it is that they're doing. These creatures will actually bring about destruction like Kerchak was talking about."
Tarzan widened his eyes. "How is that possible?"
Sora put a hand on Tarzan's shoulder. "Believe me Tarzan, if we knew we could tell you."
"We need to find Clayton," Goofy exclaimed. "If those creatures found us, them they probably found him too."
The others nodded in agreement and began a trek through the jungle, looking for the impetuous hunter. Along the way, they were attacked again by the Heartless, but they were ready this time. Donald made it a point to not help Sora out whenever he was in danger, but fortunately Alex always had Sora's back. Alex and Goofy were getting worried because this feud was starting to become a little dangerous. Their travels eventually took them to the bamboo thicket. The place Donald and Goofy had met Clayton.
"So this is where you guys woke up?" Alex asked Donald as they entered the clearing.
"Yeah," Donald said. "I guess we must have fallen here after..." He looked at Sora who pretended like he wasn't listening and said, "After the crash."
"Look," Tarzan pointed to the small boulder in the middle of the clearing. Everyone ran over to it to find a pipe sitting on the top of the boulder.
"This was Clayton's," Sora said. "So, where is he?"
"Very good question," Alex replied. "Maybe those creatures got him."
Alex saw Tarzan sniff the air and his eyes widened. The jungle man frowned at Alex and said, "Or maybe something else."
Alex felt a chill go up his spine. "S-something else?" Tarzan nodded as he gripped his spear more tightly. This was a signal for everyone to summon their weapons and spread out.
Alex did his best to look through the cracks the thin bamboo gave for any kind of movement. He didn't get that close however. He had a really bad feeling that this wasn't the Heartless. Sora and Donald made sure they weren't by each other as they searched for the unknown beast and it annoyed Goofy to see that. Tarzan got close to the bamboo and used his sharp eyes to find any flicker of movement. There was no noise in the thicket, but Tarzan wasn't convinced. Alex turned around to see how the others were doing and watched Tarzan. As the jungle man passed the bamboo, Alex saw something move. When he looked closer, he realized the movement was the opening of sharp jaws attached to a leopard.
"Tarzan! Watch out! It's Sabor!" Alex yelled at the top of his lungs.
Tarzan turned around in time to see Sabor roar and leap out of the thicket. The beast, with claws outstretched, fell upon Tarzan. The man's instincts went into high gear as he used Sabor's own momentum to roll and kick the leopard off. Sabor roared as he hit the ground, but got up with unnatural speed. The leopard faced down the group of five, saliva escaping his mouth.
Alex gritted his teeth as he said, "Here kitty, kitty , kitty. Meow!"
Sabor's response was to sprint for Alex with fury in the leopard's eyes. But Sabor never got to the boy because Goofy slammed into the leopard's side with his shield. Sabor recoiled from the blow very quickly and lashed out at Goofy, but Donald hit Sabor with a thunder spell. Sora attacked the distracted Sabor and cut him in his side. Sabor gnashed his teeth in pain and swung his claws at Sora. The Keyblade parried the claws of the beast, but Sora fell to the ground because a rock tripped him. As Sabor descended upon his prey, Tarzan tackled the leopard and the two rolled on the ground.
Tarzan stuck the shaft of the spear in Sabor's mouth so the beast couldn't bite him and he punched the leopard in the nose. In retaliation, Sabor scratched Tarzan with his claws, causing him to cry out in pain and get off the leopard. Alex threw a potion over to Tarzan and told him to drink it, right before he attacked Sabor once more with a kick. Sabor growled as the boy's foot connected with his side and roared as his sword sliced his back. Alex backed off because he knew the creature couldn't last much longer.
"Tarzan!" The jungle man looked in his direction. "He's all yours!"
Tarzan nodded at Alex and proceeded toward Sabor slowly. This beast killed Kala's true son and Tarzan was going to make sure that Sabor's murders ended today. The beast growled as he saw Tarzan come toward him. Tarzan stopped and held his spear in front. The two opponents made no movement as they glared at each other.
