Tarzan leaped from vine to vine as he rushed over to where several poachers were holding Kerchak down, trapping the great ape in loops of rope around his limbs and neck. Clayton stood over Kerchak, a gun raised and taking aim at Kerchak's head, and Clayton's finger moved on the trigger.
Tarzan's eyes widened as he realized he was not going to make it.
Bang!
At the same time as the gun went off, Jane shoved Clayton, causing the man to stumble, and the bullet shot into the trees. Clayton turned furious eyes on Jane, aiming the gun at her now, and she took a few steps back while raising her hands.
Tarzan shouted angrily as he swung for Clayton, kicking the man down as he landed on the ground.
Kerchak found renewed strength and pulled against the ropes, swinging men left and right as he forced himself into a standing position. A couple ropes snapped from the exertion, and the loss of a couple men holding him back gave Kerchak an upper hand and he grabbed at ropes and swung them, throwing a few men. Finally, he was free of his captives, the rest turning and running away.
Kerchak snorted aggressively at their retreat, then glanced down at Jane, who remained standing nearby.
Jane took a few steps back and her breathing quickened, clearly remembering her first encounter with him.
"You must be Tarzan's father," she said in her strange tongue, and Kerchak narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm Jane. Pleasure to meet you."
Unsure of what she was saying, but grateful for her rescue, Kerchak closed his eyes and dipped his head at her briefly, then turned his attention to Terk, who was snoring away.
Jane let out a breath of relief before slowly approaching Terk, keeping an eye on the great ape next to her. She kneeled next to Terk and pulled out the tranquilizer dart, Kerchak watching her moves intently.
"She'll be okay," Jane said. "She just needs to sleep it off."
Jane looked up at Kerchak and smiled softly.
"You yanked yours out quickly, so you may not have gotten the full doses, though I feel you would have needed a much larger dose than Clayton was planning on."
Kerchak spared her a glance before sniffing Terk to make sure she was fine. There were no injuries and she appeared to be sleeping, probably from whatever was in that object that Jane had pulled out of her thigh. She was otherwise unharmed, so Kerchak turned his attention to the trees, scanning the grounds for his son. The poacher who had wanted to shoot him was also missing. Kerchak let out a worried grunt before checking the forest around him.
Jane stood up and looked around as well. The majority of the poachers were retreating, being chased by elephants, baboons, and leopards.
One particular cat chased a poacher right toward Kerchak and Jane, and Kerchak swung out and struck the man with a snarl, and he fell to the ground unconscious. Jane frowned as she realized the cat that had been chasing the poacher was a cheetah, an unusual cat to see in the middle of the jungle.
Cheetah paused next to Kerchak and Jane, snarling at something the gorilla hooted out. Cheetah's ears twitched in all directions before his hackles raised and he shot forward, leaving Jane to wonder what he may have heard.
Cheetah leaped for a large tree, digging his claws into the bark before climbing up the tree swiftly. He trotted from branch to branch as he followed the voices around him.
"After I get rid of you," Clayton's booming voice said, "rounding up your little ape family will be all too easy!"
Cheetah snarled as he leaped from one branch to another, straining his ears against the thunder as he tracked the struggle he could hear happening just feet away from him. A storm closed in around them, darkening the sky even more, lightning offering brief glimpses of Clayton and Tarzan kicking and punching each other.
Climbing to a ledge higher than the men were, Cheetah crawled along the narrow branch, stalking low and lightly, snarling as he neared closer to the fight. He nearly yowled angrily when Clayton was thrown down the trees, falling to a much lower branch, Tarzan tree surfing after him.
Cheetah leaped to the ledge they had originally been on, then down one more before he froze, sucking in a breath as his eyes widened.
Tarzan was holding the shotgun, pointing it at Clayton, who was pinned up against the main trunk of the tree they were in. Clayton smiled smugly while Tarzan breathed heavily, glaring at the poacher.
Cheetah crouched low on the branch he was on, watching intently.
"Go ahead," Clayton urged, "shoot me."
Tarzan hesitated and pulled back some, looking down at the gun. Clayton chuckled.
"Be a man," Clayton said, before laughing even louder.
Tarzan snarled and pushed the weapon against Clayton. Cheetah shuffled back a bit on the branch he was on, his ears flattening in preparation of hearing the loud bang, his pupils dilated and his hackles rising.
