Hopefully, this chapter is more exciting than the last. Enjoy, everyone!

Tarzan: "DarthKingdom not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, anything... Plot O.C.s..."

That'll work, thanks.

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Chapter 32: Lord of the Apes

Sora and Axel held on tight to the elephant's back, wondering what was going on.

"Are we being kidnapped by an elephant?" Axel asked, wondering if he should burn their way off and get back to looking for Tarzan.

"Actually, I think he's doing us a favor." Sora answered.

"And how is he doing that again?"

Sora had recognized the cry. He had heard it frequently last time he was on this world. That was the battle cry that could only ever be done by one man: Tarzan, the Lord of the Apes.

"He's bringing us to Tarzan."

"And you know this how?"

"Who did you think that was shouting?"

Whatever Axel's response was, Sora didn't hear it. The elephant had just let out another wail. Turning, Sora saw another group of Heartless chasing after them, and gaining fast. Among them were a breed of flying Heartless that he hadn't seen before. They resembled parrots, though they were predominately black, and marked with red and green on the wings. They had the same gleaming yellow eyes that most Heartless shared.

Carefully, Sora straightened up on the elephant's back. He took up an uneasy fighting position on his rocking back. On of the Parrot-Heartless (called Dark Beaks) swooped down on him, only to be batted away almost casually by the Keyblade.

Sora struggled to keep his balance atop the terrified elephant. This was worse than the hoverbike in the World That Never Was. At least that thing had artificial gravity, whereas the elephant often jumped over fallen logs trying to escape the Heartless, upsetting his balance.

Axel shot a few fireballs at the airborne Heartless, holding them off for a while. But he couldn't work at optimum effeciancy while holding onto the elephant's back. And he also had to be careful not to set fire to the entire jungle with a stray shot.

All in all, it was a frustrating fight, yet Sora had been through worse. He still remembered the one time when Luxord had turned him into a giant die.

For the next few minutes, he and Axel fought off the Heartless on their tail. They often came close to hitting the elephant, but where diverted at the last minute by the Keybearer and former Nobody.

After what felt like an eternity, the chase stopped, and the elephant stopped in a huge clearing. Siezing the opportunity, Sora and Axel lept off his back. They surveyed the area, which was something like a dip between two raised chunks of land. The area was strewn with boulders and fallen vines and bamboo trees. Sora was guessing that this was where Riku had picked up the disturbance.

Especially since there was already fighting going on. The area was swarming with Heartless. They were engaged against a being with his back to a cliff-face across from Sora. He was a very large gorilla with sleek black hair and gray-colored skin. He was successfully beating Heartless away with his bare fists.

But Sora's attention was drawn away from Kerchak by another wild cry. Sora looked up in the direction the cry had come from. High up in the trees was a familiar figure, swooping in on a tree vine with a spear in hand made of wood and a sharpened rock. It was a man with a toned body wearing a brown loincloth made of animal skin. His dark brown hair was very dirty and had a few leaves in it. His blue eyes were fierce.

He landed on top of a Heartless, and swung his spear in an arc, taking out five more with just that swing. Displaying astonishing acrobatics, he overlept another group and stabbed through three of them with one lunge.

The danger was temporarily passed, and Tarzan walked over to Kerchak, kneeling down and leaning forward on his knuckles. He hooted and grunted with Kerchak for a few minutes, in an animal language that Sora couldn't completely understand.

"What's with the way he talks?" Axel asked him, whispering. Clearly Tarzan wasn't quite what he had pictured.

Sora smiled and chuckled. "That's what I thought when I first met him. But when you've been raised by gorillas, what do you expect?"

"Point taken."

Just then, Kerchak realized that they were no longer alone in the clearing. The red elephant that had brought them there walked over to Tarzan and the gorilla and joined in the coversation.

That was when Tarzan noticed Sora and Axel standing there, waiting to be noticed. He smiled widely and said, "Sora!"

"Tarzan!"