Finally, at the same time, both opponents roared and charged. They collided with Tarzan's staff blocking Sabor's claws from reaching him. Their strength was equal as both struggled to come out on top. Tarzan turned out to be the victor as he pushed Sabor off his staff and tackled the beast once more. Tarzan ducked one of Sabor's claws and nicked the leopard with the spear on his underside. Sabor nicked Tarzan on his legs and Tarzan retaliated by twirling his staff, whacking Sabor with the end of the shaft. Sabor dived for the jungle man, but Tarzan jumped over the beast, nicking it in the back with the spear as he jumped over. As the battle entered its final phase, Tarzan thrust his staff at Sabor, but the leopard leaped to the side, causing Tarzan to pivot and spin around with the staff which stabbed Sabor in the leg. The beast cried out in pain. Tarzan finally finished it off by stabbing it in the stomach. The creature struggled to walk before finally falling to the ground.
Tarzan's body was full of battle wounds that were easily cured by Donald's healing spell. Goofy looked at Tarzan with admiration and Sora smiled at him. Alex walked over to Tarzan and put a hand on his shoulder. "I knew you could do it Tarzan."
"How?" Tarzan asked.
"Because that's what friends are for," Alex explained. "We believe in each other."
Tarzan smiled. "Friends. Like....Riku and Kairi." Alex smiled and said, "Yes."
"Thank you," Tarzan gripped Alex's hand with force, but Alex knew why. He nodded at Tarzan, accepting his friendship.
As the others looked on, Goofy asked Donald, "Didja get that?"
Donald shook his head. "No."
Suddenly, a gunshot echoed the area and everyone knew where it came from.
"Jane!" Tarzan bellowed.
As Alex, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Tarzan entered the camp, it was without a doubt in their minds that someone had attacked the camp. Crates had been broken into and their contents were laying all over the place. The porcelain tea set had been smashed against the ground and the grandfather clock had been turned over. The book sets under the canopy had been broken and the books themselves had been ripped many times over. The British flag had been ripped of its pole and was now lying in front of the entrance to the tent in tattered shreds.
"Jane!" Tarzan frantically called out. "Jane, where are you?!"
Donald and Goofy ran over to different corners of the campsite, looking under anything she might have fallen under. Alex and Sora went straight for the tent.
Goofy picked up a broken picture frame and saw that it was a picture of Jane and her father. Her father was a short man with a big mustache and he looked like he was going on a safari. Goofy looked at Donald and asked, "Who could have done this?"
Donald looked shocked that Goofy didn't realize. "It was the Heartless. Who else could have done it?"
Goofy shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it was Clayton." Donald shuddered as he heard that suggestion. The last thing they needed was an expert hunter being turned into a Heartless.
"Hey guys! Help us out!"
Donald and Goofy ran back to the tent as Tarzan walked out of the tent holding the unconscious body of Jane.
"Gawrsh, is she gonna be okay?" Goofy asked as Tarzan lay her body on the ground.
"Someone get some water," Alex demanded, but he didn't need to bother. Everyone huddled over Jane as her eyes flickered open.
"Jane, are you alright?" Tarzan asked while he stroked her hair.
"Tarzan," Jane whispered out. "What happened?"
Donald stamped his foot on the ground impatiently. "We were about to ask you the same thing."
Jane groaned slightly as she pushed herself off the ground. She put a hand on her head and breathed deeply. Then, her eyes widened. "Oh my God!"
"What is it?" Alex asked as he got down on one knee.
"Clayton," Jane growled. "It was him. I'm sure of it."
"Told you," Goofy poked Donald in the chest as he said it.
Donald pushed his finger out of the way saying, "Okay fine. Don't go rubbin' my face in it will ya."
"There was this small gorilla. She must have ran through the jungle and found her way into my tent." Jane remembered. "I wondered what she was doing, but before I could even hide her, Clayton entered the tent with these foul creatures." Alex looked over to Sora who nodded in silent response. Clayton had now gotten control of some Heartless.
Tarzan was about to ask something, but he sniffed the air suddenly. He lowered his head and began to sniff the ground. Everyone peered over to see what he was looking for. Alex could see little paw prints in the ground and right behind them were human footprints.
"She ran," Tarzan finally said. "But Clayton went after her. I can smell others, too."
Jane gestured for Sora to help her get up, which he did. She wobbled a bit, but soon found her footing. "We must help the gorillas. Clayton's gone too far." Everyone agreed with her.
"We will Jane," Sora said. "I promise."
Donald walked over to Sora, surprising Alex and Goofy, and said, "You should stay here. You'll be safe."
"Okay," Jane nodded. "I'll stay in the tent."