There was a bang, and Cheetah startled some, but the noise had not come from the gun. Tarzan had mocked the sound of the gun, quite accurately, and the noise had frightened Clayton even. Then, Tarzan swung the gun above his head.
"I'm not a man like you," Tarzan said before smashing the gun down on the branch until it broke into several pieces. Cheetah sat up slightly at the display, feeling a sense of pride swell in his chest. Clayton watched in dismay as those pieces fell to the jungle earth far below.
Clayton turned angry eyes on Tarzan before yelling and lunging at Tarzan with a machete, and Taran fell off the branch, catching himself on a vine.
Cheetah's pupils turned to slits and he leaped off the branch, tackling Clayton and biting down on the arm that held the machete.
Clayton cried out and fell off the branch, forcing Cheetah to leap for another branch, and he landed safely, turning to watch as Clayton snatched a vine to stop his fall, his hand burning from the effort.
Spotting Tarzan, Clayton moved through the vines slowly, only gripping for a few second with his injured arm before switching to his other arm. He pursued Tarzan until the ape-man found himself cornered, and Clayton raised his machete.
Cheetah struggled to get down to their level, running out of branches to jump to, and he would not be able to slink his way through vines without opposable thumbs. Tarzan was on his own for this one, and Cheetah crouched low to see who would reign victorious.
Tarzan had managed to sling vines around Clayton's wrist to keep him from using his machete. That seemed to give Tarzan an idea, and he lassoed a bunch of vines around every one of Clayton's limbs until the poacher was unable to move much at all.
Tarzan glared at Clayton, who sneered back before swinging the machete at the vines holding him captive.
"Clayton," Tarzan tried to warn the man.
Clayton continued to slash at the vines.
"Clayton, don't!" Tarzan lunged forward, as if he might catch Clayton, but it was too late.
The poacher fell with a scream, vine around his neck, then, the screams drew to sudden halt, followed by a roll of thunder and a flash of lightning. Tarzan landed safely on the jungle floor, shadowed by the silhouette of Clayton's hanging body.
Cheetah huffed, glad for the end of the battle, then turned and ran into the trees for a safer descend.
On the ground, Tarzan stared up at Clayton sadly. He hadn't wanted the battle to end in death. All he had wanted was for Clayton to give up, surrender, and leave the jungle, never to return. He had wanted to be merciful, as Kerchak often was with his enemies. Perhaps this was for the best, however, as now Clayton could ever go back on a promise of never returning, and his family would be safe from the likes of him forever.
Jane came running over to him and he accepted an embrace from her as she muttered how happy she was that he was unharmed until she spotted the gunshot graze wound on his arm.
"Oh, Tarzan, were you shot?" Jane asked, looking closer at the wound on his arm.
"It's just missed," Tarzan said, hardly sparing a glance at the injury, "a graze."
"After all these years," Cheetah said as he leaped down from a branch and landed in front of Tarzan, "you did not resort to killing like man. I am proud of how strong you stay true to who you have become, Tarzan of the apes."
"Thank you, Cheetah," Tarzan said.
"You speak to cheetahs, too?" Jane asked.
"Just a little," Tarzan said with a smirk, which turned into a genuine smile as many of the jungle animals that had assisted in the fight all came to stand before Tarzan. Elephants, rhinos, hippos, leopards, baboons, and more, all standing as one, united and strong. Tarzan bowed to everyone in thanks, receiving a bow in return from the animals before they all walked in separate ways, disappearing into the trees.
Cheetah brushed against Tarzan and when Tarzan nodded at Cheetah, the big cat trotted off into the trees.
All that remained was Tantor with Professor Porter and a sleeping Terk on his back, and Kaphi and Kerchak, who wore proud smiles as they finally spotted Tarzan.
"Dad!" Tarzan ran over to his father and hugged him, glad that he was alive and unharmed.
"You did well, my son," Kerchak said with a gentle nuzzle.
"You're not hurt?" Tarzan asked.
"No. Thanks to your . . . little friend," Kerchak said with a jerk of his head in Jane's direction. "Perhaps I was hasty to believe that all man were poachers. You did find some good ones."
"Thanks." Tarzan glanced up at Terk who let out a loud snore. "Is Terk—?"
