Tarzan swung from vine to vine as he headed back to where the gorillas were currently invading termite mounds for lunch. He had checked out a new trading post that was being built on the coast by a Renard Dumont, who thankfully dumped a shipment of cages into the ocean when Tarzan showed clear disapproval of them. After a small scuffle with Dumont's men, they came to a truce and Tarzan allowed him to continue setting up his post as long as he left his family alone. Before heading out, Jane bought herself and her father several new clothes and shoes, and he had just finished helping her unload everything at the treehouse before he headed out to find his family.
The gorillas were sitting around several mounds and using sticks to force the bugs to crawl on them to catch them.
Tarzan landed next to Kerchak, who had managed to break off a large chunk of a tall mound off, exposing several termites that quickly scrambled for cover, though Kerchak managed to catch several in a large bite. Kerchak gave his son a curious look when Tarzan dropped down next to him.
"I heard the loud noises," Kerchak said. "Poachers, again?"
"No, actually a man is building a trading post."
"And what, may I ask, is that?"
"I'm still not really sure. I guess you can buy things like dresses and shoes and . . . uhh, Jane might be able to explain this better than me."
"Hmph. Or perhaps her father." Kerchak jerked his head in Professor Porter's direction.
Tarzan glanced to where Professor Porter was busy scribbling away in his journal. He had taken to wearing a loincloth and following the family around in an attempt to become accepted as a true member of the family. Tarzan had told Professor Porter that the gorillas had already accepted him, but Professor Porter wanted the "immersive" experience. Kerchak, thankfully, had not minded the tag-a-long.
"Yeah," Tarzan agreed. "He could probably explain it better to you as well. The man means no harm to the gorillas, but I will keep an eye on him to make sure he stays true to that."
"I'm sure you will." Kerchak returned to breaking off more chunks off the mound, preferring his more destructive method of getting termites over using a stick to catch them. Tarzan turned his attention to Professor Porter, smiling as the determined scientist picked up a stick and waved it around.
"Prepare to eat well, my gorilla brethren!" Professor Porter said, then he chuckled to himself before shoving the stick into the mound and digging around furiously.
Some of the gorillas gave him confused looks while Kerchak paused in breaking apart his mound to watch curiously.
After a little digging around, a few termites crawled out of the mound and a couple crawled up the stick Professor Porter was holding. He cried out triumphantly as he held up the stick, then daringly snatched a termite and bit into it. His face grimaced but he kept up the act as he forced a smile and chewed.
"Mmm, protein," he said.
Flynt and Mungo snickered at him, then Flynt grabbed another termite that was trying to escape and offered it to Professor Porter, who seemed to think the gesture was more than amusement as he scribbled something in his notebook before accepting the bug from Flynt.
"Thank you, good friend," he said, then took a bite of the termite, holding back a gag. Mungo snatched another one and offered it to him as well, and Professor Porter thanked Mungo as he took the bug from him.
Kerchak chuckled.
"He eats termites better than you ever did," he told Tarzan.
"Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad," Tarzan argued.
"No? Well, don't let me hold you back. Please, dig in." Kerchak gestured to the half-destroyed mound in front of him.
"I would," Tarzan said slowly, "it's just I'm really not that hungry right now."
"Mmhmm," Kerchak hummed nonchalantly before returning to digging through the mound.
"I'm not! This proves nothing."
Kerchak smirked at his son, but before he could say anything more, the ground shook violently under their feet, and he glanced around the trees for any signs of a threat when several rhinos charged into the mound nest, and the gorillas panicked and ran for cover in the trees. Kerchak climbed up the one closest to him while Tarzan swung on a vine and snatched Professor Porter before he was trampled by the rhinos, carrying him to a safe branch high above the raging pachyderms.
Tarzan watched the rhinos run through the small clearing, disappearing into the jungle just as quickly as they appeared. He crawled along a branch over to his mother and Kaphi, who were sitting side by side watching the rhinos leave.
"Is everyone okay?" Taran asked.
"I think so," Kala said while Kaphi nodded her head. "I wish I could say the same for our lunch."
Kerchak climbed down from the tree he was in and looked through the trees in the direction the rhinos had gone in. Tarzan jumped down next to him.
"What are the rhinos doing here?" Tarzan asked.
"Where did you say that trading post was nesting?" Kerchak asked, looking at his son with narrow eyes.