"Wait, no!" Sora protested. "Those creatures could come back and attack and we aren't gonna be here to protect here." Donald was about to argue, but Tarzan said, "I agree. Jane you should come with us. I will protect you."
Tarzan," Jane felt her face get a little hot and everyone saw her blush.
Sora giggled before saying, "Alright, let's hunt this hunter down!"
"Dude," Alex shook his head in embarrassment. "You are so lame."
All was quiet in the nesting grounds of the gorillas. The dense canopies of trees only helped to increase the darkness considering it was nighttime. The tree branches were big and twisted all over the place. The echo of thunder in the distance helped to scare the younger gorillas, but their mothers were happy to hide them under their warm bodies. Kerchak was making one last round before going back to his own nest with Kala. As he made his way through the dense trees, he saw his mate sitting alone. Kerchak knew that she must be feeling terrible, but he still stood by his decision to keep the outsiders away from their loved ones.
He started to walk over to her before a gunshot pierced the night. All the gorillas began to grunt in terror and their children's high voices squealed with panic. Kerchak growled as he recognized the sound. The hunter had found them.
"Kerchak!" The gorillas turned to see Kala running towards him.
"Kala get out of here!" Kerchak yelled and motioned with his arm. "Get the others out."
Suddenly, Kerchak felt something hit him in the side and fell to the ground in a heap. Kala ran over to his side to see that he wasn't dead, but he looked woozy.
"You're lucky that was only a tranquilizer dart you stupid ape!" Kala turned her head to see the source of the voice. A man walked through the mist, carrying a shotgun and an evil grin on his face.
While he reloaded his gun, he said, "But this time, I'm going to make sure you don't escape me again." He locked the barrel back into place and pointed it at Kerchak. The monkey Heartless began to form behind him and they jumped around in happiness as they were about to have their next meal.
The other gorillas huddled together in fear as they watched their leader about to meet their demise. Kala was shaking uncontrollably, which made Clayton feel completely in control of the situation. Kerchak gritted his teeth together and tried to fight off the effects of the tranquilizer dart, but it was no use. The hunter gripped his gun and began to pull the trigger slowly.
"NO!!"
Clayton turned in surprise to see Sora, Alex, Donald, Goofy, Tarzan, and Jane all standing there in the mist. He couldn't believe they were still alive. Kerchak finally shook off the tranquilizer and roared in defiance. The Heartless attacked the angry gorilla, but Kerchak made short work of them, punching and throwing them into the jungle beyond.
"Kala let's get out of here!" Kerchak urged her.
"But Tarzan-!" Kala pointed to her son.
"He'll be fine," Kerchak assured her. "He has his friends by his side." Kala sighed, but nodded and the two of them retreated with the other gorillas to let their new friends take care of Clayton.
For a while, the hunter just stared at each potential enemy of his. His gun was still pointed in one direction even though the gorilla was no longer there. Alex knew that Clayton was a bad guy before, but now he wondered if something even more sinister was going on.
"Clayton," Sora said. He couldn't think of anything else to say to try and convince the hunter to stop.
Tarzan got Sora's attention and shook his head. "Not Clayton. Ee ee oo oo ah! Not Clayton!"
As soon as he heard that, Alex turned to the jungle man. That was the same phrase he had used when he first met Alex. What could it possibly mean? Sora gave a look to Alex, asking if he knew what Tarzan was talking about, but Alex shook his head. Donald and Goofy were just as stunned. Goofy looked to Donald for the answer, but the duck was already shaking his head in confusion. All Alex knew was that it had something to do with Clayton, who wasn't even talking to them.
"What the hell is going on with him?" Alex asked aloud, not caring if anyone answered or not.
Surprisingly, Clayton answered, "No one has been able to bring back a gorilla before. Everyone in Britain will pay to see these creatures in zoos. Do you realize that I'm standing on a potential gold mine here and I am not about to pass it up."
Jane scowled. "So all of this has been for money?"
"Damn right it is," Clayton growled.
"Sorry to burst your bubble Clayton," Alex said as he summoned his sword, "but the only one who's going back home in a bodybag, is you."
Clayton laughed. "We'll see about that." He turned to the Heartless beside him and motioned with his head towards the opposing group. The Heartless responded by leaping at the others with great fury.
