(Chapter 8: A moment of peace)

Kerchak surveyed his troops aligned at the foot of the ridge he stood on, in the distance he could see Tublat and Terkoz emerging from the darkness. The tide of the civil war had turned, while things had looked grim in the early going for Kerchak's side, they had completely taken control of the conflict.

Tublat's numbers had dwindled fast as the were pushed further and further away into uncharted territory, they had been chased through the burning jungle by Kerchak and his troops, many of his gorillas being slain in the process.

At this point, there was nowhere left for Tublat to go. He only had thirty gorilla troops remaining while Kerchak had one hundred, it would be a slaughter. Yet in the face of impossible odds, Tublat's gorillas stood their ground, baring their teeth towards their enemies that were one hundred yards in the distance.

Kerchak decided to break the tension, and cross over to Tublat's side with a few protecting him, flanked around all sides by his trustiest allies. Despite the irresistible urge to attack Kerchak; Tublat's gorillas knew that chances of victory were slim to none and that they would earn nothing by assaulting Kerchak with a cheap rush.

"What do you want, Kerchak? We've got nothing left to lose, are you extending an olive branch?" Tublat asked with a raised brow.

"If that olive branch, is you accepting defeat and yielding, then yes."

"We surrender."

Kerchak's eyes went wide with surprise, there was no way Tublat would surrender this easily, right?

"This best not be a set up…" Kerchak warned.

"If you want to keep your home, then you'd best accept my terms of surrender." Tublat growled.

"What do you mean?" Kerchak grunted, still unsure of whether he could trust his arch-nemesis or not.

"That fire, it was set by humans. My scouts told me that the day of, and I've received word earlier that they are pushing deeper into our territory. We gorillas are supposed to be the guardians of this jungle, are we not? If our numbers dwindle to a handful, then the humans will slaughter us, one by one. We cannot afford to lose anymore. So Kerchak, I surrender."

Kerchak stood quiet for a moment after Tublat surrendered, and a deafening silence fell upon them all. The winner sighed and shook his head while facing the ground.

"This war was about the protection of Tarzan, a human." Kerchak spoke softly.

"You finally see the world through my eyes, Kerchak. All this needless bloodshed to defend the people that are wiping us out slowly, we died honorable deaths for people that care none for us. It's time we change that, it's time that we drive the humans out of here…"

"What about Tarzan?"

"Tarzan killed the one who set the jungle ablaze, and he saved my son's life from a leopard. He has my respect, but I still don't like him. I don't like the fact that he's in love with a human who comes from the camp that belongs to those who tried to burn our home to a crisp, it's alarming. It makes me think that when his back is against the wall, he'll turn on us to survive."

Kerchak had no response to Tublat's words about Tarzan, as much as he hated to admit it, his arch-nemesis was right about the wild man.

"Let Tarzan do what he desires, when the time comes, we will see if he is truly loyal to us, or to the human scum." Tublat continued, and it was then that Kerchak finally spoke.

"Agreed."

The two apes approached the large clearing in the jungle where the gorilla tribes had rallied up for the final battle in the war, but every one of them appeared to be taken aback when Kerchak and Tublat stood side by side of each other in the center of the battlefield.

"Troops! From my side, and Old Tublat's side. I have come to bring all of you great news!" Kerchak began, the gorillas all stood at ease.

"In an offer for peace, Tublat has surrendered and has accepted defeat!" Kerchak finished, Kerhcak's gorillas began to roar in cheers and triumphant hoots. Tublat's gorillas began to charge with rage in their eyes, some of them pounding their chests.

"HALT!" Tublat roared to his troops, forcing them to come to a screeching stop.

"Why!?" One of the gorilla troops roared.

"We have a new, greater enemy that threatens this entire jungle. If we don't put this war to an end and join forces, then our home will perish, and so shall we." Tublat explained.

(Meanwhile)

Tarzan had found a smaller clearing that he as well as Jane and Professor Porter could hang out at for the time being, Clayton had since retreated to the main camp to speak with Percy concerning Jacob's actions, but to his dismay, the Englishman wasn't there.

Standing at their front was Terk and Tantor, the ape-man had called them over to introduce his human allies to them so they wouldn't go on the attack when the time to strike back against the human soldiers arrived, a time that Tarzan feared was coming soon.

"So, who is this hoe again?" Terk asked, Jane's curious expression turned into that of an angry pouty one.

"Language, Terk…these are my human friends, the lady here is my Jane." Tarzan said, wrapping an arm around her waist with an inviting smile on his face, staring deeply into her eyes. "And this man here, is her father, Professor Porter."

"My Jane…get a load of this guy, Tantor!" Terk chuckled.

"Oh, come on Terk. Lighten up, would ya." Tarzan teased.

"Terk's got a point, Tarzan. The humans are a big problem right now, and now you're saying that two of them are your allies?" Tantor sided with Terk.

"These humans are innocent—" Tarzan began. "Jacob: The man who tried to burn down our home, assaulted this lady and left her to die, and he also assaulted her father. These two people are going with the wrong crowd, and their fascination with us and our home has made me strive to protect them."

"We'll give 'em a pass for now, but best know if they try to do somethin' that gets all of us in trouble, they're no good."

"Trust me, Terk. They won't get us in trouble." Tarzan pleaded.

Terk left the scene, and so did Tantor. The ape-man turned towards Jane with a nervous smile and a chuckle passed through his lips.

"Looks like you two will have to win them over somehow." Tarzan explained.

"How do we do that?" Jane questioned.

"I know both of you are true to me and to our home, but the jungle people work differently than I do. They haven't spent time with both of you like I have…you must gain their trust by proving your loyalty."