"Oh no," Tarzan muttered.
It turned out, the trading post was being built where the old rhino herd once lived, and since they had been displaced, the rhinos had decided that the waterhole in the area where the gorillas were established was a fine place to settle in for their new home. And they were not interested in sharing, and they charged anyone who stepped too close to the water, which angered many thirsty gorillas who cried out viciously at the rhinos. Kerchak only watched them with a glare, and Tarzan was sure his father was running several scenarios in his head on how to handle the situation. Kala sat next to him with a concerned look, while Jane waited patiently with a teapot.
"Who invited them?" Terk asked, gesturing to the invaders resting in the water.
"Perhaps they won't mind if I just get a little bit of water," Jane said, taking slow cautious steps toward the river, only for one of the rhinos to turn and charge her, swinging his large horn aggressively. Tarzan held a protective arm out in front of Jane and glared at the beast, glad when it turned away.
"Not big on sharing, are they?" Tantor asked as he shook nervously.
"What we have here," Professor Porter said after setting up his projector to display a map of the African coast, "is what we in the scientific field would call a classic ripple effect. The trading post is being built here, and like a large boulder diverting the path of a river, has displaced the rhinos from their herding areas."
"So the rhinos in turn have moved into the gorilla territory," Jane concluded.
"Indeed," Professor Porter said. "What happens to one species in any contained ecosystem will inevitably effect any species in the same system."
"Look," Terk interrupted from where she sat on a wooden crate, "I don't care about your contained eco-whatchamacallit. I just have one question: what are the gorillas supposed to do now?"
"The rhinos won't let us near the river," Kaphi added from where she sat next to Jane. "We're all getting very thirsty and its hard sneaking in a drink without getting the rhinos attention."
"I'll talk to Mom and Dad," Tarzan said as he hopped off the chair he was sitting on and glided over to the window. "There has to be something we can do."
Tarzan left the house and swung over the trees back to where his family was resting. Kala was sleeping in a tree when he arrived, and she informed him Kerchak was off doing his usual rounds around the family, though she had the suspicion he was pacing and thinking over the dilemma with the rhinos. Tarzan worked his way through the trees in search of Kerchak, and when he caught up to his father, he noticed Kerchak was in fact pacing back and forth in a small clearing.
"Any ideas?" Tarzan asked, stopping in front of his father to cut off his pacing.
Kerchak sighed.
"We may have to leave," Kerchak said.
"What? But this is our home."
"For the season, yes. And while I'd hate to leave early while food is abundant and plentiful for us, there is not enough food and water here for the gorillas and the rhinos to continue sharing. Not that the rhinos are sharing half of it."
"What if I can get the rhinos to leave?"
"I'd be impressed. But how do you plan on doing that?"
"I can go back to the trading post. I can make Dumont leave and then the rhinos will move back. Then the family won't have to leave."
"Tarzan, you do realize that at the end of this fruit season, I will lead the family to new grounds anyway. We've always had to relocate at least twice a year. That is how we keep in areas that is plentiful and give used areas a chance to replenish. We are not going to stay in this spot forever."
"I know," Tarzan said as he sat down. "You're just close to the treehouse here and I can swing by anytime without having to travel too far and . . ."
"You'll still be allowed to swing by, as you put it," Kerchak said with a smile. "I'm sure no matter where we go, you'll be able to find us. You've always been rather good at tracking the family down. But you have found a mate and your place in the jungle. You should honestly be starting your own family now."
Tarzan's face reddened as he stammered, "I don't think we're ready for that, but maybe someday. The fruit season isn't over yet so you shouldn't have to leave early because of the rhinos. I'll go to the trading post and convince Dumont to leave so the rhinos will move back."
"Very well. But if you fail, I will have to reconsider relocating."
Back at the coast where the trading post was in the process of being built, Tarzan failed to convince Dumont to abandon the location. However, while Dumont was difficult and refused to move his trading post, he offered Tarzan an alternative: explosives. That was how the men had originally driven out the rhinos. Tarzan hesitated, but ultimately decided he was not at the point where he wanted to resort to man methods to manage the jungle. He told this to Jane that evening in their treehouse, and she agreed that explosives were not the right way to go about the problem.
"That's what Dumont suggested," Tarzan said.
"To just blow them to smithereens, well, I mean it's the most barbaric thing I've ever heard," Jane said, shaking her head at the very idea.