Sora charged forward, Keyblade swinging, and smashed right into the group of Heartless. The Keyblade cut straight through one of the monkeys and another dodged the blade. However, despite past events, Donald covered Sora by blasting the Heartless with a fireball. Alex and Tarzan leaped into the fray with war cries. Tarzan's spear kept the Heartless at bay until he could stab them with the pointed edge. Alex swung and missed an evil monkey, but unintentionally, swung his sword back and cut another one. Alex turned around in surprise and finished off the Heartless with a vertical chop.
Goofy guarded Jane from the Heartless with his shield by pushing any Powerwilds that manged to get past the others back with his weapon. Then, he massacred the small group with his Tornado attack. Jane watched in wonder as Goofy exchanged bone-crushing blows with the creatures and winced when Goofy was punched by one. The knight crashed into the bushes, but quickly got back up in time to throw his shield, which slammed the creature into a tree. Goofy heard Jane cry out and looked to see her getting attacked by the Heartless. Goofy quickly sprinted over to her and bum rushed the Heartless with kicks and punches.
"Sora, get Clayton!" Alex said as he fought through the onslaught.
Sora nodded and pushed his way to the hunter. When Clayton saw that Sora was heading towards him, he simply smiled and pointed his shotgun at him. He pulled the trigger without hesitation. Sora braced for the bullet, but was surprised to see the bullet coming at him slower than he thought it would. It came at the speed of a bad pitcher throwing a baseball, giving Sora just enough time to block the bullet with his Keyblade. The bullet ricocheted off into the jungle. Clayton's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates until he yelled out, "How is that possible?"
Sora didn't answer him, instead continuing forward towards the hunter. Clayton, knowing that bullets weren't going to stop this kid, pulled his machete out of its sheath. "It's been awhile since I've seen a skilled opponent, such as yourself. Let's see how good you really are."
"Better than you! I can guarantee that," Sora retorted.
"We shall see!" Clayton said as he rushed at Sora, machete high in the air. Sora met Clayton's machete swing and the two blades showered sparks as they connected. Clayton growled in frustration and attacked with a horizontal slice. Sora was able to block that easily enough, and then attack with two quick thrusts. Clayton used all the speed in his body to bring his blade down in time to meet those thrusts, and even had to duck a head strike from Sora, which caused him to lose his balance. As soon as he fell on the ground, Sora put the sharp edges of the Keyblade against Clayton's neck.
"I don't want to hurt you Clayton!" Sora said in honesty. "Please don't make me." Clayton couldn't believe that he was being beaten by a mere boy and pushed the Keyblade out of the way with his machete, continuing his duel with the Keybearer.
Donald finished off the last of the Heartless with a thunder spell and went to check on Goofy. Alex looked on as Sora and Clayton battled. He was sure that Sora could handle him.
"Goofy, is she okay?" Donald asked as he approached his friend.
Jane answered for herself by saying, "Yes. I'll be fine." Then she looked at Goofy saying, "Thank you, Sir Knight."
Donald rolled his eyes as he saw Goofy blush, who replied, "Gee thanks. It wasn't nothin'."
The two blades connected once more as the struggle between Clayton and Sora waged on. Clayton brought his blade off of Sora's and slashed upward. Sora backed up, narrowly dodging the blade, and kicked Clayton in the chest, sending the hunter to the ground again. Clayton grunted as he hit the ground and he looked up at Sora with fury in his eyes.
"Just give up Clayton," Sora pointed the Keyblade at the hunter. "You can't beat me."
Clayton blinked as lightning crackled, creating scary shadows on the trees. He threw his machete to the side in defeat and lay his shotgun in front of Sora. "That's good," Sora said.
Alex ran over to the downed hunter and his friend, saying, "Looks like we caught ourselves a biggun'. Wouldn't you agree?"
Sora stopped giggling when he saw Tarzan make his way over to them. The lightning that flashed made the jungle man look more ominous than he already was. He picked up the shotgun and pointed it at Clayton.
"You will pay for what you have done here today," Tarzan said through gritted teeth.
"Whoah Tarzan," Alex put up his hands. "Calm down will ya?"
"Don't do something you'll regret," Sora pleaded with Tarzan.
Clayton just smirked as he stared into the barrel of his own gun and said, "Go ahead. Shoot me." Tarzan looked from Clayton to the gun, trying to decide what to do.
Clayton laughed. "Be a man."
Tarzan looked at Sora and Alex who were shaking their heads, mentally telling him to not go through with this. He took one last look at the shotgun before throwing it to the ground, screaming, "I am NOT a man like YOU!"