"She'll be fine once she wakes up."
Tarzan smiled at his father, then chuckled when Kaphi jumped on him to hug him as well.
"Stop scaring me like that," Kaphi scolded. "You can't just take off and disappear with a poacher after you."
"Sorry, little sis," Tarzan said. "I won't let it happen again."
"Good," Kaphi said with an assertive nod, looking a lot like Kala in that moment, which made Tarzan think about his mother and the rest of the family.
"Mom and the others," Tarzan asked, looking back at Kerchak, "are they safe? The poachers didn't . . ."
"They are safe," Kerchak said, "though we should get back to them to ensure they stay that way."
Tarzan nodded and Tantor lowered himself so Professor Porter could slide off the elephant.
"Thank you for your rescue and assistance good sir," Professor Porter said, patting the elephant's trunk, earning a gentle trumpet in return from Tantor before the elephant stood back up.
Professor Porter reunited with Jane, and Tarzan walked over to them, standing up on two once he was in front of them.
"Thank you for saving us, Tarzan," Jane said, brushing a strand of hair back.
"Thank you for saving my father," Tarzan said. "You were very brave."
Jane smiled with a blush.
"We should head back to camp," Professor Porter said. "Now that the poachers are rounded up and locked in the cages they brought, we should be safe to recover for the night. The ship is here, so we'll need to pack up tomorrow and head home for England."
"Right," Jane agreed softly. "Tarzan, are you sure you don't . . . do you want to reconsider . . . I just mean, you'll visit before we leave tomorrow, right?"
"I will," Tarzan said.
"I guess it's goodnight then," Jane said, and she and Professor Porter began walking in the direction of their camp. Tarzan was glad they were not too far as it was just down the hill, otherwise, he would have walked with them. Instead, he followed his father and sister home to his own family, where the other gorillas praised their safe return, especially his mother.
Tarzan swung through the trees quickly, wanting to spend every last second he had with Jane until her departure. The sun was barely above the trees, so he knew it was still very early in the morning, but that did not stop him from heading for the camp. He landed on his feet and began walking the rest of the way when he was close, snatching up some flowers.
A spotted feline slid into his path just as the camp came into view, and Tarzan froze, staring down at Cheetah.
"What is it?" Tarzan asked. "Did the poachers escape?"
"No," Cheetah said. "I have something to show you."
"Now?" Tarzan asked, glancing at the camp just down the hill. He could see the poachers sleeping in the cages they were trapped in. There was no other sign of life or movement yet.
"No one is awake yet," Cheetah said, "you'll have plenty of time with your man friends after you've seen what I wish to show you."
"Okay," Tarzan said reluctantly, setting down his flowers and following Cheetah, sparing one last glance at the camp.
Even at a trot, Cheetah moved swiftly, and Tarzan resorted to swinging on the vines to keep up with Cheetah. The sun inched higher and higher in the sky, worrying Tarzan, though he knew it was still early enough when the morning birds and monkeys began their usual morning news chatter. Finally, Cheetah halted suddenly, and Tarzan dropped down to where Cheetah was standing.
They were in a discreet part of the jungle, an area Tarzan did not know well, but he trusted his feline friend and allowed Cheetah to explain where he had taken him.
"It took the entire night to pull this off," Cheetah said. "Gathering what I needed, whom I needed, and bringing it all here."
"What are you talking about?" Tarzan said.
Cheetah stepped through the trees and into a clearing, Tarzan following his lead.
Cheetah let out a loud roar, and Tarzan's jaw dropped as several cheetahs formed two rows and sat up tall and proud, forming a path for Tarzan to walk down. At the end of the two rows was a large stone covered in red dust and a small bucket (most likely stolen or collected from somewhere in the jungle) with water in it stood beside the large stone.
Cheetah began walking down the path, his tail brushing against Tarzan to encourage him to follow.
"What is this?" Tarzan asked as he walked down the path in his ape-like fashion.
"This is a legacy," Cheetah explained as he led the way to the stone at the end. "These are my sons and grandsons, cousins and mates."
Cheetah paused in the middle to glance at a trio of cheetahs, forcing Tarzan to halt and he looked at the cheetahs Cheetah was staring at.
"You remember the triplets?" Cheetah said, and the three cheetahs smirked and looked at Tarzan without breaking formation.