They ran toward each other and met halfway. They gave each other an old brotherly hug that Tarzan had given him once before (Sora thought he had been trying to kill him at the time). When they seperated, Tarzan said, "You've gotten bigger."

Surprised by the clearly pronounced diction, he responded, "And your English is better."

"Thank you."

"This is my friend, Axel." Sora said, leading him toward the fire-headed man. "Axel, this is Tarzan."

Tarzan extended his hand, in a remarkably human gesture, and shook Axel's. Kerchak was giving them a strange look from over Tarzan's shoulder. His attitude toward outsiders apperantly hadn't changed much since Sora left. And he had had more than a whole year, so that was saying something.

Trying to start off on the right foot this time, Sora bowed to the huge gorilla. He seemed surprised, and after a moment, nodded his head and let out a low grunt and stalked off into the jungle. Maybe they could get along yet.

He turned his attention back to Tarzan. "So how have things been with you?"

"Fine." He said, smiling, "Jane's still here. And we're married."

"Well, good for you two."

Suddenly there were noises coming from the jungle. In rushed a new breed of Nobodies that Sora had never seen before. Their silver and grey bodies were large and muscular. Shorter than Berserkers, but with more muscle. The Nobody symbol was marked on their chests. They carried broadswords across their chests, which also displayed the symbol. They were accompanied by the more common Dusks, which wove around them with their eerie walk.

Behind them came a giant of a man. He stood at around seven feet tall. His chest was covered by black chest armor that was scratched in a few places from hostile battles. His domed head was clean-shaven, and he had a thin beard and moustache. His grey eyes were as fierce as Tarzan's. On his right arm were black tatoos in swirling patterns.

The Nobodies took up positions all around the perimeter of the clearing. But they made no move to attack, and their swords remained folded across their chests. The large man strode in to fill a gap left by the lesser Nobodies.

Axel's chakrams appeared in his hands in a burst of flame. Tarzan crouched down low again and held his spear at an angle, ready to charge at the Nobodies at a moment's notice. Their elephant friend let out a shriek and dashed into the jungle. The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand as he took up a fighting position. It was so reflexive now that he didn't even remember calling it.

The man eyed it and put his fists on his hips, making him look fairly intimidating.

"So you're Sora." He said in a deep, calm voice. "The Master of the Keyblade."

"So what's it to you?" He lashed back.

"We want it." He said simply. "With it, Kingdom Hearts will be ours. And when that time comes, the worlds will be brought under our rule. And we will have it, one way or another." He held out his hand, palm up. "So why don't you make it easy on yourself and come with us?"

"That's simple." Sora retorted. "The only way you can get Kingdom Hearts is for us to help you. And we'll die before we do that!"

The man –Andmox- let a low growl escape his throat. "If that's the way you feel, than we'll just have to take you by force." He raised his voice and addressed the Nobodies, "Capture the Keybearer, kill the others!"

In one single, unified motion, the Gladiator Nobodies clapped their swords against their chests, and then angled them by their sides. They took up fighting positions just as the Dusks started creeping toward them.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some 'hunting' to do." Andmox said with a smirk. Then he vanished into a corridor of darkness.

Sora charged at the first Dusk, delivering a horizontal slash that sent it flying. A Gladiator immediately took it's place, and delivered a downward slash. He dove to the side and slashed it across the chest as he did so. He then spun back around and finished it off with a much harder slash. He then became engaged with another Gladiator, which came on with a series of powerful blows, which Sora either blocked or dove away from.

But the Nobody made a mistake and swung too hard once, and got it's sword embedded in the ground. It tried to pull free, but was promptly cut down with the Keyblade.

Tarzan sprung over two blades and landed squarely on the shoulders of a Gladiator. He pumped his legs and lept off, sending it sprawling to the ground. He hit another Gladiator in the chest feet first, knocking it backwards. He impaled it with a thrust of his spear and back-flipped off. He landed crouched and lunged at another one with his spear tip proceeding him. It went through it's forehead, and he swung it out to catch a leaping Dusk in the neck.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames tossed his chakrams at a pair of Gladiators, hitting them in the chest and sticking. With a flick of the wrists, he set them ablaze. The flames spread out of their chest wounds, and reduced them to piles of ash (which faded into darkness). The weapons then shot back into his hands with just enough time for him to rotate 180 degrees and slice an oncoming Dusk in half.