"He called it: effective."
"Yes, well, if Mr. Dumont is being so unreasonable about the whole thing, perhaps you could just go to the rhinos themselves and persuade them to leave."
"Perhaps, I could," Tarzan said. That idea wasn't too bad. Surely the rhinos would understand the problem and relocate to a new home and let the gorillas keep their home. He could manage that.
The next morning, he made quick work of heading down to the waterhole where the rhinos were, and where his family was waiting as they took turns sneaking a quick drink from the river before the rhinos charged them. Kerchak watched his son curiously from where he was lying in the shade as Tarzan stepped into the water.
"What are you doing?" Kerchak asked.
"I'm going to talk to them," Tarzan said.
"Tarzan, no, do not engage," Kerchak said, rising to his feet.
"What's going on?" Jane asked as she ran down to the water with Kala, Terk, and Kaphi following. "Has he started talking to them yet?"
"You knew about this plan?" Kerchak asked Jane.
"Well, it was my idea," Jane said, then she noticed Kerchak baring his teeth at her and she quickly said, "but on second thought, it may not have been my best idea."
Kerchak walked down to the edge of the river.
"Tarzan! Fall back."
Tarzan did not obey, instead, he got as close as he dared when one of the rhinos, presumably the leader, turned and faced Tarzan, who began speaking in a language Jane was not familiar with, but the gorillas seemed to understand him still.
"What's he saying?" Jane asked Kala.
"He just told them to lead his herd out of the area," Kala answered.
The rhino grunted in response and shook his head repeatedly.
"What did he say?" Jane asked.
"Well," Terk said, "I'm not sure the literal translation but it's something like . . . uh . . ."
"He said no," Kala answered for Terk, giving the younger ape a small glare. "Now Tarzan is trying to reason with him."
"Oh, good," Jane said, nodding her head in approval. "Excellent! Diplomacy is always the best policy in dealing with—"
Suddenly, the rhino grunted and charged Tarzan, who braced himself and waited until just before the rhino was in front of him to dive into the water, avoiding the attack. He swam toward the rhino, staying obscured in the water until he was able to jump on the rhino's back, which made the rhino charge forward again, bucking and kicking slightly to try to dislodge Tarzan from his back.
"So much for diplomacy," Jane said with a sigh.
"Hey," Terk said, "in the jungle, that is diplomacy."
Tarzan slid down the rhino's head and grabbed the massive horn and yanked on it to direct the rhino in the direction he wanted the leader to go in. The rhino changed direction and ran into two massive boulders in the water, trapping himself in between them. Kala, Terk, and Kaphi cheered excitedly while Kerchak narrowed his eyes.
The rhino struggled to free himself, and Tarzan jumped in front of the beast and glared at him.
"Take your herd and leave now," he told the rhino.
Tarzan began walking out of the water while the rhino cried out and struggled more against the rocks. Two rhinos from the herd turned and charged Tarzan while his back was turned.
"Tarzan, look out!" Kala cried.
He was too late in turning around, and the rhinos slammed their horns into Tarzan, throwing him into the air, and he landed in the shallower ends of the water.
"That's hardly fair," Jane snapped, gesturing at the rhinos.
"Yeah," Terk said with a roll of her eyes, "rhinos aren't exactly known for the sportsmanship."
The two rhinos walked over to their leader and used brute strength to push the boulders apart enough that the leader was able to free himself.
"Tarzan, get out of the water!" Kerchak called to his son, glancing at where Tarzan was shakily standing up once more and where the rhino was freeing itself.
Once the lead rhino was free, he charged Tarzan once more, who was still a bit unsteady from the first impact.
Kerchak's eyes widened. He bravely charged into the water over to where his son was, just in time to rise on two and grab the rhino's horn. He was dragged back several feet, his toes scraping the riverbed, but once his feet were lodged against a rock, he shoved the rhino back as much as he could before striking the rhino across the face with an open palm; the force was hard enough to jerk the rhino back.
With the small distraction, he helped Tarzan run out of the shallows and to dry land.
The rhino ran after them, but stopped at the riverbank, letting out a low grunt. The entire gorilla family mock charged forward and snarled at the rhino while Kerchak rose on two and let out a small roar as well. The gorillas and rhino had a long stare down before the rhino turned and headed back for his herd.