Alex put a hand on Tarzan's shoulder, as Sora gave a big sigh of relief, saying, "Good for you Tarzan. Good for you."
"Well, at least that battle is finally ov-!" Suddenly, Sora was slammed completely backwards. He flipped in the air over and over before hitting the ground on his chest.
"What the-OOF!" Alex yelled as he was thrust backwards as well. As he flew through the air, he hit many small tree branches that whacked him in the back, causing even more pain. He finally landed right next to Donald, Goofy, and Jane.
Donald jumped up in surprise, yelling, "Alex, what happened?"
Alex struggled to breathe and coughed out, "Don't..know. Some..thing is... out there." Goofy was about to ask what it was before Tarzan suddenly landed right in front of them.
"Tarzan!" Jane cried out as she bent over the jungle man. "Are you alright?!"
Tarzan was able to cough out. "Yeah. I'll be fine."
Goofy and Donald looked at each other, both wanting to know what the heck was out in the jungle. As they were about to ask a second time, a loud, warbling cry echoed throughout the entire jungle, before large rumbles began to make their way over to the group. Donald and Goofy both began to look slowly in the direction of the crashing trees, afraid at what they might see. The irony would be lost on each of them.
What they did see was Clayton hovering in the air, holding his shotgun and laughing maniacally. His legs were pushed to the side, which made Donald guess that he was riding some kind of invisible beast. The creature cried out again and Donald could see that the air was distorted beneath Clayton, so the creature wasn't entirely invisible, but the nighttime didn't help out.
"What the hell is that thing?" Alex said as he got back up painfully.
"You'll never leave this jungle alive," Clayton shouted as he pointed his gun at Alex, ready to pull the trigger.
Donald thought quickly and shot an ice beam at the shotgun, causing the barrel to freeze. Clayton pulled the trigger, but the bullet had been frozen into the gun. He yelled in frustration as he continued to pull the trigger, hoping that the bullet would magically escape its icy prison.
"Tarzan," Alex said. "You go for Clayton, we'll go for the thing underneath him." Tarzan nodded as he grabbed his spear. Alex turned to Donald and Goofy who had their weapons ready. "Let's go!"
Alex led the charge as he saw a fireball pass him, which hit the creature underneath Clayton. It bellowed in pain and Alex swung his sword, hoping that he wouldn't miss. He didn't and he felt the sword tear through flesh, though whose flesh he had no idea. Alex just continued to hack away. But the creature didn't like that and headbutted Alex and he fell back.
As Tarzan approached the beast, he used a different tactic. He ran forward to gain speed, and, using his spear, pole vaulted over the beast and crashed into Clayton, causing both men to fall off the beast.
Donald cast a blizzard spell at the bottom of the creature, hoping to hit its feet. It did and the creature was frozen to the spot. This gave Alex and Goofy the perfect opportunity to land some massive hits on the creature. Goofy performed Tornado on the creature who counterattacked by hitting Goofy into a tree. Because of this, Alex kept attacking, but he ducked at random, hoping that by sheer luck he wouldn't get hit. It actually worked once when Alex sliced the creature and he ducked, feeling the wind whoosh past him. But it only worked once and Alex was again hit to the ground.
Donald used his extra power to leap in the air and land on top of the creature. He grabbed onto the creature's back because the creature kept shaking, trying to get the duck off of its back. When the creature stopped shaking, Donald rose his staff into the air and yelled, "Thunder!" Bolts of lightning shot down from the sky and each one hit the creature. Donald felt the creature wobbling around and jumped off just in time so he didn't go down with the creature when it fell.
"SONIC BLADE!"
Alex turned to the voice to see Sora, bathed in golden light, shoot forward like a missile. His Keyblade was pointed forward and he hit the side of the monster with great force. Suddenly, the creature glowed white. Alex looked at Donald who shrugged, before healing everyone. The monster glowed white for a few seconds before going to its original and visible form. Alex was taken completely by surprise. It was a giant chameleon. Its color was a light, camouflage green with a few bits of white on its underbelly. It had one horn protruding from its head and yellow eyes. Claws extended from its fingertips and its tail was curved in a spiral shape. But the part that caught Alex's attention was the symbol on its chest. A large, black heart with a red "x" in the middle.
"This thing's a Heartless?!" Alex exclaimed in disbelief. "How many forms do these guys have?"