The fight continued for several minutes, until only five Gladiators remained in the clearing. The Dusks had all been wiped out. The three warriors prepared to take the last of the Nobodies down when there was a crashing sound in the trees.

Everyone (even the Nobodies) looked toward the trees where the noise came from. Two thinner trees were knocked over and crushed a Gladiator. Out rushed the elephant they had saved, sounding like a trumpet call. On his back was a younger gorilla with bluish fur and a tuft of hair on the top of her head. Sora recognized her as Tarzan's 'cousin' Terk.

The elephant rushed over and trampled the Nobodies beneath his massive feet. One managed to escape his feet by diving out of his path. That didn't help it though, as Terk had jumped off the elephant's back with a bamboo stick in her hands. She landed on it's shoulders and commenced beating it's featureless face in.

With the last of the Nobodies finally gone, Tarzan walked over to his cousin and the elephant and thanked them for their help in his strange animal language. Sora walked over to join him and was given an enthusiastic hug by Terk. She then chirped a few things at him that he couldn't understand.

"Um, what's she saying?" He asked Tarzan.

In response, the man laughed and said, "She wants to know where Donald is."

Sora had to laugh at that, and could only wonder what Daisy would do if she had heard that. "He and some of our other friends are farther back in the jungle."

And no sooner had he said it than Goofy's head popped through the underbrush. He smiled at them and then turned around, "Hey fellas! Nehrut was right! I found 'em!"

The rest of the group came after him just seconds later, Kairi immediately went over to Sora and asked if he was okay. "I'm fine Kairi, don't worry." He assured, hugging her.

Donald, meanwhile was being given a tight hug by Terk. And he was thinking scary thoughts about what Daisy would do to him if she were to see him.

"Guys," Sora said, "This is Tarzan, Terk, and um..."

"Tantor." Tarzan said helpfully.

After Sora introduced everyone (with Riku and Kairi last), Tarzan smiled at those two in particular. "Sora looked long and hard for you. You should be proud."

Sora blushed, as Riku gave him a firm pat on the back and Kairi pecked him on the cheek.

"What brings you back here?" Tarzan asked.

Mickey explained. "We're here because there's a new threat to the worlds: The Brotherhood of the Dark. They're launching attacks on a handfull of key worlds, and this is our first stop to try and stop them."

"The man from before?" Tarzan thought out loud.

"There was somebody else here?" Riku asked.

"Big bald dude with plenty of muscle." Axel explained.

"That's Andmox." Bariss confirmed, "He's one of the Brotherhood's chief Nobodies. Did he say what he wanted here?"

"Yeah, I doubt it was just for the nice weather." Nehrut said.

Sora suddenly remembered what he had said before vanishing. I've got some 'hunting' to do. And the recollection brought a feeling of dread when he remembered what the last 'hunter' on this world had done.

"He said he's going 'hunting'." Axel said. "So does that mean..."

"The gorillas!" Goofy exclaimed in distress. "He's gonna go after them!"

"And Jane!" Tarzan added. He turned around and ran toward the gap in the trees that Tantor had made. "Follow me!"

Most of them hopped onto Tantor's back and ran after him. But right before leaving, Sora spotted a silver pendant on the ground. Quickly, he scooped it into his hands. It showed the letter 'M' on it, with an eyeball in the center. Mentally, he named it the 'Monster Charm'.

It was a tight fit on Tantor's back, but with Nehrut flying, and Terk, Bariss, and Yuffie swinging on vines just ahead of them, they managed to squeeze themselves on.

They persued Tarzan (who was now using vines) from far behind him through several miles of steamy jungle, passing through a river and over a few cliffs on the way. Finally, Tarzan stopped at the base of a large tree and began climbing up it on some vines that were long enough to brush the jungle floor.