Tarzan was lying on the ground, shaking and panting hard, and Jane wrapped her arms around him.
"Are you alright?" Jane asked Tarzan. She helped him to his feet, throwing an arm over her shoulders and wrapping an arm around his waist to support him as much as she could. "That was quite the hit."
"That was foolish," Kerchak scolded as he turned to face his son.
"I had . . . to try . . . something," Tarzan said in between breaths.
Kerchak's eyes softened as he took in the state his son was in.
"You should rest," Kerchak said. "We can talk when you are better."
Kerchak let out a commanding roar, and the family followed Kerchak through the trees.
"I guess this means the rhinos stay," Jane said, "and the gorillas leave."
Tarzan watched his family disappear into the trees with sad eyes. He knew Kerchak had a point that the family would have to find a new land once their current home began running low on food, but that wouldn't be for a couple more months or so, and he while he knew he could always track them down and visit once they had a new location for a season, that new location would be father from the treehouse he was starting to call home with Jane, and he wasn't sure how ready he was for longer durations in between visiting his family. He would miss them too much, so perhaps he was being a little selfish in wanting them to stay and finish out this season.
After Jane and Professor Porter checked Tarzan over and bandaged him up, he took a brief nap to allow his body to heal a bit further before he went in search of the family. As it was late in the evening, the gorillas were settling in their nests, and Tarzan offered a nuzzle to his sister as he passed hers.
"Are you okay?" Kaphi whispered.
"I'm fine," Tarzan said. "Didn't even feel it."
"Oh, sure you didn't," Kaphi said with a smirk. "I'm glad you're okay, big brother."
Tarzan wished her goodnight before moving across the grounds to his parents' shared nest, and Kala and Kerchak both sat up as he neared them.
"How are you feeling?" Kala asked.
"I'm fine. A little bruised, but nothing's broken."
"After your little stunt this morning," Kerchak said, "it's become clear that the rhinos have no intention of leaving this place. So, we must leave."
"No, Dad, I can fix this."
"It's over, Tarzan. We have to move on. It is far too risky to simply get a drink of water, and that's not fair to the young or elderly in our group. It will be easier if we relocate."
"I'm not ready for you guys to disappear on me yet," Tarzan admitted softly as he sat down in front of their nest. "I know I could still find you in the jungle no matter where you go, but you've just been right outside my treehouse, and I could stop by all the time. If you're further away, it'll be longer trips and . . . well . . ."
"I understand," Kerchak said. "Change is never easy, but you are growing into your own leader, Tarzan. We talked about this earlier. As much as I would love to give you the comfort of being as close as possible for a while longer, I have to think about the wellbeing of the entire family. Staying here is no longer an option. We will leave in the morning. I will wait for your arrival though so we can say one final goodbye."
Tarzan sighed. He nuzzled his parents as he wished them goodnight before he headed home to be with Jane. However, he did not feel he had done everything he could, and he recalled what Dumont had said about the explosives. As he was sitting in the small kitchen with Jane, he noticed the projector was still displaying a map of the coast, along with the river that ran through the jungle. He recalled what Professor Porter had said about a boulder diverting a river, and an idea struck him at last. He could still fix this!
Early the next morning before even Jane was awake, Tarzan took off to the trading post to collect a supply of explosives, which Dumont was more than happy to sell to him using "credit." After a brief lesson on how to use the explosives, Tarzan took a large supply and ran into the jungle to set up his plan.
When Jane woke the next morning, she realized Tarzan was missing. She swung down a vine to the jungle floor below where Tantor was resting in the shade.
"Tantor," Jane greeted, "have you seen Tarzan?"
"Not since he got back from the trading post," Tantor answered.
"What was he doing there?"
"Oh, probably still figuring a way to get rid of those rhinos," Tantor answered. He moved slightly, revealing a box full of dynamite.
"Explosives!" Jane gasped. "The rhinos! Oh my goodness, we have to stop him!"
Tantor followed Jane to the gorilla nesting grounds, where everyone was just waking up. Jane ran over to Kala and Kerchak's nest.
"We have to stop Tarzan!" she said frantically. "He's gone for the rhinos—he's going to use explosives to blow them to smithereens!"
"That doesn't sound like something Tarzan would do," Kerchak said, shaking his head at the very idea.
"I saw the explosives," Tantor said. "He must have had enough to blow up a mountain!"