Tarzan smiled at the cheetahs, recalling the babies he had rescued a few years back. HE was glad to see them all grown up, strong and healthy, though one did seem to have a small injury to his upper shoulder. He didn't have long to study it though as Cheetah was urging him forward once more.
"Everyone here knows your story, has heard of your heroics, and they will continue to pass down these stories to the next generation for as long as you provide your services to the jungle, and even long after. In doing this, we, the Cheetahs, will continue to be of aid to you in keeping this land, from the savannah to the jungle, poacher-free for as long as we possibly can."
Cheetah jumped up on the stone and looked at Tarzan.
"Even as some of us can no longer aid you in body."
Tarzan returned a sad look at Cheetah as his words processed in his brain, and he understood what Cheetah was doing at last. This was his way of ensuring that Tarzan always had a way to rely on the cheetahs, by introducing him to Cheetah's family and friends, and by having shared stories of Tarzan's heroics, the cheetahs would always be willing to help him if he ever went to them in time of need. Tarzan turned and studied the cheetahs behind him, who kept their formation, keeping their heads held high with pride as they waited.
"Cheetah, you didn't have to do this," Tarzan began to say as he glanced up at his old friend.
"I did." Cheetah sat down on the stone. "I will not live forever, and I can feel the weary in my bones stronger than it has ever been before. But I love my home, we all do, and we will do what we must to protect it. It is time I pass on my legacy to my young, and to those willing to carry on in my name for the legend of Tarzan."
Cheetah dipped a paw in the bucket of water, then stomped it down in the red dust on the stone, flexing his paw repeatedly before lifting it up and staring down at Tarzan.
"You are a protector in our eyes," Cheetah said as Tarzan sat down in front of the stone, staring up at Cheetah. "You have fought bravely time and time again for your home, for our home. You have gone as far as to rescue our blood from poachers. You share many qualities of the fierce and loyal cheetah, and because of that, I anoint you"—Cheetah reached forward and placed his paw on Tarzan's chest, right over his heart, and pressed firmly—"an honorary cheetah. May our spirit run forever in your blood."
Cheetah removed his paw, and Tarzan smiled down at the red pawprint that remained on his chest.
"You are one of us now," Cheetah said. "And as one of us, we will always be there when you need us, Tarzan of the apes."
Tarzan stood up on two and turned to face the cheetahs, letting out his characteristic cry.
The cheetahs joined in with roars before everyone broke formation and walked up to Tarzan to properly sniff and greet him, and Tarzan took the time to get to know everyone, especially the triplets, who shared their exhilarating story on how they distracted the poachers for Tarzan, which explained the one brother's injury. One by one, the cheetahs left until only Cheetah remained, and he was still on the rock, lying down this time as he had watched Tarzan interact with his family.
"Thank you, Cheetah," Tarzan said, "this was an honor."
"You've earned your place," Cheetah said. "I was right to stay in touch all these years. I hope my family can serve you well."
"If they're anything like you, I'm sure they will," Tarzan said with a smirk.
Cheetah purred softly before jumping down from the stone and nuzzling Tarzan, brushing against him as he turned for the trees to follow the others back to the savannah.
"Farewell, Tarzan," Cheetah said. "It has been my honor to serve you."
That sounded more like a permanent goodbye, and Tarzan's eyes widened. Cheetah couldn't mean this as a forever goodbye, could he?
"Cheetah!" Tarzan called out.
Cheetah paused, his eyes meeting Tarzan's, and Tarzan saw not fear or despair, but resignation and pride—pride from a life well lived. Tarzan recalled words Zugor had once said years ago: "This isn't goodbye, Tarzan. We'll see each other again. It's all apart of the circle of life."
Tarzan felt tears well in his eyes, but he smiled all the same and gave a deep bow to Cheetah, knowing deep down that this would be the last time he saw Cheetah.
"Farewell, good friend," Tarzan said.
Cheetah returned the bow, then disappeared into the trees.
Tarzan wiped at the one tear that managed to escape, then admired the pawprint Cheetah had left on his chest. He would not be washing that off for a while. Perhaps Jane could even draw it in her journal before she left, then he would have a piece of Cheetah saved in the treehouse forever.