Nehrut followed in the air, while the rest used Tarzan's more conventional method of climbing. It took them several minutes, but they finally arrived at a layer of stable walking space high up in the jungle canopy.

Stretching his sore arms, Sora looked around, one half of his mind expecting a battle, and the other expecting for them to find nothing.

But instead, there were dozens of gorillas roaming around, going about their typical lives. They groomed themselves, slept, ate or just explored the area. Judging by the area, they had been settled here for a long time. In the midst of the gorillas was a thin human woman with long brown hair and blue eyes.

She sat with a female gorilla with brown fur and eyes. They were playing with a group of young gorillas, making faces at them and laughing with them. All in all, it was the picture of a peacefull gorilla family (plus a woman).

Jane looked up upon Tarzan's arrival and also noticed the newcomers. "Sora!" She called, and stood up and walked toward the group.

"Hey Jane! Congrats on the wedding!"

Jane smiled at him. She then noticed Kairi, "So you found her."

The two smiled and Kairi squeezed his hand.

Mickey looked around the gorilla's home with his hands on his hips. "Well, things look fine here."

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"Because the Heartless are back again." Donald explained.

"They're being led by a group called the Brotherhood of the Dark," Riku continued, "We've already met one of them on this world."

Jane's face paled visibly, and Tarzan walked over to her and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Jane. We'll make sure he doesn't do anything to you or the gorillas." Sora encouraged.

"Speaking of which..." Yuffie wondered out loud, "Why would he want the gorillas?"

"Good question." Came a voice from above them. The lot of them spun around and looked up. On one of the tree branches that Kerchak frequently occupied was Andmox. His fists were on his hips and he was smirking. The gorillas in the area immediately backed away or roared at him. The off-worlders drew their weapons.

Andmox's eyes rested on one in particular. "Hello slave."

Bariss's eyes hardened, and Nehrut moved protectively in front of her, a look of pure rage on his face.

"So you have betrayed us as Master Serndask said." He continued. "Need I remind you of the leverage he holds over you?"

Her face suddenly saddened, and Nehrut reached over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She seemed to draw strength from this gesture, and looked back up at him with renewed detirmination.

"I'll do it without your monster's help." She said, smiling.

Atta girl.

Andmox scoffed at her. "Well he demands you executed for your treachery. But I've got a job to do first." He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers in a way remarkably similar to Saix. Heartless appeared everywhere and chased after the gorillas.

They ran in every direction, howling and shrieking in fright apart from the few that actually fought back. The majority of the gorillas escaped into the forest, but they were followed closely by the Heartless.

"The gorillas!" Sora exclaimed, starting to charge after them, but his path was obstructed by something big.

A large, sleek-skinned, black gorilla-like Heartless stood in front of him. It was at least ten feet tall and almost as wide. It had a protruding square jaw and extremely muscled arms. On it's broad chest was the Heartless emblem. It's fists were dark purple in color, and it's gleaming yellow eyes were narrowed.

It bellowed, and with that simple shout, every tree within miles shook. Unfortunately, the group of off-worlders was caught in the path of the sonic wave it emmitted from it's mouth. They were blown completely off the trees to the ground nearly a hundred feet below.

Some of them caught hold of the vines hanging around them and stopped. Others were caught in Nehrut's telepathic hold. And the rest managed to stabilize themselves in midair.

Riku landed on his feet, and Yuffie hit the ground safely right next to him. Behind him, Donald and Goofy plopped onto the ground, landing on their backsides. They all looked around, and found that all their friends were high above them either in midair or suspended from vines.

Then without warning, the gorilla Heartless landed in front of them with a loud crash. It was glaring at the four with those emotionless, yet creepy eyes. The Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hand just as there was a flash of light around them, indicating that there was now an invisible barrier around the field of battle. They were on their own for this fight.

Sora looked down at them from his vine.

Riku, stay strong.

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And there's another chapter down! I think I'm getting better at this... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. The next Summon is fairly obvious, but here's a hint anyway. He's a very hairy scary character from a Disney/Pixar movie.

Review please!