Kala stepped closer to Kerchak, then whispered, "You don't think our son would do something so . . . unlike him, do you?"
Kerchak sighed, thinking over the last couple conversations he had with his son. While he knew Tarzan was upset over the idea of the family leaving early, he hadn't seemed so willing to throw all his morals away just to keep his family around a little longer. Surely Tarzan had an idea that just happened to include the explosives. Though what, Kerchak could not think of anything that did not involve the demise of the rhinos.
"We have to stop him," Jane said, climbing up on Tantor's back. Terk jumped up on the elephant's back as well. "I hate to think that Tarzan would ever hurt any animal in the jungle but he was very upset last night that he failed to solve the rhino problem. This is a last resort for him, I know it is."
"Go ahead," Kerchak said, "I'll catch up."
Tantor ran through the jungle as fast as he could, heading for the river.
"Stay here," Kerchak told Kala and Kaphi, who had overheard and was staring at her father with concern. "I'll see what is happening and talk Tarzan out of it if it's not too late."
Kala and Kaphi nodded and Kerchak ran after the elephant. He was able to catch up quickly and they headed for the river, arriving just in time to see Tarzan taunt the rhinos by throwing mud at the face of the leader. Angrily, the rhino commanded his herd to chase after Tarzan, who began leading them away.
After seeing that display, Kerchak was a bit more worried about what Tarzan may be planning. While the rhinos had been a nuisance, that was no reason to cause their demise. After everything they talked about with the Circle of Life and the Laws of the Jungle, Kerchak would expect Tarzan to allow nature to work itself out without intervening in drastic ways. Tarzan was on the other side of the river, so all he could so was follow the elephant on the other side of the river as they followed Tarzan and the rhinos.
Halfway down the cavern the rhinos were running through, Tarzan stopped by a large pile of massive boulders and he grabbed a small device. The rhinos were still running, straight for where the boulders would crumble and fall if Tarzan set off the explosives.
"Tarzan!" Jane called out, hoping down off Tantor's back and waving to her mate, "you don't have to do this!"
Tarzan glanced over at them, and his eyes met Kerchak's, and Kerchak recognized the resigned look in Tarzan's eyes. It didn't matter what they said, Tarzan was using the explosives. He gave his son a concerned look.
"Yes," Tarzan said, "I do."
Tarzan pushed down on the detonator, and the boulder pile exploded, dust filling the air and hiding the scene below. When it finally cleared, Kerchak could see that the rhinos were unharmed and staring in confusion at the boulders now on the ground in front of them. There was a large hole in the side of the earth now, and water began pouring from it and falling into the cavern below. Tarzan jumped down, landing on a fallen boulder, and he gestured to the newly created river.
"This will be your new home," Tarzan said.
Kerchak smiled softly, and he was glad when the lead rhino nodded his head and commanded his family to settle in. Tarzan jumped across the cavern and landed next to Jane, who jumped in his arms and kissed him.
"I never doubted you for a minute," she said.
Kerchak snorted as he walked up to them and touched his head to Tarzan's affectionately.
"You never cease to surprise me," Kerchak said. "Well done, son."
"This means you can stay now," Tarzan said with a grin. "Well, at least until the season is over."
"Of course."
So, when Kerchak informed the family, they would be staying, everyone was relieved, and life went back to normal around the gorilla nesting grounds. In the days that passed, Jane took some time to draw a few of the baby gorillas while they played, and Professor Porter was back to his loincloth and following the family around as he tried to become one with the gorillas once more, which annoyed Terk enough for her to tell the man to put some clothes on.
Tarzan sat with Kerchak as he watched his father gently sniff the air with his eyes closed, something he did when he was really focusing on the air around him, something Tarzan never really did develop a knack for.
"What is it?" Tarzan asked.
"New smells in the air," Kerchak answered. "Heavy. A bit . . . toxic, even. A bit . . . metallic."
Ships, Tarzan thought.
"With this trading post," Kerchak said, "your friend has explained that it will attract more man to the jungle."
"I will keep the jungle safe," Tarzan said assertively. "I will keep us safe."
"I know you will try. Be careful."
"Always, Dad."
After his talk with his father, Tarzan crawled up a large mountain, summiting the top and looking down at the ocean below. Two ships were traveling through the water, heading right for the trading post, and Tarzan glared at the invading vessels. No one will ever hurt his family if he could help it.