The goodbyes did not end there. After Jane set aside packing to draw Tarzan with the pawprint on his chest, then just the pawprint (her way of prolonging the inevitable), it was time to leave, and after a teary goodbye with Jane, she left on a small boat that would take her and her father to a much larger ship waiting a bit away. She was wearing her yellow dress she had first appeared in all those weeks ago, and Tarzan watched sadly as the boat rowed away.
Kaphi stepped out of the trees and sat next to her brother, watching the boat leave.
"Sorry, big brother," Kaphi said.
"It's okay," Tarzan said. He frowned at his sister. "What are you doing here?"
"Dad thought you could use some support while you said goodbye to the strangers like you," Kaphi said. She looked over her shoulder. "All of our support."
Tarzan turned around and smiled as his entire family stepped out of the trees, everyone sitting in the sand and watching the boat leave. Kala stepped up to her son and offered a hug, which Tarzan accepted. Kerchak also walked up to his son, nuzzling him. Tarzan wrapped his arms around his father's neck.
"Thanks, Dad," Tarzan said. "I know you never trusted them, but . . ."
"You were right," Kerchak said. "Not all man are poachers. Some are a lot like you."
Tarzan offered a smile then looked down sadly.
"I still don't want her to go," Tarzan said. "But I'm not abandoning my home for her. I just can't. Especially after what happened with the poachers."
"Which was your fault," Kerchak reminded gently.
"I know, you don't have to rub it in," Tarzan said. "Still, maybe one day I'll see her again. She could come back, right? I know she said it would be hard to come back and all that, but maybe—"
Kerchak snorted and nudged his son.
"You might want to turn around," he said.
Tarzan frowned and turned around, and he stared surprised as Jane trudged through the water, a big grin on her face as she moved as quickly as she could toward Tarzan. Tarzan moved closer to the water as Jane neared, and then she jumped on him, knocking them both into the sand, the waves gently lapping around them. As they sat up, Jane fell forward and kissed Tarzan.
When they pulled apart, Jane blushed and began stammering something before Tarzan pulled her into another kiss, much to the amusement of the gorillas, who Jane realized was staring at them and she pointed at them, making Tarzan look back as well, and he smiled at his family.
Tarzan helped Jane to her feet and walked her over to the gorillas. Kaphi was the first to step forward and offer her hand to Jane, who gladly accepted it and she was pulled closer to the family. Kala greeted her with a gentle hand touch and Jane smiled when Tarzan told her who she was to him. As more gorillas surrounded Jane and Tarzan, Jane stopped Tarzan with a hand to his chest before he could speak.
"Jane stays with Tarzan," Jane said in clear gorilla, and Kerchak couldn't help the snort while his family cheered loudly around them, applauding and throwing their hands up in joy. Kaphi was the most excited for her brother.
Professor Porter came running out of the water as well, cheering happily before asking, "What did I miss?"
Jane laughed and hugged her father.
"Thank you, Daddy," Jane said.
"I think we made the right decision," Professor Porter said.
Jane smiled as she moved through the gorillas toward her trunk that washed up on the shore due to the captain of the ship throwing their possessions overboard so they would have them. As she did so, she nearly ran right into Kerchak, who stared down at her with a very serious expression, and she backed up a couple steps.
"Oh, my," she said before smiling, "hello, again, Tarzan's father."
Kerchak grumbled lowly, letting out a heavy breath through his nostrils, keeping his serious expression as he pushed himself up a bit higher on his knuckles.
Jane took another uncertain step back, but Tarzan quickly appeared next to her.
"Dad," Tarzan scolded, "be nice."
"I am being nice," Kerchak said to his son before grabbing Tarzan's leg and knocking him down into the sand, earning a surprised shout from his son and startled gasp from Jane, who quickly bit back a laugh as she covered her mouth with a hand. Kerchak gently touched his forehead to Jane's in a friendly but brief greeting, putting her at ease, then he looked down at his son, "She'll do nicely."
"Glad to hear, Dad," Tarzan said with a groan as he rolled over and sat up, shaking off the sand.
Kerchak called his family to follow, and he led the way back to their grounds, allowing Tarzan time alone with the strangers, smiling softly to himself.
Believe it or not, I have at least six planned out chapters for this story, so it is not over yet! More to come, though it is nearing the end, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!