The chameleon responded by standing up on its two legs and shake its head violently. Its eyes began to glow white and soon enough, white beams shot out from its eyes. The beams hit Alex square in the chest, causing great pain to the boy. The monster charged up again and shot at Sora, but the Keybearer hit the beams back with the Keyblade. Then, he ran forward, while the monster was charging up for a third time, and delivered some painful slashes on the creature. The monster charged forward, knocking Sora on his butt. He got up to see Donald racing toward the creature, quacking all the way.
"C'mon let's go!" Alex patted Sora's shoulder quickly as he inched towards the fight.
"I'm gonna help Tarzan," Sora said. "Besides, looks like Mr. Selfish over there has got everything under control."
Alex had been putting up with Sora's and Donald's bickering for long enough. He tried to be nice about it, but it was time for action. Alex growled at Sora and slapped him right in the face. Sora fell to the ground, clutching his face, screaming, "What the hell man?!"
"That's it!" Alex yelled. "I'm sick of you and your emotional constipation! Donald and Goofy need us and we're gonna go help them whether you like it or not. Besides, Tarzan can take care of himself."
When Tarzan knocked Clayton off his beast, the hunter had fallen to the ground. He gritted his teeth as he did his best to get up quickly because Tarzan was standing right in front of him, glaring at him with hatred. Then, he ran over to a tree and began to climb it. Clayton smirked as the jungle man disappeared into the treetops.
"Hiding are we?!" Clayton yelled into the sky. "That's good. Because after I take care of you and my beast kills your friends, rounding up your little ape family will be all too easy!"
Clayton was pressing on through sheer rage as he began to climb the tree. When he reached the top, he entered a world of never ending tree branches. They jutted out at different angles and they cast creepy shadows against the solid trees. Vines hung down from the branches which Clayton used for balance. The hunter felt a chill go up his spine as he looked around for Tarzan, his heart beating at a frenetic pace.
With a yell, Tarzan attacked the hunter from above by kicking him in the back. Clayton cried out in pain and surprise as he fell over, being careful of the edge in front of him. Tarzan fell down and tackled the hunter, grabbing his neck and squeezing just enough so that Clayton would pass out. But the hunter wouldn't give up so easily and he punched Tarzan on the side of the head. The jungle man was pushed to the side by the punch and Clayton used the momentum to roll over on top of Tarzan.
The two struggled against each other, grunting and gritting their teeth. Clayton's hand was wrapped around Tarzan's throat and was squeezing, but Tarzan was pushing it away with his hand. He maneuvered his foot so it sat at Clayton's chest. With an extra burst of strength, Tarzan kicked the hunter off of him and he fell through many branches before he painfully landed on a big one.
He struggled to get up and cursed Tarzan's name under his breath. Suddenly, he was jerked backward by the leg. He turned his head to see Tarzan tugging his leg toward him. Clayton grumbled and kicked out with that very leg. The kick caught Tarzan in the head, causing his nose to be showered with blood. Clayton pulled out his retrieved machete from its sheath and swung at the jungle man. Tarzan backed up and dodged the slice until he fell off of the tree branch. Luckily, he grabbed onto the vines on the other side of him and gripped them to slow his fall.
Tarzan peered up to see Clayton fall the same way and Tarzan retreated into a confusing maze of vines that surrounded him. He did his best to find a way out before, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a machete slice towards him. He ducked his head and saw Clayton right beside him. On instinct, Tarzan leapt forward and tackled the hunter. The two men twisted around the vines as they grabbed a hold of their bodies. Clayton punched Tarzan, causing the vine to break again and they fell through the air. Tarzan kicked Clayton in the face as they fell and grabbed another vine, causing him to swing to a tree and land on a branch.
Clayton landed amidst another maze of vines that gripped him in the throat and arms. The hunter was so overcome with anger that he began to cut all the vines around him. He slashed and sliced, screaming all the way. He sliced the two holding his arms, which turned out to be a bad idea because those vines were the only things holding him up. He screamed as he fell downward, the vine still around his neck. As Clayton almost reached the ground, the vine finally met its full length and went slack. The hunter felt no pain as the vine closed around his throat tightly and too fast for him to feel anything. When Tarzan found him, his body was hanging limp in the air by a vine. Tarzan sighed and hung his head low. Death was always hard to see, even if the person was evil.